BG1/2:EE Needs DLCs!
TvrtkoSvrdlar
Member Posts: 353
Just hear me out before you start throwing rocks at me! 
Now, when I say 'DLC', I'm talking about things like new portraits, soundsets, AI scripts, paper dolls, items with creative properties and unique BAMs, new spells with custom visual effects, etc. It's unfair to ask the team to give us these things for free (and reading the Feature Request section, there's a LOT of asking!). I'm all for the developer patching their game frequently, but that's patching - what we want is additional *content*!
Everyone on this green Earth hates DLCs, and for good reason, as most companies that rely on them try to nickel-and-dime their customers. That's no secret. However, if Overhaul has proven anything, it's that they love this game and are working to ensure the fan base is satisfied. But the thing is, Overhaul is a small dev team, and they aren't exactly swimming in money. DLCs would be a perfect way for them to give us, the fans, what we want, and make some good money on the side. It's win-win for both parties.
So, why not get a couple of devs together, and have them crank out micro-updates? Sell these directly through the site, and bypass Steam entirely (this way, the profits would go directly to the dev studio). You guys have the tools and knowledge, you have the engine, you have all the enhancements - the way I see it, you've already finished the most grueling part of the work, and can now use your skills to crank out new content on a monthly basis (after you're done shipping BG2:EE, of course).
It would keep the game fresh, and the fans happy with new and frequent updates.
Personally, I'd love to see a BG2:EE ToB content expansion (one that would be large in scope and would basically just expand ToB with new areas/items/quests), but I know that's unrealistic. However, DLCs are the next best thing! We, as fans and consumers, want new content. If that content is solid (and there's no reason to think it won't be), I doubt many of us would mind paying a couple of bucks for it. Laying down something like $2.99 once per month for a bunch of new goodies is something any fan would gladly do. And after a couple of months of this, the devs could bundle up all these packs and sell them as a kind of mini-expansion.
If handled properly, micro-content DLCs could net Overhaul a lot of money.
Money that would allow them to fund bigger projects (like the Black Pits).
Or "Adventure Y", whatever the heck that thing is! :P
EDIT:
So, reading through a couple of requests on this board, I see that a lot of people are asking for new spells and abilities and HLAs and whatnot. DLCs would be an amazing way to further expand the game, and provide all these new updates. You could introduce a HLA DLC, or a Spell Pack DLC (including a bunch of PnP spells and considerably buffing Druid spell selection), or an Item Pack DLC, and so on.
Pricing would need to be flexible (ex: item packs, which are relatively simple to put together and don't require new visuals, would go for $0.99, while spell packs with a bunch of unique graphics and sparkly lights could be more expensive and priced at $2.99), and you'd need to figure out exactly what you wanted to do with each DLC, but I think it would pan out nicely in the end.
The demand is obviously there.
Now, when I say 'DLC', I'm talking about things like new portraits, soundsets, AI scripts, paper dolls, items with creative properties and unique BAMs, new spells with custom visual effects, etc. It's unfair to ask the team to give us these things for free (and reading the Feature Request section, there's a LOT of asking!). I'm all for the developer patching their game frequently, but that's patching - what we want is additional *content*!
Everyone on this green Earth hates DLCs, and for good reason, as most companies that rely on them try to nickel-and-dime their customers. That's no secret. However, if Overhaul has proven anything, it's that they love this game and are working to ensure the fan base is satisfied. But the thing is, Overhaul is a small dev team, and they aren't exactly swimming in money. DLCs would be a perfect way for them to give us, the fans, what we want, and make some good money on the side. It's win-win for both parties.
So, why not get a couple of devs together, and have them crank out micro-updates? Sell these directly through the site, and bypass Steam entirely (this way, the profits would go directly to the dev studio). You guys have the tools and knowledge, you have the engine, you have all the enhancements - the way I see it, you've already finished the most grueling part of the work, and can now use your skills to crank out new content on a monthly basis (after you're done shipping BG2:EE, of course).
It would keep the game fresh, and the fans happy with new and frequent updates.
Personally, I'd love to see a BG2:EE ToB content expansion (one that would be large in scope and would basically just expand ToB with new areas/items/quests), but I know that's unrealistic. However, DLCs are the next best thing! We, as fans and consumers, want new content. If that content is solid (and there's no reason to think it won't be), I doubt many of us would mind paying a couple of bucks for it. Laying down something like $2.99 once per month for a bunch of new goodies is something any fan would gladly do. And after a couple of months of this, the devs could bundle up all these packs and sell them as a kind of mini-expansion.
If handled properly, micro-content DLCs could net Overhaul a lot of money.
Money that would allow them to fund bigger projects (like the Black Pits).
Or "Adventure Y", whatever the heck that thing is! :P
EDIT:
So, reading through a couple of requests on this board, I see that a lot of people are asking for new spells and abilities and HLAs and whatnot. DLCs would be an amazing way to further expand the game, and provide all these new updates. You could introduce a HLA DLC, or a Spell Pack DLC (including a bunch of PnP spells and considerably buffing Druid spell selection), or an Item Pack DLC, and so on.
Pricing would need to be flexible (ex: item packs, which are relatively simple to put together and don't require new visuals, would go for $0.99, while spell packs with a bunch of unique graphics and sparkly lights could be more expensive and priced at $2.99), and you'd need to figure out exactly what you wanted to do with each DLC, but I think it would pan out nicely in the end.
The demand is obviously there.
Post edited by TvrtkoSvrdlar on
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Comments
Good to hear. I'd love to have Overhaul cranking out monthly updates (parallel to working on whatever big thing is currently on their plate). Like I said, a couple of bucks a month is nothing, and it would keep the game fresh and interesting for a long, long time.
Here's to hoping they ship BG2:EE with no hiccups, and then start making DLCs!