Forums > MobyGames > Number of Players: Online/Offline

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Rola (8486) on 10/5/2014 12:11 PM · Permalink · Report

Now that we can request tech-specs fixes, I'd like to return to this debate.

While Online/Offline is ambiguous by itself (it can mean "power on/off"), I think we can agree for computers/games it means connected/disconnected.

When I see real-time game that says up to 8 offline players, I know something is wrong. Let's clear the confusion about "offline".

Disconnected should mean single machine only. Online isn't just the Internet. Not only LAN is a form of network, even null modem cable is a kind of a connection. Which leaves us with simultaneous play (rarely we get more than 2 people at once sharing the screen) or turn-based hot seat.

For platforms having both "Number of Players: Online/Offline" there is no need for the third confusing "Number of Players" - we should correct these entries and once their list goes to 0 remove this option from such platforms.

I recall some people disagreed. Let's vote and see how many agree with the above.

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Patrick Bregger (298416) on 10/5/2014 12:39 PM · Permalink · Report

I disagree.

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formercontrib (157536) on 10/5/2014 1:27 PM · Permalink · Report

Two disagreers. Some things in life aren't limited to dark black and light white only, off/online is one of those things.

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Rola (8486) on 10/5/2014 2:43 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

Would you both please care to elaborate to convince me? My way of reasoning is to clear the confusion.

I take you only consider Internet as "online", nicht war? Because it's a paid service while you can set up LAN on your own at home?

What if we were to list for PC the exact connection method, just how we do for certain consoles: "Number of Players: LAN", "Number of Players: Internet" ...?

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formercontrib (157536) on 10/5/2014 5:11 PM · Permalink · Report

[Q --start Rola wrote--] I take you only consider Internet as "online", nicht war? Because it's a paid service while you can set up LAN on your own at home?

What if we were to list for PC the exact connection method, just how we do for certain consoles: "Number of Players: LAN", "Number of Players: Internet" ...? [/Q --end Rola wrote--]

No, not nearly. Modem, Serial, TCP/IP-Protocol for LAN and/or Internet are online for me. PBEM isn't imo, it can work asynchronous, sure you require a online connection to send and receive the mail, but none to use the content of this mail in-game, normally. Crucial thingie is IPX-LAN - which isn't any longer of great gamer interest, but for older DOS + Windows game it's the most important protocol, and by definition - it's not an online connection, and so it was handled all over the years and wanted all over the years by Corn Poppers and others - to be used with the offline spec, i'm not often with his opinions - but as said, by definition he's correct there, like it or not!...

Overall, it doesn't really makes any difference: Man, i guess i corrected hundreds - possibly thousands of new PC entries, only because - only "Insiders" knew about - that NO. OF PLAYERS SUPPORTED for those platforms (not for all within the database) is OUTDATED, and this SINCE YEARS, so i removed and removed and removed and... hoping one day an admin, would use this spec for something new instead, but it never happened, same as for example, for the Windows spec SOUNDBLASTER and SB 16, outdated since approx. 1743 ... so i guess, with the non-will and the potential to crash the whole database while trying to remove or reuse such a spec, nothing will change for the next centuries. Overall, i would prefer more specs like: No. of Players by Modem, ... by Null-Modem, by IPX LAN, by... over the endless definition discussion that always comes to no conclusion: Is LAN off- or online, is IPX off- or online.

And if it's so important for me, which type of connection Game XYZ uses for Multiplayer and the amount of Players, and i wouldn't trust the info on file, i would ask somebody or Google for the info.

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vedder (70661) on 10/5/2014 2:05 PM · Permalink · Report

I don't really care either way, but I do feel that the current situation isn't self explanatory to contributors and thus the wording should change.

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Indra was here (20760) on 10/5/2014 5:15 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

You mean an internal network would be considered online too? Nope. I'd vote against that. I guess my personal definition of online in reference to access, would be: if you need to rely on a third party (i.e. any equivalent to a non-game provider, content or connection-wise), it's online.

Not entirely sure why this is a problem anyway. Actually forgot why this is a problem.

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Cavalary (11445) on 10/5/2014 5:30 PM · Permalink · Report

May be solved with 3 categories? Internet, same machine and... something to cover everything in between, but not sure how to word it, since LAN probably wouldn't quite cut it. That PBEM bit thf mentioned is tricky too, yeah.

Thing is that at this point changing it will be a royal mess...

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Pseudo_Intellectual (66248) on 10/5/2014 6:30 PM · Permalink · Report

"controlled by or connected to another computer or to a network."

That doesn't seem so hard. Back in the BBS days what we now call "BBS door games" were referred to as "online games".

The "line" in "online" is a wire or cable at some point along the gameplay process connecting your machine to another. (Antiquated in this era of wifi and cell data transfer, but you get the idea.) Internet really has nothing to do with it -- any kind of net counts!

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vileyn0id_8088 (21040) on 10/5/2014 9:16 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

What Pseudo said. Unfortunately it'll always come down to "what something really means" vs. "what most people expect it to mean at a particular point in time".

There's a practical consideration here, too, because having the distinction "online"="internet" / "offline"="LAN and everything else" is inherently less useful than the alternative.

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Fred VT (25953) on 10/5/2014 9:19 PM · Permalink · Report

Just rename: Online / Network

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Pseudo_Intellectual (66248) on 10/5/2014 10:31 PM · Permalink · Report

Once local storage is outlawed and all software is served up to iChromes through the cloud, there won't even be such a thing as offline software!

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Rola (8486) on 10/6/2014 6:44 AM · edited · Permalink · Report

[Q --start vileyn0id_8088 wrote--]There's a practical consideration here, too, because having the distinction "online"="internet" / "offline"="LAN and everything else" is inherently less useful than the alternative.[/Q --end vileyn0id_8088 wrote--] That's why I proposed this alternative in the first place!

Just let's skip PlayByEMail for the time being, it's too complex case. I'll bet I could interrupt and suddenly make those games PlayByMail by carrying the saved file on a floppy. Any "nothing hidden" turn-based game (like chess) could be PBEM/PBM.