Not at all. I don't play online because:
1) It doesn't interest me.
2) I can't play for more than 30 minutes at a time.
3) I would rather enjoy 100% of the games I play in single player than have 20% of my games ruined by a d*ck while playing on-line and only enjoy 80% of them.
4) Past experience with on-line games reveals that there are a surprisingly large number of idiots/jerks/etc playing on-line games that just take it all far too seriously. I haven't seen anything yet in all the whining that the Sins on-line players do to refute this argument.


Yes. That would be quite true. I am cynical about humanity in general.

i quit playing after i joined like 10-15 matches in 1 hour and they said because i didnt have 20+ wins i couldnt play i have 9 wins and 0 loses it stupid so i quit playing
then people have weird issues wiht calling other people newbs nonstop it annoying just because ur light frigate and lrm rush didnt work doesnt mean im a newb

I've been away for quite a while...what's this?



As a lot of other people have mentioned: It's people like you that keep me away. Generally, I play these games to get away from people. I feel no need to log on, get pasted by a vitrol-spewing internet tough-guy who has nothing better to do than play games all day every day. I play because it's a pleasant diversion and a chance to relax.

edit: typical, doesn't post, so I come back later to post it again and it's there...

Some people here have stated their reason for not going online is because they fear they might not be good enough for multiplayer.

Just to tell you the skill level expected. If you can partner a Medium AI vs 2 Medium AI on Kronocs Cross , locked teams and win , you will probably be in the top 50% skill bracket. If you can beat a Hard AI 1 vs 1 , you will probably be in the top 25% skill bracket. The online standard is really really low.

I'll be checking out the online scene here soon. I've just been honing my SP skills and learning the game.

I'm available on weekday evenings starting 6pm EST, and anytime on the weekends. PM me if you want to set something up.

I'll come online once I can beat the AI's competently. And as long as people won't call be a noob for losing a game

Proper balance might not hurt either. I left my last game because it wasn't balanced well, and I for one enjoy competitive matches against other competent players. Not fun when there is only strat to try. Albeit, it seems Stardock is interested in making sure the balance is fixed up and good, so far I'm impressed by their support.

I like the game and enjoy playing it, but I've still yet to beat a medium AI, therefore I plan on staying offline for a while (if not forever). I just don't have enough time to put into this game to get any good at it. I throw it in once a week play a bit and, get this, I enjoy it. No thank you to getting raped online

Hear Hear! Excellent post, ZJBDragon! You've depicted precisely my thoughts and feelings on the on-line matter.

P5yy, a newb guide will be most helpful, yes. I really would like to know first how much cool is the water before diving in, and see if my SP-winning tactics are awesome or just an embarrassingly waste of time. In any way, thanks for offering.

I'd be interested in such a guide. Perhaps include a couple basic strategies as well? TEC Rush, Advent long game... whatever works online. I don't know, because I've only played about 3-4 single player games and have yet to venture online.

Some advice for writing your guide... To make it easier on yourself, maybe divide your guide into sections. Write one section at a time and post it. Allow comments and refine it while working on the next section. Later you can combine every section into one grand guide. Also, assume your audience has some basic familiarity with the game, but not necessarily the details of all races/ships (like the LRM spam that I hear so much about).

Good luck! And thanks in advance if you decide to do it! I'm sure many online newbs (like myself) would get a lot out of it and may even be coaxed out of their SP hiding caves into the greater world of internet play.

Now...that as a reason for not playing MP...I can understand.

i played my first online game and lost, but i loved it!! graphics were beautiful and I talked smack, but got my ass handed to me. i love being able to talk to actual humans (hey [player], this guy is wacking me with sentinels, can you come hurt him?")

i was expecting crashes and stuff, but it worked out very nicely.

That was actually by Weidbrewer and not me.

My computer can't cope with mp at the mo but I'm getting a nice shiny new alienware laptop soon which I suspect 'might' be somewhat better...

Hi

I used to play EVE online for over 2 years but it got full of griefers and the devs whilst increasing the graphics and gameplay ruined the overall feel for me.

Also constant pvping meant that you were generally podded (deaded  ) in a short period of time coupled with laggfests   slowed the game to an abysmal level.

I like to be able to build up a game and fight off an AI, this single player experience allows me to be able to think through a strategy, save the game and so on, whereas online just seems like a constant stream of play.

I have tried other online games but got bored with being labelled a newb/noob etc and blown to pieces by the uber player :SURPRISED: 

So I have left online gaming for awhile  

However, that said, I may one day return to the fold.

K

Ok, I could say that it's people like you that keep me from playing online, but that would be untrue. For a number of reasons, I simply have no desire to play any non-MMO online and would not even if every single online player were the salt of the earth. However, if I did have any desire to play online, then it would be people like you that would keep me from playing online.

A good illustration of the MP mindset is a another current thread discussing MP interest. I recently posted at somewhat great length that I am uninterested in MP because I do not wish to min/max every aspect of the game and, since my enjoyment of the game comes from playing a turtle oriented game that emphasizes development over combat (and at the slowest game speed with frequent pausing to contemplate stategy), I would not enjoy playing a fast paced game emphasizing combat and quick rushes. I was informed by a MP enthusiast that my "stated reasons for not liking MP play are as useful as a gas planet with no roids. If you don't want to play online, no one is forcing you to do so, but you really can't enjoy a game in all it's wonderfully detailed complexity without subjecting yourself to an arena where a ship or two may be the difference between a lost and a won match." Got that? Although I went to relative length to explain why I personally do not enjoy the type of gameplay required for multiplayer and did enjoy the SP game, I was informed that my personal likes and opinions were irrelevant and that I could not really enjoy the game unless I played online. Moreover, although I specifically stated that I did not like online play because I did not want to be foreced to min/max every single detail of the game, I was informed that I could not enjoy the game unless I did just that.

Let me cut and paste this for clarity, because it's extremely well said.
I'll add one bit: I like to pause just to watch a capital ship explode, or to get that perfect lighting angle when a dozen illuminators scatter their fire across a fleet. That awesomeness is just not available in MP.

-- Retro

Unfortunately, build orders and really intensive micro suck the fun out of the game for any low to moderately skilled player, especially since these crucial parts of the game will get you killed if you don't nail them perfectly. It's even worse when there is only one legitimate strategy to pursue every time, Warcraft III for example, since the game becomes RTS's equivalent to bowling. At this point, the so called RTS is no longer a strategy game but a race to see who can build the correct thing faster. Units to build, resource allocation, technologies to research, all become ordered on a list with time intervals. In the face of this monster, unit placement and maneuvers become much less important, though this is what strategy is.

The hope for a lot of casual players is that they could play online with other like-minded individuals and have a good time experimenting with new strategies. Unfortunately, multiplayer is usually filled with these powergaming types or hackers, or powergaming hackers, who spam the list and discourage casual players from going online again. It's not fun, it's brutal and boring. If you need another example, try powergaming in an RPG and see how long it stays fun. Maybe a week? So, while playing against the CPU is about the equivalent of playing against a brick, casual players can still enjoy the very things they started playing for. It beats memorizing build orders.

I'm not against multiplayer, but I've played enough Starcraft to know what bothers me as a gamer. I think it boils down to how good the game is. Starcraft, for instance, is the greatest and most balanced RTS ever made because of the sheer number of attack and counter strategies each race has, so it avoids the 'one viable option' problem. I have yet to see what kind of monster Sins is online, but I'm hoping that as a small gaming company, Ironclad is committed to keeping the game as fun and open as possible for its players.

I play online, only I can't host. I have not set up my router to do so. Sometimes it takes a while to join a game, due to the number of people in my situation, but I still hang around in the lobby and wait to join.

I enjoy it and don't mind the long games. They are epic. Being able to ally with a human is a hundred times better than allying with the CPU.

Well I played my first online game today. I must say, despite the fact that the SP was incredible, I enjoyed the MP even more. It was far more interesting to me to play against another person.

P.S. Not sure if I should make a post about this in the tech support, so I'll ask here unless someone says otherwise. When I was playing, one of the other players ended up having to leave. When he left, about half of my sound went, the sound effects and voice overs. The music continued to play, but it was the only sound that continued. Not sure why that happend (when I tested it again in SP everything was normal right after that game) is this a common problem or is it something specific to my computer?

Anyway thanks for any help and I suppose I'll post in the tech support if I don't get any reply's/am told to.

I'd love to, but with my work schedule I can't find the time.

Here are a few thoughts I have on playing MP
1) Having played SP for ages until I obtained a retail version, MP is alot more demanding, but I am finding it more fun due to the human interaction.
2) You need to be prepared to loose - especially is you are new. It takes time to learn. But you will learn more playing an MP game then SP I think ONCE YOU HAVE LEARNED THE GAME BASICS IN SP FIRST!!! A lot of people are being put off by being whipped online the first day they own the game. You can't expect a driver who just got their license to be good in a race - so you need to practice some first.
3) You need to ensure teams are balanced before starting to it doesn't become a stomp session. It is OK to ask for the teams to be changed, or to leave to find another game - jut be polite about it. Instead of a 3v3,4v4,5v5, suggest 2v4, 3v5 etc... This will make things interesting for everyone since the good players are challenged more and the new players can get extra support.
4) Some trash talking can add to the fun, but respect still needs to be maintained. Generally though I find much of the chatter is ally based, as there is no time for a major chin way with the opposition. The lobby/pre-game screen are good places to ask questions while people get ready to start a game.
5) People who quit because they think they are loosing do piss the other players off (myself included sometimes) since they have commited to a game - if you cannot afford to play for 2-3 hours, play SP or come back when you do have time. That way everyone is happy and you still get your game (of course generally we would prefer to have you online playing as the more the merrier).
6) Respect the game mode being setup by the host - they are hosting so you have chosen to play THEIR game. I realise alot of people do not know how to configure their setup to host, so it is in everyone's interest not to piss a host off. I have not gotten to the stage of banning people yet, but I am getting fed up with people who quit once their cap is destroyed even though they have a good empire and are being targetted by someone who pumped everything into some ships at the start and then rushed them. If you survive that with allies, you are often stronger then they are.
7) The lobby is not a dating service - asking if their are hot guys around is NOT what the lobby is for!!!
8) Turn off downloads and CPU intensive applications - it is not fair to others if the game is constantly lagging due to you reserving resouces for other purposes. If you want to play the game online, do your utmost to make it good for all - I personally do not like dropping people, but I would rather do that then loose everyone else who is in the game.

The biggest thing to remember is to RESPECT the other people online with you and of course to remember that it IS just a game, even if you do really want to win

I'd much rather find someone I know to play with and LAN it, I'm afraid. Having played/dabbled in some other RTSs online, I've found that the initial hassle of setting up a game, waiting for people to connect, people drop out, someone needs a crap and goes AFK for a while, then someone else makes a sandwich, the game errors on load and crashes etc etc, is bad enough. Then eventually you get the game going only find it's laggy as hell for some reason (probably someone with a slow comp has the graphics turned), your team-mate is completely unresponsive to any ingame chat, or worse talks complete nonsense all the time, the opposing team turn out to be playing partners who regularly own newbs, your partner gets attacked and drops in a second (obviously now replaced with AI, but still...) and leave you to fight it out. That much was bad enough with 10-20 minute DOW and WC3, but 2-4 hours SOASE games? Pffff.

While I think I would enjoy playing other real people, I prefer to take my time over a game, make some dinner in the middle, save it for later, enjoy the graphics, check the internet now and then while I play etc. I also find that so many of the gaming populace are such bad sports, it's infuriating, this even applies in LAN matches, which is why I usually end up tag-teaming the AI. Yeah, I know, that's for noobs, but I prefer my games to be relaxing and enjoyable, I just get too worked up when playing against real people.

PS - hies Retro!!

The way I view mp is that its not suppose to just be about fun which people complain it can lack. Like being competitive in sports where you are good at the game , your not actually looking to have "fun" in the blissful way , your looking to test the limits of your physical and mental abilities. Its only human nature to want to discover yourself , improve your attributes , learn new things and be victorious in any way no matter how trivial . It seems theres a misunderstanding that humans should only rate things on "fun fun fun".

Since you asked so nicely, Ill poke around a bit more . But seriously your right. Its just that the only games I played online ended with 3 AI players if you know what I mean.(everyone dropped out ) On top of that I believe in the penny arcade theory.(single person + anonymity + large audience = TOTAL MORON).