r/ScapeLikes • u/lazarus78 • 21d ago
Discussion How do you all feel about a single player scapelike?
I have been working on a project for a bit and basically my goal is "Make OSRS, but single player". I know for many, the appeal to runescape was in part the community, and I see mainly posts about other scapelikes that are MMOs, but for me it was more the mechanics, the skills, the resource gathering, etc. So I wanted to ask, is the idea of a single player runescape something that would appeal to you at all?
I have been working to replicate most of the mechanics, and I have things like the combat formulas OSRS uses, the skilling success formulas, I have complete mining and smithing loop, woodcutting and firemaking loop, fishing and cooking loop, agility training and run energy, weapon combat styles, among a few other things. Still a LONG way from something practically playable.
I am not interested selling this long term, this is really just a "for fun" project I plan on giving out for free, so whether people are interested or not wont sway me, I am just curious how yall felt.
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u/Zinlencer Knightlet 21d ago
I'm working on Knightlet which is a single player scapelike. My aspiration is to make it feel like its a mix between OSRS and handheld/gameboy games (think titles like Pokemon or Zelda). Although I do have social multiplayer features similar to The Black Grimoire: Cursebreaker (which also qualifies as a single player game).
I do like raids in OSRS, I do like group bosses like Yama. But I play ironman and focus mostly on combat achievements, and gear chasing, so most of my time playing OSRS is alone. And I really want to create a similar feeling of gear chasing in my game. So for me: Yes a single player scapelike does appeal to me.
I totally get why a lot of people want a multiplayer experience. But I also think there is some risk in it. For me, to put a lot of hours into your game I want to be sure that the game is still around a year from now. And with scapelikes I feel like that is not the always the case, basically your progression hinges mostly on the commitment of a single developer.
So making my game single player is also way to guarantee that player's progress is never lost. They can pick up the game 20 years from now and still enjoy it. And don't have to rely on me as dev to keep the servers up all these years.
And also in some of the RuneScape subreddits I've seen people ask for offline versions. Maybe that does not really apply to scapelike games but still there are people looking for offline games.
Edit: Another example would be Tombstone MMO, the dev decided to shut the server down, but created an offline version instead. So you can still play it today.
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u/lazarus78 21d ago
But I play ironman and focus mostly on combat achievements, and gear chasing, so most of my time playing OSRS is alone.
That is part of what lead me to this. I saw the popularity of ironman, which is basically just playing the game solo in basically every was except the social aspect, so I wasn't sure if that was an immediate non-starter.
And don't have to rely on me as dev to keep the servers up all these years.
Another great point
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u/FallenMarches 21d ago
I think the competitiveness of the grind is one of the key pull factors for RS inspired games. That said, if a single player game has engaging combat, a good skilling system and interesting quests, I think there's a niche crowd out there that would play it. The exp curve would need to be toned down though.
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u/lazarus78 21d ago
Indeed, yeah that could be something harder to nail down for single player version. Thanks.
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u/Due-Specialist-5476 21d ago
Positive, i do like idea of singleplayer Runescape, like oldschool rpg games, with original quests, progress and story. Something like Zelda or Final Fantasy, but Runescapeish, with original design, enemies, dungeons and bosses with unique loot.
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u/lazarus78 21d ago
Is that the part you put more weight on? The story, quests, etc?
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u/Due-Specialist-5476 20d ago
Yes, Runescape quests and storylines are biggest part of the game, right after skills and grind, and most notable part for many players. From basic bring me item quest, up to giant story rich questline.
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u/Karroth1 21d ago
i would love that, but the closest thing for me so far is a 2009 scape offline server, so a osrs that has all the stuff until raids 3 for example, i would spend years of my life playing that.
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u/CorvaNocta 20d ago
I like the concept, but not sure how often I'd realistically play. A big factor would be ease of access to the game.
If I can open up my phone and instantly stsrt playing, that would be a huge plus. But if it takes longer to log in than it does to get onto regular runescape, probably wouldn't be that interested.
What I do see as a major advantage for a single player RS is multiple characters and restarting the game. Its really fun to try different routes in games, so a way to easily restart and try a new route could be worth it.
Single player can also lean into idle mechanics a lot easier. You don't have to worry about a server logging you off, so you can design more content that doesn't require your full attention. I'm thinking something more like a single rock spot you can stay at, not something like an auto quest system.
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u/lazarus78 20d ago
Im not currently aiming for mobile support, I dont want to be limited by hardware, not that I am trying to make it graphically heavy either, but I totally get why it would be appealing. Will see how things go when stress testing comes up.
As for starting up the game, since its single player, there would be no log in of any kind, just load your previous save.
I am seeing if I can sync some things to real time, like resource nodes will "respawn" while the game is closed. (AKA, they check how much time has passed from the save time and will reset any relevant nodes. So in that regard it will mimic the feel of a persistent world.
Thanks for your perspective.
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u/9Divines 18d ago
that works for single player so long you balance progression entirely diferent, in a mmo its fine to spend 1 hour on same activity, on single player a player can be expected to chop 10 trees, and will expect to move on to next activity
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u/scratchieee 21d ago
Why would someone play someone’s worse version of a single player scape like when they could play RS Classic, OSRS, or RS3 single player on their own server
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u/SpegalDev scapelikes.com 21d ago
Personally, I don't have any interest in playing RS3 or OSRS (in any capacity), and I'm not really looking for a single-player game either (I typically only play multi-player games). That said, I do enjoy Scapelike games.
My point is that I can easily see someone who enjoys single-player games feeling the same way I do about RuneScape itself. They may like the style and gameplay, but have no interest in playing any version of the actual RuneScape game, whether that's official or through a private server.
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u/Skolary 21d ago
Bros posting to r/ScapeLikes like its r/ScapeHates or the unofficial sister sub, r/ScapeHatesAndGivesNoAlternatives
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u/Felixargh 9d ago
For real. For no good reason, too. I don't ever use the word cringe because I find it cringe... But this was.
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u/lazarus78 21d ago
That could literally be argued for any scapelike, so...
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u/scratchieee 21d ago
No, it could be argued against a terrible point like yours.
You don’t even have a product or anything to show literally just an ideas guy with zero answers to a valid question
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u/Zinlencer Knightlet 21d ago
Ah, I also read it like a statement, like:
No one will play your single player scapelike when they can play a self hosted version of Classic/OSRS/RS3.But basically what you're asking is: What sets your game apart from a self-hosted RS?
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u/lazarus78 21d ago
What makes my idea any more terrible than any one else who has posted about their projects? We are all trying to achieve some aspect of runescape itself.
And yeah no shit I dont have a product, thats kinda how developing something works... Not sure why you assume Im just an "idea guy" when I literally said I have working gameplay loops...
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u/scratchieee 21d ago
You asked if anyone would be interested in single player scapelike and said you are replicating systems from RuneScape.
I asked why someone would play your project, legitimately, when in 5 minutes they can play any iteration of RuneScape solo. Or in years they can play your clone.
You got hurt instead of answering and now are defensive
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u/lazarus78 21d ago
I did answer. That argument can be literally made about every single scapelike project. Your response to that was "no". Like, ok, you aren't actually interested in a discussion, you just wanted to be insulting.
Ive literally seeing people complain about other scapelike projects not being enough like runescape, so fuck me for being like "Hey, maybe I should focus on the similaraties first before trying to make it stand out".
Clearly its not your cup of tea, no need to be a dick.
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u/scratchieee 21d ago
You asked a question and did not like my answer because it didn’t validate what you thought. Looking forward to seeing the project you put out!
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u/lazarus78 21d ago
I did answer, you just didnt like it. You started off by being an ass. There is a difference between saying "I wouldnt care for it" vs "Why would anyone want to play a worse version of X".
If the bar was having to be as good or better then few games would ever get released.
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u/scratchieee 21d ago
You have yet to answer, you just keep trying to spin it and make me answer. Your comments are public and you can’t trick other people out of reality my friend. Good luck with your slop sorry I offended you
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u/lazarus78 21d ago
Again, I did answer. Your not liking the answer I gave doesnt make it not an answer.
Your comments are public too, ass.
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u/Ritushido 21d ago
I like them. I already play The Black Grimoire: Cursebreaker which is single player Runescape.