52 réponses à ce sujet

[CybAnt1]

Welll.... I can just see it now.



Darkspawn Chronicles.... has nothing to do with the story you've seen so far! Does nothing to advance the plot of that story! Just basically lets you see "the other side" of the siege of Denerim by being the one doing the maiming and pillaging!



SEE! Denerim's walls burn! HEAR! The screams of townspeople! THRILL! To your Ogre stomping on Alistair's Face!



I didn't think the DA DlC *were* a crock up until this point, but I'm starting to feel that way.

[Melca36]

Chalkstix wrote...

So I bought the DLC where you can come back to Ostagard and the DLC with the Grey Warden Keep and I was disappointed. Had it been a content patch I could play because I already purchased the game, I would have thought it was a few cool extra quests but paying money for it was a waste of bucks.

An expansion pack is a whole other book so to say - a new part of the series. Whereas the DLC is just a footnote or perhaps a small chapter. I'd just like to warn anyone who consider buying the DLC not to do it. Beat the game first and if you don't know what to spend your money on and like the game, buy the expansion.

Theres nothing wrong with DLC, it adds immersion to the game and it does not cost much.

You can either to choose to buy it or not buy it.

[RinpocheSchnozberry]

CybAnt1 wrote...

Welll.... I can just see it now.

Darkspawn Chronicles.... has nothing to do with the story you've seen so far! Does nothing to advance the plot of that story! Just basically lets you see "the other side" of the siege of Denerim by being the one doing the maiming and pillaging!

SEE! Denerim's walls burn! HEAR! The screams of townspeople! THRILL! To your Ogre stomping on Alistair's Face!

I didn't think the DA DlC *were* a crock up until this point, but I'm starting to feel that way.

Hold on, man, I called the waaaaambulance for you.  Help is on the way!

[13Dannyboy13]

One thing that is kind of disappointing is that after six months they can't give us a patch, yet they can continue to release DlC on a regular basis. It wouldn't be that bad if there was actually some support for the game, but it's just been DlC only with no fixes.

[AlanC9]

13Dannyboy13 wrote...
Save corruption, dex bug, endless loop in orzamaar (playing both sides), missing quests (Jowan) , missing quest rewards(shaperate),  buggy endings that also carry over to the expansion, and there are many other smaller bugs.

Hmmm... I'm not staggered by that number of bugs. For Bio it actually seems about par for the course. Of course, that's easy for me to say because I'm not subject to the first three you list, and those are obviously the worst ones.

By "us" you mean PS3 folks, right? PC and XBox users got a patch a few weeks ago. Isn't this Sony's fault?

Modifié par AlanC9, 06 mai 2010 - 05:32 .

[13Dannyboy13]

AlanC9 wrote...

13Dannyboy13 wrote...
Save corruption, dex bug, endless loop in orzamaar (playing both sides), missing quests (Jowan) , missing quest rewards(shaperate),  buggy endings that also carry over to the expansion, and there are many other smaller bugs.

Hmmm... I'm not staggered by that number of bugs. For Bio it actually seems about par for the course. Of course, that's easy for me to say because I'm not subject to the first three you list, and those are obviously the worst ones.

By "us" you mean PS3 folks, right? PC and XBox users got a patch a few weeks ago. Isn't this Sony's fault?

Do you mean the 1.03 patch? If so that didn't fix anything, just made the expansion work. The patch on ps3 is making the game almost unplayable I've heard. I'm playing on xbox, and almost every bug that's been here since the release is still there.  Unfortunately I've hit all the nasty bugs which is why I get angry seeing more dlc and never any real fixes. All games will have bugs, that will never change, but it's the major bugs that are being overlooked while more dlc is constantly being pushed out that is just wrong.

[wanderon]

13Dannyboy13 wrote...

AlanC9 wrote...

13Dannyboy13 wrote...
Save corruption, dex bug, endless loop in orzamaar (playing both sides), missing quests (Jowan) , missing quest rewards(shaperate),  buggy endings that also carry over to the expansion, and there are many other smaller bugs.

Hmmm... I'm not staggered by that number of bugs. For Bio it actually seems about par for the course. Of course, that's easy for me to say because I'm not subject to the first three you list, and those are obviously the worst ones.

By "us" you mean PS3 folks, right? PC and XBox users got a patch a few weeks ago. Isn't this Sony's fault?

Do you mean the 1.03 patch? If so that didn't fix anything, just made the expansion work. The patch on ps3 is making the game almost unplayable I've heard. I'm playing on xbox, and almost every bug that's been here since the release is still there.  Unfortunately I've hit all the nasty bugs which is why I get angry seeing more dlc and never any real fixes. All games will have bugs, that will never change, but it's the major bugs that are being overlooked while more dlc is constantly being pushed out that is just wrong.

It's been explained before many times but here it is again.

Patches and DLC are apples and oranges - different teams, different processes, different everything. Just becuase DLC is coming out doesn't mean patches are not being worked on or the issues needing patches are being ignored.
 
That said common sense should tell us that there may be some differing opinions between what Joe Gamer thinks needs an immediate patch and how the Bioware patch team has prioritized thier work schedule.

Patching is also different for PC and console and some of the delay is no doubt a result of those problems - some of which are totally out of Biowares control.

(Yes yes I know that sometimes patches are included with DLC but you can look at that the same way you look at getting a super decoder ring in your box of cereal - the decoder ring was not manufactured by the cereal team it was just added to the box at the last minute if it arrived on time) 

[CybAnt1]

Priorities:
1.) DlC
2.) Underwear
3.) ?
4.) Patches

I understand they can do both. And yes, I even understand that taking in DlC might even mean more $$$ so they can give the patch team more jellybeans & jolt cola & Zen and the Art of Coding manuals at their workstations, so they fix more bugs. That's not a bad thing. 

I am not one of these people that says "all DlC is a crock". I don't even think a darkspawn themed DlC would be a crock. I would have gotten something that gave a joinable darkspawn companion or even yes, sorry, let me play a darkspawn, his ogre & genlock rogue pal, and his blight wolf companion journeying through the desert fighting off.... sandworms, or something! I would have preferred THAT to basically an RTS minigame in the middle of the Denerim siege where the objectives will probably involve a) killing innocent people and killing off my former companions. It might have even been interesting to play a darkspawn group loyal to the Architect, fighting a different darkspawn group loyal to the Mother, as a side-quest in Awakening.... all those things would have worked for me. 

This DC DlC just doesn't. It's not an addition to a RPG, it's something different borrowing a map from an RPG. 

[AlanC9]

13Dannyboy13 wrote...
Do you mean the 1.03 patch? If so that didn't fix anything, just made the expansion work.

Oh... OK. When you said "after six months they can't give us a patch" you actually meant something completely different from what those words mean. Sorry for taking you literally.

[13Dannyboy13]

AlanC9 wrote...

13Dannyboy13 wrote...
Do you mean the 1.03 patch? If so that didn't fix anything, just made the expansion work.

Oh... OK. When you said "after six months they can't give us a patch" you actually meant something completely different from what those words mean. Sorry for taking you literally.

Fine, then I'll word it differently. After six months they haven't done a dam thing to fix any of the bugs in the game, including the game breaking ones that many people are having problems with.

[Chalkstix]

In the case of patches, this post was really not intended to cover that.

I wrote a post to simply warn people not to buy the DLC because the content isn't really worth it compared to the cost in my opinion.



But why not charge money for a patch? Why not put patches up as DLC now they're at it?

Because patches are just fixes of the game? Because they merely put the game back on the track it was supposed to be on? That really only matters in a world where you believe in fair and unfair.



Anyway, I happened to get the Shale DLC with my game when I bought it and a lot of the DLC content was already finished when the game was released in fact. So why not include something that was already designed for the game in the finished game? I would simply put it: Greed



And if there's been any misunderstanding. I think it's the best idea to do something you love for a living. I know that mr. Jones who sits and writes the DLC content didn't actually decide that it should cost money and what it should cost. He's just a programmer, he's not the one I have any beef with. I'm a little more disappointed in the guys who greedily take as much money from the consumer as they can. There is need and there is greed. I'd prefer to buy from those who need rather than those who are greedy.



This is probably going to be my last post about this so go on and flame all you want. I'm yours to be burned

[Realmzmaster]

Yes it is best to do something you love for a living. Unfortunately everyone does not have that luxury. I sure many of the game designers and programmers love what they are doing, but a career or job is there to provide the money for the lifestyle one wishes to live.

Needs and wants change over time.

At the end of the day Bioware/EA is a business. A business is in it to make money, otherwise they would give the games away.

Gamers can decide whether to buy the DLC or not.

Unfortunately, patches do not make money, but use up resources. So patches are not high on the priority list.

DLC can generate revenue and therefore profit. EA is a big company employing thousands. Yes EA will try to shove out product as fast as possible to generate revenue and make payroll. This way all those employees can live their lifestyles and dreams or at least survive.

The best way to get their attention is by speaking with your pocketbook. or wallet

[purplesunset]

Realmzmaster wrote...
Unfortunately, patches do not make money, but use up resources. So patches are not high on the priority list.

DLC can generate revenue and therefore profit.

Exactly.

Moreover, we (consumers) are the ones who allow this to happen! Despite what people want you to believe, society is a social contract, and we all tacitly agree to the terms as long as we continue to live in it and accept the status quo.

If we really wanted things to be different, we would all stop buying so much stuff, and lessen money's grip. But we don't. Instead, everyone is (literally and figuratively) buying into the system, and waiting for their chance to get enough money to buy yachts, pick up seashells on tropical beaches, and surround themselves with hot blondes (the standard definition of success).

In short: Yes, DLC is nothing more than a money machine, and we the consumers are the ones who keep that machine well-oiled and in good working order. So don't complain about it, if you do nothing to hinder it.

[wanderon]

Indeed if you don't want to feed the money machine why are you buying games or expensive computers capable to run them to begin with? Why not go for a walk? Take up bird watching? Volunteer your spare time to help those less fortunate?



Tired of the high price of oil? Sell your car and buy a bike?



Sorry but I don't see the whole "DLC is just a money machine" stance you usually see around the forums as being fueled by a wish to lessen moneys grip on society. To me they seem more driven by the sort of entitlement mentality that says you shouldn't have to pay for anything and an almost total lack of understanding of how business works in the real world. (and little or no desire to learn anything about it)

[wanderon]

Realmzmaster wrote...

Yes it is best to do something you love for a living. Unfortunately everyone does not have that luxury. I sure many of the game designers and programmers love what they are doing, but a career or job is there to provide the money for the lifestyle one wishes to live.
Needs and wants change over time.
At the end of the day Bioware/EA is a business. A business is in it to make money, otherwise they would give the games away.
Gamers can decide whether to buy the DLC or not.
Unfortunately, patches do not make money, but use up resources. So patches are not high on the priority list.
DLC can generate revenue and therefore profit. EA is a big company employing thousands. Yes EA will try to shove out product as fast as possible to generate revenue and make payroll. This way all those employees can live their lifestyles and dreams or at least survive.
The best way to get their attention is by speaking with your pocketbook. or wallet

That ongoing revenue stream can also help defray the cost of continued support after a game is released and if successful can mean higher base budgets for future games which in turn may lead to more content and better games to come.

Not everyone has to buy or even like DLC for it to make a very positive effect on the overall financial success of a game and financially successful games pave the way for more games in the future. Games that gain critical acclaim but lose money on the other hand often lead to bankrupt game companies.

[purplesunset]

wanderon wrote...

Indeed if you don't want to feed the money machine why are you buying games or expensive computers capable to run them to begin with? Why not go for a walk? Take up bird watching? Volunteer your spare time to help those less fortunate?

Tired of the high price of oil? Sell your car and buy a bike?

Sorry but I don't see the whole "DLC is just a money machine" stance you usually see around the forums as being fueled by a wish to lessen moneys grip on society. To me they seem more driven by the sort of entitlement mentality that says you shouldn't have to pay for anything and an almost total lack of understanding of how business works in the real world. (and little or no desire to learn anything about it)

I understand the point you're making, and it's certainly true for many  of the people who whine about DLC.

But you have to be careful with that word entitlement.  It goes both ways. Producers could have a sense of entitlement too. "I deserve to get more for the least amount of effort possible"

I thought I read an article somewhere (I know, this could not be any more vague) which essentially said that the more people get, the more they feel that they are entitled to more.

[purplesunset]

What if EA allows  a portion of Bioware to break away, and they let that new company focus solely on hardcore RPG's in  the vein of BG2. They will cater specifically to a niche audience and the costs will be cheaper because the niche audience won't care so much for flashy graphics, and you won't have to spend so much on fancy marketing and ads since the audience is already there.

Their fans will be rabid and will provide their own excellent post-game support (fans are still releasing fixes and mods for BG). They won't have to dilute gameplay or anything to attract a wider swath of buyers.

So you'll get the Bioware writing which you love so much with the focus of an indie company. And no more DLC.

Ok, I guess this post makes it official. I'm one of those deranged fans that David Gaider talked about.

[vometia]

MessyPossum wrote...

It all comes down to priorities. Invest in something that will bolster income or patch? So they release DlC. They don't mean to be ignorant of the issues plaguing some end users, they just have logical preferences. The best all of us can hope for is that all this DlC is funding the patch work and it'll be here sooner rather than later.

Short-term strategy, though: today's short-changed customer is often tomorrow's ex-customer.  Still, if that's how EA wants to play it.

[grieferbastard]

DLC is NOT the 'future'. It's a new concept, historically it's been found to be far less profitable. Hence most games only release a few pieces of it. DA:O is the first one to talk about two full years of DLC - this is to see if the idea is even viable. DLC is something the consumers demand, because we want to increase the longevity of games we enjoy. It's the developers, or more to the point the publishers, who are taking the risk on it.

I like DLC. I like the concept of it, I support it as a better business model and a more enjoyable experience than having a game (generally 40 hours of playtime on the high end) and then... nothing for 2 years. Maybe a 20 hour expansion 1 year later. DA:O gave me 100 hours of playtime (I've got perhaps 500 hours into it currently) and a whole pile of different sorts of DLC and an expansion pack, with a promise of another 18 months of DLC for it. 

Seriously, where is the problem here? Not all the DLC is going to be the same. I bet a lot of people on the forums won't pick up Darkspawn Chronicles - but how many of the 3.2 users who don't forum**** about X NPC being their 'ONE TWU WUV!' are going to find it an awesome one-off for $5? Only time will tell and what we do and do not buy will drive what we get over the next 18 months of DLC.

I hope DLC is profitable. I realize it's a crazy idea, but businesses generally have an eye towards profit. It's called 'being successful'. Makes stockholders happy and makes getting the business case for your next 100 hour epic RPG game a lot easier to get approved. Otherwise we'll get more 40-hours for $60 every 24 months.

DLC FTW!

[AlanC9]

purplesunset wrote...

What if EA allows  a portion of Bioware to break away, and they let that new company focus solely on hardcore RPG's in  the vein of BG2.

Allows? You're talking like BioWare's being held hostage or something.

grieferbastard, could you repost that on the ME General board in the DLC thread? I want to see some heads explode.

Modifié par AlanC9, 08 mai 2010 - 04:19 .

[purplesunset]

AlanC9 wrote...

purplesunset wrote...

What if EA allows  a portion of Bioware to break away, and they let that new company focus solely on hardcore RPG's in  the vein of BG2.

Allows? You're talking like BioWare's being held hostage or something.

They are being held hostage by EA. They get their mountain dew allowance only once per week (doritos are reserved for holidays), hence they have no energy to make a patch after so much work on DLC's.

Modifié par purplesunset, 08 mai 2010 - 04:25 .

[AlanC9]

13Dannyboy13 wrote...
Fine, then I'll word it differently. After six months they haven't done a dam thing to fix any of the bugs in the game, including the game breaking ones that many people are having problems with.

Funny...my patch notes show all sorts of bugs getting fixed. Haven't read the XBox360 notes, but I just sort of assumed they fixed the same ones there too.