Concerns

[Mirglip]

Hey. I've been following this game and the board for a while now, so I'm a long time lurker and first time poster.

I don't really like the idea of the "culture pack" that will come free for anyone who pre-orders the game. Sure, it's cool that it's more free stuff if you pre-order it, but it begs the question- won't people who buy the game later have to pay for the Greek cities? Normally I wouldn't mind this, as free DLC is a way of rewarding people who've been following this game for a long time. I'd like something clarified: is this DLC going to be available on release day, or will it be free for people who preorder when it does eventually come out?

This is important, because in my opinion the entire idea of Day 1 DLC is just plain wrong. Day 1 DLC is content developed during, regardless of their development, not post release. So why should people (regardless of whether or not they preorder it) have to pay extra money for content that's already there? It's like seeing a movie where you have to pay during the middle of it to see an action sequence that doesn't necessarily matter to the plot in the big picture but is still really cool.

If this is DLC going to be developed after the release, I think it's perfectly reasonable. However, I disagree with, assuming you're purchasing the game after it's released, having to make separate payments for the core game.

[roarer]

Em.. I do not think any info around the Greek cities pack is actually official yet. As far as I know, the information publicized is not directly from CA, so you may need to wait for the official announcement.

[Mirglip]

Yeah, that's what I'm mostly worried about. The trailers only mentioned that you'd get the pack for free upon pre-order, but it appears as if they're locking players out of currently ingame content.

[Semper_Fidelis]

Day 1 DLC is cut content... End of story.

[BeastG33]

I think it's silly to be hung up on stuff like this. Every single company and every single publisher does Day 1 DLC and special / limited edition versions of their game. I would say the vast majority of consumers are 100% apathetic to the additional content; other people probably enjoy having something new to add to the game right away, and then a small minority get irrationally angry about it. But it's been this way for at least 2-3 years now, and developers and publishers make money off this idea, so it isn't going to change.

There's really no point in getting bent out of shape over what has become an industry norm, especially when it's an optional purchase you don't have to make. Consumers will respond with their wallets if developers and publishers ever take this concept too far, but until that happens, pretty much every game you buy for the foreseeable future is going to have day one DLC.

Also as for your main concern, I'm pretty sure the Greek Culture Pack will cost money for those who do not preorder. You don't create a "preorder incentive" by saying "free to preorder, and free to purchase later if you don't." The only way it will not be free for people who elect not to preorder (a silly thing if you're interested in the game and these particular factions) if they do not release the pack as standalone DLC for 6 months or something after release.

[Sun Jetzu]

Idk i was looking and asking for pre-order extra content since I pre-ordered lol
I think this is awsome, and a good way to reward those who have followed and waited. This is probably part of the game they already developed to give us a "free" DLC for preordering, so your fears are probably well founded. I bought every extra thing for shogun 2 and almost empire, they have us hooked im afraid...

[PROMETHEUS ts]

So fre Dlc for 1 day

Free dlc only for who preorders...

And so is quite obvious that CA has decided to split factions from beginning of game design , despite that they said there were no plans to lock out content from the first release....now the factions are either , ingame , and dlcs ... I am seriously fearing for the next ones to be spilled with paid dlcs, but if they keep the free going then I would really be surprised/happy...


This politic makes me feel that modding will be penalized by that , unenabling the possibility to unlock all factions ingame because of the dlcs plans.

[sleepyx732]

Prometheus.. that gives me a fascinating idea.

Wanna hear this? Ready to hear this? If not I'll wait..















































YOU READY YET!?

Okay.. instead of cutting content then giving it to people arrogant enough to actually believe that they deserve it for pre-ordering, why doesn't CA just make DLC that actually changes and expands upon the core game? Cause I mean, what are these new units and factions really? It's nothing new is it? Would it be safe to say it's as simple as grabbing a few units from other factions, re-skinning them or sometimes just changing the color, and then just tinkering with the stats and voila! ****ing millions in profit.

Sure, some could say that's just what every new total war amounts to. The mixing of naval and ground warfare however, this is something "that actually changes and expands upon the core game". of course if it were to be that big of a change, it would be considered an "expansion" rather then "DLC" which in today's world, is just an expansion broken into 10 pieces and you getting charged 300% more while simultaneously still getting less content.

[Aegean]

No multiplayer with torrent so no use pirating

[ptoss1]

No multiplayer with torrent so no use pirating

And that's why CA is actually focusing on MP now...

Other companies have their own ways to prevent pirating.
Paradox requires you to register games to use their forums.
Blizzard games are all online only now.
Same with Dota, LoL, MMOs, etc.
Companies have finally realized that the more social a game is, the more money customers are willing to fork over.

[jamreal18]

I think i should have to wait for gold version so i can grab all dlc at once... I prefer dvd version, because i want to have hardware....

[MDT]

Free preorder DLC is not for the benefit of the customer and was never intended to, but it still became the standard business model, as customer accepted it.

But hey, it's a steam game, you can actually buy a cheap key on the interwebs after the release when reviews are out and usually the money you save is enough to buy the preorder and some other DLC.

[Mirglip]

Just because it's an "industry norm" (read: EA does it!), it doesn't mean CA should follow the path of holding back content that has already been developed and charging extra money for it. Locking out content that has already been developed and charging for it is just plain bad ethics.

[torongill]

Companies try to stimulate pre-orders. You fork over money beforehand, you get a cookie. Sometimes it get ridiculous, like the example with pre-ordering from different retail stores, that is true. However it seems to me that the most occurring complaint is from people who don't want to pre-order but want all the content. That's like looking for tickets for a concert at the last moment and complaining that the prices are higher than they were two months before when the concert was announced.

[Windseller]

Companies try to stimulate pre-orders. You fork over money beforehand, you get a cookie. Sometimes it get ridiculous, like the example with pre-ordering from different retail stores, that is true. However it seems to me that the most occurring complaint is from people who don't want to pre-order but want all the content. That's like looking for tickets for a concert at the last moment and complaining that the prices are higher than they were two months before when the concert was announced.

Not a legitimate comparison in my opinion: How is a concert where there is a limited number of tickets related to a game that is digitally distributable, i.e. infinately available?
To be honest after all those CA games that had preorder "bonuses" I really am looking forward to buying this game in say 2 years as a cheaper gold version with all added content IF and that is a big IF they do not keep their word that no content will be locked out in the first version. This would be even though Rome 1 was my favorite and I have been eagerly anticipating this particular game.
Seriously why can DLC not be going in a direction that both customer and company like? For example what a lot of people already suggested here: Episodes from the time period like they had in the Iberian War in Napoleon. I can think of a lot of events or scenarios in the time period that would fit. It would not even matter if the maps would be cropped or whatever or just different start dates. Just be creative! That is what the company's name suggests anyway.

[PROMETHEUS ts]

Companies try to stimulate pre-orders. You fork over money beforehand, you get a cookie. Sometimes it get ridiculous, like the example with pre-ordering from different retail stores, that is true. However it seems to me that the most occurring complaint is from people who don't want to pre-order but want all the content. That's like looking for tickets for a concert at the last moment and complaining that the prices are higher than they were two months before when the concert was announced.

Yes , that shoudl be more for the preorder ....

if you preorder it costs you less otherwise u pay full price ...

but Splitting the content among resellers is extremely annoying also because forces you to have to choose among things that you would like to have in the game anyway ...

still it is locked out content ....

what worries me more is the modding results after this politics ...

[Mirglip]

It's not like looking for a ticket at the last moment for a concert, it's like buying a ticket and then being charged even further to listen to all the songs.