- cross-posted to:
- lemmyshitpost@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- lemmyshitpost@lemmy.world
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I don’t play multiplayer games anymore.
First off, they always seem to enable the worst of game companies trying to financially ruin their players.
Second off, I’m in my 40s and my reaction time isn’t what it was when I used to play UT or Quake. You can’t improve an aged reaction time nearly as easily, yes, because it’s gotten slightly worse with age, but also because you become less willing and / or able to dedicate the sheer volume of time that you would need to to improve. Getting repeatedly stomped isn’t fun, and quite simply, I’ve got better and more important things to do.
Third off, I don’t like the constant recycling of content that you see in multiplayer games. A handful of maps are expected to last you infinite plays. I like changes of scenery, storylines, and varied experiences. Doing the same thing over and over again is just boring.
Fourth off, player communities in some games are aggressively dogshit and I really don’t want to interact with them at all.
It’s unlikely your reaction time has changed much in your 40s. You probably have well over a decade before that starts to happen. On your first couple of tries, reacting to something is going to seem impossible. After you’ve seen the same stimuli and practiced what you should do in response, you’ll be right around where teens and 20-somethings are. If you don’t want to put the time in to make that happen, that’s fine, but don’t think it’s unattainable to get good at a given multiplayer if you were otherwise interested in doing so. E-sports are now old enough that we’ve seen enough folks age into their 40s and remain top talent, as long as that remained an ideal career choice for them when so few are going to be able to support themselves in that career.
Watching NakeyJakey’s video on competitive shooters put into perspective how hard it really is. I knew I wasn’t cut out for it, but that just demonstrated how not cut out for it I was.
This also applies for some single-player games as well. I’m 48 and I had to “git gud” on Expedition 33 in order to progress - learning how to time parries is pretty critical for getting through the tougher fights.
I’m 50 and it’s started getting noticeable in the last year or two.
I used to have 50ms reaction time 15+ years ago as a teenager. Now I have 300ms reaction time according to the previously linked test. I’m not sure if it’s age or laziness though. I really really wanted to beat Zombie Goku back then and actually trained hard for it
I’m 32. I just recently started getting better aim than I ever had throughout my entire 20’s. When it comes to gaming, age doesn’t really matter as much.
Doing the same thing over and over again he’s boring.
That’s also a factor in the gameplay itself.
Competitive multiplayer games will always develop a ‘meta’ that you have to adhere to or respond to in order to be at all competitive.
In single player games, you can make a replay interesting by playing it a different way, trying different strategies even if they’re non-optimal, just to have the novel experience of playing the game a different way. Things like, “I think I’m going to try doing a no-vehicles run in Subnautica.” or “I think I’ll try Cyberpunk with a melee-focused solo build this time.” But stuff like that just isn’t viable in competitive multiplayer. You will be defeated early and often if you stray too far from the meta.
So not only are you playing the same few maps over and over, you’re playing the same few tactics and strategies over and over, making things boring from that angle as well.
In single player games you can also cheat a little,bug abuse and glitch the game for giggles without ruining the exp for others too
THIS. 1000% THIS!
I’ve been having so much fun lately using shit like this to add a little spice to the games I’ve been playing.
Now, I’m a complete sucker for overpowered MC energy in any media I consume. So it makes sense that getting to personally act out that power fantasy appeals to me. As with most art/entertainment, not everyone will get the same enjoyment out of doing this that I do. But that’s ok! It’s why I love single player games, those that want to have the vanilla experience and work within the rules can, and those that want to cheese the system and goof around can too, and no one is worse off for it!
Being a meta slave is a mindset, not often reality. There are countless examples of players taking “useless” characters or builds far in the professional scene across many different genres and games.
Twitch reaction time isn’t particularly important in most games. Quake and UT, sure, but even in those most twitchiest of shooters strategy will still carry you into the upper echelons of players.
Counterstrike is almost entirely based on spray control and map knowledge. Twitch reactions have only a minor role to play.
Even games like Starcraft are determined primarily by strategy and not mechanical speed. You could probably play at a professional level before a lack of speed compared to your peers would actually begin holding you back.
Plus… you can train reaction time and multitasking. An actual physical impairment like RSI might stop you, though.
The whole “ohhh I can’t do games because I have the olds” is such a nonsense cop-out. The rest of your post is pretty accurate, though.
Doesn’t highly competitive Starcraft boil down to most clicks per second wins?
At the S tier level it’s both strategy and speed. Lower than that, as in like over 99% of players, strategy is more important than anything else.
Oh. It’s clear you haven’t played multiplayer games for a long time, otherwise this false statement would not have come up:
Third off, I don’t like the constant recycling of content that you see in multiplayer games. One map is expected to last you infinite plays. I like changes of scenery and story.
Maps rotate constantly and change, active and passive maps, community maps.
Oh I obviously understand that there are multiple (if not dozens of) maps, but how many times are you expected to play those maps over and over again? Without plot progression, I just don’t find it interesting.
Especially when there’s map voting. Fuck that.
Believe it or not, another 2fort \ mirage
The problem isn’t the maps being static and finite, it’s that nobody designs maps for emergent and dynamic gameplay anymore. CoD might have dozens of maps but they’re all designed for perfect sterile balance with the same lane concepts.
Some of my favorite multiplayer games have only 3-4 maps but each is distinct and plays well to different tactics. Usually they’re based around strong points and webs of approach which gives more options for fresh experience each time you play (“wow never noticed that flank” - “oh this window gives a great angle over this courtyard” - “oh a grenade can be thrown just perfectly over that building” - etc…)
In a sense, good progression isn’t flat mechanical unlocks but building up game and map knowledge. You can choose to explore different facets of the game and it always stays interesting. Competitive ranked multiplayer ruined this because going off meta means losing the game for your team.
Yes, it’s a peaceful life. It sucks when i finally can sit down in the evening and start up a game and then getting insta killed by teenager who has nothing to than practice all day. Or team based PvE games where it’s just trying to keep up with the speedrunners farming. In addition getting 30 min of uninterrupted time can be a luxury, so pause feature is a must have.
start up a game and then getting insta killed by teenager
One of my younger coworkers was just complaining about that and I had the pleasure of informing them they were now an old man.
Was gonna say having kids is incompatible with souls like games.
I mean, generally in those games you’ll pick up exactly where you stopped. You just have to take the extra step of quitting to the menu.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t there a pause feature in most souls-like games? Or is this because its the boss battles that take up the most time and pausing in those is a death sentence?
Sorry if this is a newby question, I don’t play souls-like games. I’ve tried, they just are not for me.
Maybe in more recent “-like” games but most of them do not actually.
Dark Souls 1-3, Elden Ring, Lies of P and others typically do NOT let you pause. So you can’t stop in the middle of a fight.
I think this is slowly going away but a handful of clones still do this.
Got drunk and played megaman 11 with siblings, passing around the controller, cracking jokes about how megaman’s ow sound seemed weirdly gay and horny in this one. I was so bad I kept getting him hurt and it sounded like a gay porn.
My sister asks “isn’t that supposed to be a robot child?”
Me: “He’s been a child since the 80s and his voice is lower now. He’s a megaMAN now, and how dare you demean the short king fighting for your safety over his robo masochim kink and short stature.”
Brother: “yea he can’t help he was built that way. You’re a monster. Don’t kink shame”
Me and bro: -glare-
Sister (who is in a poly relationship and very much the alternachick of the family): “….what the fuck is happening here?”
Single player games are still fun when played together.
Your family sounds fun lol
I’m in my early 40s. Back then, I used to play Quake 3, UT 99 and Tribes 2 competitively. Not anymore. Life is stressful enough, and I don’t want to add to that by playing competitively. I want to relax by playing story-based games. I also play a lot of games on easy mode so that I can truly enjoy the story.
Exact same. I can pause when needed and handle priorities. Fuck MP games that drive up my blood pressure. The only MP games now are co-op, like L4D2
SHAZBOT!
I AM THE GREATEST!
Tribes 2 was so fun.
There was a brief period where I played Tribes: Ascend, and it was actually really good and reminiscent of the old games. Then, I don’t remember specifically what happened but it only took one update to kill it. Pretty sad.
My friends and I used to play Unreal Tournament in programming class when the teacher wasn’t paying attention lol
Tribes Ascend had at least two periods where it was good bordering on great and Hi-Rez fucked it up both times.
That company’s sheer incompetence is noteworthy. Global Agenda had serious first-mover potential and they bungled that too.
Difficulty doesn’t really have anything to do with story. Playing games on easy can even rob you of the enjoyment of the full gameplay mechanics. Noah Caldwell-Gervais’ recent video covering RE4R and RE9 is a good example, where some of their conclusions regarding gameplay design were only because they typically play on easier settings. Some of the things in question make more sense or have stronger legs when the game’s played on a reasonably challenging setting.
Of course, it really depends on the game. For example, I preferred playing Borderlands 3 on normal mode because I enjoyed the mayhem, whereas I played the Horizon series on easy difficulty because the story was engaging and the world atmosphere was awesome.
So it really depends. Often, if a game is not an FPS and is really story-driven, I’ll play it on easy mode to enjoy the story. The more full and deep the game’s story is, the more likely I am to play it on easy mode to fully enjoy it after a stressful day.
Yeah, I get that. I’m on the opposite end where I want to be challenged and enjoy the feeling of beating a tough room or encounter. Sadly not all games are balanced well and increasing difficulty might not actually make much difference, in which case you might as well just play on easy.
I see. Well… I guess I’ve had enough beating back then to just take it easy now!
About the same, but I would love to go to a lan party every now and then and actually game. I stopped going when people were more interested in sharing their puddle deep political takes instead of gaming and that was before gamergate. I can only imagine how bad it would be now.
People were more relaxed at lan parties and open server browser games. Rank tracking and matchmaking made everyone a sweaty gamer.
I used to play mostly shooters online.
Somehow, living next to a country which is invading one of its neighbours, and seeing a bunch of actual real war footage from real wars on the daily basis, made me reconsider if shooters actually qualify as “fun” these days.
I felt the same when my friends made me play Call of Duty Modern Warfare. Civilians dying around me is supposed to be fun? Should I feel like a hero while people die like flies around me? That is a hard pass from me!
The live service model has been a plague on gaming and has basically killed every bit of enjoyment I’m getting out of multiplayer game nowadays. Shit’s like having a job. You leave for two weeks and you might as well be playing a different game. Leave for a month? Maybe the game don’t even exist anymore. It’s exhausting.
It’s also why they keep dying. All of them operate off a walled garden model while simultaneously demanding “this is probably the only game you can play for a while” levels of time investment and using unlockables as the carrot.
So is it surprising that players don’t want to jump ship and leave all their skins and “look at me I’m special” shiny equipment behind for something that’s not much different than what they got already?
It’s the same thing as when every Tom, Dick, and Harry were sure they’d be the next WoW. Execs never learn.
You’re not supposed to leave! Subscribe to the Steam iv nutrition service and stay focused!
I have over 1500 hours into The Witcher 3.
Sometimes I think at least 500 of those hours are just me loading into the game after a long week, finding an isolated spot on the map, and just staring into the sunset while the wind howls in my headset.
This is something I’ll do with an especially pretty game. Find a pretty view and just set up camp watching the world. Works even better with weather and night/day cycles in the game.
every time it rains i think or sing to myself “it’s rainin’, it’s pourin’, emperor emhyr’s whorin’”
Don’t forget all the new CoD, battlefield, and even tarkov (soon) is requiring TPM 2.0, secure boot, and actively blocking linux making it impossible to even play them.
I think the friendslop trend is great. It brings the couch gaming experience into the modern era after a long time in coma.
I miss split screen. Too many games nowadays, in order to play with my kids, I have to buy multiple copies, finagle multiple PCs and accounts just to play multiplayer. Finally my ancient laptop collection has a use
I miss community servers. Each had its own identity and you could pop in and out without being penalized. Being locked in to a 30+ minute sweatfest with people I don’t know, or like, has never been appealing to me.
Like so many things involving the internet, things were a lot better 15-20 years ago. Dedicated servers with active admins beat the pants off anonymous “skill based” matchmaking services we’re required to use now. Yeah, it’d take some time before you’d find a server that fits you but the search was worth it - and if you wanted to put in the money and effort yourself, you could just pay a service for server space and host your own!
No need to rely on AI chatbots to take out the trash, either. If someone was breaking the rules - which were set by the server! -, the admins would just ban them. Quick as you please. Players were anonymous like they are now, but you could ban their SteamID and it didn’t matter how many times they changed their name and thumbnail, and most other games had similar options. People that stuck around made friends and built a community, while others would move on and find a home somewhere better suited to them.
I miss it.
I’ve always preferred single player games. I hate multiplayer, all those strangers running around in my TV, chaos everywhere. I want to relax and explore, but multiplayer is stressful. I don’t want to deal with other people.
I thoroughly enjoy single players games. I like being able to explore the world at my own pace, make my own decisions, and draw my own conclusions. It’s like reading a book, if turning the pages involved solving puzzles and beating monsters. Relaxing, if you’re good, challenging if you’re not.
Cooperative games are a close second. I like PvE, it means that I get to help my friends. The objective isn’t rank and competition, it’s winning together. It’s why I like Starbound, Minecraft, and D&D.
Genuinely? I despise PvP. It’s the trash talk and the aggressively competitive assholes who have nothing to do with their time. I hate dealing with people who like to hurt strangers by humiliating them. Who the hell enjoys that?
PvP can be honorable and joyful and rewarding too, if you don’t play with assholes.
Often times, even losing the match may leave you with a sweet aftertaste. Like, yeah, they got us, but it was beautiful and honorable and your teammates were there for you. With you.
Once you get the right people, every match will be like this. With randoms…it’s very occasional, but it happens, too.
Yeah, right. I seem to be a slow player too - at the mo I’m 160 hours into baldur’s gate 3 and still only just in act 2. I think Amy multiplayer game with me in it would be frustrating for everyone. I prefer doing my own thing at my own pace.
This is going to be extremely niche, but I find the surf mini game in Counter Strike Source to be incredibly relaxing and rewarding while also being a quasi multiplayer game. The community is quite helpful and friendly and there are almost 1000 different maps of all skill levels so there is something for everyone if you are into movement based mechanics.
Competitive multiplayer games are a big no, but I love cooperative multiplayer games. I’d much rather play one of them with a friend or two than play something by myself. I couldn’t tell you the last time I’ve actually beaten a single player game, I tend to get bored and lose interest half way through.
Too bad you need friends to do that
This is what drew me to Minecraft. Common goals or just solo’ing. And other people take great pride in showing their builds. So chill.
I wish split screen/couch co-op was back in fashion.
Everyone wants everyone to buy 2 copies and set up 2 computers right next to each other just to play, and it’s not happening. I’ll just move on. Take Two seems to be the only sane one - I’ll pay for full price for it since it has a free coop copy.
I personally mostly use video games as a means of an escape from real life. And to me multiplayer pulls to much of real life back into games and it can be unenjoyable.
