3 years ago

Where is PVP for Multiplayer?

Hello NFS Community,

After having read the IGN article about NFS Unbound (interview with the creative director of Criterion Games, Crimmons, here the link: Exclusive: Need for Speed Unbound Has Finally Been Revealed, And It Looks Very Different - IGN) and what the website currently says about the multiplayer, I am afraid that this game is going to suffer a similar fate like Heat did.

I quote:

"Take your racing to the next level and make your friends your rivals in multiplayer. Connect with the online street racing community in underground Meetups across Lakeshore and discover the best routes through the city in Freeroam."

PVP stands for player versus player as you might already know. The lack of a proper PVP system in NFS Heat caused the game to die rather quickly. No proper lobby system as it's found in NFS Hot Pursuit Remastered for instance, is a huge dealbreaker for the LONGEVITY of this game.

Starting a match and hoping that some player might join is incredibly frustrating and it has proven to be unsuccessful.

Now my plea to the EA Community Managers for the sake of this game:

Please forward this important feedback to the Criterion Games developers that they implement this essential feature.

God knows what results might come from it, hope dies last. I still can not believe how they would as it seems build on this speedlist system only which has failed miserably in the past game.

Please share your views in the comments if you will. The more people share these concerns the merrier.

Thank you.

@EA_David

@Braddock512

22 Replies

CyrisTM
New Traveler
3 years ago
Welp. Seems like this will be Dead after a week or two just like Heat if they pull the exact same crap then EA blames the players that no one plays it and they'll cut all future updates like Heat.

Heat is one of the worst online experiences out there. It's unbelievably bad i can't even believe it. You are thrown into a world with few players that just messes around. You want to race? Ping players! Maybe one or two will care will play with you and that's all. No dedicated rooms, no filters on which class to use, absolutely nothing. Just pure frustration all around. Might as well just remove online mode altogether if EA won't bother putting effort into it.
Lobbies/Stats/Leaderboards were in all NFS games that had the online component since Porsche unleashed until like NFS 2015. Even Underground 2 had x5 the features than even payback did (at least Payback had lobbies). It even had a dedicated competitive scene in the older NFS titles such as UG2 & Most wanted.

Most wanted from 2005 was extremely active and had 20-40 lobbies on PC racing all the time during peak time even in 2010. It was pure fun and was very competitive.

Congratulations on cutting every online feature from the newest NFS titles
2ELI0
3 years ago
Exactly my point.
Hell, even NFS HP 2010 was alive for 10 years because of the proper pvp system. I actively played it until the switch came to HPR in 2020. Same story, active lobbies and players. I still play it.
Heat was ridiculous in comparison.
This concept simply doesn't work and is not effective to keep a game alive.
TheRealJony
Hero+
3 years ago
It frustrates me that NFS Heat never did have a proper PvP system in the game like Speedlists from NFS 2015 (NFS Reboot) and NFS Payback. I would had played NFS Heat a lot more if it did have PvP.

From what I read in the IGN article:

"Multiplayer, meanwhile, has been tuned to be "as low friction as possible." When you go into the multiplayer mode you can drive around the world, meet up with friends, or just mess around. While there, "people will be pinging off race requests and playlist requests and you can seamlessly join any one of those events at any time,”

It sounds like NFS Unbound could have the exact same "PvP" system as NFS Heat.

In NFS Heat, you start a countdown for anyone to join the race you selected. Nobody joins. Then you restart the countdown several times in hoping someone joins, which nobody joins or just one player joins if you are very lucky.

Sounds it's gonna be the same story with NFS Unbound from what the IGN article describes.
2ELI0
3 years ago
Correct. That was my conclusion as well and that is what worries me. I don't want this game to die after 3-4 months.
This concept simply does not work. NFS Heat proved it.
We need a proper pvp lobby system with people joining them. Having different classes. Just as in NFS HPR or NFS Undercover.
FancySuspect
3 years ago
Agreed the last time already, things did not change!
Please give us a real solid multiplayer, this is how people will stick to your game.
BVBgamer88
3 years ago
@2ELI0 They way i see it i think personally after we switched from track racing too open world racing, that made multiplayer more boring if you ask me. And im not talking about the Shift games, but NFS games from 1994 up too 2002.

Those game had the most fun pvp modes etc Hot Pursuit Lap Knockout\knockout Tournament\Championship mode fighting for points and cars etc. My problem with big open world is that will be boring after a while, just take Rivals after i beated the story on both racer and cop.

I could only freeroaming escaping cops or bust racers, i got bored after a while and stopped playing permantly, the way i see it the replay value isent good enough in the long period of time, Most wanted 2012 is the only freeroam racing game that did it right with a lobby system,
2ELI0
3 years ago
@BVBgamer88 I don't like free roaming either tbh.
A great concept was established in NFS HP 2010/2020.
There you could create lobbies, invite people, play different modes such as: Race, Hot Pursuits, Most Wanted etc. in different classes.

That's what's needed in my opinion.
IIIKrypton
3 years ago
PLEASE TAKE THIS ADVISE!!!
This will help the game tremendously. Yes, you should be able to chill and have fun but, also
be able to switch and be competitive when players feel so.
TS_Spirit-R
3 years ago
@2ELI0Not to mention Heat's inability to create private lobbies. Creating your own sessions has been a missing feature since 2012 iirc. If they're gonna do an open world type of multiplayer (which they are), the best approach would be setting it up like MW2012. If people want to alldrive or roam around they can make their own sessions, or if they mix alldrive + speedlists/races, set a timer just like 2012 did. Mixing the two in one lobby like heat's just kills any type of matchmaking for races.
BVBgamer88
3 years ago
@2ELI0 Agree with you man, but they also need too give us option too play as a cop too. Most nfs games wich had HP mode has had that, and there are so many cool cop car in US. Atleast compared too my country Norway where they are driving around in Volvos Wolkswagens and recently a hybrid of Ford explorer.