Helldivers 2 - Hell is more diverse than ever as PlayStation's demographics continue to grow and change.

[ZMOT]

I'm curious to see how this will last. Something about the popularity feels ...off.

part of it is certainly FOTM and the CURRENT THING everyone is talking about/playing.

however you have to remember helldivers 1 was a solid game without a lot of bullshit, so there exists already positive brand recognition. add the switch to third person which arguably has more normalfag appeal and it's easy to see why people jump onto the hypetrain atm.
apparently being a solid game without much of the usual bullshit these days and "fair" monetization also helps of course.

while there is certainly some fanboi shilling involved, remember most of them do it for free™

And I need more of this shit put directly into my veins.

what could've been...

adios my friend ;_;7

 

[Betonhaus]

Based on what I'm seeing on TikTok people really like the game and treating it like they enlisted to fight in WWII for Glory and Honor. The nukes you fire have very detailed animations so it's a lot of fun seeing things blow up. I might ask to borrow my roommates PS5 so I can play it.

 

[The Pulverizer]

part of it is certainly FOTM and the CURRENT THING everyone is talking about/playing.

however you have to remember helldivers 1 was a solid game without a lot of bullshit, so there exists already positive brand recognition. add the switch to third person which arguably has more normalfag appeal and it's easy to see why people jump onto the hypetrain atm.
apparently being a solid game without much of the usual bullshit these days and "fair" monetization also helps of course.

while there is certainly some fanboi shilling involved, remember most of them do it for free™

Helldivers 1 was pretty successful. I think the shift from top-down to third-person also attracted a lot of attention organically. Everyone always wonders what games like Diablo would look like in fist-person or third-person.

 

[Tablet County]

How long until we get another Killzone game?

Do you really want another Killzone game after the disappointment that was Shadowfall?

 

[WEEKEND]

I've been playing this with my cousin, it's pretty fun and well worth the price although I'm not sure on paying for a live service game. You really do need to have a friend to play with though.

 

[Judge Dredd]

however you have to remember helldivers 1 was a solid game without a lot of bullshit, so there exists already positive brand recognition.

I'm not so sure about that. Helldivers 1 (iirc) had pay to win gear.

What's bothering about Helldivers 2 is that it has things where a single one would sink most games, but Helldivers 2 has almost all of them and gets a pass.

Pay 2 Win. Check.
Hooks for a cash shop in a paid game. Check.
Content from the base original cut for DLC. Check.
Streamer bait gameplay. Check.
Intrusive DRM/"Anti-cheat". Check.
Always online even for single player. Check.
Server errors meaning people can't play the game they just bought. Check.

And all of this, and all I'm seeing is people making excuses for the game. People tore Payday 3 to bits for having a fraction of these problems. I don't buy the excuse it's because Helldivers has solid gameplay, because I heard the same said about Payday 3.

 

[The Grognard]

Helldivers 2 absolutely nails the thing it's going for so even with all the problems listed, the core gameplay and setting are simply is so ridiculously strong that it ensures people will love the game regardless of the peripheral issues.

 

[Betonhaus]

I'm not so sure about that. Helldivers 1 (iirc) had pay to win gear.

What's bothering about Helldivers 2 is that it has things where a single one would sink most games, but Helldivers 2 has almost all of them and gets a pass.

Pay 2 Win. Check.
Hooks for a cash shop in a paid game. Check.
Content from the base original cut for DLC. Check.
Streamer bait gameplay. Check.
Intrusive DRM/"Anti-cheat". Check.
Always online even for single player. Check.
Server errors meaning people can't play the game they just bought. Check.

And all of this, and all I'm seeing is people making excuses for the game. People tore Payday 3 to bits for having a fraction of these problems. I don't buy the excuse it's because Helldivers has solid gameplay, because I heard the same said about Payday 3.

. Each of those things alone can usually be ignored if done well, problem is that the had most commonly been very poorly implemented in games that really weren't that fun to begin with.

In Helldivers 2 pay to win isn't really necessary, as to the right of the map you're OP flinging nukes and killing bugs by the thousands at the time and having fun, and on the left you're getting your shit kicked in and still having fun. You can actively choose the level of frustration you want to experience.

Content has been cut yes, but the original game had a lot of content it added over the years. If WoW came out today with all of its content it would be far too complex for new players. It's not like the players are actively missing the content either, those who never played the original have no idea what's missing and they are the majority.

Streamer bait just means it's pretty and fun to look at. That's a good thing usually.

The DRM is a disappointment even if it's standard on all Sony games, but I haven't heard a lot of people having bad experiences directly due to the DRM.

And the server errors were simply because they never expected to have that many players. The first Helldivers never had more then 20,000 online players at its peak, and Helldivers 2 has over 300,000. Last I heard they are scrambling to buy extra server capacity. I really think AWS or Azure should have a system where new games can rent capacity on their highly scalable network at launch, then move to their own servers once they have a clearer picture of what the loads are.

 

[MarauderShields]

Helldivers 2 absolutely nails the thing it's going for so even with all the problems listed, the core gameplay and setting are simply is so ridiculously strong that it ensures people will love the game regardless of the peripheral issues.

I like the gameplay but this is the second weekend in a row the devs have told everyone "sucks, we'll take a look Monday" and fucked off. They made it even worse this weekend by making it a bonus XP weekend to just pour a little more gasoline on their servers.

 

[Keine]

I managed to play a couple hours last night and had a decent time despite being alone for most of it. The game is clearly designed for multiplayer and doesn't scale its difficulty at all with player count like stuff like Deep Rock Galactic does. I did hear something about possibly disabling cross-platform matching being a potential workaround for quick play issues, which sounds weird but then I remembered Dead By Daylight did the same thing for some reason.

 

[Back me up!]

Its not even Pay2win! The paid weapons are not better then the free weapon with the best weapon being unlocked fairly early on the free battle pass. Hell considering how much Super Credits you get from the free battlepass and Super Credits you find on the mission you'll have enough to get the paid battle pass in about 15ish hours of playing.

I like the gameplay but this is the second weekend in a row the devs have told everyone "sucks, we'll take a look Monday" and fucked off. They made it even worse this weekend by making it a bonus XP weekend to just pour a little more gasoline on their servers.

I don't think they fucked off, they just exhausted all their options until they can get contacts in place to help with the server load......while more and more people are buying/playing the game.

Like as of right now its in the Top 25 of games of concurrent player count. Reading between the lines of their designs the devs never figured that many people would ever be playing that much at once. At best they figured it would be a moderate success. Hell I don't think the game ever had a State of Play or any real marketing.

 

[BingBongDingDong]

Pay 2 Win. Check.
Hooks for a cash shop in a paid game. Check.

This might be true but so far the first paid battlepass weapons are ship, and Ive gotten way more of the ingame currency than i would need to buy it simply from finding it ingame. The fact you can find the cashshop currency in the actual game and not spend money makes me a little more lenient on it being in the game.

Content from the base original cut for DLC. Check.
Intrusive DRM/"Anti-cheat". Check.
Always online even for single player. Check.
Server errors meaning people can't play the game they just bought. Check.

This shit however is super annoying. The game is great and i think that is why you have so many people overlooking these issues. The servers this weekend are much worse than they were last weekend, which i imagine is due to word of mouth. The no offline play is really killing me.

At best they figured it would be a moderate success.

Well going by this link they werent sure what to expect, but this well exceeded their expectations. Its always nice to see indies do well, this studio doing hires while their are industry wide lay-offs says something about what theyve done lol.

 

[bigasscigar]

Game looked neat, I actually like the Starship Troopers game even with how bare bones it is but at least I can play that one. 45 minutes and I still can't queue in

 

[Judge Dredd]

Heard an interesting take on the game I thought I'd share. Part of it's popularity is it's the first multiplayer shooter in a long time that isn't crippled by sweaty skill based matchmaking, extraction shooter mechanics, or balance at the expense of fun. It's just a silly, over the top shooter that takes people back to the days of Halo split screen.

Each of those things alone can usually be ignored if done well, problem is that the had most commonly been very poorly implemented in games that really weren't that fun to begin with.

That's why I mentioned Payday 3. By all accounts that game was solid and fun, but the problems with it were always online, lack of servers, and a lack of meaningful progression after mid game. That was enough to sink the game to the point no one expects a fix.

It's not like the players are actively missing the content either, those who never played the original have no idea what's missing and they are the majority.

That applies to a lot of games that get shit on for that. People are still mad Skyrim doesn't have the spear and medium armour skills from morrowind, even though Skyrim sold way more.

Streamer bait just means it's pretty and fun to look at. That's a good thing usually.

Maybe? I see lots of games from FNAF to Cult of the Lamb condemned as streamer bait.

I'm not saying you're wrong. I'd just like some consistency from gamers on the internet. The hype around Palworld I understood. This, not so much.

And the server errors were simply because they never expected to have that many players.

Reading between the lines of their designs the devs never figured that many people would ever be playing that much at once. At best they figured it would be a moderate success.

So was Palworld, but they figured it out, allegedly costing them six figures a month to keep the servers up but up they stay. And it has offline and private servers. Why can't a major publisher like Sony can't do the same?

Hell I don't think the game ever had a State of Play or any real marketing.

I disagree there. Helldivers 2 was on my radar for a long time, while I never heard of Skull and Bones until it was a laughing stock.

 

[Captain Chromosome]

Everyone always wonders what games like Diablo would look like in fist-person or third-person.

Whoever monkey-pawed that wish is responsible for Hellgate: London. God I wish it wasn't such a trash fire.

 

[Betonhaus]

That's why I mentioned Payday 3. By all accounts that game was solid and fun, but the problems with it were always online, lack of servers, and a lack of meaningful progression after mid game. That was enough to sink the game to the point no one expects a fix.

Payday 3 is also a different style of game, with more complex objectives and more single player playability. Last I checked Helldivers is centered around playing with three other people at once, with single player campaigns being pretty minimal. Always online on a game that is centered around online is not that extreme of an issue.

That applies to a lot of games that get shit on for that. People are still mad Skyrim doesn't have the spear and medium armour skills from morrowind, even though Skyrim sold way more

Not sure about others but I was not aware of Skyrim missing those as I wasn't aware of them in the first place. The game plays fine without them.

So was Palworld, but they figured it out, allegedly costing them six figures a month to keep the servers up but up they stay. And it has offline and private servers. Why can't a major publisher like Sony can't do the same

Palworld is also a different game that has an offline mode. When the servers were bogged down the users just played the game in solo mode, which is still a comprehensive experience.

You seem to be comparing Hellworld and it's issues to other games that don't share a lot of similarities.

 

[Judge Dredd]

You seem to be comparing Hellworld and it's issues to other games that don't share a lot of similarities.

I think they're more similar than Helldivers fans want to admit. PD3 is a co-op multiplayer shooter with progression. PD3 has some serious issues, which is why I never bought it.

But my goal here isn't a fanboy slap fight. I'm not trying to piss in everybody's cornflakes. I'm just amazed how much shit Helldivers 2 players are turning a blind eye too, and I just don't get it. Especially when these people are (or at least were) hardliners before hand. I mentioned in the third post in this thread that I was hyped for the game, only for all my friends to declare they were skipping it. Why? "I'm done with horde mode co-op shooters." and "I'm not touching it because of the warbond system." Only for at least one of those people to cave and has been playing it non-stop since.


For what it's worth, I'm wondering if this game is going to hold up past the honeymoon period. I saw someone in Discord complaining that armour is bugged and doesn't actually do anything. That rewards don't drop sometimes. And that if you pick up items too fast they disappear and can never be obtained.

 

[Back me up!]

@Judge Dredd Different architecture. Palworld is basically connecting to a single server that can hold 32 people. If its overloaded the devs of Palworld can spin up more single instances of a 32 people server with the option of players to either play single player or create their own private server. Hell Divers 2 devs (I suspect) fell victim to a "Wouldn't this be cool" design that, while fun, does not scale that well.

Wouldn't it be cool if you could see other peoples ship in orbit around a planet?
Wouldn't it be cool if you cold see other people stratigims being launched in real time?
Wouldn't it be cool to see live updates to the war effort after every mission?

This, along with the cash shop, funneled EVERYONE through a single service to keep tracking of all this shit going on at the same time to improve the overall feeling of being apart of a war effort. It works! But it comes with a cost and a ceiling that the devs never, ever thought they would hit.

 

[Croaking Spider]

@Judge Dredd Different architecture. Palworld is basically connecting to a single server that can hold 32 people. If its overloaded the devs of Palworld can spin up more single instances of a 32 people server with the option of players to either play single player or create their own private server. Hell Divers 2 devs (I suspect) fell victim to a "Wouldn't this be cool" design that, while fun, does not scale that well.

Wouldn't it be cool if you could see other peoples ship in orbit around a planet?
Wouldn't it be cool if you cold see other people stratigims being launched in real time?
Wouldn't it be cool to see live updates to the war effort after every mission?

This, along with the cash shop, funneled EVERYONE through a single service to keep tracking of all this shit going on at the same time to improve the overall feeling of being apart of a war effort. It works! But it comes with a cost and a ceiling that the devs never, ever thought they would hit.

The little completely unnecessary but awesome details are one of my favorite things about Helldivers 2. From seeing other player ships in orbit around an area to being able to look up and actually see my stratagems deploy from overhead from my own ship adds a lot to the environment feeling.

I don't think server and bandwidth capacity are the only culprits here. There's probably a major bottleneck in the code somewhere that's going to need downtime to fix. I don't think it was incompetence, considering the first Helldivers never even came remotely close to reaching the same player count. The game just wasn't built to support it. It's like they built a 12-car garage expecting to have 8 at the most, but ended up with 24 cars. They've already had a data center just straight up give under the bandwidth.

What they have in place may have worked in development, but there's no real way to replicate going live with 400k players when you're expecting maybe 100k at your most hopeful estimates. They're very much suffering from success.

 

[bigasscigar]

What they have in place may have worked in development, but there's no real way to replicate going live with 400k players when you're expecting maybe 100k at your most hopeful estimates. They're very much suffering from success.

My thing is, all of this could have been avoided with an offline mode or at least private p2p matches. All the live service shit like the galactic map, other players ships, etc. is neat and all but not worth anything when a substantial number of people can't even get to the main menu.