entremet
Member
Isn't this stuff free, though?
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Splatoon Datamined: Future Weapons, Maps, and Mode information leaked
- Thread starter TDLink
- Start date
Isn't this stuff free, though?
OrbitalBeard
Member
I can't think of many other developers who have done what Splatoon is doing and then received the reactions you're claiming. Care to list some examples?
I like the way the content is gradually rolling out. It works for Splatoon because it's so damn fun, and constantly getting better. It's absolutely imperative that Nintendo nurture and develop the community with care. They've already said this much. This isn't Mario Kart that already has its fan base. They have one shot to make this game their next hit and they can't afford to ruin it. So far, the marketing has been on point. What's important now it that Nintendo keep interest going for as long as possible, while word-of-mouth and media help along the way. Initially locking and limiting ranked battles to level 10 was also a great idea, keeping the playing field a bit more 'level' while new players increase their skills. I predict they will up the max rank beyond Lv20 in the near future. By that time, there will be an even larger portion of competent players to play with/against
I have also come to appreciate the map rotation feature(though, 3 in rotation would be the sweet spot). Because the game introduces new machanics and gameplay to the genre, it takes time for some things to click for certain people. It takes a while to see how much depths is present, or how well-balanced and thought out the weapons and levels are. The map-rotation feature pretty much forces players to learn and appreciate each individual map. If players were able to pick whatever map they wish to play from day-one, a lot of people would likely dismiss many of these maps which the devs put so much effort in balancing. We remember the knee-jerk "roller is OP" reactions in the beginning, so just think of how many maps would suffer that same fate if players just hated them without investing enough time to appreciate their design!
Anyway, I'm sure they'll come a point where Nintendo will begin charging for content, but for now, I'm loving the free, gradual roll-out.
I have also come to appreciate the map rotation feature(though, 3 in rotation would be the sweet spot). Because the game introduces new machanics and gameplay to the genre, it takes time for some things to click for certain people. It takes a while to see how much depths is present, or how well-balanced and thought out the weapons and levels are. The map-rotation feature pretty much forces players to learn and appreciate each individual map. If players were able to pick whatever map they wish to play from day-one, a lot of people would likely dismiss many of these maps which the devs put so much effort in balancing. We remember the knee-jerk "roller is OP" reactions in the beginning, so just think of how many maps would suffer that same fate if players just hated them without investing enough time to appreciate their design!
Anyway, I'm sure they'll come a point where Nintendo will begin charging for content, but for now, I'm loving the free, gradual roll-out.
DragonSworne
Banned
Nope, you paid $60 bucks for it.
For $60 that's a lot of content to look forward to.
SatoAilDarko
Member
So with how many new weapons there still are and how they are released once or twice a week does anyone else think this indicates a level cap increase?
I was thinking 10 of those could be for levels 21-30. I mean people were already level 20 the first weekend. Nintendo wants to keep that Japanese player-base interested.
Yeah. The claim that other publishers would get criticized doesn't hold any merit if it's hypothetical.
The only major publisher was Namco with Tekken Tag 2 and in that situation certain people had access to the content earlier than others and no one made a big deal.
I was thinking 10 of those could be for levels 21-30. I mean people were already level 20 the first weekend. Nintendo wants to keep that Japanese player-base interested.
Yeah. The claim that other publishers would get criticized doesn't hold any merit if it's hypothetical.
The only major publisher was Namco with Tekken Tag 2 and in that situation certain people had access to the content earlier than others and no one made a big deal.
TheGreatMightyPoo
Banned
It all works out the same in the end.
Plus, they didn't surprise anyone with this.
If you didn't want the game at the time, you didn't have to bite and it was known what they were doing.
Belgian Dude
Member
Why are people still saying the "it's Nintendo, so no backlash thing?"
Isn't the new Hitman gonna do the same thing with future updates? Base-game already has stuff to do and its 'finished', but things later (be it time-locked or upcoming content) will be free.
The only difference is that one said the game wasn't finished and didn't say when it'd be released and the other said it would start with X and the content would be rolling out through August - but what it was was pretty much clearly outlined. They said what would be there at launch and what would be there after the rollout.
Games-as-a-service should be done like this and Hitman are (supposedly) going to be doing. It keeps the community alive, helps the learning curve, and diversifies how you play.
E: On topic, Skyscraper looks sick. Sad about Rainmaker, though, was really wishing for a normal CTF mode :|
E2: I agree Nintendo should have been cleared on how shit was going to work, but I also think Hitman's claim that it was 'unfinished' is too far on the opposite end of the scale.
Isn't the new Hitman gonna do the same thing with future updates? Base-game already has stuff to do and its 'finished', but things later (be it time-locked or upcoming content) will be free.
The only difference is that one said the game wasn't finished and didn't say when it'd be released and the other said it would start with X and the content would be rolling out through August - but what it was was pretty much clearly outlined. They said what would be there at launch and what would be there after the rollout.
Games-as-a-service should be done like this and Hitman are (supposedly) going to be doing. It keeps the community alive, helps the learning curve, and diversifies how you play.
E: On topic, Skyscraper looks sick. Sad about Rainmaker, though, was really wishing for a normal CTF mode :|
E2: I agree Nintendo should have been cleared on how shit was going to work, but I also think Hitman's claim that it was 'unfinished' is too far on the opposite end of the scale.
victreeb3l
Member
I need the two new maps asap. Camp Triggerfish looks awesome.
Khaos_Knight
Banned
Lol people are getting way too defensive about this. I remember EA getting skewered for doing the same with Battlefield BC2.
Please point out one of these hypocritical people. Show me one person defending this that attacked something else. You seem to know alot from how your message sounds.
Wasn't EA charging people money for those?
HawthorneKitty
Sgt. 2nd Class in the Creep Battalion, Waifu Wars
Locking weapons through a huge gate would be a disaster. Imagine booting up the game and having the squid sisters tell you about the new weapon aaaaaaand you gotta grind for it. Announcing new weapons on social media and not allowing instant access is just bad.
One thing I didn't see mentioned that was on the guy's twitter is that he found references to S and S+ ranks.
Hell yeah baby. ....
I dropped down from B to B-...those S's are gonna be hard.
Also, no S-?
Belgian Dude
Member
I think the OG complaint in this quote segment was 'if there was everything there at launch, I'd have played the game for more than one week', but if you get tired with 5 maps and 2 modes after 1 week, you're not gonna get a year out of 14 maps and 4 modes.
Map-rotation is a real issue, though.
Unless you were talking about the leaker thing, in which case my bad.
Yeaahh, 3 every 1 hour would be the sweet spot for me. (maybe 2 hours, not sure)
victreeb3l
Member
Basically.
I dont have to pay for any of this stuff so I dont see the problem. The core game is fun as hell so if that didn't manage to win someone over, an extra few maps wouldnt do anything.
Map rotation is the real annoyance however. 4 hours + 2 maps is a problem. Should be all the maps without any hours restriction.
Didn't play, the maps and images give a nice idea.
Nice. I wish the other companies did it this way; instead of making us pay to get new content.
However, since most of this stuff is finished, it would have been ideal to release this game last year and then have that extra content trickle in naturally instead of in an artificial way.
Sure, releases may be inconsistent; but then it would be a true early access game, instead of a pretend one.
However, since most of this stuff is finished, it would have been ideal to release this game last year and then have that extra content trickle in naturally instead of in an artificial way.
Sure, releases may be inconsistent; but then it would be a true early access game, instead of a pretend one.
Its both. Content is unlocked from the disc every few days to keep people coming back, and also to "smoothly" transition from finished on-disc unlocks to currently unfinished digital download content. To a player not in the know it will seem like business as usual when it transitions to free dlc updates. I agree, I don't like how they've locked maps and weapons, and the issue is made worse by implementing 4 hour 2 map rotations.
Upcoming unlocks and downloads look cool, I'm most looking forward to the new modes.
My only concern is this: Not being able to access this content 8-10 years from now.
But... then I remembered that Splatoon's whole reason for existing is online competitive multiplayer. I.E. you'll have to be connected regardless. So there's really nothing I feel concerned over in the end.
But... then I remembered that Splatoon's whole reason for existing is online competitive multiplayer. I.E. you'll have to be connected regardless. So there's really nothing I feel concerned over in the end.
well said. Nintendo have been perfectly up-front about the content roll-out for Splatoon. That the content is on the disc doesn't matter at all. Looking forward to more game modes especially. I've played some splat zone games and it's okay but turf war is my jam.
For you charger fans, this is most likely to be the Bamboozler (heh heh, get it?).
No description for it yet.
Looks great. I hope it plays really different from the other.
petethepanda
Member
The thing is, I don't care about the "on-disc DLC" debate. It's the fact that the game launched with an unacceptably low amount of maps/modes for a multiplayer-focused game. Whether or not it was on disc, I was miffed since day once that they were saying "free DLC all summer!" which really only gets the content in the game up to zero for what you'd expect in literally any other game, instead of launching at zero and building upwards from there.
I've really enjoyed the time I've spent with Splatoon (been lv20 for weeks but I can never seem to get above B+ rank for more than an hour), but I'm already close to burning out, and I can't help but wonder if I'd be going longer if it had the variety that we'd normally expect from a multiplayer game.
Free DLC to keep the community going is a great idea, but not when you get that free DLC by holding back on what would have otherwise been available on day one. I'd be much happier having all that up front and dropping $20 on a "season pass" for new updates through summer. (But that's just me, and I really have enjoyed the game.)
TriggerShy
Member
It looks like the cane Captain Cuttlefish carries.For you charger fans, this is most likely to be the Bamboozler (heh heh, get it?).
No description for it yet.
BlueSilver
Member
They just want to keep the community as active as possible. A new online multiplayer-focused IP on the poor-selling Wii U. Would you be confident that the community could hold together with that scenario?
Ok, say they release everything. Cool, right? Tons of weapons, 5 modes, about 10 maps and private lobbies. It's the first week it came out. Everyone's having fun. There's 3 maps in rotation because why not? It's easy to find people in the mode you prefer. Awesome first week, right? Let's fast forward to 3 weeks. 1/6 of the online population is gone because they got bored or there's new games to be played. Not much of a big deal, right? It's still fairly easy to find people. Fast forward to 5 months, about half of the initial online population is gone because of whatever reason. People are having some issues getting a game going. Some modes are barren. Mobile sucks trying to explain this. Rooms are getting disbanded because the 8th player didn't show up. People will give up on the game when those issues happen to often. It then snowballs and now barely anyone plays. We also can't forget that Splatoon has competition from Smash Bros, Mario Kart, the Xbox/PS4/PC (for multi-console owners), and even the 3DS itself.
While there's some obviously flawed reasoning in my scenario, I think that the solution they came up with is working well enough to keep the online community steady. Yeah, I have a few issues with the game, but they're pretty minor for me. Anyways, mobile sucks, so I'm done here for now.
Ok, say they release everything. Cool, right? Tons of weapons, 5 modes, about 10 maps and private lobbies. It's the first week it came out. Everyone's having fun. There's 3 maps in rotation because why not? It's easy to find people in the mode you prefer. Awesome first week, right? Let's fast forward to 3 weeks. 1/6 of the online population is gone because they got bored or there's new games to be played. Not much of a big deal, right? It's still fairly easy to find people. Fast forward to 5 months, about half of the initial online population is gone because of whatever reason. People are having some issues getting a game going. Some modes are barren. Mobile sucks trying to explain this. Rooms are getting disbanded because the 8th player didn't show up. People will give up on the game when those issues happen to often. It then snowballs and now barely anyone plays. We also can't forget that Splatoon has competition from Smash Bros, Mario Kart, the Xbox/PS4/PC (for multi-console owners), and even the 3DS itself.
While there's some obviously flawed reasoning in my scenario, I think that the solution they came up with is working well enough to keep the online community steady. Yeah, I have a few issues with the game, but they're pretty minor for me. Anyways, mobile sucks, so I'm done here for now.
What the fuck? How does this stop you from returning the game?
Too bad that this thread is just about how Nintendo prevented gamers from enjoying the game by rolling out content over time.
The Cool One
Member
Give me the deets!
It is, that's why the reactions are so laughable.
It provides incentive for the player to stick around, just like any other type of DLC.
Exactly instead of playing the game for hours and hours getting burnt out returning it and moving on to the Next game.
Many skilled players adapt the weapon set to the current map rotation.
It seems like Nintendo always knows what's best for the players.
They know it is better for them not being able to talk to each other online, they know it is better for them not being able to team up on the same side and now they know when players should be allowed to play content they already have paid for.
If a game is good, the community will keep playing it. Somehow, other games manage to do it with more content from the start.
I don't know, maybe it's just me coming from a PC background with shooters having hundreds of mutators/mods and still manage to have a healthy community.
Can't players decide for themselves anymore?
So you, or other players, need Nintendo to prevent people from burning out?
The Cool One
Member
Inkbrush w/ bubbler my prayers have been answered.
PotionBleue
Member
I wonder if you are able to use your own weapon while carrying the Rainmaker, and what the limitations of its Inkzooka abilities are (maybe it consumes ink?).
Gold Coins for Cats
Member
Splatoon's map cycle and DLC rollout enforces Nintendo's catering to casual gamers. This is supposed to be baby's first online shooter, afterall. Two maps so you have a chance or learning at least one before the rotation, mindless repetition in the first week of release so you actually get up and go outside once in a while, and gradual map and mode unlocks to keep players coming back.
Besides, if critics want to skewer Nintendo for paid on-disc DLC, you need look no further then the game's Amiibo support. Only this DLC is served up by buggy, sporadic servers, considering the rarity of the figurines.
Besides, if critics want to skewer Nintendo for paid on-disc DLC, you need look no further then the game's Amiibo support. Only this DLC is served up by buggy, sporadic servers, considering the rarity of the figurines.
Seth Enosh
Member
Yes, because this is a multiplayer game and I need 7 other people to get in my lobby when I want to play it. If they want to entice other players to keep playing with free updates why should I be mad? it only helps me.
Edit: we already knew that the content was On-Disc, it was pretty obvious considering there were no updates or downloads when new weapons and maps rolled out, and some of the maps were in single player and shown in trailers or directs... if you don't like it don't buy the game, simple as that.
KZXcellent
Member
I didn't pay $60 to for an imcomplete experience. I shouldn't HAVE to wait for the content because of Nintendo and the Devs being terrified of the game's online longevity.
SatoAilDarko
Member
I disagree there are more than enough weapons for extra ones to be given out.
Besides weapons are already gated off. Not only the standard ones for leveling up but special ones. Those blueprints you get from Hero Mode still require you to be a certain level. As do the update weapons. Someone who is level 2 or 3 still can't access the update weapons and must grind as well.
One of the keys to Call of Duty's massive success was the leveling system with unlocks. It led to its adoption in almost all of the games including Halo. There was big hubbub about Halo 4 locking weapons behind levels.
Right now it's clear level 20 is way too low when the majority of player have already reached it and many did so in the first few days.
Also leveling up with no benefit isn't the most appetizing.
I'm not saying lock distinct weapon types behind levels but just the custom ones with different loadouts.
For you charger fans, this is most likely to be the Bamboozler (heh heh, get it?).
No description for it yet.
I'm super excited for this. Looking at the Sunken Scrolls it's clear this was the weapon used back then as seen in multiple pictures. I love having the lore of Splatoon expanded.
Well it's hurting my experience when there's such a low amount of maps. The restriction on the map rotation stuff is also another irritation but that's its own separate thread.
And I already own the game so I can't exactly not buy it at this point.
Nintendo and just about every review were very clear with what you would get day 1. Would are you of the impression that you shouldn't have to wait for the rest?
It should be noted, that nothing so far has been DLC.
Some seem to be pissed off and assumed is on disc content locked as DLC, when is not.
The game is online multiplayer oriented. The maps and weapons are unlocked server-side, for said online multiplayer.
Meaning that whenever the online gets shutdown, yeah you won't have access to any of that, but neither to the online multiplayer. Everything offline so far is still the same. Is not like the online unlocks also unlock them offline.
It may sound scummy and give the impression it sucks. If anything is just a weird design choice, centered around the online multiplayer. Maybe for the next game, all maps can be used offline, but only online when they allow them.
Some seem to be pissed off and assumed is on disc content locked as DLC, when is not.
The game is online multiplayer oriented. The maps and weapons are unlocked server-side, for said online multiplayer.
Meaning that whenever the online gets shutdown, yeah you won't have access to any of that, but neither to the online multiplayer. Everything offline so far is still the same. Is not like the online unlocks also unlock them offline.
It may sound scummy and give the impression it sucks. If anything is just a weird design choice, centered around the online multiplayer. Maybe for the next game, all maps can be used offline, but only online when they allow them.