Why play on an official server?

[Rhyono]

This is not bait. I legitimately don't understand why you would choose to play with random internet people in a non-MMO. Lack of anti-cheat aside, it sounds toxic and overcrowded. Set up a dedicated server if you have friends, or play solo if you don't.

Being so outraged by the state of official servers that you choose to not enjoy the game in any other way seems weird.

[A. Silvermane]

It has its advantages
1. It will continue to run when I log off meaning I wouldn't be booting my friends off the game everytime I wanted to go to bed
2. It would require less resources then hosting a server
3. Equal playing field with my fiends (If I host I can tinker with the server rules while they can't. On a official server I'm bound to the same rules as everyone)
4. Meet new people
it also has disadvantages
1. Hackers
2. Unannounced resets
3. Griefers (different from Hackers, they exploit the in game mechanics to destroy bases)
4. Exploits

[Rhyono]

Originally posted by A. Silvermane:

It has its advantages
1. It will continue to run when I log off meaning I wouldn't be booting my friends off the game everytime I wanted to go to bed
2. It would require less resources then hosting a server
3. Equal playing field with my fiends (If I host I can tinker with the server rules while they can't. On a official server I'm bound to the same rules as everyone)
4. Meet new people
it also has disadvantages
1. Hackers
2. Unannounced resets
3. Griefers (different from Hackers, they exploit the in game mechanics to destroy bases)
4. Exploits

Since you are coming from the background of wanting to play with friends: your own list of pros and cons looks like Private is definitely better than Official.

[Rhyono]

Originally posted by DirtyMick:

I mean yeah I don't generally like playing with random people, but I get it. It's not hard to understand why some people really prefer multiplayer over single player.

Well the topic isn't "why would you want multiplayer?" It's "why would you play on official servers, when it's so awful, when you could be playing solo/multiplayer (non-hosted)/multiplayer (dedicated private server)?"

[Unrealtairo]

Originally posted by Xaelon:

To fk'ing idiots, multiplayer is really important

Fixed

Never play with randos.

[Shazza]

Originally posted by Unrealtairo:

Originally posted by Xaelon:

To fk'ing idiots, multiplayer is really important

Fixed

Never play with randos.

Disagree. I'm not a huge fan of random games myself, but it can be a fun shake-up from solo. I had a wonderful experience with Void Crew and V Rising randoms; it all depends on the people you're finding and interacting with when it comes down to it.

[Capybara]

I prefer official servers because I prefer playing on dedicated servers. I am not, yet, paying for my own dedicated server, but probably should, but with official servers I know they won't shut down when someone gets bored with the game. I also like playing in a world with strangers, I like going around checking out base builds - I mean, some people are just immensely creative, and it is cool to see what people can do with a game with a base-building system, even as limited as Palworld's.

And especially in survival games, it just makes the world feel more alive. To see a rando strive for the same goals as you do, and you are both running around doing stuff in the world, either cooperating or competing to reach it. NPC AI still need to be worked on heavily in video games, before they can start to compete with human dynamism which makes a world truly come alive.

With all of that said.

I am currently not playing on official servers. I am not even playing on a dedicated server. I am playing on a server run by a friend in another country. And there are long periods of time where I can not get onto the server, so I assume it is because it is running entirely on her system.

[Rhyono]

Being able to hop in and out of servers at least with your character and pals (likely not with your bases) would go a long way towards making exploring servers something of interest, but as it is now, you're more likely to lose everything. It sounds like your friend is doing either multiplayer or turns off the server with her computer when she's unavailable. That would be insufficient for me and if I were to do a dedicated server, I'd have to run it myself, as I agree losing access would be detrimental.

[Kimochi]

I want to play on official at somepoint (when no more hacking) because I want to do pal pvp (like battle between pal only) and trading with people around the world. It for sure wont happen on dedicate/ single player server since you can tweak the setting and make everything super easier and skewed the pvp experience.

[Kurotoge]

I think people play on Official Servers for one main reason.

It's free.

As stated, a person can host but the host can only have up to 4 players. The more players, the more taxing it is for their system. They can run a dedicated server on their computer but again, unless they got a good rig or a second rig, it costs them resources to maintain.

So the other option is to rent out a server. This obviously requires a monthly or yearly fee. Some people can afford it, others cannot. People are often very picky who they play with. Those who don't have a large friend circle or friends who are not interested in the game, usually have to seek out the Public Servers.

[GamingWithSilvertail]

Originally posted by Boh:

YEAH WE BOUGHT GAME AND PAID FOR PLAYING MULTIPLAYER SERVERS BUT DEVS DIDNT DELIVER SO LETS PAY FOR SOMTHING THAT SHOULD BE DONE WELL AGAIN XDDDD

Cause you dont understand what early access is intended for.

You want working online experience? Buy a game thats not in early access.