So, Dark Souls 1 got its multiplayer disabled for PC without warning, and Steam keeps silent

[CaitSeith]

The multiplayer has been disabled for Dark Souls 1 the last week (coming back for moments, but then going down again). Sooner or later every game with online multiplayer must have their servers unpluged. At some point, old games no longer bring enough money to sustain the servers, and new games require those resources to keep up with demand. However, we can't say that's the case here. There was no notice from either Namco or Steam; and there's still no answer from either of them to confirm if this is the case, or some kind of hiccup in their servers. Some may argue that DS1 was no longer been played; but I assure by personal experience that it's not true. I personally joined co-op (both in the beginning and at the end game) and was invaded (also in the beginning and end game) several times, days before the online features stopped working.

It's a sad day when one of the best features of a great game dies. But it's even more sad when it's done with such lack of respect towards the players.

EDIT: Well, the multiplayer is back for now. I hope it last for more than 24 hours this time. But whatever the case be, Steam and Namco keeping us in the dark has been soul-crushing...

 

[CritialGaming]

They could just be having problems. Hell the DS1 servers might be the same servers they are using for DS3 and thus simply getting overloaded. Until we know for sure that it has been shut down, i'd not press the panic button just yet.

 

[Aerosteam]

They could just be having problems. Hell the DS1 servers might be the same servers they are using for DS3 and thus simply getting overloaded. Until we know for sure that it has been shut down, i'd not press the panic button just yet.

Er, I don't think so considering that even the DS2 servers don't use the same as the SotFS ones due to using different DirectX versions. Basically: DS & DS2: DirectX 9 | SotFS & DS3: DirectX 11

Very possible it might be gone for good, but I still think it's too early to panic.

 

[Fat Hippo]

This is especially weird since as far as I know, Dark Souls multiplayer works on a peer-to-peer system, and so it shouldn't be a big burden for Namco in terms of server costs? And even if it were, doing so right after the launch of DkS 3 seems like awful timing, not to mention there would be some sort of announcement beforehand. This is probably just a temporary hiccup.

 

[Fappy]

I don't think the plug was pulled. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened to the PC version of DS1. It's severs are notoriously unstable and go down all the time.

EDIT: Read up on it a bit more. Certainly fishy. Makes me think that they were worried about sever instability with the influx of new DS3 players and may be temporarily "borrowing" the DS1 servers. If that's the case, hopefully things go back to normal soon.

 

[Saelune]

I try not to be paranoid about things, but its just like...say something. That's whats annoying is the people who would know, either Steam or FromSoft or whoever, aren't saying whats happened. A simple "We're figuring out what happened" atleast implies its not an intentional decision.

I mean, it would be dumb to intentionally turn them off, since a new game in a series brings traffic to previous games. I know I'm playing Dark Souls 1 so I can catch up.

Communication is such an important thing that so many companies refuse to partake in.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

That's a shame, I'm currently playing through it on PS3 and can't imagine playing it offline. Even though I find the constant "praise the sun!"s annoying, I'd be sad to see them go

 

[Fox12]

They could just be having problems. Hell the DS1 servers might be the same servers they are using for DS3 and thus simply getting overloaded. Until we know for sure that it has been shut down, i'd not press the panic button just yet.

Er, I don't think so considering that even the DS2 servers don't use the same as the SotFS ones due to using different DirectX versions. Basically: DS & DS2: DirectX 9 | SotFS & DS3: DirectX 11

Very possible it might be gone for good, but I still think it's too early to panic.

Seeing as Demons Souls servers are still up, I would be stunned if the golden child of the series had been discontinued.

 

[loa]

That would be awful because most peoples playthrough would end at ornstein and smough from now on.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

That would be awful because most peoples playthrough would end at ornstein and smough from now on.

You can still summon Solaire.

 

[Level 7 Dragon]

Considering how much money the souls series still make (people are still buying new copies of DS1), I doubt they would do it without warning.

 

[elvor0]

That's a shame, I'm currently playing through it on PS3 and can't imagine playing it offline. Even though I find the constant "praise the sun!"s annoying, I'd be sad to see them go

DS2 on the xbox is rather depressing. You need to have a gold sub in order for ANY of the online features to work. Laptop just couldn't run DS2 at the time

 

[sageoftruth]

Interesting. That explains the lack of invasions I got. I thought the community had just moved on to 2 and 3.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Well, that certainly explains why summons, notes, and bloodstains suddenly disappeared when I was going through the game again these past few weeks...

Still, really shitty of them to kill it without so much as a warning. :\

 

[default]

It's only temporary. Take a look at this thread.

[link]https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls/comments/4eb1eh/psa_dark_souls_pc_will_not_work_online_for/[/link]


It's an easy fix and not an intentional takedown. Not sure why they're taking so long to fix it. Dark Souls does use P2P connections but as far as I understand it does still require a client to make those connections. It used to be GFWL and now it's Steam, and something has gone fucky.

 

[Saelune]

It's only temporary. Take a look at this thread.

[link]https://www.reddit.com/r/darksouls/comments/4eb1eh/psa_dark_souls_pc_will_not_work_online_for/[/link]


It's an easy fix and not an intentional takedown. Not sure why they're taking so long to fix it. Dark Souls does use P2P connections but as far as I understand it does still require a client to make those connections. It used to be GFWL and now it's Steam, and something has gone fucky.

It seems to be fixed now since online stuff is appearing for me now, but still, a simple acknowledgement from someone that its just a bug would be appreciated so people don't get super paranoid like this.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

This is especially weird since as far as I know, Dark Souls multiplayer works on a peer-to-peer system, and so it shouldn't be a big burden for Namco in terms of server costs?

As with almost all modern multiplayer games with features tied to XBL or PSN, they use peer to peer for hosting (to save on bandwidth and server hosting) but use server-client for matchmaking (to force you to (pay to) use their system only).

 

[Elijin]

I have trouble understanding how this was steam's concern?

They're a distributor. Server status on any game without valve involvement is literally not their problem. Until the actual publishers announce anything, there is no action for steam to take. And then we're talking about at best a courtesy announcement of downtime, and at worst a minor note saying the MP is no longer supported.