Is Fatshark even listening to us?

[Ralendil]

great post…

Exactly what I think.
Did not ask Havoc and I feel that this game mode is made for a very tiny part of the population. However, I have no number, so I could be wrong.
Solo, it was announced, promised, and could impact a lot of players… still not here

@Eviltreerat

we wanted less special spam, smarter/ better scripted opponents

We have actually, in Auric, High intensity with or without shock troop.
At this point, I want to ask Fatshark something stupid. That they introduce a new board “Ironclad” or “Obsidian”.
This board would essentially be “Elite Resistance” for all missions with or without high intensity.

Why I say “stupid”? cause we should not have so many game modes. But actually, ALL these modes are based on the idea that increasing spawns, increase the difficulty and make a better game. But, by the same time they changed how Hordes are managed.
So, I feel that a good gameplay could involve:

• less elites but more resistant => this is basically Elite resistance condition
• hordes timed based and that would work like in the old times… I wish to see again a situation where we are surrounded by hordes…

It would give a true new difficulty. As I said in an other post. Elite resistance can surprise. Test it, and you will understand it. Not perfect, but clearly in the right direction cause of the power buffs we’ve got since patch 13.
Of course, a balance patch should come…

[Ragnarok101]

@Molonious

It feels like outside the core gameplay elements, Darktide is managed and led by someone who genuinely does not understand what they’re developing and who they’re developing for, someone who has a deep RNG fetish and really likes to take elements from other titles and slap them into Darktide without really thinking how well they fit the product, and who really doesn’t like being told their ideas are bad.

Yeah, this is my take as well.

We’ve gone from a relatively grounded game at launch (player power wise) to a power fantasy of mass slaughter and ability spam, on the mechanics end, and the narrative and overall ‘non-mission’ stuff has either stalled out or just been a mess.

Things have been overcomplicated, development seems to have a case of ADHD where things are never finished or iterated on, and RNG and gacha-level garbage mechanics permeate everything.

[Headhunter]

• Auric missions - Took 1.5 years to add in
• Crafting - Took 2 years to finally unlock fully
• UI - Took 2 years just to add batch selection in inventory. Still no filtering by stat, perk/blessing or archive storage to minimise inventory doom scroll lag. Why invest so much time in Penance UI when it is used less than inventory UI.

Not days, weeks, months but 1-2 years for things. Changes happen but very slow.

Time was wasted on non-skill based mechanics to inflate playtime without any meaningful challenge

• Brunt’s armory. Mass buy click to get dump stat desired.
• 1-2 years ago RNG brick of weapon
• Mastery - No skill. Just delaying by 5-6 missions XP per weapon, less than a day.

Sure just like MMOs a fraction of people are willing to do mundane tasks to reach the desired end result. But consider what fraction it would put people off playing the game. Someone decided it was worth it as engagement. Just because player count is up doesn’t mean it worked, it could mean it might have been higher without the non-skill based time gating initially.

[DornIvanotic]

Elite resistance wasn’t hard to begin with, even back then.

[Wahid]

I think Fatshark listens, but they made so many mistakes leading up to the release of Darktide that I doubt they can properly shift the game now.

After playing Vermintide 2 a little, I think the combat (dodge sliding spam) of Darktide is no longer fixable, but the maps most definitely are.

Where Vermintide 2 shines the most for me is in its maps, which feature environmental storytelling and “world building.” Compared to simple things like rats (not Skaven) running around and birds perching on buildings and flying away when you get close to them, and bodies torn up or tied up by a noose, Darktide’s maps feel very “gamey.”

All of the Darktide maps feel like they were created as “video game levels,” and the roleplay aspect that Vermintide 2 has in spades is completely gone in Darktide, and it has nothing to do with whether we have custom characters or not (I like creating my own characters more than having premade ones), but rather how the maps are created.

Darktide took several major steps back from what Vermintide 2 did really well, and the maps are, in my opinion, the most significant downgrade that Fatshark made.

I really hope that Fatshark will commit properly to Darktide going forward and put less emphasis on “hardcore experiences” and more on creating a game that is immersive, or the only hope left is a Vermintide 3 or another Warhammer Fantasy-tide (with custom characters).

Mourningstar is a terrible user hub that lacks immersion and excitement in the 40K world and one of the worst multiplayer hubs ever conceived.

The maps are uninteresting, but the combat is good (a step up from Vermintide 2), except for being too arcadey at times, mostly because of dodge slide spam and players moving too fast and also, where are all the 40k weapons?

[stqnislqs]

They will need a completely new approach and business vision to support that shift because they managed to convert a vast portion of their player base into jaded players who will never buy their products ever again.
I’m not only speaking for myself but I’ve witnessed this happen in many discord servers with people so bored of the lack of content and pointless updates that they said “never again”.

[DornIvanotic]

I think solo mode will not happen because FatShark simply does not have the developers to make it, nor a reason outside of a promise made before release.

After an update, I spend some time thinking about what FatShark, the management/corporate side thinks of the reception and what they will want to try next, I do not think FatShark is working on solo play, because the dev time to players brought in would not be worth it.

[Scipo0419]

I agree there’s a very good chance that Solo Mode won’t happen, but there’s another reason that it should besides being a promise: It’s an industry standard.

Even Helldivers 2 lets you go into private lobbies solo. Darktide is the only game to look at solo players and actively say “screw them and their filthy solo player money”

Edit: I was just thinking about the “It’s a coop game! It doesn’t need solo mode!” Crowd and remembered that League of Legends, Smite, and Pokemon Unite are all MOBAs that I’ve played in the past. For those who aren’t aware: MOBA stands for Multuplayer Online Battle Arena. Guess what all three of these games offered? The ability to play with bots against bots! Woooooow! An online PVP game offers more for solo players than a pve game, and as a wise(?) Principal once said:

[chabar84]

I’m guessing FatShark has deemed it unfeasable to use developer hours on making a solo mode in their multiplayer game.

Aren’t their mods for this?

[Riku]

@chabar84

I’m guessing FatShark has deemed it unfeasable to use developer hours on making a solo mode in their multiplayer game.

They said it’s low priority.

[TylerB23]

I’m sure those console players really appreciate the mod they can’t use.

Not to mention, I shouldn’t have to download and install unauthorized third party files to just to play a game feature that the company said in official statements would be offered.

The mod for solo play is not, and never will be, a substitute, and I am sick and tired of people acting like holding a company to their word is pointless just because a third-party mod exists.

Not to mention the mod does not allow for any progression or rewards. If VT2 only let you play solo in modded realms people would have been up in arms.

[TylerB23]

Something they only said AFTER previously saying that it was “almost finished” and would come the December after launch at the latest, with no explanation for how or why that changed.

In any other business, in any other industry, if you promised your customer a part of the product by a specific timeframe, then just decided well after that timeframe that it was “No longer a priority.” they’d be rightfully mad at you.

[Badwin]

@TylerB23

In any other business, in any other industry, if you promised your customer a part of the product by a specific timeframe, then just decided well after that timeframe that it was “No longer a priority.” they’d be rightfully mad at you.

And plenty of people are rightfully mad. But FS is going to live or die by delivering a product with features that appeal(s) to as wide an audience as possible. You and I may be FS’s customers, but we’re 1 of over a million. However they got to the decision (which we don’t know), they think it’s the best for the continued existence of the product/company.

[TylerB23]

Whether or not we actually get solo mode at this point is irrelevant to me, honestly. The issue is the complete and blatant disregard for the player base asking about it.

Game features do not magically go from “Should be ready two months after launch at the latest” to “not a priority.” Something happened there.

And when we’re talking about a feature that official company statements posted before launch confirmed would be in the game, its absolutely absurd to say that we should just accept “Its not a priority.”

Not to mention there is absolutely no way a bare-minimum solo mode would be a drain on company resources in any way. Literally all they have to do is change the minimum player requirement in a private lobby from 2 to 1.

Hell, you literally used to be able to do that before they confirmed it was a bug and patched it out. We know FOR A FACT that a solo play version of the game is possible.

There is no possible way that enabling single player private lobbies would harm the game in a way that duo private lobbies do not already.

Solo play is not some massive, arduous feature that would keep Fatshark from working on the “real content” or whatever.

They could literally patch it in right this second if they wanted. Would it be optimized? Probably not. Would it be the platonic ideal of Solo Play, with competent bot AI, custom characters in the other lots, and True Solo that so many people want? Hell, no.

But it would be a Solo Mode. The thing we were explicitly told would be in the game.

[Badwin]

@TylerB23

Game features do not magically go from “Should be ready two months after launch at the latest” to “not a priority.” Something happened there.

I think it’s pretty likely that between launch and 01/23, FS went from thinking they had a diamond in the rough that they’d have time and goodwill to improve to realizing the whole situation was a five alarm fire. A real “come to The Emperor” moment where they decided they needed to change all their plans. And since then, I think they’ve favored polishing things up over releasing simple fixes (like fully breaking locks or allowing solo online play).

I don’t disagree with your points. I also think solo would be great for FS/sales. But I don’t think they’re going to release it in some crumby state (like it would be now if we just had these dummy bots).

[Riku]

im not defending FS, im an advocate for consumer protection. i simply stated the last known information.

tho i never read the “almost finished” part anywhere, admittedly im not particular interested in solo so i might have skipped it.

[TylerB23]

“Solo play is in its final stages of testing as we fix the last issues that remain. We aim to release this at Launch. If not, a patch shortly after that in December.”

The exact quote from Community Update #1

There’s also this from Steam back when Hedge was a staff member.

At some point solo mode went from “in the final stages of testing” in November 2022 to the following nearly one year later:

A feature does not go from the final stages of testing and ready to go live by next month to “not a priority” in a year without reason.

[TylerB23]

I really don’t think things like Havoc Mode or Mortis Trials count as “polishing the game”

Those are completely original game modes, hardly “making the game as it is better.” that would be implied from polishing.

[Badwin]

I think they’re pretty polished features, personally. And that’s what I meant by polished rather than “polishing the game.”

I’m pretty confident we’ll get solo when it’s ready, way later than anyone expects and in a pretty good state…just like the crafting rework.

[Molonious]

There’s a reason every other title I can recall in the coop 4 person action genre has solo options, typically at launch without needing years of delay. There’s a clear demand for solo play.

I don’t play Darktide without friends/players that I know, simple as. I’m not going to hop in and Quickplay with Randos, that’s not my thing. If there was a true solo mode however, I’d play that and get in a lot more Darktide time.

Solo isn’t anything like my #1 demand of the game, but it’s far above what most development time appears to have been sunk into of late, certainly higher than a gigasweat game mode for yet another level of “harder than hardmode” that a negligible proportion of the game’s playerbase interacts with. Given that it was promised before launch, and is something people may have put money down expecting, FS deciding to simply drop it without fanfare or notice in favor of some pretty wildly middling other content is a fair thing to call out.

That said, I suspect the problem may not be so much dev priorities as server load issues. Given that games are centrally hosted in Darktide, that creates a lot of potential extra server demand. I think however that’s an FS problem to figure out that is crippling the growth of their product, not a valid excuse for the feature being missing.