Why online-only DRM?

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idarktemplar wrote:

Edit:
My point is: it's not a MMORPG to be online-only, it's an ARPG, offline play is demanded for this genre. And online-only DRM is a cancer. Cure it or die from it.

Offline play is far from "demanded", and I don't think this game will fall from it (People didn't stop playing The Other Game because of error 37, for an example. They did it for a bunch of other reasons).

The problem that most people have with DRM is that it's usually puts a lock on things and makes it hard to use (for an example, getting Games for Windows Live to work on many computers is a pain in the butt). PoE hasn't really been a problem in that way, so really the big issue here is server stability and the need for a constant online conection. Both can be quite annoying, but I don't think that either will be a compleate deal-breaker for most, seeing how the game is free to try.

Offline play means making a LOT more code available to the playerbase, meaning hacks galore for the online version.

Vlad_77:
Nice post. But this is fare to compare PoE and TL2. They are games in same genre. And they probably will be released in same year. If MS makes uncompatible OS, I can always use older one or Linux+Wine (TL1 works good there, probably TL2 too).

schitzoflink:

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schitzoflink wrote:

First, this is an online F2P game, they have a plan for micro transactions that I hope will work. I for one know I would NOT play a Pay2Win game aka Diablo 3. So no that would be the antithesis of profit where I am concerned as I would leave.

I am too not going to play pay2win. But what about games buy2play? For example buy WarCraft 3 and play it whatever way you want.

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schitzoflink wrote:

Second, the game IS good. You are confusing the misguided tactics of large corporations I.E. EA trying to lock down their products to fight piracy (pointlessly) with a company who is making an online focused game that is fighting piracy by making a good game and allowing anyone to play and support them IF they choose.

As far as I've seen it yesterday, game is good. But they allow not all to play this game. Just those who are lucky enough to have fast and stable internet connection. I have it. But not always. If I by some reason don't have internet connection now, I can't play PoE. Why should I spend money for it? And for example would you play online-only version of Mario if there was one?

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schitzoflink wrote:

In 10 years if they are going to shut down the servers they can release the code to us so we can run it ourselves (those who are still playing that is). IF there is a PoE2 I will be moving to it as it would most likely only be a '2' with fundamental upgrades to the game engine that are not possible to patch into PoE1. I can still play Diablo1/2, true...but do I? no, no I do not.

Never seen this happen to any online game that closed. And I still can play and playing Diablo 2 sometimes.

Edit:
Xendran:

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Xendran wrote:

Offline play means making a LOT more code available to the playerbase, meaning hacks galore for the online version.

Looks like d3 isn't hacked and botted and even got game servers reengineered (servers afaik have some different game mechanics from Blizz's ones, but they exist).

just don't see how you can do F2P and release an offline client. doesn't make sense to me. you're either F2p and always online or you sell the client at $60 (or if you're blizzard you do both always online and charge 60 bucks for the install)

maybe if they charged us all $20 (like TL2). but this isn't the same because they've said PoE is meant to have competitive elements. But TL2 will be somewhat anti-competitive because if someone really wants something they can just mod it in.

sort of shooting for different goals between the 2.

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pilnomi wrote:

just don't see how you can do F2P and release an offline client. doesn't make sense to me. you're either F2p and always online or you sell the client at $60 (or if you're blizzard you do both always online and charge 60 bucks for the install)

maybe if they charged us all $20 (like TL2). but this isn't the same because they've said PoE is meant to have competitive elements. But TL2 will be somewhat anti-competitive because if someone really wants something they can just mod it in.

sort of shooting for different goals between the 2.

That's what I'm talking about: offline + online game for some $. And how is charge for $20 (or even $60) makes it incompetitive game?

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idarktemplar wrote:

That's what I'm talking about: offline + online game for some $. And how is charge for $20 (or even $60) makes it incompetitive game?

no no, that's not what makes it anti-competitive. it's just because offline is their market, they open to mods (mods make it anti-competitive). sorry for the confusion. you could argue that they didn't have to do mods to do offline, and that's fair.. really just meant to re-iterate my point that if you truly want competitive play, online is really the only way to go to be sure the playing field is level between players.

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pilnomi wrote:

no no, that's not what makes it anti-competitive. it's just because offline is their market, they open to mods (mods make it anti-competitive). sorry for the confusion. you could argue that they didn't have to do mods to do offline, and that's fair.. really just meant to re-iterate my point that if you truly want competitive play, online is really the only way to go to be sure the playing field is level between players.

It's true about competitive play online only. But if I want just solo enjoy game? If I'm anyway playing it solo? Isn't online only makes it worse? Lags, disconnects, servers crash or server maintainance time. Like yesterday mass disconnect. I've got to walk some dungeon again, but somebody said in global chat that he was fighting boss and now needs to do it from start.

I wouldn't see why they would make it possible to have offline singleplayer when it's F2P.

the mass disconnect is from the public stress test and it's a beta. I'm sure when it comes out officially it wont happen, plus i only experienced two mass disconnects during my playtime(maybe three, idk). Every other time it ran perfectly in that regards, extremely suprising considering the circumstances.

I do understand your comment on server maintence but being a F2P player i really don't mind them. it comes with the terriotory. plus, with tons of F2P games out, if you think about it always online has been around for sometime now. It's only "bad" now cause of diablo 3. When really it isn't that bad at all(in the F2P model)

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Odysseun wrote:

the mass disconnect is from the public stress test and it's a beta. I'm sure when it comes out officially it wont happen, plus i only experienced two mass disconnects during my playtime(maybe three, idk). Every other time it ran perfectly in that regards, extremely suprising considering the circumstances.

D3 had stress test too. And stress test was pretty good too. And still at launch there was mass error 37.