I guess I'll be the only one holding out.
Let me start by saying that I hate making a post like this. (inb4 then don't make it)
Simply put: I think that unless Ubi fixes it, the MP lobby system will cripple the game just like FC3; I think that no amount of amazing editor will save it from that.
(inb4 then don't buy it) Well that's my point exactly; I'm not going to. Not until I've seen decent evidence that it's actually worth buying.
I'm guessing there's a decent chance someone will just delete this thread.
In some of my recent post, I think I've made it abundantly clear that I don't think FC5 will survive very long. But listen, I really want to buy this game, and it's frustrating as hell that things look so bad.
To reiterate: FC:IP and FC2 were the only games that gave proper options for hosting. FC:IP lasted a long time, though I'm not sure its current status. But FC2, which released nearly ten years ago, is actually still alive. I recently (this week) played in a few full lobbies, including hosting one of my own (until the game froze.) That's impressive, especially since FC2 is an absolute crap game.
"But wait!"
No, FC2 is a crap game. I love it, but it's crap. The controls are garbage, the movement is garbage, the netcode is garbage, the framerate is garbage, the weapon balance is garbage; weapon degradation, malaria, countless other minor issues. All in all, it's really bad. But we loved it, and some people still love it enough to keep playing it nearly a decade later.
FC3 on the other hand, did a great job of fixing nearly all of the above-mentioned issues. It was great. But the lobby system was useless, and the random playlists didn't work. Last I checked(a few days ago), people are only playing battle mix (which is just stock maps) and literally no one was playing any of the custom map playlists. Despite all of its massive improvements in every other area, it's essentially dead. (and also only six years old)
FC4... oh yeah, that didn't even have multiplayer worth mentioning.
Now remember all the complaining surrounding FC3? Remember how Ubi fixed it?
They didn't.
Remember the deceit about FC4's lack of mp?
Remember how Ubi never addressed that at all, despite hyping the map editor and even deceitfully hyping the addition of co-op in a later patch?
FC5's system will not work. I said it even before the map editor announcement that I knew Ubi would foul something up. I'm still prepared to eat my words, but I'm still standing by them. Hell, I'm prepared to buy a whole new PS4 pro, just to play FC5...
...if it's worth playing.
Which unless they make some major fixes, it won't be.
FC5's system removes all control from the player as to what they actually want to play. I don't just want to play my own maps; they're garbage anyway. I want to play other people's maps, because I can't even remember all the people who are so talented at this that they should be given money for their efforts. But I don't want to play junk. I want to be able to join a host I know has good taste in maps and play with them all day/night/weekend. I want randoms to be allowed to join, because I think they should experience the fun of a good lobby as well.
FC5's system won't allow that. It just won't.
It's essentially random, with only the illusion of control. It is and will be abused by morons/griefers. What little I played of the Halo series made it evidently clear that if people don't get the map vote they want, they'll just quit. If they quit it'll unbalance the teams. If people are dropped in mid-match to balance the teams, they're likely to be joining a losing team playing on a junk map. Sounds like fun.
I could go on for pages about why it won't work, but I already have, and so has everyone else. Moving on.
Private matches.
Without proper hosting and host control/options, this will die too. FC:IP showed that good private match options can make a game last for a long time. FC3 showed that without them, it won't.
"But I've tested it; it works, trust me." "You haven't played it, you don't know."
Sorry to anyone who's playtested any of the multiplayer, but you've only played in a very closed environment with the specific goal of testing. No one has actually gotten to played the finished game in a real world environment. In the real world, even private matches will be horribly clumsy at best. Also, I still fail to see how anyone who's played around with such a system could ever imagine it actually working. I'm sure there's some level of restriction for what you can say about it; I understand that. But unless there are some massive elements that simply aren't being told, I still fail to see how it could ever work.
I see a lot of complaining threads, I see a lot of feature request threads, I see a lot of wishful thinking threads.
What I don't understand is why it sounds like everyone has this game preordered or why it sounds like everyone will buy it day one.
Why would you do that?
For me, I only give a flip about the map editor + mp, so the SP/co-op/whatever else isn't worth the purchase for me.
If I buy this game before I know it's any good, then Ubi gets what they want, and no longer has any incentive to make any changes to attract me and my money. I refuse to give them money on the hope that they'll support the game or fix it. Ubisoft has one of the worst track records for QA, patches, or general support. May I refer back the the stinging irony of Vaa's "Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity?"
Simply put, there's no reason (unless you actually care about the SP) to buy the game until it's been made clear that the mp and it's features are functional to the point that they will last more than a month.
If it turns out to be crap, no money spent, no time wasted, no expectations/hopes crushed.
If it turns out to be great/gets fixed, then the game will last for years! No worries about missing the launch if the game is good enough to support this community. The community is dedicated enough that it stuck with FC2 despite its massive flaws. I just don't see FC5 being that good.
But I'm alone in this mindset, right?
Is there anyone else who's gotten sick enough of Ubi's nonsense that you don't trust them to even release a functioning game?
Is there anyone else who will look past how much they want the game to be great and see that all signs point to it being another complete waste of time?
Is there anyone else who will only buy a game after they see it's good?
I guess I'm the only one.
I guess Ubisoft making $60 less isn't enough to sway their minds.
Oh well.