Support NeoGAF

[SolidSnakex]

Not really, you make it sound like the average connection is supposed to go down a few times a day.

Honestly with no exaggeration, my internet is up 99% of the time. I have a very fast cable connection, 30 megabit. Actually, I bet it's more than 99%... I would say average, my connection is down 10 minutes every full month. So you do the math.

I don't understand those people who say their internet "constantly" goes down... how much are you talking about?

I wasn't suggesting that your internet might always go down. Just that it would be annoying if it was down at a time that you decided that you wanted to play a game. There's obviously no way to get around that in something like a MMO, but Watch_Dogs seemed like it could operate as a single player game. No one even knew that it had multiplayer functionality until the camera pulled back at the end.

 

[lazer_bean]

i don't see why you wouldnt be able to play offline though: the second character's mission doesnt interfere with the first character's.

they could do it the dark souls way.
the overall experience will probably be more enjoyable online but we wont be required to be connected at all times.

Actually, if the second character could in fact "invade" another player's game and kill him for example, playong offline would be an easier way to prevent those invasions than give us an in-game option to do so.

i dont think being always on would be necessary for watch dogs but, still, it might be required for whatever reasons...

 

[Miles Quaritch]

It's right at the end of the E3 demo. As stated in the quote in the OP, there was another player / character watching him from a building. Who then takes off in another direction.

You can only see it in the footage from the press conference. The released direct feed material stayed with the main character.

http://youtu.be/7JcujYbctPk?t=13m7s

Thank you both.

That is very cool and I'm shocked I didn't know about it before now.

 

[Grayman]

knowing this is possible i am more interested in watch dogs than i was before. Demon souls' "just there" online and Grand Theft Auto's formless sandboxes modes have a lot of potential to create something new and great.

I would always like games to have a failsafe that works years later but a game that actually uses an always on feature will not stop me from playing it at all.

 

[Derrick01]

how can you call it unnecesary with how little we know so far?


did you guys not watch the end of that Watch_Dogs trailer? another player was watching him. This game was built around some sort of multiplayer hybrid from the start. It was always implied.

Right like I said, it's unnecessary.

 

[Qurupeke]

If it does, I won't buy it.

Simple as that.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Not really, you make it sound like the average connection is supposed to go down a few times a day.

Yeah. I'll outright say if it is going to be a requirement, it better be for gameplay reasons. However, if peoples' internet connections are so bad, they should really get on their providers case to get that fixed. I've had to reboot my modem once in three months of having city-provided broadband, and that was the third day I had it. Even when I was using Comcast prior, my internet didn't go down.

 

[Eusis]

It's been said, but as along as the games are built with an online focus, I won't mind. I'm not going to dismiss games like these; it's not as if we're getting Super Mario Galaxy with online only DRM.

This IS a key point to remember: I'm mainly worrying about if it inherently limits our ability to just dick around, but if it's online-only because it's always multiplayer it's not so bad, not like a single player game forced to have online-only garbage just because the publishers are THAT terrified of piracy.

 

[ilikesanta]

My console, phone, computer are all connected online, all the time, so it doesn't matter to me.

 

[MR BLACKMAGIK]

Sounds fun. I don't mind always-on requirements. I rarely play offline anyway.

 

[Pikma]

If it does, I won't buy it.

.

Don't really care if it sounds "entitled" to some of you, but if this is will be a new standard for every game next gen, I'm skipping them all, I have enough backlog + handhelds anyway.

 

[Spongebob]

We already know that nextbox will require an always online connection, but now I'm starting to get the feeling that Sony will follow suite. That would explain why were hearing about all these games being always online.

If MS and Sony are really doing this, then both of them can fuck off.

Always online is just an excuse for devs to find new ways to nickle and dime gamers.

 

[Backfoggen]

Would be cool if it had a persistent world.

 

[epmode]

Right like I said, it's unnecessary.

I have a feeling that people who feel this way are about to become even more hard to find on this forum. For what it's worth, I'm with you.

 

[liquidfox00]

For people whose internet connections are spotty as hell this would be a disturbing trend and no I would not buy.

There's going to be a lot of pissed of people in the near future. Always online is the most effective form of DRM these companies can come up so we'll have to get used to it or stop playing.

Personally I don't care about having to be connected at all times because if my connection goes down mid game I'm not going to have a hissy fit and start writing angry letters. It's not that big of a deal.

 

[Dead Man]

I'll deal with it in Destiny, but this... yeah, I dunno, a lot of the appeal to me is just wrecking hell in an open world with my neat toys. If that has to be compromised because it's actually a persistently online game then I think it's going to be a problem.

Of course, it could also mean that everyone's game is a stew of anarchy, and that may make it MORE compelling. At any rate if true then once again 360's off the table, but seeing as this sounds like it's coming to Wii U I may go there for it unless they botch Pad use, then it's PC.

Yeah, that's my worry, if it is a persistent world my interest in not nearly at the same level.

 

[Camp Lo]

I would still buy if it required AOL dial up

 

[epmode]

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.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

It's an interesting idea... but I'm not sure how it would work coherently in a narrative-driven single player game based around a specific character.

 

[polyh3dron]

Bungie has also now set a precedent for attempting this is a giant budget console game.

What

 

[Ridley327]

What

He's not wrong, I think; I'm sure someone is going to point out Demon's Souls, but that was a game with a fairly small budget, and it's not required for players to be online to see everything that the game offers. It's certainly a lot easier if you want to see everything that the game has to offer by being connected to the server, but you can do it with an unplugged PS3.

 

[liquidfox00]

What

This is probably the most ambitious/expensive console franchise to date based on the length contract. I could see this being true.

 

[Nirolak]

What

Sorry "is" should say "in".

 

[gurudyne]

If the gameplay is at all like the demo we got last year, it's unnecessary, so forcing it on players is pointless and I can see it driving down sales. If it does end up forcing the player online, I can see myself buying it, but only if it has a real single-player game and not some overworld littered with WoW-style questgivers and no thought to the lore/world/characters. Even then, it'll probably be three years down the line when it's five bucks and no one is still playing it/around to bug me when I play it. Assuming the servers haven't been shut down and repurposed for WD2 or whatever other online-only game they release next.

 

[Erasus]

If it does, I'll buy it anyway.

This. If it adds Demon Souls multi style, then hells yea

 

[Skab]

I wouldn't be surprised, nor would I be bothered by it.

I never really got the complaints against games requiring a connection, but maybe that's because I have good a good connection that never really drops.

 

[Viola of the Abyss]

This goes without saying but... enjoy your ads...

Of course this is just a guess, but I'm pretty confident that there will be some.

 

[Ridley327]

This goes without saying but... enjoy your ads...

Of course this is just a guess, but I'm pretty confident that there will be some.

Since the game takes place in an actual city, it would be somewhat jarring if there weren't any kind of billboards advertising something.

 

[Salsa]

This could be done in the background though.
If you are online; people connect in.
If you are offline; it just doesn't happen.

Am not sure why either has to be a forced function. As you say its 2013; if your online your online, but if your not then your not. So why not just have that in the game, not questions asked - just play and oh...a player showed up.

But if your internet is down I see no reason for that to impact on your game.


Remember as well this would mean needing Live Gold (unless MS changes their set up massively)

Right like I said, it's unnecessary.

there's way too many asumptions on what the game is based on a short trailer

We dont know the structure, we know nothing. People are assuming story-based third person "shooter" just cause it resembles one barely in look. It could be something very different. There's no telling that the online is just one aspect of it and that you could play through a story alone.

 

[Viola of the Abyss]

Since the game takes place in an actual city, it would be somewhat jarring if there weren't any kind of billboards advertising something.

Tell you what, I would be ok with that kind of unobtrusive ads.

What I fear is an Xbox 360 dashboard type of mess, with animated ads with audio playing during load screens and such.

Especially since like in the case of Destiny there won't be any kind of subscription fee, they will have to obtain that money from somewhere to keep the services up and running...

 

[epmode]

Since the game takes place in an actual city, it would be somewhat jarring if there weren't any kind of billboards advertising something.

Right! And I don't know about you but I would be taken right out of the gaming experience if the billboards didn't highlight a product that I could purchase in my neighborhood 7-11 right now!

 

[Ridley327]

Right! And I don't know about you but I would be taken right out of the gaming experience if the billboards didn't highlight a product that I could purchase in my neighborhood 7-11 right now!

I don't doubt that there will be some silly ads in there, like a hot new movie coming out (despite the game taking place in the somewhat near future), but I doubt that the ads would be obtrusive in a 360 dashboard kind of way.

 

[Mavromatis]

It is my personal belief that it will need an internet connection during game and they'll justify it with some kind of multiplayer mechanism saying that it needs to be always on because a) syncing user content b) drop in/out coop c) active market of in-game items where users and devs meet (e.g. auction house).

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Right! And I don't know about you but I would be taken right out of the gaming experience if the billboards didn't highlight a product that I could purchase in my neighborhood 7-11 right now!

How do you cope with advertising in movies, tv shows, etc.

 

[Alligatorjandro]

I can understand it with an MMO like Destiny but I dont like it for regular games.

 

[Always-honest]

I just want to see a bit more than that tech demo before. I fear more and more thatthis game may be a huge let-down. I hope it's great ofcourse. But will buy for nex gen if possible.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

It is my personal belief that it will need an internet connection during game and they'll justify it with some kind of multiplayer mechanism saying that it needs to be always on because a) syncing user content b) drop in/out coop c) active market of in-game items where users and devs meet (e.g. auction house).

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I can't help but feel this is happening in small part due to Sony and Microsoft's patch certification and fee process.

Microsoft especially have an draconian cert process for patches and they allegedly charge extortionate fees with Sony not too far behind.

 

[CouldBeWorse]

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.

I'm with you. I don't play pure multiplayer like I used to, but "massive single-player" is an interesting evolution.

 

[Neuromancer]

As long as I can screw around in the open world between missions at my own pace and without interruptions, this will probably be ok. But I don't see why I'd need to be connected to do that.

 

[Ridley327]

I can understand it with an MMO like Destiny but I dont like it for regular games.

That's the rub, though; nothing about Watch_Dogs sounds like a "regular game" by any stretch.

 

[Jibbajabbawockky]

If the consoles require online all the time, then I'm going to guess many games will find some way to require an always online connection. And when people start questioning why, I can just see publishers/developers acting all incredulous saying "Well we just want to take advantage of the connectivity that [720/PS4] enables for a more connected experience!"

 

[Salsa]

I can understand it with an MMO like Destiny but I dont like it for regular games.

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

 

[alr1ght]

Just call it an MMO and everyone will look the other way (see Diablo 3 and Destiny)

 

[duckroll]

Just call it an MMO and everyone will look the other way (see Diablo 3 and Destiny)

No one calls Diablo 3 a MMO.

 

[Viola of the Abyss]

How do you cope with advertising in movies, tv shows, etc.

I stopped watching TV some 15 years ago mainly because of ads, you can't imagine the freedom.

 

[Zaventem]

That's the rub, though; nothing about Watch_Dogs sounds like a "regular game" by any stretch.

Soon we'll be getting this excuse for every game.

 

[Can Crusher]

This sounds pretty awesome in the sense that they can blend single player and multiplayer, like Dark Souls I guess?

But requiring an internet doesn't make much sense. Unless consoles require internet connection and thus the game is simply using a standard.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

I stopped watching TV some 15 years ago mainly because of ads, you can't imagine the freedom.

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

 

[Xun]

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

 

[alr1ght]

No one calls Diablo 3 a MMO.

Oh there were many when discussing its DRM.