"I've had this idea for 25 years": Solo dev behind single-player MMO with fake simulated players insists "I do not plan to add multiplayer" as it soars on Steam

One review I just read on steam said "great if you have dad game hours"
- OMG, fuckin sold! LMAO
  
  Right?
- I am a dad to one year old twins and I feel this comment in my bones.
  
  God help you and your family.

I hate it when articles have links that look like they might take you to a relevant page about the linked text, like the game's steam page, but instead take you to another older article about the same thing on the same site.
- Meanwhile, I loathe in-article links to the store page which are disguised as links to other, earlier coverage on the subject the article is discussing. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

I wish I could play single player old school RuneScape on my SteamDeck so bad. Sitting mining rocks while I watch TV in bed would go so hard

I picked this up the other day and it’s great! The SimPlayers go on their own little adventures, party together, and fill the chat with nonsense. I had this one guy accuse another of being a bot.
It’s really worth trying if you’re into the traditional mmo gameplay (grinding). But without the fuss of dealing with real people and their own schedules that fight against your own. For anybody who wants to try it out, there’s a demo which covers the first area.
- No one talks in real mmos anymore so this would be welcome
  
  Unless you go on an ERP server

Creds:
Erenshor by Burgee Media
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2382520/Erenshor/

Massively single-player. I like it.

Tldr: Game title is ~~Enshrouded~~ Erenshor. That article (as well as many others nowadays) don't even bother putting a link to the steam page. And the game name, yet again, not in the title, hence you have to read everything to know what it is about. Internet now is so crappy and click baity. The game looks fun though, so I'll go out of my way and actively search for ~~Enshrouded~~ Erenshor on steam myself like a peasant.
Edit: I managed to have the game name wrong, hence the importance to have ready to click links!
- Tldr: Game title is Enshrouded.
  You sure about that? FTA
  The oxymoronic single-player MMO Erenshor, which has slowly been becoming a Steam superstar since 2023
  
  Seems like it might have been autocorrect, but thats kinda hilariously ironic.
  
  You're right, I have bird memory and when I looked on steam the wrong one popped up, adding g to my confusion. Thanks for the heads up, I corrected my comment.

Is it just me or is it impossible to just find a link to the steam page on any gamesradar article ever.
- Here you go, suh!
  Game is Erenshor.
  
  Thank you. Should be a damn rule you have to link the game in the post
- https://store.steampowered.com/app/2382520/Erenshor/

If you're interested in this sort of thing and like action/adventure rpgs, give Crosscode a shot. it's excellent
- Hi!
  
  Lea!
  
  The people downvoting you have never experienced perfectly regular trees (and don't understand CrossCode inside jokes).
- Respect for the GOG link (gotta reduce Steam's monopoly-like grip on digital games), but... CrossCode, despite its fantastic presentation, wore me down to the point of not finishing it. I feel like the devs ran out of ideas halfway through because all of the dungeons involve multiple ricochet-angling puzzles, even all the way to the last one. They just got so tedious and boring that I eventually ended up "finishing" by watching someone else's play-through.
  It has an interesting plot, but... yeah. Anyway, that was my personal experience.
  
  Exact same with me. The open-world-ish parts were great, but then I'd have to slog though multi-hour dungeons filled with boring puzzles without even AI companions. That's not like any MMO I've ever played.
  
  I struggled with it as well. My main problem seemed to be that no matter how many side quests I did, I was still underleveled for most enemy encounters. I did read that upgrading gear is worth more than levels, but it was such a grind to go and find all the materials that I eventually got bored. Shame though, because it's really well made.
- I had the exact same thought when I read the premise. One of my favorite indie games of all time.

Didn't Shroud of the Avatar do this first?
- No, the .hack series did. I believe the first game came out 23 years ago
- kingdom of amular or something technically too, it was like an mmo that got turned into a single player game part of the way through development, could be another game from the ps3 im thinking of
  
  And it was great!
  
  Nah you're right. KoA was exactly that. More recently we have Wayfinder having a similar story.

When did .Hack//Sign come out, again? 🤔
- .Hack//Infection did a great job simulating an MMO for its time
- It's so fucking weird that this game/anime is all I've been thinking about for the last week and now to see it mentioned in the wild, unprompted.
  Guys, quit mind reading/algorithming me. This and the ghibli shit. No one should have to vibe this much with the internet.
- I've been playing through the first one. It's definitely a good time.

But will they play like idiots and then offend my mom when I complain? Otherwise I'm not buying.
- Ill offend your mom right now.
- Maybe they'll call you trash and kick you from the group, lmao

Dragon Age: Inquisition feels rather like a single-player MMO.

This was something that I always dreamed of as a kid growing up playing WoW with shitty internet back in the day, will have to take a look at it

@cm0002 This puts me in the mind of the old .hack// series of single-player JRPGs, but from a Western perspective.
If they take some creative liberties with it to give it its own distinct feel and narrative, as the .hack// games did in their day, it could be a pretty charming game once it's out of Early Access.

Goat simulator had an mmo simulator.
There was also an achievement for licking a friend, if you played at the same time as one of your friends, they may pop up as one of the ingame NPCs.

It's actually pretty fun especially if you're watching something on another screen and just like to grind for items/levels. They have a free demo as well so I'd suggest anyone that finds this concept interesting to try it out!
They even have simulated global chat where people are assholes to each other lol very true to life.

Best time I ever had playing WoW was the single player project. The bots are fairly convincing most of the time. Even though they may trash talk, you never need to worry about being full on harassed.

It's a great idea, sadly the EQ gameplay does not interest me at all, but I'm all in for the idea of fake players in a single player/small coop only "FMMORPG". I'd love it if people tried to do this with every multiplayer game before sunsetting them.
- I feel like it could be a really clever way of making a horror game

I saw this the other day and added it to my wishlist...curious to see what it's like when it breaks early access.

Literally the only reason to play an MMO is because other people play it; without that it's just an RPG with a shitty interface.
- MMOs have a lot of game design quirks and gameplay loops that either don't exist in singleplayer RPGs or exist in a different way that doesn't scratch the same itch. But some of us hate the constant money begging MMOs do or the toxic playerbases and would like to avoid that. Or we just don't have the time to sink into a real MMO.
  
  This is exactly what I meant when I said "shitty interface", I just couldn't find the right words. Can't stand those design quirks and gameplay loops. They remind me of spreadsheet simulators. The kind of people who like those mechanics remind me of the kind of people who buy scratcher tickets. I prefer games where I can get lost in the world and forget that I'm playing a game.
  Thanks for expanding on what I was trying to express. I can understand how the addiction factor could make a lot of people enjoy these kind of games, but it's not for me. Cannabis and Kratom are my vices of choice.
- I have 300+ hours in oldschool RuneScape ironman where I can't trade/pick up item from other players. It's fun.
- it’s just an RPG
  I've played a few singleplayer MMOs over the years, but none of them are like World of Warcraft. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning came closest, but that's probably because it was going to BE an MMO, originally. No tab-targeting like WoW though. No jumping either.
- Me when I can't see what's in front of me
- Eh, ESO is a great RPG IMHO, terrible mmo though

I'd love to play WoW with this.
- You can do basic 5 man content with AI players nowadays.
  
  There's Solocraft private server for vanilla - lets you run a team of bots so you can do dungeons, on your own.
  
  Yeah, they ripped that concept straight out of Final Fantasy XIV’s playbook… FFXIV implemented a system where you can solo dungeons by taking a group of NPCs with you. The NPCs level up from raids, so players who prefer soloing will be able to grind an entire party.
  …And FFXIV had ripped it straight out of even older games like EverQuest (where it is common practice to multi-box and have control of an entire party at once.)
  That seems to be the lifecycle of feature implementations for MMOs. It’s sort of a given that MMO players tend to be familiar with other MMOs, so word naturally spreads when one MMO creates a cool new system. And other MMO devs are able to basically see that other game implementing it as a feature test, to gauge how popular it may be in their own game. So when one MMO adds a cool new system, the other MMOs typically do the same relatively quickly. They’re all just copying each others’ homework.

I don't go for early access games but hot damn am I tempted. But if I lose a roll for a good bit of loot to a bot I'm gonna be pissed.
- Just part of the mmo experience lol. Other player is a warrior and selected "need" on a wizard staff

I wonder how it compares to Kenshi ... Probably less brutal. Otherwise it seems like similar game mechanics
- a 3d thirdperson game with rimworld like emchanics would be fun, waiting on amazing cultivation im 2

Yeah I'll be buying this. This is the game I've had in my head for the last 5 years
- I have not played either of these, but the premise of a dead post-MMO world, PAGAN: Autogeny, seems personally more interesting to me.
  
  That looks like it's probably a great game for someone like 5 years older than me tbh. I think I just missed the nostalgia train necessary for that kind of game

It certainly sounds interesting

Sword Art Online?
- Sword Art Offline