It wouldn’t, actually. Netcode is stored in the app, not the game files. A purely offline app that has to be validated every so often via the Battle.net app (like Steam games do for their offline modes) would work just fine.
The reason a lot of us don’t like the console version even though it has a few nifty features (like the Nemesis system for when a friend gets killed) is due to the Nephalem Glory mechanic. It’s a 2x damage buff, which is totally different from what it is on the PC (slight movement/damage buff in stacking increments up to three). In turn, monsters have twice the HP on console as they do on PC because they’re tuned around having that buff up all the time even though you can’t maintain it forever. That makes leveling and rift guardians much more problematic and time consuming, resulting in lower GR pushes when playing legitimately. Make the NG mechanic like it is on PC and retune the monster HP to normal and I’d do console all day.
They don’t need to release it for free. I’d be willing to pay a nominal price for offline capability even after having already purchased the game and DLC already. I’d be willing to do the same for PoE (but keep access to the store in the offline client so I can support them in exchange for my QoL).
You’d be surprised how many mod authors probably wouldn’t mind making good D3 mods and using them to support Blizzard by putting them in the store as addons for the offline game. I’d love to see Median XL ∑ using the D3 engine and fluid combat mechanics.
I wouldn’t mind paying for it too, but than there’s people who start they “the game would be just pirated BS” and claim that EVERYONE would just pirate it or download from torrents etc.
To all of people claiming everyone would just torrent the game, guess what D2 LoD had single player from the beginning yet it didn’t stop a lot of players from BUYING IT (including me)…
That’s why I want offline mode, so I can not only use others mods, but create my own too…
The game is not closing its doors. And it is not just updating legendaries to get new powers. There are new class sets, balance changes and QoL features along with the rest mentioned. The classic team will be very busy handling bringing New Magic to Sanctuary.
I do firmly believe that D4 will be announced this Blizzcon because of all of the evidence and how it would tie nicely if each season starting with season 19 and ending with season 25 that they bring out the beginning of the new class sets, balance changes, new legendary powers, QoL features and other updates that are still on the table. Where each seasonal theme could be based on an entire class. Then about 7 classes or so later they could be ready for D4’s release.
Offline mode isn’t coming for this game. They have console for that purpose. The PC version will not get it at all. That is unless one of two things happen. Blizz gets stupid and allows it. Or Blizz decides it is time to shut down D3 servers permanently. Then we might get it for the PC version. Keep dreaming till then because I don’t think we will ever see offline mode for this game regardless of what others would want or think.
Hate saying this but the ones that would crack D3’s code just to be able to make copies that they can have and play without paying is what some would do and those that would are what has caused Blizz to not give an offline mode. Good people have suffer because of what the bad people do. In order to protect their IP Blizz made this game online only and will do the same with D4.
There will not be any offline mode for the PC version. They will always direct you to the console versions.
If you think that very, very, very little to no one would pirate this game then what have you been drinking. I know that people would pirate this game if they had the chance to do so. The best that anyone can do with a pirated server is to give players the ability to move around in the game world without skills, gear, NPCs, monsters, quests, etc… In order to pirate it they would have to create the game as it is right now. I know no one wants to spend that kind of time making a game identical to this one just to pirate it.
Right now there’s Torchlight Frontiers in production, but yeah by a different studio and it will probably end up like D3 online only…
Anyway if Torchlight is a bad example for you, what about Id software that made games like Doom 1, 2 and Quake 1, 2, 3, 4 which all had offline single player… Sure they had help from other studios, but that doesn’t change the fact that these games did real good…
Indeed. Because the Studio that made TL2 went out of business.
It is not the late 1990s or early 2000s anymore. Business models change. Further, those game companies had/have other games that contribute to the finances.
Exactly, because failing to secure your intellectual property means you go out of business.
Look normal players won’t be the ones complaining. Pirates hurt the game company that develops it. If they don’t care to protect their IP or don’t mind spending money to shut down those that do pirate then that is what they choose to do.
The console versions are coded differently and wouldn’t run on PC. Further there probably isn’t as big of a market for pirating this game on console as there is PC.
You have to have offline mode in order to say that the devs made a change. New class sets, new legendary powers, balance changes along with QoL issues and other updates are not changes to you. That is crazy.
So in order to have D4 it must have offline mode. Something that is permanently married to Diablo as a permanent feature. All because ones like you want it. So what if Blizz has to spend more money to protect their IP. No one should care about that right, not even Blizz themselves should care.
I do know that depending on whether it is copyright or trademark that if you don’t protect it you can lose it. IP’s are investments to Blizz. You might not care about protecting your investments. But I can bet every dollar that I have that Blizz will definitely protect their IPs spending the least amount of money to do it. If it means that all Diablo games after this one has to be online only then so be it.
The amount of money lost trying to protect their IP will not be able to be gotten back. No amount of sales will make it worth while to give offline mode to this game or D4.
I’d consider an offline mode to be a pretty serious blow to the value of D3. A fun part of the game is being able to jump into public groups at a whim. I can’t imagine the community games would survive an offline option. There are already times where it is pretty sparse.
Also, this existed, in a way, for D2 and it was sometimes a real PITB. It was very easy for new players to make a character that inadvertently couldn’t play with their friends.
Offline would affect balance, feature design and bug testing. It would disrupt pretty much all of what is still being developed. There would be less competition on the LBs and therefor less viable data for post season tweaks. There’d be less data on how people are playing the game. There’d be less community interaction. There’d be less PTR presence.
Online-only D3 has tangible benefits to me as a player and I don’t often experience any downsides. I’d rather D3 remain online only.
That is not true, to be honest. They have a map editor for SC2. WoW has a User Interface mod sandbox that lets players customize the screen interface. Those are an old games though.
What is NEW is that this year they announced a modification system for Overwatch.
Point is they’re absorbed and lost their chance for a big play like Blizzard Entertainment who partnered with Activision. They got bought by Vivendi and I guess they won’t let that happen again.
After a studio closes down, who refused to continue simply leaves and the owning company can hire whoever they want there. Their checks are signed by another person at head company. If Blizzard doesn’t protect their own intellectual properties, that means they failed their responsibilities for partnership and as a head company.
iD software got bought by Zenimax Corporation in '09, 3 years after Quake 4 release. Do that ring any bell? From that point onward, they keep their games under Steam; they couldn’t really hold on with '90s business sense either. Also those games were highly competitive, so in a sense they really did well.
Alas Diablo series are not competitive. Ignoring any DRM protection would be silly as it only had so much to do in a limited environment when it first released. Later added content made it somewhat a competition but you can not hold it against it.
So why can’t they do the same with D3 RoS? D3 RoS as a part of the Diablo series isn’t a competitive game (at least some people think so)… I don’t mean a map editor, but some sort of modding in our single player games.
Now to all who would say how it would benefit botters please don’t even start, cause no matter what you add to the game benefits legit players it will also benefit botters, so don’t even start…
Some people already ask for SSF, so why not add it. They could even add it to multiplayer aswell, but yeah it won’t happen, cause moar powah creep, servers would die, bad game design excuse or any other that suits you
