An honest thread about the option for *Offline only, LAN client* and acceptable price for it.

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Arindel wrote:

I kinda think you're confusing things about MMO and ARPG. ARPG is a genre. MMO is a category. Just like Singleplayer and Multiplayer. POE is definitely ARPG. It just goes for multiplayer only.

Anyway, an offline option would be good, but not necessarily. That is, if servers and people's ISPs are stable enough. You are alone in most of maps, except towns where you see people. That's enough for me.

Well most of us that grew up with ARPGs assumes that ARPGs have Singleplayer and LAN.

Thing is, i hate playing with people, i absolutely loath the idea that if i play ranged id loose out on loot because i played a ranger with a bow.
Most of my time in D2 i played alone with the /players 8 command active.
Id get 8x times everything and i didnt need to rely on 7 randoms stealing loot and ruining my gaming experience, also no diminishing/shared MF boost.
I play Path of exile alone/solo 90% of the time due to the MF sharing system, and how the looting is based who clicks the fastest and is the closest.
And 10% of the time i play with friends that i trust.

Now irregardless of my reasons on why i play solo alot, this is the point i also think needs some serious thinking about:

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And if i play solo/alone 90% of the time why should i need to be online?
Or for that matter if my ISP goes wonky alot or if i wanna LAN with friends that doesnt have a way to share internet?
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And ive read up how some people argue some more and found another weird way some people argue:
"If its online multi player and played solo it doesnt need single player/LAN Offline mode" = self fulfilling statement.
It cannot be rationalized or argued with or critized because it is self-fulfilling.

If there were an offline version, I wouldn't buy it. So, $0.

I would be astonished if the income from an offline version came anywhere near the cost to produce and support it. It simply wouldn't be competitive to other games in that aspect, because those games cost money regardless of how you want to play it. Given the option, the vast majority of the player base will choose a free, online-only version over a purchased, offline-only version.

There would also be the issue of that version being cracked and shared, so GGG would lose potential income needed to recuperate the cost put into the project.

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whiteBoy88 wrote:

If there were an offline version, I wouldn't buy it. So, $0.

I would be astonished if the income from an offline version came anywhere near the cost to produce and support it. It simply wouldn't be competitive to other games in that aspect, because those games cost money regardless of how you want to play it. Given the option, the vast majority of the player base will choose a free, online-only version over a purchased, offline-only version.

There would also be the issue of that version being cracked and shared, so GGG would lose potential income needed to recuperate the cost put into the project.

I would love to know how much the offline client would cost to make, in comparison to what it would get GGG in terms of money.
Do you have any actual numbers, because i sure dont.
While the business model of path of exile is F2P, many of us have payed actual currency for it so far.

And you think Torchlight 2 devs didnt ask themselfs these questions on piracy?

Also incase you didnt know, Torchlight 1 and 2, is by the same devs that made Diablo 1 and 2.
They know what oldschool gamers wants, they dont change the formula, they just polished it and made it smoother to play.

Path of exile devs, knowing that one of the *big* reasons people are now leaving D3 is the Online only DRM.
And watching this situation id like to think they atleast consider making an offline LAN client since they want to avoid the same mistakes as D3 does.
Id like to say something similar to one of the forum posts i read:
"Why, do i have 200-300 ms when i play *single player*, i play alone/solo/myself only, so why do i have 200-300 ms and why does my game stop working when my internet drops? Im playing Singleplayer not multiplayer!".

Dont get me wrong, i like path of exile, but i will seriosly consider not playing it if i find this Online only DRM to still exist after a few months after it is released, when the devs knows how bad it looks in the light of how bad it is for some of us oldschool LAN/Singleplayer people.

Path of Exile was intended to be an Online Hack&Slash Action RPG and I doubt that the developers will ever make a standalone offline client.

I realize that a lot of people feel strongly about an offline client. Especially after D3 royally screwed their launch. This is about having stable and cheat free game. A game with a stable economy that isn't flooded with duped items and that doesn't require you to cheat to be competitive in pvp.

This has always been the vision that GGG has had for PoE. Creating an offline client effectively destroys that vision. Runic Games at some point decided that they don't care if Torchlight 2 is overrun with hacks and cheats because it's not intended to be a competitive game. PoE is a completely different game that has required GGG to make completely different choices.

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tpapp157 wrote:

I realize that a lot of people feel strongly about an offline client. Especially after D3 royally screwed their launch.

For me this has nothing to do with screwed up launches or connectivity. It's about ownership. You think people that bought Diablo 3 will be able to play the game in ten years?

Granted, it's hard to bring up ownership when a game is free, but it seems silly to dismiss a HUGE corner of the market when you could easily be selling offline versions. And if there is an offline version of the game, who the hell cares if some guy hacks it and runs around on his computer with hacked items? IT'S OFFLINE.

I'll say it before, when D3 and PoE have run their course, then I think "ownership" will come, and offline client will surface.

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tpapp157 wrote:

I realize that a lot of people feel strongly about an offline client. Especially after D3 royally screwed their launch. This is about having stable and cheat free game. A game with a stable economy that isn't flooded with duped items and that doesn't require you to cheat to be competitive in pvp.

This has always been the vision that GGG has had for PoE. Creating an offline client effectively destroys that vision. Runic Games at some point decided that they don't care if Torchlight 2 is overrun with hacks and cheats because it's not intended to be a competitive game. PoE is a completely different game that has required GGG to make completely different choices.

First of all:
I do understand why/how people argue for an online only DRM, i get that PoE is F2P and thus is more susceptible to loss of income.
But at the same time theres a part of me that got really annoyed after playing D3 Hardcore mode that said:
"Dude you know if your internet drops your dead right? All the effort you put in, all gone because of your ISP doing an update to their services".

Hardcore mode is about reliablility and eliminating risks.
Do i die when my GPU overheats? yes, how do i prevent that?
Do i die if my computer bluescreens, how do i prevent that?
And so on and so fourth.
And just relying on dumb luck to beat PoE with a Hardcore characters is something i dont wanna play with online only DRM.
As my ISP is an unknown risk i cant put into calculations and i cant do something to prevent disconnects easily, as no ISP is 100% trustworthy when it comes to stability and internet access 24/7.

Besides if i play singleplayer/alone, i dont care about showing off shiny loot to other people, and if its a local only character then it shoudnt affect the online part of PoE.

Secondly about cheat free competetive enviroment, just lol.
Read up on this link and say that PoE will be safe from that phenomenon which the article mentions.


http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/930659-diablo-iii/62887114

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I'll say it before, when D3 and PoE have run their course, then I think "ownership" will come, and offline client will surface.

Well, then its too late.

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Onionspam wrote:

And if there is an offline version of the game, who the hell cares if some guy hacks it and runs around on his computer with hacked items? IT'S OFFLINE.

Those offline hacks very quickly and invariably turn into online hacks.

If you're talking about ownership, at no point do you actually have any ownership over the PoE game, your characters, or your items (including any microtransactions you paid for). GGG retains exclusive rights over everything in PoE and can modify your account or refuse you access at any time for any reason. When you download PoE you are gaining access to a service, not a product.

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tpapp157 wrote:

If you're talking about ownership, at no point do you actually have any ownership over the PoE game, your characters, or your items (including any microtransactions you paid for). GGG retains exclusive rights over everything in PoE and can modify your account or refuse you access at any time for any reason. When you download PoE you are gaining access to a service, not a product.

Okay, I get that, like I said it's hard to talk ownership about a f2p game. BUT I still don't see why you are so opposed to a retail or downloadable offline client. Why not offer the option of ownership? It seems like you want this discussion to end quickly, for some reason, like it's just a silly idea.

The point of a business is to make money. You sell a copy of the game, you make money. Constant updates to the online version of the game will help with the hacking. I really don't think it's too damn complicated to be perfectly honest.

I'd easily pay 30 bucks for a copy of this game with no online-only DRM. With online only DRM then I'd pay exactly zero.