Multiplayer taking too much time away from SP gaming?

HangTime · 9 Dec 2021 at 02:53

Not quite sure how to position/explain this thread, but I was thinking how like many people I have a bit of a lethargy towards games, massive backlog and general decision paralysis about what to play, you know the drill. But that thread has been done 100 times.

What I am finding is, I'm tending to spend quite a lot of time on gaming but a big chunk of it is just playing or spectating my preferred multiplayer game (that I've played for many years). I kind of feel this is a bit to the detriment of single player game experience. I mean, I have a ton of games on Steam / Game Pass / uPlay / EA Play / GOG etc. I have a decent PC that can handle modern games. But I still find myself spending more hours on an ancient game than all other games combined. So the backlog just continues to grow because I never get round to playing these games, even though I do still enjoy SP gaming when I get into it.

Clearly, the reason I still play an old multiplayer game is because it's still really good, I enjoy it, each game is unique, I (generally) feel like I am competitive etc etc. So that's not a bad thing, it's more than just playing it out of habit. But equally I feel I miss out on quite a bit, take the Assassin's Creed series for example I'm currently [off and on] working my way through Unity, so am a few titles behind now. I enjoyed the Borderlands games but haven't got onto BL3 yet. I've owned a PS4 for several years but have never actually used it for gaming just playing video.

Rroff · 9 Dec 2021 at 06:17

I dip in and out of SP - usually between game releases heavily MP then when something new I'm interested releases SP wise I'll hit it hard for a week or two then back to MP. If I've got some time off work and don't have anything else to do I'll sometimes get the itch to revisit older SP games.

Kreeeee · 9 Dec 2021 at 06:22

You make gaming sound like a job. It’s not your duty to get through your backlog, just play what you enjoy playing.

dave28 · 9 Dec 2021 at 06:26

online MP changed everything, i can barely play SP at all anymore. Its just feels dead compared to playing against or with other people.

and then some of these modern games i find they are too long and drag on for 40+ hours

MatteRB26 · 9 Dec 2021 at 06:46

It depends on the game for me really. I have tens of thousands of hours racked up over RuneScape, DOOM, CS, WoW etc. But I've also got enough hours racked up on various SP games.

I still play OSRS but primarily on a group ironman, and we play at different hours... So you could say I'm playing SP anyway :cry:

The social aspect of gaming is one of the big parts for me tbh.

ivrytwr3 · 9 Dec 2021 at 07:20

Haxors have spoilt MP games for me, so much so i don't bother with MP anymore.

The only MP game i play is L4Dead and even in a nearly 15 year old game, haxors are still present, but they are easy to spot.

I used to still get CoD, Battlefield, but just play through the SP - however, the SP is now second place or not at all! due the £££'s MP brings in for the software team.

Can't see much changing in the future

Rroff · 9 Dec 2021 at 07:24

ivrytwr3 said:
Haxors have spoilt MP games for me, so much so i don't bother with MP anymore.

I gravitated away from FPS MP for the most part due to hacking

though I do sometimes dip into BF4 a bit when the mood takes me as there are some well admin'd community servers where it is minimal - sadly too many newer games favour lobby systems and removing end user control including things like community servers and it is almost impossible to avoid cheating.

In recent years I've been playing more stuff like Eve Online (until I got fed up of feeling like I was PVPing the devs more than players due to changes) and stuff like The Division (coop PVE only as again PVP in TD is a hackfest).

arknor · 9 Dec 2021 at 11:58

dave28 said:
online MP changed everything, i can barely play SP at all anymore. Its just feels dead compared to playing against or with other people.

and then some of these modern games i find they are too long and drag on for 40+ hours

most mp games are to similar to each other though they all start to get boring..

I almost limit myself to strategy games these days, I'm sick of no depth gaming

VincentHanna · 9 Dec 2021 at 12:10

I'm the opposite, I prefer a decent single player experience to multiplayer - As it at least has an 'end'

I do play multiplayer, and they get the heart pumping a bit more but there are fleeting experiences and ultimately pointless.

R.P.L · 9 Dec 2021 at 14:08

I only play very few games, and tend to like to stick with 1 or 2 for a long time. Since getting into PC gaming properly around 10 years ago I've spent the vast majority of my gaming time on 3 games, 2 of which I still play (1 of which is QL which is obviously ancient now, the other being MW2019 which was the first CoD I'd played). I've played through a few SP games over the years but most don't appeal to me. It's probably fair to say that I'm interested in FPS games overwhelmingly compared to other genres. So yeah I get it, but thankfully I'm not someone who would buy a game unless I was ready to start on a new game, so I don't have any backlog of unplayed games.

stooeh · 9 Dec 2021 at 14:16

I feel like this has been a thing for me ever since trying Quakeworld online in like '97. Since then the games have changed several times but always an overriding MP game that consumes the majority of my gaming time instead of me playing SP games

HangTime · 10 Dec 2021 at 10:32

Kreeeee said:
You make gaming sound like a job. It’s not your duty to get through your backlog, just play what you enjoy playing.

I guess if I consider the analogy, it's a probably a bit more nuanced than that, it's more like Multiplayer is the 'job' that gets in the way of enjoying SP games. So like, SP gaming is blocked by real life during daytime hours, and by MP gaming in night time hours. There's a sort of two-way FOMO going on, whereby I feel I'm missing out on SP experiences by playing MP, but then conversely if I'm playing SP in the evening hours I could be missing out on MP games which will be unique, unlike SP gaming (i.e. if I play a SP game today or in a month's time, it will be the same, unlike MP where every round is different.

Kreeeee · 10 Dec 2021 at 10:43

Are you playing multiplayer games by yourself or with a group of friends?

Haggisman · 10 Dec 2021 at 11:20

Kreeeee said:
Are you playing multiplayer games by yourself?

Not sure if you understand how multiplayer games work?

(Yes I realise you meant with randoms, but excellent choice of phrasing :cry:

)

@ OP, have kids - when you have to drop everything at a moment's notice because they've woken up, puked everywhere, wet the bed, strangled the cat, etc. then you'll find multiplayer games which you can't pause every 5 minutes aren't really an option

Kreeeee · 10 Dec 2021 at 12:48

Haggisman said:
Not sure if you understand how multiplayer games work?

(Yes I realise you meant with randoms, but excellent choice of phrasing )

@ OP, have kids - when you have to drop everything at a moment's notice because they've woken up, puked everywhere, wet the bed, strangled the cat, etc. then you'll find multiplayer games which you can't pause every 5 minutes aren't really an option

It was intentional, I just about managed to refrain from saying "playing with yourself".

Game · 10 Dec 2021 at 13:38

If a first or 3rd person game has a multi player mode thats the only mode I play

I go out of my way to find new people to play with and have been in multiple clans/guilds over the years

even a game like the division 1+2 gains so much with others

the last solo player game I played in those genres was the first COD game back in 2003

never played more than 5 minutes on any others

SPG · 10 Dec 2021 at 14:24

Cheating has killed MP for me, the games without cheaters or police themselves well are few and far between. Co-Op frustrates the shizzle out me as well due to altering objects and "just putting the dog out" every 10 mins

I stay away from online FPS games now due to it.

Not enough for cheating is being done by the devs, all the reviews never even mention it as they have been paid off, not sure if the twitch fool generation mention it.

Darujhistan · 10 Dec 2021 at 16:12

SPG said:
Cheating has killed MP for me, the games without cheaters or police themselves well are few and far between. Co-Op frustrates the shizzle out me as well due to altering objects and "just putting the dog out" every 10 mins I stay away from online FPS games now due to it.

Not enough for cheating is being done by the devs, all the reviews never even mention it as they have been paid off, not sure if the twitch fool generation mention it.

They're not interested therer's no money in tackling issues like cheating, because 90% of players are casuals who wouldn't notice anyway, it's only a small % of gamers whose interest goes beyond switching a console on and playing (ignorance is probably bliss in this case).

Kautya · 10 Dec 2021 at 16:32

I have moved away from MP element mostly back to story driven SP games. Been going through the backlog of games that are mainly story driven. Used to enjoy MP games mainly for the competitive elements and playing with friends but I would rather just dig into a decent SP now and rather spend the little time I have on that. I do struggle in deciding what next to play though, as there is a void when I finish one and want to start the next, where I will either end up chasing some trophies for the sake of it or just replaying for a bit but then eventually completely switching off.

V F · 10 Dec 2021 at 16:56

Rroff said:
I gravitated away from FPS MP for the most part due to hacking though I do sometimes dip into BF4 a bit when the mood takes me as there are some well admin'd community servers where it is minimal - sadly too many newer games favour lobby systems and removing end user control including things like community servers and it is almost impossible to avoid cheating.

In recent years I've been playing more stuff like Eve Online (until I got fed up of feeling like I was PVPing the devs more than players due to changes) and stuff like The Division (coop PVE only as again PVP in TD is a hackfest).

First or second? Yes I've heard the first is rotten with cheats but the other problem is a lot are cheating in Division 2 as well. Then there are the other lot who aren't downright cheating but they've been told by others who know how to exploit the game glitches.

Some others know how to get outside the map and get on top of buildings. Some know how to go outside the map then come back into the world invisible then there are others that know how to lag switch. I don't know what else is being abused but sadly PVP in Division/2 is full of exploiters that Ubisoft wont do anything about it.