How to Play Online + Official Discord

[Dave of Powerhoof]

Wait, so crawl *does* support online multiplayer?!

Well, not officially, no.

Not officially?
We're not going to list it as supporting Online on the steam page, but you can actually play it online now, using Parsec!

Parsec basically lets you stream a game, and have friends watch and play along with their own controllers. Latency was my biggest worry, but it wasn't a problem when we played, certainly no worse than our dodgy indie implementation of online multiplayer would have been ;)

We've played a bunch with it ourselves now and had a great time, so we're happy to be able to give it the Official Powerhoof™ Severed Thumbs Up of Approval®!

It's really quick and easy to get it set up, and it's also free if you host games on your own computer!

How to play online:

1. Download the client from http://parsecgaming.com
   
2. Run it and create an account. Get your friends to do the same.
   
3. If you want to host, click "Add A Computer". In settings you can set what apps your friends can see/control too.
   
4. To join a friend who's hosting, add them using their Parsec username, and request to Co-Play.
   
5. Run the game, and friends can play just like they're sitting next to you!

If you have any issues with Parsec, chat to them on their discord here[discord.gg].

Official Discord:

If you need help matchmaking, try asking on the Official Powerhoof Discord[discord.gg]!

Why not add an online feature to crawl itself?

It's a big and difficult feature to try to add. I spent a bunch of time working on it, and the upshot was it just wasn't going to be possible in any reasonable time-frame or budget, or to any decent quality.

If you want to read a bit about why online-multiplayer can be difficult for small developers, this article explains it nicely: http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/11/5491146/why-you-dont-want-an-online-mode-towerfall The upshot from a dev standpoint is that if you're retrofitting online into a game that was built for local, you're gonna have a bad time. (meme not intended)

[Stupid Jerk]

Thanks, Dave. That article was a little saddening to read, but I appreciate the clarity on the matter, even if I'm sure you've answered this question before on countless platforms.

I'll continue to hold out hope for an online feature in the future, since it looks like an amazing game that you guys are doing a great job on.

[darkshade2095]

Great game David and Barney. Good job on doing a sticky of this. Entitled little pricks demanding online should be shot down.

I'm curious, and looking forward to, on how you are going to expand this wonderful game.

[zais]

Thanks for FAQ.
WIll grow friendship in local-only multiplayer for now ;)

[Lil' Sassy]

I'm honestly perfectly happy with local co-op only but this is just icing on the cake.

[Baron Unread]

Thanks for the pinned post, I was tired of seeing all of those multiplayer posts ;_;

[Archina]

Would it be worth looking at games that at times need lots of actions to help with online development? Seeing how genres like brawlers and MOBAs handle online play may bring you a step forward to understanding the best route.

[Madl3r]

I'd rather no net play than crap net play (looking at you Nidhogg). If it seems unfeasible pls spend more time on content that's all that this game is really missing!

[Cethyri]

I think it would be a better investment to add more features, balancing, etc. just overall growing and making the game better, than focusing on something that could take a long time and not even be that enjoyable when it's done. Good luck with whatever you do!

[zais]

Voting for more content over net play :)

[Jigstraw]

I can agree that people who feel entitled to online/LAN multiplayer can be obnoxious, demanding, and overbearing, but so can people who immediately disregard the idea of it being added, and personally attack people who suggest and/or request that it be added. Having the time, friends, and means to play a locally multiplayer game doesn't give you any power or superiority over people who don't. It's just a difference in circumstances. I personally don't have the nearly $100 it'd cost on controllers alone(Probably $200 if I want nice controllers) to play 4 player local co-op, and neither does anyone else I know. I won't insist on multiplayer being added, but I definitely won't be purchasing this-- spite having been following the game's development since before the greenlight trailer was made, and anxiously awaiting its release-- until it does have some form of online multiplayer, so I can actually experience the game as intended, with a small group of friends, sans bots. It's just not a wise investment for something I won't be able to fully enjoy.

I'm in no way rushing multiplayer, just saying there are very clearly flawed arguments on both sides of this debate. I'll gladly wait and pay more for the game once it does support online or LAN multiplayer.

[Tr3VR]

Its one thing to ask for a feature but then there was some rude threads
I agree what with Jigsaw said and I'm glad Dave step out and clarified it than rather let us fight among ourselves and I played the game for about two weeks so right now I'm waiting on content updates or when I can get people to come over and try it, I have read through someone peoples suggestions and its great that alot of threads dedicated to ideas and fixes
I get for asking for things, Like will there be any Flamethrowers in the future of this game?
instead of you know F**k this game its not a Game without Flamethrowers at that point its not asking , its demanding and its hurtful

[Grey Acumen]

This game looks pretty impressive regardless. I do hope they get some online multiplayer soon though. The problem with my situation is that my friends and local gamers tend to not be able to keep up with my level of competition or schedule, or have completely different types of games that hold their interest, and those who do like the game and would be able to keep up with me competitively, aren't local.

The article you linked here is completely accurate. Lag is just something that only has so many ways to compensate, and not any of those ways are suitable for Crawl. Likewise, the player vs mass opponents tends to be much more sociable when you know who you're playing with on a personal level, and thus can accept their victory as being simply their victory, whereas online loses that personal connection, removing the focus from "their victory" and putting it entirely on "your loss"

When you are creating a certain type of experience, that only means that experience CAN manifest, provided the given conditions exist (which would not be possible even with those conditions, had the focus been on a different experience, such as online)
Unfortunately, this in no way guarantees that those conditions will occur. At the very best it can only encourage players to pursue those conditions.

This means that there will be a group, and not even a small group, who will be excluded from that experience. This group will be upset, and understandably so when you recognize that many people who are in this group are likely people who can still remember when this experience would have not just been attainable, but specifically targeted towards them.
This becomes more than just a game that is missing a feature they want, but a slap in the face over how time has changed and with it, the aspects of a lifestyle they will never be able to return to.

I'd love to get in during early access and provide some clinical feedback for the developers, but my current situation just doesn't allow for it. I am one of these people who can recall not even once considering the concept of online multiplayer back when I played Smash Bros. Melee, but now its a rare occurence when I can schedule for just a single friend at a time to come play locally, and those are usually the friends that I'm more likely to play coop games like Pixeljunk Shooter and (ironically, as it actually has excellent online support) Portal 2.

[Archina]

Originally posted by Grey Acumen:

-Text above-

The problem I have is that all the people I would have enjoyed playing games locally with, over the years are either too busy nowadays to visit more than a couple times a year, have moved to other parts of the country/world or have changed so much that we've stopped staying in touch. Two out of three of those problems are resolved by staying in touch via things like phones and the internet.

[Tr3VR]

Two key points I just want to throw out there
is that one: what about people local in your area that you are friends with?, most people try to establish a gaming night, like I know people who Do DnD night and sometimes they don't even play DnD a couple days we played Halo or hung out, but once you know that there is that day for hosting spending time with people, people will know and try to work around it and be there
second point is that people are trashing the game for lacking the online component, its like TitanFall where it only has a online Component and no offline modes at all, does that make it a bad game? no its a fairly good shooter/ Shogo like game , yeah I didn't buy it because it didn't interest me, yet I went over a friend's house and played it and bought it for my brother
just like how I lost all interest in Halo , yet I participated in Destiny beta and Now I changed my mind and would likely get it on black Friday even tho it is a online centralized game because the game is build upon that
the only reason why people find online component to be a pain is DRM and Diablo 3 and simcity always connected to the internet polices and having major sever issues, so does it make those games bad games? no not at all
and you don't have to buy it , if you don't want to play it
but to criticize it based on that is not right

[Vingdoloras]

I've been following this game very closely since I first heard of it a long time ago on Twitter. I will PROBABLY only buy it when/if online multiplayer gets added, because I only very rarely get the chance to have more than one friend over, and I have no controllers, so that kind of stops me from doing the whole local MP thing. If I ever have some more friends over and by some miracle we end up with enough controllers, I will buy this game immediately, online MP or not.

Still, there are also positive aspects to online MP. Matchmaking with random strangers can be a lot of fun!