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General discussion (archive)New Gaming Options: Follow-up Survey(519 posts)(519 posts)
(519 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 15, 2013
We (still) want to hear from you!

We recently asked you guys for feedback based on some potential games that we may be able to sign in the future. The results were pretty clear--and we will be sharing them with you all soon--but we did want to ask you a single follow-up question with an actual real-world game example. One of the games that we would like to add to our catalog is Planetary Annihilation. This is an RTS with many modern gaming features, and we figured we'd use it as our test example.

<iframe width="590" height="332" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Xpze54xgqtg" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Planetary Annihilation is distinctive for the following:

- Multiplayer and skirmish focused gameplay; there is no story-based single-player campaign, but AI skirmish matches provide a great single player experience.
- Optional persistent online features such as scoreboards, social features, achievements, and the online multiplayer campaign - a persistent galaxy-wide war; an account with the developer's online service is required in order to use these features.
- No activation, unique codes, or third-party accounts are required for single-player play or, LAN/direct connection multiplayer.
- A unique key is required for Internet multiplayer, and an account with the developer's service is only required for the persistent online features.

Now, that you know about the game's specifics, here's our question:
Post edited April 15, 2013 by G-Doc
Posted April 15, 2013
I personally think this is fine, I pledged to the Planetary Annihilation KS and would want my copy here. But I think GOG should be a bit cautious, as in they should see if the game was good single-player skirmish with good AI before allowing it. Because when a game doesn't have a single-player campaign and skirmish is only SP option, it needs good AI or it's worthless unless played multiplayer.

I think PA falls under the same category as Dawn of War Dark Crusade, no main campaign but there's a "conquest mode" type thing.
Posted April 15, 2013
I voted no.
First because i just don't think that the game makes fun if you don't play it online
with others.
And than there is the problem with the developers. Or better the possible problems.
For me the statement from Chris Taylor (lead designer of Total Annihilation) on Reddit
sounds plausible.
In a nut case he says that he likes the video...but thinks that Uber Entertainment
can't make the game in such a short time and with the money they got from KS.

I may change my opinion if we could actual test the game.

ATM the real question GoG is asking us is: Do you want to see games on GoG
that needs a permanent internet connection to play?
Posted April 15, 2013
Go for it, GOG. Just as long as you tell us what we're getting into before we purchase it at the game information screen. Remember:

Informed Consumer = Happy Consumer
Posted April 15, 2013
Hmm. I'm kind of torn about this one. Sure, we already have some games with similar online multiplayer requirements on GOG, but with exception of the UT games they tend to have significant singleplayer portions available... and playing against bots in UT can be a lot of fun actually.

I'm not the biggest fan of RTS with a very few exceptions, and I'm not terribly good at them either so playing against live players is usually a little tricky for me. Seeing how multiplayer-focused PA is going to be, I have to wonder how robust that skirmish feature will be or if it's just going to turn out to be a tacked-on feature.

I kind of want to say yes and no, so I may abstain from voting altogether.
Posted April 15, 2013
I'm not interested in this game and yet I voted for "Yes".

The reason? So GOG can see whether those kind of games would be a good addition to their catalogue in the future or not. Just to give this game a fair chance.
Needing an activation key to play it online doesn't sound very good, to be honest. So, I don't see a bright future for this release and yet I might still be wrong.
Posted April 15, 2013
Actually, what I meant was: If the developers actively support single-player skirmish with AI updates, at the same time as support multiplayer with servers and updates, sure. But if the AI is dumb and skirmish is an after-thought, yes. I guess it's kinda selective but that's my view.
Posted April 15, 2013
I initially voted "no", but then GOG shoved some text into my eyes that made me feel guilty. I changed my vote to "yes", but it doesn't represent my feelings. Up to this point I've never cared for online multiplayer gaming, but who am I to deny others. I voted "yes" only so GOG.com isn't limited to my preferences..I still don't see myself buying these types of games.
Posted April 15, 2013
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Schnuff: I voted no.
First because i just don't think that the game makes fun if you don't play it online
with others.
And than there is the problem with the developers. Or better the possible problems.
For me the statement from Chris Taylor (lead designer of Total Annihilation) on Reddit
sounds plausible.
In a nut case he says that he likes the video...but thinks that Uber Entertainment
can't make the game in such a short time and with the money they got from KS.

I may change my opinion if we could actual test the game.

ATM the real question GoG is asking us is: Do you want to see games on GoG
that needs a permanent internet connection to play?
I totally disagree. What i've seen from the game in the livestreams and the forums looks pretty good for being in pre alpha stage. But the final answer will bring the future. The question asked here was not about specifically this game, but about the optional online thing.

You are not forced to play on their servers. You can play with your friends over lan or you can setup your own (vpn)server. Thats how it works with every game which supports multiplayer here on gog.
And yes, this kind of games makes even fun against the ai. Ever played Supreme Commander or Planetary Annihilation?

And Gog didnt ask if a game with permaonline is ok. Obviously this game is not forcing you to be online. You can have fun without ever connecting to their servers.
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Crosmando: Actually, what I meant was: If the developers actively support single-player skirmish with AI updates, at the same time as support multiplayer with servers and updates, sure. But if the AI is dumb and skirmish is an after-thought, yes. I guess it's kinda selective but that's my view.
They hired Sorian, the guy who made the sorian ai mod for supreme commander. This mod made the ai much better, and they implemented flowfields for pathfinding. The devs are focusing on singleplayer at least as much as on multiplayer.
Post edited April 15, 2013 by Emperor_of_Mars
Posted April 15, 2013
It is hard for me to say yes to this game. I like the idea of it, I just do not enjoy playing multi-player games all that much. If there was a single player story mode, I would definitely buy it, but as unique as it is, and as fun as it looks, I will realistically give it a pass, probably. It does not help that I do not have many friends to play online games with.
Posted April 15, 2013
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Bird_of_Prey: I'm fine with these kind of online features, so long as there is still a fully functional game that you can play apart from them.
Same here, I don't mind online only metagames and stat tracking and all that stuff as long as you still have a functional offline/LAN client to hook up with the other survivors after the nuclear war, and this seems to do just that.

This setup isn't all that different from many other games already on GOG, such as ARMA 2, that need an activation key in order to play online..
Post edited April 15, 2013 by fisk0
Posted April 15, 2013
"I wouldn't have bought Total Annihilation if its single player campaign didn't have those totally amazing text snippets between missions!"
:p
Posted April 15, 2013
Quick question to GOG.com

- Multiplayer; there is no story-based single-player campaign and no single player experience.
- Optional persistent online features such as scoreboards, social features, achievements and the online multiplayer campaign - an account with the developer's online service is required in order to use these features.
- No single-player play or LAN/direct connection multiplayer.
- A unique key is required for Internet multiplayer, and an account with the developer's service is required.

Would a game that falls under the above description be considered for the GOG.com catalogue?

I understand perfeclty that the current survey has nth to do with my question, it just got me wondering in relation to the “Discover all the reasons you will love it” motto on GOG's front page.

Will be back in regards to the topic and survey at hand.
Posted April 15, 2013
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TheEnigmaticT: I think "slippery slope" arguments only work if you assume that we're robots who won't listen to you. The very presence of this survey suggests that we clearly do. :)
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Wishbone: I think the slippery slope argument is not necessarily applied to you. My concern is that allowing things like this will make it harder for you to make true DRM free deals with publishers in the future. The argument being along the lines of "You let that game with activation and online accounts get into your catalog, so if you want our game, you'll have to accept activation and online accounts for that too".
I hadn't thought about this, but that is definitely a reasonable concern.
Posted April 15, 2013
The survey question is clearly phrased so it is very difficult to answer "no".
I wonder how many "yes" answers there would be if it were phrased:
Whether or not this particular game interests you, but taking into account that GOG has limited resources, would you like these resources to be directed towards games with these features, potentially at the expense of other games, both new and old?
Posted April 15, 2013
The online/multiplayer features are optional, and the limitations of single player gaming are clear from the start. As long as this information is mentioned on the product page with equal clarity, I don't see a problem.

The focus of the game is clearly on multiplayer, so it may not be very attractive for many GOG gamers (including myself). However, since the information is clearly on the table and won't change (even if it does, the situation for single players could only improve), it's something that each of us can decide easily on their own.

While I'm personally not that much interested in multiplayer games, I think GOG should try to remain open for those. _If_ I ever want to play multiplayer games, then the GOG community would be a great place to do that. And for a game that _does_ focus on multiplayer, Planetary Annihilation seems to do a lot of stuff right so that it's still in-line with GOG's philosophy.

Kudos to GOG for asking as beforehand.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)New Gaming Options: Follow-up Survey(519 posts)(519 posts)
(519 posts)