Game News Mass Effect Universe better than Lightsabers+Jedi Powers?

[DraQ]

It's easy for a pedestrian mind to lose the forest among the trees.

Alternatively: lol, libertards.

It's not. Something that was made during the development of the game but is being sold separately IS a fucking cash grab, plain and simple. Is there a reason why this adventure isn't a part of the game? Other than "we can sell it for moar money"?

Mind you, I don't care about Mass Effect 3 and I'm not planning to buy it (after trying the demo), so there are no emotions here. It's a purely philosophical debate. Bio can claim that the DLC was done later and by a different team, but it was planned well in advance, the concept art was done in advance and made it into the art book, etc.


We aren't talking about the release date. We are talking about splitting the team to develop some DLC content, which, in a nutshell, is the main title's content, set aside to be sold separately.

Also, if the DLC doesn't integrate well with the rest of the game in terms of interactions and stuff (universe not reacting to the last fucking brothean), then it's shit and would benefit from the content being integrated into the game proper.

If the DLC is integral part of the main game, then you're tricked into buying an incomplete product so you can be milked for extra cash for missing essential parts of the experience.

lose/lose.

Nice fallacy there.

The price of a new game depends on the production values and hype, not on the amount of content. That's exactly why the Day 1 DLC bullshit is possible - it's too fucking easy to cut some content and sell it for a few extra bucks.

Also this.

Funnily enough I probably wouldn't be averse to inverted approach of actually selling cheap, "economy" versions of the game, reduced by, for example cutting some of the races/classes/campaigns and their specific content if they were much cheaper than the full version and full version would remain at typical price. I think it would make sense economically as it would allow you to target more people (those who wouldn't want to pay for the full version and only wanting to play, for example as a specific race(s) or class(es)) without removing the incentive to go for the more expensive version, though it would probably only be feasible for electronic distribution.

It's like with this joke about a Scotsman wanting to pay only half of the price for a match ticket because he would only watch the Scottish team.

 

[Haba]

Baldurs Gate $49.95
Tales of the Sword Coast $29.95

So how much will Mass Effect 3 cost in the end? And how much content will be in it?

In a fair market, they'd sell the "demo" as a $10 purchase and then the rest of the game as separate packages. Of course, seeing how shitty their games are, they'd lose 60% of the sales.

 

[Derek Larp]

So how much will Mass Effect 3 cost in the end? And how much content will be in it?

Didn't someone post a link in the other thread and it was like over $800 or some shit, at least at launch day?

There, found it.

 

[GarfunkeL]

If we want to dig up a good example of DLC, look at Paradox. With Hearts of Iron 3, you could buy Sprite Packs for few bucks on Day-1 if NATO counters hurt your eyes and you want spiffy little 3D soldiers, tanks and planes rolling over the map. Something that can be done by their artists relatively quickly and during the beta/QA-phase, thus sold from Day-1 onwards and not hurting the game itself. If, on the other hand, they operated like BiowarEA, you would have to buy Day-1 DLC if you wanted to play as, let's say, USA.

Though I don't really give a shit, not buying ME3 in the first place. Looking forward to the LP though, the previous ones were quite funny!

I think it's too early to judge whether the mentioned DLC is a cash grab or not. I just wanted to point out, that if they released it some months later, nothing would effectively change. Let's say game X costs $50. Now the developers can either add DLC Y permanently, and the marketing department calculates this move would change the game's price to $60, or they can release the game at its basic price, and release DLC Y as a separate product at day 1, costing $10. Which is better and why?

No, it's not too early. As VD pointed out, the stuff in that DLC had their concept art go into the CE art book or whatever. It's half-a-gig of textures and models, probably coming on the DVD itself and you're only buying a code that unlocks it in the first place. If that's not a cash grab, I don't know what is.

 

[Kz3r0]

In before 0 day crack that unlocks everything on the DVD.

 

[Oriebam]

You weren't as grumpy back when DLCs were called 'expansion packs'.

Some DLCs are expansions packs, some are cash grabs. There is a difference between a proper expansion, developed after a game is released, extending the story, and improving gameplay based on the feedback received (like Deus Ex DLC did, for example) and a quest removed from the game to be sold separately.

But uh... The Missing Link didn't feature any big improvements besides the boss fight, which is merely the result of the developers not outsourcing it, and the plot tied in to a novel, and probably other DLCs

not to mention that the fact that the DLC takes place during the main quest(and you play as the same character) while the developers delayed the (full) game for several months

I dunno, it's still possible that the DLC isn't completely just content cut from the full game, but it looks like it was a cash grab

 

[Kaol]

I've never bought any DLC ever, as long as games don't reach the point where you actually need the DLC to enjoy the main game then i don't see it as a huge problem. It was obvious EA would (ab)use DLC to make more money.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I think the overall design has been significantly improved and polished. Because it was a small location (compared to the full game), they were able to do a lot more in terms of level design, different paths, reactivity, and challenge (much, much more than I've seen in any Bioware DLC).

While it does take place between the main quest events, it doesn't take place in it (nor does it become a part of it). You're removed to an isolated location, your upgrades are reset, etc. It is a completely different adventure. Furthermore, it was released 2 months later, even though the release of the main game was delayed.

Personally, I have absolutely no issues with it. A lot of work and thought went into it, so I'd say that it's a good example of DLC done right.

 

[Captain Shrek]

I think the overall design has been significantly improved and polished. Because it was a small location (compared to the full game), they were able to do a lot more in terms of level design, different paths, reactivity, and challenge (much, much more than I've seen in any Bioware DLC).

While it does take place between the main quest events, it doesn't take place in it (nor does it become a part of it). You're removed to an isolated location, your upgrades are reset, etc. It is a completely different adventure. Furthermore, it was released 2 months later, even though the release of the main game was delayed.

Personally, I have absolutely no issues with it. A lot of work and thought went into it, so I'd say that it's a good example of DLC done right.

Would you claim that Expansions are better than DLC?

 

[Vault Dweller]

They are better than most DLC because most DLC are nothing but cash grabs - horse armor, uber weapons that break the balance, a party member, a quest or two, etc. Shit like that (literally) simply wasn't sold before.

 

[dextermorgan]

No but it's wrong to be shitty retarded troll and why am I even responding to you.

Anyway, holy shit the person who brainfarted the original article needs some serious Sci Fi education before he decides to tackle the subject again.

 

[DraQ]

No but it's wrong to be shitty retarded troll and why am I even responding to you.

Fixed.

Fixed.

Anyway, holy shit the person who brainfarted the original article needs some serious Sci Fi education before he decides to tackle the subject again.

And a brain transplant.

 

[Volourn]

"It's not. Something that was made during the development of the game but is being sold separately IS a fucking cash grab, plain and simple. Is there a reason why this adventure isn't a part of the game? Other than "we can sell it for moar money"?"

Every product and service ever sold is a cash grab. Every single one. FFS

 

[Vault Dweller]

Yeah, let's pretend that you don't understand the difference between selling quality products and fucking with customers because you hope they will buy it anyway.

The strategy in the first case is to win the customer through quality and care. It's a long term strategy and it works well. The customer buys quality, remains loyal, and - most importantly - is eager to buy more in the future.

The strategy in the second case is to sell shit and hope to get away with it. It's a short term strategy that rarely works well. You use the cheapest material and don't give a fuck what happens after the sale. Customer satisfaction isn't a factor at all. The customer buys low quality products and is forced to pay more for what should have been included in the deal.

Bio lied openly about the DLC:
http://crystalprisonzone.blogspot.com/2012/03/bioware-day-one-dlc-developed.html?m=1

"Bioware addressed these concerns by saying that the DLC was developed only after the game was fully completed and submitted to a separate quality assurance team, meaning that these assets were developed separately and at extra cost, justifying the additional price tag for the DLC.

However, with the release of the final game, fans have been poking around the files and making some surprising findings. There appears to be content on the game disc that shouldn't be there based on previous statements by BioWare. For instance, the build which leaked in November, the official demo, and now the standard retail release of Mass Effect 3 all contain voice files for the Prothean squad member. There's also a full set of model and animation files for the Prothean, but file encryption makes it impossible to open these for further inspection. These files are just as big as they are for other, non-DLC characters, suggesting that the art, animation, and voice assets for the DLC character were developed at the same time, not after the completion of the project. If these assets were developed after end of development, they would have to be downloaded - not unlocked directly from the disc."
...
Now, about Bio's future. I agree with you that Dragon Age 2 sold well and was a success since the game was developed in under 2 years (whereas DA took a lot longer). It doesn't mean shit though, since DA2 was sold on the strength of the original. The question is how much DA3 will sell - on the "strength" of DA2.

Same with Mass Effect 3. Sure, it will sell like hotcakes now. How much the next Bio game will sell remains to be seen.

 

[Kz3r0]

Actually ME 3 is selling as stale bread on amazon now, the one selling as hot cakes is an evil spreadsheet game, the bane of RPGs according to some.

 

[attackfighter]

Bioware's been getting bad press over shrewd design decisions ever since DA2 - it's really surprising that they're still persisting with it. I'm not saying Bio pre-DA2 was very good, but they at least had a sizeable and loyal fanbase which probably would have supported them indefinitely had nothing changed. Now they're getting criticism at every turn and their future looks uncertain. All for a little cost cutting and reaching a broader audience that doesn't actually seem any bigger. Just doesn't seem like a smart move on their part. Makes me wonder whether the suits at EA (who've done this sort of thing before) are merely incompetent or if they really are benefiting from this ruthless business doctrine.

 

[Spectacle]

Has EA ever actually successfully dumbed down a franchise? It seems to me that all their popular dumb series were dumb from the start, while their attempts making existing games "accessible" have failed to increase sales.

 

[circ]

No. And that's why I don't get the blaming EA for everything. Maybe from Biofans, but not the general public. Origin was putting out some good shit years after EA took over, meanwhile, short of the playable BG, BioWare hasn't really accomplished shit.