no

Originally posted by Zoop:

no

So you'd rather the developer lose sales? You're nice. Aren't you.

yes

Originally posted by Zoop:

yes

Then that makes you one very sad individual doesn't it. I feel sorry for you.

singleplayer has ruined a lot of would-be good shooters

Originally posted by I'm From Irving:

singleplayer has ruined a lot of would-be good shooters

I beg to differ. Multiplayer only has killed off more shooters than the addition of a singleplayer has ruined. Single player modes ensure a game is always playable. Multiplayer only results in the game dying as soon as the player base moves on. This is especially dangerous for indie games that don't follow a conventional form. There's been a fair few indie multiplayer only games removed from sale on Steam due to player bases drying up. How many have been removed because a single player mode was added? None.

How many people are still playing those singleplayer modes? None.

Originally posted by Zoop:

How many people are still playing those singleplayer modes? None.

many people may not be playing the single player mode but if the multiplayer dies in a game which happenes often its a waste of money to only play it for this long, if you could add bots and a single player to get all the fun out of it as well as your money.

Once upon a time we had this things called dedicated servers, custom maps/server scripts, etc. They greatly enhance the lifespan of a multiplayer only game. I understand some games are mostly about a story(Metro, Spec Ops), but a lot of people play them specifically to shoot other dudes with their bros.

I understand that but some games die with even dedicated servers. so why not have a fall back plan? Bots do not hurt the game only make it playable after the community has moved away.

Originally posted by Zoop:

How many people are still playing those singleplayer modes? None.

A lot more than you'd like to acknowledge. There are many people who will only buy indie games if they include a single player mode. Many have learnt from past experience that buying a multiplayer only indie game is merely a waste of money as most indies never get the audience they need to sustain them longer than a few months.

Games such as The Ship or Enemy Territory Quake Wars remain fully playable to this day because they feature bots. Zero Gear saw its multiplayer die within months of release due to no player base but remains playable today because of its single player mode. Crasher and Breach on the other hand are no longer sold or playable due to no player base and their servers being shut down as a result. Even the developers of Tower Wars finally understood this and added a single player mode to their game.

So while you may want to dismiss single player modes, the cold hard fact is that without it, an indie game has only a very slim chance of lasting more than a year. The majority simply never gain enough attention to build a lasting player base.

At least in the past most of these games maintained visibility in the Steam New Releases section for several weeks. In case you hadn't noticed, the number of games released on Steam this year thus far is already far more than was released in all of 2013. Games no longer have guaranteed exposure on the New Releases for more than a week if they're lucky. Some will slip off within only a few days.

This is further compounded by the switch over to displaying Top Sellers as default. A tiny indie game isn't likely to break into that list if they can't get their game out to as many players as possible. Thus killing off the multiplayer only games even quicker.

You might want to think about that the next time you find an indie game with a multiplayer mode you enjoy. As chances are, if it's multiplayer only, and only visible on the new releases for an hour or two before requiring someone to hunt for it, you're probably not going to have much of a player base to play with...

But then again, if you're happy to see a developer fail because you think single player isn't important; then that's all on you.

Would be interesting to see a story about how people live in giant towers and all passed relics of civilization have fallen and there are rituals for plane battles and enlightment where the truly enlightened evolve into planes.

Story has been done before in most animes but it's a nice one. Planevolve.

Obviously I can't just ADD a single-player mode. It's quite a bit more complicated than that.

I am however, working on bots. They're a bit difficult to code because of custom maps, but I'll release them if they're ever half-decent.

Originally posted by Chika Ogiue:

tl;dr

Bots generally suck. Bots will not save a multiplayer game and a developer will not fail simply because he does not have bots in his game.

Originally posted by NorthOfEarth:

Obviously I can't just ADD a single-player mode. It's quite a bit more complicated than that.

I am however, working on bots. They're a bit difficult to code because of custom maps, but I'll release them if they're ever half-decent.

Well you can invest the time in developing one. It may not be easy, but in the long run it will be worth it. Consult with those in the industry, either other developers, indie orientated PR firms (such as Evolve PR) and those who have dedicated their time to covering the intricacies of the indie industry and they will tell you the same. If you'd like your game to succeed in the long-term, you need to look at the long-term picture. Multiplayer only is only going to be short-term unless you have something truly amazing that rivals the likes of Counterstrike in maintaining a playerbase (although it's worth noting that even Counterstrike has single player support).

Either way, regardless of your final decision, I wish you luck. The game looks interesting and unique in some ways and deserves to be successful. But it's not for me or many others in its current form. Sorry.