Not all of us has money to throw away..

[ogdad]

Does all updates include pay to play now? Cant we have anything decent without having to dig out our wallets? Im one of the many who is on a tight budget. Seems this game wants to sell everything including some cheap skin set. I for one not buying skins, useless gun sets, pet robot dogs, base upgrades or any type of transportation, biggest reason i cant afford all that, second biggest it just irks me for a company that sells a game then players have to buy most of the content in it. Huge reason I dont play it much, just like the game Hunter call of the wild, any new content there you gotta shell out the bucks. How bout throwing out a few freebies just to keep other players playing or does the sound of money going ching ching is keeping you deaf?

[Clail]

I'll be honest in terms of delivering DLC I think Gen Z isn't as bad as it looks. Both with the motorbikes and this new pet update you get access to the new features, the DLC's add skins and slight variations of them. Some useful tools are locked behind a paywall though in some of the tactical packs.

I'd rather see actual content updates than another recoloring of existing weapons or whatever though, I agree.

[DedZedNub]

Ok, to those of you who want to know how much you actually get of the FREE PART OF THE COMPANION UPDATE (which is 85-90%), Tenebris Infinite on YouTube just put out 3 videos explaining it all.

85-90% of the Companion's capability is free. Seriously. Those saying otherwise are dead wrong.

Example -- you can upgrade the companion's armor via killing enemies and gaining schematic points for the basic armor. Included FREE.

Example -- you can use all 3 of the available weapon types -- bullets, shotgun shells, rockets -- included FREE.

Example -- you can repair the Companion with the basic free already well-known Repair Kits. Free.

Example -- they come with infinite basic ammo, which seems to kill about 3 times faster than the enemies fighting them do, but that may have been in adventure mode, so test yourself. But you CAN ALSO PROVIDE your own ammo, if you want, supposedly for a damage boost. But it is unproven, just says so. Point is, don't need the DLC for that either.

See the videos. Read the multiple different posts on the update by Systemic Reaction, they look a lot the same, but they have some info in one and not the other that is a key detail, etc.

TLDR -- 85-90% of the Free Version Companion requires no DLC. Armor check. Weapon Variety check. Upgrading check. Repairing check. Giving better ammo if want, check. It takes damage and distracts enemies, making you live longer, check. It deals out free damage with no resource cost, check. It made the non-stealth game easier, check. it has several looks and voices already for free that you find by killing and looting and schematics tree in free version in the game, check.

Stop, listening to inept morons who simply shoot their mouth off before they actually research the issue. They have an axe to grind, and shoot from their mouth while probably just throwing the axe instead of firing a bullet. Yikes.

[cruste]

sounds like you need a sugar mama or just wait for christmas
they handed some dlc out for free last year so keep checking their twitter during that time

[ZX Horace]

The game is often on sale for 75% off. That makes it crazy cheap for what you get. You don't have to buy the dlc either to get enjoyment. A lot of us have thrown hours and hours into the game without dlc or before a lot of these features were brought in. If you buy a few of the dlc when on sale, it still makes the game cheaper than a lot of games anyway. There's a lot that frustrates me about the game and wasted opportunities, but the dlc isn't really necessary. I've bought a few now and again because I've got my monies worth out of the game so a few more pounds/dollars for some more content isn't too bad.

[DedZedNub]

Also, just so you guys are aware, there are some Gen Zero BUNDLES that do not appear on the Main Store Page. I know, weird, but this often happens on Steam.

So, search Steam for Generation Zero and hit enter. What you will see are there are at least 2 OTHER BUNDLES besides those listed on the Generation Zero Store Page.

One is the Essentials Bundle and there is one other.

And get this, there is often a slight difference between the discounts on the various bundles. Not joking. I just noticed this for the 2 remaining DLC I don't have.

Anyhow. The Base Game was $4.99 last sale a week ago. That's a great deal. Most of the DLC, except for the last 3 or so will likewise have a good discount when the main game is on sale USUALLY. Some times only the main game gets a discount. Check SteamDB for the best recorded Steam Deal, and you will know what to aim for as a discount.

Oh, and very important, when you look at the BUNDLES, look to see if they have a (?) near them, the question mark is right next to the word BUNDLE. What this means is that you can make use of them piecemeal as well. So, let's say there is a Bundle called KITCHEN SINK BUNDLE. Let's say it gives you 66% off everything, and that is better than a la carte. But you already have say 3 of the 6 things, so you think maybe I should not get it. Well, if it is a (?) Bundle, you can still get the discount on the remaining parts, and it will not charge you for what you already have. So, you should get the 66% additional discount off the remaining DLCs in the bundle, but you won't have to pay for what you already have. But it applies to the additional discount. At any rate, always check before you do it, and check when it is in the cart, that you are getting the price you want. And the (?) Bundles are the most flexible, if you already own some of the DLC in that Bundle already. Lots of Steam customers don't seem to know this, just mouse over the (?) and it explains it.

Ok? Ok.

As Stefan Schitz already said. On sale, it can be a great value, and if you don't like it, it isn't a major hit to the wallet. You don't need the DLC. If you are going to test the game, do it while offline which might not even count the 2 hour limit correctly. But also, might as well avoid the tutorial, see a few videos already and go straight for the pistol and maybe just try to fight a few enemies and check out the interface. After 2 hours, unlikely to get a refund, but if you do it offline with Steam Offline and no hookup to the internet, maybe it won't count the 2 hours correctly. But, I think this was fixed in the last couple of months, so don't count on that.