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RimWorld Multiplayer: Why It’s Not Official

RimWorld Multiplayer: Why It’s Not Official

    Last Updated on February 21, 2023

A RimWorld multiplayer exists, but it’s not official. City-building games are testaments to creativity without the limits of budget and manpower. Games under this genre have a skill expression limited by the player and the community. From constant developer support or community support, excellence in CB games is in the stars.

Enjoyment of CB games is often in single-player settings, but this doesn’t discriminate against those who want PvP. Multiplayer city-builders also exist as an extension of the RTS genre. 

The gameplay objective varies from single-player goals. Competitive pressures from real opponents also replace the sandbox-like conditions. Goals then shift towards edging out the competition and dominating the map. Some games like Anno and Civilization conduct PvP well because it is designed for it. It all goes back to the core of RTS: Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate.

The Rim’s Storytelling Core

RimWorld is a story generator game, where your opponent is the world. Its game design is strict in its story-generating theme. When a game has a great design formula, developers tend to capitalize on it.

Tynan Sylvester had a vision for the game and stuck to the recipe whilst adding more playable aspects. A player’s options within the game itself showcase one’s creativity in solving crises and issues in gameplay.

Storytellers give players challenges that add a layer of drama to the game. Colonists can be socially inept or savants in tasks. Raiders can be arsonists or have colonist relatives in their attacking group. They can attack right away, wait, set up mortar positions, or land inside your base. While most of them feel overwhelming, the events challenge one’s ability to manage crises. It emphasizes a group of colonists controlled by the player to survive and thrive in an unforgiving world.

Image of RimWorld Gameplay
Via @TynanSylvester on Twitter

RimWorld Multiplayer Design and Community

Playing on the rim is a challenging endeavor, why not have it with friends? There is a mod that provides multiplayer support for up to 8 players. Why is this not the default game? We can also track the answer back to fundamental Rim design.

Anno and Civ are games designed to have the player pitted against other potential players. There are factions in both games that are replaceable by human players.

RimWorld’s design allows RimWorld multiplayer to add a layer of complexity to the game, but that may be dangerous. The Multiplayer itself is a mod, which means compatibility with other mods is a problem. Yes, the mod team is diligent to address compatibility, but RimWorld boasts a strong community with many modders. The team addresses the popular ones first, but then they enter the niche market, which is bigger in quantity.

Differences and Opinions

Anyone with coding knowledge knows that lines for strict single-player and multiplayer games are different. Add the fact that MP is also a mod means that there is considerable work added. Players want to know if the RimWorld Multiplayer mod itself is good, and there is a good reason for that.

Its size is light, but the layer of gameplay it adds is something players want to know. The premise is that you and your friends control the entire colony. Though great in practice, the community is mixed about it.

A good side of the mod is the method of splitting load management, something the game will challenge. Many overseers mean the colony can be better off than a vanilla colony. This of course leads to a conflict of interest, which is a criticism of multiplayer and not the mod. Cooperative multiplayer is a chaotic endeavor that MOBAs capture well. If one person doesn’t contribute, the plan fails.

What do you think? Should multiplayer be part of the official game, or not? If you’re not a fan of the mod, you can always learn the ways to solo RimWorld. Follow us on social media to stay updated with the latest esports and gaming news.

Written By
Jean Salgados

Spent all the years of his college writing for the school newspaper and transitioned to casting Dota 2 games shortly after graduation.

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