Any chance of seeing a working MP here or somewhere down the line?

from Elemental Forums

I remember this dilemma from way back in WoM beta. If memory serves WoM was advertised as a game with multiplayer.

Than later it just "didn't happen". Yes, WoM was a "launchdate disaster". Ok, we've been through that, I can understand why everything went wrong in there. Then there was the whole "expansions for free" initiative. Good way to make up for original disappointment, or at least that's how it sounded at the time.

I've seen FE and FE-LH. LH is not out of beta yet, but it already looks like a (potentially) good SP game to me. FE, though... I don't know what to say about it. Nothing other than "what the heck was that?" comes to mind. A longer and less emotional way to describe it would be a "continuation of WoM beta leading nowhere".

The whole "elemental legacy" seems like one big journey towards a decent SP game.

Well, congratulations, I believe you're almost there. But you know what? I still feel disappointed. Why? Because I bought an MP game waaay back then, and only got an SP game by now.

Video games purchases in general are quite close to cat in a sack purchases, we all have our ways of dealing with it, "those things happen". I'm not disappointed about the money, wouldn't be the first time I paid for something that failed. I'm disappointed about the fact that I could have bought a good MP game and a pair of expansions to it by now if things went better in the development. Didn't happen. I could have bought a failed MP game with a free pair of expansions to it. Didn't happen. What happened is - I bough a failed MP game, got a failed SP expansion, and a good SP expansion to it. That, is the extent of disappointment.

Just for reference, a decent game like that with a working multiplayer is worth 50$ to me, without, it's worth 0. No really, if WoM wasn't originally listing MP among it's features I wouldn't care about this franchise at all.

I may not have seen the whole process, but I think it's clear enough how the original divide between the people who wanted SD to divert all the attention towards SP and those who didn't solved itself - "all those who didn't" gradually "packed-up and left the field of view".

This here post is a reminder that the "field of view" is not the same as "existence".

I don't know how "the people out there" feel about it in general, but I think there's quite a lot of gamers that share my viewpoint - Elemental nightmare has reached it's deciding phase. This mess have probably soiled your reputation a lot by now. You had a big enough credit of it though (all for good reasons I might add). People view you as a company that fixes it's mistakes, or at least they used to, back when all of it started. How the FE-LH launches will determine if that opinion will stay in your customers' minds.

It'll probably stay in the minds of those who wanted nothing other than single player game from this franchise. (even if that fixing took so long)

But what of MP audience? We aren't active here, sure, but that's because we had no reason to be. You kept sending mail from time to time informing your customers about the progress of the franchise, but there's been no word of MP progress. The "second" expansion will finally feature the SP content worth playing. What's next then?

Should those of us who wanted MP wait even longer? Or should we pack up and leave the elemental franchise behind us? Introducing MP into this is a complicated endeavour, I understand. But to be fair to your customers you should either do it, or at least man up and admit that you crossed-out this feature, and that there's nothing for us to anticipate here.

I'm asking for an official response, and not just to me in this post. Make it truly official, an announcement in the media or a newsletter - either that you will make it up to the MP-focused audience, or that you will not. Point is - if you can't preserve the reputation of people who fix their mistakes at least preserve a reputation of honest people.

19,029 views 12 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

WoM did have multiplayer. I played it with my friends.

The devs have said they plan on adding multiplayer to LH, but right now their network coders are all on other unannounced projects that absolutely require multiplayer support, so it will have to wait.

 

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

This boring conversation again?

Groupy 2 - Organize multiple applications into grouped tabs on your Windows desktop
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting DsRaider, reply 1

WoM did have multiplayer. I played it with my friends.

The devs have said they plan on adding multiplayer to LH, but right now their network coders are all on other unannounced projects that absolutely require multiplayer support, so it will have to wait.

 
End of DsRaider's quote

 

Really? That would be amazing. Got a bunch of friends that would have bought this game if it had multiplayer (and one who bought it thinking it did have multiplayer :P ).

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting DsRaider, reply 1

WoM did have multiplayer. I played it with my friends.

The devs have said they plan on adding multiplayer to LH, but right now their network coders are all on other unannounced projects that absolutely require multiplayer support, so it will have to wait.

 
End of DsRaider's quote

WoM itself isn't called a successfully released game by a lot of players. It's MP was even worse. If we'd be talking about "check-box" quality level here I'd accept WoM as a game with MP. We aren't talking about check-boxes though, WoM delivered nothing neither MP nor SP. Few would argue with that.

Anyway, closer to the topic. Where, when, and how did they "say that they plan"? I've seen no word in the news about MP, or even about planing of MP. Steam doesn't list MP among the features and that's the closest thing I've seen to an official statement. I'm not exactly asking for MP, that is a problematic affair. I'm asking for a clear statement on the matter. Right now anyone who's wondering about MP in the series has to go searching forums, checking old threads, and guessing if old plans are still in effect. What I want, is a statement that players won't have to search for (for example I found out about FE and LH without coming to the forums or google to check the state of the elemental franchise) and subsequent ones if that situation changes.

Quoting mqpiffle, reply 2

This boring conversation again?
End of mqpiffle's quote

No, this time it's a different boring conversation. ;P

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

I for one began with FE so I didn't know WoM had a MP feature.

But as it stands I would really like to play this game FE:LH in MP if it would be possible.

Or at least now that my hopes are awakened I would want them to be crushed or further strengthened by an official statement.

 

It would be so awesome if everybody could play with each other even using their own custom races and strategies. That would be really really awesome!

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Reianor3, reply 5
Where, when, and how did they "say that they plan"?
End of Reianor3's quote

Frogboy's last statement regarding MP can be found here, under "Yes, we're still hiring".

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

MPer is so far down the line though. It's going to be well after they polish this expansion and maybe even the next before they think about inputing a MPer experience. Keep in mind though Frogboy also said they wouldn't "balance" MPer because Solo single player game will come first and foremost in all decisions. I'm very glad of that statement because Triumph studios ruin the Age series balancing it for MPer experience. In fact Triumph only put out 1 or 2 patches max and they were done trying to polish all their games of the series. They don't support their games like Stardock and Matrixgames and Paradox do.

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting joeherbert48, reply 8
Stardock and Matrixgames and Paradox
End of joeherbert48's quote

 

Probably my 3 favorite companies.

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

Quoting Gandalftheredskin, reply 9



Quoting joeherbert48,
reply 8
Stardock and Matrixgames and Paradox


 

Probably my 3 favorite companies.
End of Gandalftheredskin's quote

Yeah me too specially Paradox who made Crusader Kings II.

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting joeherbert48, reply 4


Quoting mqpiffle, reply 2
This boring conversation again?

If you don't like them why did you come in here? 
End of joeherbert48's quote

:banhammer: :troll:

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Gaunathor, reply 7


Quoting Reianor3, reply 5Where, when, and how did they "say that they plan"?

Frogboy's last statement regarding MP can be found here, under "Yes, we're still hiring".
End of Gaunathor's quote

Great, now which head do I keep knocking at, for them to deliver those statements to those are interested in MP but not in reading all these forums. (there's not much to read in here for them, not until MP at least gets on the road)

Quoting joeherbert48, reply 8

MPer is so far down the line though. It's going to be well after they polish this expansion and maybe even the next before they think about inputing a MPer experience. Keep in mind though Frogboy also said they wouldn't "balance" MPer because Solo single player game will come first and foremost in all decisions. I'm very glad of that statement because Triumph studios ruin the Age series balancing it for MPer experience. In fact Triumph only put out 1 or 2 patches max and they were done trying to polish all their games of the series. They don't support their games like Stardock and Matrixgames and Paradox do.
End of joeherbert48's quote

 x4 was never a good genre for competitive multi-player anyway. I mean who'd expect them to balance it? I'd bet most "MPers" just want the exactly same thing they get in SP AI bashing, but in coop AI bashing. And the rest just don't know what they are asking for.

Quoting joeherbert48, reply 10


Quoting Gandalftheredskin, reply 9


Quoting joeherbert48,
reply 8
Stardock and Matrixgames and Paradox


 

Probably my 3 favorite companies.


Yeah me too specially Paradox who made Crusader Kings II.
End of joeherbert48's quote

I should probably go see what Matrixgames are about and what they've brewed so far... Otherwise +1