At the risk of getting several downvotes, I don’t understand how an online-focused game like Splatoon still runs on p2p instead of using dedicated servers like pretty much any online game these days.
This really upsets me because:
1 – Because the game is p2p, if a player disconnects at the beginning of the game, the game drops for all players and this is especially bad, especially when you are winning a match.
[https://twitter.com/moonsarito/status/1626079938020544520?s=46&t=z0gbz7ieVSTjEeICaUZPJw](https://vxtwitter.com/moonsarito/status/1626079938020544520?s=46&t=z0gbz7ieVSTjEeICaUZPJw)
2 – Again, because it is p2p, the game depends on the internet quality of the other players to have a good connection, this means that even if you have a good internet connection you will face inconsistencies during the match because the other player may not having such a good internet connection.
[https://twitter.com/moonsarito/status/1628772985699209216?s=46](https://vxtwitter.com/moonsarito/status/1628772985699209216?s=46)
[https://twitter.com/moonsarito/status/1624278942181097474?s=46&t=XCMBmVR3pS0HnI5RanlTTQ](https://vxtwitter.com/moonsarito/status/1624278942181097474?s=46&t=XCMBmVR3pS0HnI5RanlTTQ)
3 – Isn’t that why Online play became paid for on Switch?, sometimes I feel like I didn’t have half the connection problems I had back in the Wii U days with the original Splatoon and Wii U Online was totally free. ( and my internet was much worse than it is now )
Sorry for the rant, but this is really frustrating, sometimes I just want to play and have a good match and I end up stressing myself because the game’s “servers” don’t work as well as they should.
I really wanted to hear your thoughts on this to see if I’m the only one going through these things.
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PS: Sorry for my English, I’m Brazilian and I had to use Google Translate.
by MoonieSarito
29 Comments
Nintendo is notoriously known for how bad their netcode is in their IPs
I like p2p.
It’s faster than server.
I don’t want to play a match for 5 min if it’s starts at 3 vs 4
Yes it’s Internet connection dependant, PEOPLE don’t CARE for their connection. Salamon run high evp/ squads or x rank I have almost zero connection problems.
Low freelance or turf war? All the time. The higher the skill the better the connection, gid gud
Edit: Wow, so much hate! Please educate your self on jitter, packet loss, latency and why your download speed does not matter!
> 1 – Because the game is p2p, if a player disconnects at the beginning of the game, the game drops for all players and this is especially bad, especially when you are winning a match.
Not completely true. If someone drops at the beginning (30 or so seconds in), the game ends. This isn’t a P2P issue — this is an intentional decision.
If someone drops later in the game, their icon will be blacked out and the match will continue. The “losing” team will receive a message saying that it won’t count as a loss while the winning team still benefits.
This was Google translated? It’s very well done
I absolutely hate this method of matchmaking. The game had these issues on the launch and I heard they got rid of them, but after buying recently I discovered that they persist.
It’s not just irritating, it’s frustrating because it’s a 60 dollar game.
/
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Eu realmente odeio esse método de conexão para as partidas. O jogo tinha esses problemas no lançamento e eu tinha lido que tinha sido corrigido, mas depois de comprar há pouco tempo eu descobri que continua.
Não é só irritante, e sim frustrante porque é um jogo com preço cheio.
I really think you should place that hope elsewhere that is more likely to be fulfilled, like hoping we discover how to reverse all pollution by 2024 or winning the lottery.
It’s actually better to have a shit connection I’ve found. I played wired on fiber and I’m always behind everyone. I went wireless and it got better. I play on a slower worse connection wired and I murder people. It feels like cheating.
I couldn’t even play splatoon 2 online because it’s super finicky about your NAT status. Only game I own that was like that, basically wasted the money I spent on it :/
I kinda gave up on S3 cuz it took so long to connect then would drop halfway thru battle. How is that fun?
Splatoon being P2P is why I stopped playing Splatoon 2. When I read that Splatoon 3 was still P2P I didn’t buy it. It’s a shame, because I do really enjoy the gameplay.
p2p is a popular choice with console games. Even GTA Online is p2p. It lets the developer spend less time and money on maintaining gameplay servers. It’s not a bad idea in general; it’s just that Nintendo’s implementation sucks.
Worst part about Splatoon 3 servers it that they *are* the upgraded servers Nintendo rolled out over the last ~18 months.
I don’t think it’s necessarily an issue with the game or its servers. Networking on the Switch (wired or wireless) is atrocious. I don’t have any fancy tools, charts, or data to back it up, but I’ve noticed on multiple occasions getting a fraction of my available bandwidth used up when trying to download anything from Nintendo.
Online multiplayer is commonly a mediocre experience on the Switch for me, even on games with fewer dynamic elements. The common thread is the console itself.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the Switch. I don’t love that doing anything online with it suuuuucks.
I don’t think there’s necessarily an issue with P2P, if it’s implemented correctly. The host should move to another if the hosting server quits.
On the other hand, dedicated servers as you mentioned completely eliminate the issue entirely. Every game that gets upgraded to dedicated servers ends up seeing significantly less issues with lag/ping/stability.
Look, I’m also Brazilian and I play Splatoon 3 every single day since release. Yes, in the beginning it was pretty bad but if to this day, you are having constant issues and can’t barely play, you need to check out you Wi-Fi signal.
Most of the time where I have I connection error on my end, I go to the home menu and see the Wi-Fi is off for a couple of seconds.
Played today and had 0 problems
There are things much more important to retouch, like the impossibility to leave the queue in a 2022 game.
I was hoping that Nintendo using Google Cloud would help but no dice. They honestly need some desperate help with their online implementation – it’s awful.
Way more games than you would expect are partially or fully P2P. Mostly it comes down to how the netcode is designed to mitigate latency issues, vs security.
Better english than most posts i see 🤔
I have mentioned this before, but p2p ISN’T the issue.
The issue is Nintendo’s decision making on how to handle drops and their poor netcode. MANY online shooters do p2p just fine for years.
> 1 – Because the game is p2p, if a player disconnects at the beginning of the game, the game drops for all players and this is especially bad, especially when you are winning a match.
In many games that have p2p, if a host leaves, the game will “migrate” to another host who is in the game. This might take some time, but it is a far better alternative then just dropping out of the game. This is also on Nintendo for dropping the game if one person leaves. Which is pretty shitty decision since the team who lost a team mate won’t count as a loss anyways. That isn’t p2p, it is Nintendo’s stupid design choice.
> 2 – Again, because it is p2p, the game depends on the internet quality of the other players to have a good connection, this means that even if you have a good internet connection you will face inconsistencies during the match because the other player may not having such a good internet connection
True, but even an old game like Halo 2 did a “test” on every persons connections while in matchmaking, and gave the host to whoever had the most stable internet. I am not sure about other games, but Halo 2 and 3 didn’t just assign the host at random. They gave it to the person with the best connection. I doubt Splatoon does this.
> 3 – Isn’t that why Online play became paid for on Switch?, sometimes I feel like I didn’t have half the connection problems I had back in the Wii U days with the original Splatoon and Wii U Online was totally free. ( and my internet was much worse than it is now )
Fair point.
Again, the issue isn’t necessarily p2p. The game only has 8 players max. Unless we are pushing more players like 8v8, I think p2p is fine. The game’s issues isn’t tied to p2p as you may think. It is tied to shitty netcode, shitty game design decisions, and a shitty tick rate to top it all off. Don’t get me wrong. Having server based gameplay would still be a better experience for a competitive online shooter. But that mostly has to do with no host advantage, and using server hardware for better tick rate and supporting more players.
But you are right on one thing. The game should be better with it’s online experience. It is abysmal even for the standards of almost 20 years ago.
P2P is a good choice for fast paced games where latency really matters.
The Splatoon 3 online is absolute dogshit
To this day I still don’t understand how it’s so much worse then Splatoon 2 online even though they’re both p2p
You should see the desync and rubberbanding on smash absolutely horrendous
Happens in my matches a lot. Very frustrating
Wait.. if Splatoon uses p2p them why do I need a Nintendo online subscription to play online?
I actually sold the game bc of the servers just got so frustrating especially in salmon run
I don’t get how having dedicated servers is a money problem. Nintendo has the largest market share for console gaming. There is no excuse. This should be mandatory for all first party games, like Mario Kart, Smash, and Splatoon.
Good luck – the last THREE Nintendo consoles now I’ve thought “it’s 2006/2012/2020 (yes I bought the Switch late) surely Nintendo has it’s online shit together by now.” And I’ve been disappointed for nigh on 2 decades now.
They won’t.