Power of the Serpent DLC

[Buladelu]

You know, it would suck if that were true because we'd essentially have been lied to. But it's entirely possible that the final DLC content was added in the latest patch. Wonder which is the case.

Does it matter really? Worst case: they've decided to sell you a game without some existing parts. And what? Did they say "hey, buy this thing and you'll have life supply of Warlock stuff!" Nope. They give you patches and add new content for money. Is there really any difference if some of the content was cut before?

 

[Stormguardian]

hi
i just purchased, but i dont have it...
when i try to buy it again its say's you already have this item...but when i right click on the game its shows only powerfull lords content.
the game donwloaded something wiht 0 bytes..it says warlock master of the arcane.....but no bytes
so..what to do?

 

[unmerged(15561)]

Does it show on you list of games if you click on your profile Account link at the top of the Steam screen (next to the amount you have in your wallet)?
Should be the top or 2nd item of that list.

 

[unmerged(102954)]

Play as the all new Great Mage, Malixalxochi, Wizard Queen of a powerful race of reptilian warriors known as the Koatl.

I read "powerful race of reptilian warriors" as "completely new race to play".

What it really means is "a single special resource tile on the map".

If I hadn't read this thread first I would have bought this DLC. Kudos to who wrote that text. It appears to promise a new race but can't be nailed down to literally say it, dodging any bullets about false advertising. =P

 

[LTK]

Does it matter really? Worst case: they've decided to sell you a game without some existing parts. And what? Did they say "hey, buy this thing and you'll have life supply of Warlock stuff!" Nope. They give you patches and add new content for money. Is there really any difference if some of the content was cut before?

It matters because it says something about the company's disposition towards their customers. And my decision to support the company in the future depends on whether I'm being treated like a supporter, or a cash cow. It's Paradox's decision to release certain content as DLC. It's my decision to buy, or not to buy it.

 

[Stormguardian]

yep its there, but its not in the game.

 

[Buladelu]

It matters because it says something about the company's disposition towards their customers. And my decision to support the company in the future depends on whether I'm being treated like a supporter, or a cash cow. It's Paradox's decision to release certain content as DLC. It's my decision to buy, or not to buy it.

I don't understand. They want money for a product. When you go buy a new PC and there's a slot for additional RAM with nothing in it, but you know that seller defenitely has more RAM, do you hate him? What's the matter?!

 

[Grubnessul]

The difference for him is there is actually RAM in the slot, but he cannot use it until he pays to unlock it. Point is, every game has a lot of unfinished units and features. For all we know, without DLC, the turtles would have remained somewhere in the code but never finished, like for example, the mounted skirmisher in Age of Empire II. The unit is there in the code, but cannot be accessed without digging deeply. Paying a few €'s more to finish and unlock these seems fair.

 

[unmerged(259950)]

I don't understand. They want money for a product. When you go buy a new PC and there's a slot for additional RAM with nothing in it, but you know that seller defenitely has more RAM, do you hate him? What's the matter?!

The difference for him is there is actually RAM in the slot, but he cannot use it until he pays to unlock it. Point is, every game has a lot of unfinished units and features. For all we know, without DLC, the turtles would have remained somewhere in the code but never finished, like for example, the mounted skirmisher in Age of Empire II. The unit is there in the code, but cannot be accessed without digging deeply. Paying a few €'s more to finish and unlock these seems fair.

The DLC is entirely there, there is no need to pay for it to unlock it - you just need to be smart enough to do it manually. This is the same thing as Capcom's on-disk DLC, and it breeds resentment for the same reason. DLC that adds value can be viewed positively - this is not such DLC, this is some customers paying for content twice.

 

[unmerged(15561)]

The DLC is entirely there, there is no need to pay for it to unlock it - you just need to be smart enough to do it manually. This is the same thing as Capcom's on-disk DLC, and it breeds resentment for the same reason. DLC that adds value can be viewed positively - this is not such DLC, this is some customers paying for content twice.

Which breaks your agreement to use the s/w.... or maybe Im just mistaken.

* Which is very close to endorsing illegal activity, so Im going to warn you to be careful on your subsequent posts on this subject *

 

[unmerged(259950)]

Indeed, just pointing out that the people with the pirated version have had the DLC this whole time.

 

[Buladelu]

The DLC is entirely there, there is no need to pay for it to unlock it - you just need to be smart enough to do it manually. This is the same thing as Capcom's on-disk DLC, and it breeds resentment for the same reason. DLC that adds value can be viewed positively - this is not such DLC, this is some customers paying for content twice.

You can pirate pretty much any game, all this data is already in the internet and can be quickly downloaded. Why should you pay for things you can download for free than? What's the difference?

 

[unmerged(259950)]

Well the difference is, pirating the entire game is wrong, while unlocking content you already have is questionable.

In fact, depending on the country you live in, one is legal and the other is not.

That would be the difference.

http://www.examiner.com/article/pachter-on-disc-dlc-is-plain-greed-it-s-a-profit-deal

 

[unmerged(15561)]

Indeed, just pointing out that the people with the pirated version have had the DLC this whole time.

Which basically takes the money that would be gained from purchasing the item away from the publisher and developer.... which basically means any further development wont be as probable as the % of people that reinvest in the development of the product.

We could debate forever the rights and wrongs of the dlc model, but the fact remains that you can either choose to buy them, ignore them or wait for an expansion. If you do things legally. Whether certain contents are in the build of s/w you get or added after is beside the point. You pay for x. X is delivered. Y maybe in there but not activated. Y costs Z more.

When you purchased the game you paid for X. If youre gonna quibble about developers including content that isnt activated you do realise what is going to happen dont you. They just wont work as efficiently as in this case and add these sorts of things as a deliberate extra setup, encode in some files that can only be downloaded later.

You can moan all you want, but as the developers didnt release these extra items originally you knew what you were getting... If you dont like it, then thats entirely your choice. Or you can purchase it for £2 or equiv. Afterall its not too much extra and it wont ruin your gaming experience. Esp. as the original cost of teh game was low in terms of other games on the market. Or you can say no and keep your money and hope that a collection version is released at some point in the future with all the extra dlcs bundled in. Or just wait for a Steam sale and wait till they drop.... meaning less revenue for the developer.

Your other option is illegal and will keep any funds the devs may get to extend their product, out of their hands meaning that if this is done enmasse the game may not reach the vision the developers wanted for it.

Of course I am speaking my own opinion here. No one is forcing you to buy it.

 

[Skyhunteren]

Indeed, just pointing out that the people with the pirated version have had the DLC this whole time.

Are we talking about the same thing here? The game I bought cost about the same as two pizzas and the dlc is priced somewhere betwen a bad and a good bag of chips? To crack it would be like stealing candy money from a small indie companie that have given me a RTS fix I haven't had in years <.<

I can honestly understand why the dlc wasn't part of the game. We have 8 gods, a handfull of spells and talents that increase our stats to chose from, but only 1 addon race. That would just seem strange. If they had four ready addon races it may have been another thing.

 

[The Apprentice]

It does set up an interesting dynamic, doesn't it?

More quality content is good. But some DLC's offer it in such small slices that the extra joy/fun isn't personally significant. But at the same time one enjoys the title, and would like more large slices of quality content. So do you chip in, hoping that the message of "more larger bits" will be received? Or do you abstain, concerned that the message would be "more small slices generate the best profit ratio?"

 

[unmerged(259950)]

Indeed, I agree that piracy is wrong. Though obviously I hold that this kind of DLC scheme is wrong as well, so I don't buy such things. In my books it falls into the category of abusing the customers. 8 months from now, they will no doubt come out with the, "complete edition," like so many others do as a game's longevity has ended, where all the DLC and the base game will cost less than all the DLC would cost, which is them attempting to get the last bit of money for the title - but it damages their relation with customers because the actually loyal players who supported the game from the get-go will have spent more money on the game then the only casually interested players who wait most of a year to pick up a title.

Though a point of contention for ya 2Coats, the developers not releasing the Koatl content with the base game does sorta fall under a grey area. The content was seen within their promotional material, so some customers may disagree with your opinion of, "knew what you were getting," since they could have been lead to believe that giant turtles were just a part of the game by these images.

And I did not voice an opinion that is illegal, that's why I said it. I do not support piracy because it does nothing to help the situation, I did point out that people with the game freed of Ino-co's lock on the content have been using it for a while. There is a difference between pointing to facts and proselytizing for the bad guys.

 

[unmerged(259950)]

Are we talking about the same thing here? The game I bought cost about the same as two pizzas and the dlc is priced somewhere betwen a bad and a good bag of chips? To crack it would be like stealing candy money from a small indie companie that have given me a RTS fix I haven't had in years <.<

I can honestly understand why the dlc wasn't part of the game. We have 8 gods, a handfull of spells and talents that increase our stats to chose from, but only 1 addon race. That would just seem strange. If they had four ready addon races it may have been another thing.

It's 4X, not RTS.

 

[Skyhunteren]

It's 4X, not RTS.

I actuelly meant TBS, but it doesn't change the fact that this dlc is cheaper than a large cola.

 

[blastpop]

There is another option instead of piracy. Wait for time to pass and purchase at a discount or when the DLC is packaged together at a discount. Basically wait till the products price equals its value to you. That way the developer gets some value from you to make the kind of games you may want. It also shows the developer that there are many folks who feel a product such as a DLC might be overpriced, but will jump in when it's priced lower. Lower price may = higher volume...