Why no offline Campaign?

Why exactly does GC require an internet connection?

I purchased GC without being aware of this requirement, and I am regretting it, as my gaming PC isn’t normally connected to the internet.

GC downloads the fleets you battle from other players. Unfortunately it is pretty much entirely based upon that, this so there is no way to turn it off. :confused:

Ok, would it be possible for the campaign to work offline by saving a large number of player fleets on disk for campaign use, or by altering the campaign so it doesn’t require them?

Like a random fleet generator using templates?

To the best of my knowledge, that functionality is not possible.

What about an official update changing GC to not need internet connection?

I honestly don’t see why not.

It’s a lot harder to pirate a game that needs core content from a server via persistent internet connection. My guess is that’s why not. Send an email to Cliff if you like.

The changes you are suggesting are not simple edits to text files. They are alterations to the programming of the game engine. Not a trivial matter.

In addition, from a non-technical perspective, Cliff’s current solution allows a wider range of deployment options to be available to the AI at the moment of combat. In the absence of combat, the AI simply accumulates points with which it can buy a fleet when the time comes; this precludes the AI from having to pay maintenance, which is an advantage, but it sails into combat with fixed orders, which is a disadvantage, so I’m guessing the theory is that the two factors balance out.

Since most people don’t have a concern about being online when they play the campaign, this is probably the optimal solution.

Yeah, I don’t see why anyone would buy the game if they can just torrent all the features and play offline. Just like how Starcraft 2 stop supporting LAN, GSB also need an incentive for people to buy. And it must be working since it got me paying for it.

Well, Steam alone should be enough anti-piracy measures; anymore is unnecessary and just deters legitimate customers.

And right now, this is a real deterent to me, as my games machine does NOT have regular internet access.

That there was utterly no mention of GC requiring such internet access on the Steam store page either, so I did not know until after I had purchased it and tried to play in offline mode.

It’s only a very small minority of people that don’t have regular internet access. It’s not a nice situation for those that are unable to get it, but the numbers don’t lie. Additionally Steam doesn’t have any sort of anti-piracy measures for GSB, and the game is available outside of Steam via direct download. The way the game currently works means that it’s very easy to pirate the game, but then your only choice is the single-player missions (which wear thin). If you want challenges or the campaign then you have to buy the game and get a serial number.

Put the blame on Steam. It’s stated HERE that you require an internet connection.

Yeah, positech.co.uk/gratuitousspa … quest.html says it needs an internet connection.

However, it states it is needed due to “of the games tight integration with the online server that selects enemies for you to fight”, not as an anti-piracy measure.

If the game just downloads a sufficiently large database of enemy fleets, then constant internet connection should be unnecessary. Perhaps an update could add that as an option?

If this doesn’t happen, then I’m probably going to be asking Steam for a refund.

So because that feature has one function, it’s not allowed to have the other, because the other wasn’t explicitly mentioned in (for example) 72-point type with the [BLINK] tag enabled? Am I reading you correctly?

( astonished eyeblink )

Let me explain this as clearly as I can, with deference to your far-edge-of-the-bell-curve viewpoint:

It’s vastly more important for Positech’s economic health to insure that Galactic Conquest cannot be easily pirated by, ohhh, everyone in general than it is to cater to a microscopic subset of players who find it inconvenient to be online. You’re obviously a paying customer, of course, but let me break the bad news to you: you’re a minority of one, buddy. I advise against holding your breath while waiting for Positech to make its latest commercial software far more amenable to being warez’d in order for you to be spared the crushing difficulty of needing to avail yourself of a continuous internet connection.

I have yet to hear a single shred of support for why Cliff should make the game much less piracy-proof solely so that you should not have to be online in order to play GC, aside from vague intimations of “I just don’t feel like doing it.” I trust you’ll forgive us if we find that viewpoint less than convincing.

I’m really not going out of my way to mock you. Quite the contrary. I’m just left amazed at the relentless tone of self-interest that your posts are radiating to us here. Not sure how else I can convince you with rational arguments that the V.I.P. convenience you’re asking for is nowhere near realistic when balanced against the huge financial risk to Cliff, the game’s designer. The stature of your personal convenience here is minute enough to be a mere rounding error when stacked up next to that necessity. I’m sorry that this is the case, but such is life.

[cool hand luke]
What we have here is a failure to communicate.
[/cool hand luke]

I hate to break it you you ackbar, But Its too late to get money back, nor will the online Yes i said ONLINE Galactic Conquest expansion be made to set a single player that does not want to have a constant internet. Heck i went without internet a few time and found it hard to play GSB for a while But instead of compiling and bash my head against a ten foot thick wall, or door. I just did what i could and thus its how i got into modding. So to put is as plane as I can, you bought it, and didn’t spot the online needs of the expansion and there is nothing that you can do to remove the online need of Galactic Conquest.

And look, my computer still freezes up when it tries to play the campaign, which I assume is mostly due to it’s inability to connect to the server properly. The only way I can play campaign now is to get to my friends house. So I have every incentive to want Campaign offline.

But the problem here is not a choice between GSB online or offline, but GSB online or GSB discontinued due to lack of sales. And out of pure self interest the first is more appealing.

I can easily understand that. If I were to express my own personal preference, it would be quite similar to yours.

In your case - a fellow veteran player - I know you fully understand why Cliff set up GC that way. I’m not nearly so sure that our new visitor understands. That disturbs me much more than his disagreement. Hell, anyone can disagree here; we do it all the time. Being so oblivious to the piracy issue amazes me.

So potential piracy automatically equals massive, massive financial losses for Cliff?

Hell, the original game and DLC don’t have any anti-piracy measures, and can be played just fine offline.

So don’t be such a CENSORED towards others asking legitimate questions while assuming only you know the right answer, while also assuming that answer to be the best and only way.

Simple fact is: I bought the GC expansion expecting to be able to play it offline like the original, but can’t. There was no mention of this when I bought the game.

I expect this to be fixed in the future, or I will seek a refund and take my business elsewhere.

::Edit:: Originally i had a large slab of text here talking about the constant internet and the reasons why, pros and cons, but i think instead i will just get to the matter at heart.

As mentioned earlier, the requiment for the internet connection was mentioned on the official website which most of the forum users here were aware of, however this is of little consolation. The fact still remains that Steam have not faithfully echoed this requirment, which is rather unfortunate and i really think you should raise this issue on the Steam forum because as you have inadvertently discovered an internet connection is as much as a requiement as any of the other other system specs they mention (ie processor, memory etc)

Based on your ultimatum i would say that you will be trying to seek a refund from Steam.
While i would not presume to speak for Cliff, from reading his blog/tweets/posts i would say that GSB and all its DLC components are fairly much complete and there probally will not be many more changes. (mainly since Cliff is now directing his full attention to the next game.) However i would be overjoyed to be wrong on this account.

As for the “take your buisness elsewhere” - that is up to you, however i think you should be venting your fustrations at Steam, not at Cliff or the members of this forum. I would strongly recommend that you head across to the steam forum and let them know your disapoinment. There is already a thread that currently echoing your sentiment of Steam not mentioning the constant internet connection requirement

Well, at least I see no reason why I would pay a single dime if I can BT all the features for free.

Rather Cliff intended it or not, a significant amount of people would not have paid for this game has it not been the online only features. In Cliff’s point of view, he will not be able to measure the amount of people pirated his game. He will only know the total sales he make for this game, which acts as a work disincentive if the total sales is too low.

The problem with refunds on electronic material is that anyone can make copies. Since return the product does not prove you will stop using it, it makes no sense to give refunds as a seller. For this reason pretty much every stores has no return policy for computer games. If you actually find a game store that still gives refunds nowadays let me know, so I can get games for free.

Not saying a compromise wouldn’t happen, it’s just highly unlikely.

steam is an online needed program, therefor anything that is downloaded with steam SHOULD be assumed that it needs an active online connection to play END OF STORY…

Ackbar, I am not saying this because it is an anti-pirate measure. The Main site DID say that it needed the internet connection. However Steam did not have that, Thus to put it bluntly, stop whining in the game’s own forum, and start to whine in Steam’s forums because there really is NOTHING you can do over here except needlessly upset people. There will be nothing that can be done about your case in THIS forum. We have tried and tired to help, and to inform you of what is going on. But you push us aside and keep up your demand for an offline campaign It is not going to happen UNLESS you (illegally btw!) crack the game code and do it yourself.

Sorry but that is the way it is and there is nothing that I know of that will change it. I am sorry that you assumed that you can play it offline. But you should have gone to the main website of the game BEFORE you got it. “Caveat Emptor”.

I am not finished I will no longer post in this thread unless something is directed at me. Once more I am sorry about this incident and hope you can see the solution and get it fixed.

Lonestar