GodzillaX8 on 26/1/2014 at 16:57
Quote Posted by Starker
You actually believe all that? Development wrapping up months before the game launch, etc? You really think that the developers just produce DLC without the publisher having it planned and approved long before? You don't have any actual experience with software development, do you? Yes, you could produce additional art, character costumes or weapon models before launch with relatively little effort by people sitting on the sidelines, but to implement something like a full-blown mission or an extra companion, you are going to need the very people that are busy with "polishing" and "last minute fixes".
You seem to think that it takes a huge amount of time to create more content when the entire game engine structure is finished. It's extremely fast and easy to slap together a few levels, character models, and scripts when 95% of the assets you need have already been created for the main game, and the engine is already completed and fully streamlined for the creative process. It's not like they have to rebuild the entire game from the ground up to incorporate a new area or character. For a new character, they literally just have to write the character's dialogue and introduction, model the character, texture them, and record some voice tracks. This can all easily be done in a couple of months. I've taken programming courses in college and I can tell you that once you've got the main body of the code completed, adding in little extras here and there is incredibly simple, assuming you design your code intelligently.
Quote Posted by Starker
Regardless, it doesn't matter how the game is produced. What matters is that additional content that's relevant to the main game is held behind an additional paywall at launch. When you buy the game at what is essentially a premium price, you deserve to get a complete experience.
Having a handful of characters or missions or outfits that are sold separately is not detrimental to the "complete experience" of the game. The game is designed to stand on its own without these pieces of content. You may find them interesting or worthwhile pieces of content, but that doesn't mean they're essential to the core of the game. They're extra bonuses that you in no way need or deserve. You really don't grasp the concept that games do have extremely tight budgets and deadlines, do you?
Quote Posted by Starker
Except that the microtransactions influence the main game by using cheap psychological manipulation and wasting player's time in order to get them to cough up. This kind of shit may be acceptable in a freemium game, but not in a game that you already paid top dollar for.
It's still the player's responsibility to research the game and determine if they find the methods of the game's microtransactions to be detrimental to the game, and then evaluate the game and what price they would find it to be worthwhile to pay for. It's the publisher/developer's sole job to monetize their game in such a way that allows them to make a profit and continue existing as a company. If they do something that is genuinely terrible, and sales suffer, they won't do it anymore.
There's no point complaining about it on random forums. If you want to make any kind of real difference, send them a genuine and polite letter stating how much you enjoyed X game that they made and are disappointed in Y game because of ______ reasons.
Quote Posted by Starker
It's not evil because it exists, it's evil because it's exploitative. It's fat greedy publishers trying to fleece their customers even more than they already are on top of all the stuff like product placement and charging retail prices for digital games. When it comes to microtransactions, you simply cannot trust these greedy bastards to the keep the integrity of the game while also allowing players to skip content for money.
Video game production has wildly changed in the last 10 years. It costs an extremely large amount of money to develop a modern game compared to what it used to cost. They sell what amounts to cheat codes and put in product placement simply because they're usually taking a risk of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on a game, they can't really afford to lose money on them. You may not like it, but they need to do this in order to remain in business. It's really not smart business to take things out that could easily make your investment back without interfering with the core game too much. I don't genuinely care if I were to see a Pepsi billboard in a game set in modern society, because if anything that just makes it more realistic. It takes me out of the game more when there's a fake billboard for "Popsi" or "Cooka-Cola"
Quote Posted by Starker
I wasn't talking about costumes and skins, but it has to be pointed out that some of the stuff sold as DLC used to be a reward for beating the game or a cheat code.
Extremely few games actually had unlockables until the PS2/Xbox/GC era, and that was just marketing, too. It's adding extra gamification to random aspects of the game, usually. "Complete X task to unlock extra bonuses!" The whole addictive quality of unlocking extra bonuses was the sole reason for that. They wanted you to feel like you were accomplishing things and getting rewards constantly, that's where achievements/trophies originated from too. They would specifically come up with ways to add unlockables, because it tricked people into thinking the game was a great value and had lots of replayability. It's the same reason people play games like FarmVille. "Well if I play for another 2 weeks, I can unlock this special decoration!"
Quote Posted by Starker
Fun fact: League of Legends doesn't charge you 60$ as an entry fee.
Neither does Dead Space 3 if you wait for a price that is agreeable to you. Dead Space 3 also has incredibly more content right off the bat than LoL, which is why you're paying for it in the first place, and not just playing a demo that lets you pay to unlock extra content, like many MMOs are now.
Brother Inquisitor on 30/1/2014 at 19:53
Quote Posted by TheDorkProject
I preordered it back in October on Steam (the Master Thief Edition) for the following reasons:
...
You don't think the game looks THAT bad in the videos...
Some high praise considering the fact that you're about to waste $50 on a game that even the industry's market criers are deriding in their previews. As for your other reasons to preorder:
1. The only thing you encourage is the gaming industry's practice to slap the nametags of beloved old franchises onto generic shovelware. Why bother making a new Thief game that stays genuinely true to the originals if people will buy anything that says "Thief" on the tin?
2. What difference do $5 make? If it sucks you'll have spent $5 less on a shit product, which is still $47 too much!
3. Why in the hell would that eliminate a hesitation you would normally have had about the Steam version? If anything, the lack of an actual boxed copy would make me extra wary (despite the fact that most retail versions by now are nothing but glorified coasters, thanks to forced Steam activations). Why would you want to support a publisher who is being such a cheap asshole that they won't spend the extra couple of cents to put out a proper retail version?
4. Again, you're encouraging questionable business ethics. That level should be in the game instead of being used as gullible-customer-bait.
As for your hopes that it will be as good as DE:HR, read the following article: (
http://www.pcgamer.com/uk/previews/thief-hands-on-the-absent-atmosphere-of-garretts-return/) http://www.pcgamer.com/uk/previews/thief-hands-on-the-absent-atmosphere-of-garretts-return/
But hey, who am I to question your decision to preorder? After all, that bank heist DLC might just be the bestest Thief-level EVAR and maybe even the game itself won't be as abysmal as the majority is expecting it to turn out. Then, 10 years down the road, we might be rewarded with another Thief game: "THIAV - The Sequel" for iPad and Android. Then you can give yourself a pat on the shoulder and tell yourself that those $50 were wisely spent!
goldwell on 31/1/2014 at 00:45
I'm really on the fence about ordering this myself. I have been reading a lot on the dark mod forums, the official forums and of course here and it's been such a back and forth with love/hate that it's really hard to say how I feel about this game.
I find it odd that reviews are embargo'd (apparently) and decision to leave SR out (seriously wtf) and they keep us from really getting to know the game. I can understand why there's no demo, it sucks but I understand why they did it but then why don't they release pure gameplay footage that doesn't keep getting interrupted by "Eughhh ello diss heir iss ahhh Teef etc etc".
I had a lot of faith in EM because they did a great job with DX:HR but that was a different team and I bet that other team told them "Don't worry about the communities look what happened with us and our game turned out great" but that same arrogance will probably be there downfall because it's a different game, different team and very different situation.
I'm pretty open to things in the game such as the arrowcam, achievements and the action escape sequences, I truely don't mind those but with the inability to swim, contextual movement and other strange decisions it pushes even my open mind to give up on this game.
GodzillaX8 on 31/1/2014 at 01:02
Quote Posted by goldwell
I find it odd that reviews are embargo'd (apparently)
Why is that odd? Every big game has review embargos. It's not indicative of the quality of the game.
Nuth on 31/1/2014 at 01:04
If they had made something similar to what they've made but with no connection to Thief other than "Inspired by Thief", I'm sure I would have purchased it. But this? As a Thief game? I just can't do it.
goldwell on 31/1/2014 at 01:10
Quote Posted by GodzillaX8
Why is that odd? Every big game has review embargos. It's not indicative of the quality of the game.
Well if you have a quality game and have given it to journalists to review... what do they have to hide? Also I don't think they can do it as Sega was sued for doing that with Aliens: Colonial marines as people said they purposefully did it so people wouldn't know and pre-order anyway
GodzillaX8 on 31/1/2014 at 02:56
Quote Posted by goldwell
Well if you have a quality game and have given it to journalists to review... what do they have to hide? Also I don't think they can do it as Sega was sued for doing that with Aliens: Colonial marines as people said they purposefully did it so people wouldn't know and pre-order anyway
The point of a review embargo is to give every reviewer ample time to fully experience the game, rather than everyone scrambling and rushing to be the first to post a review. It's better this way.
june gloom on 31/1/2014 at 03:28
What GodzillaX8 said.
goldwell on 31/1/2014 at 04:00
Quote Posted by GodzillaX8
The point of a review embargo is to give every reviewer ample time to fully experience the game, rather than everyone scrambling and rushing to be the first to post a review. It's better this way.
I can understand that. But I still think you should have access to a review before the game comes out, I guess in a way these previews seem to provide a lot of indication anyway.
Hopefully soon EM gives us pure gameplay footage and of a decent length so that way we can get a good feel for how the game might be without distractions.
Azaran on 31/1/2014 at 06:37
Quote Posted by Nuth
If they had made something similar to what they've made but with no connection to Thief other than "Inspired by Thief", I'm sure I would have purchased it. But this? As a Thief game? I just can't do it.
This
