Would Paid DLC Fragment An Already Fragile Community?

(gooey79) #21

Lol. Get a mirror before you do the facepalm. Wally…

A few things to clear up. It’s not a whine thread, it’s a legitimate question if/when paid DLC comes around. By all means, read my posts in this thread and show me where I’m ‘whining’. I also mentioned nothing about being ‘worried’. That’s your word(s), not mine. Try and learn not to put words into people’s mouths.

You can’t have read the OP properly, so I’ll help by quoting and bolding part of it for you.

So by now, we know that the first round of DLC is coming - and it’s free. Although, in my view there are still important issues with the game that need to be fixed; it’s a welcome addition. I can already see how the new stuff will add layers to the meta game. With new maps too, it’s all looking very positive.

Notice I acknowledged it’s free, as well as the fact I think it’ll be good for the game? How very strange…

The purpose is purely posing a question - would paid (specifically) DLC be good or bad for the game?

I personally haven’t put my own opinion in - something you have conveniently ignored in your silly little attempt to create controversy.

To answer your flip around. The last free DLC I recall I got was Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 - more of which is on the way later this year. Got some other content from other games on various platforms. Should I list them for you?

Will the free DLC do anything for the Brink community? I don’t know. Might make it feel fresher, might bring some players back. Might not. I can only speculate, at this point. Does look quite good though. That said, it was nothing to do with the question. Which, you can of course offer an opinion on; if you want to.

How should I end this post? Oh yeah…

Maximum Fail Troll. Facepalm Troll.

:smiley:

(legend123) #22

According to fanboys every criticism = whine, complaint, etc.
Maybe there is a big reason why people are critizing the game? Consider that.

If there is a DLC that you have to pay for additional content it just shows that they are in it for the money (and why they made this multiplatform game in the first place :frowning:

(wolfnemesis75) #23

[QUOTE=legend123;326905]According to fanboys every criticism = whine, complaint, etc.
Maybe there is a big reason why people are critizing the game? Consider that.

If there is a DLC that you have to pay for additional content it just shows that they are in it for the money (and why they made this multiplatform game in the first place :([/QUOTE]

The first DLC is free. And that says a lot about SD. Also, how can you expect to get only Free DLC? It is Microsoft (XBOX) and PSN that wants paid content. It is their business model. I am on xbox so that’s my perspective, but they charge a lot of money, imo, for Avatar items. It cost $60 for a game with hours of content. And they charge $5 for one Avatar item? That’s crazy!

(Oschino1907) #24

Better topic would be “Would Returning To The Slave Trade Improve The American Economy?” lol hahahahahaha basically its a totally irrelevant question especially since i dont rememeber seeing anything anywhere that it was ever gonna be something we had to pay for. But either way in the end it is FREE so whats the point of this?

Seems more to me like they held out on it to give us the time to get used to the game and whats capable before adding even more variables to an already deep game. I mean come on, how many games have had initial free DLC recently, many good games, like RDR and BFBC2. It wasnt to save the games or make more money but to give players even more meant to have content but giving them time to get the hang of the game first.

(wolfnemesis75) #25

[QUOTE=Oschino1907;326919]Better topic would be “Would Returning To The Slave Trade Improve The American Economy?” lol hahahahahaha basically its a totally irrelevant question especially since i dont rememeber seeing anything anywhere that it was ever gonna be something we had to pay for. But either way in the end it is FREE so whats the point of this?

Seems more to me like they held out on it to give us the time to get used to the game and whats capable before adding even more variables to an already deep game. I mean come on, how many games have had initial free DLC recently, many good games, like RDR and BFBC2. It wasnt to save the games or make more money but to give players even more meant to have content but giving them time to get the hang of the game first.[/QUOTE]

Another great post! That’s what I am saying too. Why worry about down the road, when we get Free stuff in a few weeks?

(Calelith) #26

I think the best idea would be to have maps free but rank upgrades and new outfits for a price.

That way those that want to keep leveling and getting new looks can, and people can still play together.

(Testaterone) #27

Paid DLC would either fragment the community, or would have only a few servers hosting DLC maps after a while (such as BC2 Vietnam).

The thing is, though, it’s probably up to Bethesda whether or not the DLC is free. Remember that Bethesda tried to sell people horse armor, and some of those people actually bought it. SD would probably have to get down on their knees, beg, and remove diagonal running animations from Brink if they want to release DLC for free.

But that’s just what I think.

(gooey79) #28

Again, more assumption and putting words in mouths.

I haven’t said make all DLC free, not even implied it. If they’re adding content then they will decide if and what monetary amount is what they expect from people. To make all content free or not is not the purpose of the question. Nor is it something I’ve asked for/mentioned in my posts.

It’s not saying ‘make more content but don’t dare charge’, it’s ‘what are the implications to the community if chargeable content is released’. The reason I ask is because the community is fairly small and not everyone is prepared to pay for additional content outside the main game. Will that hurt the player-base?

At this point, I think you’re just not getting it and I’m afraid I don’t know if I can regress back far enough to explain it in a way you’d understand (that doesn’t need crayons or cave paintings :tongue:).

(tokamak) #29

[QUOTE=Calelith;326944]I think the best idea would be to have maps free but rank upgrades and new outfits for a price.

That way those that want to keep leveling and getting new looks can, and people can still play together.[/QUOTE]

I second this. I would buy any DLC for the hell of it but I don’t want to see the players divided.

(Shinigami) #30

[QUOTE=wolfnemesis75;326792]So, you are ignoring the fact that the first DLC is FREE? Are you kidding me? You are worried about paid DLC fragmenting an already fragile community, when the first round is FREE? Did you see the stat site going up next week and the content being released in June?

Let’s flip around your entire thread and put a positive spin on this: How much good will F-R-E-E DLC (When is the last time you got FREE DLC? Gears of War 1 Discovery Maps?) do for the community?

Dang, it sounds like you are crying over sour grapes when somebody is offering you free wine and grapes to boot!:eek:[/QUOTE]

Dont bash on him for his thread. specially when his thread makes perfectly good sense.

(wolfnemesis75) #31

[QUOTE=*goo;326960]Again, more assumption and putting words in mouths.

I haven’t said make all DLC free, not even implied it. If they’re adding content then they will decide if and what monetary amount is what they expect from people. To make all content free or not is not the purpose of the question. Nor is it something I’ve asked for/mentioned in my posts.

It’s not saying ‘make more content but don’t dare charge’, it’s ‘what are the implications to the community if chargeable content is released’. The reason I ask is because the community is fairly small and not everyone is prepared to pay for additional content outside the main game. Will that hurt the player-base?

At this point, I think you’re just not getting it and I’m afraid I don’t know if I can regress back far enough to explain it in a way you’d understand (that doesn’t need crayons or cave paintings :tongue:).[/QUOTE]

Basically the answer you’re looking for depends on how they set up DLC and playlists. No matter the size of a community, $ DLC can divide the community in a bad way depending on how its implimented. If they have a Map only DLC playlist that would affect the community if it cost money, because not everyone is willing to pay for it. Gears of War 2 had DLC but kept it mixed in with the regular playlist so the only way you would have a chance of playing on the DLC you paid for was if everyone in the room had the Maps. Which is also not fair to those who want to play on the Maps they just bought.

DLC for outfits and weapons and such could still be included in the regular playlist, so that would not effect the community or have a negative fragment. DLC Maps are more the issue than anything else. If they have a playlist that has DLC Maps, then it won’t fragment the community because most will play on the default maps anyway. Halo 3 Bungie restricts playlists if you do not have the Maps. Like you’d only have a choice of Slayer and a couple others once they mix the DLC Maps into regular rotation. But only after the maps have been out for a long time or certain duration. The second round of DLC for Brink may cost money (Bethesda’s Call Probably) and will be worked in to its own playlist.

I think any DLC for Brink paid or Free will build on the game’s appeal, not fragment it ultimately. And also because the first round is FREE, it will most likely jump start the game forward into the summer in ultimately a positive way. That’s what I think! :cool:

(MF Maou) #32

It depends on how it’s handled. Unless they cut off people from playing with each other similar to Halo 3, I don’t see it being that bad of a thing.

(Gamer2Gamers) #33

I strongly doubt it would be free it had a strong release with barely any troubles. I do appreciate them doing it though while other devs probably would just make you wait or just not do anything at all.

(Codine) #34

I refuse to buy anything about this game until it’s fixed. Why the hell should I pay more money for a game that isn’t even finished? I’m glad to know the first dlc is free but why aren’t all of them? With their game in this state its a slap in their face to their rabid fanboy community.

I love SD and all but Brink was a total flop. The announcement of pay DLC will just bring more negative than positive in this game. If it isn’t free nobody will care about the future of this game.

(matsy) #35

Maps should be free but abilities / Skins / Weapons should not be.

(Codine) #36

skins should be the only dlc. Cosmetic dlc that has no effect on gameplay is fine. Pay abilities will just piss off the community. Whats next, a pay shop where you can rent new weapons for 12 hours?

(Rally) #37

Just to be clear on one of the points you made OP. Brinks community is not shrinking to only 5000 people playing a day, thats the peak amount of people who are on at one time. The community would be roughly 100k people playing a day.

But I agree, DLC will never work. Servers will never host it because they dont want to fragment their community, and they seriously couldnt get more than a few hundred sales at this point. It would be most wise for them to try and take a TF2 approach to Brink, and just make all content free.

(iezza) #38

[QUOTE=MisterGee;326590]fragmenting kinda does destroy…

I think they should stick to the golden rule for multiplayer DLC:

COSMETIC STUFF ONLY

New skins/outfits are fine, as are weapon skins and different looking weapons (as long as the stats are the same as existing weapons)[/QUOTE]

One exception to said rule: new guns are allowed, aslogn as its free and balanced.

(MisterGee) #39

Yeah you’re right, what I meant was Paid DLC (free DLC is usually just called a patch).

(Overgear) #40

I think it would fragment the community.
As you say, it’s quite fragile and having to pay for some maps/abilities would just be it for some people.
The only acceptable DLC is clothes and maybe gun skins. As it is, new balanced guns would probably be ok as its mostly SMGs>Assault Rifles>MGs per body type.