Game Idea

Feedback and general discussion of Slime Rancher

Game Idea

Postby InnocentBean » Tue Dec 29, 2020 6:01 am

Okay so I'm a HUGE fan of Slime rancher but as always most games are boring played alone. This game is fun but it would be even funner if there was a Co-op multiplayer game mode where a group of 2-4 ranchers help out eachother on the ranch!

Just imagine it! One person runs out and does the exploring and wild slime collecting, another person is tending the farm and gathering food items, someone else tends to the side missions like helping Mochi, Ogden, or Viktor! Someone takes care of the lab and the placement of the inventions, someone else is making the money. Heck the characters could be twins, triplets, or quadruplets for ease of character creation! A game like this we should be able to work together like in a real ranch!

Just don't let those competitive gamers get to you. This is the best laid back game I've ever played it does NOT need a competitive mode.

Anyways thats it for my ideas. If i think of more I'll be sure to post.
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Re: Game Idea

Postby lvxferre » Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:44 am

The FAQ mentions multiplayer, so it's clear the devs know a lot of players want it. However, multiplayer is one of those things easier said than done, and the devs would need to:

  • make sure the connection is timely and fast, as the game is in real time;
  • solve problems when the above doesn't happen;
  • make sure the simulation works exactly the same in both instances, in a predictable enough way;
  • deal with the increased CPU and GPU requirements from having 2+ players interacting with the environment at the same time;
  • solve mechanic issues like what to do when two players interact with the same item in incompatible ways;
  • solve balance issues that come from two people sharing progress together;
  • find solutions for a bunch of stuff I didn't mention because I'm no dev.

So as you can see it's a huge undertaking, and can take literal years of development time, specially for a small studio like Monomi Park. Odds are the devs are busier making sure the foundations of the game are rock solid, before even thinking on multiplayer.

To give you two examples on how hard it is, it took Klei Entertainment two years from their main game (Don't Starve, 2013) to the multiplayer version (Don't Starve Together, 2015); Mojang had a bad time with multiplayer too, as up to Minecraft 1.2.5 it required them to develop two versions in parallel, and past 1.3 multiplayer introduced a lot of bugs into the singleplayer version.

TL;DR: as much as I'd also like to see Slime Rancher multiplayer, I think it's better for us to not count with it. If it comes it'll be a pleasing surprise.
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Re: Game Idea

Postby InnocentBean » Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:50 am

Yeah you're right. Still I beleive if it was to be mentioned all of us fans and lovers of the game would support the devs. I'm patient. I can wait for this super awesome game to become even more epic!
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Re: Game Idea

Postby akkamaddi » Thu Dec 31, 2020 6:25 am

The physics of tracking all the moving things would be a nightmare on peer-to-peer. Having a host is massively expensive, and takes on a huge security liability. The lack of microtransactions makes things a bit safer, and the DLC so far has been cosmetic, but players have to be on the same version of the game. I did a little Minecraft modding years ago, and someone in a shared game with different DLC or mods can cause issues.

*IF* the day comes, what I would really like is a temporary free-for-all environment like Viktor's Slimeulations. I agree with the criticism that the game itself is about patience, storytelling, and a theme of solitude. However, I think a Splatoon like Slimeulation would be a total blast. :-)

I think that there are easier ways to do something collaborative but not communal, which I think would be much easier for the devs. Something easy would be regular mass requests. I have an old post about this, but basically add a new Ranch Exchnage unit, but the requests last three days real time. The requests are for thousands or 10K's of units. But, either everyone contributes (so it's handled by a public server, but you don't "visit" so security is a bit less of an issue), or the community is broken up into four or ten groups (random, last digit of a CRC of you game key, digit of second you started the game, etc) that compete.
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Re: Game Idea

Postby InnocentBean » Fri Jan 01, 2021 12:33 am

That sounds cool but as i stated i wanna see a more cooperative thing. Everyone has games where you compete against the others. I don't think I've found a game yet where you need to help eachother to get by.
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