Jump to content

DLC vs Expansion Packs  

532 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you prefer new content in the form of DLC or full expansion packs?

    • DLC only
    • Expansion Packs only
    • A mixture of DLC and Expansion Packs


Recommended Posts

Regardless of what will happen, what would you personally prefer to see in terms of content being added post launch?

  • A system of DLC, such as in Mass Effect, where you pay a small fee for extra characters, armour, missions, etc
  • A system where you pay a larger fee for an expansion pack which adds onto the end of the game, like Throne of Bhaal for BG2
  • Or a system incorporating both together?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a purely commercial decision, not a developer/designer one, so, Feargus, if you're reading this: PLEASE. NO. DLC. WHATSOEVER.

 

Expansion packs, OTOH, are fine.

  • Like 20

There are no doors in Jefferson that are "special game locked" doors. There are no characters in that game that you can kill that will result in the game ending prematurely.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regardless of what will happen, what would you personally prefer to see in terms of content being added post launch?

  • A system of DLC, such as in Mass Effect, where you pay a small fee for extra characters, armour, missions, etc
  • A system where you pay a larger fee for an expansion pack which adds onto the end of the game, like Throne of Bhaal for BG2
  • Or a system incorporating both together?

 

 

Personally I think they should work on the next game or on the toolset and than let the community do the rest.XD

 

but if DLC than like they did in New Vegas. That was actually really worth the money.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Both. Why not? The more, the better.

 

Just make sure that it feels like additions to the game after the fact instead of cut out content that should have been included in the game to begin with. This is the only thing I dislike about DLC today.

  • Like 1

Swedes, go to: Spel2, for the latest game reviews in swedish!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I voted for the third option to express indifference toward either approach. Obsidian has been very good with DLC. Treasures of the Sun and the four New Vegas DLCs all added a nice amount of new content. As long as they maintain that standard of quality, DLC is fine by me. Ditto with expansion packs. Mask of the Betrayer was awesome stuff. Storm of Zehir, not as much, but it wasn't as if I felt ripped off paying full price for it.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I say expansion packs all the way, and only expansion packs. The problem with DLC is that, as we've seen with Dragon Age: Origins, keeping track of all those DLC decisions and getting them to transfer over properly into the next game seems to be a serious pain. Often DLC seems to be very small and because they're sold apart from the game they don't really mesh well with main storylines. Expansion packs fit together well, continue the story, and have a lot of content in them that doesn't seem stuck on.

 

But mostly I'm just old fashioned and love to have something that I can actually buy and put on my shelf.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DLC like F:NV is fine because that added more actual playable content and entirely new story lines to explore, which are always fun, but if it's like the horrific crap Bethesda put in with Oblivion (3 dollars for non-fucntional horse armor for instance) then I want no part of it.

 

When it feels like a developer is just withholding something from the original release so they can chisel it out of you later because they know that people aren't going to want to feel like they're missing something, that's somewhat distasteful.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd prefer expansion packs everyday of the week. Release the original game and see how it goes. If you're happy with sales, then you start working on an expansion pack that continues the story of the original game or is a separate adventure. DLC packs can work for some games, and I have bought more DLC than I probably should have, but I don't see DLC working for this type of game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hate DLCs with a passion. Not for what content they individually offer, but what they represent as a whole: tiny chunks of game with totally inadequate price.

 

Even if Project Eternity's DLC would not be like that, it would still be an endorsment of this practice. So, even if it gets down simply to naming decision: big no-no to DLC.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

XPacks are also more transparent, in that you know that they constitute something separate from the original product's development phase. Companies that make use of DLC are more and more getting into murkey waters where they sell you content that is already on the disc you bought with the original product, justified with vague assurances of how the content that is already on your disc would never have existed if they hadn't allocated post-disc development time to it.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This question is silly. It's purely a dog-whistle for traditionalists who want to vent about the way certain games publishers have used post-launch content over the last decade or so. The term "expansion pack" is meaningless, apart from the nostalgia-trigger-- do you think that you're going to walk into Wal-Mart and buy a box with a disc in it for $35? The only game that still works like that anymore is WoW.

 

 

It's way to early to be talking about this kind of thing, but the core principle for post-launch content remains the same as it was in 1997: Fans will be happy if you make good content and offer it at a fair price.

Edited by Enoch
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I voted both, yeah expansion packs are great, but DLC is not necessarily bad. I would believe in Obsidian to produce decent DLC (it adds to the game and is priced fairly), besides sometimes the distinction between DLC and EXPACK is so contrived! Technically expacks are DLC! where do you draw the line with between small expacks and large DLC? As long as it's not some crap made to cash-in I don't see any harm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This question is silly. It's purely a dog-whistle for traditionalists who want to vent about the way certain games publishers have used post-launch content over the last decade or so. The term "expansion pack" is meaningless, apart from the nostalgia-trigger-- do you think that you're going to walk into Wal-Mart and buy a box with a disc in it for $35? The only game that still works like that anymore is WoW.

 

 

It's way to early to be talking about this kind of thing, but the core principle for post-launch content remains the same as it was in 1997: Fans will be happy if you make good content and offer it at a fair price.

 

I would disagree, In my view DLC are *usually* smaller content that has a single focus, for example a cosmetic pack, a single new side mission, new character, etc,

 

On the other hand XPacks tend to expand onto the end of the game. The distribution is irrelevent. An XPack can still be downloaded. But it contains more content then a single DLC pack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I prefer the traditional expansion pack to the more common dlc that is seen today. Especially since most dlc tends to add to the existing game, but is useless if you've already finished the game. New weapons, another companion, a new bar? Great, that would have been fun months ago when I was going through the game, but now it's not a reason to replay the whole game. With an expansion pack I know that it takes place after finished game and contains a whole new storyline (along with other content) to follow.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would disagree, In my view DLC are *usually* smaller content that has a single focus, for example a cosmetic pack, a single new side mission, new character, etc,

 

On the other hand XPacks tend to expand onto the end of the game. The distribution is irrelevent. An XPack can still be downloaded. But it contains more content then a single DLC pack.

 

That has not been the case with Obsidian, however. Fallout: New Vegas had a few preorder item packs that were eventually bundled as DLC and the Gun Runners' Arsenal that added more items and some challenges, but the majority of that game's DLC was meaty story content. Treasures of the Sun not only added a new area and quests to Dungeon Siege III, but an item crafting mechanic that retroactively affected the entire game. Given their track record so far, I'm not too worried about Obsidian's DLC.

 

As for expansion packs adding on to the end of a game, that is not always the case. Tales of the Sword Coast added side missions to Baldur's Gate. Shadows of Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark were entirely new campaigns with tangential connections to the OC at best. Ditto with Storm of Zehir. If Obsidian released a DLC beefier than their usual already substantial past offerings and increased the price, it would pretty much already be an expansion pack in everything except name.

Edited by Seagloom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

DLC is here to stay we might as well rail against online delivery systems like Steam (yes, I had to give in too eventually).

 

In fact, I think the difference is semantic... and I'd rather have regular smallish updates when possible in DLC form and then bigger DLC too (which, in old money, is an XP as far as i'm concerned).

 

So I voted for both. If there is some DLC to keep things fresh whilst waiting for a big XP-type of DLC then I'm cool with that. Because I want to give my money to these guys if this thing is as cool as I suspect it will be.

sonsofgygax.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...