X Rebirth - sequels? or High quality resonably priced dlc?

[dougeye]

So when X rebirth is released i wondered would it be better to release periodic expansion packs (or dlc's) to keep adding to that universe and game, or would you prefere all new games (with a longer wait of course) were you need to start over but in the same universe (like x1 x2 x3r x3tc).

Im in two minds myself but i thought it would be an interesting discussion point.

I mean would you be happy to pay say £5 for a ship pack containing 20 new ships or a sector pack which added 20 new sectors? Do you think this would just be a case of milking it? It just seems to me that most developers are investing in dlc contents these days and i wonder if egosoft/deepsilver will follow this trend.

Now the obvious problem with the type of dlc's mentioned above are obviously price!! why buy that amount of content for £5 when you could wait and buy a new complete game for £30. Also i think they would propably be dead in the water as soon as the community learns to Mod the new engine and create their own custom ships, maps and scripts.

One thing i would not mind seeing which was always scarse in the case of mods was proper MD scripted missions. Mabye Egosoft could create Expansions that add new ships / sectors etc and new plot lines. (Aldrin missions comes to mind although i believe they were a free update?)

like i said i dont know which i would prefere (probably lean towards complete new games but i would like them to add to the universe and take account of the things i do in the original game.)

What do you guys think about dlc's etc??

[Starlight_Corporation]

I prefer the current system actually. Free updates every once in a while to reward the people who bought & registrated the game.
Not much need for DLC as the modcommunity made some fantastic things. I do agree about the MissionDirector, seems it's a complicated piece of software as there's not much missions in S&M forum (know of 2 there), but in cooperation with the community, egosoft did add several missions into X3TC (Treasure Hunt, A new Home, Balance of Power)

DLC in the end only adds content modders can add as well, and as the X series is easely moddable (hints are given that X-Rebirth will be as modfriendly) payed DLC isn't worth the effort as the X series is still a niche game. Better lure in new customers with free updates, then charging existing customers with DLC.
For serious gamechanges a new engine/game is usually the better option.

[EternalSpace]

I have a feeling the X-Rebirth will be much easier to mod since its a brand new engine and Egosoft know how to improve what has been basically used for 10 years. A whole new engine will all brand new tools! Hopefully we have complete mod freedom. I've seen some crazy things made for Starcraft 2 using the built-in editor, hopefully we can mod this game so much it seems like a different game. If we wanted to of course.

Now, I'd rather have sequels and here's why. This game is bound to smash several peoples dreams of what they wanted in TNBT. There's just no way all those requests can be fulfilled. If we get new sequels, hopefully, the engine can be re-written/re-worked to add in features that the community never got in X-R. You're limited to what you can do in Expansions and DLC, and everything you can do in those will likely get done by the community anyway. In fact an expansion/dlc is likely to break scripts/mods made by other members!

[Alee Enn]

So when X rebirth is released i wondered would it be better to release periodic expansion packs (or dlc's) to keep adding to that universe and game,

Don't even joke about that ... that is what ruins The Sims series. £30 for the game, then £20 - £30 quid PER DISC to make the game better, AND they also charge you for DLC.

I'm not made of money.

[Ketraar]

I do agree about the MissionDirector, seems it's a complicated piece of software as there's not much missions in S&M forum (know of 2 there), but in cooperation with the community, egosoft did add several missions into X3TC (Treasure Hunt, A new Home, Balance of Power)

You miss the point of a ton of MD stuff being made that are not missions, most of my stuff for example, also there are several mods that include several missions, TSOG, Transcend I+II, KOG, NH just to mention a few and not even counting those that are in other languages.

I really would like to stop this rumour to spread that MD is "difficult", its NOT true, I learned it, so everyone else can. True it wont happen over night and without any effort, they still developing the Matrix-instalearn-download thingy.

As for the DLC, well better have it for free, but I would not object to a Redeem code type of DLC like in ME2, rewarding registered users.
Nothing that bothers me much though tbh.

MFG

Ketraar

[builder680]

Rather than DLC, I'd prefer licensed mods. Egosoft takes the lion's share and modders take a small cut.

I think DLC may be similar to this, but modders in general do better work in my experience with several other games. This way, both parties win, and we as players can show our appreciation for the modders with our wallets. I don't think $5 is too much to ask to be able to use an amazing mod such as SRM, Improved Races, X-TC... etc. The list is endless.

The only issue would be pricing structure, and for small things or unlicensed mods they could probably remain free. Or like a nickel or something. Enough downloads and it's still a few bucks for the person who made it and Egosoft.

[EternalSpace]

I happen to be a completionist and I really hope if there's DLC that it's free. I can't afford it otherwise. I'd only pay for DLC if the content was HUGE, and I mean Expansion huge, so might as well just release it as an expansion. Unless EA or Activision buys out Deep-Silver/Egosoft I don't want to pay for scripts/mods.

[Black Gryphon]

I won't buy DLC's. That content should have been included in the game in the first place.

[Star_Raider15]

I happen to be a completionist and I really hope if there's DLC that it's free. I can't afford it otherwise. I'd only pay for DLC if the content was HUGE, and I mean Expansion huge, so might as well just release it as an expansion. Unless EA or Activision buys out Deep-Silver/Egosoft I don't want to pay for scripts/mods.

same thing here, its the "free expansions and DLC" policy that will keep me glued to the X series.

I'm no market expert or anything like that, but i think that Egosoft's current marketing approach is the best there is for such a niche company: keep a small but stable and loyal community base and do changes one step at a time, gradually expanding that user base.

[Ketraar]

Unless EA or Activision buys out Deep-Silver/Egosoft I don't want to pay for scripts/mods.

So you are saying you would pay for mods/scripts, but only for an EA/Activision owned game/developer?

MFG

Ketraar

[amtct]

Unless EA or Activision buys out Deep-Silver/Egosoft I don't want to pay for scripts/mods.

So you are saying you would pay for mods/scripts, but only for an EA/Activision owned game/developer?

MFG

Ketraar

That happens when you give to much for free

[thyco]

DLC is such an ugly axcronym(sp) Almost everysingle AAA company goes for the milking type of DLC, only a few companys get the DLC right. BIS is the only company im awhere of thats got DLC right consistanly and thats with their british pack and PMC pack for Arma 2. Valve and Blizzard have got it right when it comes to vanity DLC, ie shit that you can buy that doesnt upset the game balance or prevent you from playing with others.

I had to laught when i read the UK PCGAMER review of the lasted COD map pack. the article kept listing games that you could buy which would cost less and give more value for money than 5 maps for 1 game.

For me i just prefer the good ole fashioned expansion packs like broodwars or bloodmoon etc

[supakillaii]

Expansions so they can take our money unlike DLC, and take less time, unlike sequels.

[Demotruk]

It depends. If the original release is relatively bug free and content rich, I will be happy to buy DLC. On the other hand, if it's a buggy mess like X3 and to a lesser extent TC were at launch, I will expect some content updates in addition to the fixes for bugs before I start paying for extra content.

[builder680]

Just to expand on the licensed mod idea I posted above... such a setup would also encourage a standardized UI and procedures for installation, configuration, backup, documenting, and removal of mods. Since they're making money from them, they'd want it to be as easy as possible to use them. A huge plus, and an enormous improvement over the current situation.

[Nyax]

I have no problem with DLC provided it's good value for money, and gives me something NEW to do in the game. dougeyes suggestion of a DLC that just adds some new ships and sectors is an example of the kind of DLC i Would NOT buy, because it's not giving you anything very new to do. Equally if it's just something that can be easily added by Modders then again that's not great value.

Examples of what i would consider examples of 'Good' DLC are-

For Oblivion- Knights of the Nine
For Mass Effect 2- Lair of the Shadow broker (best bit of DLC EVER)
For Fallout 3 - All of 'em

What all these do is add new areas to explore, give new equipment, and give you additional story driven narative. Essentially it's a mini expansion pack. That's hard to come by in the stuff generally produced by modders. It's giving you Genuinely unique new Polished experiences.

[GCU Grey Area]

Personally prefer full sequels & loathe the whole idea of DLCs (I never buy them). Releasing games with chunks hacked out of them so they can be sold later just seems wrong to me.

The one thing which DLCs do for me is to delay the time at which I buy a game (often by a few years) in the hope I'll eventually be able to pick up a 'Game of the Year' edition (or similar) which has all the DLCs, expansions, etc included on the same disk.

e.g. a few months ago I finally got round to playing Fallout 3 & got all the DLCs along with it for about 10 quid. I'd probably have been willing to pay twice as much (& bought it much sooner) if they hadn't tried to screw extra cash out of me by going the DLC route & just released the whole game on a single disk from the start.

[Spero]

I dare say that I grew up with Egosoft games. I've always had one somewhere throughout my whole life. That, and Blizzard games. Difference being that the latter is a corporate monster that doesn't need consumer support.

I'd happily part with money for Egosoft DLC, a small thank-you for continually supporting their games years after release with little monetary incentive. Though, I dare say most people wouldn't feel that way regarding priced DLC. I imagine the most secure way is just physical, store/steam-bought expansion packs.

[Vitez]

Never did I touch one DLC and I will never buy one. I've payeed for a whole game, and not just a "base" program that is used to put many other programs (dlc) on it. Egosoft has been a gemstone in my eye making quality games (and extensions) for a fair price and providing smaller-bigger stuff via patches and mods (by the community) and not stupid DLC-s which "connect the previous game with the sequel" (Mass Effect..pfff...). Make a full game, maybe a fair extension, but NO DLC-s. I bought minimum 3 copies of each X-game because I wanted to give a little "thank you" - even though it is little, I give the money, unlike DLC-s where they take the money. If I said "thank you" by buying the games, I say "f.. ..u" and will never buy a DLC.

[bravoman]

Can't i vote for all options? Lol.