Differences between xbl and psn(online only)

[Alkohallick]

***Just to be clear, Im only wanting to know the differences in the network itself not the features included or any type of matchmaking***

How does xbl/psn connect systems to each other in fps(or any player vs. player game)? What are the advantages/disadvantages of both networks in the way that they connect?

 

[Gradthrawn]

The Party system of Live truly sets it apart. The fact that the features are standardized across the board and are application independent is also a great help (from the player's perspective). In regards to the party system, it lets you easily play and communicate with a group of friends throughout multi-player games (or just talk together while playing different games). With the features being application independent, you don't have to worry about what the other player is doing if you want to voice chat with them (they don't have to be in the same game as you, basically).

I honestly can't think of any advantages to PSN (for online games) and that's what I use the most for online play. I suppose you could argue the open model will allow for more MMOs. Also, several 1st party games have some excellent dedicated servers, allowing for good performance for online games. Oh, and it's free for online play, of course. Voice chat is handled on a per game basis, so the quality varies.

 

[Alkohallick]

The Party system of Live truly sets it apart. The fact that the features....

Not to be rude but im really not asking about the features(please re-read op), I want to know about the 2 networks and how they connect or link systems in game and the advantages/disadvantages of xbl and psn.

 

[Gradthrawn]

Not to be rude but im really not asking about the features(please re-read op), I want to know about the 2 networks and how they connect or link systems in game and the advantages/disadvantages of xbl and psn.

Oh, I see. You're looking for the mechanics of the systems. Disregard my post then.

 

[Alkohallick]

np thanks for the reply though

 

[betan]

I think PSN uses the infamous "whatever" method with occasional help from its SDK while XBL uses its SDK's fairly complete p2p online API though sometimes it can also use whatever method under special permission or something.

Obviously using common (and fairly complete) API brings ease of use, consistency at the cost of flexibility and openness.

 

[Alkohallick]

I think PSN uses the infamous "whatever" method with occasional help from its SDK while XBL uses its SDK's fairly complete p2p online API though sometimes it can also use whatever method under special permission or something.

Obviously using common (and fairly complete) API brings ease of use, consistency at the cost of flexibility and openness.

and what does that mean, if you could explain please

 

[AlNom]

For the most part, Peer-to-Peer connections are used for online gaming. Everyone connects to some chosen host (it's somewhat unknown as to how that happens.. and it can be pretty poor at times). Dedicated servers are fairly rare due to the cost of maintenance.

At least with XBL, Microsoft also provides a standard for prioritizing connections by region or connection speed or skill-level; it is up to the devs to allow the player to choose which one.

 

[Alkohallick]

so is psn peer2peer for its 3rd party games too?

 

[betan]

and what does that mean, if you could explain please

what part?

XBL programmers has access to more complete and more mature online libraries, but MS don't let them go crazy as they could otherwise go with PSN.

 

[AlNom]

What do you mean by crazy

 

[Alkohallick]

what part?

XBL programmers has access to more complete and more mature online libraries, but MS don't let them go crazy as they could otherwise go with PSN.

I think AIstrong cleared it up but Im not in the loop on sdk's and all this internal jargon so I just needed a little clarification.

So if I understand correctly both xbl and psn use p2p connections and the only difference in the 2 is that MS has software included in the dev-kits to choose what critieria to use to connect the players???

 

[betan]

What do you mean by crazy

I mean MS doesn't want games to circumvent XBL and connect to arbitrary servers using arbitrary protocols and do whatever they want.

 

[Alkohallick]

what part?

XBL programmers has access to more complete and more mature online libraries, but MS don't let them go crazy as they could otherwise go with PSN.

so what are the advantages/disadvantages of this? if neither network has any apparent advantage Im done and thank you.

 

[AlNom]

I'm not sure if Sony has something similar for the filtering, but maybe they do.

I mean MS doesn't want games to circumvent XBL and connect to arbitrary servers using arbitrary protocols and do whatever they want.

Well, I'm not clear on what you mean by "whatever".. can you actually name an example

 

[Scott_Arm]

so what are the advantages/disadvantages of this? if neither network has any apparent advantage Im done and thank you.

Well, whenever you have an SDK, you don't have to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. Instead of each developer coming up with their own solution, they a method of doing that task provided for them. There are benefits in reducing complexity, development time, standardization.

I'm not qualified to comment on how Xbox Live and PSN are implemented.

 

[patsu]

***Just to be clear, Im only wanting to know the differences in the network itself not the features included or any type of matchmaking***

How does xbl/psn connect systems to each other in fps(or any player vs. player game)? What are the advantages/disadvantages of both networks in the way that they connect?

The basic network infrastructure is the same. Assuming they have not switched, they also used the same CDN provider (e.g., for downloading content).

The server infrastructures are different. XBL standardizes on a set of backends (for P2P and dedicated server model, if used), but PSN games roll their own. e.g., Warhawk has racks of PS3 as servers, the PS3 MMO games will use the same backend as their PC counterparts).


Technically speaking at the mechanics level, there is not much difference, but operationally, development and business model wise, they are the exact opposite of each other.

 

[mrcorbo]

so what are the advantages/disadvantages of this? if neither network has any apparent advantage Im done and thank you.

In General:

The XBL approach results in better consistency of experience. You can usually expect the same basic experience from game to game and developers should have an easier time creating a working implementation. Unfortunately, sometimes they still screw it up. It seems, though, that the XBL approach is more restrictive because there are such rigid standards to adhere to.

The PSN approach is put more of an onus on the developer to build their online component. This has led to an environment where games can vary wildly in how they implement their online components and I have noticed many more cases where high-profile releases have poor or even broken online implementations vs. XBL. On the plus side developers are allowed more flexibility by the more open nature of PSN and it's probably easier to do something unique with PSN than XBL.

There is no definitive answer as to which is better, because it can differ on a case by case basis.

 

[Alkohallick]

The basic network infrastructure is the same.....Technically speaking at the mechanics level, there is not much difference, but operationally, development and business model wise, they are the exact opposite of each other.

I noticed that you included operational in your end statement saying that they are opposite. Is there anything in place in either network that hampers the connection? ex- are there any extra "hops" between the systems?

If im hosting a game i understand that the other players in my lobby are connected to me but are there any added stops in between us(other than what your isp already has in place) or no?

 

[makattack]

For the most part, Peer-to-Peer connections are used for online gaming.

There are some centralized servers for authentication/authorization services and also to maintain lists of games for match-making/searches.

I'm curious if Sony and MS maintain those "games directories" or if they're up to individual publishers. I do know EA insists on hosting those services themselves.