Multiplayer Gaming - What's Missing? - article discussion

I agree with you, whilst i havent played Destiny, i keep trying to find and recapture some of the multiplayer fun i have had. The best multi player i have played has been when everyone has been on voice comms and working as a team, my favourite multiplayer game for a long time was the original Rainbow 6 vegas, it had game modes that required teamwork and encouraged communication.

I put some of the blame on Sony, when the PS3 was released there was no voice comms out of the box, this encouraged gamers to play big multi player games without comms. These players will have cross polinated to the 360, with a mentality of not needing to chat and combined with multi-player games encouraging single player achievement, Kill streaks and K/D ratios for example. Even games that were more team focused, Battlefield :Bad Company 2 another game i got a lot of multi player enjoyment from, whilst encouraging team work to some extent made it easier for people to play without talking to each other. However i have found that a team that talks will generally prevail over a team that doesn't.

I have hope for Rainbow 6: Siege and that bringing back some real teamwork into games.
 
I still refer back to Project Gotham Racing 2 on the original Xbox as the best multiplayer ever. Perfect lobby - everything was laid out simply. There were no custom cars making you wonder how the hell something beat you. The community created its own games withing PGR2 (Ladder, Last Man Standing, Cat & Mouse...etc). It all just worked perfectly.

the last really good FPS multiplayer for me was COD:MW1 (although I must admit I do enjoy Ghosts). In Advanced Warfare...etc there are just so many "Halo-jumpers" it puts you off playing - and I've barely played it for the past few months.

Back in the day of Rainbow Six: 3 and Rainbow Six: Black Arrow, again the online was great - simple lobbies, and easy matchmaking.
 
I play Call of Duty pretty much exclusively. I buy each one on release day (usually around my birthday) and I pretty much stretch them out until the next one comes out.

I have tried other games (I have hundreds) but I always go back to CoD. Lag and lack of dedicated servers aside I like how they work. Or I used to.

Now they seem to be cluttered with totally unnecessary crap. But obviously there is a revenue flow from micro transactions. So they aren't going anywhere.

The problem with CoD is when they try something new the next one will be the same but with more of it. Treyarch dip their toe in the pool, IW pus them in, then dive in after. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

I dunno. I think I'm just getting old.

Oh, then there is the user base. CoD is full of clowns.
 
My observation as someone who likes gaming but not online gaming.

I like military games and I have dabbled with online shooters and the tings that have put me off are

1 - The lack of levelling. Even when I've practiced I'm nowhere near as good as the other players. But not only are they better players, but they have better equipment and perks than me. I just end up as die, spawn, die, spawn and repeat until the game ends. I just feel that I am there to help others with their kill ratios.

2 - The monotony of if - that you run around, get killed, but then you spawn, often get shot immediately by players who hang around the spawn points. Unless you are playing as a clan it just feels like a load of individuals running around.

3 - The bad language and name calling.

I do play one online game regularly - World of Tanks. It still suffers a bit from 30 guys driving around doing their own thing, but even then it is more tactical with a specific goal. And when you are dead you are out. Games are limited to 15 or 7.5 minutes depending on the mode but usually finish earlier if the goal is met - usually capture base or all enemy destroyed.

If you are killed you can hang around and watch other player or you can exit, get into one of your other tanks and join a different battle. I think it works well.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
Two big issues for me - complete lack of voice chat on vast majority of games and also dlc.

Lack of chat means you are playing in a void at times. Great example is fifa/pro evo. A few years ago on the 360 I played in a pro evo league. Difference between that and the current avf FIFA league is that we used to always chat. If it wasn't the friendly banter it was the howls of anguish as you missed a sitter or your striker was chopped down....
Great fun.
Then there was the Friday beers and gears night.....still miss them.

Oh dlc...simple....divides the games user base...sometimes from day one....not good
 
gears of war 1 had the best multiplayer for me, and a brilliant lobby system, none of this looking for random games as gears 1 had a lobby system where you chose a game you wanted rather than the awful map voting we now have today even in gears 2 and 3.

call of duty is the same and along with awful K/D ratio idiots who just camp to gain points along with the perk system which i hate and map voting made me leave the call of duty games, i used to love playing call of duty 3 as there were no perks, no K/D ratios and no map voting, everyone had a class but all had the same weapons based on class so no player got anything for being higher ranked.

sadly these days multiplayer is just going the same way for all games, until they go back to what made multiplayer so good which is just making them so you can have a good blast about on a game without worrying about players who just want to mess about because they want to camp to gain points then for me i would rather not play either with or against these type of players.

developers need to go back to the old school systems in games to see why multiplayer gaming was so good rather than just come up with new ideas that nobody is interested in.

the call of duty series also needs to have a break rather than a yearly game coming out.
 
For me MP gaming got boring after COD WaW, though I did have fun on bf3 for a while but that was more to do with the people I played with

Mp is just too samey, I've enjoyed sticking exclusively to speak stuff for the last 2 years. I do enjoy GTA online for the heists but the problem is playing with randoms who quit or hurl abuse at others. I CBA with all that frankly

They need something new frankly rather than the same old idea and a system where those that abuse or rage quit are instantly given some sort of sanction
 
For me, Destiny did fill the void. In fact, I've not had so much fun gaming since the MW2 days.

I play with virtual friends that I've known for years and complete strangers. I've never played in a community like it if I'm honest and I'm so glad that like some, I didn't give up on the game. The game is buzzing on the Forum too. It's going to peak again the next DLC this month and then explode at the end of the year when DLC 3 hits, IMHO.
 
What's missing? The ability to only play single player! The new Star Wars game is dead to me on account of it being essentially online only. I'm old. I have no desire to play against pre-pubescent idiots who call me gay and have reflexes far in advance of my own. Online gaming has, and always will suck. Actually, I'll retract that. When Stunt Car Racer and Populous came out my neighbour and I have a stupidly long null modem cable between our houses for multi-player games. That was the last time I enjoyed them...
 
Support for LAN play.

[Edit] - hell, bring back serial link :p
 
I remember having to psychically carry my Amiga over to friends' houses to play muli-player games. Now that was commitment!
 
I'm an older gamer myself and recently I went round a friends house to check out his PS4. I own a 360 but haven't bought a new game for a while now.
Anyway I was annoyed that, apart from Fifa, we could not both play against each other in any game. We ever happened to split screen?
We used to have a blast playing Ghost Recon online split screen.
 
Yep, Goldeneye was so much fun and so was good old Mario Kart on the Snes- battle mode. Also my all time favourite was the Bob-omb battle on Block plaza on Mario Kart double dash. Shame Nintendo were totally clueless and missed off a proper battlemode on the Wii U game. It could've been fantastic.
 
I remember the days when me and a mate would hunch around a Spectrum 48k or C64 sharing the KB playing Gauntlet.... :laugh:

More recently I look back fondly on the MP experience with Goldeneye and MK on the N64. You couldn't beat four players crowded around a TV all watching each other's segments trying to gain an advantage.. So many arguments and so much fun. I miss those days..

Then there was Team Fortress/Counterstrike which were an amazing MP experiences. TF in particular I loved as the maps were well designed and the tight gameplay meant great matches. The character system worked a treat as well as each class made the world of difference to the battle. I'll also never forget that game for the near constant cries for a Medic..
Counterstrike was just ******* hardcore! I used to play in the old Wireplay league in both these games (TF & CS) and CS was just insane. Simple to play and very, very fast. You needed a good team, good tactics and lightning reactions to prosper. It says everything about it that, years after its release, it is still the FPS MP game of choice for many PC gamers. In fact I tried to go back to this a few years ago and was handed my ass on plate! The skill levels of the some of the players is extraordinary and this game above all others makes you realise, how crap you actually are, how pedestrian consoles FPS MP games are, and how cumbersome and ponderously slow a pad is for FPS gaming. CS is a pure and undiluted, no frills and unbelievably hard but well balanced MP FPS, which will go down as potentially the best MP FPS ever.

L4D2 is another which I enjoyed immensely (LFD was also great but 2 improved on it). The fact it was made by Valve was perhaps the reason that I think this game more than any other 'understood' what MP was all about. By following (and improved in certain aspects) their blueprints made by TF & CS, they created a game that forced the cooperation of players to succeed. It was an amazing experience, made even better when in random pickup groups rather than premades, as it created real urgency and panic if you had one or two that weren't so good. Imo, it rejuvenated the coop genre and certainly stands alongside TF & CS as one of the very best FPS MP games.

However, I think some of the very best MP moments I've ever had we're in World of Warcraft. Back in the early days of WoW when you had 40 man raids in Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, Kharazan, Naxx etc, it was utterly magical. 40 strangers coordinated via tactics and comms, taking on ridiculously tough bosses, were insane/incredible experiences that I seriously doubt will ever be matched again. Nothing else comes close for me.
 
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Halo - 4 a side, split screen on 2 Tv's back to back.....with beer :clap:
I should add that this was back in the BK days (Before Kids).
Or 2 v 2 on Pro Evo on the 360 !
(my claim to fame was having a micro sleep :D during a game..well it was about 4am....sprinted past someone's defender and my eyes were shut before I crossed the ball over. Woke up 10 seconds later loudly claiming foul play had occurred !)

When boys nights used to involve multiple crates of beer and it wasn't classed as a late one, unless on your way home you met one of your neighbours going to work on a Sunday morning :)

Ahh...I think i'm showing my age now (41 !!)
 
I remember the days when me and a mate would hunch around a Spectrum 48k or C64 sharing the KB playing Gauntlet.... :laugh:

More recently I look back fondly on the MP experience with Goldeneye and MK on the N64. You couldn't beat four players crowded around a TV all watching each other's segments trying to gain an advantage.. So many arguments and so much fun. I miss those days..

Then there was Team Fortress/Counterstrike which were an amazing MP experiences. TF in particular I loved as the maps were well designed and the tight gameplay meant great matches. The character system worked a treat as well as each class made the world of difference to the battle. I'll also never forget that game for the near constant cries for a Medic..
Counterstrike was just ******* hardcore! I used to play in the old Wireplay league in both these games (TF & CS) and CS was just insane. Simple to play and very, very fast. You needed a good team, good tactics and lightning reactions to prosper. It says everything about it that, years after its release, it is still the FPS MP game of choice for many PC gamers. In fact I tried to go back to this a few years ago and was handed my ass on plate! The skill levels of the some of the players is extraordinary and this game above all others makes you realise, how crap you actually are, how pedestrian consoles FPS MP games are, and how cumbersome and ponderously slow a pad is for FPS gaming. CS is a pure and undiluted, no frills and unbelievably hard but well balanced MP FPS, which will go down as potentially the best MP FPS ever.

L4D2 is another which I enjoyed immensely (LFD was also great but 2 improved on it). The fact it was made by Valve was perhaps the reason that I think this game more than any other 'understood' what MP was all about. By following (and improved in certain aspects) their blueprints made by TF & CS, they created a game that forced the cooperation of players to succeed. It was an amazing experience, made even better when in random pickup groups rather than premades, as it created real urgency and panic if you had one or two that weren't so good. Imo, it rejuvenated the coop genre and certainly stands alongside TF & CS as one of the very best FPS MP games.

However, I think some of the very best MP moments I've ever had we're in World of Warcraft. Back in the early days of WoW when you had 40 man raids in Molten Core, Blackwing Lair, Kharazan, Naxx etc, it was utterly magical. 40 strangers coordinated via tactics and comms, taking on ridiculously tough bosses, were insane/incredible experiences that I seriously doubt will ever be matched again. Nothing else comes close for me.
What server were you on in WoW?

<-- Cenarion Circle here... didn't know what "RolePlaying" meant back then... I wasn't an uber nerd. Best holy priest on the server though, before server swapping was allowed, then I moved over to D something, a normal or hardcore (can't remember) and was the best on that one, lol.

Also, best competitive MP experiences ever:

Super Mario Kart
Goldeneye
Halo 1
WoW PVP
CoD: MW1/2 and Black Ops
 
Was on a few. I was mainly on Frostwhisper where I raided with an alliance guild called Solid who were one of the best on the server. My main was generally a Frost Mage but I also had Priest and Rogue alts to fill in with.

I also had some Chars on Thunderhorn where I was with a couple of other decent raiding guilds.

This is all going back to before 2010 though when 40 man raids were still the norm. I have great memories of Zul-Gurub (in Stranglethorn Vale) and the Egyptian themed one.. (can't remember what it's called). Kharazan was in one of the Expansions if I remember right and it was after doing those instances and the heroic stuff that I finally got bored of it and quit.

Strangely enough though, one of my colleagues said the Cataclysm exp had changed everything and was worth a look. So I installed it a month or so ago and have been slowly getting back into it. Man has it changed. The skill trees are unrecognisable and I feel like a noob again just starting out..:laugh:
 
Halo - 4 a side, split screen on 2 Tv's back to back.....with beer :clap:
I should add that this was back in the BK days (Before Kids).
Or 2 v 2 on Pro Evo on the 360 !
(my claim to fame was having a micro sleep :D during a game..well it was about 4am....sprinted past someone's defender and my eyes were shut before I crossed the ball over. Woke up 10 seconds later loudly claiming foul play had occurred !)

When boys nights used to involve multiple crates of beer and it wasn't classed as a late one, unless on your way home you met one of your neighbours going to work on a Sunday morning :)

Ahh...I think i'm showing my age now (41 !!)

LOL. thats pretty much what we did. Back in the day before Xbox Live....etc we used to play 2 vs 2 on Pro Evo on the PS2, accompanied by Dominos Pizza and lots of beer (I won't mention what else was consumed!). It normally used to go on until about 3am....god only knows how we all managed to get to work the next day!
 
Was on a few. I was mainly on Frostwhisper where I raided with an alliance guild called Solid who were one of the best on the server. My main was generally a Frost Mage but I also had Priest and Rogue alts to fill in with.

I also had some Chars on Thunderhorn where I was with a couple of other decent raiding guilds.

This is all going back to before 2010 though when 40 man raids were still the norm. I have great memories of Zul-Gurub (in Stranglethorn Vale) and the Egyptian themed one.. (can't remember what it's called). Kharazan was in one of the Expansions if I remember right and it was after doing those instances and the heroic stuff that I finally got bored of it and quit.

Strangely enough though, one of my colleagues said the Cataclysm exp had changed everything and was worth a look. So I installed it a month or so ago and have been slowly getting back into it. Man has it changed. The skill trees are unrecognisable and I feel like a noob again just starting out..:laugh:
Yup yup... during Illidan (can't remember what the expansion was called), I quit playing right after we beat him. I was only playing for the challenge of it and always passed on gear unless the other priests / healers had their fill. So once I beat the then hardest content in the game weeks after it was released... I had no more drive to play the game. I was already losing interest because they changed the 40 man raids.

Btw, I played on launch day, so I am right there with you in loving Molten Core. Totally forgot about Zul-Gurub for a minute there. That zone was much more demanding of players to be skilled, and on a role playing server, even though we were one of the top guilds on the server, it just took forever to be able to dominate it.

So many fond memories of that game but I could never go back. They wanted to appeal to the masses even more so they made healing as a holy priest a joke (and pretty much every other class they made it easy as crap).
 
Yup yup... during Illidan (can't remember what the expansion was called), I quit playing right after we beat him. I was only playing for the challenge of it and always passed on gear unless the other priests / healers had their fill. So once I beat the then hardest content in the game weeks after it was released... I had no more drive to play the game. I was already losing interest because they changed the 40 man raids.

Btw, I played on launch day, so I am right there with you in loving Molten Core. Totally forgot about Zul-Gurub for a minute there. That zone was much more demanding of players to be skilled, and on a role playing server, even though we were one of the top guilds on the server, it just took forever to be able to dominate it.

So many fond memories of that game but I could never go back. They wanted to appeal to the masses even more so they made healing as a holy priest a joke (and pretty much every other class they made it easy as crap).

I'm same as you. I was a day one join up in 2004/5 (whenever it was). Back then, WoW was magical. Nobody other than the previous beta testers whose characters were ported across knew what they were doing. There was no instructions, no FAQ's, no online help as such. You just had to learn the ropes by playing and by speaking to other players. It was amazing and promoted (at least in those early days) real camaraderie between players.

That said, I spent a lot of time, effort and money by taking the wrong professions, buying unnecessary gear and generally rushing into stuff unprepared. Once I got going though, I was golden. I still remember asking in GC for help with the Hogger..:rotfl:. He was hard as when you were level 8 or 9. This guy responded saying he would come and help. When he turned up he was a level 60 paladin and the first level 60 I had seen and you have to remember, I'd only been playing a few hours or so and to see a 60, was just awesome. I remember he just stood and laughed while The Hogger tried beating him up then killed him for me, conjured his horse and rode off. It was quality.

Another moment that always stands out was the Stair battle in Uldaman. That was immense and L4D's swarms always remind me of that battle. Strat in under an hour was another brilliant quest in the instance and you could really only do it with players who were decent and on the ball. I also used to love farming level 55+ mobs at level 60. It's surprising how many level 60 players only farmed once mob at a time and used to gape when I was in the fields of the Plaguelands soloing 7 or 8 at a time. It was easy though as a mage with AoE. Mind you, it was another Mage who showed me how to do it..;)

One of the best raids I ever participated in was with an old guild called Eternal Fury. 23 of us went through Blackwing Lair and beat Nefarian. It sounds really sad now but, it was such an incredible achievement because, that was a tough as nails instance at level 60 for 40 players, never mind 23. That guild was awesome and had some superb players. I was usually one of the highest for DPS output in most raids (if I wasn't crowd controlling), yet that day, I was nowhere near the top of the charts. It was an insane run and utterly brilliant.

There were some great moments though and back then, everyone wanted to help everyone else. You just knew it couldn't last forever and once the idiot element turned up in their droves, it was ruined forever. Having said that, I am enjoying being back but like yourself, my raiding days are long gone. I won't be joining any guilds as I'm quite happy to just mooch around on my own now.
 
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I remember the days when me and a mate would hunch around a Spectrum 48k or C64 sharing the KB playing Gauntlet.... :laugh:
.......snip.......
However, I think some of the very best MP moments I've ever had we're in World of Warcraft. Back in the early days of WoW.....
Exactly the same as me. Though we used to play gauntlet on a cpc464. I had all the good times with multiplayer mario kart, Goldeneye, MK64 and BF2.
But the greatest times overall was World of Warcraft from vanilla to Wrath, sitting up all night talking to the guild on teamspeak, raiding, and just doing stupid random stuff with guildies. Can't beat those days. We had such a laugh.
 
Exactly the same as me. Though we used to play gauntlet on a cpc464. I had all the good times with multiplayer mario kart, Goldeneye, MK64 and BF2.
But the greatest times overall was World of Warcraft from vanilla to Wrath, sitting up all night talking to the guild on teamspeak, raiding, and just doing stupid random stuff with guildies. Can't beat those days. We had such a laugh.
We used Ventrilo. Was really good quality.
 
I went through a stage of passing CS a lot, always seemed fair as you couldn't camp near spawn points as everyone was returned at the end of the round, so even if you sucked you at least got some play time each round and you couldn't hide as the other team has another way to win beyond just killing everyone.

I still love Nintendo for multi player locally, the old days were fantastic at the time but not many games let you all gather round one TV and have the banter like Nintendo games do, I just wish they would address their online communications, even if I could only communicate with people I've approved on my friends list. I've honestly fallen behind on multi player on the ps4 and 360, u just never really enjoyed the offerings that much.

Still my favourite times were a 6 way lan in our uni house, all with red alert 2 running, the game was the perfect balance of tactics and backstabbing the boring player to be enjoyable and unpredictable with every one in with a shot of winning every time (well except Mr boring who was subject to a 5 man invasion every time because he wouldn't leave his base), for me the newer c&c games added too much and it got confusing, red alert 2 was simple at heart but everyone had their own tactics, the fear of hearing Kirov reporting coming from the next room and suddenly everyone panicking and bolstering air defences was always entertaining. You did learn how everyone played though, after 3 or 4 games everyone realised I could destroy them from the sea so actually bothered to build some naval defences in all future games, similarly with Mr Kirov a lot more air defences were needed, unlike playing the computer with 6 humans you had to defend every eventuality including a full scale invasion.
 
Another for WoW here it's what I always wanted from multiplayer, interacting with people from around the world, I'm currently playing SWTOR but I'll be honest I love Star Wars but it just doesn't grab me the same way, I'm not in a guild and I can't commit to end game stuff, so I'm just doing it for the stories while it's at 12x XP. I've got the expansions for Wow and I think once winter comes I'm going to resut as I haven't played since Cata, going to try and find a guild and have fun.
 

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