Fortnite could have always-online requirement
Fortnite may use an always-online system, which producer Tanya Jessen says would be meant to facilitate the co-op focus rather than stop piracy.
Fortnite, Epic's stylish take on the fortress building concept, is emphasizing the co-op experience. That may mean the company will use an always-online requirement, to encourage the type of play the game is designed for, but nothing is set in stone just yet.
The reasoning behind the potential move isn't about DRM or anti-piracy measures, though. Producer Tanya Jessen says making a solid co-op experience is its "number one focus," so "whatever we decide to do there is gonna be more relevant to the most fun experience you can have with your friends," she said.
"That's something we don't know yet," Jessen told Rock Paper Shotgun. "It's gonna be really dependent on gameplay, and it's also dependent on platform - the method of getting updates and stuff like that. So I can't say for sure today one way or another [whether or not we're going to use it]."
Although Epic is aiming to make single-player a fun experience as well, co-op is definitely the focus. "If you don't design for co-op from the very beginning and make it a pillar of your project, then the game systems don't tend to feel as solid in the co-op experience. So that's how we're developing the game from the outset."
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replySteve Watts posted a new article, Fortnite could have always-online requirement.
Fortnite may use an always-online system, which producer Tanya Jessen says would be meant to facilitate the co-op focus rather than stop piracy.-
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meh, I used to have that feeling about always online, however Ubisoft games haven't been giving me too much trouble, and unfortunately, I'm starting to get used to it
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..... are you on the same page? They are not talking about having online component for the multiplayer side of the game, but to force people to be online and connected EVEN when they are playing alone.
And as far as I can see, the developer have not said that this is a multiplayer ONLY game.-
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While there isn't any concrete info, such builder games have always had single player component. So why not? And there are a substantial number of people who do like to play single player so they might be silly if they want to exclude this segment of players when they design the game.
Even in this article, the assumption was that there will be a single player component, as evident in the quote "Although Epic is aiming to make single-player a fun experience as well, co-op is definitely the focus."
And if Epic decide to go MMO only, then that's heir decision then, since they will be catering to player base that is not of my demographic.; However, even then, in such a game I would imagine that they need to have mechanism in place so that when players find that their gang is not available, they can still play alone.-
O correction, according to the post in Rock Scissors Paper, (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/07/19/exclusive-epic-mulling-always-online-for-fortnite/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RockPaperShotgun+%28Rock%2C+Paper%2C+Shotgun%29"
"“Single-player’s absolutely gonna be super fun,” Jessen enthused. “But, like I said, we’re building it to be a co-op experience. But co-op won’t ever be required in any shape or form. In particular, we’ve got this personality we call ‘the lone wolf’ – like, the kind of person who maybe likes to jump in and play with their friends, but not necessarily all of the time, or maybe they even like to play primarily by themselves. So we are definitely making sure that Fortnite will be super fun for that type of person too.”"
So there WILL definitely be a single player component. In such a case, I would plea with the developers not to go down the horrible road that Blizzard has taken and take on the Always Online Component.
The way I see it, for Always Online to succeed, it needs to :
1) have server up at least 99% of the time, the same level of quality for a corporate server.
2) prevalence of internet in most, if not all area in all country.
3) Fiber optic installation on the internet backbone, since the internet is getting choked
I don't see these things happening soon, but if EPIC can commit to a MMO server infrastructure (As they will need to host the game I suppose) for a long term with a lot of redundancies without monthly payment and when most of us can get reliable high speed internet connection without any hiccups, then that will be the time to implement this feature. -
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mmm I have no issue too if it is only the co-op play that needs to be online to play. But the rationale for making SP online only?
As for D3, while the number of players will/might/could be less, it also means that the revenue is lesser too. And that means that the ratio of the cost of maintaining the server vs profit would hover around the same level too (if not more as things get cheaper when done in bulk .. most of the time).
What this means is that EPIC will still need to commit to maintaining the server 2 - 3 years down the road even for SINGLE player. And it needs to host every single SINGLE player game. :P While can still amount to a huge load, relatively speaking.-
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Now, that is the thing, online authentication, while a chore sometimes, but can be manageable, especially if it is something along the way of the steam (i.e. ... even with the imperfect offline mode, I can at least make sure that I set steam to offline mode before I go on a trip, or leave the house or something.)
But Always Online requirement? No I don't think so, not when the technology and infrastructure is not there to support it,
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I, for one, buy games like Left 4 Dead, Borderlands, and Fortnight for the sole purpose of playing singleplayer. This will totally ruin my experience!
Seriously, if they support singleplayer with more than just "play with bots" I will wonder why they wasted the time on it.
Getting mad about always-on for a game like Assassin's Creed I totally understand. I didn't buy it either. But this? Come on.-
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Agreed. http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19/
(Note: the "Anonymity" part is optional; "real name mandates" are not infallible)
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The real question is whether Epic will be making games with offline campaigns anymore.
As far as Blizzard goes, we already know the answer: No. (StarCraft 2, Diablo 3, WoW...).
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Always online worked out just fine for Diablo 3. No problems at all.
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Not enough to for me to care about, and more than enough to keep me away.
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I just hope my laptop can run it :(
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