Hey Bioware, what's up with all the free DLC?

[crazyrabbits]

If I remember correctly, ME2 had single player DLC a few months after the initial release. "Kasumi Stolen Memory", that added the 2nd DLC character. Then they released more DLC over the next two(?) years. Some of it was silly, I can't imagine paying $2.99 for some character skins, but the new single player missions were fun enough.

The difference between Stolen Memory and From Ashes is that Kasumi (a character that also has a placeholder model on-disc) cost half of From Ashes ($4.99) and, pound for pound, offered more content in the game - a 2-hour recruitment mission, new gun, more upgrades, content in main game. Zaeed was the same setup, but he was merely a free-DLC incentive for everyone who bought the game new, not a CE bonus.

The "alternate appearance" packs, if I remember correctly, went for $1.99 each, and were based on fan requests on the Bioware Social Network. That was a good example of listening to the fans (although they never got around to the other six squad members because of the development cycle for 2 ending soon afterwards).

Given the way it ended, I don't see advantage to DLC unless it really adds more story/gameplay elements. Just adding missions that give you more war resources won't actually impact the game after a certain point.

Maybe they could create a mission where once you complete it, your galactic readiness won't slowly drift back down to 50%?)

I've heard rumors of DLC for retaking Omega, but what could they reward you with that it would make it worth paying money for? BioWare said they weren't adding more characters... At this point, I don't think BioWare is going to do more single player DLC, it feels like they're focused on multi-player as the "post-ending" strategy.

Join the club. Most people I've seen who've heard about the DLC are questioning why it's even in the game in the first place when it won't change anything related to the ending. We also knew about the Omega DLC months ago - it was part of the early script leaked in November of last year.

BW is focused on multiplayer right now because:

a) It's promoting a hybrid free-to-play model, which is what EA is currently shifting their priorities towards. They just recently announced an entire slate of F2P products coming out in the next year, and they see it as the way all developers are going to go.

b) Multiplayer doesn't cause controversy. They spent half their time at Comic-Con talking up the new multiplayer pack. It doesn't take many staff resources, and there's a certain market sector (one, I would wager, is much different from the core ME fanbase) that's willing to stick with it.

c) As mentioned before, F2P transactions bring in more money than single-player DLC because they're cheap to produce, rely on random drops and chance, and there's no downside to rushing it out in the middle of a controversy.

 

[The Heik]

Random element is a completely separate and irrelevant issue to what i said.

But even with the benefit of changing the argument into something completely different you fail to be factually correct.

Heck, even with their random elements you were at least given a general guarantee that what you got would be a higher tier than what you started out with. In Mass Effect though you are LITERALLY gambling with your money

You can buy different tiers of quality. Making what you said factually incorrect.

Oh you mean the tiers that divides weapons that for the most part are equally balanced? Yeah that's not completely and totally arbitrary /sarcasm. Look, unless the weapons in the higher tiers are measurably better than the ones you start off with (which they aren't), then the tier system means jack shit in terms of unlocking better things for the player as it ultimately comes down to personal preference. My aforementioned friend managed to unlock every weapon and class in the game, yet he still stuck to his human soldier with a mantis sniper closer than a mother to a child, making most of the unlock packs he got completely pointless. The game would have been far more enjoyable had they used the buying system from the game's single player, as you get exactly what you pay for.

If you can point me to where I am arguing that the random element puts you in a better position as a customer and you can keep on your strawman. Untill then deal with the fact that I haven't said that. I havn't gone into the random elements effect on you as a customer. I have spend 5 posts before this stomping this strawman for another person.

Stop wasting my damm time and deal with my original quote.

That you are in a better position as a customer because the product is free. That the product is a lottery ticket doesn't change that it is free.

You don't seem to understand the concept of free. Just because you aren't paying real money doesn't mean that you still aren't paying. Time is still a valuable commodity on this planet, seeing as we humans are mortal and therefore limited in the time we have here. So how much time would you have me spend to see if I can get the unlocks I want hmm? 100 hours? 200 hours? After some point the game just gets boring because you've already played out the stuff you've got, and as I've mentioned before, unlocks that you don't want do not liven that up. And that's the issue. The game is inconsistent in it's playability, and just because it's free does not automatically give it a free pass. A lot of the games that you mentioned as being worse off than ME3's multiplayer are just as free, and at least they are consistent and have the option where if you don't want to grind all that time you can use actually money to cut through it (Which as I've proven with my first post ME3 doesn't even come close to solving). Those systems are good because it rewards paying customers without making the free customers feel at a disadvantage, as opposed to ME3 forcing both paying and free players through a crap shoot where your hoped for gun could be in the next pack, or it could be 100 packs after the point where you've given up and decided to play something else.

So let me reiterate the whole point of why I've been arguing the "Random Element" and "Bad Design" points against your "It's free" thesis:

Just because something is monetarily free, does not make it a better product than other games. When it has to deal such a broken system you will pay for those unlocks. It'll just be with life force and willpower rather than bank accounts. And at some point, getting the unlock you want stops being worth all the time and effort you've put into into it.

 

[Shavon513]

It's damage control so they will be able to sell dlc later on.

 

[Eddie the head]

The multiplayer stuff is not "damage control." They can just get money out of people by using a simple Skinner box. That pays for the DLC and then some.

 

[GloatingSwine]

anc[is]The multiplayer stuff isn't free, it's specifically designed to push people towards gambling with real money. And if they had charged for the EC it would have been the same disaster all over again, but without day one purchasers to fall back on.

This. The multiplayer DLC just allows you the possibility to unlock the new content. To unlock it you still need to grind multiplayer or whip out your credit card. It is quite crafty, I'll give them that. It looks as if they are being very generous with all the new free content, when it is in fact just an attempt to milk the playerbase for as much as is humanely possible.

You can still play on the new maps and difficulty. Hell, a couple of new maps would be all you would get from some games' DLC.

However, the reason that the DLC has been free is that it stops the market from splitting. If your online shooter isn't basically already Call of Duty then charging for map packs is a good way to kill your online scene, because relatively few players are going to buy them, and the ones that do are never going to be able to use the thing they bought because too few people own it to have a decent number of games running.

Free map packs means that everyone with a connection is likely to download them, so there's much less splitting of the playerbase.

 

[spartan231490]

better question, why the fuck haven't you patched and fixed biotic charge yet. One of the coolest abilities in the game, and it doesn't even work 1/4 of the time. It's obscene, it shows gross incompetence on your parts so fucking fix it.

 

[Eddie the head]

better question, why the fuck haven't you patched and fixed biotic charge yet. One of the coolest abilities in the game, and it doesn't even work 1/4 of the time. It's obscene, it shows gross incompetence on your parts so fucking fix it.

Well it always works for the host. So I got to imagine that it has to do with some unforeseen latency issue that they didn't account for. It dose suck but if your having trouble just play as the host.

 

[Souplex]

The extended cut was essentially a patch.
The free multiplayer DLC is to motivate you to spend microsoft points on the packs.

 

[spartan231490]

better question, why the fuck haven't you patched and fixed biotic charge yet. One of the coolest abilities in the game, and it doesn't even work 1/4 of the time. It's obscene, it shows gross incompetence on your parts so fucking fix it.

Well it always works for the host. So I got to imagine that it has to do with some unforeseen latency issue that they didn't account for. It dose suck but if your having trouble just play as the host.

I am host. I spam Y 20 times and still don't charge, or I charge something, hit it, and then die without ever getting the shields back like I should. It's a broken ability, and they need to fix it.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

anc[is]The multiplayer stuff isn't free, it's specifically designed to push people towards gambling with real money.

So what? I have a ton of credits laying around in ME3's multiplayer, so I just bought packs until I got what I wanted. Sure, you could buy packs with real money if you're stupid, or you could just do a few matches and get the packs with in-game currency. Weekend missions generally tend to give players one of the newest classes as a reward as well.

I've never spent a dime, but if other people want to, who cares? I admit, I'd be pissed if they charged money for the "chance to unlock a new race", like if I'd had to buy the DLC, but that's not the case.

This is how many free-to-play games work. Patient gamers like me take advantage of free content which is put out due to the existence of impatient gamers spending real life money on shit they could get by just playing the game for free. You can call it a grind, but I enjoy the grind.

It's been said before, but I'll say it again; that's just them doing business. If you don't like it, take your business elsewhere. I'll help myself to all the free stuff I can get. Of course I'm forgetting that it's cool to hate BioWare now...

 

[Saviordd1]

Damage control, I'm guessing.
Just wait until Leviathan comes out, then we'll see if it's all free.

If leviathan isn't free...I don't see a problem.

Most DLC isn't free, the fact that they're putting out all this free stuff is nice and for damage control as you put it. But I don't expect them to release a real DLC for free, they've repaired most of the damage with all the free stuff; short of sending me boxes of chocolate and hookers they can't really do much better.

 

[Fr]anc[is]

anc[is]The multiplayer stuff isn't free, it's specifically designed to push people towards gambling with real money.

So what? I have a ton of credits laying around in ME3's multiplayer, so I just bought packs until I got what I wanted. Sure, you could buy packs with real money if you're stupid, or you could just do a few matches and get the packs with in-game currency. Weekend missions generally tend to give players one of the newest classes as a reward as well.

I've never spent a dime, but if other people want to, who cares? I admit, I'd be pissed if they charged money for the "chance to unlock a new race", like if I'd had to buy the DLC, but that's not the case.

This is how many free-to-play games work. Patient gamers like me take advantage of free content which is put out due to the existence of impatient gamers spending real life money on shit they could get by just playing the game for free. You can call it a grind, but I enjoy the grind.

It's been said before, but I'll say it again; that's just them doing business. If you don't like it, take your business elsewhere. I'll help myself to all the free stuff I can get. Of course I'm forgetting that it's cool to hate BioWare now...

Ah yes, "it's free, therefore completely immune to criticism" followed by a passive aggressive jab. I'm sick of being quoted, so I'll just say no matter what else you think, being random is needlessly obnoxious. If you completely ignore it's intent and say you'll never buy one, then you are worse off than having a structured unlock system.

 

[4173]

Random element is a completely separate and irrelevant issue to what i said.

But even with the benefit of changing the argument into something completely different you fail to be factually correct.

Heck, even with their random elements you were at least given a general guarantee that what you got would be a higher tier than what you started out with. In Mass Effect though you are LITERALLY gambling with your money

You can buy different tiers of quality. Making what you said factually incorrect.

Oh you mean the tiers that divides weapons that for the most part are equally balanced? Yeah that's not completely and totally arbitrary /sarcasm. Look, unless the weapons in the higher tiers are measurably better than the ones you start off with (which they aren't), then the tier system means jack shit in terms of unlocking better things for the player as it ultimately comes down to personal preference. My aforementioned friend managed to unlock every weapon and class in the game, yet he still stuck to his human soldier with a mantis sniper closer than a mother to a child, making most of the unlock packs he got completely pointless. The game would have been far more enjoyable had they used the buying system from the game's single player, as you get exactly what you pay for.

If you can point me to where I am arguing that the random element puts you in a better position as a customer and you can keep on your strawman. Untill then deal with the fact that I haven't said that. I havn't gone into the random elements effect on you as a customer. I have spend 5 posts before this stomping this strawman for another person.

Stop wasting my damm time and deal with my original quote.

That you are in a better position as a customer because the product is free. That the product is a lottery ticket doesn't change that it is free.

You don't seem to understand the concept of free. Just because you aren't paying real money doesn't mean that you still aren't paying. Time is still a valuable commodity on this planet, seeing as we humans are mortal and therefore limited in the time we have here. So how much time would you have me spend to see if I can get the unlocks I want hmm? 100 hours? 200 hours? After some point the game just gets boring because you've already played out the stuff you've got, and as I've mentioned before, unlocks that you don't want do not liven that up. And that's the issue. The game is inconsistent in it's playability, and just because it's free does not automatically give it a free pass. A lot of the games that you mentioned as being worse off than ME3's multiplayer are just as free, and at least they are consistent and have the option where if you don't want to grind all that time you can use actually money to cut through it (Which as I've proven with my first post ME3 doesn't even come close to solving). Those systems are good because it rewards paying customers without making the free customers feel at a disadvantage, as opposed to ME3 forcing both paying and free players through a crap shoot where your hoped for gun could be in the next pack, or it could be 100 packs after the point where you've given up and decided to play something else.

So let me reiterate the whole point of why I've been arguing the "Random Element" and "Bad Design" points against your "It's free" thesis:

Just because something is monetarily free, does not make it a better product than other games. When it has to deal such a broken system you will pay for those unlocks. It'll just be with life force and willpower rather than bank accounts. And at some point, getting the unlock you want stops being worth all the time and effort you've put into into it.

I think the original comparison is wrong. It's apples and oranges; the crapshoot is the feature, not a bug or problem. So the DLC is a free upgrade* to each players' slot machine.


*This does assume the player values additional fancy shit over acquiring one particular item, but that is a personal thing. Free peanuts aren't bad because some people are allergic.

anc[is]

Ah yes, "it's free, therefore completely immune to criticism" followed by a passive aggressive jab. I'm sick of being quoted, so I'll just say no matter what else you think, being random is needlessly obnoxious. If you completely ignore it's intent and say you'll never buy one, then you are worse off than having a structured unlock system.

Are decks of cards needlessly obnoxious? Are dice? Boardwalk is too obnoxious, all the squares should be "Go."

 

[Fr]anc[is]

Are decks of cards needlessly obnoxious? Are dice? Boardwalk is too obnoxious, all the squares should be "Go."

You don't have to buy poker booster packs and cross your fingers hoping you get an ace.

 

[The Heik]

Last time. Not going to say it again.

RANDOM ELEMENT = STRAWMAN

Its a different argument. You might as well go "Because it is on origin and origin is flawed from start". Completely irrelevant to what I am saying. A strawman.
You know what... you are grasping for straws.

"Its not free because it costs time."

That is dumbest thing you have said so far.

There are no free to play games then because it costs time. So ridicules.

Stop wasting my time. You have no point to what I am saying and every time I waste my time responding strawmen and ridicules bullshit.

But ok. Your points.

Its flawed from the start because it is based with a random element because gods know that random element have made games unplayable since forever.

And its not free because it costs time.

Yeah great points...

Excuse me this post isn't free. Its costing me time afterall. Derp.

Ah have you learned so little? Showing someone that they are in error is never a wasted moment.

Also thank you for deciding to stop with the Strawman argument, as you very clearly don't understand it's contextual use. A Strawman argument in general use is where an informal fallacy based upon a misinterpretation of the original argument. This is not what occurred.

Your argument was that the free nature of the game made it better because of it. I believe the direct quote was

In the end we have more power as a customer than even before. We dont have to pay anything to enjoy the product, but we can pay money to get served product at a faster rate.

I responded by giving you examples on how this was untrue due to the nature of unlock system in ME3, which not only made paying for extra content generally pointless, but by locking all that free content behind a random element it made the existance of free content rather moot as well. Even if something is free, if the content you want cannot be reliably accessed the free nature of it becomes rather insubstantial, like having to guess the right number from 1 to 100 in order to get a muffin. It doesn't really feel like you are being rewarded, merely that you got lucky.

This is not a Strawman Argument. It is using another facet of the situation to disprove your argument via showing data that conflicts with your thesis. It's debating 101

Also, you are incorrect in your belief that time is not a commodity. Ask any engineer or architect or really anyone who has to deal with large long term projects, as they will tell you time is the most precious commodity because it cannot be salvaged if it is used improperly. There is only so much time in a 24 hour cycle which we can spend upon certain things, and a very large chunk of it is used simply to maintain our mortal shells (8 hours of sleep plus eating, working etc.). If doing something does not result in some form of progress, then it has been wasted like any other asset.

 

[bigfatcarp93]

So Mass Effect 3 so far has had a bunch of DLCs so far, the bulk of which have been multiplayer expansions.

Not that I'm complaining, but jut curious, as to why Bioware has realeased all of the Multiplayer DLC, and the Extended Cut, free of charge?

TAKE A GUESS.

I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with Hulticolored Mexplosions.