JD posted this, and it started forking off a discussion about review systems. Those posts were mixed in with posts not about the review system used on steam. The review systems discussion lead to differences between what’s review bombing and what’s not, and different approaches to handle abusive reviews, review bombings, and how to encourage more reviews from customers.
Ok, this is going to need some clarification because offline functionality is a critical feature. Steam used to be really bad at detecting when you lost internet, especially if you forgot to set it to Offline Mode before traveling, but I’ve not had an issue with that in years. I’d expect Epic to offer similar functionality at the very least.
I just checked. I was wrong. It was just for subnautica. I was unable to run Genesis Alpha One when disconnected from the internet and there is no offline mode.
So yeah. Thats fucking terrible. I updated my original post to clarify.
Yes, that kills it stone dead for me. I don’t mind it for the occasional game that I’d just play at home, but not basing an entire store / platform around it. Hopefully this gets changed.
Earlier in the thread, @tbaldree mentioned that it’s up to the developers, and that a game can be DRM free and you could chose to never fire up the store if that’s what the developer chose to do. But maybe that’s a goal and not currently the case on the Epic Store? Or it could just be a thing you have to check on a per-game basis. Maybe Subnautica is DRM free and Genesis Alpha One is not, as chosen by those developers.
I’m a bit confused, is that implying that games are only playable in offline mode in Steam if they happen to be DRM free? I hadn’t noticed that, if that’s the case.
It’s not the firing up of the store that’s the issue, it’s the forcing of games sold through it to be tied to the store’s online status that would be a big issue. I guess there’s limited data so far, but if what @tbaldree says is applicable here then at the very least it should be pointed out on the store page for each game so customers are aware of that limitation.
Epic should clarify immediately and by clarify I mean say “Offline mode is coming next Thursday, please dont go.” This is a very big deal to me and I presume others.
For the many problems I have with Epic Store (those darn exclusives and lack of any added value whatsoever), at least Sweeney addressed that they are working on offline mode:
Of course it is ridiculous, and part of the common criticism, that such basic functionality is less important to them than restricting customer choice.
Thats a bit of a relief, thanks. Although tbh overlooking such a core feature is rather disturbing in and of itself.
It makes the whole thing seem very half baked. Throw money at developers and assume consumers will accept the online only functionality that Epics core game intrinsically requires. Good that they’re working on it, but this is yet another warning sign that tells me to scrutinize this further.
Yep the whole thing seems barely half baked. It’s like they saw the steam october discoverability bug and figured “we gotta launch now when devs hate steam” instead of making sure it’s actually ready.
Could be worse. Xbox One has been out for 5 years and can still lock you out of using the console at all if the wrong server wigs out.
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There’s no confusion really. e.g. on Steam you can setup a game without using their DRM; and the game will run just fine in off-line mode. It’s when you use the DRM wrapper that you need online access because that’s how it authenticates the wrapped binaries at runtime.
CEG wrapped binary:
builder\steamcmd.exe +login account password +drm_wrap AppID "original_exe" "drm_wrapped_exe" drmtoolp 0 +run_app_build ..\scripts\app_build_1000.vdf +quit
non-CEG wrapped binary:
builder\steamcmd.exe +login account password +run_app_build_http ..\scripts\app_build_1000.vdf +quit
It is interesting that on the epic site about the exclusivity deal, there is this nugget:
I have pre-ordered a physical copy of Metro Exodus for PC. How will this news affect me?
This will not affect you at all. You will receive your packaged game with a key allowing you to play.
Which is of course blatant lie, because everyone who preordered physical, did it with the knowledge that they will be getting steam key.
And funnily enough, I checked about 15 local web stores selling retail copies, and only two mention that they are epic keys, the rest either still list Steam or not provide the info at all since steam is considered default anyway.
I suspect there will be lot of physical copy buyers remorse come launch.
Is that part of the problem though, that steam is considered the default? Shouldn’t we be worried about that.
Yep, and where is that vocal anger going to pour out? The Steam forums probably.
Steam was chosen by the market, so not particularly. Once again, Valve never paid any third party for exclusivity. Thank you for trying to derail from the point of the post though.
It is almost comical.
A free market without regulation usually ends up with market consolidation and near monopolies, so I am happy to see some push back against steam and valve and see new players.
Now the market has spoken again, and developers have decided that Epic will be more profitable for them.
I wonder if the wider dev community will eventually sour on the Epic Game Store in 12 months when most realize their games won’t be added to the store should Epic continue the heavily-curated boutique approach.
Have any developers come out yet saying they got turned away from the Epic Store?
