Hello!
Nice thread you’ve got here. I love what you’ve done with the place!
Bit crowded though :O
I’ve been following all this and while there’s little chance of this being read in such a huge thread, I just wanted to first give people on both ‘sides’ some sheepyhugs!
*sheepyhugs*
There! Better?
Good!
So a few thoughts…
This sudden dropping of ‘offline’ can only be disappointing to those expecting it to be a part of the game. I have a bit of a dodgy connection - I get dropouts a lot - so it’s not ideal for me.
For those unable to play at all due to the announcement, I sympathise.
I really do
It must be horrible to have waited so long for this game… to get emotionally and financially invested in it, then to be told a month before release that you’re not getting the game you thought you were.
It must be really gutting, and I am sorry you have to go through that
It’s been handled pretty badly, hasn’t it? I appreciate the input from Michael, but still, it comes off as incredibly defensive (understandable with shouty upset people) when sympathetic might have worked a bit better.
I know emotions are running high. For those affected, please try and remain civil. Wait to hear what FD says in response to your concerns. Get a refund if you feel you have to after that, heartbreaking though that will no doubt be.
For those unaffected: People are different. People’s situations are different. Not everyone has great internet (I don’t!). Please try and understand how those affected are feeling. Substitute ‘offline mode’ for something you might consider central to your enjoyment of the game. It helps!
No one wants the game to fail (I love it - it fills the blanks much better than what my imagination tried to do back on the original Elite in the 80s!).
But people are upset, and understandably so.
While I am personally less affected by the news (though still affected), I do have some concerns, a few of which have been brought up before, so forgive me for putting my own spin on previously uttered thoughts:
Firstly, yes, things change during game development. It happens. People far smarter than I will debate as to how technically feasible it would be to call offline code as opposed to ‘in the cloud’ code/database stuff at key points.
I hope we get to hear details about how and when this was decided, details about what was attempted, why it didn’t work, etc etc.
I find that people are more receptive to disappointing news, in general, if you’re up-front and honest with them, and can give them solid, understandable reasons for why something is the way it is.
Treat people with a little respect!
Personally, I’m not a fan of ‘games as a service’. This appears to be the way forwards for some, and it just doesn’t make me feel like I *own* the game.
The risk with an ‘always online’ game is that the servers will go away, and there’s nothing you can do about it. People still pine over City of Heroes. Star Wars Galaxies. Many EA sports titles.
(ok, I may have exaggerated about pining for that last one, but as new games in a series are released, older versions have their multiplayer component turned off).
You hear it more and more often: ‘Servers shut down, can’t play the game anymore.’
An offline mode means the game is mine, I can play it when and where I want to, and I can play it when/if the servers go down.
As an offline game, ED is not a service. It’s a game. And it has an online component. Yay if you want that! But it’s yours for as long as you can run it! No reliance on a 3rd party! Double yay!
An online only game has no such guarantees unfortunately.
It’s an increasing worry, as more and more games move towards being presented as a ‘service’. I personally see it as being ‘User Hostile’, but that’s just the cynic in me.
The cynic in me (he’s in here somewhere!) would say that offering the game as a service benefits FD a huge amount:
Market stuff is simplified, because real people are buying/selling stuff. No need for a complex simulation.
Anti-Piracy/DRM
Security (maybe?)
Offline people won’t buy ship skins. Or any future ‘add-ons’. This is *really* cynical. The game becomes more an online storefront for virtual goodies. Instant money!
Maybe some of the ‘secrets’ that would be spilled are different skins for the ships/future add-ons. So to avoid people getting them ‘for free’ if they hack the code on their hard drive, they have to go online.
Like I said, that’s the cynic in me. There may be far more benign/non conspiracy theory explanations/reasons, but the way this has been handled has probably opened a can of worms there.
About piracy:
Having an ‘offline’ mode may lead to piracy. However, having to log into a bought account to go online could mean the offline mode effectively acts as a demo to what Frontier itself considers ‘the main game’.
Just a thought. Don’t take it too seriously. I’d never condone actually pirating a game (I make them myself - I know what it’s like to see hundreds on the online leaderboards and yet you’ve only sold 80 copies. Disheartening to say the least
)
So, the way I see it there are a few possible outcomes (and I’ve been to several possible futures…)
1. FD goes back on this decision with some trust lost, but confidence can be rebuilt. This might not happen straight away, but a definite date could be put forward for an offline version. Apologies all round, tea and free ships for all!
2. FD sticks to its guns. I don’t know what happens then - I guess we’ll see the fallout (if any) soon. But at the very least, some players/backers will be lost, but more damaging, trust may be lost.
3. An enterprising fellow/woman creates an ‘offline’ patch - much like what happened with Sim City - proving that it *is* possible to play offline just fine. I think this would be the worst possible outcome for FD...
4. ….
5. Profit?
So where am I?
Personally, I’ve not logged mega hours on the beta as (as I've mentioned) my connection’s not great and also I’m inherently lazy, and don’t fancy starting over time and again - better to wait for the main event!
What I have played has mainly been Online Solo. And yes, my connection has led to some ‘issues’ - disconnects that lead to missed mission deadlines, lag that has meant I zigged when I should have zagged - and so on and so forth.
It’s not ideal. Far from it. But I’ll persevere.
Because I really love the game right now. Seriously. I’m looking forward to the 22nd (though I’ll be out celebrating another cycle around the sun, I will be v. much looking forward to the Monday after!).
The add-on ship skins are a bit of a concern. The always online is a bigger concern. It doesn’t pay to be benign in game design it seems. I was hoping FD would prove me wrong.
Time will tell.
I’ve rambled. I’m sorry! Be good to each other!
QS =D
