Is online really a must ?

[Dreddz]

I wonder why online has become such a big thing when it comes to gaming nowadays. Im still not much of an online gamer, I do play games online every now and again, but rarely get too much into it. There are a few things which I hate about it though, people online are all jackasses, you get a few exceptions but most will just throw abuse at you for no reason. You get two types of people online, ones which you kick the crap out of in whichever game your playing, to then be insulted endlessly, whether it be me or my family, they just dont seem to care. Kids nowadays...eh. Then you get the types who play with you for one game, slaughter you, and then deem you unworthy of their time and leave to play with better people. No goodbyes, just gone. After an hour of playing a game online, Im usually so frustrated Ill go back to playing the computer. Good ol old fashioned AI, doesnt insult you, dont take losing badly, just gets on with what its doing. And usually puts up a much better fight. Yet people seem to prefer waiting for several minutes to play a game cut off half way through with a 12-year old kid who's favourite thing is Gears of War and insulting moms.

There are some nice things about online, getting to play with friends without having to invite them over to your house, and I guess online rankings is good for some, people who fail at life can finally soak in all the glory for not leaving their house and playing video games for days.

We should have a choice about whether we want to go to the hassle of putting their console online, were being forced nowadays almost. What I mean is that companies force us to go online to get the most out of their system. When a system has a fault, everything seems to be better when a company says there is patch coming online to download online. Well, this is good for the ones who are online, but what about the people who dont have ethernet cords heading up to their bedrooms. The PS3 had faults with backwards compatability, it was fixed through firmware updates online. I feel sorry for the people who cant do this and have to deal with their PS2 games looking crappy on their PS3.

So, what are everyones opinion on online gaming ?

[NeoCracker]

There are plenty of single players you can play on all the systems without worrying about online. If there for multiplayer games obviously, and playing the same people in your area can get old. AI gets old, cause it doesn't advance and get better, and in most Multiplayer games AI sucks compared to what players are capable of. With the massive amounts of single player games, theres hardly any forcing.

PS3's patch's how ever is a bit of a problem, not that Microsoft did any better. But really its not a big deal. I love the Idea of online gaming, its just I myself don't have many desires to play multiplayers, except a few games.

[Roto13]

I don't like online gaming for pretty much the reasons you mentioned. The only game I've ever liked to play online was Tetris DS. Other than that, it's been pretty unpleasant experience. Aside from Tetris, I like the Mii parade on the Wii. I guess the extra stuff you can do on consoles online (besides gaming) is ok, but most of it can be done with my computer and doesn't really gain anything by being on my TV.

[Little Blue]

I've never played online games, and doubt I ever will, but I can see why some people do. One of my current favourite games has a really weak AI (I've never really minded, blowing up their planets while they just sit there making unarmed ships is fun :p, but some people do mind), so like NeoCracker said, people play online to avoid a dissapointingly boring / predictable / crappy AI. I think why I won't play them online is because I know I'd get utterly torn apart because there are people who are way better than me at the games I play that are online multiplayer...

[Slothy]

There are a few things which I hate about it though, people online are all jackasses, you get a few exceptions but most will just throw abuse at you for no reason.

The mute button is your friend. :p

Anyway, AI is a poor substitute for even a decent human opponent. And when I say a poor substitute, I mean AI is usually dumb as a brick and couldn't out think somone who's reasonably skilled on a bad day. The only way AI typically gets harder is by making them harder to kill/up accuracy until every shot is a headshot/you get the picture. Honestly, I've had a lot of great experiences online. Over the years I've played a lot of great online games with both close friends and people I've never met and will never meet again. The fun isn't in simply playing the game, it's in realising just how good I'm not and being challenged by skilled opponents. It's also a more convenient way to play against other people. Let's face it, for some of us, it's not realistic to be able to get together with friends whenever we want so we can have fun playing against real people.

If you don't like online then that's fine, but it's a major market amongst the general consumer, and overall is a very good thing. It's too big a market with too much untapped potential for companies to ignore.


The PS3 had faults with backwards compatability, it was fixed through firmware updates online. I feel sorry for the people who cant do this and have to deal with their PS2 games looking crappy on their PS3.

As for this comment, updating online through the console itself is the most convenient way to do it for those who have it connected to the net. For those who don't, as long as you can access a computer you can download the updates and transfer them using one of several storage media. I doubt that many people who don't have a computer at this point, or an internet connection have much interest in any console. For those few who would, as long as they have a friend with a PC connected to the net and a memory stick they're covered.

[Dreddz]

Anyway, AI is a poor substitute for even a decent human opponent. And when I say a poor substitute, I mean AI is usually dumb as a brick and couldn't out think somone who's reasonably skilled on a bad day. The only way AI typically gets harder is by making them harder to kill/up accuracy until every shot is a headshot/you get the picture.

Thats just not true, nowadays we've got some pretty technical stuff going on in our AI's mind. The AI in todays games may not be ultra realistic, but only because it doesnt make dumb mistakes that we humans do. Thats what makes it so great.

[Markus. D]

I like it :3

I actually met 2 of the most awesome people ever too live on Maple Global :p

... but yes. offline would be alot better.

maybe all games just need a gambit system :D?

[Madame Adequate]

If I want to play online, I'll use my PC. When I'm playing console stuff, I want to play either alone, or with people in the same room. Online console gaming doesn't interest me much; the only reason I'm wanting XBL is to get updates and suchlike.

Then again, I solo in WoW, CoH, and I cancelled my FFXI account because you can't solo there. I like being part of a living world; I do not like having to team up with or talk to the other inhabitants of it. Just seeing them going about their business is fine for me.

[Slothy]

Anyway, AI is a poor substitute for even a decent human opponent. And when I say a poor substitute, I mean AI is usually dumb as a brick and couldn't out think somone who's reasonably skilled on a bad day. The only way AI typically gets harder is by making them harder to kill/up accuracy until every shot is a headshot/you get the picture.

Thats just not true, nowadays we've got some pretty technical stuff going on in our AI's mind. The AI in todays games may not be ultra realistic, but only because it doesnt make dumb mistakes that we humans do. Thats what makes it so great.

I'd like to know what games you're playing, and where I can get the time machine required to go buy them. AI certainly is a lot better than it used to be, but like I said, it doesn't compare to a skilled human opponent. AI doesn't think or adapt beyond it's scripted routines. It can't examine your playing style and adapt on the fly the way a human can. It will be a long time before computer AI is even close to being able to compare to a human. Take it from someone who has played a lot of games in a lot of genres online. Humans beat AI everytime.

And for the record, I've seen AI in a lot of games (even the ones with great AI) make mistakes so stupid that only the greenest of newbs would make such a mistake. I'm talking the sorts of things that make you laugh hysterically at just how stupid the computer can be. Give me real people please.

[XxSephirothxX]

It's simple. Playing with friends in multiplayer games is far more fun than playing alone. Playing with your own TV screen, instead of an annoying fraction of one, is far more fun than playing alone. Combine the two and you have online gaming.

Obviously, there are plenty of douchebags online, but playing with a group of friends online is way, way more fun than playing against bots or something lame like that. And if you want to play alone, you don't have to listen to what other people say. I don't really think I'd want to play online without a headset, so it's a good thing it comes standard with the Xbox/Xbox Live; it's really a must-have part of the experience. So is having friends, I guess. :p

[Sephex]

I have never seen the big deal about gaming online. I admit that it's cool to do once in awhile. I also recognized that some games are better played online. However, enjoy the single player experience (or multi with friends in the same room) much more. The thing that mainly turns me off from online gaming is I don't want to hear how gay I am for winning/losing a match or whatever. Plus, hearing "nigger" 1,000 times a day on X-Box live is tiring.

[Odaisé Gaelach]

I think that, if you want a multiplayer game, it's much better to have a few mates over, hook up their computers, and play over a LAN.

[escobert]

I like being able to trade items and if you find some good people to play with, makes friends with them then play together then on.

[Zante]

I love online games, I enjoy the completion of real people. I wouldn't play a RTS or FPS game without online play. Playing against the AI is boring, and the victories seem meaningless. Also, getting that rare uber sword of doom in an MMORPG is much more satisfying if you can show it off to others.

[Roto13]

Victories in video games are always meaningless. :P

[Germ Hamee]

It depends on the game for me. I loved FFXI. But then there's games like Gunbound Revolution. It was fun, but I got so tired of some twelve year old dweeb calling me a "stopid noob" any time I missed a shot. I'll show you noob, you stupid little fuck. asdf >.<

It's thanks to on-line games that I can't stand the noob term. It's the most infuriating geek insult I've ever heard. It would drive me to rip out tongues if there weren't cables between us.

This is why I like the Nintendo DS. The on-line gaming is a blast, and I never have to worry about what the other player has to say! :D *plays Tetris*

[Zante]

Victories in video games are always meaningless. :P

Couldn't think of a better word for it. Its just that winning is much more fun if you actually beat someone. Maybe its just me though. :p

[Jessweeee♪]

I can't play online games, and I still have fun. Maybe it's because I don't know what I'm missing :\

I hate when people say stuff like that ;\


I got so tired of some twelve year old dweeb calling me a "stopid noob" any time I missed a shot. I'll show you noob, you stupid little smurf. asdf >.<

[KentaRawr!]

Online Play really is only required if you don't have anybody good to play with. Local Play defeats online play any day. >_>

[JKTrix]

Depends on the game. My first online games were Diablo 2 and Starcraft. Great, great fun.

The random match feature of Xbox live will often match you up with random jerks, but one thing you can do is get a good group of friends and just play with them all the time. Clans do that, though I'm not in any of them.

I don't play many games online anymore. My PC isn't used much for games, I'd rather play new 360 games online as soon as they come out, when the skill level is relatively even. I use the online aspect of my systems mostly to download new content (new Picross puzzles ftw), and occasionally if I arrange with some friends to go a few rounds in a particular game.

When Halo 3 comes out, depending how good it is, I might be spending more time with that online. Right now, I usually have better things to do than sitting in a lobby waiting for a game.

[Nominus Experse]

It's not what I would term "needed", but I would like to see it included all the same.

[Discord]

Playing online can be fun, but generally it isn't as pleasant as SP and LAN.

Real-time strategy games and ego-shooters sure are fun, but the implementations of RPGs and so forth have been pretty miserable so far, in my opinion, of course. While WC3 and SC go into a totally different dimension while played on the net and Battlefield games actually become fun, things like NWN become a disaster.

I can't say that I don't like MMOs or online games in general, but in 99% of them you can forget about one of the most important aspects of the game: atmosphere. You simply can't compare the quality of quests, the feeling of the world and so forth of Oblivion and WoW. Alone the fact that everybody runs like an idiot, or even worse, bunny-hops around the fountain in a full-plate simply takes away the whole pleasure of the world. Then you get the nifty little thing known as "the chat" with priests saying "OMFG! U n00b!". That just doesn't work out for me.

On the matter of language. A couple of month ago, I jump from server to server in WoW too see if it was the same mess on the realms with other languages and frankly enough the French and the Germans seem to have quite a bit less trouble with n00b-speak and people calling each other niggers. Of course it's not perfect, but it's definitely quite a bit better. I've spend quite some time there before quitting my subscription. So if you have the ability to understand what those guys are saying and the game supports language-based servers, I'd suggest you giving it a go.

Now back to the topic. The problem with most online gaming seems to be that you're not really playing with other people, but with a bunch of high-quality bots and a very high-end spam function that one can't turn off. It just becomes more challenging and messy, but that's it. When I load BF2 my adrenaline levels hardly double from the "tremendous feeling of competition" the game install between the players. This is of course becomes a totally different story once you switch from the 64 player server to a passworded 8er with only your friends present.

To conclude, I think some games should just remain SP or low number of players MP to keep their quality.

PS: Yep, AI didn't get much smarter since Doom 2. As long as the game allows you to move freely and doesn't have stupid limitations, escaping the combat in WoW, you generally need about 5 minutes to find a way of beating them without losing a single HP.

[Discord]

Ignore this line please. I just quoted myself... Talking about AIs being dumb... :p

[Rostum]

I don't mind playing RTS and FPS against friends (either local or friends I know overseas). That's always a lot more fun than just playing the A.I. all the damn time.

MMO's are pretty cool, well I love the group feeling of FFXI, most people I come across seem to be rather mature (maybe that's because I'm in Japan's time zone, so I miss a lot of the Americans). There's also other MMO's that have a more mature player base, and gameplay.

One that comes to mind, and that I played in beta for awhile, was Uru Live: Myst Online. Absolutely beautiful worlds and grouping together with mature people to solve puzzles and explore, is a pretty good feeling. Sure the games offline are incredible too, but you can't get the same feeling as Uru Live.

[Breine]

To some it means quite a bit, but I really don't care that much. I mean, sure it is a pretty nice feature and can assure you many hours of gameplay I suppose, but it is definitely not a must for me.

I am sure that I have changed my mind in some years, though.

[Tavrobel]

I still prefer single-player games. But the thing about online gaming is that you can play with alot of people; things don't really ever get boring, since there's some newb who thinks he can actually commit e-venge on you for telling him what to do. PC games should expect more of it, becauseone needs the internet to even do anything anymore, whilst consoles have to pay/get it extra/whatever the situation is. It's more fun with other people, despite the large amounts of n00bs.

People are idiots. I'm surprised that even I have the patience for it anymore. But then again, I post in the Kingdom Hearts forum, so my patience must be rather high.

[Discord]

I still prefer single-player games. But the thing about online gaming is that you can play with alot of people; things don't really ever get boring, since there's some newb who thinks he can actually commit e-venge on you for telling him what to do. PC games should expect more of it, becauseone needs the internet to even do anything anymore, whilst consoles have to pay/get it extra/whatever the situation is. It's more fun with other people, despite the large amounts of n00bs.

People are idiots. I'm surprised that even I have the patience for it anymore. But then again, I post in the Kingdom Hearts forum, so my patience must be rather high.

Do you mean the n00bs or the idiots who call people n00bs?

[Araciel]

i don't think it's always a must, but some games are enhanced by it, fighting games are good...cause they're usually most fun when played against a real person, and FPS if you can't find friends to play with...etc.

[Mirage]

I'd like some online multiplayer for my SC3 myself. The AI is only hard because it reads my button input and blocks before the attack animation even starts, and I don't have many human players in my vicinity. The only issue is that the latency would have to be extremely low for it to work.

[Roto13]

Yeah, that's what I always think whenever someone mentions online in a fighting game. Wouldn't even the slightest bit of lag ruin everything?

[Mirage]

I would think less than 0.1 seconds would be acceptable.

[SnoopyG]

I doubt its kids that always does the cursing and bad behavior. It's probably lonely, nerdy, geeky guys who have bad communication skills and is trying to act hardcore in a place where people cant see the real them.

Anyways, besides the occasion CS game with some friends, I'm not an online person. Many years from now, online will probably become a must for every game.

[Rostum]

I doubt its kids that always does the cursing and bad behavior. It's probably lonely, nerdy, geeky guys who have bad communication skills and is trying to act hardcore in a place where people cant see the real them.

And kids.

[Araciel]

I doubt its kids that always does the cursing and bad behavior. It's probably lonely, nerdy, geeky guys who have bad communication skills and is trying to act hardcore in a place where people cant see the real them.

And kids.

i've heard of this place...it's called WoW

[nozkits]

I doubt its kids that always does the cursing and bad behavior. It's probably lonely, nerdy, geeky guys who have bad communication skills and is trying to act hardcore in a place where people cant see the real them.

Anyways, besides the occasion CS game with some friends, I'm not an online person. Many years from now, online will probably become a must for every game.

When I play online the age group I choose to play with are 25+ because these guys aren't concerned about being 1337, or hardcore. Only 8-16 year olds are.. The 25+ age group just play for fun, and are great at carrying conversations..

Of course we joke a lot, and half of them are drunk at 3am on a saturday morning.. XD

[Slothy]

Yeah, that's what I always think whenever someone mentions online in a fighting game. Wouldn't even the slightest bit of lag ruin everything?

It's why VF5 doesn't have online. Though it's not really that lag ruins it, as much as compensating for the lag made it feel like a totally different game. A fighting game could be done online if it were made with online in mind to begin with.

[JKTrix]

Like DOA4. Among the DOA 'hardcore', they've always separated strategies between 'online' and 'offline' matches. The game was built around its online, and it handles lag very well. It's not the best way to play, but you don't lose anything with lag.

Online gaming for consoles continues to grow, and as other technology advances it will likely be possible pretty soon.

[Discord]

I doubt its kids that always does the cursing and bad behavior. It's probably lonely, nerdy, geeky guys who have bad communication skills and is trying to act hardcore in a place where people cant see the real them.


Well, it certainly becomes a whole lot better after 23:00.

[Avarice-ness]

I'm sure a large number of people hate me on WoW 'cause I'm pretty anti-social to everyone other than people in my guild. I had a guy cuss at me the other day 'cause I wouldn't kill a thing that was like 10 lvl's higher than him, and then I was running my rounds in the noob place and I actually was going to be nice and do this lvl 6 guys quest (I was lvl 30 at the time) 'cause I could just one hit him then he was all "Oh sorry I have to go! BYE!"

I like to play games where I do most the things by myself. You know.. LIKE HOW OLD GAMES WERE PLAYED. But now in half the things you do in online games you have to have a "group" or something. It sucks. :(

[JackNapier]

The only online game I really spent any time on at all was Maple Story, even so it was only for like a week. I'm not much of a fan of online play, with the exception of FPS', online adds loads of fun to those types of games. I'm a sucker for old school, single player type games.

[Avarice-ness]

The only online game I really spent any time on at all was Maple Story, even so it was only for like a week. I'm not much of a fan of online play, with the exception of FPS', online adds loads of fun to those types of games. I'm a sucker for old school, single player type games.

Yeah that's why people hate me on WoW 'cause they whisper me and I never respond and just run by them killing things then I get the whisper that's the extent of "WTF'S YOUR PROBLEM, YOU DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO HELP MERTSDGH?!?" and I just keep running around killing stuff, then kill what the person was killing. I figure if I can do it alone they can too. :cry: