Because it wasn’t working as an MMO.
Continue reading “Wayfinder Finding Its Way To An Offline Mode”
Tag: Offline Mode
V Rising Will Get Offline Play
Shroud of the Avatar Community Wants Free Offline Access To Perks
What do you do when your game sells items for real money but also includes a separate offline mode that can’t reasonably be regulated by the developer? For Shroud of the Avatar, the folks at Portalarium figures that no matter what their stance on the issue, there is little doubt that hackers will figure out a way to nab those cash shop items for free. So why not do everyone a favor, since the only impact the player can have is on their own world, and give everyone access to exclusive items in offline mode?
The idea was polled, and so far the response has been in overwhelming agreement. 96.5% of the voting community, approximately 860 votes as of this publishing, agree that it is OK for all add on and pledge rewards to be available in offline mode. This obviously comes with a caveat that items will need to be crafted, with the biggest and best stuff becoming end-game content, and that numerous items will have no real effect in offline mode like Fyndoro’s Tablet, an item that is used to find other players.
Community response to the idea has been overwhelmingly positive, especially from those who had invested serious money into the game:
I have 5k in and my greatest concern is someone will feel I bought a advantage over them. That’s not what I want. I like the nick nacks, their cool, but I don’t want anyone to feel its pay to play outside of the basic costs for the game.
And not all of the ‘no’ votes were against the idea entirely, with many citing the extra development time required to turn the items into craftables and figure out balancing.
I don’t really care either way, but voted NO because I do not want the developers wasting any time on making the items craftable. Just put them all on a special vendor and be done with it please.
If you add up all the hats, cloaks, costumes, weapons, armor, prosperity items etc. you would probably have at least 100 new items, each one requiring a unique recipe. How many unique recipes for hats alone are needed? Can it even be done without adding new ingredients?
How do you feel about pledge items, considering they can run a pretty penny, being available to players for free in offline mode? Let us know in the comments below.
(Source: Shroud of the Avatar)
Elite: Dangerous Nixes Offline Mode
Frontier Developments has officially cancelled the promised offline mode for its MMO space shooter, Elite: Dangerous, just a month before launch. While the feature was originally promised in the game’s Kickstarter campaign, CEO David Braben commented in the latest newsletter that technical restraints would have resulted in an inferior experience for offline players:
A fully offline experience would be unacceptably limited and static compared to the dynamic, ever unfolding experience we are delivering.
While solo play is still possible, players will still need to phone home to synchronize with the online galaxy.
(Source: Polygon)
Less Than Massive: Simcity Does The Impossible!
SimCity turns ten months old soon, and what better way to celebrate the occasion than with more backpedaling? In an announcement detailing the upcoming Update 10, Maxis has revealed that SimCity will receive the heavily demanded offline mode allowing users to play without requiring a constant internet connection. The revelation is even more incredible if you remember that Maxis had previously made every excuse in the book to explain why SimCity did not have offline mode, with claims ranging from how online regions were integral to the game’s vision, to how the servers simulated too much for the game to work offline. Last October, the developer finally caved in and agreed to look into offline mode.
General Manager Patrick Buechner wrote the announcement blog post.
Yes, Offline is coming as a free download with Update 10 to all SimCity players. When we launch it, all of your previously downloaded content will be available to you anytime, anywhere, without the need for an internet connection. We are in the late phases of wrapping up its development and while we want to get it into your hands as soon as possible, our priority is to make sure that it’s as polished as possible before we release it.
Whether or not this announcement will be enough to bring back EA’s disgruntled fans will have to be seen. On the other hand, EA can now focus on more pressing issues, including investigations and multiple lawsuits from customers and investors regarding the botched launch of Battlefield 4.
(Source: Maxis Blog)
MMO Fallout 