Katarack21

Any features that are added in DLC's are not present in the base game. Locked or unlocked. The way Paradox DLC's work is with every update you get some of the features for free (mostly minor one and bug fixes and such), and the rest you have to pay for. So you are raging over a misunderstanding. Unless you're trying to suggest that they develop all the features for their DLC's before the actual release of the game and then cut most of them to sell later... Which would be quite the claim. No, what I'm claiming is exactly what I said: That they lock out features of the base game and then re-enable them for DLC content. This isn't new, by the way. Companies do this *all the time*. It's literally a prominent business model in the game industry. It shouldn't be a shocker that a game publication studio is doing this...literally tons of studios do this all the time. It's a common feature, a known quantity, a typical and normal thing within the video game industry...and one that I despise. That's *not* how DLC's work. Not at all. They released an update, a DLC (as used colloquially to refer to relatively small packages of features and updates, separate from an expansion), and are working on an expansion. The update contains a bunch of unlocked features. That's fine. The DLC *ALSO* contains a bunch of unlocked features, but these are bigger features with more impact...and cost money. The *expansion* is all-new content. Three separate releases, only one of which is a "DLC", and that DLC specifically contains features that already in the base game--some of which are simply being unlocked and some of which required minor completion (ie, a few lines of code to make it functional). Nothing is *ADDED* in that DLC. Things are only *ADDED* in the expansion, which is all-new content (IE, not in the base game). You do not get any of the features of the DLC for free; there is a completely separate free update which contains some "new" features.

You're language is inaccurate and reflects marketing lies, not reality. If these extra features are present in the base game but not accessible, then the DLC's don't "add new features to the game". The features are *already there*. They aren't added; they're just unlocked. Made accessible. Nothing is actually added in these DLC's; they make the game, lock features, and then unlock them for extra money. That's why it pisses me off. They aren't adding value to the game; they're subtracting value from the game and then making you pay extra to get it back. This is a marketing strategy they developed recently to increase profits, not something that benefits you or is done to help anybody. And yeah, Obsidian isn't at fault here. Obsidians DLC policy is *fantastic*; I got the DLC season pass addon for a reason. Paradox had a different deal with Tyranny, clearly, and are controlling the expansion and DLC for that game. Paradox is the problem; nothing negative that I've said here applies to Obsidian.

I guarantee you Paradox Interactive is *not* deciding it's DLC policy based on whether or not it's artists are able to remain working and getting paid. The idea that they are is literally ridiculous. That's a justification, period. It's not something that in any way explains or rationally applies to the industry-wide adaption of small cosmetic microtransactions/DLC's. It's a business model. They teach it to people in classes. Restructuring companies that are hired to 'save' failing divisions literally push it as a method to increase profits. I can't believe people seriously entertain the idea that this is some kind of warm-hearted plan from kind, benevolent global multinationals to make sure their harid-working employees get a paycheck when no major work is going on. That's not how it works; when there's no work going on, *you let go of the artists*. Hell, even Obsidian discussed this in the video about how they almost went bankrupt--when there's no work, you don't make work for your contracted employees, etc. You shift in-house employees to other projects and let go of your contracted labor. Eventually you start sending people home while you try to find projects for the company to work on. You protect the company, because if the company survives, it can eventually re-employ the people who have been let go.

No, it's perfectly justified. You don't *NEED* this business model to employ artists and pay coders. The artists get paid when you do a DLC, when you do an expansion, when you do a sequel. Doing small microtransaction cosmetic patches actually screws over the artists; it's designed so that the big company can take multiple bites out of each transaction, whereas the artist generally get's paid once (after that the art is owned by the company, who of course keep profiting form it every time another cosmetic DLC is sold). When the artist does a *bunch* of work for a big expansion, they get a big paycheck. If they do a little work for a small cosmetic DLC, they get a small paycheck for fewer hours worked, etc. They may do three small DLCs for 10 hours each, or one large expansion for 60 hours. They don't get to take a chunk out of each time those small DLC's sell, like the company that makes it's profits off mass sales. They get 30 hours, or 60 hours. If they get paid by the artwork, same deal; they may do 10 portraits in 3 portrait packs and get paid for those 30 portraits, or draw 60 things for an expansion and get paid for those 60 things. Don't fool yourself into thinking that cosmetic micro-transactions are being done by publishers and studios so that the artists can make money. That's frankly ridiculous. It's a business model, not a work charity. It's a money scheme designed to generate as large a profit for as small an expenditure of effort and resources as possible.

Nah, it's best DLC policy I've ever seen from a company. Fite me IRL if you think different. Five bucks for a portrait pack, 7 bucks to unlock features present but not completed in the base game! IT STINKS! $5 to keep artists employed even when a new game isn't in development. $7 for additional features that required additional work to complete. You may not think those are worth the prices to you, but that doesn't mean the policy itself is bad. Oh, puh-leeze. If it was any other company for any other game than an Obsidian RPG--it fit was EA for a BIOWARE game, for example!--that was charging money for a DLC to unlock already-in-the-game stuff, this board would be *ripping it apart*. It's cosmetic microtransactions and *allowing* you access to stuff that's already there. That's all it is. It's the same stuff companies have been crucified by gamers for doing for years. Paradox is no better than EA on their DLC policy. Might be easier to work with, might be more hands-off for the company, etc. but their DLC policy is the exact same ****tiness. Has been for a while now.

Nah, it's best DLC policy I've ever seen from a company. Fite me IRL if you think different. Five bucks for a portrait pack, 7 bucks to unlock features present but not completed in the base game! IT STINKS!

Damn. That "rollback" message is hardcore. PS: Their DLC policy *stinks*.

In the tropical/subtropical Deadfire archipelago? The Deadfire archipelago extends from the southern polar region to the northern temperate region; I think we'll just be going to the tropical/subtropical part, but there's a *lot* more to Deafire then that. I think sea lion would make more sense, though. They get up to 2,200 lbs.

You can build spells to do damn near anything in Tyranny. There are some specific effects in PoE that you don't get in Tyranny, but also vice versa--and you don't get near the versatility or flexibility in PoE that you get with the spell-crafting system in Tyranny. I can't control the exact amount of recovery time of each and every spell in PoE. I can't reshape spells in PoE to specific AoE shapes. I can't change the damage types of my fire and ice spells. I can't control the duration, I can't give spells extra accuracy as needed, etc. Tyranny has a *really* great spell system.

Tyranny was and is an amazing isometric RPG with a great deal of depth and complexity; the spell system alone makes PoE look simplified and dumbed down in comparison. People like to bitch about Tyranny being dumbed-down or simplified, but what this always seems to come to is "A lot of things have cooldown timers".

I have no evidence for this, but it seems logical to me that if a pistol goes right through mage armor, a big cannon would probably go right through those wards and shields.

Hey son, how you liking the disappearing tooltips bug so far ? 10 days and still no hotfix on this game breaking bug, yay... Sorry for going offtopic, had to get that one out. Oh. My. God. I almost feel angry enough to make threats of murder. It's goddamn ridiculous.

To become a powerful mage requires a *lifetime* of study. Don't let the levels in PoE fool you; Aloth's growth is not meant to be reflective of how this works. To become the kind of mage who can stand in front of army and shatter a castles walls with a few spells requires years of effort, and very few can do it. It takes, what, six months to build a canon? And any group of jackasses can get taught how to use. For every mage casting fireball, there's a hundred cannons. And remember, firearms pierce through mage armor in this setting, so mages had to adapt to the new technology to stay alive, even.

"By engaging in the discussion you're bound by the forum rules to respect other users, including their opinion even if you don't like it. Calling it (and thus my argument) bullshat is anything but respectful, so would you please edit that and, I don't know, see if you can use a slightly more empathic word?" That sounds like some bull**** to me. It sounds like your pissy that he thinks your metric is crap, and want to use the forum rules to make him shut up. It sounds like you just can't deal with somebody strongly disagreeing with your "evidence".

I think the point being driven at is that, irregardless of how you personally feel about it, it isn't necessarily "wrong" to do and it isn't "bad" for somebody to do within the game, in a purely objective sense.

oath taker HA! Good Fun! Oathbinder? Although, would imply correlation to Woedica. Oathbinder would seem to fit both Barbarian/Paladin and Barbarian/Priest, to my mind.

I wish like hell they'd do away with scripted positioning *entirely*. They don't bloody know what role my main char is in when they script it; half the time my caster is right up front getting ganked immediately and I'm screwed. It does *nothing* but piss me off and I see no legitimate reason for it to be done. It just sucks, all the time, period.

oath taker HA! Good Fun! Paladin/Rogue--Oathbreaker

Juggernaut should be Barbarian/Paladin.

Barbarian/Cipher--Mindcrusher

If I was this age in the 80's, I would. TOR fantasy was the golden age of **** writers.

Doesn't that increase the complexity, though?

In all fairness, you shouldn't really use R.A. Salvatore to model anything *except* crap writing.

It's definitely one of the things that pushed people towards rest spam.