Comment on Hands-On: Borderlands 4 wants you to forget Borderlands 3 ever happened

• ampersandrew@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

  You play it offline. Most of this series even had LAN as recently as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. It’s only the GOTY edition of the first game that removed that thus far (with no mention of LAN on BL4’s store page, though Pre-Sequel doesn’t mention it either despite supporting the feature), but it’s still playable offline in single player mode and able to be pirated in apocalyptic scenarios, which I can’t say for Helldivers II.

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  • n3m37h@sh.itjust.works ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

    Do you have a physical copy?? What happens when the file gets corrupted? The drive it is on dies. What then?

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    • ampersandrew@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      Physical copies are far from the be-all, end-all of game preservation, especially these days. What you really want is DRM-free. Or, failing that, easily broken DRM, which is where Borderlands lies. BL4 will launch with Denuvo, but like everyone else, it will be phased out after the release period, because Denuvo charges per month, and then it’s as preservable as any other game that can be played offline. What happens if the file gets corrupted? I use a copy that wasn’t. What if the drive it’s on dies? I use another copy. I’m not sure why you think these are gotcha questions or something.

      Helldivers II literally withholds the server from you that prevents it from being playable in the future, and we’ve got a graveyard full of games built the same way that are all gone. But if a game is playable offline, it can be copied ad infinitum. If it’s got LAN, its multiplayer can be played forever. I would spend $40 on Helldivers II if I enjoyed the concept of setting my money on fire, because it’s built with an expiration date that doesn’t need to be there. If I was looking for that in the same genre as Borderlands, I’d be playing Destiny 2.

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      • erin@piefed.blahaj.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

        At least for me, the idea that a game might someday be unplayable for me doesn't stop me from wanting to enjoy it. I like multiplayer games, and I have neither the means nor interest to host my own servers for them. I've gotten far more than $40 worth of entertainment from Helldivers 2. I think games should stay accessible and not be killed when servers stop hosting, and be available to play offline. However, the lack of those things won't stop me from enjoying something now. I don't consider that money lost, it's spent, as long as I got an equivalent value of entertainment. I didn't set my money on fire, I've gotten hundreds of hours of fun, far more than $40 could buy me elsewhere. I expect to continue enjoying helldivers for years.

        You're absolutely right, that games shouldn't be killed when they're no longer supported, and that they should be playable offline and LAN. As things stand though, it's the same as spending money on an amusement park, or movie, or any other form of entertainment. If you're not going to be able to enjoy it without those things, that's your prerogative, but I think you could easily get your money's worth, especially compared to overpriced AAA competitors.

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    • naticus@lemmy.world ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      There have been many games delisted over the years. That doesn’t mean they are deleted from your account. Prime example is Prey (2006): it had a lot of music in it they had to license from large publishers and when that license expired, they no longer could sell it. They then delisted it in 2009. You can still get the code for Steam on places like eBay, activate it, and download it. It’s very very rare that a game is both delisted and purged from CDNs. And in those cases it’s because of malware or other suspicious activity (like undisclosed crypto mining, etc IIRC).

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    • winety@lemmy.zip ⁨3⁩ ⁨weeks⁩ ago

      I’d do the same thing if the disc scratches. I’d download a cracked version from a weird Polish website.

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