Why Mr. Willits would you condone 'always on' internet connections for PC games? Do you really feel it necessary even for games with single player components? How about single player only games with zero multiplayer interaction?

For those who haven't seen his interview with Eurogamer, here is a brief snip from Bluesnews with the Eurogamer link for the full article:

"Diablo 3 will make everyone else accept the fact you have to be connected. If you have a juggernaut, you can make change. I'm all for that. If we could force people to always be connected when you play the game, and then have that be acceptable, awesome," id Software Creative Director Tim Willits tells Eurogamer. "In the end, it's better for everybody. Imagine picking up a game and it's automatically updated. Or there's something new you didn't know about, and you didn't have to click away. It's all automatically there. But it does take juggernauts like [Diablo 3] to make change. I'm a big proponent of always connected. I'm always connected. Our fans are always connected. There will be a few people who will resent the fact you have to be online to play a single-player game. But it'll change."

Eurogamer link, http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-10-id-software-on-always-on-internet-debate

I personally am surprised to see a man from a company who primarily makes games with a decent amount of emphasis on single player suggest 'always on' necessity. Ubisoft was demonized for attempting this policy, especially with single player games. Whether it was the fact those without constant access to the internet (laptops, traveling, various locations around the world, et cetera) or the fact that the Ubisoft servers had authentication issues from time to time and prevented people playing the game for extended amounts of time, the general consensious was extremely negative. So much so that while Ubisoft tried to claim it was successful against piracy, they changed their policy for a number of game releases. Could it be to a lack of PC sales?

As for Diablo 3, did Mr. Willits not see the 'surprised reaction' by Robert Bridenbecker towards the negative backlash the 'always on' announcement garnered? Even with a game such as Diablo 3 where the real emphasis is on multiplayer (and now flat rate fees from the real cash auction house), people still want the option to play solo. They could be traveling, out at a cafe without wifi support, at home with the internet out of commission, in a dorm room with essential ports blocked by the network, or just anti social, people want the option to be able to play single player games or single player portions of games without the need of an internet connection. And in Diablo 3's case, all data would be stored server side (characters, items, ingame currency, et cetera) and with no way to introduce single player items into the online portion of the game, there doesn't seem to be any reason not to allow offline access. It worked just fine in Diablo 2. Could the 'always on' connection just be an attempt to 1) stop piracy with this intrusive DRM and 2) attempt to get even a small fraction of the normally offline players to take a look at the real money auction house? After all, money is money and profitability seems to be the number one goal for today's businesses.

And for always being up-to-date, PC games are not updated like top end antivirus software. They do not get updated 10+ times a day, week after week, month after month. Steam seems to do a great job at keeping software current, and it also allows players to play offline. At the very least, why not just have an optional phone home feature to look for updates, which players can choose to use if they have access to an internet connection. This style of updating is all that is really needed for keeping games up-to-date with the latest patches.

Please do not go down that road Mr. Willits, or try to bring Id Software down that road. Activision, EA and Ubisoft have already won the awards for screwing with the PC playerbase with numerous actions over the years. Why not stand in the corner of the PC gamers and become a champion of the people? I think Valve is getting awfully lonely over there.

Wow I am very surprised to hear this. Luckily Zenimax doesn't have this on their games and I am sure the backlash would be big enough to change their minds if they tried.

I really hope somewhere along the lines someones tells Willits "Are you out of your freakin' mind?!"
Mr. Willits, I am a huge mega fan of id Software, in fact just knowing that id was making Rage brought me into liking this type of game, so please, don't take decisions that help "the fans" that you care about and leave behind the ones you don't, we're all fans.

For whatever reason, there are times in which lots of fans might not have a connection, which has happened to me and quite many people I've conversated with online, whom simply couldn't connect for time.

It simply makes no sense to have to be connected to play single player. Any company can have many fans, but you'd have way more if you made good decisions. Please don't don't make it so that we have to be connected.

Tim ... if you do this to Rage I will take the game I have already bought and trade it for a TF2 hat. snip

Here is a partial list of those that would be affected if single player games required an 'always on' connection (courtesy of various forum posters):

* Flying.
* Commuting on public transit.
* Staying in hotels / motels without internet access or those that charge for it.
* Spending time away from home in a location without internet.
* Unable to spend ridiculous amounts of money on internet tethering plans.
* Using your computer outdoors.
* Live in a small / rural town.
* Using an ISP that charges based on connection time.
* Moving to a new location / without internet for a few weeks.
* Living in a dorm where the required ports are blocked.
* Long road trips.
* Visiting family where internet isn't accessible / possible / allowed.
* Residing anywhere in the world where internet isn't a common household feature.
* In the military / stationed overseas.

This list alone seems reason enough to scrap the idea of an 'always on' connection. Maybe it is time to start looking into another form of DRM, one that doesn't punish a decent chunk of the legit PC user base.

I don't know what is more insulting; that Mr Willits thinks his audience is dumb enough to believe this excuse, or that he thinks he has the right to decide that what the audience wants.

It'd be a shame if Id had to learn Ubi's lesson

Your sweating the small stuff. Nobody cares. If they want to make the game that way, it isn't hurting anyone. It helps them keep players up to date.

Haha, the video in the article played a RAGE advertisemant. I thought it was the actual video, but the real trailer started playing after.

Wrong, quite a few people care, just look elsewhere around the web. Look at the widely negative feedback Ubisoft got for pioneering this style of DRM. Take a look at the surprised reaction Blizzard got for implementing this into Diablo 3. And while they can make their games however they choose, in doing so they do hurt quite a lot of potential customers. Did you just completely ignore the list posted above? Millions upon millions of people fall into at least one of those at one point during their life. So yes, quite a lot of people are affected by 'always on' DRM. Will life go on if these people cannot play Id's game? Sure, but why would any developer want to alienate potential customers and piss off the masses by supporting this style of DRM.

As for keeping the game up to date, how many patches does a game actually come out with after release? 5? 10? 20? Games are not updated like antivirus software with multiple updates every day, week after week, month after month. There is absolutely no reason they cannot implement an optional check for updates feature from the game's launcher, from within the game at the menu screen, or an optional config executable that will look for the player. Of course this would be a mandatory check for online play, but nobody is arguing 'always on' connections for online play. There are even circumstances where a new patch is actually a hindrance for players in some games. Just take a look and any heavily modded game community and see what happens when a new patch is released. Not that the mods don't get sorted out over time, but it still is a PITA until they get resolved.

There is no logical reason that benefits the user base with a forced 'always on' connection for single player games or single player aspects of games. The only 'benefit' of this DRM is for the developers, not the purchasers. Monitoring the game's usage, in-game advertisemants, adverts for new DLC, et cetera, these all favor the developer / publisher at the expense of the user base. There are quite a few more user friendly ways of implementing anti piracy DRM than this 'always on' connection.

:brokencomputer: This is BAD, i don't mind butt my wife doesn't like being online in singelplayergame, so this is the firs ID sofware game that i will buy only one copy off :poke: It's your pay ZeniMax Media Inc :wallbash: less money for the shareholders :banghead: :frog:

I would be extremely shocked and disappointed to find out if that's the case with Rage, but ultimately I'm OK with it. (All signs point to Rage using Steamworks, which does not require Always On)

Piracy is so bad, you can't fault publishers for trying to come up with creative solutions.

anyways, I already bought the game via Steam, so I doubt there will be any always on requirement for me.

Willits is only one man, he is not the whole of Id Software.

Now, he is entitled to his opinion, he is entitled to his beliefs, now personally, I think Always On DRM is hurting gaming, if the anger surrounding Diablo 3 and Ubisoft is anything to indicate, but lets take a look at it, Diablo 3 is being designed around a more robust MP experience and so despite it being [censored], is almost needed in that case.

Ubisoft recently claimed that their always on DRM is working, something I feel is a lie as if you look hard enough you can easily find ways around it. ( I am not encouraging piracy, piracy is not something i condone in any form even to people like Ubisoft.)

But back to my main point. Willits was probably sharing his opinion in the article, I never got the sense that its going to be in RAGE, (IF it is, that a bridge we will cross later) he was just sharing how he views the "always online" debate, and he is likely right about some things like how the negativity towards it will change in time but as Albert Einstein said at the beginning of Red Alert 1 "Sooner or later, time will tell." but I know in my heart that there are big people at Id and possibly at Zenimax (the actual parent company to Bethesda) are likely against RAGE in particular having "Always on" Internet connectivity/DRM, but that does not exclude or prevent you sending Email to Id Software and Zenimax, (remember guys keep it clean and constructive) or here on the forums (also clean and constructive) telling how you feel about the issue.

But to those who feel they shouldn't buy the game because of this, that is up to you, and you are certainly free to do so and in fact if RAGE does have always on DRM (Remember nothing is confirmed yet) , please do what you feel is best.

Just my Two cents/quid/whateveryourtinycurrencyamountishere.

-Lord_Kane

Wow. I thought Tim Willits was a really intelligent developer that cared about gamers (PC gamers in particular).

I now stand sadly corrected in both fronts.

The day id implements this kind of DRM is the day I'll stop buying their games. For now, I've cancelled my Rage preorder until I see what kind of DRM it comes with.

What a disappointment, Mr. Willits. Blizzard was bad enough. You too?.

I registered simply to add my feedback. I have both Rage and Skyrim pre-ordered through Amazon and I will cancel both should this rediculous form of DRM be used. I'm home on vacation in WA right now, but I work in Afghanistan and I will be there for another 3 years. Internet connections are not reliable and I will not fight with anytype of DRM during what little free time I have to excape my immediate environment.

If I were back in the States for good, it might not be as big of an issue for me; however I still would chose not to support any developer that uses this form of DRM. I have refused to buy three titles from UBI Soft due to this DRM. Now, I'm only one-paying customer, I just wonder how many they lost and are losing from future sales from disgruntled customers.

Just so we are all clear there is no indication that any id or Bethesda game will use an always online DRM. Tim is just one man and he has proven in the past to be a bit quirky. I mean he is the one that prefers to play RAGE on pc, but using an X360 controller rofl. We have nothing to fear my fellow RAGE addicts RAGE will be amazing and so will Skyrim for that matter.

This wouldn't affect me at all, that I can see. But, I can see where people are pissed about it. Hopefully it won't work out like this. I'd be upset too if I couldnt play what I payed for. It's a shame that piracy and such has brought it to this sort of conclusion.

Okay - i may not be necessairly all that upset about Diablo 3 - because im genuinely not an RPG player - but i agree with the people

But from my side of things ...
I sent ZeniMax(Bethesda Softworks publising branch) an email - about the x64 version of RAGE - the one with modding tools - if the x64 version will only be available on SteamyPileOfSteam - there will be a riot outside ZeniMax HQ the next morning :toughninja:

I want modding tools and i don't have ability to use international credit card (this is very unpopular here where i live) - this is why steam is basically useless - for example that people could buy steam points at retail and redeem them for games .... that would be nice.

Carmack said it on quake con "modding only on x64 which is not going to get shipped; released after the fact" - but i don't blame him - it's probably one of those "out of context" stuff so .... but that boycott campaign is something that's always just incase my suspicions are true.

Also - i love to see super quality texture packs - one more reason to buy the PC version - thanks id

His reasoning is weak at best, and i can't help but think [censored].

If Rage goes to this, it will be one more game besides D3, I wont be giving my money to.

WTF is this bullcrap....

If they implement that crap, im not buying their [censored]... period. I don't care if its the next best thing since slice bread. Same with Skyrim. Its not even that I have to be online... its more of being forced in the direction they want. Next, they will want us to pay for subscription to play a single player game.... total bull.

Oh forgot to mention... [censored] D3... they lost a sell with me.

when the X64 version gets released, it wont be via steam it will be via patch or more likely from the Id Software FTP. just a little heads up

SUPER COOL MINI STATEMENT BELOW.

I also want to say, while I understand the outrage (I have it too) this is far from any kind of official statement that RAGE will be using "Always online" DRM in fact it just one guy at a company of many guys and girls sharing his opinion on the topic. I just want to stress and remind people of that. I don't support Always on DRM in any form but I think EuroGamer did not do enough to stress that this is just the opinion of one man, I would even go as far to say it almost sensationalist games journalism.

This is not a press release from Zenimax about it, it's just Tim Willits saying his mind on the subject and thats all. lets wait for the press release or official news before we start rioting and building siege tanks.

In short:

Tim Willits does not equal Id Software or Zenimax he says "I am" thus indicating him and something tells me it is just him at Id that feels that way.

Tim Willits - i have quoted your previous quotes for supporting PC and Modding .... i have put them into " HOLY BOXES" in wikipedia ... the template used for most important historical quotes ! .... what is this now ... how can i put such a disgraceful quote into a holy quote box ?

RAGE was having a perfect marketing campaign all the TIME - ... until now ?!?!?! .... people just warned drop the pre-order , don't make them really do it.

This was a REALLY huge deal - it is so big that RAGE needs to continue it's marketing campaing with no more errors !

Blizzard is constantly bombarded .... remember REALID ??? Remember , when they wanted real names to be shown in forums. A thread of 47.000 posts was goin on ... 3500 paged thread - the whole internet was ablaze - blizzard employees were doxed and spammed. Do you care about the IMAGE ? Didn't id Software Community Manager said on QuakeCon that he really cares ?

This was a mine field ... and a pretty big one - make sure it happens never again!

Now you risk ruining it for some OTHER unrelated game with these comments nobody likes ... .... A GAME FROM ACTIVISION IS INFLUENCING ID SOFTWARE ??? wha ... SHAMEFUL ! CALL OF DUTY IS RUNNING IN 60 FPS ON CONSOLES BECAUSE IT'S (old) ID SOFTWARE TECHONLOGY ! (for those that dunno)

Blizzard in Activision has MUCH less freedom over what they do than ID Software in Zenimax. My own speculation - but Activision has bad image all the time they don't even give a damn >> x360 sheep.


I cannot grind this into my head how can somebody PUT HIS OWN GAME which is DOING BETTER - INTO HUGE RISK by just some tincy pincy UNNECCESSARY COMMENT on an UNRELATED game with an totally UNRELATED developer , with an totally UNRELATED genre , with a totally UNRELATED visions.


This was a big LEARNIG curve right there ! You don't mess with the PC people ! We aren't x360 kids and sheeplets.

Welcome back to the gaming world ID It's been long since ...

Yeah - your correct - but this is not how this works.

He represents id Software - and that's not how to do marketing for RAGE - i mean ....... how can they do such a thing - they don't want people to buy RAGE or what ?

This is a critical time - Tim Willits is making a lot of RAGE marketing drive - and he's connected to that for RAGE , and now he makes this comments people instantly are connected with the "rage guy" .... so it ruins that marketing drive.



I am NOT always online - does this mean i am not an iD Software fan ?


There is a FLAW .. he said "our fans are always connected" that means he's representing ID Software and/or Zenimax


Mister Obvious: Hello - My name is Stewox and I am NOT always connected, an ID Software and RAGE fan ....... :facepalm:

Hello .... there's a land called Europe ... where people's habbits are different - we are not internet addicts here who always need to be on phones/mobile/laptops and such useless slack just to be online on time. - what time - do you think my friend controlls me when i'll be on line ? I will be when i have time and im ready ! duh!

There's also stuff called traveling - wich is the place where mobile stuff actually comes in (not in the freaking walk to the mall)

And there is much less chance of internet in the ...wild ...

Just so everyone knows:

This was a badly timed comment from Tim Willits - let's spare him the error - it was silly - he'll make sure he never does it again - shaken up ? - relax - welcome back

RAGE specifically is untouched ... unless this was some kind of pre-announcement!. So the only thing to worry about now is wether or not RAGE will require steamworks.

If RAGE needs always-connect ... man that'll be an [censored]storm the next morning - even AnonOps would join the protest ! haha (please don't fall into that category ...)


Also one big tip for id:



We Hate Automatic Updates


Simple - Streamlined - Automatic - Integrated - Connected == console games == dumbed down society ==> Mature PC players suffer !