BioWare Defends Mass Effect 3 Launch-Day DLC
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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.Murmillos said:
According to a interview done with Jessica Merizan, Community Manager for Bioware, on redditMurmillos said:
http://www.reddit.com/r/masseffect/comments/q2sl2/i_am_jessica_merizan_community_manager_for/?sort=hot
"[?]jessicamerizan
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
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
No spoilers from me, but you may be on the right train of thought with that
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[?]jessicamerizan
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?
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.animehermit said:
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.
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.
So no, they didn't MAKE, or FORCE you to buy anything.
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?
And why do you find people who pay more getting more scary?
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.SajuukKhar said:
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.
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.animehermit said:
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.Murmillos said:
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.
Steam's offline mode is notorious for being selective on who it does and doesn't work for.Darkmantle said:
Valve has patched it at least 20 times increasing to total number of people it works for but not ever solving the underlining problem.
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.animehermit said:
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.
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
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.Sagacious Zhu said:
Instead of Bioware doing that, why not try to advocate to people to stop being paranoid conspiracy theorists?
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.Sagacious Zhu said:
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.SajuukKhar said:
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.BaronIveagh said:
Had Bioware NOT been acquired by EA I can almost guarantee they would be THE EXACT SAME THINGS they are today.
Even though you butchered my post, I still think I am right.ilovemyLunchbox said:
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.
Because its easy. Because they get more money. Because they want your money. Because they are no longer the holy grail of RPG developers. Trust me, I'm as pissed as you, but if it gives you money, it gives you money.Paragon Fury said:
Haven't you heard, publishers are never ever wrong and can do no evil and can't sin and can't be bad and can't fuck their customers and can't be dicks and... I hope you know what I'm getting at.Agente L said:
I call bullshit on them saying that this was not made until it was getting shipped, complete bullshit. If it was in fact not made until the game was done, then how are Collectors Edition Owners getting their code? If not that then how did they script him in time. I'm pretty sure that he plays a huge part to the lore, so he would have to be written carefully to avoid fan outcry.
I don't see a way they could do this without it being worked on before hand.
Anyone who defends this needs to look at the wiki page on Protheans, and you'll get why people are pissed off and / or not buying the game anymore due to it. Its a fucking disgrace that they would do this to obviously cash in on the ending of the series. And I'm almost betting it was EA's decision to either cut or make the content.
Wiki page here:
http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Prothean
it works fine if you set it to offline mode BEFORE you lose your connection. If you do lose it while connected it's a toss up on whether or not it's gonna actually work.[/quote]animehermit said:
Not for me, if I take out my interenet connection it will turn me straight to offline mode. Either people need to validate their steam cache [may be the issue] or get a better connection. Either or, I and many others don't have this problem, it seems like a majority does.
Read the Wiki page on the protheans, then tell me people don't have a right to be pissed. Saying that this is not a bad or obvious money grab is very silly. Don't be blind to the fact that there is almost no reason for it to be a prothean, except for milk money from regular consumers who love this game. Multiplayer was a worry because it was taking a single player experience and making it online, a social experience. Large difference between a very important lore character then a extra mode.David Savage said:
Only because they're known to do things like this and worse. I see no reason in Bioware's history to think they'd be doing all they are today when it comes to chucking out unfinished games because of the very new "yearly development cycle" that publishers like EA have started to enforce on their developers. They're not the only ones doing it, but definitely one of the worst cases.SajuukKhar said:
Above all else, I can definitely guarantee that Dragon Age 2 would not of been the buggy mess that it was or that Bioware would of been forced to design the game the way they did if there were allowed a more reasonable RPG development schedule. The obvious example being repetitive dungeons, even with maps not even fixed to represent the slight changes they made. (I.E. The random stuff they placed to block of paths)
Thankfully they weren't crazy enough to have Bioware pull a "Dragon Age 2" again. I mean, the outrage about DA2's release condition couldn't have anything to do with why Mass Effect 3 was delayed as long as it was, could it? It was right around the same time and definitely far longer than a normal delay in today's industry, but no, that couldn't be, could it? You seem to like to draw logical conclusions based on your devotion to Bioware, so I'll draw logical conclusions based on well...logic.
I can't think of a single reason in their history or at this time, other than "because other developers have started doing it" for Bioware to change as drastically as they have in recent years, other than EA's influence. As ALL EA owned developers have turned towards these methods. It was an EA company that first sold Cheat Codes as DLC as far back as that was and I definitely remember that causing some outrage. Point being, to deny the distinct possibility that EA is a major influence on a company they own, like Bioware, when it comes to any financially based decision, is just choosing to be deliberately ignorant of their track record and common sense.