Mastodawn

What are peoples thoughts on games requiring always online? How does it affect your enjoyment of those games?

https://lemmy.world/post/89769

What are peoples thoughts on games requiring always online? How does it affect your enjoyment of those games? - Lemmy.world

I’m currently playing Diablo IV (and having a blast with it) but finding one small gripe which I only think is going to get worse and probably stop me playing it completely in the long run. My girlfriend is currently pregnant. This means in 6 months time we’ll have a newborn. With this in mind I’m expecting to only be able to grab a few minutes at a time to game and even when I think I’ll have longer I may end up jumping off at short notice. This means I’ll almost certainly come to rely on games which I can pause. Unfortunately this isn’t possible with Diablo IV since it requires an always online connection even though I’m essentially playing it as a single player game. What are other people’s thoughts?

bermuda Jun 13, 2023

I honestly don't really like it even when implemented well. It's even what caused me to uninstall Just Cause 3. As fun of a game it was, I hated being constantly harassed by Square Enix telling me to connect to their servers or that there was some kind of error in connecting to said servers. I just want to play the damn game.

Pumpkin Jun 13, 2023

I hate it.

Usually I'm online but what if I'm not, or what if they have server problems, or what if in 5 years they feel done with the game and remove the servers. If I pay for a game, I want to be able to play that game on my terms

April Jun 13, 2023

The games I play usually don't support online at all lol. So a game being only online is kinda a deal breaker for me lol.

JASN_DE Jun 13, 2023

Always-online singleplayer is bullshit, and we all know it.

This means I’ll almost certainly come to rely on games which I can pause. Unfortunately this isn’t possible with Diablo IV since it requires an always online connection even though I’m essentially playing it as a single player game.

There's a difference between always-online SP and essentially one-person MP games though.

It sucks that they did it that way, but at least it makes slightly more sense there.

rgalex Jun 13, 2023

I don't like it. I play with a Steam Deck from my bed and the Wi-Fi connection is pretty bad from there. I easily loose connection every five minutes.

That means I can't play any games that require constan online connection, which is a bummer.

Vii Jun 13, 2023

I dont like always online games, since I have had connection issues for a long time before I moved which made it almost impossible to play multiplayer games for me. And now my W-LAN card on my computer died without the option to use LAN. I am already glad that I can still access Denuvo "protected" games since those need to send some stuff to Denuvos sometimes.

femboy_link.mp4 Jun 13, 2023

It’s a case of the game industry creating a problem to sell the solution in my opinion. They insist that they need fo force increasingly ridiculous monetisation onto us because they need to maintain the servers, but the reason they need servers to maintain in the first place is because they made their functionally single player game phone home unnecessarily every ten seconds. The irony being that if I’d just pirated the game I wouldn’t have to deal with that.

Nev3r_Pr0 Jun 13, 2023

I didn't mind it until I lost my internet connection, but I think I prefer it over bad Denuvo implementation that makes the game a stuttery mess.

Dezi Jun 13, 2023

I started playing D4 two days ago and constantly try to pause the game when I need to give something else attention. It should also be easy to do when you’re alone in a dungeon. There are games that are online but let you pause when you’re alone (though I can’t remember which game I am thinking of right now)

mjohanning Jun 13, 2023

Same experience as you with D4. Fun game but the always-on requirement is a tad annoying. Not deal-breaking for me, but I have had my fair share of rubber-banding on my SteamDeck, especially with Bluetooth headphones connected. D2R worked well offline, why not have an offline mode here?

Willy Jun 13, 2023

I like it. I like to know that people likely haven’t hacked their chars. I’ve never had my crashing or rubber banding. It’s been seamless and while an offline version would be fine for me, that would never be the real game and you should never be allowed online.

SaintxMeow Jun 13, 2023

I think when it makes sense it's fine, but I would only really say that for multiplayer games, if it's a single player game there is a really unfortunate reality, which is that pirating it will result in a better gameplay experience.

mikehunt Jun 13, 2023

I refuse to play them. My rule of course excludes titles that actually need it for multiplayer, like MMORPGS.

GhostMagician Jun 13, 2023

If a game is always online I expect it to be f2p, since then that's a situation where a game disappearing if the company decides to pull it doesn't bother me. It's not even likely that piracy would be able to save an always online game the way abandoned games that never got DRM removed can be.

OnoreDikeido Jun 13, 2023

I can't imagine that anyone actually likes being forced to be online in singleplayer games/modes, but I see the point when there is multiplayer involved. Diablo IV makes sense, but I strongly dislike the shift to the MMO-lite model that necessitates a permanent syncing instead of making it optional. I thought it was fine in Diablo III where you could pause as long as no one was in your lobby.

I suppose my stance on it is that, as long as multiplayer doesn't bleed into singleplayer, I'm okay with it - but I'm also fortunate to have a relatively stable connection. I much prefer games that don't lean into the online aspect at all, though.

NuPNuA Jun 13, 2023

I really don't find it much of an issue in 2023. In the seven years I've lived in my current flat, I think there's been maybe an hour where my internet has gone down.

I do see the issue with games that have no online elements but still require a server but D4 is a kind of psuedo-MMO with it's world elements like world events, bosses, etc so it makes sense there.

Lionel CoupouchettyRamouchetty Jun 13, 2023

@Parellius
I despise them. I only buy them if I'm going to play online with friends but I know at some point if I want to play solo I'm going to have to get a "less connected" version of them...

Now if I only need the solo experience, well...

Another issue arises now that handheld PC gaming is getting more and more popular. Those games will definitely ignore a big part of their potential customer base, and I assume suffer the consequences

HERRAX Jun 13, 2023

I hate the "always online, always changing, sudo-mmo"- genre that's becoming the norm with certain publishers. Avoid anything GaaS-like unless it's something I feel the need to experience. In this case I just play Grim Dawn or some other great arpg whenever I get the itch for the genre! Lets me play multiplayer when I want to, and just play real singleplayer whenever I want to.

minimar Jun 13, 2023

"Live service" is the term you're looking for.

BlackCoffee Jun 13, 2023

It made me stop buying games and consoles in the first place.

You have to be online, the game has to be downloaded on the system, there will be bugs and it has to be patched.

Just let me buy a game and play it. I may sound like an old fart but I really enjoyed the days that I could go to a store, buy a game and play it immediately on my console.

Especially the fact that bugs are literally shipped like features now and you just have to accept that your game of 80-90 dollars is ridden with bugs, yeah fuck off really.

Lojcs Jun 13, 2023

My firewall is configured to block all programs by default. If a game refuses to open or function without internet and I can't find any workarounds it gets angry looks from me and I let it through. I get anxious when playing anything multiplayer so doing so saves me from having to interact with people if I accidentally trigger a multiplayer event or something. Also generally makes games launch faster.

sjmulder Jun 13, 2023

Big no from me. I almost exclusively play single player games and tend go back to old games a lot. The always-online requirement is not just annoying in the now but a big problem for the longevity of games.

In the case of Diablo IV I'm also not sure if it was really meant to serve my interests rather than Blizzard's. The MMO-lite aspects feel like the excuse rather than the reason.

FantasticFox Jun 13, 2023

If it's not a multiplayer game then it shouldn't need to be online.

Like I play Hitman a lot and occasionally the game pauses because it loses connection to the server even though it's single-player. It's usually able to reconnect but its still a bit annoying. And I am playing with 500mb internet and an ethernet connection, so the issue is on their side.

So yeah, I really don't see why it's necessary or why it's become such a trend.

Callie Jun 13, 2023

I'm not a fan at all. it gives a limit life to games, and ones that could be played Singleplayer definitely shouldn't have it.

MobBarley Jun 13, 2023

definitely a turnoff for me.. years ago when I first discovered Diablo 2 on an old computer at a place I was house-sitting at, I had no internet whatsoever.. nothing
that game kept me sane in so many ways
eventually several months later I managed to leech some web access from an old construction yard or something behind the place, but that's a story for another time..

YuzuDrink Jun 13, 2023

I went through the same phase several years back when my child was born, and you’re right—games where you can pause any time are the only kind worth playing for several years after a new child.

scheissberg Jun 13, 2023

Man, I miss the days of offline multiplayer. Split-screens, one person hogging WASD and the other the arrow keys.

Shit, I'm old.

gizmonicus Jun 13, 2023

Not that old, I remember those days too. I used to play Descent with my friend by being the "missle specialist" and he would be the pilot. We had the right side of the keyboard mapped to the secondary weapons and he would control the primaries. Wait, fuck, I am old.

minimar Jun 13, 2023

Forget tops and bottoms, did you tend to be on WSAD or the arrow keys

AnEilifintChorcra Jun 13, 2023

Such a bad idea.

Internet goes? Can't play

Power goes? Can't play

Travelling? Can't play

Servers go down? Can't play

Servers are shutdown? Can't play

Not being able to pause a single player games is so silly, its such a good feature especially for situations like yours.

I pirate any single player games that require always online and its just a better experience, the game doesn't pause when the internet goes and I don't have to worry about servers being shutdown

I'm sure Blizzard and EA are looking at the way Netflix is forcing its users to only watch content in their own household and dying to implement that into their games too

mek Jun 13, 2023

It sucks, plain and simple. Single-player games should never require internet access, and if the game has a multiplayer component, it should be a separate mode that leaves the single-player mode working even when there is no internet connectivity.

It’s just basic fucking common sense… except that it conflicts with financial interests and greed.

anonforker Jun 13, 2023

also the asshole dev "THiS is tO preVenT uSer dOinG ILLEGaL acTIon suCh As TEmPerING gamE AND Cheat EngInE"

Derproid Jun 13, 2023

Which we all know is going to happen anyway.

Captain_Pieces Jun 13, 2023

Personally it's never effected me but it feels like a really dumb decision made by ignorant suits. The fact that pirates get a better product than paying customers is pretty sad.

JoeKrogan Jun 13, 2023

Emulation is my favorite way to play for this reason. I have the full game and I can play it in any way I choose when I choose and with the steam deck where I choose. I hate the preoder bullshit where they ship a broken mess and are patching it for a cycle or two and then they shut off the servers...

I boycott ubisoft for this and ea because they are a shitty company. Thankfully we have projects like pretendo and xlink Kai to restore the old networks and they work with emulators

minimar Jun 13, 2023

If it's a strictly multiplayer game, fine.

If not, that's just DRM, and it should die in a fire.

Anabriated Jun 13, 2023

Ironically I think GTAV did a pretty decent job of this - you can pause at any time during the single player, however I don't remember if it requires a connection to play single player mode.

Imo if a game has a single player mode, being online for it should never be a requirement.

dblsaiko Jun 13, 2023

I don’t remember if it requires a connection to play single player mode.

It doesn't!

Anabriated Jun 13, 2023

beauty

emergencycall Jun 13, 2023

I fuckin hate it. Total bullshit

ahundredheys Jun 13, 2023

If it's single player game, having an always online component is straight up dumb. Fuck anybody who does this.

blindsight Jun 13, 2023

D4 is worse, imho. It forces you to play multiplayer at all times, completely destroying any immersion in the lore.

Sucks, too, because they nailed Diablo's atmosphere (from games 1 & 2, not the WoW-ified D3 aesthetic.)

bouds19 Jun 13, 2023

Is Diablo 2 still worth playing in 2023? I played D3 a few years back and thought it was just okay.

blindsight Jun 13, 2023

Absolutely... with mods!

Granted, I haven't had time to sink into it recently, so I'm a bit out of the loop, but Path of Diablo is very popular, and I know there's another big one I don't have time to hunt down rn.

D2R is also an option.

That said, I have the nostalgia and patience for D2's idiosyncrasies from having played it for years; I'm not sure how well it holds up for someone completely new, coming from the more streamlined/polished UX from modern games.

bouds19 Jun 13, 2023

Sweet, thanks for the mod recommendations! Do you know how Diablo 2: Resurrected differs from the original version and if it's worth the $30 extra?

noob_dragon Jun 14, 2023

Diablo 2 has aged fantastically. It is still pretty much the king of the genre despite being 23 years old. D2R did a lot to bring the visuals up to date. Unlike other ARPGs, you can actually beat the game pretty fast if you know what you are doing. It's a very efficient and clean game design. The game is a blast to play casually.

end0fline Jun 13, 2023

Games that completely disable single-player with no internet connection bother me. I like to be able to play my games whenever I want. What happens to these games down the road when the servers go down?

Varyag Jun 13, 2023

Unless it's an online multiplayer game, it's an instant Nope button for me. I generally refuse to be locked out of my singleplayer content if I lose Internet connection, your servers go down, or worse... get shut down intentionally due to licensing deals ending.

ackthxbye Jun 13, 2023

I refuse to buy always-online games. Not being able to pause is just dumb (and probably could be fixed if Blizzard would still give a damn). But not being able to mod the game is a deal-breaker for me, an ARPG that can't be modded is not worth my time.

TeaHands Jun 13, 2023

I choose not to play these games.

Katana314 Jun 13, 2023

Always-online has not affected me much. What you describe above about pausing is a coding issue, not an attribute of online play. To my knowledge, Watch Dogs 2 and Deep Rock Galactic work the same way: People can join your session at any random moment, but before they do, you can pause the game as normally.

_haha_oh_wow_Jun 13, 2023

Always online is garbage and I hate it.

jherazob Jun 13, 2023

If a game demands always online, I'll avoid it, period. These days I have no interest on stuff like that.

Rhabuko Jun 13, 2023

Last month, construction workers did something in our street. I didn't have Landline Internet for a whole week. Always Online is pretty horrible for single player games.

RiseAndShine Jun 13, 2023

Complete dealbreaker for me. You'll never actually own games with such models, as you are completely dependand on the publisher. Once they pull the plug, you can't play the game you paid for. Server probleem? Sorry, you can't play right now. Traveling? Sorry, can't play.

It is also generally bad for modding and the overall user experience. These kind of games often have DRM that don't allow for modding

cities Jun 13, 2023

@Parellius as someone with only a mobile hotspot for internet, hate it

a_cat Jun 13, 2023

I really dislike it, but it won't stop me from buying a game. I was recently without internet and went to play a game on my Steam Deck and was surprised to find a game I had been playing required access.

What bugs me most about it is that it seems like everything these days is tilted towards the companies. If a game doesn't require the internet, the only reason it's there is to collect data on what you're doing and maybe to help enforce DRM. It's bad enough that I can only rent games from Steam (although bless Valve for making gaming on Linux so good), now I can't even play the games I "own" if I don't have a pipe back to the company? Ugh.

psudo Jun 13, 2023

Obviously you have to take a corporation at it's word, but Valve has said that in the event they're going to take Steam down, they have a button to push to make it so your games will stop trying to phone home.

EnigmaNL Jun 13, 2023

In my opinion all games that can be played solo should have an offline mode. Personally I have an excellent internet connection but I hate having to depend on servers to be able to play the game that I bought.

The thing about always online is that the servers often crap out, especially during launch or during major patches. That just annoys the hell out of me.

Gert Jun 14, 2023

These were my thoughts as well. Ever since I've had a good internet connection, online only games haven't really bothered me, but that's a privilege many don't have.

When I had crap internet it, I'd have to download a patch overnight and it was awful getting a surprise patch, meaning I couldn't play til the next day.

I don't see any reason for single player games not to have an offline mode. Especially for people who don't have good access to internet.