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[Aquamarine]

If it does, I won't buy it.

Same. Mandatory internet connection = no buy.

No matter how good the game is, I refuse to support any "Massively single-player online" title.

If they gave us the OPTION to play in a persistent world, that's one thing, but I fear about the future of the industry being a bunch of clients and servers.

They rob us of the ability to OWN our game. We become just another "renter."

It seems like they're just readying us for next-gen, sadly.

Honestly, the always-online rumors about next gen scares me to death.

 

[Qassim]

Persistently connected single player game worlds could be something really cool. I have no problem with always-on for games if there is an actual reason for it.

There are possibilities for a game to be designed around the idea of what is being called in this thread "Massively single player" games. Having it optional would likely result in the actual feature not being all that worthwhile. If it is going to be something significant, then it cannot be optional.

 

[Mr.Fresh]

Is watch dogs an online game where things are always changing? If so then yes.

 

[Viola of the Abyss]

I honestly can't. So you don't watch any TV shows at all? No movies either?

Not on TV, I buy them directly in DVD / BD. I also don't watch that many because I play games most of my free time so it's not even that expensive.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

again: how do you know watch_dogs is a "regular game"?

Im just saying I wouldnt want to see all games require always online DRM unless the game itself needs it.Like an MMO,etc.

 

[Hi i'm Caleb]

Yes, if you want to get the DLC where the dogs watch you.

 

[Kinyou]

No one calls Diablo 3 a MMO.

Diablo 3 is really the worst offender. Because of some download I had running the background I was lagging in my own SP game. How the hell is that even possible.

 

[i3allistic]

i'm confuse about DRM, what if 10 year from now i decide to pop in a game that require online, will i still be able to play it?

 

[Always-honest]

I honestly can't. So you don't watch any TV shows at all? No movies either?

I barely watch tv. Watching a lot of tv feels like slowly dying or something. The amount of free time to learn new stuff when you don't watch tv is staggering. I do watch a movie every now and then and i'll watch a tv show if i think it could be interesting. But most things on tv are crap that you can do without. I there is a good show (like The Wire or Sopranos or whatever), watch it on dvd, so you don't have the cancerous commercials.
Sometimes i'll try to zapp around the channels to see what's on tv. And in most cases it's aggravating to see what kind of garbage people watch. Not everything ofcourse. There certainly are some interesting programs.

 

[smr00]

Your connect never goes down? That's one of the big problems with doing always on.

This.

Having internet isn't the problem here, the problem is that if your internet goes down you can't play the game you paid for and that is complete and utter bullshit. MMO games? I accept always online games but everything else should have off-line play.

 

[Viola of the Abyss]

Talk about ironic if it ends up to be true.

Isn't this game supposed to be about fighting corporations that spy on you, control your life and limit your choices by exploiting the fact that everything is always connected?
The publisher is the bad guy...

 

[Aquamarine]

Diablo 3 is really the worst offender. Because of some download I had running the background I was lagging in my own SP game. How the hell is that even possible.

The worst is when you have unreliable internet (like me), so you try to play Diablo 3's single-player mode, but you get disconnected...from single-player.

The kind of rage that situation induces...cannot be described.

 

[duckroll]

Diablo 3 is really the worst offender. Because of some download I had running the background I was lagging in my own SP game. How the hell is that even possible.

Hey, sometimes even if you have nothing downloading in the background, your own SP game will lag! Blizzard's servers can be ass at certain times. >_<

 

[Muzzy]

I hope not, I want a pure singleplayer experience. Though, crossing the path of other players doing their own objectives is not a bad thing. I just don't want those other players to be linked to my objectives.

 

[BassForever]

What if both Durango and Orbis themselves require always online DRM to play any games? It could become the standard for next gen consoles

 

[Viola of the Abyss]

What if both Durango and Orbis themselves require always online DRM to play any games? It could become the standard for next gen consoles

Judging from the rumors Durango is almost certain to have it system wide.
Orbis is still uncertain, maybe it has maybe it has not.

 

[Salsa]

Im just saying I wouldnt want to see all games require always online DRM unless the game itself needs it.Like an MMO,etc.

No one does, but that has nothing to do with watch_dogs. The game could be completely multiplayer at its core and being online all the time could be the way it is designed to be played.

 

[Forsaken82]

Same. Mandatory internet connection = no buy.

No matter how good the game is, I refuse to support any "Massively single-player online" title.

If they gave us the OPTION to play in a persistent world, that's one thing, but I fear about the future of the industry being a bunch of clients and servers.

They rob us of the ability to OWN our game. We become just another "renter."



Honestly, the always-online rumors about next gen scares me to death.

If you actually read the EULA of every game you currently "own" (or at least those from the last 10 years) you would realize you essentially ARE just another renter now.

 

[Mr. RHC]

It depends, if the game is set to be immersive like for example Journey, they could implement online without it being required for everyone.

I could see Watch Dogs working without though.

 

[pixlexic]

What a bunch of cry babies.

 

[Qassim]

I completely understand why they did it in Diablo 3 though.

They wanted to emphasise the co-op, and having a persistant character with all the items and levels you have carry over in both, with a real economy to the game, needs to have some sort of verification. A lot of the game logic and storage of your character's info is done server side because of this. I really don't have a problem with it in Diablo III, you can disagree that it didn't need to do it, that is fine, but I really don't think it is just DRM.

The option was: Have a separate online and offline character and ensure the integrity of the economy and online loot system, or do what they did and essentially structure the entire game like a heavily instanced MMO.

I'm glad they did the latter.

 

[ScepticMatt]

 

[Tacitus_]

Given what they've said about the game, it being always online seems to be a lock. And could be quite cool if they implement it well enough.

 

[yurinka]

As I know Watch Dogs isn't a MMOesque game, so no.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

The option was: Have a separate online and offline character and ensure the integrity of the economy and online loot system, or do what they did and essentially structure the entire game like a heavily instanced MMO.

These are not mutually exclusive options. Diablo and Diablo II had exactly these systems living in parallel. Unfortunately most developers aren't committing the kinds of resources required to ensure both offline and always-online play are enjoyable. If watch_dogs requires a persistent internet connection I don't think they'll come close to providing a seamless experience, let alone an offline mode. You'd want them to, but I remain pessimistic.

What a bunch of cry babies.

What a thoughtful contribution to the thread.

 

[Xun]

Honestly, the always-online rumors about next gen scares me to death.

It's the sadly what will probably happen, and I really just hope it works out badly for them.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

It's the sadly what will probably happen, and I really just hope it works out badly for them.

I'm trying to think of a time when a AAA game that required a persistent online connection for the core of its gameplay did not have massive and embarrassing connectivity problems in the weeks following launch. Nobody's solved that problem yet without simply waiting out the initial crush of enhusiasm until traffic slowed to levels their infrastructure could handle.

 

[Pyronite]

Dude it's fucking Ubisoft. I wouldn't put anything past those pricks.

It sounds like a dick move that Ubisoft would do so I expect it to happen. Next gen's going to be full of unnecessary online garbage.

Ubi has very little precedent (outside of an abandoned PC strategy) that would support the idea that it's always-online. No other game has gone that route.

I haven't heard anything about Watch_Dogs being always online. I would assume Demon's Souls/Dark Souls-style implementation.

Frankly, though, I don't give a crap either way. If they (or any other dev) want to implement an online strategy that works fine for 90% of people 99% of the time, at the potential cost of sales, because they think that would open up their ability to design and provide interesting new capabilities, I say go for it.

To the people complaining about Destiny or similar implementations - this is not some DRM scheme. It's like complaining that you can't play DayZ offline.

 

[Bullza2o]

Here's the Press conference presentation:
http://youtu.be/7JcujYbctPk?t=13m7s

Wow I've never seen this before. While I hope internet connection is required for this game, if it does then I'll have to abandon Microsoft completely due to its subscription fee. Watch_Dogs is my most hyped third party game, and I still hope the multiplayer aspect/story is separate from the single player.

 

[clutch.as.it.gets.]

I'd be much more excited if it did.

Next gen persistent online is intriguing.

Massively Single Player

This, not graphics, could be the key differentiator for next gen.

Yes, it would be the key differentiator, because it would make sure we can`t play our always online games 8 years later, when the activasion servers are down.

But hey, apparently you like to rent games with an expiration date for 60 bucks. So go for it.

 

[Espada]

Wow, this is simultaneously intriguing and worrying. I like the idea of a massively multiplayer single player experience. What I don't like is this always-online nonsense. Sounds like it's just another sly way of getting players online.

 

[pieatorium]

So this just adds more to the rumor that 720 will be online only right? Just seems to me that few games outside of MMO's and MP PC games ever did this and now pretty much the only two Next Gen games we have any info on are incorporating this is very noticeable.

 

[Dupy]

What a bunch of cry babies.

I didn't see the big deal before Diablo 3 came out but boy am I way more skeptical of the concept now. Like another poster said there's nothing more frustrating than lagging or dropping a connection while in a single-player session.

And I'm not even going to bother trying to play these "always online" games on launch day. There are going to be server issues aplenty.

 

[Pyronite]

So this just adds more to the rumor that 720 will be online only right? Just seems to me that few games outside of MMO's and MP PC games ever did this and now pretty much the only two Next Gen games we have any info on are incorporating this is very noticeable.

Watch_Dogs is not incorporating this. There is no word from Ubisoft HQ, Ubisoft Montreal, Reflections, journalists, leakers, anyone, to support the idea.

This is how echo chambers start.

 

[Anth0ny]

I live in Canada

my Internet sucks

I probably wouldn't be able to play it

 

[diamount]

I just thought the online features amount to someone jumping into your game ala Saints Row 3.

 

[pieatorium]

Watch_Dogs is not incorporating this. There is no word from Ubisoft HQ, Ubisoft Montreal, Reflections, journalists, leakers, anyone, to support the idea.

This is how echo chambers start.

Yeah I guess I should have said "If Watchdogs incorporates this", still just from those quotes it's a possibility and it seems online is a big feature even if it isn't always online.

 

[PFD]

So is this going to be the new trend? Always online for every game.

Along with 'social' gaming elements. Gotta love those.

 

[Pyronite]

Yeah I guess I should have said "If Watchdogs incorporates this", still just from those quotes it's a possibility and it seems online is a big feature even if it isn't always online.

I definitely think online will be a big feature, but from what I've seen of the game, I wouldn't say always-online. We'll see, though.

 

[liquidfox00]

I live in Canada

my Internet sucks

I probably wouldn't be able to play it

I live in Canada.

My internet is fine.

I'm sure i'll be able to play it.

You could have just said your internet provider sucks.

 

[~Kinggi~]

Why not?

Because you no longer own it the moment you need to rely on a network to authenticate your use. People seem so short-sighted these days. I laugh at the threads that pop up with people surprised their digital downloads might be worthless the next console cycle. BUT THEY PAID MONIES OMGS

 

[Burt]

With Ubisoft's DRM history, I wouldn't be surprised at all. At least they're giving their always-online shtick some justification through gameplay. I'm not condoning it in any way, but with Ubi this was coming no matter what, so at least they're attempting it in a method that has the potential to be interesting.

 

[AppleMIX]

Because you no longer own it the moment you need to rely on a network to authenticate your use. People seem so short-sighted these days. I laugh at the threads that pop up with people surprised their digital downloads might be worthless the next console cycle. BUT THEY PAID MONIES OMGS

You do realize how unbelievably easy it is to patch a offline version right?

 

[Satchel]

I don't like this trend, but at the same time, I'm always connected so it technically doesn't affect me.

I should have the option to not have randoms in my game.

I like how ZombiU does it.

 

[Almighty]

One thing that very few acknowledge is that a game with an internet requirement is also dependent on the server itself being online. What's to stop a company from deciding that the infrastructure isn't worth the cost? Then no one plays, regardless of a significant single-player mode.

This right here. My internet connection could be running just fine, but if the servers decided to crap themselves I still can't play my game. I hate always online with a passion. Diablo 3 cemented that for me.

You do realize how unbelievably easy it is to patch a offline version right?

It being easy doesn't mean it will happen. I can think of a few scenarios where a patch might never happen. THQ's recent implosion is a good example of one such scenario.

 

[clutch.as.it.gets.]

Because you no longer own it the moment you need to rely on a network to authenticate your use. People seem so short-sighted these days. I laugh at the threads that pop up with people surprised their digital downloads might be worthless the next console cycle. BUT THEY PAID MONIES OMGS

Haha, yeah, i agree.

I just don`t understand why someone would like the idea to rent games with an expiration date for 60 bucks and let publisher decide for them when the fun is over.

But like you said, people are just so naive and short-sighted these days.

 

[sappyday]

I wouldn't mind if it had some online elements incorporated into the story sorta like Dark Souls, but if the entire game requires online to play then I'll just rent the goddamn thing, unless they make us have to get it new in order to get the online for a single player that requires online...

oh god what am i even saying right now

 

[~Kinggi~]

You do realize how unbelievably easy it is to patch a offline version right?

I look forward to the day i can patch the game to work offline with my Xbox 8. Oh wait.

 

[CyclopsRock]

Right like I said, it's unnecessary.

In the theatre of videogames, what exactly do you class as 'necessary'?

 

[Pyronite]

I look forward to the day i can patch the game to work offline with my Xbox 8. Oh wait.

To be fair, I patched my Xbox 360 to do the same thing.

Spoiler

Before I started working for Ubisoft