Offline Mode In the Wild (We'll get it soon!)

It doesn't matter if you agree. It's facts. It's stats. This comes direct from uber.
But as you said, no need to drag it on.

Ninja'd by Brian

that might be but then again were is the difference when i play an hour or so with the AI or with another player purely for fun and noncompetitiv reasons ... i still invested an hour into playing the game,no? .. sry but i propably wont be able to propper explain what i want to actualy ask so dont bother answering further on that...

As far as why people play single player:

- RTS's tend to take a while, it's nice not to be obligated to stay at your desk for over an hour to play a match with real people. Playing against the AI allows you to play on your own time.

- Multiplayer on RTS's tends to be very high pressure. Most opponents are skilled and your teammates will expect a lot out of you. I've never seen an RTS community that wasn't at least a little snobby towards new players. Most will get flamed to the point of disinterest if they do bad in a game or two.

Basically the multiplayer circuit on most RTS's is very competitive, and the majority of people just want to play a good match without all the pressure. Those who enjoy the thrill of a competition tend to gravitate toward multiplayer. Those who are just looking for a decent match and a good fight tend to go single player.

You're asking why people rather play against the AI than against people?

It's easy: Because RTS are much less accessible than almost every other genre when it comes to MP. Shooters always have the same principles, racing games have a simple goal, and MOBAs/MMORPGs have very limited scale when it comes to control, so you can easily focus on learning the right tactics.

RTS have a higher entry barrier and do not only require a notable amount of learning, but also limit the funny/silly stuff you can do in MP. These games much more stressful at the beginning, since it's hard to correctly divide your atention. And it's not like you're just jumping in and out of a games. Even short games often take 10 minutes, and it's often much longer. Especially playing 1v1 feels often more personal, since the players aren't just random noobs in a big match.
Following, the potential for frustration is also much bigger. Especially games like Starcraft 2 can basically cause one to fall apart in a match and overwhelm you, and that games scale is relatively small. That's a level of stress most games never achieve, the basically infinite skill-ceiling of most RTS can be incredible punishing.

Stuff like SC2 can be pretty pretty amazing online and make the AI skirmish look boring (although SC2 is probably less suitable for PvE than PA), but the competetive part is huge in this kind of game. Getting into these games is already hard.
Personally, i'm planning to play mp after release, probably when ladders come out. It's more comfortable to know your opponents are just as bad as you.^^

this ... is actualy quite depressive to read ....

How would people feel if Uber released the server code for running a match but it still used the uber servers for the lobby? I think this way they can combat piracy but help those on bad net connections.

I do like that, but that is some kind of DRM which they said they do not want to implement... so people would be upset.

Interesting idea, but that'd still mean it's online only and PA was advertised as DRM free and offline capable.

I mean in the short term. Most piracy occurs in the first 2 weeks as I understand it.

That probably sounds much harsher than it actually is.
Mind, these words are coming from someone who never played RTS in MP, and only started recently with Starcraft 2, which many people seem to consider as one of the most demanding RTS. Still have a lot of fun with that game, it's great.
Most of these issues are inherently connected with the strength of these games.

I don't think Piracy was ever a concern in this matter, that would be pretty stupid and dishonest.

Well if that's the case why do you think they are delaying it?

I would trust Uber so far to believe their words, that it's just a matter of priorities. PA is already reaching 1.0 without the full feature-set, so it imo makes totally sense.

Offline mode is imo more important - and i'd assume wanted - than Uber thought, but it makes sense.

"Combatting" piracy is like trying to catch smoke with your hands. You'll never achieve anything and people will think you're crazy.

The best thing to do is create a product people want to spend money on.

Yep, you can't ever estimate the influence of piracy, nobody ever managed to connect missing success with piracy, and it's actually a regressing trend. Since it's impossible to make an economical decision based on piracy, there are only emotional ones.

And really, it would be a bit of a ****-move to fund a game on trust - although it's still probably an ordeal to make an RTS with such little money - and then go and temporarily withhold features because of general paranoia.

There is no "short term" when it comes to piracy.
Pirates will always wait.

Just look at SimCity 5, most people who intended to pirate it didn't buy it, then when EA removed the DRM, guess what happened.

I don't equate DRM with "requires a connection to the net when starting a match". I thought most wanted the server released so they could play games locally without needing bandwidth. Surely having the client briefly connect to uber to check your account is reasonable?

You are wrong. Most pirates wait but not ALL. Particularly those that really want the game. So yes many will wait but some number will buy and that means $$$ for uber.

Checking back is exactly what DRM is, and really bad taste. It is basically suspecting every single customer and backer, asking every single time if you aren't pirating the game.

There is never an excuse for inconveniencing customers.

I didn't say all.

Um yes you did. You said "Pirates will always wait".