Red Dead Online

Red Dead Online
File:Red Dead Online.jpg
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)	Dan Houser Rupert Humphries Michael Unsworth
Series	Red Dead
Engine	RAGE
Platforms	PlayStation 4 Xbox One Microsoft Windows Stadia
Release date(s)	PlayStation 4, Xbox One May 15, 2019 Microsoft Windows November 5, 2019 Stadia November 19, 2019
Genre(s)	Action-adventure
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Red Dead Online is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games as the multiplayer 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, and for Microsoft Windows and Stadia in November 2019. Players take on the role of 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 four players complete tasks to advance the narrative. The game also features several side missions and events.

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; the Frontier Pursuits update in September 2019 implemented roles that players can select to earn additional rewards.

Gameplay

File:Red Dead Online gameplay.jpg

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. Played from a first or third-person perspective, the game is set in an open-world environment featuring a fictionalized version of the Western United States. 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.

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.

Dispersed throughout the game world are story missions in which four players complete tasks to advance the game's narrative. The game world also features events in which up to 32 players can partake individually or with a posse group. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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.

Synopsis

The story 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. Jessica tells the story of how her husband Philip was murdered 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. The player character was arrested for the crime as a matter of convenience. Jessica claims to be the only person who knows of the player character's innocence as the caliber of bullets used to kill Philip did not match the caliber used by the player character. She lets the player character go with her blessing provided that they help her take revenge on Philip's killers.

Horley sets the player to work assisting the sheriffs of Blackwater, Valentine, and Tumbleweed in apprehending wanted criminals and how the player handles decides their honor. If the player chooses an honorable path, their work attracts the attention of US Marshal Tom Davies, who enlists the player in locating notorious bandit Alfredo Montez. Knowing that Montez will continue to kill indiscriminately but lacking the evidence to prosecute him, Davies suggests that the player character bring Montez in dead rather than alive. The player apprehends Montez, which earns them a reputation with the Marshals as being reliable. This, in turn, allows them to work with the Marshals in finding Teddy Brown as the Marshals are coming under pressure from Shaw and the Lancings to leave Brown be. The player leads an assault on Fort Mercer, incapacitating Brown and killing his gang. Jessica questions him about Philip's murder and he claims sole responsibility for it. Jessica rejects this and executes him. Alternatively, if the player chooses a dishonorable path, Horley introduces them to bank robber Samson Finch. Finch is looking to put together a gang to carry out a robbery he has spent a year planning. He had been intending to rob a group of industrialists until he was betrayed by his partner. Finch has the player form a posse and attack the Fort Wallace garrison, killing his partner and thwarting a rival robbery plot. Disguised as dispatch riders, the gang rob a merchant bank in Saint Denis and make off with bearer bonds.

With Brown dead, 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 mount a posse to confront them, which ends with Jessica shooting Lancing in broad daylight and Shaw fleeing after being confronted by Horley. Horley recovers the forged documents while the player and the posse protect Jessica and eventually escape out of town. Jessica laments the missed opportunity to confront Grace Lancing as she has now been declared a fugitive, but settles for knowing that Grace is now a widow too.

A Life of 'Shine

A Life of 'Shine is a story chapter that was added as part of a free DLC update in December 2019. The story sees Cripps, the player character's outfitter, introduce the player character to Maggie Fike. Maggie once controlled the moonshining business in Lemoyne, but disappeared after falling afoul of revenue agents led by Reid Hixson. Maggie convinces the player character to invest in her business and help her carry out her revenge as Hixson had her locked in a shack with a burning still before it exploded, disfiguring her face. The player rescues Marcel, a French chef, from a rival moonshine operation to work the still and then frees Maggie's nephew Lem from the revenuers. This attracts the attention of the Braithwaite family, who have turned to moonshining to make ends meet. The Braithwaites have recruited Maggie's former cook Danny-Lee to oversee production and Maggie believes that Danny-Lee abandoned her when Hixson raided her business. The player character sabotages the Braithwaite operation by spiking their stills with a mixture that sours the flavour, ruining their reputation.

Meanwhile, Lem sets about securing a shipment of ingredients to boost the business' production, but his carelessness leads Hixson and the revenuers directly to them. Hixson taunts Lem, claiming that he let the player character free Lem to lead the revenuers to Maggie. The player character helps Lem fight off waves of revenue agents and secures the shipment. Maggie realises that they can use this to their advantage and has Lem arrange a meeting with Danny-Lee and the Braithwaites whilst simultaneously tipping Hixson off to the meeting. Lem and the player character plan to spring a trap for Hixson by detonating a volatile moonshine mix, but they are caught before they can set it off. Lem sets the trap off and the player character is forced to fight their way through a burning forest. They confront Hixson, who tries to bargain for his life, but the player character executes him. The player character kills the last of the Braithwaites' soldiers and captures Danny-Lee. They take Danny-Lee back to Maggie, who intends to kill him, but he pleads with her, arguing that there was nothing he could do to save her the night of Hixson's raid. Maggie relents and spares him on the condition that she never sees him again. The player character, Maggie and Lem then return to producing moonshine.

Development

Red Dead Online was developed in tandem with the single-player story. 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. The team also seeks to translate elements of the single-player story to Red Dead Online, overhauling them for an online space. 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.

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. The progressive release was a choice by Rockstar to mitigate any major performance issues by the influx of players. Rockstar added and adapted several game modes during the game's beta stage, and made changes to the game's balance and economy. 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.

Additional content

Similarly to Grand Theft Auto Online, post-release content is continually added to Red Dead Online and the single-player mode of Red Dead Redemption 2 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, including additional roles and missions. One of the team's greater challenges with the game is the addition of experiences that allow player freedom without too much structure.

2018

In December 2018, saloons in the game world played Christmas music.

2019

On May 14, 2019, the public beta of Red Dead Online ended in a major update that also included additional content such as new story missions, dynamic events, free roam activities and poker.

The Frontier Pursuits update, revealed in August 2019, was added to the game on September 10, 2019. The update implements 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. The development team decided to implement roles as a result of frequent player requests for a stronger connection to their character. 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 unlock specific rewards as they gain experience. 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.

In December 2019, Rockstar revealed the addition of a moonshiner role that was added to the game December 13, 2019. It focuses on the player producing, managing and distributing moonshine. In order to produce moonshine, the player must purchase mash and allow the distilling process to complete before they are required to sell the goods to buyers. Non-playable Revenue Agents act as an enemy deterrence to challenge the player as they attempt to sell. The update also included additional content, such as the first purchasable property and a new Outlaw Pass. The update also added snowfall to the game world during Christmas.

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. Some players calculated that a single gold bar could take an estimated eight hours to earn in the game. Rockstar agreed to re-balance the game's economy following complaints. Similar complaints also emerged about the griefing taking place in the game; Rockstar fixed these issues by making player visibility dependent on their proximity and behavior. The Verge reported that several users who played as black characters had been targeted by griefers posing as KKK-inspired clans or slave catchers who often called them racial slurs.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Red Dead Online was nominated for Best Multiplayer Game at the 2019 Golden Joystick Awards.