True Offline Mode

[invader80]

Tried to boot A20 and found out it cannot run without accessing api.epicgames.dev while the internet is running.

Is there some way to play completely offline without killing the internet? Or at least some explanation as to why it needs to check in with an Epic Games API every times it starts?

[SylenThunder]

Set Steam to Offline mode, and in the client folder edit platform.cfg. Change the second line from "crossplatform=EOS" to "crossplatform=". Do note that if you are on an existing save that you started with a20, it can reset your character data because it will no longer use the EOS ID for your player files. You will need to rename the files from your EOS ID to the Steam-64 ID.

[invader80]

Thank you.

[GehtAuchAnders]

hmm, cant find platform.cfg :-(

[emp456]

Originally posted by GehtAuchAnders:

hmm, cant find platform.cfg :-(

It's in the same folder where you have the game installed (...steamapps\common\7 Days To Die) along with the exes.

[SylenThunder]

Originally posted by sub0pengu:

I was about to revert back to 19.6 because of this so a huge thank you for pointing this out. Man, they really need to be more transparent and straightforward about including 3rd party services

They were completely transparent about it. It's listed in the Patch notes in detail.

[SylenThunder]

Dropping this here, since apparently reading the Patch Notes is hard for some people

Originally posted by SylenThunder:

...

Server Administration and Multiplayer

To future-proof our game, including allowing us to use the latest anti-cheat and expanding to other platforms later on for future crossplay capabilities, we added Epic Online Services (EOS) to the game. For regular players this should not have any noticeable effect, you do NOT need an account on Epics platforms. EOS only knows your SteamID which is public anyway and matches that to an ID for EOS that is only valid for 7 Days to Die.

[hutomen]

Originally posted by SylenThunder:

Dropping this here, since apparently reading the Patch Notes is hard for some people

Originally posted by SylenThunder:

...

Server Administration and Multiplayer

To future-proof our game, including allowing us to use the latest anti-cheat and expanding to other platforms later on for future crossplay capabilities, we added Epic Online Services (EOS) to the game. For regular players this should not have any noticeable effect, you do NOT need an account on Epics platforms. EOS only knows your SteamID which is public anyway and matches that to an ID for EOS that is only valid for 7 Days to Die.

Why not add an option to set permissions for the EPIC API as well as GameSparks and EAC?

[Mr Blue Playdoh]

Originally posted by SylenThunder:

Set Steam to Offline mode, and in the client folder edit platform.cfg. Change the second line from "crossplatform=EOS" to "crossplatform=". Do note that if you are on an existing save that you started with a20, it can reset your character data because it will no longer use the EOS ID for your player files. You will need to rename the files from your EOS ID to the Steam-64 ID.

I wouldnt even know how to do this where is the client folder?

[emp456]

Originally posted by Mr Blue Playdoh:

I wouldnt even know how to do this where is the client folder?

Originally posted by emp456:

Originally posted by GehtAuchAnders:

hmm, cant find platform.cfg :-(

It's in the same folder where you have the game installed (...steamapps\common\7 Days To Die) along with the exes.

[Mr Blue Playdoh]

Originally posted by emp456:

Originally posted by Mr Blue Playdoh:

I wouldnt even know how to do this where is the client folder?

Originally posted by emp456:

It's in the same folder where you have the game installed (...steamapps\common\7 Days To Die) along with the exes.

Thanks.

[SiEgE]

Originally posted by sub0pengu:

They weren't clear on how to disable crossplay if you wanted is what I really meant about being vague.

No dev usually do that, refraining to just not making the process of turning that off too cryptic and making it easily achievable through messing with console commands/config files, which is, IMO, is already enough. Someone would eventually figure that out and tell everyone.
Most AAA developers would just prevent you from disabling that in the first place.

[emp456]

Originally posted by SiEgE:

Originally posted by sub0pengu:

They weren't clear on how to disable crossplay if you wanted is what I really meant about being vague.

No dev usually do that, refraining to just not making the process of turning that off too cryptic and making it easily achievable through messing with console commands/config files, which is, IMO, is already enough. Someone would eventually figure that out and tell everyone.
Most AAA developers would just prevent you from disabling that in the first place.

Almost no one does that, i agree. I wonder if including the Epic's crosscode forces devs and limits their option to allow their game to load no matter if can connect to Epic servers or not. (or it's an imposition from Epic to allow a game to use their servers, no idea) Frankly, that's a kind of drm at the end on top of Steam's own drm and on SP games should be unnecessary.

[Kara]

It's nice to know mods are allowed to be rude and condescending about something so dumb and complicated. Wow...

[I'm from Planet 9]

Originally posted by Kara:

It's nice to know mods are allowed to be rude and condescending about something so dumb and complicated. Wow...

Seriously. The fact that's the person they chose to moderate their community says a lot about them as a company.

[LokitheWeaver]

Originally posted by SylenThunder:

Dropping this here, since apparently reading the Patch Notes is hard for some people

Originally posted by SylenThunder:

...

Server Administration and Multiplayer

To future-proof our game, including allowing us to use the latest anti-cheat and expanding to other platforms later on for future crossplay capabilities, we added Epic Online Services (EOS) to the game. For regular players this should not have any noticeable effect, you do NOT need an account on Epics platforms. EOS only knows your SteamID which is public anyway and matches that to an ID for EOS that is only valid for 7 Days to Die.

A helpful player sent me to this thread. But I do take issue with your statement about "reading is too hard." The heading for that section is "Server Administration and Multiplayer". Since I am neither a server administrator, nor do I play multiplayer games (since I don't have a reliable internet connection at my off-grid cabin) this section did not appear to apply to me. The text also states that "for regular players this should not have any noticeable effect" - which is obviously not true.

Thus, the actual issue is not my inability to read, or my unwillingness to read. It is a misleading heading and an untrue statement.

This is a fairly significant issue for players with limited internet access, that required a lot of effort to even identify the issue (I was actually testing it carefully because I thought it was perhaps a bug in the experimental version, that included code for "official" playtesting and possibly put the Pimps gamedata and version control at risk.

As someone else noted, when a game designer makes such a critical choice it would be a good business practice to do the grunt work to make the option either "opt in" instead of mandatory, or include a simple opt out process which does not require a player to muck about with configuration files, just to play a game they have owned for almost 8 years.