Bedrock Edition Compatability
Naturally, as a network hosted on the Java Edition of the game, that will always be the best way to play on the Iridium Network. Unfortunately, not everyone has access to the Java Edition of the game for one reason or another, which is why we've made an attempt to increase compatibility via Geyser, a plugin that enables Bedrock Edition players to connect to Java Edition servers.
This plugin is by no means perfect, at it's best it's more of a mild compromise than full compatibility due to the nature of merging two completely independent games together. Some features are just either too time consuming for us to implement cross-version (like the custom resource pack features for the SMP) or outright impossible due to restrictions the Geyser team has already acknowledged.
That being said, if we didn't want to deal with incompatibility issues at all then we wouldn't have installed Geyser to begin with, and we'd like to include bedrock players whenever possible. To accomplish this, we'll be giving bedrock players a compatibility rating for the different servers and events on our network, to give an understanding of what levels we support bedrock and where. Below is each level of compatibility and the specifics it entails.
FULLY COMPATIBLE: This will be a server/event that should be as feature complete of an experience we can give bedrock players beyond the natural geyser restrictions, and is made understanding bedrock players will be participating.
SEMI-COMPATIBLE: This will be a server/event where the more basic features will be compatible, but there will be just as many things that are not compatible for one reason or another, and will be something we aren't explicitly creating with bedrock players in mind. (The SMP has this level of compatibility)
INCOMPATIBLE: This is a server/event where a fundimental feature for progression or gameplay cannot be executed or performed on Bedrock Edition. While bedrock players could theoretically still join this event, there would be very little if anything to do. (This would apply to any event in which a custom resource pack is required and essential for gameplay)
JAVA ONLY: This is a server/event where there is absolutely no circumstance in which a Bedrock Edition account or player could compete or play. An example of this would be if we were ever to do something that requires a Fabric or Forge Java Edition mod.
This list isn't meant to discourage bedrock players from joining our events or playing on our network, as said before if we only wanted Java Edition players then we wouldn't have installed Geyser to begin with, but please understand that if we were to operate on Full Compatibility mode at all times it would severely limit what we could and couldn't do idea-wise, especially considering the current percentage of bedrock players as of writing this post is just under 12% of our total playerbase.
There are some options you can look into if you're a bedrock player who'd like to try out some of our less compatible servers or events beyond just purchasing a computer and playing Java. You can actually play the Java Edition of the game on a mobile device via an app called PoJav (Pocket Java Edition), but understand that it comes with an increased performance cost relative to mobile Bedrock Edition. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any similar tools for console players, and if you happen to play Bedrock Edition on a computer, please give Java Edition a try at least on our network, as you'll have a much better time overall.