The Greed that is Early Access... (Baldur's Gate 3)

[Dedayog]

Didn't think it would hit a childhood favorite this hard but Lorian just released less than 1/3 of Baldur's Gate 3 early access for the full price of $59.99 on Steam and GoG.

 

It's most likely going to be pretty amazing once complete but how do we justify spending the entire game price up front.  Can we not do $20 / $20 / $20 for each Act (there are to be 3)?

 

Or God forbid... actually do more of your job and get more done before releasing?

 

Struggling here to keep justifying $60 pops for half assed games (looking at you Marvel: Avengers - returned that shitshow), but damn if I thought it would hit D&D like this.  Always held them to a higher standard, or was I looking thru rose-colored glasses?

 

 

[Fasauceome]

all things considered, I'd take part of a game in good condition over a buggy release of a full title.

 

Though, if it's one third of the game and it's a buggy mess, that's another story.

[Chett_Manly]

Meh, I bought it. Yeah its buggy, yeah its not complete, but you will get it someday, and 25 hours of content is a decent starting point.

 

So far my biggest complaint is that the character generation options are incredibly limited and boring. You cannot make a male character who is not 5'10 150 lbs, there are only 2 male voice options and both boring. No 6'6 Barbarians with a proper rage scream for you!

[Dedayog]

5 minutes ago, Chett_Manly said:

Meh, I bought it. Yeah its buggy, yeah its not complete, but you will get it someday, and 25 hours of content is a decent starting point.

 

So far my biggest complaint is that the character generation options are incredibly limited and boring. You cannot make a male character who is not 5'10 150 lbs, there are only 2 male voice options and both boring. No 6'6 Barbarians with a proper rage scream for you!

Interesting, as the Community Update #8 outlined just how revolutionary and far they went.  Hundred of cameras, even down to the pores on face, some 40+ people scanned, etc.

 

 

[Chett_Manly]

2 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Interesting, as the Community Update #8 outlined just how revolutionary and far they went.  Hundred of cameras, even down to the pores on face, some 40+ people scanned, etc.

 

 

The detail level is quite good, and there are many options for the face or hair. But the body is always the same. 1 male body, 1 female body. Clearly aiming at human average. And there is only 4 voice options, 2 male, 2 female, and they are all quite standard. 

 

Just seems very bland to me. 

[Paranoid Kami]

It's in early access because it's not done yet and they want testing/feedback. Just wait for it to be done if you want the full game.

[Soag]

5 hours ago, Paranoid Kami said:

It's in early access because it's not done yet and they want testing/feedback. Just wait for it to be done if you want the full game.

Exactly that.

It's not called early access for no reason.

Plus they clearly wrote that at this stage they can only recommend it for people who want to go into it right now or want to participate in community feedback (yes, nice word for beta testing). To all the others they say: don't get it. The choice is yours, so why bother complaining?

They could have kept it behind closed doors but apparently there's a group of people who wants to lay their hands on it already and maybe that's a why they did it - for them. And maybe the high, most likely regular, price is there to discourage the rest.

[Dedayog]

2 hours ago, Soag said:

Exactly that.

It's not called early access for no reason.

Plus they clearly wrote that at this stage they can only recommend it for people who want to go into it right now or want to participate in community feedback (yes, nice word for beta testing). To all the others they say: don't get it. The choice is yours, so why bother complaining?

They could have kept it behind closed doors but apparently there's a group of people who wants to lay their hands on it already and maybe that's a why they did it - for them. And maybe the high, most likely regular, price is there to discourage the rest.

I don't know, maybe I'm complaining because there is a product out there I want that is partially done but requiring me to pay full retail price for it I do infact want it that bad.   Maybe you could see if that pertains to ANYTHING you could have possibly ever wanted/needed in your life, so you could understand what I'm talking about?

 

 I highly doubt a full retail price is a "deterrent mechanism" just to keep the nonhardcore fans out.  They're not Maybach here, trying to be exclusive.  That's easily the winner for the most ridiculous concept I've heard all week.

 

But if you want to go with "charging full price for an Alpha/Beta" of the project... Then that new trend is 100% bullshit.  Do you pay full price for other half-assed things in your house?  Only going with 1/3 your cable stations?  Your HVAC only cooling/heating 1/3 the rooms in your house?

 

At what point have we just accepted that EA is now a full retail price situation?

 

If you're okay with that, I have 1/3 of oceanfront property in Arizona I'd love to talk to you about.

 

TLDR:  I complain because I want something that I have to pay full price for but get less than 1/3.  Make sense?

[Soag]

1 hour ago, Dedayog said:

I don't know, maybe I'm complaining because there is a product out there I want that is partially done but requiring me to pay full retail price for it I do infact want it that bad.

That just sums it up, there's no need for me to quote anything more, as you mostly just repeat the same argument (apart from one aspect I will quote additionally).

You're not acting on the basis of facts, but emotions. Not a wise course of action, would you agree?

1 hour ago, Dedayog said:

I highly doubt a full retail price is a "deterrent mechanism" just to keep the nonhardcore fans out.

I doubt it as well, that is not the point I was making. I wanted to give some examples which were completely on the other end of spectrum, yet still somehow possible. Somehow.

 

It all just boils to one thing: you, as a customer, should evaluate the product and make your conscious decision on the basis of facts you got to know about it. If it's not worth it, you don't get it, end of story. No need to be bitter about it as you act in accordance with principles you set yourself. No need to go 'but I really, really wanted it...'. Accept the fact you didn't want is as much as you thought you did. Cause that's what it is if you're not willing to push your boundaries to the actual point.

Less hype, more cool-headed calculations.

In case of BG3 right now: act as if it's not released, yet, that's all. Cause that's actually the case.

And remember this: the one selling the product sets the price, not you. In most cases you have no influence on it, so deal with it and move on.

[Fatih19]

21 hours ago, Dedayog said:

I don't know, maybe I'm complaining because there is a product out there I want that is partially done but requiring me to pay full retail price for it I do infact want it that bad.   Maybe you could see if that pertains to ANYTHING you could have possibly ever wanted/needed in your life, so you could understand what I'm talking about?

This is Id talking, not ego.

[Praesi]

1. The Game isnt released yet. Its early Access. That should be clear enough.

2. They released it full price to reduce the sells, because Larian is dev and publisher in one and have limited manpower to handle customer feedback.

Thats what they said at least. Didnt work out that well. Even Steam refused sells for some time becaue the shop couldnt handle the amount of customers.

 

Game looks awesome, cant wait to play the finished product. Original Sin and Wizard of the Coast had a Baby. A RPG Dream come true.

[Warin]

You literally don't need to pay them a cent now, and buy it when it releases to get the full game then.  They are offering folks who want to play and test the game now the chance to do so, but asking you to pay for the game in advance.  Which I think is absolutely fair, since they are giving you ~1/3 of the game to play.  If they just made it an open beta, how many people would play that 1/3 and then decide they just don't want the game?  A fair number, I suspect.  Also, preordering the game gives them some cashflow, and that is never a bad thing.