BioWare Responds to Mass Effect 3 Day-One DLC on Disc
- Thread starter Mike Kayatta
- Start date
Very good question. My guess is that in most other game development processes, content labeled "beyond scope" for the main game remains out of the game. It isn't offered as Day 1 DLC; you never have the chance to get it, paid or otherwise. *If* you take Bioware at their word (I do), then at some point this content was flagged out of scope, because of the cost, the time, just not fitting into the game, etc. Whatever the reason, they decided it was not worth the time/money to put into the core game.Fluoxetine said:
At some point later (it may have even been the same day) during DLC discussion, they probably sifted through various things that had been tossed. During these talks, this character came up. They showed it to management, who gave the greenlight for the additional cost of development only on the promise of future returns (after all, the cost to develop at this point was above & beyond core game development). They throw the railroad tracks down on the disc so the character could slide in, and while it went off to certification, they began developing the mission, the weapons, the dialogue, etc., as Bioware stated. In the end, they were able to have 600mb of content ready for us on Day 1.
Again, I am guessing here, but based on my own experience working in tradeshow multimedia and my wife's experience as a project manager in process development, I can say this is how OUR companies do things, and it logically fits into everything Bioware has said to this point.
Game development is not a hobby, and there aren't a lot of companies that spend the amounts of money on development EA/Bioware did putting ME3 together. Smaller companies probably don't have the resources or knowledge to put this kind of DLC together in a timely enough fashion. Ubisoft justifies their budgets to the bigwigs with their insane levels of DRM. Activision underpays their staff and just makes the same stupid game over and over. Valve has hats, Bethesda has horse armor, & Bioware has character DLC.
What most people don't want to discuss around here is that the cost of game development is skyrocketing. Game prices are not moving to keep up with them, and used game sales are increasing, which means developers are getting less and less money to go with higher and higher costs. This is a reasonable way to set off costs. I would rather have optional DLC for those who want to pay than have $75-80 games.
So yea, you can all hate the process. You can hate the implementation. You can hate the PR. But this is a he said / she said argument, and nobody here is ENTITLED to that content. We are not the arbiters of what constitutes the "core game," whether 1kb or 1tb of data was on that disc. It's an unwinnable argument, because without video documentaries of the development process, NOBODY here can definitively say what happened. Just vote with your wallets, people. Seriously. Vote with your wallets.
I purchased the 'From Ashes' dlc after having found that I was thoroughly enjoying ME3 (despite it's many faults) and wanted to add to my single player experience. It's a lot more substantial than both the Zaeed and Kasumi dlc from ME2 and the character Javik is far far better integrated into the main game. So it's obvious more time was spent on working Javik into the main storyline than previous downloadable characters. He's actually quite important on one particular mission in the main game and generally has a massive amount of unique dialogue.
This of course means the presence of the dlc is open to interpretation. It can be said that this shows that Bioware have intentionally removed a substantial character from the main game and selling the content back to the player - and the fact that the character is quite important to the overall lore of the series is a way of trapping long time fans of ME into what for many may be an obligatory purchase.
However, it can be said that this is just a far better designed dlc than previous character dlc in ME2. Javik as a character is far better integrated into the main story than either Kasumi or Zaeed which obviously makes the dlc more worthwhile for those who want more than just another body on the Normandy. The actual mission accompanying the dlc is short and not particularly interesting and you get an extra weapon, a new biotic power and new character skins which aren't particularly interesting either. But the way the 'From Ashes' dlc adds to the single player experience is far more satisfying than character dlc in ME2.
Personally I love how the Javik character integrates into the story, making him feel like an important part of the team instead of just another body to fill up the ever expanding rooms of the Normandy. I would like to see more of this if possible with future dlc. But, the mission is quite boring and if you value a dlc on its length, well, it's a lot of money for around one hour of extra gameplay.
This of course means the presence of the dlc is open to interpretation. It can be said that this shows that Bioware have intentionally removed a substantial character from the main game and selling the content back to the player - and the fact that the character is quite important to the overall lore of the series is a way of trapping long time fans of ME into what for many may be an obligatory purchase.
However, it can be said that this is just a far better designed dlc than previous character dlc in ME2. Javik as a character is far better integrated into the main story than either Kasumi or Zaeed which obviously makes the dlc more worthwhile for those who want more than just another body on the Normandy. The actual mission accompanying the dlc is short and not particularly interesting and you get an extra weapon, a new biotic power and new character skins which aren't particularly interesting either. But the way the 'From Ashes' dlc adds to the single player experience is far more satisfying than character dlc in ME2.
Personally I love how the Javik character integrates into the story, making him feel like an important part of the team instead of just another body to fill up the ever expanding rooms of the Normandy. I would like to see more of this if possible with future dlc. But, the mission is quite boring and if you value a dlc on its length, well, it's a lot of money for around one hour of extra gameplay.
Then you bought the Collectors edition? Because it has been advertised since the Collectors edition was pretty much announced to have extra content that the regular edition doesn't have. Or would you prefer that they just not release it to the regular version people at all?DVS BSTrD said:
Did you read the thread? I guess not -.-Price0331 said:
Bioware don't care if a couple of hundred don't buy it...because no doubt another few million will. Your making a fuss over something that has happened for years and will continue to happen. And it probably won't change, so good luck buying another game in the future.
I'm going to be honest and say that when it comes to buying a new game at full price I do have a sense of entitlement and I don't feel guilty about it. In most cases new games stay at full price ($100-$110) for at least a month or two after release. I like to know when I make this big money commitment that I've gotten in early and more importantly, that for the full price I paid I have all the gaming pertaining to that game available to me. (At no additional cost) I buy a game wanting the whole experience. If I waited a long time to buy the game then it's understandable that it'll take me more time to catch up on all the dlc. I understand that some of the money I save on the core game price will go to dlc. If I've gotten in early at full price I feel like for at least a month or two, I should have access to every aspect of the game, that I own it in its entirety.
Of course the argument against this is usually that the 'core' game is all you need to have the 'whole experience' but that's a narrow view that you can't expect everyone to subscribe to. With some exceptions, dlc usually reveals and/or adds more aspects to the game's universe. If it's a good game I want to experience it in its entirety, including the aspects of it that are released after the 'core' game is shipped. If I got it new and near release date, then I expect to enjoy all the game world I bought into has to offer for the full price I paid.
What I'm struggling to articulate is that day-one dlc feels like there's an additional price tag separating me from the entirety of the game, which is a feeling I don't think I should have to experience if I'm going out of my way to pay full price at a time close to the release date. I'm not trying to imply that EA or any other company that does this is bad or evil, I just don't think it's entirely unreasonable to be uncomfortable with the idea.
With all that said, it'll be a while before I beat ME2, so I'll wait it out for now.
Of course the argument against this is usually that the 'core' game is all you need to have the 'whole experience' but that's a narrow view that you can't expect everyone to subscribe to. With some exceptions, dlc usually reveals and/or adds more aspects to the game's universe. If it's a good game I want to experience it in its entirety, including the aspects of it that are released after the 'core' game is shipped. If I got it new and near release date, then I expect to enjoy all the game world I bought into has to offer for the full price I paid.
What I'm struggling to articulate is that day-one dlc feels like there's an additional price tag separating me from the entirety of the game, which is a feeling I don't think I should have to experience if I'm going out of my way to pay full price at a time close to the release date. I'm not trying to imply that EA or any other company that does this is bad or evil, I just don't think it's entirely unreasonable to be uncomfortable with the idea.
With all that said, it'll be a while before I beat ME2, so I'll wait it out for now.
I did read the thread and if you read my post at all you would see those are my personal feelings. And plenty of games don't do this shit. The biggest launch last year for PC gamers didn't do it (Skyrim). And if a game company does do this, I'm PERSONALLY not interested in their game anyway. And it will change if you people stop throwing money at it, but I guess your parent's money is worth so little right? No? Oh well.arc1991 said:
I see your post count is almost 4000, if you're the kind of person that frequents these forums that much, than I guess this website isn't really for me anyways. Bunch of fanboys.
Here we go...Price0331 said:
I have been here since 2008, of course my post count is going to be huge, but i do comment every single day of every single month? No. I'm hardly a fanboy, i hated the first one and don't mind the second, i just HATE seeing people getting worked up over something so small, don't like what they do? don't get it, no need to complain over something you not going to get!
Oooh and by the way, i get games with my own money, not my mums... I'm 20, not 10 -.-
This doesn't require so much argument as much as making choices with your purchasing. If you feel this is a rip off, don't buy the game. More than any amount of yelling on these forums, what you spend money on determines what the market will do. I've yet to buy this game (mostly because of the Origin privacy crap) and its not like my world is ending. Granted, I am only one person and this game has been selling plenty. However, EA has a long history of ignoring these marginal differences and they have a long history of losing money. I'd bet the two are more connected than many of EA's execs and board of trustees likes to tell themselves.
If its on the disk, then isn't it technically not DLC because you don't have to download it? Meh, if Bioware wants to do it, they're free to as far as I can see because I'm not buying the game.
They bought reviews on a scale I've never seen before; a game is never worth 100% in my books, so when they started rolling in en masse, well... I genuinely was stunned after the first seven and its just kept going... I'm not supporting a company who is as petty as that, regardless how good their product is.
So basically, the files they found were the equivalent of having a locking mechanism to attach a spoiler to your car. So you go to buy a new car, and it has those slots. Is the dealer obliged to give you the spoiler? Nope. You can pay extra and he'll attach the spoiler for you, or you can just have the car without it for less. Having the slots does not entitle you to the spoiler.
This all makes sense to me. Not sure why it's so hard for some of the people on here to grasp. So they planned this as DLC and made preparations. What of it? A car without side-skirts is not 'unfinished'. A jacket without cufflinks is not 'unfinished'. They are extras. If you don't want them, don't buy them. I didn't pay for any DLC for Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age: Origins and my playing experience was not damaged in any way. If I didn't miss the DLC, then clearly it wasn't that dramatic in the first place.
This all makes sense to me. Not sure why it's so hard for some of the people on here to grasp. So they planned this as DLC and made preparations. What of it? A car without side-skirts is not 'unfinished'. A jacket without cufflinks is not 'unfinished'. They are extras. If you don't want them, don't buy them. I didn't pay for any DLC for Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age: Origins and my playing experience was not damaged in any way. If I didn't miss the DLC, then clearly it wasn't that dramatic in the first place.
I'd have to hope that out of 115 responses, someone has already pointed this out, but if it's true that the character himself is on the disc, yet his mission, weapon, and dialogue are what you're downloading, then it's true that he's not technically part of the launch disc. If you can't play his mission, you obviously can't recruit him.
But they are on the disk. A simple executable change unlocks the character, mission, weapon and dialogue without downloading any extra data. And I doubt that the cracked .exe includes the extra assets in its 20 megabytes.RJ 17 said:
P.S. I don't blame the publishers for dlc on the disk, I just don't like being lied to.