Earliest examples I am personally aware of are the shareware and “mission pack” model of the 1990s. DOOM basically was given away for free with the idea that you play Episode 1 and then send iD money to get the disks of Episodes 2 and 3 in the mail. Not sure if they did a BBS/FTP server for that (or Episode 4), but Star Crusader is very much a game that even did the in game advertisement of their DLC. I have fond memories of working my ass off one summer so I had enough money to mail a check to some random dude so he would mail me back login information so I could download the mission pack and see what happened to Roman Alexandria when he was abducted by that ship.
The “expansion pack” model that people praise was the exact same thing, just using store shelves to distribute. Because games were big enough that it was viable to expect players to drive down to Radio Shack and pick up a copy. And the main issue with that is that it meant we needed MUCH coarser grain content because it needed to justify a physical disc printing and distribution. Everyone rightfully shits on Oblivion’s horse armor. But the actual DLC burst that Oblivion had was… not horrible. Whereas the Fallout 3 DLC model was downright amazing for giving us 3 (5?) different mini areas and quest chains. No one DLC was a full expansion (well, people say The Pitt was but they are idiots) but it meant that we got the kind of variety that we had all been wanting ever since we got tired of spending two hours in a single biome in Diablo 2.
Which gets us to where we are now. Some studios do dogshit DLC. Others do good. The Larian model has generally been to NOT do DLC but to instead release an Enhanced Edition one or two years later. I assume with the licensing and the added funding for BG3 they don’t think they will need to but, time will tell.
But, personally? I would LOVE BG3: Throne of Bhaal. Not so much whatever the shitty BG1 expansion nobody played was.
*: and… there are a lot of arguments that stuff like basically every ARPG and RTS expansion pack were overpriced as hell by modern standards. Which is funny since those are the ones that are most praised.
Edit: The difference being with shareware you didn’t have to pay any money to try the game. Basically the game was the demo as well as a full game, and once you played the first part of it for free, and you decided you liked it, then you paid and the rest of the game you already had was unlocked.
As opposed to an f2p game with DLC? Or buying a full game and, once you played the first part of it, you decided you liked it, then you paid and the rest of the game you already had was unlocked.
I LOVE ARPGs but I am well aware that the Blizzard/Diablo model is almost exactly what people rage against. Diablo 2, Diablo 3, Dungeon Siege 1, Dungeon Siege 2, and plenty of others all followed the model of releasing the first 3-4 acts and then releasing the 4th/5th act for 30 bucks a year later.
Then please, stop me from being “intellectually dishonest”
What is the distinction between a Free to play game with paid expansion packs and DLC and a copy of a game that came on a CD that tells me where I can send a money order to to buy extra content?
Oh, am I being “intellectually dishonest” because I am not respecting the branding? Is that the distinction?
“buying a full game and, once you played the first part of it, you decided you liked it, then you paid and the rest of the game you already had was unlocked.”
“Free to play game with paid expansion packs and DLC”
Right there. There’s the blatant dishonesty. You’ve just described two different scenarios while attempting to portray them as the same.
I think wizards of the coast will demand more products that are part of baldur’s gate 3. Tbf, baldur’s gate 1 and 2 are known for their expansions. I wouldn’t be opposed to an expansion or two.
Game is an absolute masterpiece on top of it all. This kind of game needs unequal levels of support. They knocked it out of the park AND they did it all in the right way. I’m encouraging people to buy it and play if they like RPG, tabletop or even just interested in forgotten realms. One of a few games I’ve purchased for full price on Steam.
I love the modern XCOM games, I love card games, I love games where the story follows a new superhero in an established superhero universe, I love XMen.
Yet.
Whilst I obviously was so excited for Marvel’s Midnight Son’s I was planning ahead to ask for cash to buy it full price for a birthday or something rather (to both play right away and support games that heavily target my tastes) rather than just wait for a deep sale a few years later like I normally would, all the buy this version and add on bits ala carte or buy this version that has some things but not all things but who know which is which or buy this super version that has the entire game or buy this hyper-mega version that has all of that and also stuff that’s not actually part of the game or buy a version that has the stuff that isn’t part of the game and most of the game… bullshit, just completely killed any interest I had in it.
I might pick it up and play it one day when it’s literally a few quid but quite possibly not at this point.
Just sell me the thing. Don’t complicate it. If I need to spend ages figuring out exactly which parts of a game I haven’t even played yet I do and don’t care about so I can try to see how close to a normal price I can pay and still get all the actual game, I’d rather just use that time to go play a game that wasn’t designed by MBE’s.
Tbh I don’t get the hate for this model. I’d much rather be able to play these games for free and get to try them. Skin funded games mean I’ve played a lot of games for free, and I don’t care at all about the skins (and I don’t even get why people would) so I view the skins like a donation. If I really like the game I can spend a bit of money to get a skin to support them.
I’ve played league of legends for literally thousands of hours and never spent a cent on it. I have hundreds of hours on apex and also never spent anythings. It’s way better than games where you spend like 20 dollars and then also need to spend either hundreds of hours or dollars to unlock 2/3 of the playable characters.
Buy the game. That’s it. You bought everything you need.
That is what I miss seeing in games.
I would like games to arrive as a single complete package, but I was relatively fond of expansion packs from games like RollerCoaster Tycoon.
They took the game you already had, and pretty much doubled it, they were fantastic!
Far better than any modern DLC for sure.
Expansion packs are the grandparents of DLC. They took something great and corrupted it to try and wring us for all we’re worth.
Actually, DLC is the grandparents of DLC.
Earliest examples I am personally aware of are the shareware and “mission pack” model of the 1990s. DOOM basically was given away for free with the idea that you play Episode 1 and then send iD money to get the disks of Episodes 2 and 3 in the mail. Not sure if they did a BBS/FTP server for that (or Episode 4), but Star Crusader is very much a game that even did the in game advertisement of their DLC. I have fond memories of working my ass off one summer so I had enough money to mail a check to some random dude so he would mail me back login information so I could download the mission pack and see what happened to Roman Alexandria when he was abducted by that ship.
The “expansion pack” model that people praise was the exact same thing, just using store shelves to distribute. Because games were big enough that it was viable to expect players to drive down to Radio Shack and pick up a copy. And the main issue with that is that it meant we needed MUCH coarser grain content because it needed to justify a physical disc printing and distribution. Everyone rightfully shits on Oblivion’s horse armor. But the actual DLC burst that Oblivion had was… not horrible. Whereas the Fallout 3 DLC model was downright amazing for giving us 3 (5?) different mini areas and quest chains. No one DLC was a full expansion (well, people say The Pitt was but they are idiots) but it meant that we got the kind of variety that we had all been wanting ever since we got tired of spending two hours in a single biome in Diablo 2.
Which gets us to where we are now. Some studios do dogshit DLC. Others do good. The Larian model has generally been to NOT do DLC but to instead release an Enhanced Edition one or two years later. I assume with the licensing and the added funding for BG3 they don’t think they will need to but, time will tell.
But, personally? I would LOVE BG3: Throne of Bhaal. Not so much whatever the shitty BG1 expansion nobody played was.
*: and… there are a lot of arguments that stuff like basically every ARPG and RTS expansion pack were overpriced as hell by modern standards. Which is funny since those are the ones that are most praised.
That was Shareware, not DLC.
Edit: The difference being with shareware you didn’t have to pay any money to try the game. Basically the game was the demo as well as a full game, and once you played the first part of it for free, and you decided you liked it, then you paid and the rest of the game you already had was unlocked.
As opposed to an f2p game with DLC? Or buying a full game and, once you played the first part of it, you decided you liked it, then you paid and the rest of the game you already had was unlocked.
I LOVE ARPGs but I am well aware that the Blizzard/Diablo model is almost exactly what people rage against. Diablo 2, Diablo 3, Dungeon Siege 1, Dungeon Siege 2, and plenty of others all followed the model of releasing the first 3-4 acts and then releasing the 4th/5th act for 30 bucks a year later.
You’re being purposely confusing and intellectually dishonest, in an attempt to control the narrative.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shareware
Then please, stop me from being “intellectually dishonest”
What is the distinction between a Free to play game with paid expansion packs and DLC and a copy of a game that came on a CD that tells me where I can send a money order to to buy extra content?
Oh, am I being “intellectually dishonest” because I am not respecting the branding? Is that the distinction?
“buying a full game and, once you played the first part of it, you decided you liked it, then you paid and the rest of the game you already had was unlocked.”
“Free to play game with paid expansion packs and DLC”
Right there. There’s the blatant dishonesty. You’ve just described two different scenarios while attempting to portray them as the same.
You’re welcome. Now go away.
I think wizards of the coast will demand more products that are part of baldur’s gate 3. Tbf, baldur’s gate 1 and 2 are known for their expansions. I wouldn’t be opposed to an expansion or two.
Game is an absolute masterpiece on top of it all. This kind of game needs unequal levels of support. They knocked it out of the park AND they did it all in the right way. I’m encouraging people to buy it and play if they like RPG, tabletop or even just interested in forgotten realms. One of a few games I’ve purchased for full price on Steam.
deleted by creator
It’s just called “Game”? It kinda reminds me of this game store in the UK also called “GAME”, all caps this time.
Yep, I bought the Original Sin 2 for full price and planning to get this for full price too.
Between this, Armored Core 6, and Starfield it looks like my gaming backlog is filled until end of year.
I literally bought OS 1 & 2 because of how much I enjoyed the EA of BG3 and how much I like the studio’s style. They deserve every penny.
Is OS1 as good as 2 though? I don’t know much about it.
I’ll be honest, I haven’t played yet. It’s on the list though!.. cries in Steam backlog
I’m curious what bs Bethesda is going to have for Starfield. From horse armor to weak mods you pay for they keep trying something with every game.
Good luck playing them all.
When buying the game actually meant something.
I love the modern XCOM games, I love card games, I love games where the story follows a new superhero in an established superhero universe, I love XMen.
Yet.
Whilst I obviously was so excited for Marvel’s Midnight Son’s I was planning ahead to ask for cash to buy it full price for a birthday or something rather (to both play right away and support games that heavily target my tastes) rather than just wait for a deep sale a few years later like I normally would, all the buy this version and add on bits ala carte or buy this version that has some things but not all things but who know which is which or buy this super version that has the entire game or buy this hyper-mega version that has all of that and also stuff that’s not actually part of the game or buy a version that has the stuff that isn’t part of the game and most of the game… bullshit, just completely killed any interest I had in it.
I might pick it up and play it one day when it’s literally a few quid but quite possibly not at this point.
Just sell me the thing. Don’t complicate it. If I need to spend ages figuring out exactly which parts of a game I haven’t even played yet I do and don’t care about so I can try to see how close to a normal price I can pay and still get all the actual game, I’d rather just use that time to go play a game that wasn’t designed by MBE’s.
If you’re a fan of xcom, midnight sons will disappoint you. The tactical depth is reduced, and it’s all around less replayable than any xcom.
I don’t need it to be XCOM.
Whereas I love playing AAA games for free because other people spend money on cosmetic items I just don’t care about.
Apex Legends? Yes please, keep charging for skins and not the game.
Tbh I don’t get the hate for this model. I’d much rather be able to play these games for free and get to try them. Skin funded games mean I’ve played a lot of games for free, and I don’t care at all about the skins (and I don’t even get why people would) so I view the skins like a donation. If I really like the game I can spend a bit of money to get a skin to support them.
I’ve played league of legends for literally thousands of hours and never spent a cent on it. I have hundreds of hours on apex and also never spent anythings. It’s way better than games where you spend like 20 dollars and then also need to spend either hundreds of hours or dollars to unlock 2/3 of the playable characters.