PvE Modes Need More Recognition!

[@Toby_Kat]

Completely agreed, man! Too bad that's not where the big money comes from in AAA games, because PvE is all I play anymore. ...sorry to derail this and change the subject, but this is super important to me as a casual yet dedicated gamer. This is my hobby of choice, and I utterly love it. But I personally feel like NO game should be _absolutely_ online-only. It's just such a massive waste of effort and potential when a promising project is sent out into the world to compete with every other multiplayer game, every other game in general, every other possible use of one's time _at all..._ Like I understand that investing in AI could cause indie developers extra headaches and derail the focus of their efforts if they do just wanna make a multiplayer-focused experience. But it's better that their efforts remain accessible within a game that's playable in SOME form, rather than all of that having been a waste when the population inevitably dies down and complete lobbies are impossible to form. Supporting offline play where server and population status don't matter is the only true way to keep one's game playable for as long as possible. If one truly IS proud of their game and what they put into it, wouldn't they want to give it the best chance for it to live as long as possible? I certainly would :o On a similar note, it's utterly inexcusable for PvE and single-player modes to require an internet connection. I don't care if calculations are done server-side, I paid for the thing, let me host my own dang instance. I friggin HATE that video games are more business than art form these days >~< Money may be the reason games are still made on a large scale, but that shouldn't come at the cost of fun and preservation. All of this manufactured scarcity, needlessly and forcibly-injected kill-switches, rushing to meet deadlines while skipping past quality and polish... I don't want to hate any game. I don't want any game to fail. I want to love and appreciate as many as possible! It shouldn't be publishers versus gamers, it should be a mutual journey to make the best software possible! Every time! I want to love PvP, but games are too big now. There's too much perceived to be at stake, and there are too many randoms who just won't play fair. To win some, lose some, improve and have fun. It can't just be fun anymore. I feel trapped in single player games. I truly love them, don't get me wrong.. but every time I try PvP again for a taste of the exhilarating fun I remember, I'm swiftly reminded why I gave it up. Please, every developer ever, this is an open request to all of you. Please invest in single player, PvE, and offline. It's worth it. That's what I pay for, and I just won't buy in if a game doesn't have that. But don't do it for me, do it for you and your game. It's worth it.

[@Etch017]

100% this To me I lack the confidence to step into a pvp environment now and expect to do well. I have enough self esteem issues and I just want to enjoy my hobby, not spend my free time getting annoyed at strangers who will trash you at the first instence of you underperforming.

[@Toby_Kat]

@@Etch017 Exactly :/ It’s either invasive anti-cheat and a disheartening cycle of negativity… or single player and co-op games for an actual chance at fun. If I thought I could be dedicated to gitting gud, I’d sooner drop games entirely. There’s no fair and genuine competition anyway.

[@ThunderousFolf]

Very well said! Eventually a game's playerbase will die down as time passes, and like you said, lobbies will be difficult or impossible to fill. For there to effectively be expiration dates as soon as a game gets released, to know that no matter how much time you put into it a game will become unplayable through official means later down the line, that demoralizes everyone. It demoralizes the developers because they know their efforts will be wiped out later down the line. It demoralizes players because the money and time they put into it will be wiped out later down the line. Nobody wins in a situation like that. Games should be made with passion and love, not for the sake of money. Part of making a game out of love comes into making sure a long term plan is in effect for the game. Yeah, you can look at a game's initial success and early years, but once it starts to show its age, it's still worthy of being played! And PvE modes ensure that no matter how much time has passed, no matter how many players have left the game, those that remain and those who give it a try years down the line will still be able to play it.

[@Toby_Kat]

@@ThunderousFolf though I'm torn. It has to be acknowledged that some developers just don't care about that, and we can't really make them care. And just as they're free to abstain from supporting single player modes for players with values parallel to mine, I'm free to keep my money and just write their game off as one that's just not for me. That's the free market doing its thing. If a single player mode is promised and never delivered, then its obviously BS from the perspective of a paying customer. I made the mistake of buying Sea of Thieves and Overwatch before single player options were really announced. I believed that was just an obvious step for future updates, but at least I can look back now and see my folly to better direct my future purchases. I'm still bummed that SoT is still online-only, but private servers are a promising step forward. Overwatch though... the one I paid for is dead, and the F2P framework they set up with 2 to better support the promise of single player modes... well shoot, I definitely feel like I was dicked over with that. I'd still love the opportunity to play SoT, The Division, The Crew, everything that has or CAN (should) have a solid enough single player element in the future.. but I can't make them prioritize that. I can only hope that either they make the decision to preserve their own games, legal rulings can persuade them to do so, or the beautiful fans with the technical know-how can provide a solution for that in time. Tbh we really shouldn't have to rely on that stuff though. It's confusing and frustrating that games aren't built with future-proofing in mind. I know seeing that early on makes me MUCH happier and more willing to buy in! ...but otherwise, the best option for me is to just refrain from doing that, and to twist it in my head to be a good thing for me. "Sucks that fun-looking game doesn't have a mode for me, but at least they saved me my time, money, and hard drive space by making that clear now! 🥲" Se we cope and move on, and we play what's fun and worth our time. Why waste our efforts when they'd probably leave the single player/offline mode buggy and broken anyway out of spite? It'll hurt them more than it hurts us when their software is little more than a depressing blob of junk data that once represented decent potential. What a great legacy to leave the people who bought in and showed their support.

[@matiasdelafuente3106]

You have NO IDEA.... how much i agree with everything in this video. Personally, i almost exclusively cater to coop games now days, with just a couple of exceptions.

[@5hane9ro]

Amen my dude! With all the PvP games that ruined their aestetic, have bad SBMM, cheating, or fomo crap, PvP is exhausting. PvE focused games have been my main multiplayer & mostly fix this

[@KazumaGShep]

You literally summed up Escape from Tarkov for me. When they added PVE and I started playing that instead I started enjoying EFT more. Enough to where it's ruined other shooters for me because of how in depth I can make my guns my own.

[@CarlRaven91]

There's a PvE gamemode which I got back into in 2021 after years of not playing, it's Mass Effect 3's Multiplayer! It's still played to this day, there's a small community still active in there. But sadly, I stopped playing late last year due to burnout from work.

[@Nobody.exe50]

my boy here is cooking

[@Etch017]

I was typing up a script about the importantence of bots in video games when this video dropped. Fair to say you took the words right out of my mouth. I've happily played nearly 6000 hours of Arma 3 with AI and friends without a single PVP match (besides from shits and giggles with friendos) How is Battlefield 2042's AI mode? I'm assuming it has limitations placed upon it so it's not a true 1:1 experience with the PVP.. Also your fursona getting angry with the angry sticker made my day :3

[@ThunderousFolf]

2042's AI mode is actually alright. Not a 1:1 to PvP, but the bots are able to do a lot of what players are able to do in PvP. Drive vehicles, give out ammo and health when you ask for it, revive you, they go after points, etc. It's a solid alternative to the PvP experience. Glad to hear you liked the sticker! That one along with the others I use in my videos were made by HeyFizzyJay!

[@GeistDrachen]

I will say, games like For Honor with its event pve modes are arguably the best parts about it. Protect the Commander ones like Emperor's Escape, Tales of the Rebellion, and the Web of the Jorogumo were awesome. But my personal favorite has to be Test Your Metal. That game mode is so much fun being able to figbt against the campaign bosses. I've made like 8 montages from that game mode alone just because i enjoyed it that much.

[@flawlesspwrs]

pvp is so lame :P