Early last month, we caught wind of the fact that Arkane's upcoming open world shooter, Redfall, would need a constant online connection to function - even in single player. The news was confirmed via a developer FAQ page, but it seems that the team has taken the fan reception from its discovery to heart.
In an interview with Eurogamer, Arkane's Harvey Smith has confirmed that the team has already started looking into removing this requirement. It sounds like a fairly complicated process though, and the feature might not make it for the launch of the game.
"We listen. And we have already started work to address this in the future. We have to do some things like encrypt your save games and do a bunch of UI work to support it. And so we are looking into - I'm not supposed to promise anything - but we're looking into and working actively toward fixing that in the future."
The fact that this fix seems to be 'one for the future' doesn't fill us with hope that it'll be ready for the game's May 2nd launch, but the fact that they've listened and are actively working on changing it is great to see.
It also means that, if this offline fix is implemented, the game should continue to work well beyond the lifespan of its online servers. Combine that with the fact that Redfall will ship on a disc at retail, and this one should remain playable in some fashion for years and years to come.
Are you happy to see this fix being put in motion? Leave your comments down below.
[source eurogamer.net]
Comments 39
That's the best news I've heard.
I will never understand the always online issue gamers have, i mean i have to be online to make this post. I have to be online for Netflix, i have to be online for Disney plus, online is just something we do all the time and yet if a game here or there has it, for reasons that make it work, gamers complain. I ain’t saying i want every game to be online all the time, but if it was i would still play it. I can’t read Pure Xbox without online always. The reason I believe this game is always online is to use cloud to know how to scale enemies when playing co-op, maybe even making enemies appear in different places in single player. I know i won’t be popular in defending online games, but the outcry is silly to me as i am always in favor of the dev’s making the choice, for those that say they won’t play the game, good, cancel your Netflix account also. Bet you won’t.
Good news. But it's still baffling that it was a decision in the first place. Not least it requires plenty more work. They must have had their reasons though.
@Green-Bandit you can easily download a show on Netflix and watch it later without an internet connection, no?
@Novs yup. And unless you are playing Redfall through the cloud, you're required to download it, so you should be able to play it offline in single-player.
I mean, I've spent my last weekend without internet due to a thunderstorm in my town. At least I had videogames to play, otherwise it would have been a very boring couple of days...
Green-Bandit wrote:
There are a load of reasons this is a bad idea, but lets start with a very simple one that happened today. Xbox Live was down in the UK from around 9am for a few hours. (see here). During that time ANY game that requires online wasn't playable. While it's not a common occurrence it does happen more frequently than people think. That is not OK.
Then there's game preservation. At some point the servers for games go offline, if the devs haven't fixed the game to run offline only, they that game is now a coaster. Again that's not good enough in a single player game.
There are MANY more reasons that it's a bad idea, these are just two, one in the short term, one in the long term.
If the devs didn't have their head up their own asses the past few years they'd have known it was a bad idea from the start and they wouldn't have to do all the work to remove it now.
Shouldn't have been a thing in the first place.
@themightyant From Eurogamer:
So why be online if you're not with other people? Smith said the game was designed that way to better help Arkane understand how people were playing it, and when they got into difficulty.
"It allows us to do some accessibility stuff," Smith said. "It allows us for telemetry, like - if everybody's falling off ladders and dying, holy [expletive deleted] that shows up. And so we can go and tweak the ladder code. There are reasons we set out to do that that are not insidious."
@themightyant It was covered in a different article but basically the always online requirement was meant to be for analytics, so they could pick up issues faster.
I personally don't give a toss about it being always online as my Xbox is always online anyway.
@Acurisur @GamingFan4Lyf But that isn't a good reason for being ALWAYS ONLINE. You can capture telemetry and send the results when you ARE online it shouldn't require a persistent connection.
No one has a problem with telemetry, or that it wants to sometimes go online to share that, but it doesn't require a persistent online connection to do this. That is where the problem lies. Thankfully they are aware and are aiming to fix that.
@themightyant I didn't say it was a good reason. You said "they must have had their reasons"...and there it is. 😁
YAWN. it's 2023, don't care if it was online or not. I'll be online all the time anyway, personally don't care if they remove it or not. I'll live.
@GamingFan4Lyf You've got me there. lol
I just find it crazy that they didn't consider this first, it's not rocket science. Most games have telemetry, but almost none require a persistent online connection for that reason. It's the wrong solution to the initial problem.
@themightyant I actually thought it had something to do with Azure servers handling the calculations for the dynamic nature of the world (that has already been publicly discussed), but I was apparently wrong.
@GamingFan4Lyf If they came out and said something like that, anyone with a brain would have shut up, but they didn't so it was clear the reasons weren't really important. Which they confirmed today. Glad they are looking to fix it.
@themightyant Yup, agreed. I mean, it doesn't bother me one bit, but it's great they are looking out for everyone's situation in this case.
I hope it gets resolved soon for all those who are not buying because of this requirement.
Good news, pleased to hear this
@themightyant could have been done for maintenance or just an issue that was quickly fixed, i ain’t saying it’s not annoying when its down and you go to game, but its part of the modern world we live in, when my VPN for work goes down i can’t get things done, sucks, but it’s ok and normally gets back up quickly. I understand the frustration, but again do not see it as a deal breaker to boycott a game. Gamers have a large tendency to overreact and to me this is largely what it is.my console is online 99.9 percent of the time I play and when the internet is off, it is ok to do something else other than game. Again I respect it as being annoying, but i find it a large overreaction to not play a game.
@Green-Bandit My point is you are projecting YOUR experience of basically always having internet and assuming everyone else is in the same boat, when they aren't. Not everyone has internet all the time. There are many reasons for this. I gave one but there are many e.g.
There are many countries that have restrictions on power use, where with a local generator you can have some power but you won't have internet. When I lived in South Africa this was the case with load shedding. I would play on laptop or switch if we had no power, but if the game is always online that just isn't possible and you can't play.
All i'm suggesting is that YOUR experience isn't the same as everyone else's. A persistent online connection shouldn't be a necessity when playing a game single player.
@themightyant i don’t disagree with what you said, cause what you said in those areas are facts. But since i don’t see them complaining from their countries i can only judge the countries and people I speak with and they in no way shape or form have these issues, they just act like they do, so they can complain and have something to boycott. From what you said i am on your side 100% , if the whole industry in USA and elsewhere was always online i could see that even being a problem, but if a few games use it for whatever reason the dev seems fit to use it for, in the event of something happens play another game for the short time you aren’t online. Again not saying that is perfect and not a bit of a bummer, but i am not boycotting a game cause it’s always online. I will play it under their conditions, as i see this being more of a shift as online becomes more and more of a center of our tech world.
@Green-Bandit Definitely not boycotting anything for this reason or almost any other. I agree there are so OTT reactions to things like this.
I'm looking forward to Redfall in fact, just glad they are seeing sense with always online in single player.
@Green-Bandit
I get you buddy and it never bothers me.
I just guess if you playing single player and your internet goes down you want to carry on playing.
I shall pick the simplest console as an example.
I mean imagine I’m in the middle of BOTW2 having an excellent gaming session and have to stop as the internet has gone down, that would annoy me.
@Green-Bandit Person OK, Netflix allows you to download so not have to be online constantly. Problem solved. But what happens when servers shut down for games? Yep. You are poop out of luck ever play it again. Just wait till destiny shuts down and all those players dropped insane amounts of money in a game realize now all gone. That is just one example of why always online is terrible.
@themightyant See. This guy completely gets it.
If always online wasn't revealed until the game dropped it wouldn't have been a major issue. People would be having a great time with the game and think it a minor bummer that they need to be online. Since we are sitting around observing any kernel of news the negatives get blown out of proportions.
@Dezzy70 sure i get that, i am in no way shape trying to say its not inconvenient, or should it be for every game. But again 99.9% of the time i am playing my Xbox and PS5 i am online, wether the games uses it or not, so what’s the difference, only when the internet goes out and that isn’t enough of a reason for me to boycott and say i won’t play that Dev’s game. People may try it and be like this is awesome and want to enjoy it and forget that it’s even online. Cause video by video Redfall is starting to look better and better and maybe a sleeper hit of 2023?
@GuyinPA75 not saying I totally agree or disagree, but how much time have they had to play it and enjoy it would be my concern with it, nothing is forever in video games these days, try playing your PS3 disc’s on PS4 or PS5. Look to Nintendo for a lack of true BC, etc etc, nothing is forever, so buy it and enjoy it and someday it could be shut down or maybe it won’t. Do i want to play Redfall 15 years from now? Me personally no, but for those that do, i understand the point but online only is a small issue in gaming for why that game may or may not be around to play. It’s nice to see they are trying to make it offline playable for those that don’t have internet, yet comment on these forums all day. I see your point to an extent, trust me i do, but people are worrying about 10 years from now, vs having fun with what they have. Enjoy the game, play it on GP even for a lesser cost investment to it. But boycotting a game cause it requires internet is a cry for attention more than anything.
well ,amazing, no dev has ever listened at this complaint before.
not super happy with their reasons why it was made always online in the first place, seems a little selfish and short sighted.
(said they want to be able to track everything players are doing all the time for metrics)
no reason why they didn't think to have all that stuff just in the mp online and keep sp as has always been.
if fixed, big positive.
@Green-Bandit the reason why most people (me included) is because about of areas in the USA don't have fast, unlimited Internet. For example the area that is close to me can only get satellite Internet. I'm not sure if you have tried that but it's awful. Does not support gaming at all, online lobby will glitch so bad it's unplayable. So someone being able to play new game they want without the always online restrictions is a mayor plus for them. I hope you don't get hate because it is a very legit question. I hope this does help to answer your question though.
@GamingFan4Lyf
This is the silliest reason they could have brought up while clearly trying to simply wiggle out of the sticky situation. 100% sure that's not one of the main reasons at all, maybe not even a small one, as they get a whole darn lot telemetry from the coop play, more than they could ever hope do anything with.
@Batfan247 great reply, and yes i have a cousin that has a 44 acre ranch and i think they use that internet, it’s expensive and not super fast, and i do feel bad for you and others in that situation, but my point is you ain’t complaining to complain, you have a legit reason and those reasons are the ones i feel bad for and support, but the ones with 200 plus mbps that their console is online 99.9% of the time anyway saying they won’t play the game is just silly to me and something i call out from time to time. But what you described to me, i am supportive of and hate to see it be that way for ya. Sorry didn’t mean to sound rude towards people in a bad internet area, just tying to call out the ones that boycott stuff for attention online.
@Novs Sure, but people play differently co-op than they do single player.
Maybe they wanted to see both single player AND multiplayer metrics so that they could balance the game accordingly and not have one-sided game updates that only target multiplayer balance (as well as fix weird issues).
The bottom line is that they heard the outcry and are working to change the requirement and still get the data they need.
Always online = Don't buy.
@GamingFan4Lyf
A lot of people play with online functionalities even in a single player, you can implement an infinite number of leaderboards or even simply ask to connect to online to get metrics like some games do and not force the game and players to always be online and make it unplayable without an internet. That's like completely beside a point.
Only the most naive person would believe that extremely half-baked "explanation", man.
@Novs Someone said "they must have had their reasons" and I posted what their reasoning was from another article.
I didn't say it was right or wrong or anything in between. I provided that person the answer from the development team.
@GamingFan4Lyf sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to call you out personally
@Magabro At my last place in NYC, I lost internet for about 36 hours. The report was that a workman crew severed a fiber-optic cable. RCN had one FO cable serving all of Queens. 🙄
Other that...nothing. The state I'm in now, I've lost power for 3-4 hours about 3 times in 2+ years. Nothing you can do then. I can't even do much work without the internet, so there are far bigger concerns during an outage than games.
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