No dedicated servers for Rage multiplayer?

Posted Nov 5th 2009 10:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: FPS, Multiplayer, Rage

It's looking like one of the biggest PC game developers, id Software, could decide (and we emphasize "could") not to offer dedicated servers for online multiplayer in their next game Rage. In an article on Variety, id Software' John Carmack is quoted as saying, ""It's not cast in stone yet, but at this point no, we don't think we will have dedicated servers."

The specific reasons for such a move are not really spelled out in the brief article, stating that Carmack felt "the servers are something of a remnant of the early days of PC gaming." However he hasn't closed the door to such a move saying, "We'll see how it works out for everyone else." At the moment Rage won't likely be out until sometime in 2010.

Gallery: Rage

Tags: id-software, id-tech-5, rage

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

To be fair, in this instance we don't know how multiplayer will work in Rage. If it's like Borderlands (4 player coop) sure. If it's a standard 12v12 deathmatch style game, forget it.Posted at 1:43AM on Nov 6th 2009 by Kevin

Why not give the option to allow players to not use dedicated servers, but also implement the stuff to also have dedicated servers? Let basic users have peer hosted games, and clans/dedicated groups have a server if they want.Posted at 1:51AM on Nov 6th 2009 by Nick

This new direction developers are taking by forgoing dedicated server support seems to be a way of stopping online piracy. Or, it's just cheaper to drop it all together and push out the product faster.Posted at 7:12AM on Nov 6th 2009 by Terry

If it's like Borderlands, then it will be unfinished and completely unprotected and easily hacked. Of course, matchmaking 4 player kinda makes since, though a lot of online games can get really laggy.
However, Left 4 Dead is 4 player, or 4 vs 4, and that has dedicated servers. Funny enough I've never had lag on L4D either, hmmm....

I do like what Carmack says about dedicated servers, "servers are something of a remnant of the early days of PC gaming." Translation: we're gimping the game because we're console sell-outs.
Guess what Carmack, you're a remnant of the 90's, back when games were revolutionary and innovative; your company is a relic, you haven't made a good game since Quake 3. It's quite sad really.

Oh well, it seems there's only one real, genuine, innovating game company left to fill the void, and that's Valve.Posted at 5:57AM on Nov 26th 2009 by smith