Crosschat Ascended is a plugin (and optional bot) that lets you:
- Link global chat across all ASA maps in a cluster using a MySQL/MariaDB database.
- Optionally bridge Discord ⇆ in-game chat (with the paid bot).
- Add rich formatting to chat (map tags, rank tags, tribe tags, icons, colors).
- Provide a cross-map online player list, join/leave logs, and tribe log relays.
- Offer private messaging, ignore lists, and a word blacklist with automatic mutes.
- Link Discord accounts ↔ in-game accounts, and sync roles ↔ permission groups (with Ark:SA Permissions + the bot).
- Run RCON-powered actions (for example, kick commands) from Discord (bot side).
The system is split into three main parts:
- Free plugin – basic cross-map chat using MySQL.
- Premium plugin – unlocks advanced formatting, UX and moderation features.
- Premium Discord bot – a Windows executable that connects your Discord server to the game and handles linking, role sync, RCON tasks, etc.
If you only want cross-map chat inside the game, the free plugin is usually enough. If you want Discord integration, verification, role sync, kick commands, web dashboards, etc., then you need the paid bot on top of the plugin.
At a high level, this is how the pieces talk to each other:
- Every ASA server in your cluster runs Crosschat Ascended as an ASA API plugin.
- Each server points to the same MySQL/MariaDB database.
- The plugin writes and reads chat messages and metadata to and from that database.
- If you use the bot, the bot connects to the same database and to Discord, and:
- Mirrors chat between Discord channels and the in-game chat.
- Reads and writes permissions and linking information (with Ark:SA Permissions).
- Runs RCON actions using the server IP/ports you configure.
The database is the central hub; everything else reads and writes from there.
¶ Editions and feature overview
Here’s a simplified matrix of what each component does.
| Feature |
Free plugin |
Premium plugin |
Premium bot |
| Cross-map global chat (cluster-wide) |
✅ |
✅ |
➖ |
Per-map tag in chat ({map}) |
✅ |
✅ |
➖ |
| MySQL/MariaDB backing for chat |
✅ |
✅ |
✅ (reads) |
Player commands: /chatmode, /online |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
Private messages /pm, /r |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
Ignore system /ignore, /unignore |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
| Word blacklist + auto-mute |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
| Chat formatting per permission group |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
| Chat tags (VIP/Admin/etc), toggleable |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
| Map / rank icons in chat |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
| Tribe logs → Discord via per-tribe webhooks |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
| Join/leave webhooks → Discord |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
| In-game online player list UI |
➖ |
✅ |
➖ |
| Discord ⇆ game crosschat channel |
➖ |
➖ |
✅ |
| Discord slash commands / verification flow |
➖ |
➖ |
✅ |
| Discord role ↔ ASA permission sync |
➖ |
➖ |
✅ |
| RCON actions from Discord (e.g. kick) |
➖ |
➖ |
✅ |
| License required |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
- Account key: A string that represents your account in my licensing system. You get it from my licensing bot (for example with commands like
/licenses, /trial asa, etc.). You will see it in the premium plugin config and the bot config as something like "AccountKey": "<PLACEHOLDER>".
- License: The actual entitlement for premium features. Different license types exist (Dedicated license vs Shared Hosting license - for Docker, GSA, GAA...), and terms can change over time.
- Server key: Optional identifier you put in the ASA command line (
-serverkey=) and reference in the config under ServerNames. It lets you give friendly names per server.
- MySQL/MariaDB: The database engine. Crosschat is happy with modern MariaDB; other ASA plugins may have stricter requirements, so when in doubt I recommend MariaDB 11.3 or lower to keep everything compatible.
- Ark:SA Permissions: A separate plugin that manages permission groups. Crosschat’s premium features and the bot integrate with it for formatting and Discord role sync.
- RCON: Remote console access. Some bot features (like kick commands or scheduled actions) require RCON to be enabled and reachable from the bot machine.
If you understand those pieces, the rest of the wiki becomes much easier to follow.
To keep things clean, I split the documentation into several pages:
- Intro (this file): big-picture overview.
- Setup (Free): how to install and configure the free plugin.
- Setup (Paid Plugin): how to activate premium features and handle licensing.
- Setup (Paid Bot): how to configure and run the Discord bot.
- Permissions & Formatting: how to configure chat formatting, tags and integration with Ark:SA Permissions.
- FAQ & Troubleshooting: common issues and how I normally debug them.
Last updated: 2025-11-25 13:50:13