A Quick Word for Crystal Dynamics

[Fry]

I'm not sure if the developers read these forums or not, but I'd like to say something directed towards them about one of their newest DLC for Tomb Raider, the Tomb of the Lost Adventure.

Crystal Dynamics, I will not be buying this DLC. I love the fact that its single-player, but I do not like how it is integrated into the game's campaign. If I ever do a second playthrough of the game (likely), I may plop down the $3 to experience something new, but until then I will not buy it.

However, do not take this as a sign that single-player DLC for this game will not work. Nay, take this as a request for single-player DLC that is not integrated into the game's story, but is instead a short 1 - 2 hour romp in a unique scenario, and is accessible through the game's main menu. If you release that, I will definitely be 100% behind you.

Until then, continue with your onslaught of multiplayer DLC for... whoever's buying it. I would criticize your decision, but seeing as Tomb Raider has 1,432 people playing it right now (more than a ton of popular multiplayer games) you guys must be doing something right with the multiplayer.

For all of you forum lurkers that read that, what do you think about single-player DLC for this game? Was the Lost Adventure worth it to you?

[Grommash]

I don't buy it aswell.I heard that there is nothing new in it, it's just another easy optional tomb you can find in the game and doesn't worth 3$.

About multi dlcs, i love mp part of the game but it is bugged as hell so i actually stopped playing it.I have 2 hitman weapons dlc but I don't pay any more money for a broken part of the game.

[crizzl]

For me the fun of multiplayer still outweighing the (huge amount) of bugs and poor network code but I am not sure for how long. I wouldn't buy any DLC, because it's a waste of money. Okay the hitman weapons could bring some fun into the game but aren't necessary needed.

Hey and Grommash, you're playing atm :D And I'm sure it's not singleplayer. ^^

[fenke]

Originally posted by rfry11:

... If I ever do a second playthrough of the game (likely), I may plop down the $3 to experience something new, but until then I will not buy it. ...

Fair point. But, consider that there's no reaon for Lara (or her friends) to go back to Yamatai once they've left. Any DLC not tied into the current story would have to be more like a seperate game then an extension, playing out somewhere else.

[Grommash]

Originally posted by crizzl:

For me the fun of multiplayer still outweighing the (huge amount) of bugs and poor network code but I am not sure for how long. I wouldn't buy any DLC, because it's a waste of money. Okay the hitman weapons could bring some fun into the game but aren't necessary needed.

Hey and Grommash, you're playing atm :D And I'm sure it's not singleplayer. ^^

:D :D :D

I wanted to play multi after i sent the post :D

[Fry]

Originally posted by fenke:

Originally posted by rfry11:

... If I ever do a second playthrough of the game (likely), I may plop down the $3 to experience something new, but until then I will not buy it. ...

Fair point. But, consider that there's no reaon for Lara (or her friends) to go back to Yamatai once they've left. Any DLC not tied into the current story would have to be more like a seperate game then an extension, playing out somewhere else.

That's a very good point; I'm well aware that any single-player DLC that's anywhere near an hour of playtime would be quite costly to produce. The sheer fact that Tomb Raider grossed no/very little money after selling 4 million copies is testament to that enough. However, I don't think it would be impossible to revisit Yamatai in some way, especially since Crystal Dynamics has already shown that the game can be fun when you're not playing as Lara by allowing you to choose from a vast amount of in-game characters in multiplayer.

A single-player DLC in which you play short snippets of the other character's experiences on Yamatai could be very interesting, and if priced correctly could serve as an almost sort of prologue or alternative look at the game itself. Even if every character controlled exactly like Lara, I still think it could work. You do 5 or 6 of them priced at $7.50 - $10 each, and I think you can justify budgeting to produce an additional 5 - 8 hours of gameplay while having to create a relatively small amount of resources.

I think it's obvious that the Season Pass-model of DLC will not work for Tomb Raider due to the cost of developing the game, but I'm also not convinced that their spray and pray model of doing multiplayer DLC has worked either. Implementing something that fits into their already very strong narrative could work. I know I'd plop down $10 to play an hour-long short story as the Scavenger that coccoons you at the being. There's too much we don't know about Yamatai that I'd really like to see fleshed out.

EDIT: I actually just looked it up, and my statement about the 4 million copies seems to be wrong. Apparently what I was thinking about was that after 3.25 million copies sold, Square Enix said that the game underperformed, but Crystal Dynamics later defended it saying it was one of the most successful TR games ever. Still, very expensive to make this game.

[TheScorpion]

Actually that DLC was one of the first released. Also, steam counter doesn't really tell you how many people are playing multiplayer. It only tells you how many people are playing the game, wheter is single or multiplayer. I never had any luck trying to find an specific type of match, only random has ever worked for me, and that means any mode, any map, which certainly sucks, and makes ALL the MP DLCs completely pointless, besides they all SUCKS.

[crizzl]

Originally posted by TheScorpion:

Also, steam counter doesn't really tell you how many people are playing multiplayer. It only tells you how many people are playing the game

Well, if you right click on the name and the join button is highlighted, he/she definitely plays multiplayer. You need to ask your friend or try to join the game to find out if it's full or not though. Tbh I don't have anyone in my friends list who actually playing singleplayer.