Red Dead Online

Red Dead Online is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games as the online component of Red Dead Redemption 2. After several months in beta, Red Dead Online was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in May 2019,[lower-alpha 1] and for Microsoft Windows and Stadia in November 2019. Players control a silent protagonist who is freed from prison and tasked with taking revenge in exchange for their innocence. Set one year before the events of the single-player game, Red Dead Online comprises story missions where up to four players can complete tasks to advance the narrative. The game also features several side missions and events.

Red Dead Online
Developer(s)Rockstar Studios
Publisher(s)Rockstar Games
Producer(s)Rob Nelson
Designer(s)Imran Sarwar
Programmer(s)Phil Hooker
Artist(s)Aaron Garbut
Writer(s)
SeriesRed Dead
EngineRAGE
Platform(s)
Release
  • PlayStation 4, Xbox One
  • May 15, 2019[lower-alpha 1]
  • Microsoft Windows
  • November 5, 2019
  • Stadia
  • November 19, 2019
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Multiplayer

Like the single-player game, Red Dead Online is presented through both first and third-person perspectives, and the player may freely roam in its interactive open world. Gameplay elements include shootouts, heists, hunting, horseback riding, interacting with non-player characters, and maintaining the character's honor rating through moral choices and deeds. A bounty system governs the response of law enforcement and bounty hunters to crimes committed by players. Players can traverse the open world alone or in a posse of up to seven players, with or against whom they can partake in organized activities.

Developed in tandem with the single-player story, Red Dead Online is viewed as a separate product despite the development team's wishes to translate elements of the single-player to a multiplayer environment. The team took lessons learned from the multiplayer of Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto Online when developing the game. Red Dead Online received criticism at launch for its balancing of gameplay and in-game currency; later updates addressed the issues. It received positive responses with praise for its presentation of missions, co-operative events, and technical improvements. The game is set to receive several updates over time, as with Grand Theft Auto Online; updates throughout 2019 implemented roles that players can select to earn additional rewards.

Gameplay
Players can use camps, either individually or as part of a posse, to rest, access their wardrobe, craft, cook, and fast-travel.

Red Dead Online is the multiplayer component of the 2018 video game Red Dead Redemption 2.[3] Played from a first or third-person perspective, the game is set in an open-world environment featuring a fictionalized version of the United States.[4] Player progression in the single-player story does not affect the multiplayer game. Upon entering the game world, players customize a character and are free to explore the environment alone or in a "posse" group. Players can partake in organized activities with or against members of their posse, or against other groups. As players complete activities throughout the game world, they receive experience points to raise their characters in rank and receive bonuses, thereby progressing in the game.[3]

Camps can be set temporarily set up throughout the game world, either for an individual player or a posse, where players can rest, access their wardrobe, craft, cook, and fast-travel. Horses are the main forms of transportation, of which there are various breeds, each with different attributes. Players must either train or tame a wild horse to use it. Increased use of a horse will begin a bonding process, which can be increased by cleaning and feeding it, and the player will acquire advantages as they ride their horse. Players must insure their horse so it heals over time and cannot die.[5]

Dispersed throughout the game world are story missions in which four players complete tasks to advance the game's narrative.[5] The game world also features events in which up to 32 players can partake individually or with a posse group.[6] Event types include a deathmatch mode devoid of firearms and a race mode by horseback. Players are notified when a competitive event begins somewhere in the game world and are given the option to immediately travel to the event. Alternatively, players can join specific events at will. Outside of events, non-player character ("strangers") in the game world offer missions, such as contract killings or camp raidings.[3] Up to four players can join a temporary, ad hoc posse group for the duration of a game session. Alternatively, for a fee, up to seven players can join a persistent posse that regenerates when its leader comes online. Within a persistent posse, players can customize the group's style and track player stats. Friendly fire can be disabled so that teammates do not injure each other.[3] If two players continue to kill each other, the game presents two optional modes: parley, in which the players are alone for ten minutes without weapons; and feud, where the two players partake in a three-minute shootout.[5]

Red Dead Online adds several new systems atop the single-player mode's gameplay. In addition to in-game cash, which can be used for supplies, Online adds gold, a second in-game currency used to purchase luxury and special items. Players acquire gold nuggets by completing challenges and can convert 100 nuggets into gold bars. Rather than having to travel to a town's store, online player characters can order supplies anywhere from a handheld catalog. The orders become available for pickup in any town's post office or the player's camp. Online also introduces "ability cards", in which players can activate one active and three passive powers for their characters. Players receive these cards by rising in rank or direct purchase, and can then upgrade the cards with in-game currency or experience points.[3] Red Dead Online uses the Honor system from the single-player story, measuring how the player's actions are perceived in terms of morality. Morally positive choices and deeds like helping strangers and abiding the law will add up to the player's Honor, while negative deeds such as theft and harming innocents will subtract from the player's Honor. Some story missions can only be initiated if the player's Honor is at a particular level.[5]

Synopsis

The game's narrative takes place in 1898, one year before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2. The player takes on the role of a silent protagonist who is arrested for murder and imprisoned in Sisika Penitentiary. Six months into their sentence and awaiting execution, they are assigned to a work detail. The prison transport is intercepted in transit by a group of well-armed men who free the prisoners. Their leader introduces himself as Horley and escorts the player character to his employer, the widow Jessica LeClerk, who explains that the player was unfairly accused of murdering her husband Philip, whom she suspects was actually killed by his business partners Jeremiah Shaw, Amos and Grace Lancing, and their outlaw accomplice Teddy Brown to gain control of his share of the business. Claiming to be the only person who knows of the player's innocence, as the caliber of the bullets used to kill Philip did not match that of the player's gun, Jessica enlists their help in avenging Philip's death in exchange for proving their innocence, and allows them to leave.

After the player is provided with a camp and some work to get back on their feet, Horley has them meet him in Blackwater, where he introduces them to his associate, Old Man Jones, and suggests that they provide assistance to the sheriffs of Valentine, Blackwater, and Tumbleweed. Upon doing so, the player meets with Horley and Jones again, who advise them to work for one of two individuals, depending on their honor level.

If the player has high honor, they meet with US Marshal Tom Davies, who enlists their help in locating notorious bandit Alfredo Montez. Lacking the evidence to prosecute him, Davies suggests that the player kill Montez once they find him. After an initial failed attempt, where they kill his brother instead, the player eventually apprehends Montez. If the player has low honor, they are introduced to bank robber Samson Finch, who is looking to put together a crew for an upcoming robbery. The player and their posse help Finch rob a group of wealthy industrialists, and kill his former partner, who betrayed him, and his garrison at Fort Wallace. After either series of events, the player reunites with Horley and Jessica, who have tracked down Teddy Brown and his gang to Fort Mercer, which is under siege by the local authorithies and a number of Marshals. Sporting metal plated armor, the player assists in killing Brown's men and subduing him. When Jessica arrives, she interrogates Brown, who admits to murdering Philip, but refuses to give away his accomplices, leading to Jessica executing him.

Later, the player meets with either Davies or Finch again. In the former scenario, they witness Davies summarily executing Montez and help him defend Valentine from his gang, who are trying to liberate Montez. The player also rescues Davies after he is captured and almost executed by Montez's gang. In the latter scenario, the player's posse, disguised as dispatch raiders, helps Finch rob a merchant bank in Saint Denis and make off with bearer bonds. Meanwhile, Amos Lancing and Jeremiah Shaw try to finalize their takeover of Philip's business by coercing Jessica into signing a forged contract. Jessica, Horley, and the player's posse meet them in Blackwater, but an enraged Jessica shoots Lancing dead. The player's posse protects Jessica from Lancing's bodyguards and helps Horley to recover the contract from Shaw, before escaping. Jessica laments the missed opportunity to confront Grace Lancing, but settles with knowing she is now a widow too. Now fugitives, Jessica and Horley thank the player's posse for their help and depart.

A Life of 'Shine

A Life of 'Shine is a story chapter added in December 2019. The player character is introduced to Maggie Fike, who once controlled the moonshining business in Lemoyne but disappeared after falling afoul of revenue agents led by Reid Hixon. Maggie convinces the player character to invest in her business and help her carry out her revenge against Hixon. The player frees Maggie's nephew Lem from the revenuers, attracting the attention of the Braithwaite family, who have turned to moonshining and recruited Maggie's former cook Danny-Lee to oversee production. The player character sabotages the Braithwaites' operation. Maggie later has Lem arrange a meeting with the Braithwaites and anonymously inform Hixon. At the meeting, the player kills Hixon's agents and the Braithwaites' men before executing Hixon and kidnapping Danny-Lee. They bring him to Maggie, who allows him to leave under the condition she never sees him again. The player then returns to producing moonshine with Maggie and Lem.

Development

Red Dead Online was developed in tandem with the single-player story.[7] Though Red Dead Online and Red Dead Redemption 2 share assets and gameplay, Rockstar views them as separate products with independent trajectories, reflected in its decision to launch the multiplayer title separately. The development team took lessons learned from the multiplayer of Red Dead Redemption (2010) and apply those with the best elements of Grand Theft Auto Online (2013), particularly in regards to introducing narrative elements to a multiplayer title.[8] The team also seeks to translate elements of the single-player story to Red Dead Online, overhauling them for an online space.[7] Producer Rob Nelson felt that, while the team's experience on Grand Theft Auto Online helped with the foundations of Red Dead Online, the differences in the game's direction, pace, and scale demanded a different overall approach, slowly leading the player into the world with smaller steps instead of the fast pace of Grand Theft Auto Online.[7]

Red Dead Online's public beta opened on November 27, 2018, to players who owned a special edition of the base game, and then progressively opened to all owners.[3][lower-alpha 1] The progressive release was a choice by Rockstar to mitigate any major performance issues by the influx of players.[9] Rockstar added and adapted several game modes during the game's beta stage,[10] and made changes to the game's balance and economy.[11][12] Player progression in the public beta carried over when the beta ended on May 14, 2019. Red Dead Online implements microtransactions by letting players purchase gold bars for in-game items such as weapons and cosmetics. Rockstar had adopted a similar approach for Grand Theft Auto Online.[2] Rockstar donated five percent of in-game revenue generated in Red Dead Online and Grand Theft Auto Online in April and May 2020 to relief efforts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each of its nine worldwide studios donated to local charities.[13] Rockstar closed the game for two hours on June 4, 2020, to honor the memorial of George Floyd.[14]

Additional content

Post-release content is continually added to Red Dead Online through free title updates. Rockstar plans to evolve the game's world over time, including expanding the player's in-game businesses from a small camp to a larger company. Rockstar intends to add more role-playing elements to Red Dead Online over time,[7] including additional roles and missions.[15] One of the team's greater challenges with the game is the addition of experiences that allow player freedom without too much structure.[7] In December 2018, saloons in the game world played Christmas music.[16]

To coincide with the full release of the game in May 2019, Rockstar released an update that included new story missions, dynamic events, free roam activities, and poker.[17] The Frontier Pursuits update was added to the game on September 10, 2019,[18] and implemented three new roles: bounty hunter, where players earn rewards by tracking down targets; trader, which involves players collecting and selling items to expand their camp into a business; and collector, which is focused on discovering collectibles using items such as a metal detector and binoculars.[19] The development team decided to implement roles as a result of frequent player requests for a stronger connection to their character.[7] The update also added an Outlaw Pass, which grants players access to additional rewards for an in-game price, and a limited promotion named the Wheeler, Rawson & Co Club, where players could unlock specific rewards as they gain experience.[18] With each of the roles, players are assigned special tasks for a limited time, such as Legendary Bounties for bounty hunters and specific items for collectors.[20]

The moonshiner role was added to the game on December 13, 2019. An extension to the trader, the moonshiner role focuses on producing, managing, and distributing moonshine. The update also included additional content, such as the first purchasable property and a new Outlaw Pass.[21] To celebrate Christmas in December 2019, Rockstar granted free supplies to players and added a temporary period of snowfall in the game world.[22] The naturalist role, added on July 28, 2020, allows players to track down animals, choosing to study or hunt them. The update also added new clothing, animals, and an Outlaw Pass.[23]

Reception

Red Dead Online received criticism at launch for its in-game currency rewards for activities, with players complaining that they were too low for the cost of goods and upgrades.[24] Some players calculated that a single gold bar could take an estimated eight hours to earn in the game.[25] Rockstar agreed to re-balance the game's economy following complaints.[11] Similar complaints also emerged about the griefing taking place in the game;[26] Rockstar fixed these issues by making player visibility dependent on their proximity and behavior.[12] The Verge reported that several users who played as black characters had been targeted by griefers posing as Ku Klux Klan-inspired clans or slave catchers who often called them racial slurs.[27]

IGN's Luke Reilly praised the game's co-operative story missions, noting that the game's player versus player modes typically have a skill imbalance. Reilly lauded the technical improvements made throughout the game's updates, though noted that some remained.[28] Matt Martin of VG247 found the game to be more enjoyable than Grand Theft Auto Online, from both a technical and gameplay perspective. Martin criticized some balancing issues, but attributed them to the game's beta status.[29] The Verge's Andrew Webster found Red Dead Online's battle royale game mode more tense than games such as Fortnite due to the smaller player count and slower playstyle.[30] Kotaku's Heather Alexandra wrote that Red Dead Online was "gamier" than its single-player counterpart, specifically in seeing the realistic towns transformed into deathmatch levels.[31] John Saavedra of Den of Geek criticized the simplicity of the story missions, writing that the free roam missions are a better way to "break up the monotony" of traversing the world.[32]

Jordan Oloman of Eurogamer appreciated the improvements made to the game by May 2019, particularly praising the quality of the story missions, but felt that players needed more purpose within the game world.[33] After the release of the Frontier Pursuits update in September 2019, Oloman found the game enjoyable enough to play instead of returning to single-player.[34] Polygon's Cass Marshall wrote that the update added elements that made the game fun to play with friends.[35] Eurogamer's Oloman considered the December 2019 Moonshiners update the best to date, and found the new characters compelling.[36] Kotaku's Zack Zwiezen echoed this sentiment, praising the amount of content available.[37] Upon the release of The Naturalist update in July 2020, Zwiezen considered it "a step back" from Moonshiners, but found that it made him appreciate the game's nature and details.[38] Writing for NME, Oloman felt that the update contradicted the "ruthless" nature of the game, and that the tasks became repetitive.[39] PC Gamer's Christopher Livingston described it as "surprisingly disappointing", citing its similarity to the trader role.[40]

Red Dead Online was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards.[41] Rockstar's parent company Take-Two Interactive reported that the game hit peak players in December 2019 following the release of the Moonshiners update.[42]

Notes
  1. The beta for Red Dead Online opened for owners of the game's Ultimate Edition on November 27, 2018. Players who played Red Dead Redemption 2 on the first day of release (October 26) were granted access the following day, November 28. Players who played the game within the first three days of release (October 26–29) were granted access on November 29, and the game opened for all other players on November 30.[1] The beta ended on May 15, 2019.[2]
gollark: Govos is potatOS rebranded and trimmed down for the Keansian government's infrastructure.
gollark: Ah. A nether roofway. An excellent idea.
gollark: https://pastebin.com/Lhs7fMD0
gollark: I'll even eventually provide concrete from the Keansian concrete fabricator.
gollark: The nether is 90% unclaimed and has distance compression.

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