This thread will attempt to provide a place to discuss past/present/future PC gaming deals. While mainly focusing on Steam games, any standout sales may also be presented. I will not be updating every Daily/Weekly/etc. sale. The tools to help individuals become a smarter shopper will be provided below.
See this POST for links to store sale pages, threads of interest and other tools to help you become a more informed PC game shopper.
My point is that if you buy games advertised as being incomplete, don't whine about them being incomplete. I could care less about the Ark thing because I'll pick it up if it ever gets done. My backlog is way too big to be a beta tester. The concept of releasing dlc before games are finished is not a new concept, look at every Bethesda release..
Name 10 games that are actually complete and fun to play that got out of early access this year.
Most games stay in early access even with them being completed enough to be release like Ark and Killing Floor 2.
Then you have games like DayZ that is going on for 3 years with no signs of ever being released from Early Access.
There is no incentive for devs to move games out of EA...that would require some kind of (business) plan/roadmap to get there. These are the same devs who are signing music contracts thinking they are signing game contracts, sooooooooooo...yeah....not going to happen.
No one was. People were talking about the shifting of resources from completing the game to finding new ways to monetize it in lieu of completing it. Different things.
But, once you start saying "This product is worth your money, please give me some in exchange for it", you lose the right to make a bunch of excuses when the consumer decides that it wasn't really worth their money. "Early Access" is a frail excuse and frankly is largely meaningless to me. If it was good enough to put a price tag on it, it's good enough to take whatever criticism it has coming to it as people decide whether it provides X dollars worth of value or not.
You know, "capitalism" and all that. It's always kind of funny when people defend business actions by saying "Capitalism!" and don't seem to realize that the other end of capitalism is consumer response.
What is Early Access? Get immediate access to games that are being developed with the community's involvement. These are games that evolve as you play them, as you give feedback, and as the developers update and add content.
We like to think of games and game development as services that grow and evolve with the involvement of customers and the community. There have been a number of prominent titles that have embraced this model of development recently and found a lot of value in the process.
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And the cherry on top:
We like to support and encourage developers who want to ship early, involve customers, and build lasting relationships that help everyone make better games. This is the way games should be made.
Early access is dumb. It's just a curtain for developers to hide behind in most cases. Game shouldn't be able to sit on early access indefinitely. There should be a time limit or it should be regulated, considering this is a multi-million dollar company in Valve.
It's just amateur business operation. and still it's really not that big of a deal, either.
What is Early Access? Get immediate access to games that are being developed with the community's involvement. These are games that evolve as you play them, as you give feedback, and as the developers update and add content.
We like to think of games and game development as services that grow and evolve with the involvement of customers and the community. There have been a number of prominent titles that have embraced this model of development recently and found a lot of value in the process.
--------------------
And the cherry on top:
We like to support and encourage developers who want to ship early, involve customers, and build lasting relationships that help everyone make better games. This is the way games should be made.
My new laptop will be here next Thursday with a GTX 1070. Pretty excited about it. My desktop however is still rocking a 780TI from a few years back and still going strong.
The consumer is at fault, the consumer largely assumes they are funding development, which they are not, they are buying unfinished products that list goals. Nothing stops the team from saying let's give ourselves big bonuses, let's start a dlc team, and continue to work on the product.. if you pay for early access, you are gambling that anything else will be done.. I'm not defending capitalism or the process, but it is the way it is.. and if consumers want change, they need to speak with dollars. Look at all the people's posts on the arc message board from people who bought the dlc but are complaining the game isn't done first. I don't like the early access model because there is no recourse or incentive on behalf of the employer once the money stops coming in.
No one was. People were talking about the shifting of resources from completing the game to finding new ways to monetize it in lieu of completing it. Different things.
But, once you start saying "This product is worth your money, please give me some in exchange for it", you lose the right to make a bunch of excuses when the consumer decides that it wasn't really worth their money. "Early Access" is a frail excuse and frankly is largely meaningless to me. If it was good enough to put a price tag on it, it's good enough to take whatever criticism it has coming to it as people decide whether it provides X dollars worth of value or not.
You know, "capitalism" and all that. It's always kind of funny when people defend business actions by saying "Capitalism!" and don't seem to realize that the other end of capitalism is consumer response.
It's always kind of funny when people defend business actions by saying "Capitalism!" and don't seem to realize that the other end of capitalism is consumer response.
Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings is the Daily Deal and historical low. No online multiplayer, and going through the forums the devs are a little cryptic on whether they'll ever add it or not (my impression is that they're working on another game first), so only buy if you are good with single player/local multi.
Oh, I don't think I've been involved in vrams discussion yet. I think I'm going to try and wait till black friday and upgrade to a 1070. Currently have some type of oem only gt 640 ddr5 card that's way past time to replace.
Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings is the Daily Deal and historical low. No online multiplayer, and going through the forums the devs are a little cryptic on whether they'll ever add it or not (my impression is that they're working on another game first), so only buy if you are good with single player/local multi.
And for anyone that cares, this is actually a decent game. Don't let the cartoon graphics fool you, it is worth playing if you are looking for a baseball game on PC. The mechanics are a little different from MLB The Show, but aren't too different. It reminds me a little bit of The Bigs on PS3, without the crazy powerups and stuff (except maybe the mojo system).
And for anyone that cares, this is actually a decent game. Don't let the cartoon graphics fool you, it is worth playing if you are looking for a baseball game on PC. The mechanics are a little different from MLB The Show, but aren't too different. It reminds me a little bit of The Bigs on PS3, without the crazy powerups and stuff (except maybe the mojo system).
My new laptop will be here next Thursday with a GTX 1070. Pretty excited about it. My desktop however is still rocking a 780TI from a few years back and still going strong.
Checked out the prices on the6GB 1060 and it looks like they're going for around $250. Strongly consider grabbing one during this round of Black Friday sales should it dip to $220 or less.
Don't see the need to go 1070 since I'm still at 1080p.
And I really can't see anything needing8GB VRAM at 1080p for the next few years.
Also the 1070's I'm seeing are like $400+ F. dat. I got my 770 for around $300.
Show them EA is not a launch day. There sales should come when they launch the game, not before it.
This is the problem with Early Access, the games aren't treated by Early Access by the retarded gaming community. A big name game comes to Early Access, should only sell a few thousands copies to get proper beta testers, not a few millions and be like "well? why finish it, we're not going to sell anymore copies"
Yeah, that's what I expected. It brings me great joy to know I raised the blood pressure of 15 of those entitled whiny brats enough to rate me down. If even just one of them dies from a heart attack I'll be a very happy troll.
It should, if it has local multiplayer. I've had issues getting it to work with any game recently though, and some games have weird compatibility issues so I can't guarantee if that game works.
Show them EA is not a launch day. There sales should come when they launch the game, not before it.
This is the problem with Early Access, the games aren't treated by Early Access by the retarded gaming community. A big name game comes to Early Access, should only sell a few thousands copies to get proper beta testers, not a few millions and be like "well? why finish it, we're not going to sell anymore copies"
People really really should stop buying EA or preorders... sadly folks are unable to resist the marketing and hypetrain. Hell, half the time, they actually even pay extra (?!) over the retail price just for that "privilege" of getting into the beta access or silly "headstarts" in MMOs and such.
I really don't understand the community and until people start voting with their wallet and shit, you know they'll continue pushing the boundaries of doing the absolute least for maximum profits, just like they did with the trends of DLCs in the last couple of years. Basic economics after all.
More recently, we're getting the "HD remakes" of old games and half the time they actually barely updated anything..
It should, if it has local multiplayer. I've had issues getting it to work with any game recently though, and some games have weird compatibility issues so I can't guarantee if that game works.
Although my only experience with the Nvidia Gamestream has been with the few games spoder and I have tried, I will say its very finicky. When it works it great, but sometimes it stops working for no reason at all or it'll stream a game but have some sort of problem with it, like no sound or your controller doesnt work.
Grim Dawn was EA as well. It was playable before the official release in February this year as patches would come out. There is now a DLC for the game that released in August. If you look at a lot of the reviews people were putting in dozens or in some cases hundreds of hours even prior to the leaving EA.
I list this as an example of what I and others expect; finish/polish the base game and then add DLC if you want. I have no problem with a game in EA that is actually taking steps in polishing/refining/patching/finishing the game. If the game developer listens to the gamers on the forum, it can help make a better product. People that really like Grim Dawn now have a DLC to try out and may purchase simply to show appreciation and support to the developer.
I wish the ARK developer well and hope that they improve the game. Time will tell if the DLC is successful. My opinion is that they would have been better off finishing the game first prior to releasing a DLC to buy unless it was a soundtrack for instance.
FWIW, I agree with most of what's been said by both sides of the discussion. Yes, the ARK developers should focus on bringing their game out of EA before developing and selling DLC. Yes, at the same time buying an Early Access game is taking on a risk (that the game won't be finished). No, buying a product doesn't mean you waive your right to criticize it or the developer.
Modern gaming is like a vicious cycle fueled by both consumers and developers/publishers/companies. Pre-orders, hype cycles, Early Access, DLC, "season passes" (oh how I hate that term), micro-transactions, etc. Gamers are possibly the most self-loathing consumers on the planet - constantly getting burned but doing it all over again and again. On the flip side most of the major publishers hate their customers and want to rob them dry with all sorts of aforementioned anti-consumer bullshit.
I mention this not because I think that people who bought ARK brought this upon themselves or something like that. I just mean that the gaming industry has really attracted some shady and opportunistic people, from the greenlight devs who use Groupees bundles for promotion and votes then later stiff those bundle buyers out of keys by retitling their games as "enhanced editions" or some nonsense to the likes of Digital Homicide. Some might say this is the industry gamers have created - wanting more and more and willing to pay up front despite all the risks, red flags, and patterns. Others might say it's just the result of capitalism and boom of indie development - the gaming industry perhaps isn't all that different from any other.
I'm not sure if the ARK devs fall under the above shadiness but the general point I intend to make is that this situation feels like a natural evolution of where we've been heading for quite a few years. Again, I think it sucks for the people who took a risk to support the game with the understanding that it would be possible for development to cease, the developer to run out of money, etc. but also the expectation that the dev would put all their resources into trying to complete the game rather than also working on pre-relEAse DLC. It'd be like finding out that the developer of a kickstarter game you supported has been putting some of their campaign money and resources into another project or sequel/DLC instead of fully into the actual game they're supposed to finish.
Valve's too bloated, lazy, and concerned with expanding their digital market transaction casino to really enforce any rules with EA, so as usual it ultimately comes down to the consumers to "vote with their wallet". In this case nobody might have guessed the ARK dev would work on DLC before bringing the base game out of EA, but now that's another thing for people to consider when supporting EA games in the future.
they actually even pay extra (?!) over the retail price just for that "privilege" of getting into the beta access or silly "headstarts" in MMOs and such.
The problem is... MMO's have been sliding into a weird reality where things like land and buildings have become persistent so it's a landgrab so a head start on something like that is necessary. But I paid 3 years ago for a "head start" in Star Citizen and still don't have my game so I consider that my lesson learned.
As far as Ark goes, I know it's cool to be on the 'this game suxx0rs and isn't optimized' bandwagon but I saw how many of us have and played that game at launch and it was pretty good for what it was (at the time). That being said... DLC for "EA" is bull-crap. Just acknowledge they have a minimally viable product and plan to expand (like E).
yourself!
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