The Red Dead Online B*tch & Moan Thread

[Jason]

I should preface this with that I enjoy RDO, I've put a ton of time into it already and I think it has a ton of potential to be great but man, Rockstar's handling of the games launch is f*cking awful.

 

The game is almost a month old and we've had one balancing update which was relatively minor all things considered and there's no more updates on the horizon till the new year. No new content at all. It's one of most mishandled launches I've seen for an online game in yonks. If this was their plan from the outset they really should've delayed it till next year cause unless they have a Christmas surprise the game has already lost it's steam and bringing players back is always more difficult than retaining players. It is Rockstar and Red Dead so it'll no doubt bounce back once they begin rolling out the content but if a smaller dev did this they'd be putting the game out to die. It's really frustrating man.

[Rykjeklut]

Is it still awful? My two tries has left me jaded and empty.

[Jason]

3 minutes ago, Rykjeklut said:

Is it still awful? My two tries has left me jaded and empty.

The base gameplay is Red Dead 2 and I enjoy that a lot there's just f*ck all to do and I'm now at a level where I have only cosmetics I don't want to unlock so I've ran out of interest when it comes to leveling.

 

Honestly, the lack of new content is a killer but what has really frustrated me is the lack of bug fixing and balancing tweaks. I'm expecting the first patch in January to be a whopper cause if it aint then uhhhhhhh.

[Bad Azz]

14 minutes ago, Jason said:

I should preface this with that I enjoy RDO, I've put a ton of time into it already and I think it has a ton of potential to be great but man, Rockstar's handling of the games launch is f*cking awful.

 

The game is almost a month old and we've had one balancing update which was relatively minor all things considered and there's no more updates on the horizon till the new year. No new content at all. It's one of most mishandled launches I've seen for an online game in yonks. If this was their plan from the outset they really should've delayed it till next year cause unless they have a Christmas surprise the game has already lost it's steam and bringing players back is always more difficult than retaining players. It is Rockstar and Red Dead so it'll no doubt bounce back once they begin rolling out the content but if a smaller dev did this they'd be putting the game out to die. It's really frustrating man.

I agree with the whole of your post.

 

One thing that really astonishes me is the fact they aren't even trying to capitalize off the holiday season. Plenty of adults are off work, and pretty much all the kids around the world are on a 2 weeks Christmas holiday.

 

I was kind of taken aback when I read they didn't plan on bringing new content before the new year. And even then, we all know how Rockstar works. Lol. In Rockstar terms, December 31st of 2019 still counts as ''new year''. 

 

A counter argument could be that RDR2 released late in October, and new sales are still going strong. Lots of gamers will discover the game for the first time during the holidays.

 

But still, nothing for us, already established customers. Not the best way to keep your product alive and buzzing.

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by Bad Azz

[ALifeOfMisery]

13 minutes ago, Jason said:

I should preface this with that I enjoy RDO, I've put a ton of time into it already and I think it has a ton of potential to be great but man, Rockstar's handling of the games launch is f*cking awful.

 

The game is almost a month old and we've had one balancing update which was relatively minor all things considered and there's no more updates on the horizon till the new year. No new content at all. It's one of most mishandled launches I've seen for an online game in yonks. If this was their plan from the outset they really should've delayed it till next year cause unless they have a Christmas surprise the game has already lost it's steam and bringing players back is always more difficult than retaining players. It is Rockstar and Red Dead so it'll no doubt bounce back once they begin rolling out the content but if a smaller dev did this they'd be putting the game out to die. It's really frustrating man.

Completely agree.

 

I'm disappointed that R* haven't attempted to build some momentum heading into the festive holidays. In hindsight I'd have much preferred a more fleshed out January release. The lack of content in RDO is staggering when compared to the GTAO launch and R* can have no excuses after running GTAO for 5 years prior to RDO launching.

 

With all the apparent bugs and unbalanced gameplay I expected R* to do much more in terms of adjustments. If it wasn't for the public outcry over the unbalanced economy would R* even have bothered to attempt to fix that?

 

I hope for a big push in both content and fixes in the new year, but, I'm heavily relying upon the addition of Friendly/Invite lobby types to keep me interested in RDO.

[1898]

Way back when all of this started, the first quote I remember was something along the lines as of "a brand new multiplayer experience". I know they've reneged on things before but I'm still optimistic. Not a B&M post I guess.

[ChengizVlad09]

If you got some spare time, be sure to check it out, dude's so right about everything. This is gold, really.

 

 

[XxJazzy42xX]

1 hour ago, Jason said:

I should preface this with that I enjoy RDO, I've put a ton of time into it already and I think it has a ton of potential to be great but man, Rockstar's handling of the games launch is f*cking awful.

 

The game is almost a month old and we've had one balancing update which was relatively minor all things considered and there's no more updates on the horizon till the new year. No new content at all. It's one of most mishandled launches I've seen for an online game in yonks. If this was their plan from the outset they really should've delayed it till next year cause unless they have a Christmas surprise the game has already lost it's steam and bringing players back is always more difficult than retaining players. It is Rockstar and Red Dead so it'll no doubt bounce back once they begin rolling out the content but if a smaller dev did this they'd be putting the game out to die. It's really frustrating man.

They've should've known that all bugs and issues aside that these game modes weren't going to last or hold. Even the free roam isn't going to hold. Like you said R* more than likely will easily bounce back, but the alternative is facing what happened to The Division. People played it, finished the non-existent story and dabbled into the Dark Zone, which was the end game, but other than that no content for months time. By the time they decided to add stuff onto the game the players already moved on even despite some loyal players saying it got better. Its easier to retain players than get them back especially if future launches look attractive and turn out to have decent content from the starting stages.

[Jason]

I mean that NakeyJakey video is to do exclusively with the single player but yea, there's some good points but it's not factually right or anything. The lack of freedom in missions is a thing but the comparisons to GTA mission design are daft and make little sense, given that the tools Red Dead gives you are significantly limited compared to GTA games. The hand holding on missions with routes and gun selection is for sure an issue though.

[XxJazzy42xX]

They could use some more missions and survivals(1 or 2 maps is fine). I just need some PvE game modes, because I'm kinda tired of playing PvP, but what they can do to get my attention for the Hostile Territory Modes(which is a terrible mode at its current form) is limit the teams to 2 or at most 3 teams(prefer 2 teams...do it the classic way). Same amount of flags(5) just better placement. Team Shootout(Large) is fine, but please can we get one that is not in Saint Denis(Armadillo, Strawberry, Rhodes, etc. Just get me out of Saint Denis) . I hate that place more than Arthur and Dutch does in the story.

[Qbert]

I still have hope for this game though as I've heard a lot compare it to gta online I also heard when gta online started it much like this, bland kind of boring not much to do ect. I had such great memories of playing the first red dead both online and the story naturally I'm still going to love this but love it enough to point out how stupid some of these things are 

[TheKingChivas]

3 hours ago, Rykjeklut said:

Is it still awful? My two tries has left me jaded and empty.

Yes, it is.

[BulletFly]

2 hours ago, ChengizVlad09 said:

If you got some spare time, be sure to check it out, dude's so right about everything. This is gold, really.

 

 

I really hope Rockstar will see and comprehend this...

[Qbert]

Seen a guy in  make it count strawberry knifes hiding inside a building on the second floor just sitting inside the room waiting for people to come up boom instantly killed. This a little glitch exploit thing or is that room actually accessible? 

[volta2001]

Reduced animals in RDO? I just road through grizzlies east and didn’t see a single squirrel or rabbit or other small game. Only a couple deer. I know they are pushing gold bars but damn it feels like they nerfed it since online launch 

[theyorkshirejo]

So they haven’t fixed issues/bugs, but they’ve managed to add in micro transactions whilst managing to trick people into buying gold they can’t actually use and they’ve found the time to add in Christmas music. 

Oh rockstar. 

[areyouchappin]

1 hour ago, xjodielaura said:

So they haven’t fixed issues/bugs, but they’ve managed to add in micro transactions whilst managing to trick people into buying gold they can’t actually use and they’ve found the time to add in Christmas music. 

Oh rockstar. 

 

I know right.. there is so much they need to fix, change, or add but of course at the top of the to-do list was releasing those microtransactions.

..and the worst part of it is tons of players have already poured a lot of cash into those stupid gold bars, especially because of that "one time special offer."

 

R* started a tiny fire and every player who paid/pays for gold bars just stokes the fire even higher. So now we can most likely expect even more gold bar driven content but the positive side of this is the people who don't waste hard earned real money on fake video game currency will continue to get free DLCs like in GTA:Online.

Edited December 22, 2018 by areyouchappin

[Nerfgoth]

Bought the bandanna last night and my right cheek wasn´t covered up when it was pulled up!!!

I´m getting punished for not using the stock head?

[Pocket Fox]

I really hope in the next/jan update we can modify our characters again. Mine is totally bugged. She is covered in wrinkles and always has a dirty looking face. Despite setting wrinkles to 0 and age to 18. She looks early 40's

Bah Humbug.

[ALifeOfMisery]

7 minutes ago, Pocket Fox said:

I really hope in the next/jan update we can modify our characters again. Mine is totally bugged. She is covered in wrinkles and always has a dirty looking face. Despite setting wrinkles to 0 and age to 18. She looks early 40's

Bah Humbug.

Had the opposite problem. Maxed age and wrinkles, my guy looks 18. He also got a different nose than I made in the creator, because...reasons, I guess.

[IceD34ler]

18 hours ago, BulletFly said:

I really hope Rockstar will see and comprehend this...

Great video! Reminds me of the one situation where I did all the Dark Brotherhood missions in "The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion" and once they were basically all done the superduper uberboss of the brotherhood wanted me to kill all the other members of the Brotherhood I did missions for because there is one traitor among them. I had to poison every single one of them. But they were funny, nice guys (most of them) and I learned to like these guys over hours of playing. I didn't want to do that ffs. So I took out my bow and wanted to kill this guy. But NO, turned out he was invulnerable (I shot so many arrows he looked like a porcupine I swear) and Bethesda wanted me to do exactly how they planned it out for me. That was the moment where I deinstalled it. Missed opportunity...

Edited December 22, 2018 by IceD34ler

[Viciadogames]

Haven't played in a few days. Been finding a lot more griefers, what the hell happened?

[SaturdayNight]

After buying some clothes, participating in showdown and mission modes as well as some stranger missions after logging in and getting into some pvp freemode im pretty sure thats the full experience, pvp and pve. Thats it. No innovation and the camps mechanic is such a letdown.  I loved the idea of having my own personalized camp that i could setup to my liking. I more innovative and immersive experience.  For me, the problem isnt the griefing. Its the developers. Its a money module and i think im done with rockstar multiplayer games.  

 

And before you scream "beta," just know the camp mechanics made or break this for me and its a lazy add on with zero innovation. No use whatsoever.

Edited December 22, 2018 by SaturdayNight

[Callahan44]

6 minutes ago, 955i said:

What, we are expected to take the word of a fat nerdy guy who is happy to be pictured with a tummy tightening ball as gospel?

 

Watched 1.36 mins and then realised he was just another YouTube t**t.

 

Sorry, I tried

 

i cant stand 90% of the youtubers,making 10mins vids for something you can say in 20secs and that isnt even interesting. But this isnt the case here,its really a good video. And its for sure not your typical youtubevideo.

 

 

Never thought i will defend a youtuber lol. 

[Dr.Rosenthal]

I've enjoyed RDO and still do enjoy it, even a bit more every day I'd say. For me, a lot of the enjoyment at the moment comes out of learning the ropes, getting to know the surroundings, where to fish for certain fish and where to hunt, which Strangers have the best/funniest missions, the occasional PvP fight, and maybe most of all - riding through the beautiful world with my tight-knit group of friends. We've played GTAO together for a while, and it's great to have a good team to work with, you know everyone's playstyles and when we're escorting a carriage we cover our respective angles, if a rival posse gets near someone rides out to pull aggro and another might take a flank. Things like that are pure magic to me, and where this game truly shines.

 

Another thing I like about the game is how (compared to GTAO) there's a lot more "emergent" encounters, meaning that there's no shortage of things to do, and the gameplay is rather varied in that sense. Objectives pop up here and there on its own. The hunting and fishing are of course the first things that spring to mind, and, like I mentioned earlier, I like how those pastimes depend on your location.

 

Tl;dr:

So, I read the recent discussion on this thread about the critiques you guys have and I felt that I needed to make this post. Because, as much as I like the experience, I would've expected more. Or rather, something different. A broader focus on bounty hunting, and a "deeper" use of the whole bandit vs bounty hunter-myth is what I had expected. And I have to ask, ( @Jason, @Rykjeklut, @Bad Azz, @ALifeOfMisery to name a few ), what specifically is it that you're displeased with? Is it mostly the bugs and glitches, or rather a lack of private/invite only/free aim sessions or lack of passive mode?

 

I myself am torn, because like I said there are many things I enjoy and I'll keep coming back to the Online mode for the foreseeable future, and I don't really have an issue with a lack of content as such, either. I really like to get online, run some Stranger missions with my posse and then go for a few hunting trips, maybe do a bit of free roam PvP if the need to fight people off arises.

 

Since this is a B&M thread and this should essentially be a B&M post, I'll say that I'm displeased with the fact that there's too little "groundbreaking ambition". GTAO was - as many have already illustrated - a bit lacking in terms of content at the time of release, but on the plus side it did offer a whole new sense of creating a criminal career in a fantasy world that seemed to continue to exist even when you left and as such it felt groundbreaking, at least to me. That sense of coherence, a "second life" was something entirely new to me, and something entirely new to the GTA franchise.

Whereas RDO sure has that same feeling of coherence, after all these years of development you'd think that R* would have come up with new online gameplay mechanics and a "deeper" experience.. And with that lacking, I feel a bit disappointed. I also would have liked a lot more customization options for the camp, and the persistent bugs are still annoying as well; yesterday I lost a hunting trip's worth of pelts and carcasses because of the usual abrupt disconnect. And I agree with those of you who are surprised that R* doesn't seem to offer any special content over the holidays. I hope they're hard at work on trying to fix bugs and that they have a large update with plenty of new content in the making (preferably new game modes, we really need that and more Story+Stranger missions).

 

(apologies for this becoming a bit stretched, lol)

Edited December 22, 2018 by Dr.Rosenthal

[Jason]

6 minutes ago, Dr.Rosenthal said:

And I have to ask what specifically is it that you're displeased with?

Lack of support in launch month is my main concern above all. This is the one time in an online games lifespan you don't go quiet and you don't turn up short and Rockstar have done both. I want reason to play, cause I've all but ran out.

[Dr.Rosenthal]

@Jason OK, I understand. And I agree - R* isn't exactly known for their stellar support, but they should go out of their way to make sure to reach out to their fanbase at least at the time following launch..

[ALifeOfMisery]

17 minutes ago, Dr.Rosenthal said:

what specifically is it that you're displeased with?

Great post by the way.

 

The glaring omission for me is lobby options. Normal, friendly and hardcore should have been in the game at launch, and again, whoever thought mixing free and auto aim players, well, they clearly weren't thinking at all.

 

But that aside, the lack of depth is staggering. Compare the number of missions alone that GTAO had available at launch to what we currently have in RDO. RDO lacks option and choice.

 

The implementation of microtransactions before even basic bug fixes such as items disappearing instead of selling to butchers screams greed.

 

The ranking system is incredibly grindy, but the level of content ranking up unlocks is severely lacking. 

 

The as yet unspecified anti griefing measures, whatever they end up being, R* surely already had plans to implement such things and knew the potential for griefing the player base would have, these measures should also have been in the game at launch.

 

I also expected R* to build up some momentum post launch, but apart from making guns cheaper, fixing some XP expoits and altering the sale price of some animals R* have pretty much left the game untouched.

 

It all just seems rushed and bare bones. To me RDO would have benefited from a later release, but was rushed out to cash in on Christmas microtransaction sales.

 

I've got to say, I am, in the most part, enjoying RDO, but it could, and should, have launched in a much better and more complete state. Even when accompanied by it's beta tag.

[Lonely-Martin]

@Dr.Rosenthal

 

Bug fixes, like camp being completely broken, spawns on top of others that kill me before even fully loaded in.

 

Grief. Hate it, and campers at butchers or using stores etc. to mess with me is annoying. I logged on to play, and seeing my pelts (regularly at times) just disappear is frustrating. Certainly not competitive gaming, and a real off putting experience. It's a wasted effort, and like businesses in GTA:O, see's me not want to hunt, a huge part of online right now combined with other issues I'll mention.

 

Lack of lobby choice is a huge issue for me. I dislike PvP most times, but when it's forced on me most all the time, it becomes a game I won't enjoy. It's not my choice in an open world, like I believe these games should be. GTA:O thrived by allowing all styles to enjoy the game, grinders, cash card buyers, PvE, PvP, anything at anytime. The game has proven to make record money really through enabling all types of gamer.

 

Microtransactions before listening to feedback is a real turn off too, combined with the peanuts offered as gold rewards. I'm yet to be convinced it was us players requesting economy changes, but it could easily be the outside press hammering it that caused R* to react, them adding no other content before the microtransactions really does back this theory to me, IMHO.

 

Very little content, for a game 8 years in the making, with 5+ years of huge success in playerbase and microtransactions in GTA:O, these guys know what works to engage all playstyles. Seems they are keen to oust the freeloader, again, IMHO. Feels like my PvE ways aren't welcome with literally only 8 missions that are true PvE. GTA:O had far more for both playstyles at launch, an old gen game. They advertised this package as something it's just not. It's outshined by GTA and supposed to this new, big, diverse game.

 

GTA races only, boring and when 5-6 people are just walking around in circles, rubberbanding their controller, really just adds to the problems. The game is a grind, and relies on fishing/hunting too much, which we have heavily featured in story mode. Not that I dislike these activities, but locking a rod and lure behind gold/rank too, just becomes a chore to get even the basics too. Being forced to witness so many exploit the game to rank up or earn cash this way is frustrating as I don't like it, didn't in GTA:O either, but I could press on without being forced by limited content to be surrounded by it. Same for the PvP modes, no control on what we play, just a few modes on rotation, becomes so boring and repetitive.

 

Anyway, I enjoyed your post, and glad some can enjoy the game as it is, but as it stands, it's just not a game for me. I fear that's intentional, and until we learn the plan, sessions, passive, or what their anti griefing measures are, I can't get on board. It's literally COD or Fortnite in the west really, the focus on PvP or potential PvP and the freedom of grief is just too much for me and puts me off completely, add in the obvious money grabbing starting so quickly for Christmas, just adds to my displeasure. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the microtransactions as many, but they really should have looked to offer a far fuller game before, I feel.

[ChengizVlad09]

6 hours ago, 955i said:

What, we are expected to take the word of a fat nerdy guy who is happy to be pictured with a tummy tightening ball as gospel?

 

Watched 1.36 mins and then realised he was just another YouTube t**t.

 

Sorry, I tried

 

No problem fam, I swear I didn't try to advertise his channel or his ' youtuber's ' abilities, simply the point he got across about RDR2 and he's right. Sadly. 

Edited December 23, 2018 by ChengizVlad09