Future DLC?

I wouldn't mind paying for an expansion pack with an extensive amount of new units and new features later on down the road when the FULL game (this means nothing left out for the sake of turning into DLC) has been released. I also would much prefer occasional updates that add features to the game and fix bugs like Minecraft does for free (as I have already bought the game). But the last game I bought that pretty much hollowed out all of the features and forced people to purchase and download the features that should have already been in the game in the first place I tossed straight into the trash. I'm tired of self-licking lolly-pop gimmicks that serve as nothing more than a greed machine.

I remember someone from Uber talking about how they will have a Mod Marketplace kinda like the iOS store.

Can't remember if it was in a live stream or in a 1 on 1 conversation with the devs though.

However, the dev did word it in a way that was "this would be cool if we do this" not a "this is a concrete confirmed feature."

Real fuzzy on what actually went down though.

@mered4 I'm not saying I want a SP campaign, but some people surely do.

@raevn
You buy the DLC and get extra features and the game you already bought gets updated. If they release a DLC pack some people will get it, some won't - the community will get divided. If they release an update everyone gets it and everyone gets the new features. Think BF4 vs. EVE Online.

Look closely, I said that you would "BUY a mod that someone has made for free". That means that Uber gets the money, not the mod developer. If the mod developer sells his mod and Uber as the marketplace owner gets a cut then it's fine.

Personally I think that if they add a mod marketplace it will be closer to a mod manager than an actual marketplace. Maybe they will allow mod devs to sell their mods.

DLC Music?
DLC Voice packs?

I think the game could support fancy SP or co-op skirmish maps, similar to the Forged Alliance campaign missions. 'System campaigns', like you and your friends gate in and you have to overcome a whole system full of prebuilt AI bases in a phased objective system ala Supcom.

I think they're aiming for a minecraft-esque situation where by keeping the game up-to-date and expanding it, they're keeping it in the spotlights and continue sales. The customer base is quite different though.

Still, i think a good modding database can easily keep it alive for a longer time: Kerbal Space Program has various frequently-requested features in the form of mods (as does Minecraft) and offers a level of free service to the whole game that helps it, not hurt it. Minecraft would not have survived without the easy modding (since without those mods, it's a boring bare-bones game that you "finish" in a few hours). Mods add minecraft's contents 100x over and give it thousands of hours of playtime. And i don't see why this can't apply to PA.

music, voice packs - moddable
coop skirmish the way you put it = a save game where both sides have some pre built units/buildings. Load it up and play it with your friends

I doubt mods will be able to give PA as much success as Minecraft because it's a RTS game and Minecraft is a Sandbox survival game.

that's what a campaign map *is*

I mean....there's more you could do with it, and actually setting up a pretty fun scenario is difficult. That's why it might warrant DLC. $0.99 a map, $3 for a four pack, something like that.

There are going to be some obvious differences, yes. But the Minecraft modding scene can roughly be put in 3 camps:

-The adventure map camp (that in PA will likely be a SinglePlayer camp)
-The Technology camp (expanding with complex tech trees and features: i am not sure if PA will have a camp like it).
-The Moar Crap camp (that add anything from more dirtblocks to more stone to more animals) that in PA will likely have an equal in a "more units/unit sets/ effects" camp.

The likelihood of DLCs going off of what Uber has stated in live streams, posts, etc. it's probably unlikely. The business model would most likely with some exceptions to be a traditional monetization model with expansions and new versions. Now micro-transactions Uber shouldn't do them because they don't know what a micro-transaction is. An example of this when when I first played SMNC and went into the store. Found a item for hundred dollars even at a discount other items $50, $60, $70, etc. a micro-transaction should be somewhere between a cent to a dollar or a little bit more. They have also said that Planetary Annihilation is is a platform for mod, etc. is going to have regular updates for bug fixes and new content.

Personally I'd like to see the more traditional approach with the expansions and new versions but with regular bug fixes, content updates and Uber labs so that modders could have the choice to monetize their mod if they're at a professional level. As well as maybe a quarterly episodic story campaign downloadable content.

Former discussions on this topic:
Monetizing mods
DLC, DRM, Monetization
DLC vs Expansions - KNOW THE DETAIL!

edit: add if they're at a professional level.

I just need to point out for this thread, but you really do need to read the ENTIRE thread.

Mike

I have read the entire thread. It talks about the application/code audit process and mainly discusses what the community thought at that time. Mod marketplace if it's done because it hasn't been confirmed or not is open at the moment. And if they do it they're going to need some kind of verification process for due diligence. Personally I'm fine with it as long as it doesn't poison the community.

edit: a mod marketplace system would produce mod is downloadable content.

big, paid for, expansion pack would be fine by me.

Two Things to Note:
Retail will be bigger than most are letting on. Remember the Partnership with Nordic Games for physical distribution.

With modding and private servers the community is already split from day one. Added content doesn't really affect it.

I haven't even taken Personal Finance, I just always talk economics and politics with my guy friends.

As for monetizing mods, bear in mind that the prime example of monetized community content (TF2) doesn't monetize *mods*, it monetizes *items*. Objects that are of varying rarity and as a result have fluctuating values on the market. TF2 is a global market, not a money scheme. The reason it's so successful is because Valve makes players feel like they're being successful.

PA can't really do the same thing because TF2 reached critical mass before introducing the market economy. In fact I doubt *any* games will be able to feel the same success TF2 had with its market quite simply because anything that tried to do the same thing would be a pale imitation of TF2.

Moving on to DLC, I am perfectly fine (subjectively) with both "Expansion Packs" which introduce a large amount of content in the form of a standalone game, as well as Cosmetic DLC (this is the most morally right form of DLC)... But you have to bear in mind that all of that is undermined by the modding community. It isn't malignant or anything, it's just that the modding community is overwhelmingly more powerful and more economical than releasing DLC. Valve said once that they couldn't hope to try and compete with their community's ability to create new content (paraphrasing). Same goes for PA.

So what we're left with is a post-retail void where Uber will either have to find some way to monetize PA after retail, or they'll have to move on to a different project. And neither of these are necessarily bad things, they are simply necessary, and Uber has yet to put forth a rational plan for sustenance. I'm not criticizing them - they have said that they "err toward underthinking", which I not only entirely respect but laud, it's just that this is one of the things you have to plan for. There are multiple ways to do this:

+Pay 2 Play. Possible, but this is a dying breed.
+Free 2 Play. Popular, but Uber has explicitly stated that they aren't doing this.
+DLC. Uber has very strongly hinted that they don't like DLC.
+Expansion packs. Undermined inherently by the massive, intelligent and experienced modding community.
+Market Economy. This is the only viable alternative I can think of, but getting it to work would be like dodging bullets in a 90s Arcade game. Also we run into the TF2 behemoth by going this route.

Good point, also the degree that the community would be fractured.

why is an official Uber expansion considered a poor man's modded content? I happen to think that more content, created by the original developers, is preferable to modded content. That's not to sleight the modders at all, I just kind of like to see where the original vision will go, and don't mind paying for the privilege.

Yes, the modding community is more economically efficient but uber has a plan to counter that. In the form of a mod marketplace where they get a cut from each mod has been sold. Question is will the community-at-large let them.

I disagree with the notion that modding community undermine expansion packs. In fact it would allow for the creation of more mods. I know I would purchase expansions and use mods. Where there is one there is many.

The issue there is that once you have to pay for mods, the already fractious nature of a moddable game becomes exacerbated into canyons as opposed to leaps and bounds. You want to play on your friend's private server? Well, looks like he's using the Subterranean Units pack. TREE FIDDY PLEASE. Oh, he's also using the Realm Community Rebalance. FIVE DOLLA. Well, you had a good time on his server anyways? And it helped you train for that tournament you're in tomorrow.

Come the next day: 2v2 Dukes of Beta Open requires the PAStats mod, PA Demo Recorder and the PA Referee mod. NINE NINETY FIVE.

It is the worst form of nickel and diming. And it invites pirated mods an pirate-enabled servers which results in copyright infringements and Cease and Desist orders, the point is that it is going directly contra to PA's community intertwinement. Again, back to TF2: Valve isn't telling modders that they can sell their *mods*, they're saying that "If you do the artsy fartsy stuff for us, we'll do the marketing and money for you." And Valve has the leeway to do that, because it means that they also get the community even more deeply embroiled in the game.

PA's mods will *not* be aesthetic in nature. Sure, someone might do a photorealistic textures mod, or a Starcraft Skins mod, but aside from that, most of the mods will be unit packs, balance overhauls and gamemodes. Those are *not marketable*. There is nothing appealing about them.

Basicly split between competitive ladder, fun play weither ai player or both
no matter if online offline or lan or modding .... soooo does that even matter?


And nothing against modders but i take original content over mods any day
why?because the devs are the ones who tell which direction the game should go not the modders .... the modders mostly show what else is possible and can be fun within the engine

And player created ones.