Please stop with this DLC bull****

[Callendor]

Hello Paradox fans.
I had been reading the forums for a while, when I noticed that every time a little unmoddable improvement is needed, you keep shouting about DLCs. I wanted you to notice, that this is what PATCHES are for. FREE patches for humble Paradox fans.
I know that the DLC and in-game purchases plague is infecting many game companies because of Piracy. But we, humble Paradox Fans, AREN'T pirates. Paradox Never used DLCs for anything else but very minor graphic changes, and these were offered for really funny prices.
This is part of the reason why I like Paradox Interactive. They are community-Friendly. Please, my fan lads, stop babbling about priced DLCs, or they might actually MAKE ONES.


Thank you, Clendor.

 

[Jia Xu]

Free things are nice! I myself am a person who enjoys free things. You know what isn't free though? Living expenses. Unfortunately, the people at Paradox being people and all, have these living expenses. That is expenses that they incur in order to continue living. While it would be nice to live in a perfect Marxist society where everyone just works for the good of all, unfortunately Sweden is trapped within the confines of evil capitalism, and therefore the people who make patches and DLC need to be paid. For them to be paid, there has to be revenue coming into the company. I took out my calculator and did up the profit projections for "free." It comes out to around $0.00. Also unfortunately, $0.00 doesn't seem to be enough to pay for indefinite labour on these patches.

Here's my solution. Slavery. I say we start a political party in Sweden to legalize slavery, and then subsequently enslave the people at Paradox so that they have to work for us, for free. It's bulletproof.

 

[Featauril]

They've announced months ago that they were switching to an expansion model to a DLC model; we're just dealing with the reality.

 

[Kokomorari]

Still, how did companies like Bullfrog cope when they released a stream of free maps/items, Before they were acquired by a tEArrible company I think they did pretty well? I think with the digital distribution going on full-steam (heh get it) things become cheaper.

 

[Callendor]

Free things are nice! I myself am a person who enjoys free things. You know what isn't free though? Living expenses. Unfortunately, the people at Paradox being people and all, have these living expenses. That is expenses that they incur in order to continue living. While it would be nice to live in a perfect Marxist society where everyone just works for the good of all, unfortunately Sweden is trapped within the confines of evil capitalism, and therefore the people who make patches and DLC need to be paid. For them to be paid, there has to be revenue coming into the company. I took out my calculator and did up the profit projections for "free." It comes out to around $0.00. Also unfortunately, $0.00 doesn't seem to be enough to pay for indefinite labour on these patches.

Here's my solution. Slavery. I say we start a political party in Sweden to legalize slavery, and then subsequently enslave the people at Paradox so that they have to work for us, for free. It's bulletproof.

Well, they managed pretty well in previous games. The sellings of the game and he expansions are more than enough to pay Patchers...

 

[flame7926]

It seems like most of the things people wanted improvements on was stuff that can be modded. The way to get them to provide content in patches instead of paying is to get as many people to buy the game as possible.

 

[Jia Xu]

Well, they managed pretty well in previous games. The sellings of the game and he expansions are more than enough to pay Patchers...

Yes, they sold expansions. However, they aren't making expansions in the old style anymore. They announced months ago that expansions are being phased out in favour of a DLC model.

 

[ranbir]

Still, how did companies like Bullfrog cope when they released a stream of free maps/items, Before they were acquired by a tEArrible company I think they did pretty well? I think with the digital distribution going on full-steam (heh get it) things become cheaper.

They ended up getting bought out. After years of being financed by EA anyway.

 

[Minchandre]

Yes, they sold expansions. However, they aren't making expansions in the old style anymore. They announced months ago that expansions are being phased out in favour of a DLC model.

That doesn't mean they won't add features in patches as they have done in the past.

 

[lemmy101]

IMO we should be supportive of any business model that means it's still commercially viable to make and support games like this.

 

[Jia Xu]

That doesn't mean they won't add features in patches as they have done in the past.

Right. Keep in mind that patches in the past have not been used to radically alter the game though, which is done through expansions. Because Paradox is absolutely, certainly making DLC, as they have told us, then it's only natural for us to put in requests for that DLC.

 

[Mivo]

Still, how did companies like Bullfrog cope when they released a stream of free maps/items, Before they were acquired by a tEArrible company I think they did pretty well? I think with the digital distribution going on full-steam (heh get it) things become cheaper.

Times changes, and that was then, this is now. Games were cheaper to make (fewer people, fewer resources), lasted longer on shelves (and actually were on shelves), piracy existed, but was different and not as rampant (trading disks on schoolyards or with friends rather than quickly visiting a shady side and downloading it within minutes) and so on. Also, while it's true that I pay about the same absolute price for games as I did twenty years ago (actually, a little less on average), this isn't true for many other necessities of life, such as food and rent, which may well off-set the benefits of the less expensive digital distribution (then again, services like Steam take about 30% and games go on sale much faster than they used to).

As for DLC, I actually quite like it. Sure, I would obviously prefer free content patches, but if the choice is between somewhat frequent DLC or getting new content only when an expansion is released, then I gladly take the DLC. It's also a way to continue the support of a game you enjoy without buying a second copy (I used to do that when I really liked a game and wanted to support the developer).

What I appreciate less is "day one" DLC. I'd prefer paying a few bucks more for the actual game.

 

[Aardvark Bellay]

haha, first i thought this is going to be another ...ah well you know.
+1

I also feel an uneasienous creeping up my spine, when a fan somewhere for a rather slight change in game says that hes going to pay for it as a DLC.I hope they still mix it and give out some good stuff for free in patches. Well stuff i mean thats either necessary or everyone should have anyway. While i like the idea of DLC and will support it in general, it feels so wrong that the gamers might all end up with different versions.

Inequality is soooo unscandinavian.
Cheers


Will i have to call Odin ? I dont worry. Everything will turn out great.

 

[unmerged(212811)]

Frankly, I'm not worried at all. Paradox isn't like EA, they aren't going to get carried away. Their fanbase just isn't big enough to let them get away with that.

What I appreciate less is "day one" DLC. I'd prefer paying a few bucks more for the actual game.

Normally I'd agree, but if we're talking about CK2 that stuff is preorder bonuses, isn't it? That doesn't bother me at all.

 

[Mivo]

Normally I'd agree, but if we're talking about CK2 that stuff is preorder bonuses, isn't it? That doesn't bother me at all.

I'm fine with pre-order bonuses as well, and it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is when a game is released, costs €40 and right on the release day there is also DLC for €10 (which wasn't a pre-order bonus before). That's when I feel ripped off. (EA pulled this, so I ended up not buying the game in question at all.)

 

[rubert]

I am somewhat skeptical about "DRM free" game with activation required for DLCs. The demo nearly convinced me to pre-order but after I noticed the DLC system I think I'll wait for while and see what kind DLCs game gets and how the activation works in practice. I personally hadn't followed the development of CK2 so I didn't know about the DLC system until today when I noticed the sticky thread.

 

[yellowbiz]

Free things are nice! I myself am a person who enjoys free things. You know what isn't free though? Living expenses. Unfortunately, the people at Paradox being people and all, have these living expenses. That is expenses that they incur in order to continue living. While it would be nice to live in a perfect Marxist society where everyone just works for the good of all, unfortunately Sweden is trapped within the confines of evil capitalism, and therefore the people who make patches and DLC need to be paid. For them to be paid, there has to be revenue coming into the company. I took out my calculator and did up the profit projections for "free." It comes out to around $0.00. Also unfortunately, $0.00 doesn't seem to be enough to pay for indefinite labour on these patches.

Here's my solution. Slavery. I say we start a political party in Sweden to legalize slavery, and then subsequently enslave the people at Paradox so that they have to work for us, for free. It's bulletproof.

In all fairness, I couldn't care less about the developer's living expenses.
It's like - if there are 50 developers working on a game, should the game now cost $100 because each developer has living expenses ? It's not my problem.

Patches should be free.

These DLC's are just an ingenious way to milk more money from the customers.
Even worse are the DLC's that are released with the game itself, as if it could not have been added to the game for free, it's not like put a price for every piece of artwork or anything like that.

People want money, go figure.

 

[Acesandeights]

Bit of a melodramatic start to the thread. :blink:

I'm all for free patches and support of a good product by the production team and company up to a point, and certainly the more the better in this respect. However, after said point, I fully support options or enhancements that need to be paid for. With the hours of enjoyment per dollar I get out of these games it seems perfectly reasonable to me. Especially when some of these are wholly optional and cater to only select users tastes.

Please stop with this DLC bull****

Yes, the sense of self-entitlement is strong with this one.

 

[Jia Xu]

In all fairness, I couldn't care less about the developer's living expenses.
It's like - if there are 50 developers working on a game, should the game now cost $100 because each developer has living expenses ? It's not my problem. Patches should be free.

My, my, my. Aren't we entitled? "I don't care about other people. I only care about myself and my own personal satisfaction." Well, some people here might disagree. Some people here are capable of empathy for others.

 

[Maizel]

Hello Paradox fans.
I had been reading the forums for a while, when I noticed that every time a little unmoddable improvement is needed, you keep shouting about DLCs. I wanted you to notice, that this is what PATCHES are for. FREE patches for humble Paradox fans.
I know that the DLC and in-game purchases plague is infecting many game companies because of Piracy. But we, humble Paradox Fans, AREN'T pirates. Paradox Never used DLCs for anything else but very minor graphic changes, and these were offered for really funny prices.
This is part of the reason why I like Paradox Interactive. They are community-Friendly. Please, my fan lads, stop babbling about priced DLCs, or they might actually MAKE ONES.


Thank you, Clendor.

Who are you to decide what other people want for DLC or what they discuss for DLC?

The nerve. Get over yourself already.