Technically, yes, it would be possible to have Dual Universe playable in single player mode or LAN multiplayer mode, given the appropriate amount of game development time.
However it won't be done because of the two following reasons:
- because it's not the game vision.
- because of game development time necessary to adapt the game to such configuration.
That being said:
- Nothing will prevent you to play "solo" if you're not interested in activities that could involve PvP (like building your base in a secure area).
- If you don't like to pay a monthly subscription, there's a high chance to see a yearly subscription once the game will launch. While it makes total sense to prefer paying only once for a single player game or player-hosted server game (where you can invite your friends to join in multiplayer mode), it makes more sense to pay progressively for an online game managed by a company, as paying only once won't give you the same pros (and cons) of buying a single player game or a player-hosted server game: you won't own the game. you will own the right to play the game for a specific amount of time.
- There was a lifetime subscription option for exactly one year (from the 7th September 2016 to the 7th September 2017). This was a limited reward to thank early backers for having given us their trust and backed the game to a such exceptional level.
Many people who like to play solo or just with a small group of friends see the current development of "games as a service" as an evil thing attempting to force them to change their way of playing. Nothing is more wrong:
1) The number of available games enabling players to play solo or in small groups has never been so huge (a short glance at Steam will convince anyone at that).
2) Seeing games released as services is not necessarily an attempt to force these people to pay more than before: it's just that these games are not meant for them. If they prefer to play solo and/or with a small group of friends, it's totally their right. However, they often forgot that not all players want the same thing, far from it: there are also many players wanting to play in a huge world/universe populated with many other players. MMORPGs (like Dual Universe) are meant for this second category of players, and from there, it's just a matter of financial viability:
Players want a huge world/universe with many other players (or even the whole community, in the case of Dual Universe) around them?
=> as no player will have the hardware to host a server powerful enough, this is where it becomes necessary to have the hardware managed by the company developing the game.
=> such server will be expensive to maintain (hardware + staff behind it), and the cost will never end. Moreover, as many people will have different material, may encounter problems, due to a technical issue or a social issue with other groups of players (harassment, griefing, etc), it becomes necessary to get teams able to handle such situations (customer support, community managers). Moreover, as such games generally continue to evolve a lot after the release, to provide new features and new content (development team). All this can't just be paid once, with the wish that the game can live forever: if there are bills to pay at the end of each month, then the healthy to maintain the game is to have a subscription model.
Some will say "Yes, but there are a lot of MMORPGs free-to-play or buy-to-play".
Sure, but to be honest, it would be interesting to ask ourselves the following:
- how many have lived for a very long time (10 years or more) with such model?
- do those games have been beyond reproach regarding the three following points: permanent server availability, high quality customer support, regular content/feature updates?
Dual Universe has the ambition to be a game that will last a lot more than a few years, with regular updates. Obviously, the vision will not appeal to all types of players (as no game can appeal to all players) and or the service to have a decent quality, it needs to have a regular income, hence a monthly subscription, and no "this monetization model is obsolete" or "look how many went free-to-play" will change that fact.
I have created a new blueprint for a thing that could do stuff in the future times :T
BEHOLD
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_Crabwich_ reacted to NQ-Nyzaltar in Single Player?
_Crabwich_ got a reaction from Sir_Rat in How are you going to play the game?