Blizzard Surprised by Reaction to Online-Only Diablo 3

[Dragunai]

For one thing, my connection is too unreliable to make it practical (one of the reasons I loathe Steam) and two, I'm not willing to financially support a system that so openly disregards me as a gamer.

Hold the phone, don't 99% of steam games work just fine w/o an active connection (once they're dl'd and installed?)

They seem to work for me??

I don't mean to be daft, but could you expand on where you encountered this problem on steam? I've only ever seen it on some of the 'always on' Ubisoft DRM titles. Is it also on Valve's titles? Or...???

CORRECTION!

When I play Dawn of War 2 and my steam goes down I can't even touch the single player without reconnecting my steam first.

Steam is the bane of offline single player gaming.

Wrong, Games for Windows Live requires it of you, not Steam.
They changed this in Retribution so you only need Steam,meaning you can play it withot having to go online

Weird because on 2 separate occasions I clicked the single player, well any of the play options really, and a message came up saying "you must be signed into steam to play," after I got the message "You have lost connection to steam," whilst playing Dow 2 and Chaos rising.

Haven't had issues with retri yet apart from the 20 part installation of - Put in disc, install perquisites, log in to steam, update steam for the 17th this week, go through the 3 pages steam demands of you, enter CD-key, install via steam, patch via steam, start game, log in to Games for windows (Dow 2 / CR), play game and pray steam doesn't decide to disconnect because it felt like it.

Oh and you're wrong because you HAVE to go online to play ANY of them.

http://www.gamereplays.org/community/index.php?showtopic=450976&mode=linear
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?217090-DoW-2-Offline

Mhmmmm Seem's I was right AND can cite reference.

Leaving one question.

u mad bro?

 

[mrwoo6]

For one thing, my connection is too unreliable to make it practical (one of the reasons I loathe Steam) and two, I'm not willing to financially support a system that so openly disregards me as a gamer.

Hold the phone, don't 99% of steam games work just fine w/o an active connection (once they're dl'd and installed?)

They seem to work for me??

I don't mean to be daft, but could you expand on where you encountered this problem on steam? I've only ever seen it on some of the 'always on' Ubisoft DRM titles. Is it also on Valve's titles? Or...???

CORRECTION!

When I play Dawn of War 2 and my steam goes down I can't even touch the single player without reconnecting my steam first.

Steam is the bane of offline single player gaming.

Wrong, Games for Windows Live requires it of you, not Steam.
They changed this in Retribution so you only need Steam,meaning you can play it withot having to go online

Weird because on 2 separate occasions I clicked the single player, well any of the play options really, and a message came up saying "you must be signed into steam to play," after I got the message "You have lost connection to steam," whilst playing Dow 2 and Chaos rising.

Haven't had issues with retri yet apart from the 20 part installation of - Put in disc, install perquisites, log in to steam, update steam for the 17th this week, go through the 3 pages steam demands of you, enter CD-key, install via steam, patch via steam, start game, log in to Games for windows (Dow 2 / CR), play game and pray steam doesn't decide to disconnect because it felt like it.

Oh and you're wrong because you HAVE to go online to play ANY of them.

http://www.gamereplays.org/community/index.php?showtopic=450976&mode=linear
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?217090-DoW-2-Offline

Mhmmmm Seem's I was right AND can cite reference.

Leaving one question.

u mad bro?

Your reference sites are other forums? Thus not definitive official answers? Yeah no.

aslo;
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555

and just in-case you missed it
"The Steam client application's files must be updated to allow for the use of Offline Mode. If your game's status is "100% - Ready" but you receive the message "This game cannot be started in Offline Mode" when attempting to play offline, the Steam client application's files need to be updated.
Firewall settings preventing Steam from updating itself are the most common cause for this problem. Please see the Troubleshooting Network Connectivity topic for instructions to configure your network so Steam may update if you encounter any difficulties with Offline Mode."

It should work fine, its your end that's at fault.

U mad, bro?

 

[Tony2077]

For one thing, my connection is too unreliable to make it practical (one of the reasons I loathe Steam) and two, I'm not willing to financially support a system that so openly disregards me as a gamer.

Hold the phone, don't 99% of steam games work just fine w/o an active connection (once they're dl'd and installed?)

They seem to work for me??

I don't mean to be daft, but could you expand on where you encountered this problem on steam? I've only ever seen it on some of the 'always on' Ubisoft DRM titles. Is it also on Valve's titles? Or...???

CORRECTION!

When I play Dawn of War 2 and my steam goes down I can't even touch the single player without reconnecting my steam first.

Steam is the bane of offline single player gaming.

Wrong, Games for Windows Live requires it of you, not Steam.
They changed this in Retribution so you only need Steam,meaning you can play it withot having to go online

Weird because on 2 separate occasions I clicked the single player, well any of the play options really, and a message came up saying "you must be signed into steam to play," after I got the message "You have lost connection to steam," whilst playing Dow 2 and Chaos rising.

Haven't had issues with retri yet apart from the 20 part installation of - Put in disc, install perquisites, log in to steam, update steam for the 17th this week, go through the 3 pages steam demands of you, enter CD-key, install via steam, patch via steam, start game, log in to Games for windows (Dow 2 / CR), play game and pray steam doesn't decide to disconnect because it felt like it.

Oh and you're wrong because you HAVE to go online to play ANY of them.

http://www.gamereplays.org/community/index.php?showtopic=450976&mode=linear
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?217090-DoW-2-Offline

Mhmmmm Seem's I was right AND can cite reference.

Leaving one question.

u mad bro?

you know when ever i see those words i think i'm trying to piss you off is it working

 

[DanDeFool]

If you don't like it, just wait for the hackers to patch it out. It worked for Assassin's Creed 2. Although I suspect you might have to get certain content from Blizzard's servers for the game to work properly. In that case, we might be out of luck.

 

[SpaceMedarotterX]

You know Blizzard I didn't give a shit about Diablo 1, and I never played it. I never gave a shit about Diablo 2, and I never played it. But hell I was young and poor and BROKE back then. Now I'm old and poor and broke, which means I have a greater appreciation for games. So I considered Diablo 3. Well until this at least.

See the better PC for the game is easy, Save up some money, but a new PC. But the internet? my internet struggles to load up a YOUTUBE VIDEO HOW THE FUCK AM I MEANT TO PLAY THIS SHIT?! This is not me turning my back on Diablo 3 because I don't want to give you money Blizzard. This is me turning my back on Diablo 3 because you made me unable to give you money. I don't like Steam, I don't like Cloud Gaming, I don't think that's the future for another decade, and only once the idiots have decided that they love all there properties existing as streams of data and nothing else.

So, sorry Blizzard, I mean hell I wasn't exactly salivating for this game but I was going to pick it up. But eh, go fuck yourselves. It's not like I DON'T have a backlog of games I need to play anyway. By the way guys when Blizzard shuts down the servers for Diablo 3... However late they decide to do it? I'll still be able to play Mario Bros. on my NES. Because I'm not relying on the whims of someone else on whether or not I can play a game

 

[Dragunai]

For one thing, my connection is too unreliable to make it practical (one of the reasons I loathe Steam) and two, I'm not willing to financially support a system that so openly disregards me as a gamer.

Hold the phone, don't 99% of steam games work just fine w/o an active connection (once they're dl'd and installed?)

They seem to work for me??

I don't mean to be daft, but could you expand on where you encountered this problem on steam? I've only ever seen it on some of the 'always on' Ubisoft DRM titles. Is it also on Valve's titles? Or...???

CORRECTION!

When I play Dawn of War 2 and my steam goes down I can't even touch the single player without reconnecting my steam first.

Steam is the bane of offline single player gaming.

Wrong, Games for Windows Live requires it of you, not Steam.
They changed this in Retribution so you only need Steam,meaning you can play it withot having to go online

Weird because on 2 separate occasions I clicked the single player, well any of the play options really, and a message came up saying "you must be signed into steam to play," after I got the message "You have lost connection to steam," whilst playing Dow 2 and Chaos rising.

Haven't had issues with retri yet apart from the 20 part installation of - Put in disc, install perquisites, log in to steam, update steam for the 17th this week, go through the 3 pages steam demands of you, enter CD-key, install via steam, patch via steam, start game, log in to Games for windows (Dow 2 / CR), play game and pray steam doesn't decide to disconnect because it felt like it.

Oh and you're wrong because you HAVE to go online to play ANY of them.

http://www.gamereplays.org/community/index.php?showtopic=450976&mode=linear
http://forums.relicnews.com/showthread.php?217090-DoW-2-Offline

Mhmmmm Seem's I was right AND can cite reference.

Leaving one question.

u mad bro?

Your reference sites are other forums? Thus not definitive official answers? Yeah no.

aslo;
https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=3160-AGCB-2555

and just in-case you missed it
"The Steam client application's files must be updated to allow for the use of Offline Mode. If your game's status is "100% - Ready" but you receive the message "This game cannot be started in Offline Mode" when attempting to play offline, the Steam client application's files need to be updated.
Firewall settings preventing Steam from updating itself are the most common cause for this problem. Please see the Troubleshooting Network Connectivity topic for instructions to configure your network so Steam may update if you encounter any difficulties with Offline Mode."

It should work fine, its your end that's at fault.

U mad, bro?

Only problem there is, you still need steam running to fire the game up at all.
Mhmmm didn't really think about that did you =/

So my point stands - Steam is a middle man who gets in the way of playing the game and even firewalled you need the program running else the game won't :'<

Bored now.

 

[gbemery]

"You're introducing a separate user flow,..." he explained.

umm a separate user flow? Like who over 90% of your user base?

 

[Sad Face]

Yes, most people are going to choose to play online, but what about for the people that don't have a choice? If you're on the road, or your internet dies, or you just flat out don't have internet but want to play an awesome game?

^My thoughts exactly.
I have a very unreliable internet connection. I have a few select multiplayer games but in the end I always have to look at what I'm going to be able to play and what I'm not. It's not economical for me to buy a single-player game that has multi-player requirements.

It's that simple.

 

[The_Emperor]

Yep, stupid ideas are stupid.

I'm going to boycott it too.

 

[spartandude]

-Incapable of reading so much

My i advise you buy Torchlight 2 when it comes out (soon i think) its very similar to Diablo so you can get the experience and it also shows Blizzard how they've driven people to their own competition

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Actually what is funny is in their zeal to create the walled garden blizzard really shot themselves in the foot.

With an integrated real money auction house there is a familiar and straightforward method for private server operators to make money. All you need to do is couple in a "donation" payment system and its big bux.

I bet the hackers are salivating thinking about it. And also think about this...blizz claims they won't be posting items for sale but what would stop the private server operator from doing the same?

 

[teisjm]

While this won't affect me, cause my characters are gonna be online characters anyways, i think it's dumb of him not to expect an uproar.

Also, why on earth does he say that it's not DRM reasons, and then fail to explain what it is? If he had come up with some technobarble, that gave some reasoning to his statement, it would probably have been accepted a lot more.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Wow, so no LAN, no modding aaaand no Offline play and the guy is 'surprised' by the reaction?

That's rediculous. In terms of shocking realizations that's like noticing that your ring finger is longer than your index finger.

This game was supposed to be the reason for me to buy a new PC, now I'm considering not buying it after 12 years of waiting or so.

 

[EvilScoop]

Actually what is funny is in their zeal to create the walled garden blizzard really shot themselves in the foot.

With an integrated real money auction house there is a familiar and straightforward method for private server operators to make money. All you need to do is couple in a "donation" payment system and its big bux.

I bet the hackers are salivating thinking about it. And also think about this...blizz claims they won't be posting items for sale but what would stop the private server operator from doing the same?

How would a private server operator transfer what is essentially duplicated items from their server onto Blizzards server without them noticing?

 

[Briney-]

At the end of the day, people vote with their wallets. If you don't like what Blizzard is doing, don't buy their products. Simple as that. It's not like they're the only show in town.

 

[EvilScoop]

As many others said, I do not support these online only DRM's from other companies and I will not support it from Blizzard. I also don't understand how there are people who are ok with this, since internet connections are not 100% stable.

Also, Diablo is not a freaking MMO, please don't use that to justify always online. I've enjoyed my Diablo 1 and 2 experiences offline thank you very much.

I'm connected wirelessly through an old Mac notebook, my connection goes out several times a day. I still don't care about always online.

Say I'm playing D3, my internet blinks and I'm booted out. The time it takes me to get back in is but a few seconds and then I'm back to playing for HOURS before it may happen again. It's a minor annoyance at best, even if the router fails, which it does frequently, that's still just ONE hour or so of troubleshooting. Even if I were to play the game all damn day it would only equate to minimal time lost.

That's why I don't care, because I don't feel entitled or pained about every single second lost.

And your point is invalid, Diablo 1 and 2 weren't MMO's. Diablo 3 however is obviously being designed purely as a co-operative experience. They made it different, so they wouldn't be making it the same.

 

[technoted]

I'm still looking forward to this game knowing that I will only be able to play it one day a week because it requires Online...

 

[VileTerror]

EvilScoop . . . the whole point of a private server is for players to get essentially the same gaming experience* on servers which /don't/ belong to Blizzard. The point is to /avoid/ Blizzard's servers, not back-transfer duplicated items. Although . . . that would rock! What better way to destroy the stupid system than exploit it until it collapses?

* Aside from, you know, the draconian nonsense.