DLC Pack #1 Discussion

[Discon]

It is weird that I have a knack of checking something and it just happens to have an update ready for me. Anyways, I'm glad to be seeing more games in here. The base game is already amazing, but I have been curious about anything else Nosebleed wants to do with their game.

I tried to avoid seeing any images or description of this pack and go in semi-blind. If you are reading this, I am assuming you already played the DLC pack or are trying to decide if these games are worth the $4 for the bundle or $2 a piece. I won't be using spoiler tags.

I think it is funny that you get these new cabinets in game through a strange "import arcades" application on your PC. They were only $100 in-game, so I guess that makes sense. The players already spent candy bar money for this, so having to spend a huge amount of money can give a poor taste in their mouth if they aren't in end-game levels of revenue. In-universe though... $100 for an arcade cab? Something seems kinda sketch about that.

I played Cyber Dancer Euromix first. Only about once or twice though. Plays just like a DDR revision would in real life. This one has a more widescreen appearance and it uses a more modern DDR cab look. Also strange that it uses one dance-pad but can be played in multiplayer. I guess the second player would use the menu buttons? . Anyway, it works great and it uses three Euro/Electro sounding tracks from the jukebox.

Next is what I think everyone's favorite will be... SMOKE 'EM! This is actually one of the cabinets in the title screen that some of us noticed we didn't get in base game. I'm glad it's here though, it is a blast! This is literally Police Trainer and it is so good. Basically a target practice game, you can use the mouse to aim and its buttons to shoot and reload. This also works well enough on gamepads so this one will be fun with a friend. I wonder if this works on touch screen, like on the Switch version? (I haven't bought the switch version of AP yet, but I may sometime later)

And the third one... it being an art piece is likely the correct thing to say here. Empathy has a sort of... Polybius vibe to it. Its cabinet sure looks the part, or maybe a pitch-black Computer Space with specks on it. I'll just say first off that if you are sensitive to self-doubt or bleak thoughts and environments, you may want to hold off on this. Its long droning sustained note of doom penetrates even the jukebox songs you play, unlike most other cabinets in this game. This seems intentional.

I completely get the philosophy behind this one though, as this game of Empathy seems like a simulation of suffering that Buddha would have gone through or talked about. You have to kinda mash your left and right direction buttons to 'walk the path' but also time your movements to avoid the rocks being thrown your way. You suffer along with the ASCII character man as your hands tire out from alternating the left and right inputs. You feel Empathy for him. But do the strangers who hurl rocks at him feel the same way?

The TL;DR of this...
Get Smoke Em. Either in the bundle or by itself. It's awesome.

[Siamese55]

Good to hear you liked them and they seem decent quality. I personally am a little hesitant to buy. As much as I like the existing cabinet games and know it is unreasonable to expect a bunch of free ones, I didn't really expect just straight minigame purchases and it is hit or miss if you get one you might hate.

I'm not exactly calling it bad, or anything really, but I sort of expected a themed or expansion DLC with a several new things for the arcade. Something that expanded more than just the cabinet roster now that our protagonist is living her best life. While Coin packs won't necessarily preclude this in the future, I don't see what all the secrecy was about for just three new minigames at $2 a piece or $4 altogether.

I'm sure I will get them, especially since I quite liked Cyber Dancer, but I am not really in a rush either.

[gunfart]

Hey can you only purchase these a la carte? I thought there was supposed to be a DLC package for 3.99?!

[Suroguner]

Was the dlc pack meant to be included for free with the physical copy of the game on console? I just went to buy the new dlc and the Nintendo eshop warned me of buying duplicate dlc. I didn't think that was even possible!

[Psyringe]

Originally posted by gunfart:

Hey can you only purchase these a la carte? I thought there was supposed to be a DLC package for 3.99?!

It's here: https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/28577/Arcade_Paradise__CoinOp_Pack_1/

It doesn't appear on the store page of the base game because it doesn't include the base game. There should be a way to include it in the list of available DLCs, but perhaps the publisher is having trouble setting that up correctly.

[Suroguner]

I noticed there was no bundle option for the switch release either.

[Discon]

Originally posted by Suroguner:

I noticed there was no bundle option for the switch release either.

I was able to find the Coin-Op Pack 1 bundle on the Switch eshop just by searching for "arcade paradise". It costs $3.99. For some reason, the bundle doesn't show within the Arcade Paradise page itself, but it has a search result.

Your first question earlier... I don't have an answer for. It was always my assumption that games nowadays pressed on physical formats are the 1.0 version of a game (or sometimes a 0.8 with day one patches and all them). I'd have no idea if DLC is included with the switch carts. There was no mention of future DLC on the Amazon or Limited Run pages, unlike a game like Them's Fighting Herds Deluxe Edition which includes a Season 1 Pass for their DLC updates. For that game, I'd think they would still be developing characters for release in upcoming updates, so I wouldn't think their new characters would be on the disc/cart. If the Arcade Paradise physical edition ends up having some sort of hidden season pass for DLC updates, then this may answer a few questions.

Maybe a dev could give us insight into this? Do you happen to have access to the 3 new games without buying them from the eshop Suroguner? I'd like to think that it gives the warning because it has already been 'activated' through a recent update and the cartridge happened to have a hidden season pass, or may be some strange fluke that wasn't intended. When you get a chance, check to see if there is an "Arcade Imports" app on the in-game computer and if you can add them to your arcade.

[Fishy]

Empathy is an obvious nod to the novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep", which is very much about empathy and in which the population finds solace/fulfillment in a shared VR simulation where they embody a martyr called Mercer who eternally climbs a mountain while being stoned.

[Suroguner]

Originally posted by Discon:

Originally posted by Suroguner:

I noticed there was no bundle option for the switch release either.

I was able to find the Coin-Op Pack 1 bundle on the Switch eshop just by searching for "arcade paradise". It costs $3.99. For some reason, the bundle doesn't show within the Arcade Paradise page itself, but it has a search result.

Your first question earlier... I don't have an answer for. It was always my assumption that games nowadays pressed on physical formats are the 1.0 version of a game (or sometimes a 0.8 with day one patches and all them). I'd have no idea if DLC is included with the switch carts. There was no mention of future DLC on the Amazon or Limited Run pages, unlike a game like Them's Fighting Herds Deluxe Edition which includes a Season 1 Pass for their DLC updates. For that game, I'd think they would still be developing characters for release in upcoming updates, so I wouldn't think their new characters would be on the disc/cart. If the Arcade Paradise physical edition ends up having some sort of hidden season pass for DLC updates, then this may answer a few questions.

Maybe a dev could give us insight into this? Do you happen to have access to the 3 new games without buying them from the eshop Suroguner? I'd like to think that it gives the warning because it has already been 'activated' through a recent update and the cartridge happened to have a hidden season pass, or may be some strange fluke that wasn't intended. When you get a chance, check to see if there is an "Arcade Imports" app on the in-game computer and if you can add them to your arcade.

I assumed it might had been included because of how the eshop reacted to me trying to buy them individually all at once. I didn't have access to the dlc games in game before buying them in the bundle (yes I found the bundle) and it looks like I'm not yet at the point where I can unlock Smoke em though as when I try to unlock it it acts like it did before buyng the DLC.

To help figure out if it's suppose to be available yet, I'm at the point in game were there are only 6 washers and 10 dryers left in King Wash

[Discon]

Originally posted by Suroguner:

I assumed it might had been included because of how the eshop reacted to me trying to buy them individually all at once. I didn't have access to the dlc games in game before buying them in the bundle (yes I found the bundle) and it looks like I'm not yet at the point where I can unlock Smoke em though as when I try to unlock it it acts like it did before buyng the DLC.

To help figure out if it's suppose to be available yet, I'm at the point in game were there are only 6 washers and 10 dryers left in King Wash

I'm starting to think it was the eshop acting a little quirky at that point. I was half thinking, "Maybe the physical is $30 because of the hidden bonuses?" But really that may be just part of the cost of pressing the game onto a cartridge.

Also, with what you have said lately, the DLC will show up when it shows up, based on progression. There wouldn't be enough cabinet space around your stage of the game for all the regular cabinets plus whatever DLC Nosebleed wants to put out. It seems like the Arcade Imports app may 'drip-feed' along with the story. There would be 4 waves of this, our first one here, then a single one next month, a 3-pack January, and a last single one in February. I think that is around 43 cabinets. Smoke 'Em should show up later on down the line, maybe after a few more building upgrades. You should be really close to getting it.

I'm curious. I backed up my current save and I will do a sort of second play-through to see when the Coin-Op 1 DLC cabinets appear on the computer in my spare time. I may post my findings later in a few days.

[Suroguner]

Sounds like a good thing to have documented just in case something got missed in testing.

[Suroguner]

Ok I now have no washing machines and no dryers, and still can't unlock Smoke em. (switch)

Is this a post story dlc game?

[Wired Jake]

Hey, we love seeing the DLC discussions, we’re all for it. We do however know of a Nintendo eShop issue at the moment that is stopping people from buying the bundle, we will though pass on all of your feedback and report the issues you’re having.

[Discon]

Originally posted by Suroguner:

Ok I now have no washing machines and no dryers, and still can't unlock Smoke em. (switch)

Is this a post story dlc game?

I'm beginning to think it is a Nintendo eshop issue more than a general issue, especially with what Wired Jake just said.

I had just got done with playing the first 2 or so hours of a second playthrough with the DLC enabled. The Arcade Imports app and the 3 DLC cabinets showed up after the very first expansion for $100 each and I bought them and Blockchain. The 4 got delivered back to back to back to back (with my mental image of the driver going "I'm getting sick of circling this same block JEEZ!). There is JUST enough room for all the rest of the cabinets for the first expansion.

Now it did say on the Arcade Imports page that "some cabinets may be unavailable to purchase or place until you progress in the game". This sounds like they have safeguards in place for when the next DLC waves come out, you can only buy certain ones in the early game until more building expansions come for more space, with the regular Arcademania cabinets being required to progress the story.

As far as the Steam version goes, the DLC is working as intended.

My next thing I would try if I was in your place is to try buying Smoke 'Em separately for $2 if you are able to. I would think the option to buy Smoke 'Em separate would be gone if you already bought the bundle, so I don't know if this is doable. Or maybe hang tight for a little while and things could get fixed. I've been meaning to get AP on switch anyway, so maybe I would buy it and the Coin-Op #1 bundle and see what happens on my end. If I do, I'll let you guys know.

Quick aside, having the DLC available for its cheap in-game price (but costing some irl money) sure makes it much faster to get in-game revenue and progress, especially once you clear the cabinet goals. If AP speedruns ever become a thing, there ought to be DLC and No-DLC catagories.

...And you can tell who has read DADoES (I haven't, and I need to) if they get what Empathy was. The reference flew over my head and I tried to rationalize Empathy as being a simulation of suffering. I'm glad my interpretation was at least within the ballpark of the reference. The cabinet executes the idea perfectly.

[Sammun Mak]

I didn't read this thread. I quite loved Arcade Paradise, but the fact that they were working on paid DLC while the game had so many bugs that would have been verified with the most cursory of testing really rubs me the wrong way. Maybe they need the money, I don't know. But I'm not buying the DLC for that reason.

[Psyringe]

Originally posted by Suroguner:

Ok I now have no washing machines and no dryers, and still can't unlock Smoke em. (switch)

Is this a post story dlc game?

You don't have to unlock the new machines, they become available as soon as you bought the respective DLC (no matter where in the story you are). But you don't buy them from ArcadeMania (where you get your other machines). After buying the DLC, there should be a new icon on your PC for "importing" new machines. That's where you get the DLC content from. Unfortunately neither the product description nor the game itself tell you that.

I like the game, but these developers really seem to struggle with some of the very basics of product management. Which is odd since at least their publisher should be experienced enough, but considering how many issues keep slipping through, that doesn't seem to help.