The complaints about Nightingale have helped. The developers are giving fans what they want: a mode that does not require an internet connection.
A few days ago, the early access for Nightingale started. And although many are already having fun, it is still overshadowed by one circumstance: The controversial “Always Online” requirement demands players to be constantly connected to the internet. This not only affects the ratings on Steam but also significantly reduces the gaming enjoyment.
However, the developers have now clarified: In the future, this will no longer be necessary, and they are working on a new mode.
What is the problem? Nightingale currently requires all players to be permanently connected to the internet and the game servers. Even when they want to explore completely alone and without other players. Even when playing solo, one must be online at all times.
This is additionally complicated by the fact that there are still frequent server overloads and thus disconnects. Even when one is out on their own, the connection can break, and they get kicked from the game.
What was said? In the game’s Discord, Inflexion announced that they are now “prioritizing” the development of an offline mode and are working on it. More specifically, it says:
We have seen a lot of discussion in recent days around our decision to make Nightingale in early access a “online-only” game. We understand that this can be frustrating for several reasons.
Our vision for the game from the beginning was to create an interconnected series of realms, with the idea of cooperative exploration – a universe that is larger than a single realm or server. This meant that we had to make an early decision in development: to support coop on Day 1 or to develop an offline mode.
Cooperative gameplay, connected with a group of members across multiple realms, was the technically challenging problem, and so we tackled that first. Looking back now, we underestimated what some of you are looking for in your [game] experience.
We are prioritizing and developing an offline mode that we want to release as soon as possible. […]
This, by the way, does not mean that work on other content will stop. In response to this concern, they further stated:
Regarding our recent announcement: The development of the offline mode does not mean that we will stop or deprioritize the development of regular features, updates, quality-of-life improvements, or bug fixes.
We also understand the concerns about how offline players can potentially impact online players. We will address these concerns in a future update when we finalize the exact details of the mode.
When will it come? There is no release timeframe yet. However, one should keep an eye out for news in the “coming weeks” where other content currently being worked on by the developers will also be discussed.
Some fans, however, also note that the “Always Online” requirement may not be so bad once the game is running smoothly and disconnects become a rarity.
For everyone who is bothered by this or simply does not have a consistently reliable internet connection, the announcement of a pure offline mode is, however, a good thing that cannot come soon enough.
Have you already checked out Nightingale? Or are you also waiting for a mode without online requirements?
If you want to snag some cool cosmetics, there are already some Twitch Drops for Nightingale.
