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C.N. said:
Wait, what? Subscription only unique models? That would cross over the uninstall and down-vote threshold for me.
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I don't understand the downvotes (wait, this isn't Reddit?). I own everything already and I like "collecting" even the unit models. Locking DLCs behind a subscription that is in fact useless for the most loyal players is utter bullcrap. Damn it, I want to give you money even for cosmetic DLC, so why hold it hostage?
 
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JusticeFighter said:
If your goal was to keep the subscription idea under cover, that was honestly not well done at all, and would lead me to believe that things at Paradox must be going very much haywire to let a slip up like this happen.

But I assume that the goal was to check provincial unrest on this proposition, while still keeping the trump card of "It's not even official" in case things go wrong.

Or maybe the subscription files are just a disguise, and the actual test is hidden behind them?

I wonder if there are rewards for those that solve the riddle of 29.4.
Click to expand...

Maybe the real test has to do with some telemetry data they gather to adjust for example difficulty for new player. I wonder how many new players quit the game when they get a coallition with the whole HRE because they took 4 provinces in their first war.


To go back to the subscription topic :

You can find some assets in the folder Europa Universalis IV\gfx\interface\sub
With some online dds to jpg or png converter you can even see the preview of the free model unit if you subscribe (the Cuirassier with pistol) : Europa Universalis IV\gfx\interface\sub\sub_menu_bonus_image.dds


Considering that there are already assets for the launcher, and that they already created a 3D bonus model, I guess that it's going to be announced soon if people are not against this business model.
 
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Arowan said:
SUB_VIEW_PITCH_NOPRICE:0 "Gain access to all DLC ever released for a monthly payment.\n\n- All major expansions!\n- More than 40 content packs including new units models\n- All music packs\n- Unique unit model available only as a bonus for subscription"
SUB_VIEW_PITCH_PRICE:0 "Experience everything the game has to offer with the new subscription offer: gain access to all DLC ever released for only $PRICE$/month.\n\n- All major expansions!\n- More than 40 content packs including new units models\n- All music packs\n- Unique unit model available only as a bonus for subscription"
Click to expand...

Maybe they wanted us to find this and the experiment is to really see our reaction to a potential subscription service ;)

On a serious note, from a business perspective, subscriptions work because it makes it easier for new players to get into the game when they don't have to spend $200 upfront on it. And I'll be okay with something like a PDX sub service, where we pay $10/month for access to all PDX studio games with DLCs.
 
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Well even 10$ is way too much compared to other studios. Xbox game pass is only 12$ for 3 months and give access to an hundred games. They can't charge more than 8$ and even then I won't buy it. Paradox cost me no more than 40 dollars a year so it is not a good financial move for me.

But it can help new players to try all dlc for not much, so why not.
 
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Johan, please, if the subscription thing is real, let us buy DLC normally as well.

I don't mind if people want to experiment with DLC and pay monthly to unlock everything. But personally I'd much much rather keep buying them as they come out, payment in full, and have it sit in my library forever.

Please don't lock the 1.30 DLC behind a monthly subscription.

Even if it's expensive I'll buy it the second it comes out, as long as I get to keep it after that.
 
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it all depends on perspective... as someone who owns all expansions DLCs i am interested in so far, paying even 5$ a month would be too much. But for new players it's a good idea, as long as we have both options still open
 
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El_Ploplo said:
Well even 10$ is way too much compared to other studios. Xbox game pass is only 12$ for 3 months and give access to an hundred games. They can't charge more than 8$ and even then I won't buy it. Paradox cost me no more than 40 dollars a year so it is not a good financial move for me.

But it can help new players to try all dlc for not much, so why not.
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exactly. If it's an eu4 specific subscription, the cost to buy expansions as they come out is ~$30-50 per year depending on how busy they are, or $2.5-$4.2 per month. Yes, you get access to the back catalogue, but people aren't idiots. For the price of subscribing for a year at $10 a month, they could probably pick up all the expansions on sale.
 
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Not willing to pay a rent for a game. If I want to play it in 10 years and the service doesn't exist anymore, what should I do? No, simply switching to the new game isn't a solution because
1) You're not sure said game exists (see Victoria 3)
2) Even if it exists, you're not sure it is more of what you liked before (I'm still playing Doom 2 and no plan to get Eternal)
 
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Of all games to decide to charge rent for, they pick the one whose dev cycle is close to an end (even if they'll most certainly deny this) and a community that dreaded the last few updates to the point the hot topics since their releases are mostly undo or rebalance requests for them...

Yup, just like the first page expected, sounds like a social experiment alright.

Is it that hard to, just... swallow your pride and actually lower the price of DLCs?
 
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Arowan said:
SUB_VIEW_PITCH_NOPRICE:0 "Gain access to all DLC ever released for a monthly payment.\n\n- All major expansions!\n- More than 40 content packs including new units models\n- All music packs\n- Unique unit model available only as a bonus for subscription"
SUB_VIEW_PITCH_PRICE:0 "Experience everything the game has to offer with the new subscription offer: gain access to all DLC ever released for only $PRICE$/month.\n\n- All major expansions!\n- More than 40 content packs including new units models\n- All music packs\n- Unique unit model available only as a bonus for subscription"
Click to expand...
I don't really care if Paradox does a subscription thing, because I understand all the DLC is intimidating and may be seen as a barrier to entry for some, as long as the option to buy DLC normally remains and there isn't a price hike.

I do however think it's a shitty thing to give subscribers exclusive unit models and quite insulting to all of us who have loyally bought all the DLCs. I honestly still think it is stupid that people can't access the Catholic Majors pack or the Roman units from the purchase of Imperator, even though I have both. At least give people the option to buy these things individually.
 
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If they'd force me to buy a subscription for the next DLC i'm done with this company. Let's say the DLC costs 20€ and a monthly sub 10€, it's after two months i will be already paying far more than now.

I played EU4 for like 6 years now and spent like ~200€ or slightly less over time for the game itself and all gameplay-dlc's. I bought around 3/4 of it in sales.
If i had payed my monthly fee for 6 years that would be 720 EURO !!!! I will never pay this amount of money for ANY game. That's just madness that you can't even own your games anymore.
 
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How about... instead of this terrible terrible idea, you just add all the released DLC into Xbox Game Pass PC? Because as it stands, there is literally no way that an EU4-specific DLC subscription is going to be able to compete with Xbox Game Pass PC in terms of value for money.

Heck, even a subscription for the entire Paradox catalogue of games would have a hard time competing with XGP, seeing as most of the PDX stuff is already in XGP anyway.
 
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I'm not a fan of the Xbox pass idea myself (or integrating into another service) despite actually having the service (thanks Discord Nitro for that free one I'll never use, lul) but I do have to agree there is no way that a subscription model for Paradox games can bring them enough revenue to be worth it while still being competitive with the value of other similar services like Twitch Prime, Xbox Game Pass and whatnot.
 
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Hi everyone! Pontus, team lead for EU4 marketing supporting Björn real quick. Since “the cat is out of the bag” me and the team wanted to clarify a few things before speculations are running to rampant and are established as truths:


- Yes, we want to test a subscription model for EU4.

We have heard for years from existing and potential new players that the cost of getting the game and all expansions all at once is quite expensive (and might be discouraging for completely new EU4 fans), it's been supported for almost 7 years after all. A subscription model has been suggested to us on many occasions, so we thought we'd run a test to see how popular such a service would be.


- No, we are NOT replacing the current model or changing how anything works now. We are simply adding another option.

Expansions and other DLC's, both existing and upcoming, will still be available for purchase as usual for those who prefer that. We will not remove any content from anyone or make future content exclusive to people with a subscription. Nobody will be forced to pay again for content they have already purchased, and you will get to choose if you want to subscribe to get future DLC or continue purchasing the items individually just as you’ve always done.


- The cost of such a service is one of the things we want to decide based on the test.

This will help us assess how the presentation has performed, and help us determine how we should value any subscription offer in the future (if it ends up being a desired feature). This, unfortunately, is why we were so cagey about this experiment.


In hindsight we might have been a little more open about this process -- we know, as our long-time fans, this model may not be aimed at you (again, none of your existing purchases are going to be charged again). We wanted to try and gather data from people who encountered this new idea without prior bias or discussion (makes for a better experiment). That’s why we were keeping things “on the DL,” as the kids say.


That's pretty much all there is to it at this point. A limited group of people will be receiving this offer, and it's entirely up to these people whether or not they want to jump on the offer or not.


Thanks for your keen interest on this topic. You are of course welcome to share your ideas on what you think of such a service with us.
 
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pdx_pdawg said:
Hi everyone! Pontus, team lead for EU4 marketing supporting Björn real quick. Since “the cat is out of the bag” me and the team wanted to clarify a few things before speculations are running to rampant and are established as truths:


- Yes, we want to test a subscription model for EU4.

We have heard for years from existing and potential new players that the cost of getting the game and all expansions all at once is quite expensive (and might be discouraging for completely new EU4 fans), it's been supported for almost 7 years after all. A subscription model has been suggested to us on many occasions, so we thought we'd run a test to see how popular such a service would be.


- No, we are NOT replacing the current model or changing how anything works now. We are simply adding another option.

Expansions and other DLC's, both existing and upcoming, will still be available for purchase as usual for those who prefer that. We will not remove any content from anyone or make future content exclusive to people with a subscription. Nobody will be forced to pay again for content they have already purchased, and you will get to choose if you want to subscribe to get future DLC or continue purchasing the items individually just as you’ve always done.


- The cost of such a service is one of the things we want to decide based on the test.

This will help us assess how the presentation has performed, and help us determine how we should value any subscription offer in the future (if it ends up being a desired feature). This, unfortunately, is why we were so cagey about this experiment.


In hindsight we might have been a little more open about this process -- we know, as our long-time fans, this model may not be aimed at you (again, none of your existing purchases are going to be charged again). We wanted to try and gather data from people who encountered this new idea without prior bias or discussion (makes for a better experiment). That’s why we were keeping things “on the DL,” as the kids say.


That's pretty much all there is to it at this point. A limited group of people will be receiving this offer, and it's entirely up to these people whether or not they want to jump on the offer or not.


Thanks for your keen interest on this topic. You are of course welcome to share your ideas on what you think of such a service with us.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification! Please tell me its PDX titles subscription and not just EU4?!
 
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