Yes, it’s definitely an established business model. And I respect Funcom for not taking this route. Competitive multiplayer games are fair only when everyone has equal opportunities to compete. If those with extra cash can gain an in-game advantage over those without the extra cash, the playing field stops being even.
I’m okay with cosmetic add-ons. Even though they add some options in armor stat bonus-temperature resistance combinations that are not available in the vanilla game, they’re not inherently stronger. Same with the building blocks. Someone who doesn’t make as much money as I do can still compete on an equal ground, just with a little less bling. That’s the kind of business model I want to support.
Life isn’t fair. Money is often a shortcut to victory. This is one aspect of realism I’d rather not have transferred into games. I’ve never played a multiplayer game with a pay-to-win element, and I never will. The day Conan Exiles becomes pay-to-win is the day I stop playing.
Sure. I don’t think it’s a given that “paid expansion” equals “game is now pay-to-win” though. Though for the record, I don’t think anyone from Funcom has ever (publicly) talked about expansions being on the table, paid or otherwise, outside of the current “free dungeons, paid cosmetic DLC” framework.
Im not sure how a map constitutes a pay to win advantage. You would only be competeting with others who bought the map.
Even if the Ark route is taken and you can freely take your character between maps. Even if the new map has exclusive craftables and resources like Ark, i still dont see that as pay to win.
And the DLC packs are not pay to win. People can complain about the temperature combinations all they want, but you can still use them for free. Just find a buddy to craft them for you. The only people who cant freely use the DLC are offline single players. And this may come off trite but I think thats pretty generous of Funcom. Most times microtransaction cosmetics go in a tab that only the purchaser can use, we craft these and they go into the world for anyone to use. There is never any red text that says “cant equip or place buy dlc”
Expansions always have a cost. 20 USD for a new map (assuming it has new dungeons and towns alongside new geography) does not seem unreasonable. Pay to play? Absolutely. Pay to win? What are you winning?
I could see this as an issue for Pvp but then I expect its an issue on Ark as well. So i recommend seeing how they handle tribes hiding on paylocked maps.
It doesn’t automatically, but it can quickly become incredibly hard to keep things that way. For example, if a new map has a dungeon that drops a legendary weapon, or if there’s a unique thrall, or a new recipe, all those things would either have to have their equivalent on the old map or something else that serves as a counter for it.
The complexity of maintaining this balance would soon blow up and Funcom’s already having a hard time trying to balance things within a single map.
That’s only true if you gate this by server. In other words, the new map would have to work the way modded servers do. As a consequence, Funcom would either have to split their existing official server fleet in two parts or add a new official server fleet.
This whole idea of offering a new map in a paid DLC reminds me of Steve Yegge’s blog post “Have you ever legalized marijuana?” It’s a rather long, but very interesting read, and there are times when I think that anyone who suggests changes to a software product would benefit from reading it – not because I want people to stop suggesting things, but rather so they can appreciate the complexity of what they’re suggesting.
Getting back to the original topic, a new map and all the new content that come with it, to me that’s basically a new game. Sure, we can call it an expansion pack, especially if it uses the exact same tech that Conan Exiles uses, but that’s just a technicality. As long as it’s sufficiently isolated from the old game, I wouldn’t mind spending money on it. Ideally, that isolation would not only be in terms of not being able to play on the same servers as the “old” Conan Exiles, but also in terms of growing the dev team. Otherwise, having the same team support the old and the new game will just bring the quality down in both.
Exactly. If it’s just empty space, there’s no advantage. If it has the same NPCs and beasts and loot as the main map, or their equivalents, there’s no advantage.
But is that something people would buy? Just new landscapes to view? Or would they want the new map to contain something worth getting? I’m sure some people would pay just for a change of scenery (heck, I might), but Funcom has to consider whether it’s enough to toss in all the work it takes to make it happen, as opposed to something that is probably easier to implement into the main game, such as more bling DLCs.
Mhh new map would surely be interesting BUT… but
(there is always a BUT), but in the end we could have new monsters, even new beasts, new landscapes ok (I always claimed that, beside its technical flaws, CE had a true inspired world and environment) but the game, most of all, need an improved AI, an overhaul in some mechanics (to my tastes, I can only speak about my perceptions)… if a new world comes out well… OK it would be cool going around and exploring and maybe find new populations, or camps ok…
But they would behave the same the “old ones”?
Probably yes.
And raidng (or being raided by) darfari instead cimmerian or skelonians… it doesn’t change anything. It’s already a cosmetic only aspect.
All the enemies fight in the same exact way, there are no true differences between them (stats? Mere statistic), and a new world would so be really new ?
I have been outside the phantom wall part, there is alot of room for them to move the map boarders safely. They just are too busy messing up the game and adding more bugs to care about what the players need. like a expanded map of where they can expand which is a large area.
If I’m correct the space outside the ghost fence is used to phisically place the “dungeons”, so I’m not so sure they can “use” that free environment as you say.
It’s a tough one, I feel they could do something that changes the landscape potentially? Maybe a corruption grows, a new faction tries to dominate the map, something happens and floating island appear in the sky? So instead of expanding, the world changes? so kind of like events in PoE.
Both a new map and sorcery were hinted at during the most recent dev stream. This is the second hint at a new map now from senior staff at Funcom in less than a month. I’d wager that it’s coming next year.
I would say they aren’t to an extent, from what i’ve seen they don’t offer anything over what heavy armor offers. You can only earn the best armor in-game and if you know how to level you probably will skip that tier altogether.
I might be wrong, haven’t played the most recent patches, only restarted a last week, but is there any reason to wear the DLC armor mid to late game other than cosmetic?
That still falls under convenience more than pay to win. I was talking about putting the best weapons and armor period in the store, no ingame option to get it. That is true pay to win, except apparently not to the person I replied to, and why I replied in the first place. If you have to pay to get the BEST stuff, including in an expansion, it’s pay to win.