How essential is the Ethernet adapter for Smash Bros. Ultimate?

[Neo0mj]

It's so easy to tell who plays fighting games regularly and who's a casual whose only experience with fighting games is Smash. Wired is the only way to play.

What's the point when 99.99% online players play on wifi ?

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For your own sake? Just because everyone else likes to wad through shit doesn't mean you have to. Eventually you'll meet someone else sane.

 

[MechaX]

The real problem is Nintendo not including the ethernet port in that expensive dock station.

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This is what pisses me off the most about this entire situation.

I don't know why gamers tend to tolerate shit like this so much, but I cannot imagine that average people are going to react very well when you tell them "oh but to get playable online you're going to have to buy an adapter, assuming you have a cord that reaches. But c'mon it's reaaaaally cheap, only $20-30 on top of the $60 you already spent to get the game! What's 20 more dollars??"

Hell, isn't possible to end up picking up the "wrong" adapter that can't even work on the Switch? I know one of the Insignia ones don't

 

[NeonBlack]

And I really can't be assed to spend another 30 bucks for an adapter. Should've just came with the dock like everybody else has been saying.

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You can buy one on Amazon for like $13

 

[Ocean]

If you play over WiFi, you're contributing to making everybody's experience worse. It's mostly Nintendo's fault for shipping a *gaming console* without an Ethernet port, but let's look past their incompetence and try to create a community where decent online gaming is possible.

 

[Mesoian]

This is what pisses me off the most about this entire situation.

I don't know why gamers tend to tolerate shit like this so much, but I cannot imagine that average people are going to react very well when you tell them "oh but to get playable online you're going to have to buy an adapter, assuming you have a cord that reaches. But c'mon it's reaaaaally cheap, only $20-30 on top of the $60 you already spent to get the game! What's 20 more dollars??"

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"a cord that reaches" would still be an issue even if ethernet was baked into the dock.

Like, if you're unwilling to do that much, you never cared about having a steady online experience and will just blame nintendo when your game goes to shit when someone turns on the microwave.

You can buy one on Amazon for like $13

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You can get one for 6.

I got one for 6 10 years ago with the Wii, which worked on the WiiU, which worked on the Switch.

You don't HAVE to get the one nintendo suggests. I picked one up from a checkout lane in a microcenter and that has worked for a decade almost flawlessly.

 

[HiLife]

You can buy one on Amazon for like $13

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I'll have to do that. Whatever makes the experience smoother.

 

[Deleted member 896]

I don't know why gamers tend to tolerate shit like this so much, but I cannot imagine that average people are going to react very well when you tell them "oh but to get playable online you're going to have to buy an adapter, assuming you have a cord that reaches. But c'mon it's reaaaaally cheap, only $20-30 on top of the $60 you already spent to get the game! What's 20 more dollars??"

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It sucks, but it's just expected. Nintendo's last two consoles also didn't have ethernet built into it. There was no way they were going to break that trend on a console that doubles as a portable handheld. People don't have to accept it. If someone passes on the Switch entirely then that's fair. If someone buys it but refuses to buy an ethernet adapter, that's also fair. But if you are someone who wants to play Smash online under the best possible circumstances then you are going to take measures to try and solve the problem as best as you can. That solution is buying a relatively inexpensive ethernet adapter.

These were expenses I already paid for Smash 4. That was a game where I bought both an ethernet adapter and the GameCube adapter because I wanted to use the GameCube controller.

 

[HiLife]

If you play over WiFi, you're contributing to making everybody's experience worse. It's mostly Nintendo's fault for shipping a *gaming console* without an Ethernet port, but let's look past their incompetence and try to create a community where decent online gaming is possible.

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And what if people primarily play in handheld? I know this is a video game forum but some of these comments are ridiculous.

 

[Kingpin Rogers]

Not at all. I play on 5ghz wifi and have very very rare lag or connection issues. The majority of my matches are silky smooth.

 

[Gunny T Highway]

Not at all. I play on 5ghz wifi and have very very rare lag or connection issues. The majority of my matches are silky smooth.

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Same. There is a match every so often that is just the worst, but for me as well with 5Ghz WiFi most are smooth with only a bit of input delay like all multiplayer games.

 

[CRIMSON-XIII]

I have about 940mbps wired internet and my phone wifi shows somewhere above 200mbps.

I have a cable into my ps4pro and into my tv, but the switch net is wireless.

As I have the switch no more than five feet away, should I really worry? Ive been told that whoever has the worst internet brings everyone else down. Can i trust that I myself am okay wireless? I mean i have experienced input lag a bit online in a few matches only but it could have been because of other players.

 

[Vilix]

I always go hardwired. I don't trust WiFi for constant throughput or being secure.

 

[Teh_Lurv]

As I have the switch no more than five feet away, should I really worry? Ive been told that whoever has the worst internet brings everyone else down. Can i trust that I myself am okay wireless? I mean i have experienced input lag a bit online in a few matches only but it could have been because of other players.

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https://www.reddit.com/r/StreetFighter/comments/5yd2l8/why_wifi_sucks_in_depth_article/

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[exodus]

Why can't 1v1 be P2P but FFA be dedicated servers. Yeah it adds latency but added latency is better than unplayable laggy shit.
Most people playing FFA likely don't give a shit about having frame perfect inputs anyway but nobody wants to play Smash underwater or as a slideshow.

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Dedicated servers don't add more latency. You're just synchronizing with the server rather than the other player.

Dedicated servers would help by all

I have about 940mbps wired internet and my phone wifi shows somewhere above 200mbps.

I have a cable into my ps4pro and into my tv, but the switch net is wireless.

As I have the switch no more than five feet away, should I really worry? Ive been told that whoever has the worst internet brings everyone else down. Can i trust that I myself am okay wireless? I mean i have experienced input lag a bit online in a few matches only but it could have been because of other players.

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Sounds like you're running on a 5GHz band. You're probably fine. Ethernet can only help your pings, but it may not be noticeable if your wireless connection is relatively strong. It will also reduce your overall throughput because USB2 is horrible.

 

[exodus]

If you want to know if going wired might help. If you have a PC running on WiFi, open up Command Prompt and ping your router.

Type ipconfig and note down the default gateway IP address. Let's assume it's 192.168.0.1.

Then type:
ping 192.168.0.1 -n 50

Note the ping times. Are they largely consistent? What's the highest? What's the lowest? What's the average. If you have some bad spikes, then ethernet will likely help smooth that out.

Whether or not that helps depends on how fault tolerant Smash is. How does Smash deal for a late or missing packet? Does it allow for a fraction of missing packets or is it fully synchronous FIFO? Hard to say without more testing. There's also the question: how long is the input buffer? Smash has 5+ frames of inherent input latency, and more on top of that for networking. Can it buffer input for this whole stack? Or does it just buffer on the network stack? Certainly this buffer has a tolerance...WiFi spikes are usually <10-20ms for under 10% of packets. The buffer can probably accommodate this.

 

[Brofield]

Would it almost be better to get one of those 3rd party docks with Ethernet built in? Not that I know of any offhand but I'm sure they exist especially if it means it can offer better speeds than a 2.0 USB-A connector Ethernet port

 

[Augemitbutter]

devs should always offer solutions to filter spotty connections. i don't want to be matched with wifi guys. some simply don't know better, others deliberately turn online games into an awful experience.

just let me ban all wifi connections permanently. that will fix most online issues in fighting games.

 

[Maple]

It's not that essential. Ideally, if everyone were connected over ethernet, the online experience would be much better.

But the reality is that there are hundreds of thousands of people going online with Smash that are seemingly connected to their airport's wifi network, or the Starbucks across the street, or are using their phone to set up a public hotspot and are connecting through that, etc. It doesn't matter if you're connected via ethernet to a gigabit network with a ping of 5 ms, because the majority of people you're going to play will have abysmal connections. And your experience is only as good as the person with the weakest connection.

I would love if they somehow implement an "ethernet only" option in preferences, where the game also searches for others connected via ethernet. But as it stands now, so many people connect over shaky wifi connections that I've just lost all motivation to go online at all.

 

[Pancakes R Us]

Dear Nintendo,

How difficult would it have been to include an Ethernet port in the dock?

Please add one.

Thanks.

 

[Mesoian]

And what if people primarily play in handheld? I know this is a video game forum but some of these comments are ridiculous.

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Then they need to go the extra distance to make sure their wifi is prioritizing the switch and they aren't being bombarded by interference.

You CAN have games on wifi that are fine. But most people who's connections are problems are the ones sitting across the house from their router with a microwave in between them and 5 people in the house all watching HD streams at once on 2.4ghz connections.

So yeah, manage your stuff. Nintendo is not responsible for your networking situations.

Dear Nintendo,

How difficult would it have been to include an Ethernet port in the dock?

Please add one.

Thanks.

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Are you gonna buy that dock for 40 dollars?

Would it almost be better to get one of those 3rd party docks with Ethernet built in? Not that I know of any offhand but I'm sure they exist especially if it means it can offer better speeds than a 2.0 USB-A connector Ethernet port

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As long as it's one that's been proven not to cook your switch, yeah sure.

If you want to know if going wired might help. If you have a PC running on WiFi, open up Command Prompt and ping your router.

Type ipconfig and note down the default gateway IP address. Let's assume it's 192.168.0.1.

Then type:
ping 192.168.0.1 -n 50

Note the ping times. Are they largely consistent? What's the highest? What's the lowest? What's the average. If you have some bad spikes, then ethernet will likely help smooth that out.

Whether or not that helps depends on how fault tolerant Smash is. How does Smash deal for a late or missing packet? Does it allow for a fraction of missing packets or is it fully synchronous FIFO? Hard to say without more testing. There's also the question: how long is the input buffer? Smash has 5+ frames of inherent input latency, and more on top of that for networking. Can it buffer input for this whole stack? Or does it just buffer on the network stack? Certainly this buffer has a tolerance...WiFi spikes are usually <10-20ms for under 10% of packets. The buffer can probably accommodate this.

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This is a very good post.

 

[PersonAndStuff]

Fine. I bought one. You monsters.

 

[Chie Satonaka91]

I used to use an Ethernet adapter for my switch, but I disconnected it earlier this year after the firmware update caused the system to get warm in the dock when not in use. Haven't used it since. Is there an Ethernet adapter that doesn't cause it to warm up?

 

[Deleted member 8468]

I used to use an Ethernet adapter for my switch, but I disconnected it earlier this year after the firmware update caused the system to get warm in the dock when not in use. Haven't used it since. Is there an Ethernet adapter that doesn't cause it to warm up?

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It's just going to happen. It won't hurt your switch.

 

[Flandy]

Are you gonna buy that dock for 40 dollars?.

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He's saying ethernet should have been built into the dock in the first place. Why would that cost an extra $40?

 

[Kittens McMittens]

How much better can it be than a fast 5GHz WiFi connection? If you're playing against people on WiFi would it make the Ethernet adapter useless?

I originally planned to play on WiFi since all my Ethernet ports are currently in use but I'm starting to reconsider. (That and I'd have to buy the accessory)

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I play on WiFi and the matches I get are mostly fine. Then again, I have almost no competing networks in my area, and no competition at all in the 5Ghz band I'm using. I bet if I had even a single competing network it would be much worse, so I guess the answer is that it really depends on your local situation.

Use an app on your phone like WiFi analyser to see if there are any competing networks in your area; if there are you should probably get the ethernet adapter.

 

[thecaseace]

They're cheap and everyone else would appreciate, you don't need to get the official licensed one

 

[Mit-]

Live alone. Couple Google Wifi mesh router pucks. One in the room with the modem, one 10 feet away in the living room. Always works fine. Sometimes prioritize my Switch due to paranoia. PC game on it from a gaming laptop as well. Never had shitty connections.

If you have bad Wifi you should get one. If you have good wifi and you know it, you're fine. People treat this issue like it's 2008 still.

 

[bagandscalpel]

Never settle than anything but the best for the FGC experience.

 

[Pancracio17]

This is what pisses me off the most about this entire situation.

I don't know why gamers tend to tolerate shit like this so much, but I cannot imagine that average people are going to react very well when you tell them "oh but to get playable online you're going to have to buy an adapter, assuming you have a cord that reaches. But c'mon it's reaaaaally cheap, only $20-30 on top of the $60 you already spent to get the game! What's 20 more dollars??"

Hell, isn't possible to end up picking up the "wrong" adapter that can't even work on the Switch? I know one of the Insignia ones don't

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Ive tried three adapters and none of them work. I gotta get a new one ugh.

 

[Protome]

I've had a pretty lag free experience on Wifi so far. But maybe my connection is just better than average?

 

[Marie]

If you consider smash primarily as a party game then wifi is cool

If you're trying to play smash like a fighting game on wifi, then jokes on you

This is why online play is never taken seriously

 

[Phendrana]

If you have friends you're planning on fighting online and they have one too, then it's worth it. For regular online play against randoms, though? Barely makes a difference if the other player has shitty wifi.

 

[ShinobiBk]

More musings from a handheld wifi player
Had several more online matches tonight and they were kind of hit or miss. Some ran well and others I could certainly feel the lag. I don't know if it's on my end though as the last few matches I played went well.
The I started playing with friends online. One other had WiFi. All of our 1v1's ran well.
The FFA's were very laggy. They were the first FFA I've done online and it felt very Brawlish lol.

 

[Papacheeks]

Played some matches over wifi, 1v1 was fine no lag, then got into 4 player match and it was lag city. And I have the switch next to the router?

I think their netcode is just shit, and dedicated servers hopefully are something they are looking into for future online titles.

 

[Zen Hero]

Hopefully by now the thread has convinced you to use ethernet.

And for people who claim it's hard to get ethernet wired through your house to your console, you should pick up a powerline adapter. It allows you to run ethernet through ordinary electrical outlets. It's super easy to set up, and totally worth it! It dramatically improved my internet experience.

 

[Painguy]

Not essential. Most other peeps won't use it so you will still have issues. Nintendo needs to to fix the game. This accessory detracts from their messaging about the philosophy behind this device. Don't pay to deal with their inability to have a modern online infrastructure.

 

[mnemonicj]

This is what pisses me off the most about this entire situation.

I don't know why gamers tend to tolerate shit like this so much, but I cannot imagine that average people are going to react very well when you tell them "oh but to get playable online you're going to have to buy an adapter, assuming you have a cord that reaches. But c'mon it's reaaaaally cheap, only $20-30 on top of the $60 you already spent to get the game! What's 20 more dollars??"

Hell, isn't possible to end up picking up the "wrong" adapter that can't even work on the Switch? I know one of the Insignia ones don't

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Yes, it pisses me off and anyone that defends this is in the wrong.
I actually have an Apple USB to Ethernet adapter, but to no one's surprise the piece of crap does not work with the Switch.

 

[Het_Nkik]

I play wi-fi and 95% of my matches are lag free.

 

[lowlifelenny]

What's the point when 99.99% online players play on wifi ?

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you will notice an improvement. An ethernet connection and a wifi connection of equal speed communicating with each other will be more stable and less choppy than two wifi connections doing the same.