what was to be part of the game will now be paid dlc

[NorfolkDave]

I like many brought the game in its early release, we paid to support the company, to show them we believed in them, and in return we were promised a game that will grow, the developers have fallen rather silent and i personly regarded it just one of those failed early release games.

But then i got an email YAY its being worked only, only there is this in there email

quote "Step 1) Stages 2-4 will be paid DLC.

Initially we had planned to increase the games price with each new stage, with those who bought in early getting them for free, however now we have decided that with the requirement for more funds to complete the game we will need to release Stages Two – Four as paid DLC. Obviously, Stage Two will include the full Unity port of the game and then Staged Three – Four will expand and complete the story mode of the game.
"

link to source http://us5.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b53cbc4808ffb563cd89c13b3&id=2626976fb8&e=3d0f90e980

certainly not a good way to treat early adopters and backers (i got my copy back in 2013 and it was not on sale lol (though even if it was thats not the point, you cant promise one thing then change your mind )

[NIL0S]

Good the other stages are still happening, rather bad that they will be paid DLC.

On one side I get that the devs need an income to make it viable working on this. On the other side I wonder who will buy into these DLCs, since the base game isn't even done.

I hope they pull themselves together, but i'm surely not expecting any miracles. I'm also not going to fork out cash at release, if at all, waiting for a very deep sale.

Apparently it has been the problem from the very beginning, people only buying this on sale. I believe it's the devs own fault and due to bad planning that Darkout fell into stagnation.

This isn't how Early Access is supposed to work, IMO, but better this than total discontinuation of the game, I guess.

Best of luck to Team Allgraf.

[Ploutonas777]

I agree with you, although I did choose to wait for this one (but I did play it) rather than buying it like I did with Terraria and Spacebound. While the Dev's of Spacebound did go silent at times and they offered no updates for a very long time, they nonetheless managed to rekindle the flame in many fans by actually patching the game recently- and they DID improve the game regardless the long wait and without charging for it. However, what we see here is in fact an unethical business practice- just well executed to "fit" within the legalities of the early access disclaimer.

Which brings me to my main point here: As argued by others before, the entire legal basis for early access games should be revised to prevent companies from intentionally releasing broken or incomplete games as final releases and selling the promised features i.e. the complete game, as paid DLC. In this case, Darkout was intentionally left unfinished and broken.

I consider it intentional, since whatever financial constraints/difficulties the Dev's faced should be considered as part of the business risk in their planning rather than being seen or presented by them as a misfortune or unpredictable event. Specifically, the fact that the Dev's chose a more expensive engine than they could actually afford while also working on the game to further improve it, cannot be reasonably considered a misfortune but rather a bad business decision due to the lack of proper planning. Hence, if the Dev's could no longer pay their employees to continue their work as a result of their chosen engine, then this should be considered for what it is, namely a bad decision, and attention should be called to their poor planning and decision making rather than their excuses about a supposed lack of funds. Focus on the cause and not the effect!

[NorfolkDave]

on one hand i agree better that the dlc is being released then the game just being abandoned, but on the other hand theres no way ill pay for something that i already paid for...so its almost like its never released anyway.
I second the opinion here that the devs knew the risks, if you cant afford to finish the game for those that buy it on sale ....dont put it on sale.

If they have to downsize and release the features much later then planned ...well that i can live with and understand, but to tell us we have to buy what we were promised, what was part of the reason we invested in the games future....thats just wrong.

[SniffytheClown]

I'm pissed. I don't care about these developers. Sorry but that's just that. They are a company and they sold me something, a lie.

Early Access is not meant to fund a game yet this company abused the system and would rather hold back the content and charge even more for it.

Why the hell would I pay for DLC of a game that could not even be finished or fixed in the first place?

Them going broke has nothing to do with me or anyone else. They've mismanaged their money, game and company from the start and now expect us to help fix it.

That is not our responsibility or obligation but theirs and theirs alone. I won't be doing business with this company again.

[City Builder]

I agree to sell you my car, my whole car for a certain price, but then later on I decide that I'm not going to let you have the steering wheel, the rear bumper, and the hood, those will cost you extra even though we already entered into a contract to sell you the entire care for the price.

Yup..... The Software industry has been getting away with this kind of stuff for far too long.... This isn't the 70's and 80's anymore, we now know that coding isn't some dark magic, it's not some wizardry. It's time for a change and Steam needs to be ahead of the curve and put a stop to developers over promising and under delivering and then crying the money blues.

[Allgraf]

So, we've never said we're not open to input from the community... we'd love to hear a solution that helps to get the game completed, while still at the same time providing funding for the team so they can actually do it.

We love constructive feedback :)

[NorfolkDave]

to be honest you have the opinion of your actions right here. were not trying to be nasty we are stating our opinion, we took a chance and helped fund the game and well...you decided what we paid for will now be dlc we have to buy again, its not our place to provide alternative solutions.

i think city builder put it perfectly with his car comparision.

[bar.pys]

Originally posted by Allgraf:

So, we've never said we're not open to input from the community... we'd love to hear a solution that helps to get the game completed, while still at the same time providing funding for the team so they can actually do it.

We love constructive feedback :)

Just give us some nice discount for DLC's and ppl won't start crying (well, they will but not THAT much). Unless you need to milk your own/old customers and need them to pay again (certain outrage, take a look at Undead Labs and their "remake" with a poor discount for old State of Decay players).

Making us pay full/small discount price for DLCs will cause outrage and many negative reviews (since the content you want to charge for now was promissed to be already included for free back in Desura times; 2 or 3 years ago already).

Myself, I like DO so much i would buy even the not discounted DLC's but only during extreme sales + this would cause you to be added to my evergrowing "never support again" list :P

[Zmurf]

I like this game, I don't mind buying a couple of dlc's if they stick to the program, perhaps add some pets.

[Cappuccino.Al]

I'll buy the DLC too...AND spend some bucks. I bought the game for a cheap price, so its ok for me.

@All: Hey kids...the game didnt sell as well as hoped; so stage one COULD NOT finance the ongoing development needed for finishing the game. Thats not a lie, thats real life. They STILL want to deliver, despite all ongoing problems. THIS TELLS SOMETHING ABOUT ALLGRAFS INTENTIONS. (Do u really believe this is just another so called "scam"? Which btw. Darkout NEVER was in the first place.)

BUT i am afraid of many so called fans will leave the boat like rats.

EDIT: BTW....i am not really interested in the darkling game BUT hopefully it will cause the needed money inflow from people who dont know about darkout in the first place. Its worth a try.

[Anonymous Helper]

Originally posted by Allgraf:

So, we've never said we're not open to input from the community... we'd love to hear a solution that helps to get the game completed, while still at the same time providing funding for the team so they can actually do it.

We love constructive feedback :)

Well, one thing you could do is add special edition upgrade (the soundtrack) you already have on desura and GamersGate to Steam. It already exists and should require barely any effort on your part to add to steam. I remember it being requested here few times. You might want to provide FLAC's in additions to MP3's if possible for all those audiophiles out there.

Another one would be adding Steam Trading cards if possible. That would need some effort on from your artists but nothing unreasonable I'd think (the cards themselves as well as profile badges, profile backgrounds and forum emoticons for the levelups). Don't know what special conditions, if any, you need to meet in order to participate beside creating abovementioned art assests though. You can always ask Steam staff to find out.

I doubt they alone willl be enough but it's something and every additional cent counts I imagine. And tiny bit of word of mouth they'll create can't hurt either.

On the long run, you may want to try to get your game to GOG as well. Game is available DRM free already so It'll fit in fine. However, GOG only accepts complete games so you'll need to get Darkout finished first.

[cold caliber]

Originally posted by Anonymous Helper:

Originally posted by Allgraf:

So, we've never said we're not open to input from the community... we'd love to hear a solution that helps to get the game completed, while still at the same time providing funding for the team so they can actually do it.

We love constructive feedback :)

Well, one thing you could do is add special edition upgrade (the soundtrack) you already have on desura and GamersGate to Steam. It already exists and should require barely any effort on your part to add to steam. I remember it being requested here few times. You might want to provide FLAC's in additions to MP3's if possible for all those audiophiles out there.

Another one would be adding Steam Trading cards if possible. That would need some effort on from your artists but nothing unreasonable I'd think (the cards themselves as well as profile badges, profile backgrounds and forum emoticons for the levelups). Don't know what special conditions, if any, you need to meet in order to participate beside creating abovementioned art assests though. You can always ask Steam staff to find out.

I doubt they alone willl be enough but it's something and every additional cent counts I imagine. And tiny bit of word of mouth they'll create can't hurt either. :sorcerer:

On the long run, you may want to try to get your game to GOG as well. Game is available DRM free already so It'll fit in fine. However, GOG only accepts complete games so you'll need to get Darkout finished first.

Agreed, there are a lot of other ways to make money on games than paid DLCs which are getting increasingly hated by the gaming community. Even though it makes my eyes roll, I like the 'Special Edition' or 'Enhanced Edition' titles that some have used in the past.

[Cappuccino.Al]

AHA, Darkout got its stage 2 and needs final polish but u want the sell the game as enhanced edition...GREAT idea... They hope to add stage 3 and 4 because the game isnt!!! finished.

Enhanced editions are the FINAL final gold status of a game, but u have to have a finished product in the first place and here comes the lack of money into play.

[Anonymous Helper]

Originally posted by Cappuccino.Al:

AHA, Darkout got its stage 2 and needs final polish but u want the sell the game as enhanced edition...GREAT idea... They hope to add stage 3 and 4 because the game isnt!!! finished.

Enhanced editions are the FINAL final gold status of a game, but u have to have a finished product in the first place and here comes the lack of money into play.

I suggested special edition (that they already sell on other stores, just not on steam for some reason.) not Enchanted edition (that is, as you said, the final polished version of the game usually made if game is succesfull enough). Plenty on games on Steam have had Special editions on release, that's nothing new. Mostly those editions, like Darkout's own, contain, but are not limited to, the game soundtrack. So what exactly would be problem offering it here?

[Cappuccino.Al]

My bad, sry. No problem with that.