PCG Article Redfall requires a persistent online connection, even in single player

[mainer]

Redfall requires a 'persistent online connection', even in singleplayer | PC Gamer

The "persistent online connection" requirement seems to be getting more popular with some developers. Obviously, any multiplayer or co-op game needs it, but for those of us who play single player only (games, modes, campaigns, ect), I just don't see the purpose in doing it. I agree with Andy Chalk (author) that it should be an option in single player that you can turn on or off.

I'm online every time I turn my PC on, and I'm fortunate enough that my cable rarely goes out and data transfer is fairly steady, but the vast majority of Maine is rural where they don't even have cable yet. and I imagine there are other parts of the world in a similar situation, so why not make the single player portion playable offline? If a game combines multiplayer & co-op options as well as single player, and the single player interests me I'll probably play it anyway and not think about that "persistent online" requirement. It's just one of those trends in PC gaming that I'm not fond of.

 

[Brian Boru]

What happens if you select offline mode in Steam?

 

[WoodenSaucer]

I've heard two arguments on this. On one hand, how many modern gamers are not going to have internet? But the best argument I've heard against it is when they decide to stop supporting the servers, does that mean you won't even be able to play the single player campaign anymore?

 

[Zloth]

There are possible reasons for it. The easiest one to imagine is a game that needs more CPU than a PC can dish out, so it sends parameters up to a big server farm to chew on and send back. Or maybe there's some data files they want to change constantly. Like a sky that depends on what the real-life sky looks like at a certain location. Not just the weather, I mean every single cloud, jet contrail, and satellite. These would be things integral to the game: you lose the servers, the game can't run. Not even for a few minutes.

I don't see any sign Redfall is doing anything like that, though.

P.S. Lots of people have troubles with digital distribution, too. They have slow/spotty connections or no internet at all. The new satellite companies looking to provide internet access all over the globe should help with that eventually - though they can cause other issues.

 

[ZedClampet]

What happens if you select offline mode in Steam?

Then you can't play.

The truth probably is that developers of these types of games usually don't care about SP gaming. They are going for that multiplayer money. SP gamers don't really help with that. SP players don't bring other players into the game; they tend to play through the game once then leave, probably for good, and they generally don't buy skins. SP is really an afterthought. Heck, you still can't play Darktide SP, and it's been out for going on 3 months now.

 

[Frindis]

Not a fan of it when it has SP mode.

There are possible reasons for it. The easiest one to imagine is a game that needs more CPU than a PC can dish out, so it sends parameters up to a big server farm to chew on and send back. Or maybe there's some data files they want to change constantly. Like a sky that depends on what the real-life sky looks like at a certain location. Not just the weather, I mean every single cloud, jet contrail, and satellite. These would be things integral to the game: you lose the servers, the game can't run. Not even for a few minutes.

Could definitely be. I noticed a forum thread where people were looking at differences between an offline and online mode in Microsoft Flight Simulator and one of the major differences was that the offline mode contained fewer overall details, like the ones you described. Then again, Red Dead Redemption 2 looks much better than Red Dead Online in my eyes, so I guess it depends if the SP is standalone or not.

Then you can't play.

The truth probably is that developers of these types of games usually don't care about SP gaming. They are going for that multiplayer money. SP gamers don't really help with that. SP players don't bring other players into the game; they tend to play through the game once then leave, probably for good, and they generally don't buy skins. SP is really an afterthought. Heck, you still can't play Darktide SP, and it's been out for going on 3 months now.

I'm in the category of playing some multiplayer games as a solo and also investing in skins in one of them, so I guess that makes me a somewhat rare bread. I do wonder if the majority of whales (I'm a krill myself) often play solo (I did notice that the whales in Diablo Immortal had their own discord channel) in multiplayer games. If so, perhaps it is not that important for the game companies that thrive on selling skins to have a large player base, but rather getting a good grip on the few whales that makes them filthy rich.

 

[DXCHASE]

Im always in favor of options, when a game forces something like this on its players, its annoying because it feels like this should have always been an option. Ive read that developers do this because it has something to do with people cheating in the MP portion, i never looked into it, and really dont know how that would work but ive seen that reasoning before

but the vast majority of Maine is rural

I get your name now!

 

[Pifanjr]

It's hard to get mad about this when there is no information about why the online requirement exists. If there are similar mechanics as Death Stranding, where there is some kind of interaction with other players even when playing by yourself, I wouldn't be upset they require solo players to be online too.

 

[mainer]

The truth probably is that developers of these types of games usually don't care about SP gaming. They are going for that multiplayer money. SP gamers don't really help with that. SP players don't bring other players into the game; they tend to play through the game once then leave, probably for good, and they generally don't buy skins. SP is really an afterthought.

That's my primary feeling for games that have the online requirement, that the developers don't care about that part of the game. The single payer part of those games tends to be shallow at best, and as you said, more of an afterthought. Maybe they do it for advertising so they can say, "Yes, it has single player!", or to get that single player "tag" in Steam.

I usually think of EA (Electronic Arts) as the "poster child" when it comes to the online requirement, and their apparent disregard for the single player game, with the continual delays of Mass Effect 4, Dragon Age 4, and now Star Wars Jedi Survivor, they have a clear distain for single player games (from my perspective). Apparently, they've also canned another single player Apex Legends game: EA has reportedly canceled a singleplayer Apex Legends game | PC Gamer

I look at my one known foray into the online only realm back when I tried out Path of Exile when it first released years ago. I remember thinking, "It looks almost like Diablo, and it's free!", though I was more naive and less jaded back in those days. I loaded the game into the first "town" and was constantly barraged by individuals with questions or wanting to join me. "What are all these (redacted) people doing in my game?", I thought, so I ventured into the wilderness on my own. And died within the first ten minutes. Several times. I eventually uninstalled the game after realizing that this game was really not made for the single player experience.

I'm not disparaging Path of Exile at all, I think it's an excellent ARPG for those players interested only in multiplayer or co-op, and the game gets continual updates and support from the developer. But it is not a single player type game.

. I noticed a forum thread where people were looking at differences between an offline and online mode in Microsoft Flight Simulator and one of the major differences was that the offline mode contained fewer overall details, like the ones you described. Then again, Red Dead Redemption 2 looks much better than Red Dead Online in my eyes, so I guess it depends if the SP is standalone or not.

That is an excellent point. If a game with the online requirement has a stand alone single player portion, it seems to me that the single player version would be much more in depth and worth playing.

There are also those games that are single player first, with optional multiplayer modes and/or co-op, that don't have the online requirement for single player. No matter how you like to play, there's an option for you.

I get your name now!

Ha! I moved to Maine "straight outta college" in 1984. Before that I was an Ohioan, but I guess that's irrelevant since there was not internet back in those days.

 

[Pifanjr]

I'm not disparaging Path of Exile at all, I think it's an excellent ARPG for those players interested only in multiplayer or co-op, and the game gets continual updates and support from the developer. But it is not a single player type game.

Strange, I played quite a lot of Path of Exile completely solo several years ago. I wonder if they've changed the game to push players to have to play together more.

 

[Colif]

On one hand, how many modern gamers are not going to have internet?

The "Don't you have a phone?" reply in action.
Having internet and having a stable connection are 2 different things. Maine isn't only place with vast areas of nothingness and no good internet. That mostly describes most of the world. It sure does Australia.

Shouldn't need to be online to play SIngle player. It makes sense if characters are stored online but not if they files on your PC.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

The "Don't you have a phone?" reply in action.
Having internet and having a stable connection are 2 different things. Maine isn't only place with vast areas of nothingness and no good internet. That mostly describes most of the world. It sure does Australia.

Shouldn't need to be online to play SIngle player. It makes sense if characters are stored online but not if they files on your PC.

Yeah, I agree. I was just mentioning the two opposing sides I've seen of the argument. It's pretty stupid to require persistent internet for single player, unless they have some reason for it, like emulating actual current weather, or something. Even that's dumb. To me, they should use internet if it's available for that type of thing, but do things differently if internet is not available.

 

[Zloth]

To me, they should use internet if it's available for that type of thing, but do things differently if internet is not available.

With something like the weather, they could. With something like offloading calculations to some server, not so much. If they want to have NPCs that use machine learning to get better, and they want to update their AI every hour, I could see keeping their brains on a server farm.

Other games can limp by, but they'll be hurt. Death Stranding gets quite a bit harder when you stay offline, blocking anyone from helping you. I guess Dragon's Dogma can make random Pawns, but that's not going to be much fun. Being able to race your friends' ghosts in Just Cause 3 won't be happening without being online.

The question is, as @Pifanjr points out, why is Redfall requiring it?

 

[WoodenSaucer]

With something like the weather, they could. With something like offloading calculations to some server, not so much. If they want to have NPCs that use machine learning to get better, and they want to update their AI every hour, I could see keeping their brains on a server farm.

Other games can limp by, but they'll be hurt. Death Stranding gets quite a bit harder when you stay offline, blocking anyone from helping you. I guess Dragon's Dogma can make random Pawns, but that's not going to be much fun. Being able to race your friends' ghosts in Just Cause 3 won't be happening without being online.

The question is, as @Pifanjr points out, why is Redfall requiring it?

I hope that doesn't become a trend, though. But I'll bet it will.

 

[mainer]

Shouldn't need to be online to play SIngle player. It makes sense if characters are stored online but not if they files on your PC.

That's how I see it as well. If a multi-purpose game (a game that has multiple modes of play) has a strong single player mode, or even if the single player is separate from the multiplayer options, why should that single player be shackled by an online requirement?

Strange, I played quite a lot of Path of Exile completely solo several years ago. I wonder if they've changed the game to push players to have to play together more.

It could be just the way I perceive things, or the fact that I played it shortly after the initial release. The game has changed a lot over the years with multiple updates, so it could be that the single player option is more relevant now.

The question is, as @Pifanjr points out, why is Redfall requiring it?

That's the crux of the matter right there. Is Redfall's focus on multiplayer, co-op , or single player? I've got a moderate interest in Redfall, but reading about the online requirement does give me pause, as I feel like the single player may not be designed as well as the multiplayer.

I hope that doesn't become a trend, though. But I'll bet it will.

That's my fear as well, as it seems to me that this online requirement is becoming increasing more prevalent in recent games. And (as someone who always looks at various conspiracy theories), I have to wonder if this increasingly prevalent online requirement isn't just some way for a marketing department to gather player data, not to make games more immersive, but as a way to increase profits.

 

[Brian Boru]

Maybe this should have its own thread…

I moved the ad discussion to a new thread:

PCG Article - Organic ads in games

Death Stranding already did it, I'm sure there are other examples. I dont like the idea in principle, but if its not too obtrusive and publishers actually give a good portion of that money to developers to improve the game in question then I'd be happier. The problem is I'm not sure that...

forums.pcgamer.com

 

[Colif]

I ran into an online limit in a single player game today. Grim Dawn uses cloud saves for character files - though this can be disabled. I ran into max character limit... which is funny as I was starting to sort them alphabetically. Was choosing a name with a letter I hadn't used and game goes, no... you have to delete a character to make a new one... lucky I had a number that weren't going anywhere so I deleted them... and made a new one. This forces my hand really, I have to stop making them everyday and try to get further in game. I did same thing in diablo 2, make new character instead of fighting a boss.

At least the one I made today is going places. I made 3 a few days ago that didn't get past first chapter.

Blames Sacred 2 for not wanting to die.