Offline mode

I, for one, am already tired of correcting people on Steam reviews who say it is online only DRM forever. This game is amazing and it is sad to see it taking a beating for not being offline capable. Please, Uber, have a holiday for making a brilliant game, and then come sort us an offline mode!

And it really does. If performance is bad early game, it puts new players off.

The sooner offline mode is added, the sooner I can enjoy server-lag free games.

Personally if I had known it would be online only at release, I would not have bought it, and half want to contact customer service for my money back.

Online only is a huge deal breaker for me due to frequent use of a mobile router.

If you look at ZaphodX's stream on Youtube and watch the PAX video's he will show you that the devs are playing on a local server. That means they are busy with it and that it will probably be given to us in the near near future. Just remember they are fully aware of the communities take on this.

The problem is that many new players are unaware that Uber aware.

I very much agree with that statement and I would LOVE you see an enormous banner on the sides, top and bottom of the forum with.. "LOCAL SERVERS INBOUND. T-MINUS: SOON".

But because they don't have that and most likely will not do that haha, we just need to tell the new commers.

My guess is that as soon as the game is going to be DRM free, people will start pirating. So maybe the devs want to milk some more?

I really think this is a case of "Its just not done yet". The local server is more than just a behind the scenes, run-when-you-play-skirmish thing, its also a stand alone server that we can run, and have people connect to, just the way that we connect to uber's servers.

It needs to be debugged on a variety of hardware, different OS's, different connection types, network setups, the works. It needs gui elements, too.

Taking a big breath... relaxing... patience mode activated... people at Uber congratulations on your PA Launch this game is AWESOME!!! i've seen the vids from Zhapod and all your evolution since late alpha i know you're working hard on this game and you should feel proud about it, i'm really exited to play the game but i can't i have really bad internet in my country (Venezuela) but that is no reason not to celebrate, i know you guys must be working on the offline feature (like crazy!) and since the beginning you where allways aiming to give us the best of the best that's why i understand this feature is not out yet, thats your way of doing things and i don't mind waiting a little bit more just keep up the good work and cheers!!! I wish this game and to Uberent great success and PLANET SMASHING!!!

For the new people to the game welcome i hope you enjoy the game and if you are waiting on this feature fear not just be patient

hmmm.. There isn't any offline mode yet? I thought that was the point of "release". to separate the baby from the mother.

I hope its soon.

It was one of the points, one of the features that is.

Well, most of the other ones came together. Performance for instance. A lot of the functions. A lot of borderline polish issues.

So, since offline server files aren't ready, like saves, it simply needs time. They are continuing work on this game so tahts no problem.

No its because the server just isn't completely bug free.

But it... will be able to be played offline very soon, sure not exactly at release, but at most I'd say a month from now. (Arbitrary)

And the client is completely bug free? Isn't part of early access having, you know, early access? The bottom line is there will be no DRM-free release. They have it, they use it, but due to piracy issues sales would pretty much stop if they had a DRM-free build released.

We may never see a DRM-free release and we may never see offline play or LAN mode, which is a shame but is quite common nowadays.

They have never made any indication that it was due to piracy. They just don't want to release it just yet. They're a small company, and they're not stupid. They know that DRM doesn't stop pirates, it only means pirates will be the only people able to play your game offline if it's ever breached, and that it just reduces sales.

They've told time and time again that DRM will be gone soon, and I trust them. This company supported a game that was giving them no revenue whilst being completely bankrupt for months.

This isn't EA, they can't even afford to be DRM, and they know it.

This may be something we should keep in mind about this.... issue.

With Uber Entertainment editing out their non-DRM offline promise/policy, we all have read it and I agree it was the greatest selling point especially to the KickStarters.

KickStarters, you know the people who where there since the beginning.
So this could easily be seen as a bait and switch tactic, pretty dishonest.
However time will tell, time will tell.

I figured I would just, drop... these links here for everyone to be aware of.
The links where not on the whitelist.
One is a government website. Hummm

Well I uploaded a picture with those links in it, you may just have to manually type them in referencing the picture. Spread this information, I don't like dishonest practices.
Ready the battlements, hope for the best prepare for the worst.

(update: Waybackmachine is a pain eh?)

They were required to edit it out, otherwise it was false advertisement as it is a released title now. It's okay to out future features as a part of the game when in early access but not when released.

I don't get it, if they truly wanted to trick us, why would they continue to say it's coming? I trust these devs, we've been talking for a whole two years now about this game and having a wonderful experience.

I'm even a friend with a couple of the devs.

I hope to god you're right and this is just a misunderstanding, we will all see.

It is online DRM forever until they make it not so, and they haven't given us a definite statement of when it will be any different. The game is not amazing with performance being inhibited by an online requirement that was undesired by a vast majority of users from day one. The game isn't fun to play when time dilation kicks in, when you're disconnected randomly through no fault of your own, and when you don't get official, clear, unconditional answers as to why this is so.

The simple fact is offline, DRM free play was promised in Kickstarter two years ago "at release" and it hasn't been included with release. It's a lie, if you're blunt, or a gross failure to deliver if you're being generous. The backers and playerbase deserve an answer, a real answer, a specific and detailed answer, and they haven't been given one. Just ambiguous answers and, in some cases, borderline hostility and locked threads.

They should not have a holiday until they fulfill the promise they made two years ago, and fix the other glaring issues with the game such as poor pathing and online performance woes. Those are absolutely critical problems that must be solved as soon as possible.

Make no mistake, Planetary Annihilation is buggy as all hell, laggy, poorly balanced, and ominously shadowed by always online DRM- despite what they want to call it. Many of the failings of Supreme Commander/Forged Alliance, PA's spiritual predecessor, still exist within the next installment, and that's utterly unacceptable. Performance is the main culprit.


Proptip for @BradNicholson this is the reason why you have to continually deal with duplicate threads. You didn't deliver on a promise you gave to the people who supported and funded your game for two years, many of whom only did so with the understanding that the game would include offline, LAN play, and private servers at release.

You're running the borderline between a lie and a failure to perform. You've had two years to make the feature list true, and one of the most critical and important features on that list hasn't made it in to the final game.

I understand you've got to be frustrated with having to deal with the same questions and demands over and over, but you can't expect your backers and customers not to be frustrated when they aren't given what they rightfully expected to receive, and then get noncommittal responses about why it isn't included yet.

I applaud you for the concept and the framework for the game you've created. I absolutely love everything about the gameplay of Planetary Annihilation, and truly believe it deserves to succeed. It is both unique and reinvigorating to the RTS genre, and I truly hope it goes far.

But you've made a massive mistake in the lack of disclosure and dialogue with the community that made your game possible. The fact that there's been no detailed explanation of why offline isn't here, the timeframe in which offline would be an implemented feature, and the evasive nature in which you've dealt with the subject is insulting for those who supported a Kickstarter project.

Many of the people on the forums now are new, and just registered to post about the subject because they're frustrated, and frankly, they deserve a clear answer.

@jendrykgaming: Would it be appropriate if a petition was started to campaign for answers about offline mode? While I adore the game's annihilation mechanics, I still seek answers on why offline mode never made it into release.

All that I know, and believe in red.