[Person of Color]

New idea for a game: Asp Effect. It's like Super Columbine RPG except it doesn't suck.

No more Paragon or Renegade, you can be autistic or narcissistic.

All conversations with women will involve them not talking to you.

The multiple endings will effect the color of his BMW's leather after he kills himself. Three different endings, and a "hidden" fourth refusal ending where he goes nuts and starts fucking the crotch of a tree after a televised police chase.

[Fox]

http://www.giantbomb...y-stea-1443140/

[Jeff]

Sounds good Viper

In other news, I'll have a new boss to answer to on Wednesday. My current boss moved to another company. Job was fine, but there was no advancement for her here.

[Person of Color]

There will be multiple romance options, and yes, the MPEG's can reject you.

"Sorry Elliot, but our codecs just aren't compatible."

[Jeff]

I thought I had a weird laugh

[Kyanos]

http://thenextweb.co...police-request/

[Person of Color]

VOTE UKIP. SAVE TORRENTZ.EU.

CAN'T BARRAGE THE FARAGE.

[Jeff]

So after fixing my "Mass Effect activation limit" thing, I was awarded with an updated version of the game which includes a repair/update option as well as a few other things.

[Fox]

[Ivan Jäger]

[Person of Color]

Jeff, on 28 May 2014 - 05:22 PM, said:

So after fixing my "Mass Effect activation limit" thing, I was awarded with an updated version of the game which includes a repair/update option as well as a few other things.

>Using Origin
>Spending $80 on DLC between 2 and 3
>Spending a total of $120 to play all the content in Mass Effect 3 cause they launched it a year early

Don't feed the animals, Jeff.

[Jeff]

Quote

>Using Origin
>Spending $80 on DLC between 2 and 3
>Spending a total of $120 to play all the content in Mass Effect 3 cause they launched it a year early

What are you saying? They don't give away free DLC, aside from weapon packs and multiplayer. DLC is kind of like modern day expansion packs. Those were $40 a pop on top of the original game.

[The Commander]

[Ronin]

Jeff, on 29 May 2014 - 09:03 PM, said:

What are you saying? They don't give away free DLC, aside from weapon packs and multiplayer. DLC is kind of like modern day expansion packs. Those were $40 a pop on top of the original game.

He is say take it from them for free, I played all the mass effect games on the 360 and never bought any DLC because it's a complete rip off, I will wait for a complete collection to come out on the pc and buy if at a reasonable price or I will "take" it from them.

[Lunick]

You bought that bundle

[The Commander]

I have actually had the RPG for a few months now.
I do laugh that it is $69.99 on steam and you can buy it for a $1 in the humble bundle though.

[Jeff]

Ronan, on 30 May 2014 - 01:55 AM, said:

He is say take it from them for free, I played all the mass effect games on the 360 and never bought any DLC because it's a complete rip off, I will wait for a complete collection to come out on the pc and buy if at a reasonable price or I will "take" it from them.

Gaming is a pretty cheap hobby compared to other things. People will hate me for saying this, but if I slave away for 4 months making software (DLC) or a whole game for 2-5 years, I damn well want to get paid for it. Much like if I worked at my job for 5 months doing what I do, I won't do it for free or for a petty wage. So if a game costs $50 million to make, they need to sell X number of copies at $X in order make up for it. If they sold each Mass Effect game for $5 (including all the DLC), and since only around 3-4 million sold, then they wouldn't make their money back.

[Ronin]

Jeff, on 30 May 2014 - 05:01 AM, said:

Gaming is a pretty cheap hobby compared to other things. People will hate me for saying this, but if I slave away for 4 months making software (DLC) or a whole game for 2-5 years, I damn well want to get paid for it. Much like if I worked at my job for 5 months doing what I do, I won't do it for free or for a petty wage. So if a game costs $50 million to make, they need to sell X number of copies at $X in order make up for it. If they sold each Mass Effect game for $5 (including all the DLC), and since only around 3-4 million sold, then they wouldn't make their money back.

The Mass Effect games are good value without the DLC, each game has a lot of content but their DLC is mostly stuff just cut from the game for the sole purpose to milk more money from people. I have no problem paying for games that are worth the cash, I already paid for the Mass Effect series once on the 360, unless they offer a complete edition for the pc with all DLC included then it won't be worth paying for. You sound like you got a lot of value out of Mass Effect and if you don't mind paying for all that DLC with probably costs hundreds when all added up with the base games, then that's fine for you but I reckon most people feel they are taking the piss.

[Person of Color]

Ronan, on 30 May 2014 - 06:07 AM, said:

The Mass Effect games are good value without the DLC, each game has a lot of content but their DLC is mostly stuff just cut from the game for the sole purpose to milk more money from people. I have no problem paying for games that are worth the cash, I already paid for the Mass Effect series once on the 360, unless they offer a complete edition for the pc with all DLC included then it won't be worth paying for. You sound like you got a lot of value out of Mass Effect and if you don't mind paying for all that DLC with probably costs hundreds when all added up with the base games, then that's fine for you but I reckon most people feel they are taking the piss.

No they aren't. Don't buy Mass Effect without the DLC. If you want to pay them, buy it then pirate superior versions.

With the exception of the Firewalker DLC for ME2 the rest of it really is required gameplay. Pirating the DLC also gives you access to all kinds of weapons and armor that really deepens the gameplay.

EA is a fucking disgusting organization, don't let your respect for them ruin your experience. There's 20 hours of awesome you're missing out on by doing that.

ME2:
Kasumi and Zaeed are some of the more interesting characters in the series and are worth having, and you get sub missions in ME3 from them as well.
Overlord has an amazing plot, and really shows you how dirty Cerberus is. It introduces two really awesome characters. It has direct tie ins to ME3 depending on whether or not you save Grissom Academy (Jack). Grissom has this really great moment you don't see without it, and if you fail to save it, you get guilt tripped yet another time further down the line.
Shadow Broker provides much needed linkage between 2 and 3 and is amazing, especially if you had Liara as a romantic interest in 1. It's one of the greatest moments in the entire series, up there with Feros, the suicide mission, and the Omega DLC. It has direct tie ins to ME3, as well.
Arrival also provides much needed linkage, and gives backstory into the Reapers' plan. It also ties in heavily to the first 10 minutes of ME3.

ME3:
From Ashes is obviously required.

Spoiler

You need the fucking Prothean.

Leviathan explains the origin of the Reapers and makes the ending soooo much deeper.
Omega DLC is incredible, some of the best level design I've ever seen, and it is filled with fucking lore. It's super underrated. It's four and a half hours of awesome - just boom, tackle, bangin' ass. You see so much of Omega and the people who live there, retaking it really is amazing. It's the first time I ever felt like I was actually invading a facility, not just a representation of one that kites me along certain paths.
Citadel DLC is pure fanservice BUT IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL THING EVER. Parts of it are dripping with lore, everything from the First Contact War to the Council covering up the Reaper threat. It makes the ending hurt so fucking bad, too. Also it's basically a requirement for anyone who wants to import a Jack file into ME4 because EA dropped the fucking ball on her role in 3.

[Ronin]

Yeah I know that a lot of that DLC has key elements of the story, it should have been part of the base game or free, I like the story so I just read about it, but I do want some sort of complete edition in a box so if they release one I might buy it. If they don't I will pirate it. I don't respect EA, so pirating one of their games wouldn't bother me, they can afford it anyway. Origin sucks anyway. The Mass Effect base games are good value, I have good a lot of quality game time out of them without the DLC, the DLC I'm sure makes them better but that doesn't take away from how good they are to begin with.

[Hendricks266]

[Lunick]

[Jeff]

Ronan, on 30 May 2014 - 06:07 AM, said:

The Mass Effect games are good value without the DLC, each game has a lot of content but their DLC is mostly stuff just cut from the game for the sole purpose to milk more money from people. I have no problem paying for games that are worth the cash, I already paid for the Mass Effect series once on the 360, unless they offer a complete edition for the pc with all DLC included then it won't be worth paying for. You sound like you got a lot of value out of Mass Effect and if you don't mind paying for all that DLC with probably costs hundreds when all added up with the base games, then that's fine for you but I reckon most people feel they are taking the piss.

I don't get this whole "cut content" thing. So with something like FSX, did Microsoft cut out the Acceleration pack and sell it to me for $40? Or another non-gaming example. Did Peter Jackson film the Extended Edition before hand, cut it and sell it separately from the theatrical version? Or a restaurant, which used to have potatoes come with your food, but they decided to sell it as a side dish instead.

AFAIK, the original FSX game didn't have proper multicore, DX10.1 support, among other performance enhancements (reduced draw calls, HDR lighting, better shaders, less CPU intensive). Took nearly 2 years to upgrade it to DX10.1 & multicore with help from Intel. Not something you could cut out and sell later.

Not sure about ME1, but LOTSB, Overlord, or Arrival have nothing to do with the main campaign which was the Collectors. I don't see how they were cut from the game. It's not like they were 100% finished before the game shipped. That would be cut content. The ME3 script leak had a few blurbs about Omega, but it's not like the whole DLC was finished. Leviathan or Citadel wasn't even mentioned anywhere.

Isn't this "cut content" thing similar to a cable company giving you a "base package", but if you want the good channels, you have to fork over extra for it? As if they were chopped up and sold separately? I don't see how the consumers can change this sort of thing. No amount of being vocal or doing shady acts will get them to change their minds on this.

[Person of Color]

Shadow Broker and Arrival had a legitimate reason to exist. They bridge the gap and make the whole transition to 3 feel superfluous.

ME3's DLC existed because Bioware was forced into a short dev cycle by EA. Don't forget, the game was delayed by almost a year, and even then it clearly wasn't enough. They knew they were short on time and wrote a script that could be developed into a game within that timeframe.

EA plans for this shit, dude. As much as I loved Battlefield 3 I had to stop playing because the constant barrage of DLC fragmented the player base. I spent $60 on the collectors edition, and I still got shafted, just like those who bought the collectors edition of ME3. Their entire business model is based off of not only having fast dev cycles, but selling enough DLC to have a constant revenue stream until the next title is released. They will put shit on the disc and force you to pay for it as DLC on launch day. They are assholes, plain and simple.

[Jeff]

Protected by Viper, on 01 June 2014 - 07:56 AM, said:

Shadow Broker and Arrival had a legitimate reason to exist. They bridge the gap and make the whole transition to 3 feel superfluous.

ME3's DLC existed because Bioware was forced into a short dev cycle by EA. Don't forget, the game was delayed by almost a year, and even then it clearly wasn't enough. They knew they were short on time and wrote a script that could be developed into a game within that timeframe.

EA plans for this shit, dude. As much as I loved Battlefield 3 I had to stop playing because the constant barrage of DLC fragmented the player base. I spent $60 on the collectors edition, and I still got shafted, just like those who bought the collectors edition of ME3. Their entire business model is based off of not only having fast dev cycles, but selling enough DLC to have a constant revenue stream until the next title is released. They will put shit on the disc and force you to pay for it as DLC on launch day. They are assholes, plain and simple.

As much as I agree with certain things, I don't think EA is in business to screw people over. They are in business to make money. People might say EA bosses Bioware around, but they ultimately answer to their shareholders, which I'm guessing answer to us in some way. I've been scolded by certain people for accepting certain things they do because I try to rationalize it.

It would be nice to release a game when finished, or whenever you feel like it (see Duke Nukem Forever). That I should be able to finish my report by late next week even though my boss says the deadline is this Friday. That every game should have a $200 million dollar budget and 6 year development cycle minimum and be "perfect", but it's not realistic. Deadlines and budgets are necessary in order for a business to function.

The notion that EA hands Bioware $50 million or whatever and say "make this game by X date" is kind of like saying the government hands you $40 million to construct a project, and if has a bunch of problems by the deadline, well, too bad, open the bridge anyways regardless of whether it is finished or not. If there are no safety rails on the bridge for pedestrians, open it anyways. People who work there say Bioware tells Bioware when a game is deemed shippable. They have complete control over the project. Unless we actively worked on the project, a lot of those claims don't really mean anything.

If people hate them so much, stop buying their games. Let's not forget EA has been in business for 30 years. If they were this greedy and corrupt, then they would have gone out of business 25 years ago.

/rantoff

I was mostly being sarcastic, specifically that second last paragraph.

[MrBlackCat]

In a corrupt market and government system, only the bottom line focused AND the exceptionally skilled survive. A decay spreads, which is does, period, the exceptionally skilled eventually become fewer and fewer until they are squeezed from existence in the market... IF they are over a certain size. Walmart of today kills all small chains basically... only the very small niche market stores exist, not because they are efficient, but because they fill that always existent niche. I will pay twice as much, and have less "things" than go to Walmart... not because my ideals will change anything, but because it saves me time and stress which is worth more than money to me.

Keep this in mind though... you must consider the market catered to. The success of what many of us call sub-par or just plain poor games, eventually means there is no need for quality as those who can appreciate it are soon too few to matter.
"If a crap game falls in the market, and there is no one there who can tell, is it still a AAA title?" (hehehe)

Ask an artist of most media, or most anyone skilled at what they do, what percentage of the population can appreciate it enough to buy their product over one printed out or mass produced or watered down etc... the answer will be not enough to matter. Part of this is because of the depth at which humans can achieve as specialization... but the vast majority is just as happy with a veneer of quality rather than "the real thing" anyway. I don't knock people for this as you can't expect everyone to be experts in everything or even care about a lot of things, but my hope would always be that enough people cared about enough things so that qualities and technologies weren't lost over time, but they are. Example, I know a person who can make American Indian type arrow heads from most any time period that can not be distinguished from originals... maybe an obsolete technology, but still basically lost now. All that matters is what big business tells you matters.

MrBlackCat

**note that this is stripped down from about 30 pages of text as best I could... but any one sentence represents only a fraction of the meaning and precision of the paragraphs from which they originate. I have never been skilled at making statements in a condensed manner.

[Ivan Jäger]

[Person of Color]

I fucking love Karl Pilkington.

[Fox]

Gotta love Jimmy's avatar.

[Lunick]

The best artist.