DLC Loves My Wallet

Post soundtrack: Barrett Strong – Money

While I’ve been waiting for the pre-expansion patch to come out for WoW, I’ve been spending some time with three free-to-play games on my pc and iPad. And my experiences have covered the spectrum from “That’s the way to do it!” through to “The developers just want me to open my wallet, don’t they?”

I’m a cheap gamer, I’ll just come out and admit it. Mostly it’s because I don’t have much in the way of disposable income, but it’s also because I am cheap. (I drink supermarket-brand instant coffee, what else do I need to say?) Anyway, I’ve been dabbling some more in Defiance (although I’ve let that slide since picking up MH), playing Godus (insert gem to continue), and getting heavily into Marvel Heroes 2015 (I must resist the temptation to buy an alternate costume for Punisher – for now, at least).

I’ve already written about Defiance, so I don’t think I need to add much there (although I’ll probably explore Silicon Valley eventually, when the MH’s siren call has faded). So that leaves Godus and Marvel Heroes. I think I’ll leave Heroes to another post (to do it justice), so that just leaves one title to talk about.

This has been developed by Peter Molyneux-led 22 Cans (whose previous project was the cube-clicker Curiosity), and is nominally a god-game in the style of Populous, which was successfully Kickstarter-ed to much acclaim (and cynicism about the ability of Molyneux to deliver all that was promised) in 2012. It’s since been released both on Steam and as a free-to-play title on iOS. (I’m talking about the latter version here, as I don’t have the pc version – mostly because I’ve no interest in paying for a desktop game with f2p timers)

Visually it’s a pretty game, I’ll give it that. The stylised graphics work well, and the sound work is “good enough” (although nothing really stands out on the audio front). The problem for me with the game is the gating mechanisms, and the way the disguise the lack of anything to do in the game besides adjust the terrain as best you can (I’m not counting the ship missions, which just frustrated me to the level of pointedly ignoring them), and spread out over the land like a stylised cancer.

Just an aside, there’s one audio aspect that really irritates me. Somebody thought “Hey, wouldn’t it be cute if there are musical notes that play when you touch each dwelling to collect the belief? And if you touch enough, it makes a song! But if they don’t touch one fast enough – maybe they’re collecting their crops or minerals or scrolling the map or something – then let’s play a discordant note that totally ruins the ambience of the experience!” <grrrr>

There isn’t any combat. Nor much of anything, apart from “expand flat terrain, tell followers to create house on flat ground, repeat”. Eventually houses get bigger, and you can clumsily manipulate thicker areas of the terrain, and you unlock the ability to combine groups of abodes into settlements, and later into villages. But there doesn’t seem to be much more to the game. (They introduced a “happiness” mechanic, but I think I broke it after wiping out all of the “opposing” native population using a couple of my more malevolent god powers)

The technology tree, such as it is, consists of cards which are made unlockable by achieving quantity-goals of “Population > x”, “Number of Farms > y”, or “Number of Mines > z”. Then you are required to use in-game stickers to unlock each card, which gives you the ability or bonus on the card. Stickers are either purchased in packs for increasingly large quantities of gems, or are occasionally found in chests which you discover in the game world (these are sometimes stuck underground where you have to terraform to expose them, which can be problematic if they appear beneath the sea, beneath the lowest point of the seafloor and are unreachable – or occasionally found just outside of your zone of influence, which is equally unreachable). Chests spawn randomly after storms – about the only reason to explore the game world, aside from expanding your colony or collecting belief.

The odd thing is… For all the crap I give the game, the experience of terraforming and expanding your territory is surprisingly satisfying. It’s just incredibly frustrating that the rest of the game is so focused of separating a fool and his money.(I’m currently sitting on a population of almost 5000, which unlocks a x5 buff on belief generated by abodes near trees – which would be useful if trees didn’t get clear-felled in the process of creating flat land to build on, a great example of the game design)

Disclaimer: I cheated at the start – there’s a common work-around for time-gated games on portable devices, where you get the game to where you have to wait, then set the device’s time forward, and switch back to the game and continue. So I guess my gamer ethics are a little flexible. Anyway, at the stage of the game where I am currently, when I collect my belief during in-game housekeeping in the morning I end up with over 120k (probably getting closer to 150k tomorrow, due to my current expansion). So once over that initial hurdle, belief is less of an issue (although still a limiting factor, due to the necessity of leveling mountains.

But I digress.

I was thinking about free-to-play and DLC, and the way developers want to make money out of their hard work, and the three approaches these games bring to the table.

The first is the wholly-consumable approach that Godus embodies. The game is inherently limited by both belief (which is granted by playing the game) and gems (which are primarily purchased for real-world money). Once you’ve spent all your belief, there’s not really anything interactive you can do in the game – you have to wait until more has been generated, and then collect it. The problem is there isn’t much to do with it, aside from terraforming – it’s a pretty shallow game. (Also the conversion of $-to-Gems is what feels like a typical mobile/f2p money-grab)

It just feels like the Godus devs want me to be distracted by the pretty graphics while they pick my pocket.

The second is DLC and consumables in Defiance. They offer cosmetic options (it’s pretty much the only way to get new outfits and headgear – which are on special right now – aside from a scarce handful you unlock by playing through the story missions), expanded content (new in-game content and an additional playable race, for example) and of lockboxes. The downside of lockboxes (which cost $4-$5 each) is there’s no guarantee you’ll actually get anything out of them that you want – or even anything useful. (There’s been some community work done with the in-game-currency-purchasable ones here, giving some firm numbers on what drop)

The problem here is that the power curve on your gear is not only very shallow, but itemisation is ridiculously random – sure, you might get a great orange (legendary) item, but there’s no guarantees that the affixes will make it any better than a blue (rare) of the same type. Spending real money is no fun when you feel out of the gate that the odds are very much stacked against you. (I have a similar perspective on Star Trek Online, but there’s a much larger pool of item types in-game, and you can sell STO’s lockbox keys to buy things you actually want)

While I don’t mind picking up the DLC while it’s on special (and I might someday pick up a cheap retail box, for the extras that unlocks on a free account), there’s just a feeling that the game is on maintenance support.

The approach that Marvel Heroes has made is similar to that of Defiance with unlocks, consumables, and lockboxes – but with the addition of quality-of-life purchases in the form of inventory unlocks. You get a single hero when you start playing (you can pick from a pre-selected 11 of the current roster of 37), and can unlock additional characters through a currency earned playing the game (Eternity Splinters).

Additional heroes can be unlocked either by purchasing a particular hero outright, by purchasing a “Random Hero” unlock, or occasionally dropping in-game (admittedly rarely, with no guarantee that it’s for a hero you haven’t unlocked – but you can use a token for an already-unlocked character to give it a boost to the power if it’s “Signature” power). Alternate costumes for heroes can also be purchased with real money, or drop in-game (again, albeit very rarely, and with no guarantee that it’s for a character you’ve unlocked), or are rewards from the equivalent of lockboxes.

And speaking of lockboxes, there are a couple of takes on them. There are cards which offer random rewards (including exclusive costumes, pets, and consumable buffs). There are also themed lockboxes, the last example of which (Cosmic Lockboxes) offered a guaranteed random hero or costume token and random consumables or other items.

The odd thing was, after playing the game for a week, I was already so happy with the gameplay and the way they make money off it, that I quite happily bought a couple of 5-packs of cosmic lockboxes, and a couple of stash tabs. And this week I picked up the Hawkeye hero pack on Steam, and bought an unlock for Cyclops.

I guess what I’m saying is when it comes to spending money in-game, it helps to feel I’m actually getting something for it. With Godus, it feels like the developer keeps on leaning over my shoulder and commenting “Gee, this is taking forever, isn’t it? You know, it’d be soooo much quicker if you just buy a pack of gems or two, you know, to speed things up.”

With Defiance, the game itself is fun, but the feeling is less “Hey, here’s this fun new DLC that adds feature X!” and more “Lockboxes! Get your Lockboxes here! Guaranteed chance of giving us money – and maybe you’ll get something you won’t immediately vendor!” I think part of the problem is the extremely tight focus on combat, and lack of other avenues to explore (crafting comes to mind immediately, as does the lack of exploration in the small and strongly theme-park-ish map).

Marvel Heroes? Well, I have to admit, when the game first came out I was very doubtful about it. I mean, you couldn’t even create your own character, in this modern era of customisation! But after finally giving it a try (probably thanks to all the times Scott on The Final Score commented on how much he’s enjoying it), it’s surprised me with its fun gameplay and the very even-handed manner in which they’ve chosen to make their money without restricting gameplay.

The lack of inventory space is kind of grating (and the inventory system itself is clunky), but the cost to expand it isn’t exorbitant. It helps that your inventory is account-wide, but it does get tricky (and starts feeling cramped) when you’ve unlocked multiple heroes and start saving items for crafting and hero-specific unique items.

Basically, with MH I don’t feel like I’ve been nickel-and-dimed, and I’m getting value for my money. (Although I’d be a lot less likely to feel I’d been screwed over if things actually cost nickels or dimes, but that’s a rant for another time when I argue for reclassifying most in-game purchases as Macrotransactions)

If you’ll excuse me now, though, Cyclops is about to save the world again, and I’m going along for the ride.

As Seen On TV! In Print! Or On Your PC!

Post soundtrack: The Beatles – Paperback Writer

So, now I’ve replaced my dead power supply (which cost me my first night ticket to Guardians of the Galaxy, as I had to get a refund then use the money for a shiny new not-dead PSU), I can tell you that I’ve been distracted by a free-to-play MMO-ish title which is tied to a currently-screening US TV series. Yes that’s right, I’m playing Defiance (which is now available again on Steam, after it was unavailable for a while due to stuff when it changed to f2p).




And it’s kind of alright. (Which is to say, it scratches my current itch for a third-person not-really-cover-based shooter based around Rift’s eponymous, um, Rifts) This in turn led me to watch (finally) some episodes of the series, and I was relieved to discover it’s actually pretty fun. Like the game, actually. Just with a bit more charm.

It’s been a curious experience, spending time both actively playing the game and passively watching the series. The differences between the two mediums really shine through: especially the depth and scale (and personality) of the series compared to the physically small-yet-interactive (within the limitations of being an MMO with such a focus on combat systems), scope of the game.

First, a little context. The world of Defiance (both the game and series) is set in the aftermath of an unsuccessful invasion of Earth. Partially terraformed into a nearly alien planet, an uneasy peace has been reached between the surviving humans and the assorted races that have now made Earth their home.

The series is set in what used to be the city of St. Louis, now the town of Defiance. A small regular cast gives you an intimate view into the lives of those endeavouring to make something for themselves in this new world. The game, however, is set in the San Francisco Bay area (some 2,800km or 1750mi away, which should make cross-overs problematic in a time where most travel seems to be by land, often over very broken terrain), and has the player taking the role of an Ark Hunter, a combat-savvy salvage expert who ends up involved in local affairs and saves the day (repeatedly) by shooting things.



The cross-media interaction seems to come down to special episodic content in the game, which may feature characters from the series – I’ve completed the first episode, which featured Nolan and Irisa. And there are what are called EGO codes featured in the show (or at least, outside the game) each week, which will give you an in-game bonus when added to your account. (They expire pretty quickly, so there’s no point in delaying entering them)



As I said, the game really satisfied a desire to shoot things – something sadly lacking in the MMOs I’ve played – I’ve never felt any interest in Call of Duty, Battlefield, or other military shooters, so I can’t comment on that genre. But, aside from occasional server irritations (lag, more lag, and sometimes everything-is-phased-most-of-the-time-and-also-laggy – which I came across briefly on the weekend) which usually comes right after server restarts, it’s been a fun and bullet-filled experience.

The levelling mechanic is called EGO, which refers to an implanted AI. As you do more – complete missions, pursuits (a form of achievement-hunting), challenges, local events or Arkfalls – your bond with your EGO grows stronger, and you unlock more powerful abilities. This takes the form of a board with four primary active (and upgradeable) powers (Blur, Cloak, Decoy and Overcharge) located around which are an array of passives which you also unlock and upgrade. You can only have one active ability at a time and a limited number of passives (up to 9 at EGO 1000), so it becomes a matter of choosing one and picking passives that support the ability’s style of gameplay (such as bonuses to cloak duration and cooldown, and extra damage while cloaked).



Another entertaining aspect of the game is the vehicle system. Especially the way it appears out of nowhere when you summon it. Sometimes you just whistle, and it appears. Anyway, there are three classes of vehicles: Runners (4x4 bikes, and my favourite so far), Rollers (cars or pickups, more durable than bikes but not as easy to control, especially off-road), and Cerebus (heavy vehicles, like driving an oil tanker when you’re fresh from a Runner). There are in-game challenges that award EGO for successfully completion, but I haven’t tried these yet. (There’s also a fast-travel system that takes you directly to a handful of locations around the map, which are handily also locations of equipment vendors)

Aside from your EGO rating, you gain specific experience with each class of weapon and vehicle, gaining perks with each as you use them more. There’s a level cap of 20 with each, so trying to cap yourself with everything is an additional challenge for those wanting a goal to chase.



There’s no crafting, but there’s a surprisingly subtle weapon-modding setup. Four components for each weapon (barrel, magazine, sight and stock) which affect the performance in various ways. (For example, I’m currently adding a fourth mod slot to my new sniper rifle to let me add a custom stock, which will cut down recoil by 10%) There are also sets, and using 2 or more of the same set can add additional bonuses. Also, sights come in three flavours. One which improves accuracy without affecting weapon zoom, and two which either increase or decrease default zoom level while adding the visual effect of using a scope while aiming.



The weapons themselves have several rarity levels, and can currently be upgraded through the use on an in-game currency (but that’s apparently being effectively taken out with the big upcoming content patch). But! A weapon being higher rarity is no guarantee that it will be better than a lower rarity weapon of the same class - the variety and performance between weapons of the same class can make a remarkable difference, regardless of their EGO rating (indeed, you might be using your beginning weapon for quite some time).

One limitation you run into pretty quickly is your limited ammunition capacity. Each weapon type draws from the same pool – 15 for heavy weapons (grenade or rocket launchers, for example), 50 for sniper rifles (both bolt-action and semi-automatic), up to 500 for light machine guns (LMGs). This can be worked around by using different loadouts (new players have access to two and can purchase more in-game, or by manually switching to different weapon types), but you’ll often find yourself looking for a nearby weapon locker to reload.



There are three other consumables: grenades (which are fairly self-explanatory), spikes (which create a small area buff), and stims (a personal buff).

What you wear is purely cosmetic, and has no effect on stats - headgear is separate to outfits, so you can mix-and-match (for better or worse). Some do look cooler than others though, but you won’t have access to many for a while (unless you pick up some in the store for real money). Also you can expect a good many reskins of the same costume models, but I guess that’s par for the course.

Along with the public events that you’ll run into while exploring (this is usually a fairly simple combat event, maybe repelling a couple of waves of bad guys (or bad aliens, or bad bugs, or sometimes bad cyborgs). The meat of the game (other than following missions) would have to be the Arkfalls, which are public events on a larger scale. (There are also player-summonable Arkfalls you can unlock with the Arkbreaker DLC, where you fight your way into fallen Arks and have interior areas to clean out – the standard ones are pretty much all exterior events)

These are pretty hard, requiring as many people of you can get – fortunately this isn’t that hard (provided there are people on), as the rewards for participation are pretty good. Just don’t expect to be very high on the scoreboard at the end, if you’re a low-EGO player. The open, tagging-free nature of the game is a definite plus in this situation. (Along with WildStar, I really wish WoW would take more steps in this direction – their group-centric philosophy really grates sometime, and not just when you’re fighting to tap mobs)



The game really has a theme-park feel to it, feeling like a super-violent Disney which is heavy on the Mad Max and Starship Troopers homages, especially in the early levels. But I found the curious thing is just how small the terrain feels – in some ways like a compressed version of something real, but much more static especially when you cross the (smaller) remains of the Golden Gate bridge. (Seriously, the vehicle physics are fun if not too realistic, but it’s still kind of jarring to watch your character drive into alien vegetation and instantly come to a halt as if it was made of concrete – and remain seated and not reacting to the deceleration, but that’s a different complaint)

On the whole, despite the lag and difficulty spikes (and wooden characters, and the fact that your avatar NEVER SPEAKS), I’m enjoying the game. Well, apart from a couple of boss fights in the main quest line that frustrated me by bumping up the difficulty substantially. The earlier one wasn’t too hard once I worked out the mechanics, but the one I’m on now (I think it’s very end of the main quest chain) is a very unforgiving 3-phase fight which has really left a bad taste in my mouth. I think I’ll end up abandoning the chain completely, and focusing instead on the episodic content and DLC (having picked up two of the five DLC packs so far). Plus there’s some new content due in a couple of days

As a pick-up-and-play game, it’s proven to be very entertaining. And it’s left me curious to see how Rift will run now – on my old system I had to turn off the advanced renderer in order to get a playable framerate; I’m hoping I’ll be able to get better results out of my new system (even though the video card is still the weakest link).

I’ve also started watching The Strain. The first episode was actually, well, just kind of mediocre (apart from the makeup effects, which were mostly pretty good – I think there’s just something about the actor playing Eph which grates on me). But I’d heard good things about the novels, so I gave them some time and intention. And after reading the trilogy came to the conclusion that they don’t suck, but they felt like a pretty sparse read (possibly due to the influence and origin of the first novel which started as a script and was then expanded into a nominally full novel). They do put an interesting twist on vampire mythos, and the origin story revealed in the third book takes them into an interesting new place.

Anyway, as a result of this I’ve been thinking about cross-media franchises (of which quite a few big games have become – not least of which has been WoW, due on the big screen in a couple of years).



It could be fun. I don’t recognise the logo, though. (Did they really need to change it?)

Off to see Guardians of the Galaxy later this week though. Which should make everything better. (Well, apart from the mobile game, which was just a Battleheart clone with irritating controls.)