I preordered Mare Nostrum, did you ?

[Sheriff Godwin Law]

Heh. It was basically mocking that people would buy into hype. But still, nobody should pay for some simple code that is overpriced.

What people pay for is the labor, expertise and unique point of view that is required to make that code. And while I'm sure you must be very good at catching sales, the number of expansions you have registered on your forum profile does make your lack of understanding on this point seem strange.

 

[HaniNachmias]

Nah, I don't see any reason for one to throw his money over a thing that wasn't even released yet, I persume that some may be persuaded by a 10% discount or little bonuses that are occuring sometimes on Steam. Generally I think pre-orders lets companies do whatever they wish and don't even fish their work, also the worst is early-access games. Although there are specials, like Prison Archtect that was amazingly updated month after month until released. Even though pre-ordering products of Paradox pre-ordering is available, it's the result of a wish part of the community had, so I guess it's fair.

 

[Clownie]

Although there are specials, like Prison Archtect that was amazingly updated month after month until released.

The existence of exceptions - not that abusive business practices are really the rule in the first place - doesn't vindicate the practice, and while I understand that you're playing devil's advocate here, the presented counterpoint isn't even valid. E.g. Prison Architect would've been as good without early access, assuming it didn't want for funds; if it did, then THAT would be the valid counterpoint, as in that case early access actually affected the quality of the game in a positive way. When it comes to well established companies that can't run out of funds except by extreme economic mismanagement (looking at you, Double Fine), pre ordering is in the vast majority of cases purely neutral in terms of outcome. In some (Watch Dogs, off the top of my head - I'm sure there are more, but I don't buy triple A games nor follow video games media much), however, it is negative. The average of a hundred instances of zero and one instance of any negative value is still negative, and it is for this reason that I'm so staunchly against the practice.

 

[rohirrimelf]

when can i buy mare nostrum on steam?

edit: it is out now

 

[gamedude]

What people pay for is the labor, expertise and unique point of view that is required to make that code. And while I'm sure you must be very good at catching sales, the number of expansions you have registered on your forum profile does make your lack of understanding on this point seem strange.

But then here comes something different. A video game or expansion is like any other product that is on sale.
Let us take an example of Coca-Cola. The company has about 130 000 Employees just for some few products. They sell it at relatively cheap.(Say $1-$5). Why is it cheap? They have a huge market to sell to.

Right now there are 12 k EU 4 players playing the game. We could estimate that 10% have bought the DLC. That is 1200 people roughly. IF everyone bought it at €15 each then that would be 18 000 Euro in Paradox pocket and minus the 30% cut to steam that would end up with €12,600. Now you can question how long have the developers worked on it and how many people have worked on it. We pay for labor and expertise, but programmers are programmers.

Looking at the Mare Nostrum patch notes. There are mostly Buttons and Naval buttons that have been added to the paid DLC. You can still question the value of the DLCs that Paradox is releasing... It is more of the people buying the expansion is fueling the free patches that is being worked on.

 

[ringhloth]

How do you know? I had faith in Starcraft 2, as well - it still turned out to be horse doo. Not to mention that complete certainty is a physical impossibility.

Thing is, pre ordering confers literally no benefit to you OR Paradox, assuming it's a quality product. Paradox gets the same money, you get the same product. All is well. Know who does benefit from pre ordering being considered normal and/or acceptable? The trash games that rely on media embargoes and pre orders to shovel out as much trash as possible to the general public before people catch on that, wait, it's actually trash.

It's not that pre orders are necessarily bad in all cases. It's that it's never GOOD, and the practice is inherently anti-consumer for reasons outlined above.

How do I know? Well, I've never felt cheated of any PDS release I've seen since HoI2. If something happens 7 or 8 times in a row, then I think I can count on it happening once more, especially if I've been following the development closely, rather than just the hype. Of course complete certainty is a physical impossibility. But it's ridiculous to say that I would let that rule my life. If I were afraid of statistical improbabilities, I would never drive a car, nor get on an airplane, nor lift a heavy box, nor eat solid foods, nor anything else. All of those things can easily kill or seriously injure you. It's ridiculous to propose that the lack of complete certainty in anything should weigh in at all.

I don't see it as there being no benefit to me. I see it as a matter of convenience. I'd much rather buy something I know I'll enjoy now rather than waiting. Pre-orders also give the company a more steady moneyflow - it's easier to work with $5000 every month for a year than getting $60000 at the very end of the year, especially for smaller companies.