BioWare Defends Mass Effect 3 Launch-Day DLC

[Erttheking]

How about when it's actually needed to get the full story and experience, how is that? Assassin's creed two actually crossed this line, taking out sequence 13 and 14 (I think those were the ones), ME3 has not.

I agree with you there. And just as you every easily pointed out, we have had content cut from games in the past to be sold from DLC later to get a more "full story and experience". And until From Ashes comes out to prove us right or wrong, many people are afraid that THIS DLC will be taking out important story elements and experience.

We've seen this very event happen in the past from lesser developers; so why is it a big deal people are worried that they are about to see it happen again from a company they have trusted in the past, but has started to shown its more willing to be used as EA money making slut, then holding up to their own principles of excellence toward gamers?

Well Bioware said that it's optional and it's been confirmed that he'll be in the game regardless, but I suppose that you're right and that we'll have to wait and see.

 

[SajuukKhar]

1. It's From Ashes, From Dust is a civilization/world building game

2. Lacking the from Ash's DLC isn't gonna cause a detriment to the games story.

1) Doh' fixed.

2) Are you 100% absolutely sure that nothing of meaningful content related to the story and experience of the game is in the DLC from Ashes?

According to a interview done with Jessica Merizan, Community Manager for Bioware, on reddit
http://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/q2sl2/i_am_jessica_merizan_community_manager_for/?sort=hot

"[?]jessicamerizan 295 points 3 days ago

I think there's a lot of misinformation out there and I wish the guy who made the initial video about it would have had an open mind before jumping to conclusions based on a leak we weren't ready to address. Since I'm a BioWare employee, I know people won't automatically trust me, but I hope people will consider that it wasn't cut content from the larger game. I was in Edmonton when we were finishing the game in November/December and I was in Edmonton again last month when they were working on the Day 1 DLC. It definitely was only possible to do because the main game was in certification (which means we had to wait for people to test it and make sure everything was good etc before we could get the greenlight to sell it). I also played the game WITHOUT the DLC in my first playthrough and honestly, it's an awesome addition but I was more than happy with what I was given in the game. It's bigger and more expansive than ever. Of course, I understand the concern but I hope we can all have an intelligent conversation about it and cover what the facts are in this situation.

Hope that helps a little bit. This is an awkward format to answer this question, but I know I could explain it if you were sitting next to me on a couch with some coffee/tea "
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"[?]jessicamerizan 44 points 3 days ago

Thank you for the thoughtful response. I wish I didn't have to worry about spoilers because I'd love to explain what clever things BioWare did to make the DLC a great addition without taking away from the main game.

Believe it or not, I am more frustrated than you are, I think."
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"[?]mifuyne 40 points 3 days ago

There's a theory going around that whatever you could've learned from this Prothean is already part of the core game, you don't need the DLC to get that content. What you do need this DLC for is to bring him along for the ride.

I'm inclined to believe this, to be honest. But we won't know for certain until the game comes out.

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[?]jessicamerizan 69 points 3 days ago

No spoilers from me, but you may be on the right train of thought with that "
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[?]jessicamerizan 59 points 3 days ago

I hope you understand that I'm in a position where to reassure you, it would require me to reveal story spoilers, something that I don't think is acceptable.

Personally, I began my career as an archaeologist (for serious!) and the events surrounding this new character speak to me. However, if it wasn't DLC, it definitely wouldn't have been in the main game. There's other things that didn't fit in the main game that may end up as future DLC.

Again, I think this is a cool edition and definitely intended as a reward for serious fans (many of whom have purchased the collector's edition so this isn't even an issue for them). However, I have played the game without it and the lore surrounding the DLC is in the game already, this character just gives their own take on it.

Was that any less vague or helpful to anyone?

 

[Murmillos]

If you don't think the DLC is worth the $10, then don't buy it, no one is forcing you to.

Actually, by buying the CE months ago, they have already forced me to. It's kind of funny, and sad, if you think about it.

I'm just worried about the next time there is a game I like, but I don't drop the money for the CE (because of the physical goods are not attractive enough) and they bundle a "questionable" DLC into the CE edition.

 

[SajuukKhar]

It was mentioned, when the CE was announced, that the CE contained a special squadmate, and no one MADE you buy the CE.

So no, they didn't MAKE, or FORCE you to buy anything.

 

[Murmillos]

I guess in 12+ days we'll find out, just what the DLC bonus mission entails, and what having him in the squad differs from not able to.

This DLC may be innocent, I just don't like the presidence this sets for future games.

 

[SajuukKhar]

This isn't anything new at all, or anywere close to the first time something like this has happened, It isn't a precedent for anything

And why do you find people who pay more getting more scary?

 

[Murmillos]

It was mentioned, when the CE was announced, that the CE contained a special squadmate, and no one MADE you buy the CE.

So no, they didn't MAKE, or FORCE you to buy anything.

Are you sure; This is the information I went off of back when I ordered the DLC from Amazon (and when I checked at Gamestop). It was identical to the information at Bioware and the forums at the time of announcement.

Premium metal case featuring commemorative artwork of Commander Shepard
70-page hardbound art book featuring hundreds of unique and gorgeous illustrations from the BioWare development team
Limited edition Mass Effect comic by Dark Horse Comics, complete with unique cover artwork
Join the ranks of the N7 with the premium fabric N7 patch
Exclusive 4x6 lithographic print featuring a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork

A full collection of in-game content that can't be found anywhere else:
N7 Arsenal Pack - Bring the firepower with the N7 Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, SMG, and Pistol
Robotic Dog - A faithful sidekick to keep you company on board the Normandy
Squadmate Alternate Outfit Pack - New appearances for your favorite squad members
N7 Hoodie - For Commander Shepard's casual days on board the Normandy
Mass Effect 3 with the digital soundtrack
Xbox LIVE Normandy prop for your avatar
A collection of forum and social badges, avatars, and perks

And yes, by including the special DLC character into the collectors edition, I have been forced to buy it. So now my only choice is to be complacent in its inclusion, cancel my CE and forgo all the other CE stuff I wanted, or boycott the game all together.

I'm not morally outraged enough to cancel my order, I just hate what this means for the future if this DLC is just as popular as every other damn track pack / weapons pack out there.

As somebody else said, "slippery slope". We are just sliding down it an inch at a time with every new game that comes out.

 

[BaronIveagh]

I would say Origin is less DRM-like than even Steam is. I don't need to launch Origin to play most of the games I own through the service, I can more easily set it to offline mode, and I can access my account on multiple computers much more easily.

That is changing with Me3, which, based on the Demo and Dev comments, shuts the game off if you lose your connection to the Origin servers. ME3 will not boot without Origin and requires Origin to be running the entire time, according to the devs on Origin's site.

 

[Darkmantle]

I would say Origin is less DRM-like than even Steam is. I don't need to launch Origin to play most of the games I own through the service, I can more easily set it to offline mode, and I can access my account on multiple computers much more easily.

That is changing with Me3, which, based on the Demo and Dev comments, shuts the game off if you lose your connection to the Origin servers. ME3 will not boot without Origin and requires Origin to be running the entire time, according to the devs on Origin's site.

I played the PC demo, and it functions like Steam does. But you can go offline with it. I just tried this with the PC demo, I set the game offline and then played the first part of the demo. You're only required to go online for the the multiplayer.

and unlike Steam, Origin has an actually functioning offline mode.

\

The steam offline feature works just fine for me.

 

[SajuukKhar]

It was mentioned, when the CE was announced, that the CE contained a special squadmate, and no one MADE you buy the CE.

So no, they didn't MAKE, or FORCE you to buy anything.

Are you sure; This is the information I went off of back when I ordered the DLC from Amazon (and when I checked at Gamestop). It was identical to the information at Bioware and the forums at the time of announcement.

Premium metal case featuring commemorative artwork of Commander Shepard
70-page hardbound art book featuring hundreds of unique and gorgeous illustrations from the BioWare development team
Limited edition Mass Effect comic by Dark Horse Comics, complete with unique cover artwork
Join the ranks of the N7 with the premium fabric N7 patch
Exclusive 4x6 lithographic print featuring a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork

A full collection of in-game content that can't be found anywhere else:
N7 Arsenal Pack - Bring the firepower with the N7 Sniper Rifle, Shotgun, SMG, and Pistol
Robotic Dog - A faithful sidekick to keep you company on board the Normandy
Squadmate Alternate Outfit Pack - New appearances for your favorite squad members
N7 Hoodie - For Commander Shepard's casual days on board the Normandy
Mass Effect 3 with the digital soundtrack
Xbox LIVE Normandy prop for your avatar
A collection of forum and social badges, avatars, and perks

And yes, by including the special DLC character into the collectors edition, I have been forced to buy it. So now my only choice is to be complacent in its inclusion, cancel my CE and forgo all the other CE stuff I wanted, or boycott the game all together.

I'm not morally outraged enough to cancel my order, I just hate what this means for the future if this DLC is just as popular as every other damn track pack / weapons pack out there.

As somebody else said, "slippery slope". We are just sliding down it an inch at a time with every new game that comes out.

A person is expected to do research of a product before he or she buys it, you should never take what ONE place like Amazon says to be 100% accurate information.

I hear this same argument applied with Steam games, "ohh they FORCED me to install Steam because they didn't tell me", which is false. One is expected to know that Steam is on the game before they buy it, it is listed in several places.

Personal responsibility to know what is in the product you are buying applies in this.

The steam offline feature works just fine for me.

Steam's offline mode is notorious for being selective on who it does and doesn't work for.

Valve has patched it at least 20 times increasing to total number of people it works for but not ever solving the underlining problem.

 

[BaronIveagh]

I played the PC demo, and it functions like Steam does. But you can go offline with it. I just tried this with the PC demo, I set the game offline and then played the first part of the demo. You're only required to go online for the the multiplayer.

and unlike Steam, Origin has an actually functioning offline mode.

See, I have no problem with Steam working in offline mode, but Origin closed ME3's demo every time it dropped, regardless of what mode I was using.

This has been the subject of some debate on Bioware's boards, but it's supposedly 'working as designed', so I'll go with that being who it works until it's not.

 

[Sagacious Zhu]

I feel like timing is a huge factor here. If Bioware held off releasing From Ashes for a few months, there wouldn't be the complaint about it being cut from the game. But because it is Day 1 DLC, it reeks of dishonest business practices and and the suggestion that the material was cut from the game

This could have all been avoided if they waited a few months

 

[SajuukKhar]

I feel like timing is a huge factor here. If Bioware held off releasing From Ashes for a few months, there wouldn't be the complaint about it being cut from the game. But because it is Day 1 DLC, it reeks of dishonest business practices and and the suggestion that the material was cut from the game

This could have all been avoided if they waited a few months

I find it silly that Bioware should be forced to sit on finished content for a month because customers are paranoid.

Instead of Bioware doing that, why not try to advocate to people to stop being paranoid conspiracy theorists?

 

[BaronIveagh]

This could have all been avoided if they waited a few months

That's been the general consensus on Bioware's boards is that it's not so much a bad idea as badly mismanaged. They should have worried the first time it leaked 9 months ago, but they did a good job covering it up. One of them should have gone 'that was too easy...' and had better spin control in place for the next time it leaked.

I find it silly that Bioware should be forced to sit on finished content for a month because customers are paranoid.

Instead of Bioware doing that, why not try to advocate to people to stop being paranoid conspiracy theorists?

Because this is EA we're talking about. Someone commented on Youtube that EA = the Reapers. Pre EA Bioware is the Protheans, and Now Bioware is the Collectors.

And who in their right mind trusts a word EA says?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/8727-Dragon-Age-2

 

[BaronIveagh]

Double Post again. Need to get used to this board being slower then Bioware's...

 

[SajuukKhar]

Because this is EA we're talking about. Someone commented on Youtube that EA = the Reapers. Pre EA Bioware is the Protheans, and Now Bioware is the Collectors.

And who in their right mind trusts a word EA says?

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/8727-Dragon-Age-2

I love how some people think that EA is strong arming Bioware into all this stuff.

Had Bioware NOT been acquired by EA I can almost guarantee they would be THE EXACT SAME THINGS they are today.

 

[Arakasi]

Expanding upon the game in a non-essential, elective way to get more playing time out of a game for a price that is a fraction of the game is always a bad idea. People are stupid for wanting things like Shivering Isles, Claptrap Revolutions, Dragon Age: Awakening, and Lair of the Shadow Broker.

I see where you're going with this...

Even though you butchered my post, I still think I am right.
It is, and always will be, done for money. If they really wanted to include it in the main game they could, just by keeping it in development a tad longer.
And even if they wished to keep working on it after release, they could sell it for either a minimal price or release it for free.

I bet that the promise of free DLCs would be a great selling point.