37 réponses à ce sujet

[Azrae]

I've said it time and time again on Dragon Age facebook posts, you can see it all throughout the comments, people are sick of the microtransation, vanity item DLC packs that you have to pay $5 for.  Why are we having to pay even more, after already paying for the game, probably the first big DLC update as well, for reskinned mounts, reskinned armor, Skyhold decor items, and no substantial content?  I think that it's absolutely ludicrous that after releasing a buyable content pack that centers around the Avvar and their culture, that you then later decide to release a pack of vanity items that should have been included in that content to begin with, for an additional fee?  We already paid for the first one.

 

Which brings me to my next point.

 

Why are the vanity item packs 1/3 the price of a content pack that had a new map, enemies, achievements, storyline, etc?  I can understand paying $15 for the price of that large of an update, but $5 for vanity items seems steep.  That's getting in to the territory of MMORPG cash shop models, which is not a place you want to be, especially when games like Witcher 3 exist and are churning out free DLC updates for their playerbase on a consistent basis.  Your players look at that and see what they're not getting, and they get frustrated.  I've been a fan of the Dragon Age franchise since Origins was released, I look at how DLC used to be handled and I get disappointed in how Inquisition is being marketed.  While I understand that DA2 is seen as "complete" you can purchase DLC with Origin points rather than cash for that game and wish it was an option for the vanity packs with Inquisition.  There's no reason that we should have to be paying real money for items that serve no functional purpose aside from an aesthetic appeal (especially in regards to the mount reskins and Skyhold decor items) and honestly it's really killing the appeal of Inquisition for me.  I don't want to have to keep paying more and more money in order to not have cookie cutter default armor and a limited option of decor options for Skyhold.  Eventually I'm going to get bored.

 

This also brings me to the point of Skyhold.  Why is it labeled as 'complete' when there are still holes in walls and parts of the keep that are crumbling and in need of repairs, like the towers and most of the bedrooms?  It makes me concerned that it's going to eventually be another DLC that we have to pay for in order to get a completely functional and repaired structure.  Outside of completing a quest, there's also really no real reason to complete any of the upgrades to Skyhold.  Even if you get the infirmary upgrade, there are still tents of injured and sick soldiers out in the courtyard, both the Templar and Mage tower upgrades really only serve the purpose of unlocking a banner option and even when you go in to the towers they just look unfinished still.  It would be nice if upgrading to a templar tower gives a stat boost to something, or upgrading to a mage tower gives some sort of boost to your mage troops/mage companions.  Same with if you choose the training ring (boost to your warriors/rogues) or infirmary (boost to the number of potions you can carry, increase potency, etc)

 

That was the feedback, I these are my suggestions aka TL;DR:

 

- Roll multiple vanity packs in to one big pack for a reasonable price of $5 instead of all these small little packs if you're that set on selling it for a price.

- Make vanity packs purchaseable with Origin points and keep the large, content-based DLC packs cash-only.

- Turn Skyhold upgrades in to something more than just an aesthetic quest completion.  Even with completing the upgrades, it really doesn't change anything like moving the infirmary out of the courtyard, it just adds a few cots on the floor with people laying on them in a previously still under construction part of the keep

- Actually repair all of Skyhold.  It isn't completed, there are a lot of parts of the keep that still need quite a bit of work (pretty much all the towers are still a mess, Cullen's room has a hole in the ceiling, all the bedrooms are still in disrepair, the corridor to the war room is almost missing an entire wall).  Turning it in to something like more upgrades would even be great, I just want to finally see Skyhold fully completed.

- It would be great to be able to have day/night options for Skyhold similar to Dragon Age 2, since it seems to be eternally daytime in the keep whenever you're there.

[Yaroub]

This also brings me to the point of Skyhold.  Why is it labeled as 'complete' when there are still holes in walls and parts of the keep that are crumbling and in need of repairs, like the towers and most of the bedrooms?  It makes me concerned that it's going to eventually be another DLC that we have to pay for in order to get a completely functional and repaired structure.  

Lmao, words of wisdom my friend.

[Jeremiah12LGeek]

The only way to effect this change is to somehow convince the people who are buying them to stop. In the long run, we'll likely see a rise in game prices if that were to happen, but the truth is, it's very unlikely to happen.

 

I suspect (but have no proof) that the somewhat surprising high price for a vanity pack that possibly should have been included in the previous DLC may have been the result of unexpectedly low returns from DAMP Platinum sales. They have made a few marketing decisions that seem to indicate dissatisfaction with MP participation/profits.

[devSin]

Uh, that's not microtransactions.

The appearance packs are way overpriced, but guess what? You don't have to (and shouldn't) buy them. They don't add anything worthwhile to the game.

As for Skyhold, point at the old consoles and make an angry face. The next game won't have the same limitations.

[In Exile]

While I understand your frustration the $5 packs are not microtransactions.

[Rawgrim]

While microtransactions do suck, it is still all up to the customer. Don't like it? Don't buy it.

[In Exile]

While microtransactions do suck, it is still all up to the customer. Don't like it? Don't buy it.

It's not that simple. Like adding MP or releasing on consoles, there are structural changes from microtransactions e.g. content more geared toward grinding to encourage shopping.

[Rawgrim]

It's not that simple. Like adding MP or releasing on consoles, there are structural changes from microtransactions e.g. content more geared toward grinding to encourage shopping.

 

Fair enough. I can't comment on the DA:I MP, though. Never played it.

[StargeezerTim]

The only way to effect this change is to somehow convince the people who are buying them to stop. In the long run, we'll likely see a rise in game prices if that were to happen, but the truth is, it's very unlikely to happen.

 

I suspect (but have no proof) that the somewhat surprising high price for a vanity pack that possibly should have been included in the previous DLC may have been the result of unexpectedly low returns from DAMP Platinum sales. They have made a few marketing decisions that seem to indicate dissatisfaction with MP participation/profits.

 

Agreed!  Perhaps if their MP wasn't a buggy piece o' poo, their sales would more closely reflect their projections.  Eventually the whole industry is going to hit critical mass with the buying public (Ubisoft and WB, I'm looking at you) and they may actually be forced to be accountable for their products.  If I were EA/BioWare, I'd want to get ahead of this thing before it goes sideways, but hey, what do I know. Apparently ill-gotten gains today is preferable to maintaining integrity in the future. 

[In Exile]

Fair enough. I can't comment on the DA:I MP, though. Never played it.

Neither have I but based on devs quotes I do think it was a factor in the combat system we got.

[Rawgrim]

Neither have I but based on devs quotes I do think it was a factor in the combat system we got.

 

It certainly was.

[Realmzmaster]

The consumer of the product holds the key. Those 5 dollar vanity dlc packs exist because people buy them. Microtransactions exist because people are willing to pay for them. As long as the consumer is willing to pay then the producer will produce them to make money.

 

Why blame the developer for developing what the consumer is willing to buy and consume? I do not buy vanity pack dlc nor do I play multi player, but there obviously is a market for these products. If there was no market there would be little to no product.

[Dean_the_Young]

Neither have I but based on devs quotes I do think it was a factor in the combat system we got.

 

Not sure in what sense you mean, except for the real-time focus and mapping layout for counsels.

 

The whole guard/limited healing magic switch was a separate decision that was pushed by the considerations of single player. IIRC, one of the devs wrote out the basis behind the reasoning of the change: basically that combat scaling is practically impossible with radical/free healing between fights, since 'effective party HP' becomes 'PC HP plus mana heal HP plus potions plus mana heal HP from mana potions.'

[TheOgre]

Wrong forum for this I know

 

But I recently tried getting back into SWTOR and found out they racelocked 'alien' for free to play mode. Can only make a Human, Cyborg, or Zabrak. Can't even play as a pureblood sith inquisitor without forking over $ to EA. 

 

They are going to continue with microtransactions regardless.

[CDR Aedan Cousland]

My question is: Why did they choose not to be greedy with the dragon vanity crap by "giving" it to us for free in a patch update, while choosing to be greedy with all the other extra vanity items?

 

Also, IMO, $15 is still way too much for JoH. $5-8 should be its max price, all things considered. The garbage they're cranking out, vanity items and all, isn't worth any money. Everything is low quality, yet needlessly expensive now, and this DLC in particular really shows they've stopped caring/trying.

 

I'm curious about the story DLC they're working on, but I'm not going to expect anything from it until I'm shown it's actually worth the wait (and money).

[Eelectrica]

The only way I can send a message about this is to not buy it. That's what I'm going to do -not buy it.

For the cost of the two item packs I'll be able to buy the first of the Witcher 3 expansions which will have story content. seems an easy choice to make.

[Beren Von Ostwick]

...  having to pay... 

 

You don't.  Don't buy it if you don't want to pay for it.  It's really that simple.  Nobody is forcing you to purchase anything.  EA is a company in business to make money.  That it its ultimate legal responsibility to the owners of the company (aka shareholders.)  Don't like it?  There are still a few commie countries around you might prefer, then. 

 

Personally, I have no issue with microtransactions and would lovingly throw my money at Bioware 24/7.... right up until they gated SP stuff behind MP.  Now I'm letting them know how I feel about it by not buying anything else from them until they make it available via an SP route.  See how that works?  You don't approve of something, you don't buy it.  They'll either get the message or they won't, but you're still fully in charge of the decision of whether or not to support them.  So no, just to reinforce that, you are not "having to pay" anything.

[Akrabra]

Wrong forum for this I know

 

But I recently tried getting back into SWTOR and found out they racelocked 'alien' for free to play mode. Can only make a Human, Cyborg, or Zabrak. Can't even play as a pureblood sith inquisitor without forking over $ to EA. 

 

They are going to continue with microtransactions regardless.

Yeah playing SWTOR without sub is just a punishment. The free to play is more or less there to trap people within the system and torture them until they sub. It sucks.

[Kushiel42]

Heh! You kids and your entitlement. Video games are the cheapest they've ever been to buy, and yet the cost of making them is the highest it's ever been, and you're complaining about the cost of optional content.

 

Also, a tip to you folks who are Telling EA/Bioware How You Feel With a Boycott: boycotts are entirely meaningless unless you communicate directly with the people you're boycotting to tell them why you're boycotting them.

[Magdalena11]

I don't play multiplayer, so maybe I'm not the best source of inspiration, but if it gives you grief, why play?  Seriously, it seems like everything bad is about the financial aspect of being able to best your opponent.  If that's what it is, get the best DLC and stuff in general you can manage and whack away.  If it's still not good enough, and I know, because I don't do it, don't.  You can still be totally awesome in SP mode.  What are a few cosmetic things you'll never miss?  Is this really worth flogging yourself for?

[In Exile]

Not sure in what sense you mean, except for the real-time focus and mapping layout for counsels.

 

The whole guard/limited healing magic switch was a separate decision that was pushed by the considerations of single player. IIRC, one of the devs wrote out the basis behind the reasoning of the change: basically that combat scaling is practically impossible with radical/free healing between fights, since 'effective party HP' becomes 'PC HP plus mana heal HP plus potions plus mana heal HP from mana potions.'

 

They mentioned that they used MP-related playtests to also test SP combat,. But MP and SP are different. Not only in encounter design, but in the type of gameplay (e.g. the use of the tactical camera is minimized, and the types of abilities, and the role of friendly fire, is different). I don't actually dislike the DA:I combat unlike some; but I do think that when you look to QA around possible overlap between the modes, this trickles down (goes up?) the to design-level decisions to ensure overlap between the modes so you're not effectively creating two separate combat systems. 

[In Exile]

The consumer of the product holds the key. Those 5 dollar vanity dlc packs exist because people buy them. Microtransactions exist because people are willing to pay for them. As long as the consumer is willing to pay then the producer will produce them to make money.

 

Why blame the developer for developing what the consumer is willing to buy and consume? I do not buy vanity pack dlc nor do I play multi player, but there obviously is a market for these products. If there was no market there would be little to no product.

 

That's not necessarily true. Or rather, it's not so simple as it being a question of developers offering content because people are willing to pay for it. Often, it's a question of including content and designing the to make it so that the consumer is incentivized to pay for it. Which isn't the same thing, from the perspective of those unwilling to pay for it. 

[AlanC9]

 
I suspect (but have no proof) that the somewhat surprising high price for a vanity pack that possibly should have been included in the previous DLC may have been the result of unexpectedly low returns from DAMP Platinum sales. They have made a few marketing decisions that seem to indicate dissatisfaction with MP participation/profits.

That wouldn't be a very logical way to price stuff -- not that this proves anything, though.

[Realmzmaster]

That's not necessarily true. Or rather, it's not so simple as it being a question of developers offering content because people are willing to pay for it. Often, it's a question of including content and designing the to make it so that the consumer is incentivized to pay for it. Which isn't the same thing, from the perspective of those unwilling to pay for it. 

 

The consumer still has the ultimate decision to buy or not buy. The company may provide the incentive, but the consumer still has to take the bait. The consumer can say no.

[10K]

To EAware:

 

Please do not stop with these micro-transactions, as they are great when it comes to your bottom line and dealing with your shareholders. As a consumer I acknowledge this but do not agree with these practices. So as a consumer I will not support your content personally by actively choosing not to give you a dime. 

 

Sincerely

         -10K

 

P.S: It's not your fault your costumers lack impulse control.