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The Xbox One friends and party system is horrible

N

NullPointer

Member
Iacobellis said:
On PS4, you have to bring up the Dynamic Menu and goto your Friends from there. Granted, you could always double-tap the PS button and quickly switch between the game and list that way. Invites are also on a game-by-game basis, there is no ability to invite (or join, I'm not sure) from a Friend's profile. Only Party Chat works that way.
Click to expand...
Under a player's profile you can join their current session if the game supports it. I've done this with NFS and pretty sure I did it with Killzone too.
 
digoutyoursoul

digoutyoursoul

Member
Jrs3000 said:
WOw how could they go from near perfection with 360 to broken have working mess on xb1? What happened to "if it ain't broke don't fix it?"
Click to expand...

The NXE was the best console OS I've used imo. I get the impression this Xbox One dashboard wasn't designed for gaming first and foremost. I don't think it's terrible or anything but to me it seems like these new implementations were an after thought "oh just do that " "just have something for launch" for the gaming side. 360 players profiles and 360 games history look terribleness, huge grey gaps surrounding the profiles/box arts.
 
P

plasmawave

Banned
BRocknRolla said:
As the guys said on the Giant Bomb launch stream, it's a huge step back, and I've got no idea why MS made those decisions. Maybe in time they'll better integrate everything together as opposed to it feeling like you're running multiple layered apps to make things work. Making things more complicated may offer more options, but it didn't make things better.
Click to expand...

It's designed by people who don't play games.
 
C

Cartman86

Banned
Figures. The usability of the menu's and what makes sense for multiplayer has been fucked up by Sony and Microsoft on these consoles. Both can fix them. They are simple fixes, and I hope they listen.

I can get used to where the friends list is. I will use voice or I will pin it. Letting me organize pins to a greater degree would solve this as well, but the party voice chat thing and not being able to just join a session in progress or invite a player from within the friends app is just stupid.
 
T

twobear

sputum-flecked apoplexy
The whole, 'home screen as in-game interface' is a really bad idea. They should have put in a 360-like in-game UI; and then maybe holding the button could bring up the home screen.
 
S

Syphon Filter

Member
Iacobellis said:
famousmortimer was right, then.

In all honesty, though, this doesn't sound much better than PSN on the PS4. LIVE never had online friend notifications to begin with, so I don't understand the need to complain there.

On PS4, you have to bring up the Dynamic Menu and goto your Friends from there. Granted, you could always double-tap the PS button and quickly switch between the game and list that way. Invites are also on a game-by-game basis, there is no ability to invite (or join, I'm not sure) from a Friend's profile. Only Party Chat works that way.

The PS4 doesn't have a "Guide" either, you get full access to the console while playing a game.

It sucks that Microsoft went backwards on LIVE with the XB1, whereas Sony made great steps in moving forward on PSN.
Click to expand...

what? Sony still has not fixed the game invite to be universal. So it's the same except party chat is there and universal. I thought they would have done a lot better especially since they are charging.
 
A

amardilo

Member
I'm not liking the friends list and achievement apps. It requires way too many clicks and screens to see the information I want to get to. Even using voice is not quick enough.
 
C

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
Yeah, famousmortimer's insider guy pretty much outlined this problem nearly a month before launch- http://doddscientifics.com/2013/10/...-issues-bouncing-about-as-we-approach-launch/

“The system OS and network integration was written by a group of people who do not play games. They don’t understand why things were set up in the ways they were designed by J Allard back in ’05.”

So… what changed?

“Let me get into some technical detail regarding it – on 360, the OS handles all of the party and chat functionality. All you do is hook up the XBL VOiP OS API into your game, and it does most of the work for you. With it results in is a shared experience across multiple entertainment. If you’re watching movies or playing games, you can do it together. However, this system is entirely different on Xbox One. So, lets say me, you, and Thuway have xbox one’s that are online. We are signed in our profiles. Sitting at the home screen, we are considered to be in a “Xbox Party” on the server. There are no more ‘party leaders’. With that said if any one of us decide to start a game, the party is shifted over to that game’s party system. Each game now has their custom written VOIP.” (Pete note: shoutout to thuway!)

“In essence, it is almost EXACTLY how it was on the PS3, and it is in those API “handshakes” that is breaking the online experience.”

I asked if could be fixed soon. He said that anything is possible and Microsoft is obviously working on it but he thinks it will be months, not weeks. Getting online launch games certified is taking so long that it’s pushing games after launch back.

Talking to a different developer he says: “Yeah, getting anything online to work was a pain for months, barely worked at the very end of last month. Adding friends, sending game invites or even achievements’ toasts could be a nightmare. I don’t know that much outside of “my” project, but from what I saw in others, online was always a problem. No idea if this will still be an issue at launch though, I think it would be too much, but it looks like it won’t be flawless at all.”

As of now the Xbox One OS and XBL (the name for the XBL side of Azure is “Thunderhead”) are having major issues. Maybe it will be fixed in time, maybe it won’t. The obvious question to me was does this have to do with Microsoft reversing the DRM and having to strip it out (Pete note: That would partially make it my fault and I wouldn’t like that at all)?

“This was happening either way. This was built into the OS long ago. The DRM-removal clogged their pipelines somewhat, but this blockage was always there. It’s just simply a way they setup the VOIP API and how it would be handled. It was an oversight, not just voip, all of parties and network connectivity really.”
Click to expand...
 
W

whitehawk

Banned
Wow, didn't realize it was that bad.

Does it handle it similarly to the Vita? If you want to invite a friend, you have to go back to the main OS and launch the friends app. Once it loads, then you can invite them, but it's not a one button press thing. Then you have to go back to your game. It's a cumbersome process. They need to make it so that your friends list isn't an app, it's just built into the system. Hold down the PS button and there they are. This is how the 360 does it. The game runs in the background while you do whatever you need to do. The Vita will actually pause the game, and disconnect you if you are playing online.
 
K

Kysen

Member
Seems like the rumours of the tradition 360 backend being replaced with the new Win 8 stuff are true. So they are basically starting from scratch, but this time the guys who were implementing it don't play games.
 
C

coldfoot

Banned
I wish Sony hired J Allard for their OS team, would be one hell of a steal
So it looks like 360 > PS4 > Xbone > PS3 in terms of online ease of use?
 
D

Dukey

Banned
Majanew said:
Sure wasn't. That's why we got what we did with Xbox One.



Nope. Famousmortimer did.
Click to expand...

He didnt either. Working in a way you dont like doesn't mean it's broken. FM claimed that not only was it broken, but that it would remain broken for months. And also that snapping was fucked. It isn't either.
 
S

SLIM v3n0m

Member
You're rant summed up my feelings exactly. Last night a friend and I spent the better part of a half hour trying to set up a party chat with each other, ultimately failing with frustration.

As you said, the OS is mostly great, but so was the 360s, except there weren't any frustrations. I really hope these things get ironed out.

I've always thought that one of MSs strengths was creating software that was pretty intuitive. I've never experienced frustration like I did trying to setup something as simple a party.
 
Fermbiz

Fermbiz

Gold Member
Is there a way to have to hear your friends from both speakers and headset?

On the 360 they gave you that option. Im not sure if there is an option or if I missed something.
 
H

hoos30

Member
I don't have a comment on the system itself, but I'm not seeing any validation for famous' source here. What MS delivered may not be efficient or even good but it is far from "broken" for "months".
 
T

The Xtortionist

Member
Iacobellis said:
Game-dependent Party Chat reminds me of how early PS3 games needed to implement their own unique view of the PSN Friends List. Same with not being able to include Trophies. And custom soundtracks (although that never got much use). The system became fragmented a bit once 2.40 hit.

I imagine that if the XB1 ever goes back to OS-level Party Chat, a good number of developers aren't going to be bothered to update their games that used the old system.
Click to expand...

Does Skype not work as a general chat app? Party chat seems worthless for that because you can be locked out if a game limits the number of players per party. Pretty sure Killer Instinct only allows parties of one to play ranked matches, so I couldn't play a ranked match while chatting with a friend who's playing Forza or something. But it seems like Skype would circumvent all that.

Don't have an Xbox One, just curious.
 
C

chubigans

y'all should be ashamed
The Xtortionist said:
Does Skype not work as a general chat app? Party chat seems worthless for that because you can be locked out if a game limits the number of players per party. Pretty sure Killer Instinct only allows parties of one to play ranked matches, so I couldn't play a ranked match while chatting with a friend who's playing Forza or something. But it seems like Skype would circumvent all that.

Don't have an Xbox One, just curious.
Click to expand...
I don't think Skype runs in the background and snapping it causes the game to pause/be inactive.

I could be wrong about the background thingy.
 
S

Steel

Banned
Iacobellis said:
famousmortimer was right, then.

In all honesty, though, this doesn't sound much better than PSN on the PS4. LIVE never had online friend notifications to begin with, so I don't understand the need to complain there.

On PS4, you have to bring up the Dynamic Menu and goto your Friends from there. Granted, you could always double-tap the PS button and quickly switch between the game and list that way. Invites are also on a game-by-game basis, there is no ability to invite (or join, I'm not sure) from a Friend's profile. Only Party Chat works that way.

The PS4 doesn't have a "Guide" either, you get full access to the console while playing a game.

It sucks that Microsoft went backwards on LIVE with the XB1, whereas Sony made great steps in moving forward on PSN.
Click to expand...

You can join session in progres on ps4, it's just highlight the game your friend is playing and select. Though, yeah, I miss the guide from 360 on PS4, but the dashboard of it is so streamlined that it's a very small loss, same amount of button presses to get to friends list really. And you can also invite friends from the profile as well.
 
I

Iacobellis

Junior Member
chubigans said:
I don't think Skype runs in the background and snapping it causes the game to pause/be inactive.

I could be wrong about the background thingy.
Click to expand...

Wait, Party Chat doesn't use Skype as the backend? That seemed like a no-brainer thing for Microsoft to implement.
 
B

Barkley's Justice

Member
digoutyoursoul said:
I believe dropping the guide menu was a mistake. They could of refined that with faster performance and quicker short cuts
Click to expand...

They likely thought everyone would have Kinect installed prior to their decoupling of the mandatory Kinect connection. Now that they can not assume everyone has Kinect hooked up, they need to take the UI back a few steps and add greater joypad accessibility.
 
B

Bgamer90

Banned
Two biggest things for me:

*Party Chat should be on by default.

*I understand not having notifications for when friends sign on (a person could have 1,000 friends now) but there should at least be a notification for when a friend on your "favorites" list signs on.
 
B

Bgamer90

Banned
Barkley's Justice said:
They likely thought everyone would have Kinect installed prior to their decoupling of the mandatory Kinect connection. Now that they can not assume everyone has Kinect hooked up, they need to take the UI back a few steps and add greater joypad accessibility.
Click to expand...

That would make sense. Interesting point.
 
S

Steel

Banned
Bgamer90 said:
*I understand not having notifications for when friends sign on (a person could have 1,000 friends now) but there should at least be a notification for when a friend on your "favorites" list signs on.
Click to expand...

You know, I'm getting the same feeling that was the rationale on PS4. Irritating especially since the vita does show friends notifications.
 
M

mcfrank

Member
hoos30 said:
I don't have a comment on the system itself, but I'm not seeing any validation for famous' source here. What MS delivered may not be efficient or even good but it is far from "broken" for "months".
Click to expand...

It is broken for me and my friends. We can't form a party with voice in BF4. We have to all load Killer Instinct, make our party and turn on chat, then all switch to bf4. If that is not broken, I don't know what is.
 
Z

Zoom In

Neo Member
Bgamer90 said:
Two biggest things for me:

*Party Chat should be on by default.

*I understand not having notifications for when friends sign on (a person could have 1,000 friends now) but there should at least be a notification for when a friend on your "favorites" list signs on.
Click to expand...

Could agree more. Who at Microsoft thought it was a good idea to have turn on party chat every time I join a party! It should be the other way around where party chat is on by default and I can then turn on game chat if I want too.

As for the friends thing, yes the option should be there for favorites but I completely understand not having it for everyone since you can have 1000 friends.
 
K

Killthee

helped a brotha out on multiple separate occasions!
Syphon Filter said:
what? Sony still has not fixed the game invite to be universal. So it's the same except party chat is there and universal. I thought they would have done a lot better especially since they are charging.
Click to expand...
It's weird, they took one step forward and two steps back. You can join friends by opening up their profile and clicking Join Session if they're in a mp session.

vAdXgK8.jpg
aiQjXXH.jpg
Click to expand...
But some things still vary from game to game. Killzone for example has zero in game voice chat, you have to use the OS party chat option to speak with people. AFAICT, the same applies to sending Killzone game invites. You have to make a party first and then you're presented with the option of inviting your party members.
 
L

lowhighkang_LHK

Member
I'm really not liking the new UI for the xbox one. It's like a splash of squares. Feels really cluttered.

Party system, messaging, managing friends, and invites should be priority number 1 when creating a UI system. But seeing how cluttered the party system is disappointing.
 
V

VanWinkle

Member
WAIT. Parties are game-dependent? ARE YOU SERIOUS?! That's absolutely insane. So it's not even cross-game voice chat? Or am I hearing that wrong?
 
P

pixlexic

Banned
VanWinkle said:
WAIT. Parties are game-dependent? ARE YOU SERIOUS?! That's absolutely insane. So it's not even cross-game voice chat? Or am I hearing that wrong?
Click to expand...

no its at the os level it is just really buggy.

You can start one game and form a party chat then play any other game in party chat.

its messed up.
 
P

polyh3dron

Banned
I agree with this completely.

I am really disliking the 'bone's UI on many levels. PS4's is easy and no-nonsense. It just works.
 
captainraincoat

captainraincoat

Banned
Barkley's Justice said:
Great advice. #MESSAGE
Click to expand...


Imagine being able to call up a quick overlay or snap function which has freinds/messages/parties

Instantly go into one of these tiles and instantly message...group or join their game

quick simple painless

you can jump between parties if you want..you can message anyone in less than 2 steps

the only tweak I would make would be to have the ability to listen to game and party chat if I choose to but the whole thing could be controlled quicker than the 360

imagine I was in a game and an opposing player pulled off a nice shot or move

I say

xbox snap social (social is what id call it)
Freinds....current and recent players
message slayerr666
record a voice message...send..unsnap

all if this done while u r still playing. ..how hard would this be??
 
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