1. #1

    Cross-platform WDF is unfair

    Cross-platform WDF is really unfair. People with kinect consistently score higher.
    "Good" players on kinect, if they use a phone or another device score way lower.
    I suggest Ubisoft remove the cross-platform feature or at least make it an option in settings.
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  2. #2
    Having danced on all of the platforms over the past few years, I agree 100%. Back in 2017 when cross platform play was introduced, I had been using Wii U. I remember being amazed at the scores on the WDF back then, especially certain songs like Hips Don't Lie which seemed to be especially difficult with a remote, the leaderboard was often flooded with 13k's. Back then on the Wii U side there was no indication that some of the scores were coming from other platforms, but I finally realized this on my own. So in 2017 I tried Xbox Kinect for the first time. Even though I was struggling with some dances when I made the switch, suddenly I found it easy to hit more 13k's and get some visibility in the top 3 spots on the leaderboard. Now that I have a couple of years experience using Kinect, my scores on Xbox are much better than they had ever been with Wii U. Although I tried Switch briefly with 2018 and 2019 and found it pretty reasonable to hit megastars and even some 13's except for the extremes. The PS4 move seems a little better than Switch or Wii U to me, but I still score better with the PS4 Camera, though it is far harder to setup and score consistently compared to Xbox Kinect.

    What's really ironic is that Xbox has the option to disable Cross Network play, but it's probably the only platform where that isn't necessary. I checked it out a couple of times in previous years, but never found anyone on the WDF with cross network play disabled, I guess because there isn't much to gain by doing this from the Xbox side. If Switch and PS4 players could disable cross network play, I bet many players would take advantage of that in order to remove the Xbox Kinect scores.

    Even on the same platform there are issues. I can't imagine using a phone on Xbox and wanting my scores to be compared with Kinect players. Similarly, with PS4, there are Move, phone, and camera players. A dance that's easy to score on with a remote or phone is sometimes hard to score on with a camera or Kinect, and vice-versa. It would be most reasonable to see how you stack up against other players who (A) use the same platform and (B) use the same mode of game play (phone, remote, camera, Kinect). Even with Dancer of the Week, you should only see phone/remote scores when using a phone/remote, and you should only see camera/Kinect scores when using a camera/Kinect. If you do a dance where it's hard just to hit megastars with one mode of game play, it's not reasonable to look up at a score of 13k with a different mode of game play where 13k's are so much easier.

    It would be ideal if they could make the scoring more comparable across the platforms, now that they must have some data on which kinds of moves and dances tend to be easy or hard on different platforms. But I suppose this is challenging. The best players on each platform can hit 13k on almost all of the songs, even non-Xbox players. The difference is that the 100th best and 1000th best players on Kinect are probably doing much better on average than the corresponding players on other platforms on many of the songs. It's pretty reasonable for good Kinect players to hit 13k across all of the non-extremes (and even many of the extremes) this year.

    As you say, it would be fairest not to compare players across platforms (or even modes of game play), or to at least make it an option. Maybe they like having a large number of players on the WDF, but more players would feel like they had a positive experience/outcome by separating it, so more players would feel good about their scores.

    It's a shame that they can't implement some Kinect like system for all platforms. It's also a shame that the PS4 camera doesn't seem to work as well as Kinect. What's appealing about Kinect is that it is highly visual, so that once you trust the scoring and technology, it's a matter of studying video and practicing in front of a mirror to find the mistake. It's also clear full-body scoring, rewarding you for using your whole body well, and it's nice not to hold a weight in your right hand all the time. With Switch and PS4 Move or even a phone, it seems like knowing who is using their whole body well is more indirect (though I have on several occasions found moves that score the whole body), and there seems to be a higher premium on other aspects of the dance, which are often not as visual as Kinect. My point is that Kinect seems easier to learn, at least for those who can learn to use their whole body well. I'm not saying that Kinect is better or worse; it's apples and oranges. There are many merits to remote/phone dancing, and they seem to track important things that Kinect doesn't pick up as well.

    Since I've discovered Kinect, I don't like visiting the WDF on any other platform, knowing that there are Kinect players on the WDF. I tried the PS4 camera for a couple of weeks in 2019, but got frustrated that my few toughest PS4 Camera songs were my easiest Kinect songs and they were coming up for me more often than the few songs where I was actually better with the PS4 camera. This year, my Kinect experience has been very positive, so I don't know if I will even try the PS4 or Switch this year. If they had separated leaderboards, I would be more willing.

    I will say that there are some players on the WDF who aren't using Kinect who are hitting extraordinary scores. While Kinect players seem to have an advantage, there are some amazing players across all platforms.

    Thanks for posting about this issue. Happy Dancing!
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