Mods and Consoles/Body

AGS Foreword

Starting with version v3.0, PS5 and Xbox Series players will join the Holdfast community via cross platform play.

Players on both consoles won't be able to load mods. Unity on consoles uses IL2CPP (Ahead-of-time (AOT) compilation), which makes it impossible to load our Mono-based mods (just-in-time (JIT) compilation) at runtime. The Steam workshop, which is responsible for delivering mods to players on Steam, is also unavailable.

Apart from the technical challenges, we're also forced to follow strict rules outlined by each ecosystem. There's a reason why modding support is rare on consoles. Designing a system that ticks all the boxes on all the platforms is hard. Our modding system was created for Steam and trying to bend it to the rules proved unfeasible for now.

I know this comes as a disappointment to all the modders who poured their hours and their hearts into their creations. As someone who started his game dev career as a modder, I feel you and felt that I at least owed you an explanation.

Walki, Lead Developer

Server Platforms

This prepares community server admins for the console release. Warning: Misconfigured servers will eject console players mid-game.

Set your preferred server platform with the global config command:

server_platform None   # Default; cross-play ON
server_platform Steam
server_platform Xbox
server_platform PSN

If the server becomes cross-play incompatible, it will force-change server_platform, eject any console players, and hide itself from the console server browser. This can happen when loading or reloading (rc fileReloader) the config, and when loading mods (a mod’s type is only known after it’s loaded).

Cross-play Compatible Any platform (Steam, Xbox, PlayStation) can connect if players have cross-play enabled in their game settings.	Steam Only Visible only to Steam players. Happens when the server is or becomes cross-play incompatible (mods, etc.). This will EJECT and then reject console players.
Xbox Only Visible only to Xbox players with cross-play disabled. Rejects other platforms.	PlayStation Only Visible only to PlayStation players with cross-play disabled. Rejects other platforms.

Server Config Cross-Play Compatibility Table

Check your server config for the following commands and align them with your target server_platform:

	Steam & SteamDeck	Xbox & PlayStation	Cross-play Compatible
objects_override [any]	✅	✅	✅
capture_point_override [any]	✅	✅	✅
spawn_override [any]	✅	✅	✅
starting_weapons_selection_override [any]	✅	✅	✅
firearm_ammo_override [any]	✅	✅	✅
ships_spawn_detail_override [any]	✅	✅	✅
ships_health_detail_override [any]	✅	✅	✅
mod_variable [any]	✅	✅	✅
mod_variable_local [any]	✅	✅	✅
mods_installed_server_only [any]	✅	✅	✅
mods_installed [uniform]	✅	✅*	✅
mods_installed [flag]	✅	✅*	✅
mods_installed [script]**	✅	❌	❌
mods_installed [map]**	✅	❌	❌
map_name ModMap***	✅	❌	❌

* Uniform and flag mods don’t flip the server platform, but they’re only visible to Steam players. Console players will see a generic uniform/flag instead.
** Loading a script or map mod will change server_platform at load time (Steam-only).
*** Setting a ModMap in your rotation immediately forces server_platform = Steam.

Notes & Caveats

• Cross-play visibility also depends on each player’s client setting (some console users disable cross-play).
• If you’re experimenting, do it on a test server — flipping into Steam-only mid-evening will hard-kick console players.
• After edits: prefer a clean restart over live rc fileReloader while you’re still validating cross-play, to avoid transient ejections.