You can't complain that this game is costly - Page 4

thejeff · #1 September 15th, 2008, 12:37 PM

Maybe I could not buy groceries, 4-5 days without food should cover it.
Or not buy gas for a week+, of course then I can't get to work, which sort of defeats the purpose...

Actually I had no real problem affording Dom3 when it came out, partly because I live pretty cheaply already, but I have to agree that this idea that everyone is casually blowing $50+ a week on entertainment or fast food is nonsense. There are a couple of fairly regular things I could cut back on before getting to food, but not a lot.

Tifone · #2 September 15th, 2008, 12:37 PM

C'mon guys! A week without weed and you can afford the game

(Joking, never used drugs)

Aezeal · #3 September 15th, 2008, 03:14 PM

Sombre I read your post.. but when giving your opinion you are supposed to be biased, they are asking your opinion aren't they

. And for me my opinion is that giving 50 euro for Dominions is a better deal than spending it on 5 games (I could name a few) that in total would give me less satisfaction.

on the getting the cash by not spending it on other stuff: I think you are a bit harsh to students that happen to have cash or pplz with a decent job that can afford going out for 50 dollars (which I think is quite a large part of quite some nations) Well even 50 E can be reached by saving 5 E a week.. if you can't save 5 E a week on anything then you shouldn't be buying games at all I think since you have other stuff on your mind

PS I'm going to study now else dominions (this thread alone even) might cost me 1400 E when I don't succeed my advanced trauma life support course (yes I know it's way cheaper in the states but here it actually is 1400 E.. and my boss only pays if I succeed it.

I can afford not to mind 50 E once in a while but 1400 is a lot of money

(anyone who disagrees can start donating cash right now)

Beorne · #4 September 15th, 2008, 03:59 PM

The issue has drifted away ... I wanted to say say that, yes, DomIII for 50 is costly. But almost any very good and new strategy game costs almost the same, and when the price drops it is mandatory to buy the epansions and when the price and the expansions will go budget there will be the n+1 release.
I'm currently playing EUIII, very good and well done game, but without the expansions the AI is simply silly.

Edi · #5 September 16th, 2008, 02:16 AM

The argument for buying Dom3 presupposes that you actually like fantasy TBS games, else why buy it in the first place? I detest race car games and I wouldn't buy them at even a $1 price tag, no matter how good graphics, controls, physics simulation etc etc. Hell, I wouldn't take one of those for free unless to give as a gift, because they take up space I am not willing to allocate to them.

The costs of development vs other games where millions were used is a total non-starter, because the ones that do get that kind of budgets are mass-market games while Dom3 is a niche market game. If you had any real competition in this niche with other comparable games, price reduction might be necessary for Dom3, but so far I haven't seen much in the way of viable competition and neither apparently have Shrapnel.

As far as the positions expressed in this thread, I don't think anyone is about to change their positions much. It's been discussed before and it never happened those times either.

So in that respect it's going to be

JimMorrison · #6 September 16th, 2008, 02:19 AM

That horse isn't dead, he's just napping.

HoneyBadger · #7 September 16th, 2008, 04:11 AM

I'd suggest you invite your friends over to the forum, Sombre. You don't have to buy the game to register. If we can't convince them it's worth atleast giving the free demo a chance, then they probably really *are* a lost cause.

I'd also hope that you've found some friends here as well-as the forum really would be less without your presence and extensive contributions.

As far as what the game is actually worth, in my case, I'd say out of everyone, I'm getting the most "bang" for my buck, when it comes to Dom3. I'm not even able to play the damn game, and I'm still here almost every day, having a great time building mods and being as social as I generally get (work for an airline for a few years, you learn to appreciate life without so many people in it, and you also learn to appreciate and choose positive people in a positive environment).

So basically, even if I didn't physically own a Dom3 CD (it's getting dusty on the shelf behind me), I'd still be getting entertainment value out of it. Plenty of education too (I now know more about African history and culture than I ever thought possible, and I'm a better artist.). And it's even comparatively healthy, psychologically, as these forums are a nice distraction and stress-reducer while I'm working.

And I second Jim-I can't get in to other games anymore, like I get in to Dom3. I can't even get in to other forums. This forum is like an island of calm and refinement in a very scary, very stupid universe.

Still, you're right that taken as a game, it's more expensive than many, and will remain so. But I contend that it's better considered as a hobby. Hobby-wise, it's very cheap. Owning and restoring a vintage Dodge Charger is a reasonably cheap hobby at around 15,000 or so. You can buy a small boat for the same price, if you'd rather sail. Various other hobbies (cooking, sports, books, sex, drugs, rock&roll), you'll probably spend 15,000 on them over the course of an average lifetime. There are plenty of more expensive hobbies out there, and for a lifelong preoccupation, 15,000 isn't terribly unreasonable for something that you own and identify with, and that's a part of who you are.

Frankly, if the Devs offered up the complete source-code for Dom3, to be used on a strictly non-commercial basis (as in we couldn't sell it to others, and could only share our versions with others who had paid the fee), at $15,000 a pop, I'd think long and hard about ways I could raise that much money, and then if I did, I'd spend even more time and money learning to write code for it, and trying to convince colleges and libraries that it was worth their investing in it too.

That's roughly 300 copies of the game at the price I bought it (including taxes). No small amount of money (more than 10% of the cost of my house), but taken as a hobby, as something that was a part of my life and my identity, rather than as a game, not entirely an unreasonable price.

Ofcourse, working for an airline as I do, I could just take a discount flight to Sweden, sit on the Devs' couch, and try to pitch what a great asset I'd be to Illwinter

Sid Meyer never invited me over to his couch, the bastard.

Sombre · #8 September 16th, 2008, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Of course, working for an airline as I do, I could just take a discount flight to Sweden, sit on the Devs' couch, and try to pitch what a great asset I'd be to Illwinter

Is that a threat? I believe the restraining order prohibits it.

Aezeal · #9 September 16th, 2008, 06:14 AM

yeah the free demo should be enough to see if someone likes the game or not.

PS anyone who says the graphics are a strong point of dom 3 is nuts.. they did nearly the best they could with it as they are (though some modders are slightly better) but you don't play this game for the graphics.

Honey you wouldn't buy the code.. you can't even buy your own computer to put the game on dammit

Ballbarian · #10 September 16th, 2008, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aezeal

PS anyone who says the graphics are a strong point of dom 3 is nuts..

As far as I am concerned the graphics are a strong point of dom3.

One of the things that I love about this game is the fact that it has beautiful 2d unit sprites. Easy to edit, easy on the graphics card, easy to create new content and have many, many, many more units and options than would exist otherwise.