Offline Mode
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Let me come right out and say that I know this has been discussed. I believe I have something to add to that conversation, or I would not have made this topic.*
The biggest number one reason I would like for this game to have an offline mode is this: permanence. As it is, Path of Exile will die when GGG loses interest, or, perish the thought, dies as a company. As a gamer I very much like to return to old games, years later. This is part of why I don't get into MMOs. It may be strange, but it matters a lot to me now, knowing that if an experience is really great, I can return to it years or decades later. Only with an offline mode that does not rely on servers, can this game outlive all of us. Compared to the value of permanence, playing the game completely lag-free seems like a minor perk, but it would certainly be nice to no longer have myself and my enemies randomly teleport around due to desync. Finally, if I bring this up at all, I must address the reasons that have been given for why offline mode is not currently planned. According to this post, by a developer: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/50787/page/2 " Making an offline mode means including versions of the server-side only code. It is not technically infeasible to make them subtly different or simply produce similar results than the online servers do. The attacks this could lead to might lead players to discover breakpoints of certain stats, and perhaps efficient places to farm. It would not, as is implied, give people the ability to give themselves whatever drops they want when playing online. Finally, when players discover something big, it gets patched. They're already in an effective position to adeptly respond to such issues. This reasoning only makes sense if offline mode were implemented in a strange and naive manner. Nobody is suggesting it be done that way. " It will give them a comfortable and safe sandbox for seeing what the client will tolerate, yes. Basically, a determined hacker will no longer need to create new accounts as he triggers anti-cheating mechanisms. From a security standpoint I do see why this would be, you always want to make it harder for the hackers, but there are two unfortunate ironies which skew the value proposition here. One, and this has been known for a long time, is that the bots are already out there. One of them even has a dot com domain name and accepts credit cards brazenly, as though they have absolutely nothing to fear. Another is just a random script any fool can configure and run. For now at least, this battle is already lost. Second, and I find this irony the more poignant, is only through an offline mode can you provide a completely controlled experience for the users who want it. With online PoE you absolutely cannot currently guarantee that I can jump in and find a party with people who aren't playing with an advantage they gained by botting or buying from third party sites. The only thing that can do that is offline LAN games.
Spoiler
Third, and it may just apply to me, but I strongly dislike playing with public parties anyways. Not only do you run into three unrepetently unpleasant miscreants for every decent soul, but parties ruin the challenge by letting you coast through bosses and through high level farming maps. Thus, endgame contains people who don't belong there and don't know how to hack it. Online-only is supposed to protect the experience, not give players an easy way through, no?
LAN play with people in the same room who you can talk to and coordinate with is where it's at. This public party business is for the birds. This is how I see case for offline mode. Without it, they are throwing out innumerable babies with this bathwater, and the sacrifice is to prevent something that's happening anyway, and was never a great barrier in the first place. Please at least consider offline mode for the future. * This post refers to the devs as "they" but is addressed at both developers and users, hence it belongs in "General Discussion." Last edited by Crocodarrel#2422 on Aug 21, 2017, 11:55:08 PM
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Offline will never happen with a free to play game. It would only increases their cost without any possible revenue.
And then there's the whole server side only info that they would have to give, which leads to much easier hacking. Build of the week #9 - Breaking your face with style http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_EcQDOUN9Y
IGN: Poltun |
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Also, this game is slated to have content popping out from Wilson and his teams noggins for the next ten years. By that time, there definitely wouldn't be anything more to add to the game.
"The path of a true warrior is not how strong you become to defeat others; but how strong you become to protect those who matter most."
Yhuma - melee Dagger Shadow |
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" Well this thread seems to be based on false assumptions. But well it simply won't happen. Not just the business model but the whole game is build around being an online experience (client/server sided information and architecture) and that won't change. |
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Other games have done this before: When the servers are about to be shut down, they then release an offline patch. So if this is your concern, we'll have to wait for patch notes 10.99.0 in about ten years. :-D
Exit, pursued by a Plummeting Ursa.
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Guess I should address that point too: I wasn't suggesting they should implement offline mode for free. For an online-only game it is totally reasonable to charge separately for a standalone version.
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It still won't happen.
Exit, pursued by a Plummeting Ursa.
Finding Names for your Characters Loot Filter Colour Palettes Namen für Eure Charaktere Informationen zur Benutzung des Forums |
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Why do you think that it will never happen?
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