Is This the New Normal?

[Vurosia]

Okay, so I've been away from Elite for a few months now. I understand that Horizons has been out for a while aswell, that's it's pretty pricey for such a lackluster "expansion" thing. They tell us that there are more coming, "but for now give us the money and we will try to keep our promise" is what they're playing. That would be $120 I've put into this game, and have not even gotten as much depth out of it as a sci fi Mobile Phone app/game.

Does anyone know if this pricing model is what to expect every year? Because until I actually see something worth shelling out more money to these developers, I'm going to remain hesitant to ever reinstall it.

To be fair, the game has potential, is heading in the right direction, the only issue is that it's barely making it in that direction.

 

[Slack]

Technically you havent really seen what you will get for your money yet. As none of the 4 updates have been released. So maybe make a judgment call at the end of the year.

 

[Jim Era]

have you tried blowing up penal colonies from low orbit? or in your little dune buggy?! oooo dune buggy is great once all the base defenses and patrols start firing and you speed away only to hit a slight hill and smash the spacebar for maximum airtime!

also im new i just picked up the full thing for $60. ..im pretty sure the horizons standalone was cheaper? so maybe they are changing it?

 

[Agony_Aunt]

Is This the New Normal?

It does seem to be the way the industry in general is going. At least on PC. On mobile its mainly P2W these days. And consoles seem to love gouging people for subscriptions still.

But at the end of the day, its always you choice with the seasons model as to whether to buy in advance, at full price, and trust that you will get what you want. Your other option is to wait until the expansion is complete, and if you like the look of the content, grab it on a sale at the end of the year.

Total Biscuit did a good vid about why you should never pre-order.

[video=youtube;mf5Uj4XIT1Y]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5Uj4XIT1Y[/video]

Totally agree with him, except... in the case of ED, where i just had to grab that lifetime pass

Anyway OP, as i said, its your call whether you buy in advance or not. If you already did, then that was your decision, and hopefully you will be happy with the content they release over the coming year. If not, then i suggest you wait until season 3 is finished before purchasing it (and remember, by end of season, it will probably be on sale!).

 

[Jason S]

You do get your monies worth in terms of simulation, graphics, sound and the ED cannon.

I do get what the OP means in gameplay though and yes I do think they are aiming for the yearly dlc as many games are going these days.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

Okay, so I've been away from Elite for a few months now. I understand that Horizons has been out for a while aswell, that's it's pretty pricey for such a lackluster "expansion" thing. They tell us that there are more coming, "but for now give us the money and we will try to keep our promise" is what they're playing. That would be $120 I've put into this game, and have not even gotten as much depth out of it as a sci fi Mobile Phone app/game.

Does anyone know if this pricing model is what to expect every year? Because until I actually see something worth shelling out more money to these developers, I'm going to remain hesitant to ever reinstall it.

To be fair, the game has potential, is heading in the right direction, the only issue is that it's barely making it in that direction.

To be honest even though I've been called a fanboi several times I was also disappointed at first with the announcement. However, the more I hear about 2.1 the bigger and better it sounds. There's been so many things teased for it that it feels as major as 2.0 was.
Only yesterday in the live-stream we got hints about a ton of new things are coming this year:

Some interesting points for those who haven't watched the video (spoilered in case you want to watch it)

Spoiler

- They hinted it's going to be dangerous to explore without weapons (dun..dun..DUNNNNN!) without mentioning any kind of reason or timeline.
- Outfitting screen is being re-done as part of the 2.1 update.
- There will likely be new things to do/map in future (such as perhaps mapping planetary surfaces) without having to travel way out to find 'virgin' systems to tag.
- There are some plans for gas giants.. but they're not saying what.
- POI distribution being changed, new (natural) POI types being added.
- More hazards when exploring.
- New materials being added (hinted at boosted jump ranges - I assume this is for permanent boosts as opposed to Jumponium).

Tl: Dr make a judgement after the entire year has passed as others have said and decide. As far as It goes I still trust Frontier which for me is what matters. Hopefully when 2.1 drops there will be a collective "oh, thats why there was a delay"

 

[dayrth]

The easy solution is to wait until the end of the year. You will then be able to see all Horizons content and decide if it's worth the price or not. It may be cheaper then too

TBH I already have horizons, but I am more than happy with the way season one went, so am happy to trust that season two will be just as good.

 

[Jezzah]

Paying yearly is fine I guess but I have to say the updates they have scheduled aren't lighting any fire of excitement in me. Maybe next year's batch will bring things like persistence and fleshing out the current gameplay a lot more.

 

[chiefwizard]

Horizons is really boring. I can't get excited about any of it.

 

[Jack Schitt]

It is a very odd pricing model. It might help to think of it as a $5 per month subscription rather than a $60 one-off every year, but either way there are huge chunks of calendar where you don't seem to get much for your money other than continued access to the game.

(Standard disclaimer: as a LEP owner my interest in the pricing is academic, but to my mind $5 per month for continued development seems less onerous than $60 for an ill-defined expansion that may or may not deliver subjective VFM.)

I'm not defending FD's actions, in fact I think their behaviour since 2.0 (leaving game-breaking bugs unpatched for two months then delaying a major release for a further three) is shockingly bad. But their pricing model is basically an extension of what worked so well for them during the Kickstarter -- buy now, see what you get later -- and they're running with it. It's a risky strategy and only time will tell if it was a valid one.

As I've said elsewhere, I suspect 2.1 will be make-or-break for this game at least in terms of self-funding. If 2.1 is weak, or full of bugs that aren't patched very quickly, it will result in another round of players giving up. Which will almost certainly have a knock-on effect when it comes to early Season 3 sales even for those players who don't leave. Fool me once, blah blah blah...

Of course Frontier as a whole is doing well enough, and Planet Coaster should fill their coffers quite nicely when it launches. So if they're prepared to cross-subsidise their products, ED might be able to weather a few bad quarters as long as there's something really good down the pipeline that will re-engage players again.

But at least in the short term, everything's riding on 2.1. It needs to be really good.

 

[anikaiful]

$60 a year, sort of - basically translates into "$5 a month". Isn't even half the price than typical subscription based games leech out of people's pockets. FD could well hike the price up double the current and it'd still fall short in amount it'd thin your wallet vs what those subscription model games would do over a year...

 

[Phantasma]

To be fair, the 'See it as a subscription up front but cheaper' argument doesn't quite fit the current situation. They already got the money, regardless of when the remaining content gets released or what it will encompass. If this was a sub game the delay of 2.1 would have resulted in quite a few dropped subs. At least until June.

So i don't feel particularily blessed to pay 60€ full price expansions because they are well in Frontier's financial interest that way.

In general, although the price for Horizons definitely surprised me, i'm not automatically opposed to their monetising model.
Releasing Horizons in this state and then even being unable to maintain a timely patching schedule on the other hand cast it in a different light though.
Demanding AAA prices? All good and well, but then i expect triple A quality assurance and performance too.

 

[Kayweg]

$60 a year, sort of - basically translates into "$5 a month". Isn't even half the price than typical subscription based games leech out of people's pockets. FD could well hike the price up double the current and it'd still fall short in amount it'd thin your wallet vs what those subscription model games would do over a year...

No, it doesn't.
You paid your 60$ upfront and are then at the whim of the company, your money is gone.
If you paid 5$ sub, you could cancel it at any given time if you were unhappy with the game, or content got delayed (as is the case with 2.1.), and resub later.
I am NOT advocating for a subscription based model for ED, but please stop saying paying upfront is the same as dividing the asking price by 12 and paying every month.
It is not.

 

[anikaiful]

No, it doesn't.
You paid your 60$ upfront and are then at the whim of the company, your money is gone.
If you paid 5$ sub, you could cancel it at any given time if you were unhappy with the game, or content got delayed (as is the case with 2.1.), and resub later.
I an NOT advocating for a subscription based model for ED, but please stop saying paying upfront is the same as dividing the asking price by 12 and paying every month.
It is not.

Not the same, no - but the far I've noted, people tend to think "big" price upfront is somehow more expensive than small dribbles over time, which is also false.

 

[Lily from anim.o.v.e]

Not the same, no - but the far I've noted, people tend to think "big" price upfront is somehow more expensive than small dribbles over time, which is also false.

ye sbut small portions in regular payments ar emore resposnsive to the devs in terms of palyer happyniess, and who keeps playing and paying.

However steam sales soone ror later make everything thats b2p very cheap

 

[Patrick_68000]

For the season 3, I think that many people will buy at the end of the season and not at the beginning

 

[StiTch]

It's amazing how many people I see make these kind of posts without actually getting involved in the content that's around.

Now, I am not aiming this at OP in particular. But there's so many grinders out there doing repetitive smuggle/trading/bounty hunting etc. on their larry to get a corvette, fly it for five minutes and go "cool, so what was this game about?".

There's actually a good bit of gameplay to be had in your vulture, clipper, FAS, courier (my personal fave), whatever takes your fancy...just taking part in a decent group/wing and using PowerPlay for what it was meant for. Mix up what you do contributing, but it was definitely the extra dimension this game needs.

Looking forward to what comes out in future, though I certainly wouldn't mind some more ships...

 

[Kayweg]

Not the same, no - but the far I've noted, people tend to think "big" price upfront is somehow more expensive than small dribbles over time, which is also false.

Number is the same, but paying incremental leaves the player in control and with options.
Paying upfront leaves him with nothing but hoping for the best.
Getting paid for a job upfront usually isn't the best motivator to do a good job. There's a reason most of us don't get their salaries/wages in advance.....

 

[Comrade Error]

It does seem to be the way the industry in general is going. At least on PC. On mobile its mainly P2W these days. And consoles seem to love gouging people for subscriptions still.

But at the end of the day, its always you choice with the seasons model as to whether to buy in advance, at full price, and trust that you will get what you want. Your other option is to wait until the expansion is complete, and if you like the look of the content, grab it on a sale at the end of the year.

Total Biscuit did a good vid about why you should never pre-order.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf5Uj4XIT1Y

Totally agree with him, except... in the case of ED, where i just had to grab that lifetime pass

Anyway OP, as i said, its your call whether you buy in advance or not. If you already did, then that was your decision, and hopefully you will be happy with the content they release over the coming year. If not, then i suggest you wait until season 3 is finished before purchasing it (and remember, by end of season, it will probably be on sale!).

Huh, glad one of the mods have seen the light.

 

[Raile]

I went and got the lifer pass early on when it first went on sale, so I'm on this train ride until the end.
On one hand, yes, expensive. On the other, they could start charging per patch and it wouldn't matter to me since I'm already there.