Wait, don't they need to get the retail game out the door first?
Gearbox's loot-driven wasteland romp Borderlands ain't even on store shelves till next week--with a PC release following on Steam the week after that--but the developer is already spilling the beans about its post-release plans for downloadable content.
Described as "the first in a series" of add-ons, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned will run you $10 on all three platforms. Here's a brief description of what's in there.
Tasked with keeping the workers of Jakobs Cove alive, Dr. Ned (who is not related to Dr. Zed from Fyrestone) does his job a little too well, creating zombies and other abominations that now run rampant in this region. Players will have to work alongside Dr. Ned as they embark on a quest to cure the inhabitants of Jakobs Cove in this full-fledged expansion filled with new enemies, new quests and rare loot drops.
More importantly, here's what it looks like.
The real question, of course, is exactly how much content and how big a landmass this pack entails. Jeff's closing in on the level cap in Borderlands right next to me, so we'll have a full review of the shipping game next week, and you can look for this DLC pack to hit "later this year."
Gearbox's loot-driven wasteland romp Borderlands ain't even on store shelves till next week--with a PC release following on Steam the week after that--but the developer is already spilling the beans about its post-release plans for downloadable content.
Described as "the first in a series" of add-ons, The Zombie Island of Dr. Ned will run you $10 on all three platforms. Here's a brief description of what's in there.
Tasked with keeping the workers of Jakobs Cove alive, Dr. Ned (who is not related to Dr. Zed from Fyrestone) does his job a little too well, creating zombies and other abominations that now run rampant in this region. Players will have to work alongside Dr. Ned as they embark on a quest to cure the inhabitants of Jakobs Cove in this full-fledged expansion filled with new enemies, new quests and rare loot drops.
More importantly, here's what it looks like.
The real question, of course, is exactly how much content and how big a landmass this pack entails. Jeff's closing in on the level cap in Borderlands right next to me, so we'll have a full review of the shipping game next week, and you can look for this DLC pack to hit "later this year."
So, Gearbox, you've already started designing this stuff, eh? Tell me then... Why is this not in the box of the actual game? *Cough* micro-transactions... *Cough* I'm not disappointed to see it, certainly looks great: I'm just disappointed to see such a blatant marketing strategy at work.
ehhh, I'm sorry, but this kind of DLC announcement is what I dislike. Something like this could've been put in the actual game, but instead they're trying to milk the consumer. Not saying the content is bad or anything, and heck, it would be ok even if it was announced after the game came out by a few months, but the game isn't even in stores yet. And yet they already got stuff in finished for this. It would sit well with me if they actually worked on it AFTER the game was released, not during the game's actual development.
Another one bites the dust. Chalk this up with Dragon Age as two games I was looking forward to but now am going to pass on because of ridiculous DLC scams to make the game more expensive. How about devs just put everything into the game until release, then start working on a large, PC-worthy expansion pack if you want to extend the game properly.
Wow. The instinct is to sarcastically say "great, more fucking zombies!" but then you see the screenshots and you say the same thing but without the sarcasm this time.
" Another one bites the dust. Chalk this up with Dragon Age as two games I was looking forward to but now am going to pass on because of ridiculous DLC scams to make the game more expensive. How about devs just put everything into the game until release, then start working on a large, PC-worthy expansion pack if you want to extend the game properly. "
amen to that. It used to be done right, but now those days just feel long gone. Getting full games, and then looking forward to another big expansion the following year or something was great. It would've been nice if they brought that mentality to consoles with DLC, but instead it really is just a way to rip off the consumer. There have been rare instances where DLC has been done right, but this isn't it.
" Another one bites the dust. Chalk this up with Dragon Age as two games I was looking forward to but now am going to pass on because of ridiculous DLC scams to make the game more expensive. How about devs just put everything into the game until release, then start working on a large, PC-worthy expansion pack if you want to extend the game properly. "
amen to that. It used to be done right, but now those days just feel long gone. Getting full games, and then looking forward to another big expansion the following year or something was great. It would've been nice if they brought that mentality to consoles with DLC, but instead it really is just a way to rip off the consumer. There have been rare instances where DLC has been done right, but this isn't it. "
I agree this is completely ridiculous... but its like anything in business. If you allow them to, they will. Consumers have set the precedent of allowing these half-assed DLC "expansions" and now companies take full advantage...
Well I'd rather know that they've put a lot of thought into their dlc and made sure it's up to par. So knowing their plans ahead of time dosen't bother me too much.
Everyone excepts that this is ok, this is bullshit imo, it's like working on a new games and splitting it into 3 versions then selling it separate, oh wait.....
Can you guys please stop BITCHING!?!? Holy hell if you knew anything about the development of this game you would know that Gearbox announced that they started to work on DLC after the game went into certification. Meaning AFTER the point where additional content could be added to the game. They announced this a while ago. This is not a DLC scam...maybe if you guys understand how the development process works you wouldn't all be acting like whiny little bitches...
I realize I'm commenting on this story a lot, sorry, but after thinking about it even more...gearbox totally missed an opportunity here I think too. They kept comparing this game to stuff like diablo. Well then, they should have followed what Blizzard did with a game like Diablo. They should have focused on just getting the game out this year, and then focused on working on a big expansion for next year.
This fallout 3 style $10 add ons, just doesn't sit well with me for a game like borderlands. Especially where co-op is such a key feature, all this is gonna do is split the userbase.
@Ockman: I could not disagree with you more. In the case of putting out content on release date, like Dragon Age, yes, I would agree with you. But this is something they're working on NOW for release LATER. If they were to put this in the game ,that means the game would be delayed for a month or two. That's something nobody wants, I should think. I prefer a nice steady flow of content after release.
" Another one bites the dust. Chalk this up with Dragon Age as two games I was looking forward to but now am going to pass on because of ridiculous DLC scams to make the game more expensive. How about devs just put everything into the game until release, then start working on a large, PC-worthy expansion pack if you want to extend the game properly. "
" I realize I'm commenting on this story a lot, sorry, but after thinking about it even more...gearbox totally missed an opportunity here I think too. They kept comparing this game to stuff like diablo. Well then, they should have followed what Blizzard did with a game like Diablo. They should have focused on just getting the game out this year, and then focused on working on a big expansion for next year. This fallout 3 style $10 add ons, just doesn't sit well with me for a game like borderlands. Especially where co-op is such a key feature, all this is gonna do is split the userbase. "
Well, they said that it would play like Diablo. They didn't say it was going to be Diablo.
Oh for fuck's sake. In an ideal world there would be a small card inside that reads "Hey, our deadline came around before we ran out of ideas, so assume this is just part of the game and download it for free! Love and kisses Gearbox xxx". But lets face it most developers would rather have a dedicated DLC team, than use all their people on the retail product, it's how you sell a $60 for $70.
I really want to play Borderlands, but this just makes me cringe.
This looks fucking fantastic. They really weren't kidding around when they said the DLC would be coming fast. Something else to looks forward to is always nice.
So the game isnt shipped, released or whatever and they've been working on DLC content? Couldnt they just have placed this in the game itself? Im confused about the way game companies do buisness nowadays. Wait no I'm not their all greedy even the "popular" ones... Ridiculous.
I like. For all those whiners out there, you dont have to buy the dlc. Noone is forcing you to buy it. I think I'll certainly get my moneys worth (45 dollars on steam kakow!) with the main game. The extra stuff looks awesome and I am sure it will be worth the ten dollars.
Not saying the content is bad or anything, and heck, it would be ok even if it was announced after the game came out by a few months, but the game isn't even in stores yet.
So you are saying that DLC that they start development on before development of the actual game is done is only ok if they tell you about it after the fact? Telling the people about this DLC only helps them in comforting the players that they are going to support the game after release, which is awesome.
Also: @Ockman said: It would sit well with me if they actually worked on it AFTER the game was released, not during the game's actual development. " The game is done. It had gone through certification, which means that the game has gone golden. It's not like some major gameplay component is not done, that the development of this DLC will delay.
Btw. This DLC looks amazing, and I can't wait to play the game, and to play this DLC
Ive been tired of the whole zombie thing for a while, but that totally looks awesome. The zombies in the Borderlands Style is really crazy looking. This game keeps looking better and better. This DLC support is gonna make this game hard to put down.
Edit: lol at people complaining, "DLC scams". Ignorance is amusing.
@MasturbatingBear: That's not the way i'm looking at it though. I mean, ugh, even if I just wanna accept the fact, and be ok with spending $10 on DLC like this...announcing it this soon is what's bad! Before I even have the game in my hands, I feel like I'm getting an incomplete product. This type of announcement should've been done a month from now when players have started to reach the level cap, and are craving new stuff.
@natetodamax: also, I didn't say it was diablo...but everytime i've heard them talk about this game, they've compared to diablo, and if they're going to use that game as their inspiration, then they could've followed the formula in which content was distributed perhaps. Instead, they're following the worst kind of crowds by doing this kind of DLC, by having content coming out so soon after release.
@Ockman: I think they were comparing the gameplay to Diablo and that the way they were going to release content and whatnot for the game. I see what you mean though.
The game went out for certification...so then they started working on DLC. No new content could then be added...They were not, at that point purposely withholding content. It could not be added. The design team wasn't just going to sit around doing nothing when the game went for cert...So they started working on new content. That is why DLC is announced so soon and could not be put on the release disc...But i know even though I say this people will continue to whine and moan about something that isn't true
Gamers lack of knowledge of how their games are made never ceases to amaze. I wonder when the foodnetwork revolution will come to this sphere and people will begin to actually understand and appreciate the process these things go through.
Gearbox reached the point where they were done and signing off on the game a while ago. And, the team that begins the work on a project like this DLC is very different from the team that polishes and ships a project like the main game. DIFFERENT PEOPLE PUTTING IN DIFFERENT MAN HOURS. Hell, some of those screens appear to be art department mockups and level designer demos anyways.
Further, the content of this seems very different from the plot and setting I've seen so far from the main game. This kind of off-shoot material is perfect for DLC so it doesn't distract from the main game.
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