MMOs with Offline mode and LAN support

superniceguy · September 2012

With MMOs shutting down, it leaves you with no game to play, and with SWG and City of Heroes still doing reasonably well when their closures came, it kind of puts you off bothering with other MMOs.

City of Heroes may be about 8 years old now, but my MMO was SWG, and I played that from July 2003 to Dec 2011, virtually its entire time it was active. I did play CoH briefly during that time, but not much, but now since SWG closed, started playing CoH more so, but now it is closing as well, I feel cheated, and want some more years with the MMO like what others have had.

With all this disappointment, and with MMOs costing money vs games that do not cost you any money after initial purchase eg GTA San Andreas, I think MMOs are a dying breed of MMOs.

However, I think that if they incorporate an offline mode to MMOs, it would not only add more variety to the game, but also leave you with the game to play once it shut downs. It would also be innovative and still be able to play game when servers are offline. If they do a cash shop and you buy items then you can still use them in the offline mode, which will give you more willingness to buy as much as you want in these stores. As now, with MMOs and ones with cash shops closing, there is no way I am spending money on cosmetic items. So if they do implement an offline mode, then the companies will get more money while the game is active and online, because you know that you can keep all the stuff when it shuts down, and play with it in offline mode.

PSO on the Dreamcast did this, and had no monthly fee, although the Gamecube one did, and the GC one went one better and offered split screen offline mode, and can still play this today with up to 3 other friends, despite the servers being shut down.

At first there was a bit of cheating, as people managed to manipulate the offline charcter, but then they modified it that if the system noticed any tampering, you would be banned. This is the only downside, but I am sure this could easily be overcome, and MMOs are not completely free of exploits which has caused people to get banned too.

Phantasy Star Universe, which only just recently got shut down last week, also had an offline mode, but it was completely different to online, and you levelled up a different character, main story mode. Online mode was like SWG, where you could create your own character and do what ever you want, and offline mode was like SWTOR where you followed the story the game provided.

Offline mode would be rather restrictive though, and only be able to do a set amount of stuff, that came with the original disc/DL, unless they can update the offline game as well. Also in online mode you would get the better rewards and loot items, as would be easier to keep updated than the offline client. But if game shuts down, then being able to play the game in any capacity is better than nothing. If SWG was like this, we would be playing in a Pre-CU offline world officially - It is nice to viisit the many areas of Star Wars in SWG, although obviously better to be able to play it with others, but it would not be totally useless in an offline mode.

Maybe they could add LAN support or a split screen mode? Then you could play the game with others again.

EDIT: The below POLL is intended to get a final working offline version to play online with other people that do not need official servers (while official servers are active the LAN option may be locked, then unlocked when game shuts down), but assuming at the end of it, it all works OK with no possible way of cheating. It is what we all should want, it is up to the devs to see if they can work it, as currently the future of MMOs is not looking too bright. It works with DC and Original Xbox games with their official servers offline, as they mainly have LAN modes.

Loke666 · September 2012

I would like a MMO like Biowares old NWN where players could host their own servers.

Butting adding offline mode to Wow (or other popular game) is just a fail. People would cheat themselves to death.

Naturrutan · September 2012

I voted no because I don´t see it as aviable solution without other people around.

I would however propose that the serverside software becomes freeware when and if a game shuts down thus allowing the community to take over and continue it as they see fit.

superniceguy · September 2012

Originally posted by Naturrutan
I voted no because I don´t see it as aviable solution without other people around.

That would be possible with LAN support or split screen.

The technology is out there, and Dreamcast / Xbox / PS2 games work without official servers

superniceguy · September 2012

Originally posted by Loke666

Butting adding offline mode to Wow (or other popular game) is just a fail. People would cheat themselves to death.

Then get banned when go online

superniceguy · September 2012

Originally posted by Loke666
I would like a MMO like Biowares old NWN where players could host their own servers.

Pretty much what the POLL is wanting

maplestone · September 2012

This is essentially how Minecraft (ok, ok not really an MMO) is designed - the publisher sells a client/server package and hands over all the responsibility for hosting/admining/policing to the players.

I see this as not just a different business model but as a very different philosophy than a traditional MMO. In my mind, what most MMOs are actually selling is access to their database - that's where all the illusion of wealth, of progress and status lives, rather than in the gameplay itself.

Loktofeit · September 2012

Originally posted by superniceguy
Originally posted by Loke666
I would like a MMO like Biowares old NWN where players could host their own servers.

Pretty much what the POLL is wanting

You'd have to first convince a company why you deserve to receive several million dollars of their technology and IP for free.

Look at it from the angle of someone that owns something rather than someone that feels he is owed something. You invest millions of dollars to develop an online service. When the online service sunsets, you still have valuable art assets, server code, development tools and other content that can be reused or sold off.

Why would you give your competitors the tools you created, the code you've written and the assets you painstakingly create or paid a good sum of money for? Especially since a good bit of it might not even work on your average person's PC or server arrangement. And if you did give it away for free, without support, most of today's audience would either say the code/software is useless (due to their own limitations) or demand some level of support. Why allow people to generate a bad name for your brand or generate further expenses for your company?

What is the benefit to you, as the developer and business owner, of giving away your server software? What do you gain?

superniceguy · September 2012

Originally posted by Loktofeit
Originally posted by superniceguy
Originally posted by Loke666
I would like a MMO like Biowares old NWN where players could host their own servers.

Pretty much what the POLL is wanting

You'd have to first convince a company why you deserve to receive several million dollars of their technology and IP for free.

Look at it from the angle of someone that owns something rather than someone that feels he is owed something. You invest millions of dollars to develop an online service. When the online service sunsets, you still have valuable art assets, server code, development tools and other content that can be reused or sold off.

Why would you give your competitors the tools you created, the code you've written and the assets you painstakingly create or paid a good sum of money for? Especially since a good bit of it might not even work on your average person's PC or server arrangement. And if you did give it away for free, without support, most of today's audience would either say the code/software is useless (due to their own limitations) or demand some level of support. Why allow people to generate a bad name for your brand or generate further expenses for your company?

What is the benefit to you, as the developer and business owner, of giving away your server software? What do you gain?

It seem sthat you and mostpeople are just reading too much into it.

The POLL is not asking "Do you think it is possible / viable to add offline mode with LAN support". It is asking "Would you like MMOs to incorporate an Offline mode?" I should have added "with LAN support" at the end but can not edit it now

I am meaning games to be like Left 4 Dead, they have offline modes, but the online multiuplayer is where it excels at. When those servers finally shut down you wiill still be able to play the game with RL friends or through some networking software and still play with people around the world.

I guess with games like Left 4 Dead, they do not modify, except to patch and fix any bugs, whereas MMO evolve over time. If such feature was on SWG for example, then you would just get the original game that came with it - Pre-CU. We know from this that people have made it possible, so there is demand, but with this it would be legal and official.

The benefits to the player is that

You can still play the game when the servers are offline and down for maintenance.
If MMOs are going to create more game features like SWTORs single player space, this could be part of an offline mode
You can still play the game when it sunsets

THe benefits to the developers and business owners is that

If the MMOs have a cash shop, people will more likely buy more stuff from it, if the game is then for life, as after SWG and City of Heroes I am not touching another MMO again unless it is completely free,
If game has been around for a year or so, then there is less chance people will bother with it, as it could shut down the next day.
All their work is not gone up in a puff of smoke, and there coud be an option to donate money to the devs if people respect their work.
If more people feel safe the game will be around in some way for ever, more people will play, and the games will not shut down quickly and profit to be made.

romerok · September 2012

Originally posted by Loke666
I would like a MMO like Biowares old NWN where players could host their own servers.

Butting adding offline mode to Wow (or other popular game) is just a fail. People would cheat themselves to death.

the offline server doesnt need to take your Live server characters in account, and vise versa.

Loktofeit · September 2012

Originally posted by superniceguy

It seem sthat you and mostpeople are just reading too much into it.

The POLL is not asking "Do you think it is possible / viable to add offline mode with LAN support". It is asking "Would you like MMOs to incorporate an Offline mode?" I should have added "with LAN support" at the end but can not edit it now

That contradicts your last post where you said the poll was about players hosting their own servers.

I am meaning games to be like Left 4 Dead, they have offline modes, but the online multiuplayer is where it excels at. When those servers finally shut down you wiill still be able to play the game with RL friends or through some networking software and still play with people around the world.

I guess with games like Left 4 Dead, they do not modify, except to patch and fix any bugs, whereas MMO evolve over time. If such feature was on SWG for example, then you would just get the original game that came with it - Pre-CU. We know from this that people have made it possible, so there is demand, but with this it would be legal and official.

The benefits to the player is that

You can still play the game when the servers are offline and down for maintenance.

If MMOs are going to create more game features like SWTORs single player space, this could be part of an offline mode

You can still play the game when it sunsets

THe benefits to the developers and business owners is that

If the MMOs have a cash shop, people will more likely buy more stuff from it, if the game is then for life, as after SWG and City of Heroes I am not touching another MMO again unless it is completely free,

If game has been around for a year or so, then there is less chance people will bother with it, as it could shut down the next day.

All their work is not gone up in a puff of smoke, and there coud be an option to donate money to the devs if people respect their work.

If more people feel safe the game will be around in some way for ever, more people will play, and the games will not shut down quickly and profit to be made.

You're talking about two completely different types of games - a multiplayer game designed with offline mode and a massively multiplayer game designed for a persistent world and thousands of users.

You 'benefits for the developer' are rather unrealistic. If people were buying from the cash shop or were willing to give money for the game, they would have done it when the game was live.

Your game closed. You're upset. We get it. However, you aren't going to understand why this idealistic notion isn't realistic until you understnad that you are not only asking a company to give away millions of dollars worth of tech, but you are also asking them to take a leap of faith with their brand and, in some cases, do additional development just to make the game remotely usable/moddable for you.

Nitth · September 2012

Originally posted by Loktofeit
Originally posted by superniceguy It seem sthat you and mostpeople are just reading too much into it. The POLL is not asking "Do you think it is possible / viable to add offline mode with LAN support". It is asking "Would you like MMOs to incorporate an Offline mode?" I should have added "with LAN support" at the end but can not edit it now That contradicts your last post where you said the poll was about players hosting their own servers. I am meaning games to be like Left 4 Dead, they have offline modes, but the online multiuplayer is where it excels at. When those servers finally shut down you wiill still be able to play the game with RL friends or through some networking software and still play with people around the world. I guess with games like Left 4 Dead, they do not modify, except to patch and fix any bugs, whereas MMO evolve over time. If such feature was on SWG for example, then you would just get the original game that came with it - Pre-CU. We know from this that people have made it possible, so there is demand, but with this it would be legal and official. The benefits to the player is that
You can still play the game when the servers are offline and down for maintenance. If MMOs are going to create more game features like SWTORs single player space, this could be part of an offline mode You can still play the game when it sunsets THe benefits to the developers and business owners is that If the MMOs have a cash shop, people will more likely buy more stuff from it, if the game is then for life, as after SWG and City of Heroes I am not touching another MMO again unless it is completely free, If game has been around for a year or so, then there is less chance people will bother with it, as it could shut down the next day. All their work is not gone up in a puff of smoke, and there coud be an option to donate money to the devs if people respect their work. If more people feel safe the game will be around in some way for ever, more people will play, and the games will not shut down quickly and profit to be made.
You're talking about two completely different types of games - a multiplayer game designed with offline mode and a massively multiplayer game designed for a persistent world and thousands of users. You 'benefits for the developer' are rather unrealistic. If people were buying from the cash shop or were willing to give money for the game, they would have done it when the game was live. Your game closed. You're upset. We get it. However, you aren't going to understand why this idealistic notion isn't realistic until you understnad that you are not only asking a company to give away millions of dollars worth of tech, but you are also asking them to take a leap of faith with their brand and, in some cases, do additional development just to make the game remotely usable/moddable for you.

Basicly this.

If i want a single player game, I would by a single player game.
If i want a massive world where i can interact with a 'massive' amount of people i buy an mmorpg.

You can still play the game when it sunsets

Thats a giant unrealistic leap of faith. They would probably close down the game regardless if they arnt making any money.

Trionicus · September 2012

Now if mmorpg's actually made interacting with massive amounts of people an an actual option... Until then it might as well be private NWN servers. How many party members in a random instance again?

superniceguy · September 2012

Originally posted by Loktofeit
Originally posted by superniceguy

It seem sthat you and mostpeople are just reading too much into it.

The POLL is not asking "Do you think it is possible / viable to add offline mode with LAN support". It is asking "Would you like MMOs to incorporate an Offline mode?" I should have added "with LAN support" at the end but can not edit it now

That contradicts your last post where you said the poll was about players hosting their own servers.

I am meaning games to be like Left 4 Dead, they have offline modes, but the online multiuplayer is where it excels at. When those servers finally shut down you wiill still be able to play the game with RL friends or through some networking software and still play with people around the world.

I guess with games like Left 4 Dead, they do not modify, except to patch and fix any bugs, whereas MMO evolve over time. If such feature was on SWG for example, then you would just get the original game that came with it - Pre-CU. We know from this that people have made it possible, so there is demand, but with this it would be legal and official.

The benefits to the player is that

You can still play the game when the servers are offline and down for maintenance.

If MMOs are going to create more game features like SWTORs single player space, this could be part of an offline mode

You can still play the game when it sunsets

THe benefits to the developers and business owners is that

If the MMOs have a cash shop, people will more likely buy more stuff from it, if the game is then for life, as after SWG and City of Heroes I am not touching another MMO again unless it is completely free,

If game has been around for a year or so, then there is less chance people will bother with it, as it could shut down the next day.

All their work is not gone up in a puff of smoke, and there coud be an option to donate money to the devs if people respect their work.

If more people feel safe the game will be around in some way for ever, more people will play, and the games will not shut down quickly and profit to be made.

You're talking about two completely different types of games - a multiplayer game designed with offline mode and a massively multiplayer game designed for a persistent world and thousands of users.

You 'benefits for the developer' are rather unrealistic. If people were buying from the cash shop or were willing to give money for the game, they would have done it when the game was live.

Your game closed. You're upset. We get it. However, you aren't going to understand why this idealistic notion isn't realistic until you understnad that you are not only asking a company to give away millions of dollars worth of tech, but you are also asking them to take a leap of faith with their brand and, in some cases, do additional development just to make the game remotely usable/moddable for you.

I am not upset the game is closed, I just no longer see the point spending money on a game that will not be playable forever. - It is just a waste of time and money

MMOs give no moree fun nowadays than multiplayer games with offline mode, unless it is a carbon copy of SWG which does not exist and does not seem to be going to exist anytime soon. MMOs are becoming more single player with multiplayer options nowadays, SWTOR / TSW for example, and even seen threads for GW2 saying the same

As for the cash shop, knowing now that games close, I do not see many people spending a fortiune in the shop as one day it will all be lost. If there was an offline mode and you could still take your purchases with you and use them after the game sunsets, it will make more sense to buy the stuff then.

2013 - MMOs OUT, Xbox Live and multiplayer games IN more (unless something is done to make MMOs more attractive, which this thread is trying to do)

The stupid thing is the MMOs that milk you for every penny you get seem to close faster/sooner than multiplayer online games (with offline modes) that cost nothing to play.

superniceguy · September 2012

Originally posted by Nitth

You can still play the game when it sunsets

Thats a giant unrealistic leap of faith. They would probably close down the game regardless if they arnt making any money.

No, not really, you can still play Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Universe offline. They have not blocked the game totally.

Before PSO ended on the Gamecube they released a final version that contained all the online content, and you can play that still, and with 3 other RL friends.

VikingGamer · September 2012

In an offline mode you would only wander though an empty shell of a world on your own. Not to much fun I think. I would rather see MMO companies release their server software and allow the community to decide if it wants to run a server from some where. If we bought the game then we should have a right to continue to play it. Of course we can't demand that a company continue to run servers but we should have the option to host and run servers of our own if the original publisher decides to no longer do so.

BadSpock · September 2012

I've always believed a game will never die as long as it's in the hearts of its players...

But it helps and would help dramatically if players were allowed to run and administer their own servers once/if the official servers went dark.

I'm sure there are many who would gladly pay the hardware + bandwidth costs to keep a private server running for games like SWG, E&B, TR, CoH, etc.

They'd obviously have to be f2p as any monetization would be illegal etc. but I bet IP holders don't allow it on the off chance someone will want to buy the IP and resurrect the franchise.

Loktofeit · September 2012

Originally posted by superniceguy

I am not upset the game is closed, I just no longer see the point spending money on a game that will not be playable forever. - It is just a waste of time and money

You can save yourself a lot of wasted time and money by acknowledging that there is little chance of anything but a tiny handful of MMOs lasting forever. To go into an MMO expecting that it will outlive you is wholly unrealistic.

MMOs give no moree fun nowadays than multiplayer games with offline mode,

...for you.

unless it is a carbon copy of SWG which does not exist and does not seem to be going to exist anytime soon.

The problem there isn't MMOs. It's you. You're looking for a new SWG. Not everyone is.

MMOs are becoming more single player with multiplayer options nowadays, SWTOR / TSW for example, and even seen threads for GW2 saying the same

MMOs are becoming more and more of what people want from an MMO. Part of what they want is persistence and ongoing development. Your answer is that the community will continue the development. Sure thing - that's what NWN, Dungeon Siege and countless other multiplayer RPG kits are for. Those games are already designed for what you want to do.

As for the cash shop, knowing now that games close, I do not see many people spending a fortiune in the shop as one day it will all be lost. If there was an offline mode and you could still take your purchases with you and use them after the game sunsets, it will make more sense to buy the stuff then.

Make more sense to you. Most people buying a virtual hat aren't assuming they can take it to the grave with them.

2013 - MMOs OUT, Xbox Live and multiplayer games IN more (unless something is done to make MMOs more attractive, which this thread is trying to do)

You're shifting your thread's purpose with each reply. It's hard to offer a response at this point because the goalpost moves each time.

The stupid thing is the MMOs that milk you for every penny you get seem to close faster/sooner than multiplayer online games (with offline modes) that cost nothing to play.

Correct. That's because they were poorly designed to begin with. If it sucked as an MMO, why do you feel it would it be more fun as a single-player game?

Net-net, you are uspet a game closed. It's extremely evident in your replies. If that isn't your concern and you genuinely just want multiplayer RPGs that where you don't have to worry about the game closing down, play multiplayer RPGs, not MMOs.

superniceguy · September 2012

Originally posted by VikingGamer
In an offline mode you would only wander though an empty shell of a world on your own. Not to much fun I think. I would rather see MMO companies release their server software and allow the community to decide if it wants to run a server from some where. If we bought the game then we should have a right to continue to play it. Of course we can't demand that a company continue to run servers but we should have the option to host and run servers of our own if the original publisher decides to no longer do so.

Like SWTOR atm? :P

When servers are down for maintenance the worlds are usually pretty much dead any way. In phantasy Star universe it is a special offline story mode, that plays out a bit like SWTOR where you interact with NPCs of your story - no other players are needed.

SWG could be regarded as the online mode, and SWTOR could be is offline mode.

Thorbrand · September 2012

FYI...What you ask makes the game by definition no longer a MMO. Just saying!

Who is going to patch it, fix bugs, admin the servers and accounts?

I won't trust a single gamer that isn't under some kind of contract.

Loktofeit · September 2012

Originally posted by VikingGamer
In an offline mode you would only wander though an empty shell of a world on your own. Not to much fun I think. I would rather see MMO companies release their server software and allow the community to decide if it wants to run a server from some where. If we bought the game then we should have a right to continue to play it. Of course we can't demand that a company continue to run servers but we should have the option to host and run servers of our own if the original publisher decides to no longer do so.

While I personally don't buy into the 'we have the right' angle, I do agree with the general sentiment that both players and devs could benefit from some way that interested parties can buy and maintain their own game servers.

The problem comes in when a bug or exploit is found or when the server operators want to update the game. Any programmer here can tell you what 8 years of code, written by multiple teams across changing development guidelines looks like. Who is going to support these servers? Who is going to update the content? And without maintenance or updates, who is going to still be playing after 6 months?

The 4th Coming was an MMO that seemed to be on track to deliver what a lot of MMORPG.com posters seem to want - pay for the server software, make your own changes and updates, and have paid support from the developers throughout the process. It dropped off the face of the earth about a decade ago and then resurfaced.

New Source Gaming recently tried that approach with Fasaria World and Knights of Dream City, but they seem to have recently dropped off the face of the earth, as well.

I'm hoping other devs go this direction. It means taking amssive leap with your brand and a support nightmare, though. More than likely any dev going that route will create something more along the lines of Explorations RPG, RealmCrafter or Big World since there is no point in creating a massive story and set range of content if the intent is to let a legion of virtual world admins change and break it.

Dewm · September 2012

Originally posted by romerok
Originally posted by Loke666
I would like a MMO like Biowares old NWN where players could host their own servers.

Butting adding offline mode to Wow (or other popular game) is just a fail. People would cheat themselves to death.

the offline server doesnt need to take your Live server characters in account, and vise versa.

I was about to say, have the clients tweaked so if you are playing a "offline/private" version then you can't even work with the online version..

But to the OP I would LOVE this option. I think it would be awesome to host a private server for friends and just play with them.

superniceguy · September 2012

Originally posted by Loktofeit
Originally posted by superniceguy

MMOs give no moree fun nowadays than multiplayer games with offline mode,

...for you.

unless it is a carbon copy of SWG which does not exist and does not seem to be going to exist anytime soon.

The problem there isn't MMOs. It's you. You're looking for a new SWG. Not everyone is.

The stupid thing is the MMOs that milk you for every penny you get seem to close faster/sooner than multiplayer online games (with offline modes) that cost nothing to play.

Correct. That's because they were poorly designed to begin with. If it sucked as an MMO, why do you feel it would it be more fun as a single-player game?

I am not saying that single player over multi-player is more fun, I am saying single player is better than nothing. I would happily frequent my houses and stuff in SWG, and go view the twin suns in SWG. But fortunatley with SWG there is better than this anyway

But considering most games nowadays are catering more for a solo experience, then I see no difference.

If on the other hand MMOs get to be more like SWG with an open world and changing wordls, then it would be more worthwhile. If SWG was not so buggy and more solid it probably would have done better than WOW

City of Hereos is also a more multiplayer game

Basically each new MMO tends to be getting more single player than multiplayer.

At the end of the day I see no harm in adding any offline mode, as it would not interefre with the online game. If you do not want to play the offline modes then you can just ignore them, but it would make the MMOs more attractive, and has nothing to do with me being upset about City of Heroes or SWG, but more upset as there are no decent MMos coming out that hold a candle to these golden oldies - MMOs are becoming more like multiplayer online games but you have to pay a monthly fee for. I see no difference between the two types any more, except one you have to pay loads for, the other is free.

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