Multiplayer: The best qualities of the old Infinity Engine games

[Razorsthreej]

Wouldn't mind multiplayer if it was coop, seems like something fun to do after you finish the game once. Ideally would like a neverwinter nights style with servers and modules but that would require some work.

[okiraan]

I voted 'yes' for mulitplayer because my wife and I had a good time playing all multiplayer IE games. However, if enabling multiplayer would detract from the single player experience, I would gladly take a game without multiplayer.

[Saerain]

man when will you multiplayer people go away, this isn't your steam co op hurp achievement LOL omg type of game, this game is designed for a different type of nerd

Yes, RPGs are, by definition, solo activities. Just you and your dice.

 

Oh, wait.

[Ieo]

Why bump? Obsidian isn't doing MP/co-op for this. Decision made. And the latest quote from Sawyer about it (the question spans both console and co-op, though):

 

3. This question is a bit strange – I know console development isn’t being considered, but what are your feelings on why games like this don’t get made for an Xbox or PS3? I understand controls are an issue but I feel like that is sort of a sad excuse, for me personally the thought of banding together with 5 friends and going on an adventure that spans several hours, is something that is long overdue.

 

Sawyer: Controls really are a big part of it, which is also why RTSs (other than Pikmin and a few other unorthodox ones) are also notably in short supply on consoles. The co-operative experience has always been a bit of a mystery to me for this sort of game. Many people request it, but it invariably winds up being underutilized or ignored by the majority of players once the game is released.

 

So for the people on this forum (who don't understand the self-selecting nature of forum polls) who claim that sooooo many people want co-op--someone in the industry sees it otherwise. Interesting.

 

 

MAC: Obsidian has been hit hard in the past by having games released before they seemed as polished as they needed to be technically. How does having crowd-funding over publisher-funding change the way you'll plan to tackle QA down the line?

 

Tim Cain: The biggest change is that we will decide on each and every feature in the game, and we can avoid the ones that add little to the game's content but a lot to its complexity. For example, we are not supporting consoles or multiplayer, both of which make the game far more complex and hard to debug. Instead, we are focusing on making the best single-player PC RPG we can make, and that focus is simplifying a lot of our choices.

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Honestly, while I understand why they're not including it, I would have liked to see a co-op option for the game. But then, as someone who tries to play games co-op as often as I can given that my significant other loves the same type of games I do and is often, although she wouldn't admit it, better at them than I am, I'm not an unbiased source.

[Saerain]

Why bump?

For the discussion, not for the hope. Even if I am not in favor of Obsidian dedicating resources to multiplayer functionality in this case, there are seriously ****ty arguments (from people strangely vehement toward experiencing an RPG with friends) that need to be wiped when I smell them.

 

But I didn't realize two weeks was a significant lull for a thread; I apologize.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Saerain

[Deadly_Nightshade]

man when will you multiplayer people go away, this isn't your steam co op hurp achievement LOL omg type of game, this game is designed for a different type of nerd, nerds that don't play xbox with bros in frat parties, we are guys that are lone wolfes just keep to ourselves, many of us dont even have friends and hate people

 

I hope that you are living up to your name and this the above is an attempt at trolling, otherwise I feel very sorry for you. It also seems, as some people have pointed out, that some of the most loyal fans of the project are also fans of pen-and-paper gaming - an inherently social activity.

[bronzepoem]

As what I said before,a easy multiplayer arena is enough, for character building test.

But if they can fund 4 million, I will glad to see a co-op model:)

Edited October 12, 2012 by bronzepoem

[Ieo]

Why bump?

For the discussion, not for the hope. Even if I am not in favor of Obsidian dedicating resources to multiplayer functionality in this case, there are seriously ****ty arguments (from people strangely vehement toward experiencing an RPG with friends) that need to be wiped when I smell them.

 

But I didn't realize two weeks was a significant lull for a thread; I apologize.

 

Yes, the troller isn't the best example. Bobby Null's first post on the topic makes the most sense besides the dev comments afterwards, along with the cost/complexity issues. Because this is a high-level dev/business decision, if there's more discussion it ends up going further towards off-topic.

 

As for bumping--given how fast these forums go, things can fall off the radar within hours, so things two days old already feel old...