Expansion Pack: Give the new maps away for free

[vbl]

Real or not, leaked or not, we know that there will be a booster/expansion pack coming for 2142, and I think that they should make the new maps available to everyone.

Why?

Because if they only give the new maps to people who purchase the pack then we're going to see the same problems that we saw with BF2's booster packs - fragmentation of the playerbase. Servers will rarely run mixes of booster and regular maps because every time a booster map comes around the have-nots will get booted.

Ultimately, people will stick to servers that only have old maps or only have new maps, and once the drudgery of playing the same 3 new maps over and over sinks in, most folks will go back to the regular game maps anyway.

I'd like to avoid that mess.

Several notes regarding potential risks in giving away the new maps:
It has been hinted that new equipment will be available on regular maps, which is commendable and an indication that the new equipment may afford extra capabilities to the people who have it, but will not create a game-breaking imbalance.

To mitigate the issue of non-pack owners using the new vehicles, I envision/hope for a mechanic similar to Planetside where the game knows whether or not a player has the booster, and new vehicles are only accessible to people tagged with the booster label. I also presume that the new (and old) maps will include a mix of old and new vehicles.


Do you agree with the release of the new maps to everyone in order to keep the playerbase as a single entity? I know you BF2 people will have an opinion.

[Rick Astley]

Well, wouldn't you be disappointed when someone can enter a vehicle and drive off and you couldn't. Newbies will shout for that and spam the ingame chat!

I just hope this booster will have the impact of Special Forces, so the 2142 community doesn't get separated too much.

[Vreki]

No, I don't really like the concept of some people having better weapons than other, just because they can afford to buy the booster pack(s).
It seems like they are going that way with weapons, I would hate to see it happen to vehicles too.

[Erhardt]

I wouldn't have any problem paying for the booster and still seeing the maps released to everybody for free if it meant not splitting the player base.

Keeping the new unlocks and vehicles as useable by those who bought the booster still makes the purchase worth it (speaking only for myself here, not the community at large).

[=S= HappyGilmore]

Being a server owner I too would like to see some sort of integration. It could be done. Make the additional unlocks only available to folks that bought it but allow all players to run the maps.

Seems that wouldn't be too hard to do.

[vbl]

No, I don't really like the concept of some people having better weapons than other, just because they can afford to buy the booster pack(s).

They already stated that the new equipment will be available on regular maps, so that's moot.

[Elinombrable]

If you give the maps for free then you have to give the vehicles too (or restrict people without the mod to entering into the new vehicles...but i dont know if this is possible and anyway it would suck)...if you give the vehicles and the maps then you have to give the new game mode too...then you will play the booster pack for the new weapons=>its not a booster pack...its only a weapons pack.

PD: I dont think weapons will be better....they will be different. Of course they never said they will be weapons. They said there will be 10 new unlocks but the didnt specified if they will be weapons or other things. I think some tipe of patch will be released to allow using this weapons with the people with the new booster pack and without it ,mixed on the same server...1.2 patch may be?

[Vreki]

They already stated that the new equipment will be available on regular maps, so that's moot.
You missed the part where I said :I would hate to see it happen to vehicles too.

But yes, the weapons seem to be a done deal, so the maps might just as well be public available.
Of course we all know that is not going to happen.

[AlphaNut]

Hehehe you will only be able to get into the co-pilot seat of the new vehicles if you don't own the expansion - I am sure that would guarantee a brand-new gaming experience ;)

[vbl]

You missed the part where I said :I would hate to see it happen to vehicles too.

But yes, the weapons seem to be a done deal, so the maps might just as well be public available.
Of course we all know that is not going to happen.

I saw it - I just didn't have a reply handy.

If it were me, I'd have an even distribution of old and new vehicles to ensure that pack owners can enjoy the new content, but non pack owners still have plenty of vehicular options. And I assume, just like the new equipment, that the new vehicles will be designed with the other vehicles in mind. I'm positive that the new maps will include old and new vehicles, so they've likely been balanced as such.

[Revoluti0n]

Unfortunately, this will not be free from what I am aware of. I fear that this will end up splitting the playerbase yet once again. It's really a shame too, because it seems that 2142 seems to be everything that BF2 should have been from the start. All of the suggestions and recommendations from the community seem to have been implemented into 2142. Oh well...you'd think that all the lessons were learned from BF2, yet this happening is not really the case.

[The_Eliminator]

I understand what you are saying and i agree but its only $10!!! Rarely anything in this world is free and they art asking much, i mean i hate EA as much as the next guy and i dont want to give them any more of my money, but for a couple of new maps and 10 new unlocks i would quite happily pay $10 or about £5 in UK.

[Deesies]

Unfortunately, this will not be free from what I am aware of. I fear that this will end up splitting the playerbase yet once again. It's really a shame too, because it seems that 2142 seems to be everything that BF2 should have been from the start. All of the suggestions and recommendations from the community seem to have been implemented into 2142. Oh well...you'd think that all the lessons were learned from BF2, yet this happening is not really the case.

I take solice in the fact that the months of work put in to this booster pack will be forgotten about in a week or two after release. Bastardly, I know, but golly gosh darnit, what comes around, goes around.

[The_Eliminator]

I take solice in the fact that the months of work put in to this booster pack will be forgotten about in a week or two after release. Bastardly, I know, but golly gosh darnit, what comes around, goes around.

People will buy it for the unlocks, and so once they have them they will not play the BP anymore.

tbh, the only reason i bought SF in bf2 was for the new unlocks, i wanted the F2000 and the L96A1. Although the maps were great.

[Deesies]

I look forward to being pwned by a G362142E >.>

[Vreki]

As long as we are talking about how it should be done, how about this idea:

As I see it, there are three goals that must be met


Ea must make money
The buyers must get exclusive content
The community must not be fragmented by each new booster pack


To meet these goals, I would scrap the idea of booster packs, and instead introduce a cheap subscription, say 2$/month

Subscribers would get new content 3 months before the rest, and then it would be released to the public.

Unfortunately this would have to depend on the dreaded EA Link, so there should be made some modifications to that, among others the removal of the download limit.

[Deesies]

I'll be honest. That's a terrible idea.

[The_Eliminator]

As long as we are talking about how it should be done, how about this idea:

As I see it, there are three goals that must be met


Ea must make money
The buyers must get exclusive content
The community must not be fragmented by each new booster pack


To meet these goals, I would scrap the idea of booster packs, and instead introduce a cheap subscription, say 2$/month

Subscribers would get new content 3 months before the rest, and then it would be released to the public.

Unfortunately this would have to depend on the dreaded EA Link, so there should be made some modifications to that, among others the removal of the download limit.

This is a good idea, but i think that $2 a month would be no benefit to them, maybe $4. Other wise in 3 months that would = $6 which isnt even what they are asking now.

[The_Eliminator]

Oh and $2 is like 80p in UK isnt it? lol

[68stang]

people will complain but people will buy it. ANd I will be buying it. :-)

[Revoluti0n]

I understand what you are saying and i agree but its only $10!!! Rarely anything in this world is free and they art asking much, i mean i hate EA as much as the next guy and i dont want to give them any more of my money, but for a couple of new maps and 10 new unlocks i would quite happily pay $10 or about £5 in UK.

Apparently you've forgotten or simply never know the short lived (if you can call it that) of Euro Forces and Armored Fury. It was all the rage for about 2 weeks then back to the old regular maps.
The price is not the problem, it's running a server that alternates between the new maps and the original maps. One moment you have a full server and everything is fine, next thing you know...waiting for 4 more people to join. Nothing kills a popular server like a booster pack, it's the equvalent of cyanide. I speak from our own experiences from BF2 with Ef and AF.


People will buy it for the unlocks, and so once they have them they will not play the BP anymore.

tbh, the only reason i bought SF in bf2 was for the new unlocks, i wanted the F2000 and the L96A1. Although the maps were great.

I agree, however I played SF for many hundreds of hours throughout the course of the year that BF was alive and well. I bought it for the maps mostly, I did not really care about the unlocks as they did not really make too much difference. It would be great if EA/Dice would actually think of the way this will impact the long term as well as server owners. Seems like they only see the short term ($)?

[vaineh]

the booster packs were one of the reasons i stopped playing bf2, some of us (me and the guys i game with) got euro forces and whatever the other one was called and some of us didnt. totally split us. it was no fun with just a couple of us playing the new maps so we stopped playing. total waste of money and the other guys were feeling pretty smug.

moved on and played other games that we could all play together.

yeah the new unlocks and vehicles will be fun in the booster but the same things gonna happen with 2142 that happened with bf2. and everyone knows enemy territory is on the horizon...

[The_Eliminator]

Apparently you've forgotten or simply never know the short lived (if you can call it that) of Euro Forces and Armored Fury. It was all the rage for about 2 weeks then back to the old regular maps.
The price is not the problem, it's running a server that alternates between the new maps and the original maps. One moment you have a full server and everything is fine, next thing you know...waiting for 4 more people to join. Nothing kills a popular server like a booster pack, it's the equvalent of cyanide. I speak from our own experiences from BF2 with Ef and AF.


Totally agree, EF and AF were a let down.

[Vreki]

This is a good idea, but i think that $2 a month would be no benefit to them, maybe $4. Other wise in 3 months that would = $6 which isnt even what they are asking now.

I was basing it on a 10$ price for the booster pack, which I expect to be released 5-6 months after the games release.

2$ or 3$ doesn't matter, but its not worth the same as a MMORPG subscription.

I'll be honest. That's a terrible idea.

It is always nice to meet a honest man, but how about some arguments?:)

[Elinombrable]

yes but i dont think QW will give free contente forever...they will make expansions for sure and the same thing will happen. Dont spect support and new content forever paying 50$.

[Svartberg]

If the new maps suck - servers and players will simply continue running the old maps.

Really now, I'm sick and tired from the old maps and equipment, if I had the choice between things staying the same or some expansion with new stuff costing 10$ I'll go with the booster pack.

[Vreki]

I bought it for the maps mostly, I did not really care about the unlocks as they did not really make too much difference.

Remember not only where there new unlocks, but your "unlock points" where doubled. If you owned SF you got two unlocks for each rank.

SF for me was in the end just a way to buy unlocks. I never really got into the maps, maybe because they weren't played much.

[Elinombrable]

I dont think the new maps will suck...i think there, is the key of this booster. The new titan mapas combined into city maps look great for me. Thats what a lot of people was demmanding.

[Revoluti0n]

yes but i dont think QW will give free contente forever...they will make expansions for sure and the same thing will happen. Dont spect support and new content forever paying 50$.

This is true, but mappers will always be around and they want to have their work out there and used by everyone. The only way this wold be true is if all dev houses and publishers explicitly forbid mods form coming out. This would be suicide for the companies.
How do you think counter strike became the #1 FPS of all time? Creative mappers solved the problem of playing Office/Dust/Dust2/Aztec over and over again; they created diversity with their maps, the community (end users) kept the game alive it was not necessarily Sierra/Vivendi's doing.

[Elinombrable]

Yes but think that QW will have a temporary database that allow keeping points allong the 3 maps campaigns and this allow you unlock weapons. This wont be possible on the modders maps the same way isnt possible on the bf2142...then the problem is the same than bf2142. Mods are fine but they need servers. With clan mod or the unlocks mod the same thing would be done on bf2142 with modders maps but...

[Kalo]

I can find 10 dollars in my rooms corners, just pay for it instead of bitching.

[directx10]

I say they force us to buy it, No more playing BF2142 untill you buy the booster pack!!!!
that would solve all the problems.





incase you didn't get it, i was j/k'ing

[Kalo]

Everyone wants stuff for free i just cant understand why they cant realize people want money for theyre hard work if they can get it.

[Kraxis]

Everyone wants stuff for free i just cant understand why they cant realize people want money for theyre hard work if they can get it.

And I can't understand why the content is getting smaller and smaller and the paylevel has increased. How many maps do we have now? And how many did we have in 1942? And still got free maps. Giving free maps is called Customer Care, which buys goodwill. Blatant abusing the "we work hard" buys badwill. Simple as that.

It wouldn't be that hard if at the same time as the BP they would release 1-2-3 other maps for vanilla.

In the end it isn't about money for a lot of players. However, I see plenty of people talking baout how easy it is pay, and some have still complained about noob-teenagers getting the game. See the conundrum? Those teenagers aren't likely to get the BP, add in those that don't have money (or are just unwilling for reason or another) and we have a split right there.
Even if we were so lucky to get a lot of players to buy the BP, we would still suffer from plenty dropped players when the maps were mixed. And what are the chances that we will love to play those three maps over and over? I like diversity, and so do a lot of others, but not like this.

[LeadS]

Everyone wants stuff for free i just cant understand why they cant realize people want money for theyre hard work if they can get it.They already have model which makes us pay twice; with money and with adds. There are still tons of bugs in the game, something that should have not been there when it was released. We bought the game and we are still waiting for them to deliver us working one. How about they send us some of our money back as an intrest?

[The-Overlord-ehT]

And I can't understand why the content is getting smaller and smaller and the paylevel has increased. How many maps do we have now? And how many did we have in 1942? And still got free maps. Giving free maps is called Customer Care, which buys goodwill. Blatant abusing the "we work hard" buys badwill. Simple as that.

It wouldn't be that hard if at the same time as the BP they would release 1-2-3 other maps for vanilla.
Although I wasn't playing 1942 nearer its release date I did start just as 1.6 was released and there did seem to be a LOT of maps now I think about it. but that could also be something to do with the fact that there was a larger single player element in that game (I played the campaign a lot before switching to multiplayer, computer didn't really have the power at the time)

Also your I really like your idea about the maps


In the end it isn't about money for a lot of players. However, I see plenty of people talking baout how easy it is pay, and some have still complained about noob-teenagers getting the game. See the conundrum? Those teenagers aren't likely to get the BP, add in those that don't have money (or are just unwilling for reason or another) and we have a split right there.
Even if we were so lucky to get a lot of players to buy the BP, we would still suffer from plenty dropped players when the maps were mixed. And what are the chances that we will love to play those three maps over and over? I like diversity, and so do a lot of others, but not like this.
Yep I haven't really got the money, now to talk some mates round into getting it and steal the unlocks :p
(although I might have to buy it see how the community likes it first ;) )

[CarbonFire]

And I can't understand why the content is getting smaller and smaller and the paylevel has increased. How many maps do we have now? And how many did we have in 1942? And still got free maps. Giving free maps is called Customer Care, which buys goodwill. Blatant abusing the "we work hard" buys badwill. Simple as that.

Have you really not been paying attention? The answer is EA. EA, the company that got sued for running sweatshop programmer conditions, the company that releases the same rehashed crap over and over, year after year, to hungry fools who'll shovel out the $50 to get the same crap they got the last 5 years (#1 selling Madden or Sims anyone?).

EA is not in the business to create goodwill or "make customers happy". They don't have to. They can SELL happiness, and make far more in the short run. I doubt they care if they ruin a franchise or two along the way, because there will always be another one to aquire out on the horizon. These are not the actions of people who like making or playing games. These are the actions of people who like making money. DICE as a developer was great, till they got "aquired" by EA. That is why 1942 was the best game in most people's minds - because it was DICE pre-EA involvement (yes EA published it, but that was AFTER DICE had created the game, and before EA started truly being evil).

It may seem like I'm being overly dramatic, but I'm just trying to cure the notion that these games are anything but money making ventures. As long as you the customer keeps giving EA money, they could care less if its "Battlefield: Super Awesome edition" or "Battlefield:Crap in a box edition".

[vbl]

Can we move the discussion back to the main topic?

[HG_Eliminator]

IMO. the game is only a few months old....any new content added should be a free upgrade.. this would help off set alot of the headache we have had to endure with bugs and game issues etc...maps should be available for all....

if you want to hold a strong user base and keep the players interested, dont segrigate them..

MS made expansion packs for MW Mercenaries.. the new mechs and weapons were fun .. but they did NOT give the Players who had them such a great advantage that it unbalanced game play for all....we were able to All play together on the same maps wether you had the Expanion packs or not ....players who did not have the expansion could see and be killed by the mechs and weapons but couldnt use them.. this should be implemented here.....

[Seadogs]

if you want to hold a strong user base and keep the players interested, dont segrigate them..


Well thats what supporting a game used to be all about. But if your releasing a new game every fiscal year and boosters every spring who cares about longivity.

[vbl]

IMO. the game is only a few months old....any new content added should be a free upgrade.. this would help off set alot of the headache we have had to endure with bugs and game issues etc...maps should be available for all....

if you want to hold a strong user base and keep the players interested, dont segrigate them..

MS made expansion packs for MW Mercenaries.. the new mechs and weapons were fun .. but they did NOT give the Players who had them such a great advantage that it unbalanced game play for all....we were able to All play together on the same maps wether you had the Expanion packs or not ....players who did not have the expansion could see and be killed by the mechs and weapons but couldnt use them.. this should be implemented here.....

To me this is a discussion of principle. Whether or we have to pay for this first booster pack is irrelevant because we'll probably be asked to pay for new content at some point

And when that happens, do you want the playerbase to be chopped up into two (or three, or four) different pools of players for two (or three, or four) different games? Or do you want us to stay as one entity? I very much want the latter.

I really don't care about paying $10 or $20 or $30 for new content - I'll evaluate the value when the product comes to market. But when it does show up, I don't want my decision to buy and your decision to not buy to prevent us from continuing to play together every night, every map, on our regular servers.

Clans will break up, servers will fragment, and ultimately (just like in BF2) player population economics will win and we'll see the new content fall mostly by the wayside as server owners go with the base game since it will keep those slots filled more often.

[Seadogs]

Clans will break up, servers will fragment, and ultimately (just like in BF2) player population economics will win and we'll see the new content fall mostly by the wayside as server owners go with the base game since it will keep those slots filled more often.

Exactly, It's not about the money. It really sucks to see new content come out that if given to everyone would be great for the game but using this model I have no reason to believe it will do anything but die off rapidly after the first week or two. Just like in BF2.

[nutcrackr]

Well seeing as though it won't be played much you are essentially paying $10 for 10 new unlocks and awards. Depending on the unlocks it might be worth it.

[drunken sailor]

ok if they add new wepons i want to see the auto grenade launcher from the dogs of war that thing was awsome but only make it availalbe to assault. i know this was not what it was about but this is the thread i thought i should post it on.

[BIFF EXPLODER]

Unfortunately, this will not be free from what I am aware of. I fear that this will end up splitting the playerbase yet once again. It's really a shame too, because it seems that 2142 seems to be everything that BF2 should have been from the start. All of the suggestions and recommendations from the community seem to have been implemented into 2142. Oh well...you'd think that all the lessons were learned from BF2, yet this happening is not really the case.

nothing could be more true.

[angelofdeath3131]

If it isnt for free and people buy this, then all the complaining of glitches/hacks all the problems that you read about on this forum is for nothing! They are obviously only focusing on there own gain. They insert ingame adds to bring in money from those companies. The company does that in order to support there products, as the consumer we are suppose to see the gain from this in the form of price cuts/freecontent/better support. But we are getting jack **** from this. EA is keeping all the money. Buying this patch size booster will only prompt them to keep screwing us in the future. Everyone of you out there including me knows this should be free. Use your head dont fall for this crap again. They should polish the game as it is. Do not turn a blind eye to this.

[GunHappyBob]

$10 dollars folks. Don't hurt your poor bank account. Heck If someone starts a "POOR BF2142 Players Fund" I'll donate 10 bucks to it so some poor person can get the booster. Hell you paid 50 bucks for a game and you don't wanna pay 10 bucks for 3 maps and 10 unlocks? For goods sake do the math.

Your almost getting a better deal on the booster then you did on the actual game. Quit bitching and buy the booster because we know you all are anyway.

I wanna see one person say they aren't buying it, actually im taking names then I'm gonna look at your stats after the release of the booster pack and see that you bought it.

[MrChris_CJ]

thats not the point, the point is that EA is releasing a ****ing waste of a dvd box by making us pay for content that should either be in a patch or put together to form an expansion,

not turn the battlefield series into a sims2 style franchise with new games every week

[leaffan29]

$10 dollars folks. Don't hurt your poor bank account. Heck If someone starts a "POOR BF2142 Players Fund" I'll donate 10 bucks to it so some poor person can get the booster. Hell you paid 50 bucks for a game and you don't wanna pay 10 bucks for 3 maps and 10 unlocks? For goods sake do the math.

Your almost getting a better deal on the booster then you did on the actual game. Quit bitching and buy the booster because we know you all are anyway.

I wanna see one person say they aren't buying it, actually im taking names then I'm gonna look at your stats after the release of the booster pack and see that you bought it.

Hmm ok do the math. This is in Canadian BTW.

Battlefield 2 (59.99) + Special Forces (39.99) + Armour Fury (15) + Euro Forces (15) = $129.98 (Before Taxes as well. Was 15% at the time) (Oh yah I forgot about the 5 or 6 months of having a 20slot BF2 server as well. I can't remember what I was paying there. Probably 3 bucks a lot I think)

Yeah no thanks. I basically stuck with just BF2. I got Special Forces basically because my brother couldn't play it so I just used his game. I never bought the booster packs.

I already paid 60 bucks for a game that has less content than BF2, has this ad support which was supposed to help them make more money and now they want us to pay again for these stupid booster packs. No thanks.

2142 is a good game but I wish they would just stop trying to suck every last dime and nickel out of us.

Edit - And I am paying this just crazy server bill of 80 bucks for a 20 slot server. It'll probably last another few months but then thats it. I just can't justify paying these guys all this money and them saying they arn't making enough and want to charge us more money for these things. Give me something for free for a change. I pay you guys enough money how about giving back enough.

[mjrstiffie]

It all boils down to entertainment.

I said I wouldnt buy it if it only had two maps and two new vehicles that was first rumored.

How much does going to the movies cost now a days ? Don't forget the popcorn, milk duds and a drink.

Ten bucks is reasonable if that's the price and if it is, it'll only be available thru EA Link I'm afraid. If they release it thru stores expect to pay alot more for it.

[GunHappyBob]

Did you think EA spends millions producing games soley for our pleasure? No! They are in it to make a profit like the rest of us. There is a 90% chance you and hundreds of thousands of others will buy the booster.

If you knew of a surefire way to make millions would you turn it down because you didn't wanna take a measly 10 bucks from people that already paid 50?

[Elinombrable]

Do yo know how many money they spent on this? do you know how many time they spent on this? do you know how much money they spend,they win,the benefits...you are talking without having a true know..only speculations, thinkings... nobodie will give you things for fre.. The game is awesome and you payed 50$ for it. Now 10$ for a booster pack much better than all the bf2 booster packs together is fine i think.

Probably they will give some new maps on new patches but hei..the game have 3 months....

The thing is simple...if you dont want to buy then dont buy but why you have to tell everybodie to dont buy the game? usually people who do this is because they want more people that confirm their opinnion because they arent sure ... if you like the booster pack and you think its a good content, and you can spend a little ammount of money... then do it.. dont listen others. Test things yourself. People say that a game is very good and you buy it... dont listen others. Test yourself and have your own oppinnion.

[The_Eliminator]

wowow paragraphs!

[GunHappyBob]

It all boils down to entertainment.

I said I wouldnt buy it if it only had two maps and two new vehicles that was first rumored.

How much does going to the movies cost now a days ? Don't forget the popcorn, milk duds and a drink.

Ten bucks is reasonable if that's the price and if it is, it'll only be available thru EA Link I'm afraid. If they release it thru stores expect to pay alot more for it.


^^^^Someone with some sense.

People think this stuff is free to make.

[Kalo]

I keep trying to say that.

[Elinombrable]

As i said again and again there is a posibility of prepaid cards being avaliable. You buy the card on the shop and this card come with a code that you can introduce into your EA-Link and you can download the booster as if you pay with a credit card. Isnt sure but there are rumours saying that this system will be avaliable.

[vbl]

This isn't about the cost. It's not about the cost. It's, not, about, the, cost.

It's about the quality of the total online experience as content gets added. So can we drop the whole "blah blah dollars isn't worth it" and "pay them for their work" stuff?

[Kalo]

Id say it'd add to online play since the weapons work in old maps.

[Kraxis]

Why is it important to try to get others to not buy the BP?

Good question if you haven't followed and understood the various arguments presented here. But fair enough I will try to present them again.

Apparently companies were making good money back when they were giving the BP sized bonusses for free. Hence the argument is that the BP is a step in the direction if the EA board going "Lets see how much we can drain from them. We should start small."
So the BPs are the first small step. Something new... This added with the new very common tactic of releasing highly bugged games (yes there will always be bugs and such but over the last years it has gotten proportionally silly), makes for a good combination of my little theory.

If we go all "sure I will buy into your new scheme." then we can expect them to take the next level, and the next and the next. The big wonder is when they will actually stop releasing patches and/or charge for patches, if we let them screw us over time and again.

It is like children, they will continue to press us to see how far we will let them go. Apparently we, the gamers, are still too stupid to tell our 'child' to stop nagging us for a bigger allowance.

Add to this the big community problems and the lousy fact that you buy yourself some advantage over others who haven't dished out the money for one reason or another (don't forget that it isn't just people who won't but a lot of people who can't).
And yes new unlocks does give advantages in one way or another. They might not all be advantages, but at least some will be. And the big fear is that one or more of the unlocks will be overpowered... making the BP essential if you want to be able to compete.

I will not be surprised if they are in fact very good unlocks, something like +20% health, so that it will intice even more to buy it to be able to compete on an even level. Forcing vanilla players to buy the BP would make good economical sense. But should we allow that?

[Stinger911]

Have you really not been paying attention? The answer is EA. EA, the company that got sued for running sweatshop programmer conditions, the company that releases the same rehashed crap over and over, year after year, to hungry fools who'll shovel out the $50 to get the same crap they got the last 5 years (#1 selling Madden or Sims anyone?).

EA is not in the business to create goodwill or "make customers happy". They don't have to. They can SELL happiness, and make far more in the short run. I doubt they care if they ruin a franchise or two along the way, because there will always be another one to aquire out on the horizon. These are not the actions of people who like making or playing games. These are the actions of people who like making money. DICE as a developer was great, till they got "aquired" by EA. That is why 1942 was the best game in most people's minds - because it was DICE pre-EA involvement (yes EA published it, but that was AFTER DICE had created the game, and before EA started truly being evil).

It may seem like I'm being overly dramatic, but I'm just trying to cure the notion that these games are anything but money making ventures. As long as you the customer keeps giving EA money, they could care less if its "Battlefield: Super Awesome edition" or "Battlefield:Crap in a box edition".

Well put. I saw EA's greasy fingerprints all over BF2.

EA exec: Alright, you did well with BF1942, but we want BF2 to appeal to as many people as possible, alright?

Dice dev: Okay...


Result:
No more sea battles
Limited vehicle selection
Artillery dumbed down heavily
Helicopter controls dumbed down heavily (from DC)
Unlock system to increase player addiction (to keep the player base around until expansions and boosters came out) If EA were focused on fun, they would've made all the options available from the start, but they wanted to make players into "heavy users" Acquiring a new unlock IS fun, but slogging your way around a map trying to kill 30 people with APMs and RDX IMO is NOT fun. It definitely feels like an achievement, but the process itself isn't fun at all. These side distractions were added to keep the player from getting bored and giving up on the game. The whole point of the rank/unlock system as far as I can tell is just to make money. Number one to keep the player base slogging through the game and addict them so they'll buy future products. Number two to make players who don't pay for expansions feel like they are "missing out" because they are getting owned by weapons that cost real money. As I said, if EA were truly concerned about "customer care" they would have made all unlocks available from the start and would continuously add new content like DICE did before they were acquired.

EA can suck it.

[Cann0n-Fodder]

I have to disagree with the "You can't just pay them $50 once and expect free stuff from them" and how hard they work, etc.

This is true in an MMORPG, but in a game like Battlefield, The PLAYERS themselves own/rent the servers, maintain the servers, and regulate the servers as admins. The 50$ you spend gets the ball rolling, and should be enough to keep the game going until a newer release comes along.

Agreed that booster packs / expansions do nothing but fragment the community. What would you rather have? 100 people paying 10 dollars for a booster pack, or 100 new players paying $50/each attracted to the game because of the great free maps/vehicles/weapons?

[GunHappyBob]

You have the option to buy the booster. EA isn't forcing you. You'll pay 12 dollars to go see a movie once but you won't pay 10 dollars for a booster pack that will bring years of pleasure.

They aren't asking for 50 dollars for an expansion. You do realize that they need money to make these games don't you? As gaming evolves it gets more an more expensive to make these games. Someone has to absorb the cost and it is the consumer. Deal with it or get a better job and then deal with it. It costs many of millions to make these games and you guys want stuff for free. I bet you love the current welfare system.

[Cann0n-Fodder]

You have the option to buy the booster. EA isn't forcing you. You'll pay 12 dollars to go see a movie once but you won't pay 10 dollars for a booster pack that will bring years of pleasure.

They aren't asking for 50 dollars for an expansion. You do realize that they need money to make these games don't you? As gaming evolves it gets more an more expensive to make these games. Someone has to absorb the cost and it is the consumer. Deal with it or get a better job and then deal with it. It costs many of millions to make these games and you guys want stuff for free. I bet you love the current welfare system.


MMORPGs require money fed to the dev team to maintain the game. Since the players carry a large part of the burden in a multiplayer FPS, it is fair to expect more for less. We don't want something for nothing though.

Coders and designers aren't millionares. They don't need to be paid a fortune to design and code a game. Games do get more expensive to make, which is why companies like EA Release more games in different genres to make money.

[Styreta]

I tend to agree.

Maybe not all 3 of the maps but atleats 1, maybe 2.

Or you will never see them in rotation, or hardly...

[Cann0n-Fodder]

Also GunHappy, you're forgetting the fact that once the game is released, you don't need to have a ton of people on board since the product is finished. You just need people for bug fixing, that's pretty much it. The initial $50 pays for expensive production of the game and all the people that go into it. But once its released, I bet they have a lot less people on the BF Team since it's on the shelf. It's like buying a console game.

On the issue of new content in the existing game and the expenses with that, consider this...as I stated it in another thread.

Would I have more money if I made $10 or $15 from 100 existing players that bought the booster, or would I make more money if I beefed the existing game up with free maps/vehicles/weapons and expanded it, therefore making it a better game and put it out there as a more attractive title therefore getting 100 new people to buy it and therefore make $50 for 100 new players. Most people don't want to pay money for new content and a game they already purchased, when they feel the content should have been added there in the first place. Why not take advantage of this fact and make a smart inventment that will surely make returns on new customers, while pleasing existing ones at the same time?

And social services and dependancy on government doesn't compare.

My theory is investing in the current game that everyone is playing. That would be a better business decision because it would please everyone and would probably increase sales to pay for the costs that GunHappy mentioned that involved making the new content.

[DaDDeh]

[QUOTE] You have the option to buy the booster. EA isn't forcing you. You'll pay 12 dollars to go see a movie once but you won't pay 10 dollars for a booster pack that will bring years of pleasure. [quote/]

Here's the point why people won't buy it, AF, EF for BF2 lasted for about 2-3weeks before people who bought them got fedup and went back to BF2, server owners stopped running the boosters (lack of players) also mixed BF2/booster as because as soon as the map switched to a booster map the server would empty.

Point being the boosters will not give you years of pleasure people will return to original BF2142 as they did with AF/EF and BF2.

If EA would release free content that boosts BF2142 playability the player base would grow, they could still make money as they did with SF, expansions.

I bought BF2, SF,AF,EF, and ended up back on BF2 until BF2142 release why because as said the boosters playing fun died very quick. I wont be doing the same with BF2142 unless the content can be used with BF2142 and not cause the problems that AF,EF did (as listed above). :)

[CarbonFire]

Some people have lower standards than others. I'm sure the people that have fairly low standards when it comes to community support from developers won't have a problem paying the $10+ dollars for this pack.

Lets look at from the server owners point of view now, shall we?

(hypothetical because I'm not currently a BF2142 server owner)
I pay X amount of dollars PER MONTH for my very popular server. I enjoy the fun myself and my regulars have on there, and enjoy having the server full most of the time. While there are bugs, and the server crashes every so often, the game is fun enough to keep people coming back.

Now EA comes along and offers me a great addition to my server, one SO good that 2/3 to 3/4 of my players will get kicked from my server at regular intervals. What is my motivation to want to run that kind of server? Perhaps I decide this new addition is SO good, I choose to only run it and ignore the old content. I get to play with that small shard of players that recognized how good the small sliver of content is, so we only play that now.

Either you pay $10 EXTRA dollars to play one fourth the amount of game you got with the full 2142 ($60 total for a quarter of the content, OH JOY). Or you payed $1 per unlock. My guess is most people are willing to pay the $1 per unlock, which is probably only a foreshadow of things to come.

(cue foreshadowing)
Wanna play this new map we just released? Thats only $4.95! Buy now and play today! Got to the top of the unlock ladder? Open up the next tree for only $6.95! Just click Yes to purchase! Want to be able to drive that new Super Mech? The keys can be yours for only $3.95! What are you waiting for? Buy NOW!

Content that was once free (and STILL IS from some developers *cough*EPIC*cough*Valve*cough) becomes pay-for-play content addiction. Soon, that "$50" game you once bought quickly turns into a $75-100 game just so you can stay competitive with the other players. Not only are they keeping you addicted to the game with unlocks and rewards, they're MONETIZING that addiction so they can maximize the amount of money you're willing to dish out.

Like I've said before, expansion packs I do not hold any disagreeable feelings toward. Most companies put out very good expansion packs that add more than half a game's worth of content for around half price, and they make sure you (and all the other players that buy it) can play ALL the content of BOTH games. More people tend to buy expansion packs for this very reason. Booster packs (and I'm really getting tired of sounding like a broken record here) are a shamless money grab. They don't work because the content becomes unusable except for the unlocks. So unless you are buying it SOLELY for the unlocks, you're just making sure EA's Q1'07 profit margins are just a little bit higher.

[Cann0n-Fodder]

It isn't a price issue, GunHappy. I just spent $450 on my computer which I just purchased a mere 6-7 months ago for a new power supply to power a Radeon X1950.

The issue is customer satisfaction. Alot of people feel that the content released in "boosters" should have been worked into the original game, or there wasn't enough content, or the current content is too boring, or for other reasons aren't satisfied. Some feel they paid $50 for a game that was worth half that, or a game they feel should still be in beta.

So to dangle new content infront of our faces in the form of a booster pack or expansion when it could have easily been worked into the original release, is the issue with some people.

$50 is alot of money to make for basically selling a CD Key. The software is really nothing but 1's and 0's. Trust me, they won't be going bankrupt by adding in free content. Imo it only helps them in the sales department.

[daveslash]

I couldn't agree more that the maps should be free and extra content regulated to purchasers. Hell, you could make every damn billboard in the map tell people who don't have the BP to buy it.

I own a server. If the maps are good I want to run them on my server. I do not want ANYONE to get kicked by my server because they didn't buy the BP. I ran a server for BF2 and I don't want another repeat of what EF and to a lesser extent AF did. I say AF to a lesser extent because even less people bought that than EF after they saw what EF did to the community.

[Wasp]

If you look at BF2 there was a difference in how SF worked compared to the booster packs. SF was a complete mod and you got some of the weapons as unlocks in vanilla. The booster packs like Euro Force had some ok weapons but you could ONLY use them on the booster maps. The maps sucked so the packs was a waste of $$.

If they absolutely have to bleed us for more money they should use the SF model. Make a mod with some fun changes to the game play. THEN they should hold a contest and add some user made maps to the base game. I dont expect anything free from EA anymore so it would be a way to breed some life into 2142.

Imho BF2142 is fun despite the maps rather than because of them. Most of them are just friggin dull.

[Revoluti0n]

I can find 10 dollars in my rooms corners, just pay for it instead of bitching.

Everyone wants stuff for free i just cant understand why they cant realize people want money for theyre hard work if they can get it.

Being 14 I know it is very hard for you to understand the value of money. It's NOT about the money. I could care less if it was $10 or $10,000. The issue is what it will do to the community and the server owners in general. Please try and think just a little bit BEFORE you go on a posting rampage, k? For an example, see the posts below.

I couldn't agree more that the maps should be free and extra content regulated to purchasers. Hell, you could make every damn billboard in the map tell people who don't have the BP to buy it.

I own a server. If the maps are good I want to run them on my server. I do not want ANYONE to get kicked by my server because they didn't buy the BP. I ran a server for BF2 and I don't want another repeat of what EF and to a lesser extent AF did. I say AF to a lesser extent because even less people bought that than EF after they saw what EF did to the community.

Same here, I could not agree with you more daveslash. You got it right.

I have to disagree with the "You can't just pay them $50 once and expect free stuff from them" and how hard they work, etc.

This is true in an MMORPG, but in a game like Battlefield, The PLAYERS themselves own/rent the servers, maintain the servers, and regulate the servers as admins. The 50$ you spend gets the ball rolling, and should be enough to keep the game going until a newer release comes along.

Agreed that booster packs / expansions do nothing but fragment the community. What would you rather have? 100 people paying 10 dollars for a booster pack, or 100 new players paying $50/each attracted to the game because of the great free maps/vehicles/weapons?

Excellent point as well Cannon Fodder...Pay attention Kalo!

[CarbonFire]

So true daveslash, good post :salute: :nod:

(off-topic) BTW, did you make that avatar? Its 125 pixels x 125 pixels of AWESOME. :D

[BIFF EXPLODER]

Being 14 I know it is very hard for you to understand the value of money. It's NOT about the money. I could care less if it was $10 or $10,000. The issue is what it will do to the community and the server owners in general. Please try and think just a little bit BEFORE you go on a posting rampage, k? For an example, see the posts below.



Same here, I could not agree with you more daveslash. You got it right.



Excellent point as well Cannon Fodder...Pay attention Kalo!

and being 14 he should not be playing this game at all (rated 16?) hehehe

anywho its exactly that, its not the price whats wrong is just the amount of times you will join a server and suddenly get kicked off because you dont have the maps, and most of the servers will get empty just because of that at least 1 week after, and we have to remember BF1942 had alot more content and they gave us loads of stuff for free, except the expansion packs but those were well worth the money, and if u notice Road to Rome alone almost has more content then bf2142, and with all of that free stuff they still had money to make more games after that.

[Kalo]

What? sorry i wasnt listening ;)!

[HG_Eliminator]

no the stuff isnt free to make .. but its not like a car where you actually have to build 1 per customer. you code 1 program and sell it over and over to a few thousand people...

it USED to be, any extras and stuff added to a buggy program that STILL needed fixing, was thrown in just to compensate the user base for their loyalty. Then when a major point release was established,and the major bugs were fixed,the customers would then start paying for upgrades and extra content .. not before !!!!...


My point with my last post was to establish DONT fragment the players in to the haves and have not...intigrate the game so both can still play on the same servers....MS was able to do it with the MW Mercenaries expansion packs and there WAS no splitting of the player base ......

the new maps were available for all..those who didnt have the expansion packs updated their game with a Patch which updated the game with the new maps and ability to see the new mechs and weapons in game but couldnt use the new weapons and mechs. Everybody with or without the packs .. were all able to play on the same servers....


**EDIT***

Also the expansions did not unbalance the game .. they added new content that gave new abilities and stuff. but were not so extreme as to unbalance the game play for all...

[jpongin]

They better learn from the SF, EU, and AF booster packs, and give this booster pack away for free so that anyone who already bought this broken game can enjoy the extra maps and vehicles on the server.

If it's one thing I hate about booster packs is that:
a) Servers that play mixed maps (booster and non-booster) are almost never full, and never consistent because not everyone has the booster packs. That seriously ruins it for regulars on the server.

They really should allow anyone who's purchased BF2142 download the booster pack for free. They OWE us this.

[pr3tz3el]

No, I don't really like the concept of some people having better weapons than other, just because they can afford to buy the booster pack(s).
It seems like they are going that way with weapons, I would hate to see it happen to vehicles too.

I was just wondering what sort of person can afford a broadband internet connection, a computer good enough to run 2142, and the actual game itself, but then can't afford to buy a booster pack...???

[pr3tz3el]

I understand what you are saying and i agree but its only $10!!! Rarely anything in this world is free and they art asking much, i mean i hate EA as much as the next guy and i dont want to give them any more of my money, but for a couple of new maps and 10 new unlocks i would quite happily pay $10 or about £5 in UK.

I never bought it but special forces for bf2 was $60 in australia... thats closer to 20 pound...

[Sir. Shpox]

Feel free to pay for the booster packs. Clearly some people never understand what happened to Euro Forces in BF2.

[LahLahSr]

They didn't have the time to make a full game..say BF2242..so they squeeze in a booster pack to earn a few more bucks before the competitors launch.

It doesn't matter to EA that it divides the player base - what matters is to get a profit before large market-shares are snagged by the competitors.

The BF franchise has been living without any real competition since BF2 - there hasn't been ANY viable competing games in the genre since then. EA knows that this is the 11th hour and their Klondyke-days are over in a few months.

Bf2142 was designed to be short-lived, which is why the quality assurance was shoddy and the maps uninspired. They never expected it to become a classic like 1942. Mod support is non-existent and the engine is obnoxiously slow and hard to make modifications for.

So it makes sense to make a booster-pack and only distribute it online - it means that they can get this puppy on the market before we all run out and buy QW, Fuels of War etc.

EA is in it for the money - they have enough drones here in these forums alone o guarantee that BF2242 will sell great as well.

[Raidyr]

Feel free to pay for the booster packs. Clearly some people never understand what happened to Euro Forces in BF2.

EA learned from its mistakes by actually giving this one press. Euro Forces could have been so much better if they worked on it for a few more months. Armored Fury is real fun though, thats an booster pack that worked ;)

[WarGimp]

Yeah... um, Lahlah, don't quit your day job. Mindreading obviously ain't your strong suit.
:p

Booster packs are a way for developers to continue to develop and support their games. Let's be realistic here, in this day and age you don't get anywhere by doing things for free. It's a sad truth of the world we've created for ourselves.

I'm not a big fan of EA's policies and public relations, but Dice is a dev group that puts a lot of TLC into their games and the community. From what I've heard, the Dice guys actually love playing this game... not just making money from it. They spend their lunch breaks playing. They take a couple minutes to check forums like this one. Then go home and play some more.

I'm sure they would love to give us tons of freebies, but I'm also sure they would like to be able to eat.

[Vreki]

I was just wondering what sort of person can afford a broadband internet connection, a computer good enough to run 2142, and the actual game itself, but then can't afford to buy a booster pack...???

Someone playing on their parents computer, who got the game for Christmas?

Or maybe they would rather save the money for a new game?

Or don't have a credit card?

Or don't think that the new pack sounds interesting?

Plenty of reasons, but they all lead to problems with the map rotation.

[Raidyr]

He still has a point though. If you can afford the game and a computer to run it on, I am sure there is some way you/your parents could get a $10 or $20 booster/expansion....

[Sir. Shpox]

EA learned from its mistakes by actually giving this one press. Euro Forces could have been so much better if they worked on it for a few more months. Armored Fury is real fun though, thats an booster pack that worked ;)

How would working on EF make it better ? Add more content ? How much before it becomes an expansion and it cost more ?

I feel that there are plenty of mods out there, completely free that offered much more than Euro Forces.

I've said this so many times, The Booster pack should have been supplied as free content, while the SF expansion should have been offered at the price of the Booster packs. I'm aware this was probably Dice's intentions in one way or another, to supply us with free content.

I still think that all this hype will circle around the 2142 BP, and people who cannot gain access to a credit card, or get the money or people that don't want to buy it due the fact that earlier version of BF2's booster packs were not successful so to speak, that it will end up abandoned or barely played or to the same level as AF at its best.

I may be harsh in saying this but I don't feel I should pay money for a booster pack, for a game thats technically a mod. I've made the choice of buying the booster packs, and although they were nice in terms of maps and models offered, they eventually declined when people no longer has servers running them. No booster packs for me thanks :) Other companies/games offer content for free I.e Maps and such, too bad EA's intentions do not follow.

[Elinombrable]

Yes and the world should be free of war and bad people....and the games should be free for everybodie....and everybodie should be able to get a top end computer for free or very low price...continue dreaming. Their are companies not NGO's.

[DarthOps2142]

Look everyone, to be honest, this is a disaster and I think that everyone knows it,

Giving away the maps for free and having the rest pay for would be the second best solution (the best would be everything for free, but that's not going to happen ;) )

But to release a complete booster pack isn't going to work! As it has been said many times before, it just splits the player base and reduces the success of any new content.

So, if it is really necessary, we should only have to pay for new weapons and the rest of the content should be free.

This seems like such a simple concept, make people who really care about new weapons pay for them and don't split the community (and give server owners sore heads) by making people pay for maps!

[Vreki]

He still has a point though. If you can afford the game and a computer to run it on, I am sure there is some way you/your parents could get a $10 or $20 booster/expansion....

The downtime ate my answer :(

Retry: I don't see how this addresses any of the points I made, there are several reasons why one can not/will not purchase a booster pack.

[HG_Eliminator]

This seems like such a simple concept, make people who really care about new weapons pay for them and don't split the community (and give server owners sore heads) by making people pay for maps!


this is what ive been saying .. MS did it with MW,Mercenaries and it worked well... there was no split in the community and most were happy.....

[Mr. ADHD]

Great idea! If somone tries to get into an Vehicle without having the booster pack, they should have a animation for a guy looking for his keys. haha.

EA/DICE, need to realize that it is bad business to charge people for maps. Rather than charging for maps, charge for weapons or new game modes!

Lastly, I know this has come up before, but all community made maps, if approved by let's say a third party such as Total2142, should be distributed through EA, ingame (remember the days of Red Alert)...oh you don't have the map on the EA server,..we'll uploaded for ya and include them on your official servers. You could probably charge people to submit a Map and inexchange allow them to advertise within the MAP. AH...

Okay I understand that can be expensive but figure out a way to standardize, and distribute map packs.

Lastly, for the Super Bowl. Figure out way to post the score on the Billboards! ;)

Go Patriots.

Real or not, leaked or not, we know that there will be a booster/expansion pack coming for 2142, and I think that they should make the new maps available to everyone.
Hey,





Why?

Because if they only give the new maps to people who purchase the pack then we're going to see the same problems that we saw with BF2's booster packs - fragmentation of the playerbase. Servers will rarely run mixes of booster and regular maps because every time a booster map comes around the have-nots will get booted.

Ultimately, people will stick to servers that only have old maps or only have new maps, and once the drudgery of playing the same 3 new maps over and over sinks in, most folks will go back to the regular game maps anyway.

I'd like to avoid that mess.

Several notes regarding potential risks in giving away the new maps:
It has been hinted that new equipment will be available on regular maps, which is commendable and an indication that the new equipment may afford extra capabilities to the people who have it, but will not create a game-breaking imbalance.

To mitigate the issue of non-pack owners using the new vehicles, I envision/hope for a mechanic similar to Planetside where the game knows whether or not a player has the booster, and new vehicles are only accessible to people tagged with the booster label. I also presume that the new (and old) maps will include a mix of old and new vehicles.


Do you agree with the release of the new maps to everyone in order to keep the playerbase as a single entity? I know you BF2 people will have an opinion.

[BIFF EXPLODER]

anyone with more brains then money know that booster packs are a bad deal, because everyone used to get more then the booster packs offer for free.

[Seadogs]

anyone with more brains then money know that booster packs are a bad deal, because everyone used to get more then the booster packs offer for free.

Yep, what happened to adding content to solely keep a solid and interested player base. Oh yea, I bet they will have a new full release out by next fiscal year so it doesn't matter. :rolleyes:

[ColonelPanic]

Ya, I think a free, official booster pack of some kind is definitely in order. Especially considering some other companies release whole MP games for free. For such a loyal fanbase as BF has I think that it would sure be a nice gesture for EA to do something like that and would perhaps go a long way in making some people not be so harsh towards them.

[vaineh]

personally i think the maps should be available to everyone and then just charge money for the extra unlocks. that way everyone wins. the community isnt split up by those that have or dont have the maps, so everyone can still play together, and all the kiddies who want the new content can have their new toys. and ea still make their money from the tonnes of ppl who want the new unlocks ( i wouldnt be one of them tho )

[Seadogs]

personally i think the maps should be available to everyone and then just charge money for the extra unlocks. that way everyone wins. the community isnt split up by those that have or dont have the maps, so everyone can still play together, and all the kiddies who want the new content can have their new toys. and ea still make their money from the tonnes of ppl who want the new unlocks ( i wouldnt be one of them tho )

Someone hire this guy.

[Revoluti0n]

People think this stuff is free to make.

Ok, then why is it that the only new content we can have for ranked servers MUST come from Dice/EA? That is kind of like price gouging. People selling something (no matter) the cost, because they know that if you want it bad enough you will cave in and get it, even if it blows over within a week.
What they should do, is wait and get a total of 8 new maps and sell that for $30 or whatever. This whole "3 map crap" has not worked in the past, yet it seems many of you are totally ignorant to that fact...

[LahLahSr]

Yeah... um, Lahlah, don't quit your day job. Mindreading obviously ain't your strong suit.
:p

Booster packs are a way for developers to continue to develop and support their games. Let's be realistic here, in this day and age you don't get anywhere by doing things for free. It's a sad truth of the world we've created for ourselves.

I'm not a big fan of EA's policies and public relations, but Dice is a dev group that puts a lot of TLC into their games and the community. From what I've heard, the Dice guys actually love playing this game... not just making money from it. They spend their lunch breaks playing. They take a couple minutes to check forums like this one. Then go home and play some more.

I'm sure they would love to give us tons of freebies, but I'm also sure they would like to be able to eat.

Hey Wargimp,

LOL..drats - and here I was thinking about changing career into something more ESP..hmm..anyway, how would you know if my dayjob already isn't reading minds, huh? :D

As EA has acquired DICE, what they develop, when they develop and how long they get to develop it, is largely determined by EA.

I didn't suggest or imply that they should give anything away for free - I was raising the issue of market-dynamics as a determinant for the release approach. This approach makes a lot of sense to me, given the competition. Thre really is no alternative.

Most of the development capabilities are most likely working on the next big game in the genre that is supposed to counter the competition. The existing engine is not capable of matching up with the other big ones coming up so in between now and then, booster-packs is the way to go.

As a customer, I can't say that I enjoy it - but if I were a shareholder I would applaud it.

[Vreki]

Ok, then why is it that the only new content we can have for ranked servers MUST come from Dice/EA? That is kind of like price gouging. People selling something (no matter) the cost, because they know that if you want it bad enough you will cave in and get it, even if it blows over within a week.

I am not discounting the Evil EA angle, but if all custom maps was allowed on ranked servers, you would quickly see maps tailored to get specific awards, pad- maps.

Custom maps can be played on unranked servers, but wouldn't they split the community even worse than the booster packs?

[Elinombrable]

I agree...

[Badboris_uk]

Stop whingeing you big girls and cough up the cash for the booster pack.

Its only $10 - that is less than the price of a beer in some places near where I live.

The only thing that may prevent me getting it is me not being bothered to download EA link :P

[vaineh]

its not about the money

[Seadogs]

its not about the money

Really do we need to keep hashing out it's not about the money? I spend more money for smokes in two days. $10 is nothing but i still think it's not right from what happened with the previous boosters.

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE DAMN MONEY!

It's about giving at least as much thought and creativity to the business model which failed twice before in order to provide a product that does not promptly die off like the last.

And it did not fail the last time because everyone was too cheap to buy it either if thats what you guys are geting at.

[BIFF EXPLODER]

if you guys thing 10$ or € is cheap and its nothing, then instead of wasting it on a booster pack, give it to someone that needs it, theres alot of hungry people out there.

[Vreki]

if you guys thing 10$ or € is cheap and its nothing, then instead of wasting it on a booster pack, give it to someone that needs it, theres alot of hungry people out there.

Well if we are going with that angle, we might as well ask you why you don't sell your computer and donate the money to a third-world charity. Do you realize how many lives you could save that way?

[Chris_Redfield]

There are games which release "boosterpack"-eish content within their patches, to keep existing player base, and through that, keep the game popular and invite new players.

Pooster packs are just leeching off the fan base. Guess what? Most people dont appreciate it, and people who do are either stupid, or they dont earn their own money.

While patching and booster packs are not for free, you are probably kidding yourself if you think Bf2142 hasnt brought in solid money, and I can bet that the patching and game support for 2+ years has been already included in the cost.

[BIFF EXPLODER]

Well if we are going with that angle, we might as well ask you why you don't sell your computer and donate the money to a third-world charity. Do you realize how many lives you could save that way?

i'm speaking of 10€ not the price of a full computer, and i never said my computer was cheap, did you buy yours at 10€ or $?

+ i'm speaking to the people that say the booster packs are cheap and the money they cost is nothing, did you ever see me saying that?

next time think before you post...

are you really 33? cause u sound like 13 or 14...

[Vreki]

i'm speaking of 10€ not the price of a full computer, and i never said my computer was cheap, did you buy yours at 10€ or $?

+ i'm speaking to the people that say the booster packs are cheap and the money they cost is nothing, did you ever see me saying that?

next time think before you post...

are you really 33? cause u sound like 13 or 14...

You started the typical leftist approach by telling people to give their money to the needy.

Yet you would rather have your gaming machine than save the lives of starving people.

So don't tell us how to spend our money, if you are not willing to take the logical consequences.

And yes, I am 33, so I have seen your line of reasoning a few times before:rolleyes:

[m7kf83sf92]

Goodbye BF2142. Hello Quake Wars!

That tears it. If EA can't make decisions about the community in mind, and keep on trying to rip us off for two new vehicles and 10 unlocks, splintering the community like in BF2. That's it. Losing faith in EA. Lots of people seen to have the same idea...

Darn it! Feeling anti-EA at the moment...

[Elinombrable]

Yes of course...QW will give you free content forever...they will give free support forever and they will hear all the community oppinions implementing them ingame...thei are still companies and they want money... its possible they will give you some new maps (probably DICE will give some free maps in the future too) but 2 things would happen : They give some free things and after that they make a new expansion (they cant give free content forever because they need money) or....the dont give free content or expansions and the game keeps the same forever...could be with some modders maps but not official or ranked servers (and of course not every servers will have them).

[BIFF EXPLODER]

You started the typical leftist approach by telling people to give their money to the needy.

Yet you would rather have your gaming machine than save the lives of starving people.

So don't tell us how to spend our money, if you are not willing to take the logical consequences.

And yes, I am 33, so I have seen your line of reasoning a few times before:rolleyes:

from what you have said i'm almost sure you are 13 and put a different age on the forum just for people to take you serious, you blow your cover by the things you say, on that post you haven't answered properly why you are comparing 10€ with the price of a computer. once again you fail at making a point.

[Vreki]

from what you have said i'm almost sure you are 13 and put a different age on the forum just for people to take you serious, you blow your cover by the things you say, on that post you haven't answered properly why you are comparing 10€ with the price of a computer. once again you fail at making a point.

Well, it is hard when you are up against opponents with such massive intellectual superiority.

I guess I will just demonstrate my lack of maturity by ceasing to derail this thread.

[Vreki]

Goodbye BF2142. Hello Quake Wars!

That tears it. If EA can't make decisions about the community in mind, and keep on trying to rip us off for two new vehicles and 10 unlocks, splintering the community like in BF2. That's it. Losing faith in EA. Lots of people seen to have the same idea...

Darn it! Feeling anti-EA at the moment...

But what would you rather have:

No new content
Or
Cheap boosterpacks.

And please don't say "a bug free game" or "free content", we would all prefer that, but it doesn't appear to be an option.

The new maps will probably fragment the community, but wont any new maps do that, even free mods?
It always seems to be a minority who actually download and play the mods, so there will be even fever playing that than an official booster.

If the maps are good, a subcommunity will form with populated servers, and if they are bad people will revert to the core game. What is there to lose for you?

Edit to Add: But I dont think they should be in the same rotation as the ordinary maps, that would be annoying unless the server was clearly marked "booster owners only"

[Fakkamajakka]

Well, if it were ME...

* I'd make the maps and new game modes available to everybody.
* I'd make the vehicles, weapons, awards and possibly a few new ranks available / usable only to people who bought the booster pack.
* I'd make some new player skins for the people who have the booster pack.

This would avoid fracturing the player base and avoid server problems. And if the non-booster pack people complain about not having all of the cool toys, then they can scrape up the 10 bucks and get with the program.

I'd work hard on making the extra toys interesting to use, but not uber-deadly. If I couldn't come up with that, then I'd forego the extra weapons altogether and focus on making some cool vehicles. The walkers are pretty uninteresting. If I could skirt the legal issues of making them more "Mechwarrior" like, I'd add stuff like long-range missiles and rapid-fire lasers. Seriously. This is the future and there are no laser guns? What kind of sad future is that?

[Elinombrable]

First...how to make a vehicle only usable to some people on the same map? i think thats impossible and even a bad idea...and do you think that people would buy a booster pack only for getting new player skins and some weapons?...no...

[vbl]

Well, if it were ME...

* I'd make the maps and new game modes available to everybody.
* I'd make the vehicles, weapons, awards and possibly a few new ranks available / usable only to people who bought the booster pack.
* I'd make some new player skins for the people who have the booster pack.

This would avoid fracturing the player base and avoid server problems. And if the non-booster pack people complain about not having all of the cool toys, then they can scrape up the 10 bucks and get with the program.



Bingo. Thank you.

First...how to make a vehicle only usable to some people on the same map? i think thats impossible and even a bad idea...

I'm not a developer so I can't tell them how to do it, but it has been done in other, similar games and it works like a charm.


and do you think that people would buy a booster pack only for getting new player skins and some weapons? <and vehicles>

I would.

[Elinombrable]

On a 64 players map, have a vehicle in front of you that you need to take out because its blocking your way....but you cant use the vehicle because you dont have the booster pack....or an enemy have a vehicle and you try stole it when it goes out...but you cant because you dont have the booster pack....think on things like this.

[vbl]

On a 64 players map, have a vehicle in front of you that you need to take out because its blocking your way....but you cant use the vehicle because you dont have the booster pack....or an enemy have a vehicle and you try stole it when it goes out...but you cant because you dont have the booster pack....think on things like this.

I've played games with this mechanic, and it works fine.

[Vreki]

I've played games with this mechanic, and it works fine.

Like Planetside.
You might not be able to steal and move the vehicles, but they can always be blown up.

[The_Eliminator]

This booster will force the community apart at the cost of $10 for a few weeks. Its not going to be anything special so there is no worry. We know EA has no respect for the community so what did you expect? Free maps and unlocks, hey maybe they will put a cheery on top for you.

[vbl]

Like Planetside.
You might not be able to steal and move the vehicles, but they can always be blown up.

You are wise in this matter.

This booster will force the community apart at the cost of $10 for a few weeks. Its not going to be anything special so there is no worry. We know EA has no respect for the community so what did you expect? Free maps and unlocks, hey maybe they will put a cheery on top for you.

I am, once again, putting renewed faith in their designers. If they succeed, I will commend them. If they fail, they should think about hiring me.

[Adsy]

They already stated that the new equipment will be available on regular maps, so that's moot.

They can't use the new vehicles on the old maps just just not right and fair to the people that aren't getting it. (or is that what you are saying)

They will use the new vehicles with the new maps just like in Armored fury for BF2.

Like people have said in a rant post. If you don't like it you don't have to buy it.

I am getting it, and i hold no real grudge to EA. I once thought the same way about the BF2 boosters, but then it grew on me that, they aren't going to listen and the new kit that i got was quite fun to play around with.

Just out of question has anyone written to the CEO of DICE and EA regarding the matter or have you just ranted on their forums to the subordinates that have been instructed to take the fire?

Please, Please stop ranting on at it, its getting no-where and causing forum flames and arguments across the board.

[Elinombrable]

Planet side is a mmorpg usually on open camp...you cant compare this with planet side.

[vbl]

you cant compare this with planet side.

I just did.

They can't use the new vehicles on the old maps just just not right and fair to the people that aren't getting it. (or is that what you are saying)

Why wouldn't it be fair? If I paid for the content I should be able to use it. And I expect that the new vehicles will be balanced against existing vehicles since both will appear on new maps.

They will use the new vehicles with the new maps just like in Armored fury for BF2.

You don't know that, and for everyone's sake I hope you're wrong.

Like people have said in a rant post. If you don't like it you don't have to buy it.

I am getting it, and i hold no real grudge to EA. I once thought the same way about the BF2 boosters, but then it grew on me that, they aren't going to listen and the new kit that i got was quite fun to play around with.

Please, Please stop ranting on at it, its getting no-where and causing forum flames and arguments across the board.

You fail for not reading my original post, or my subsequent post clarifying the point of this thread.

I'm not whining about the cost of the booster. I'm not whining about how I think DICE owes me free content.

I am talking about how new content integrates with old content. And it's hardly a rant.

[Fakkamajakka]

First...how to make a vehicle only usable to some people on the same map? i think thats impossible and even a bad idea...and do you think that people would buy a booster pack only for getting new player skins and some weapons?...no...

What do you mean that's not possible? When an enemy is in an APC driving, can you enter it? No.

So logically speaking, it really wouldn't take a lot to do a check to see if the player has the booster pack. If he doesn't, then the computer treats it as if it is enemy occupied. Same thing with packs lying on the ground. If the player doesn't have the booster pack installed, then the pack is not usable.

I don't think it's a bad idea at all. People can still play the maps and contribute, but if they want to drive around the new toys they pay ten bucks. It's highly unlikely that one team will not have at least SOMEONE on their side who has the booster pack and is willing to use the new vehicles to help their team.

Yes, personally I would fork over ten bucks to drive around some cool new vehicles, get some new awards and unlocks, and get some different skins.

But the best thing is, this strategy doesn't split the servers up into Booster Pack / No Booster Pack servers. That was / is a HUGE problem in BF2.

[CarbonFire]

Yes, personally I would fork over ten bucks to drive around some cool new vehicles, get some new awards and unlocks, and get some different skins.

But the best thing is, this strategy doesn't split the servers up into Booster Pack / No Booster Pack servers. That was / is a HUGE problem in BF2.
THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT of all these threads

I wish we could put this whole thing to rest, but the fact that this booster pack is coming out won't let us. So let me try to put it in as plain terms as possible, without trying to add bias (although that probably won't be the case ;) )

Go ahead. Buy the booster pack. Its only $10. You get 10 unlocks, and for plenty of people here, $1 per unlock sounds like a good deal to them.

Bottom line. EA owns DICE now, so the days of DICE giving content away are over. Thats fine for the people that want to pay for it. For those that don't well, there are other games on the horizon that will probably be a better choice. The Battlefield franchise that most people fell in love with when 1942 and Vietnam came out is now an EA franchise. If you aren't sure what that exactly means, then all you have to do is look at the Madden, Sims, NFS and Tiger Woods franchises.

For all those that DO buy the booster packs, enjoy the new unlocks. Enjoy the new maps and vehicles (while they last). But please don't come here after the pack is released and complain about the lack of servers, the lack of players, or that servers empty out whenever booster pack maps come up.

All most of us will say to you is: WE TOLD YOU SO.

You've been warned - that is all.

[fshy94]

THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT of all these threads

I wish we could put this whole thing to rest, but the fact that this booster pack is coming out won't let us. So let me try to put it in as plain terms as possible, without trying to add bias (although that probably won't be the case ;) )

Go ahead. Buy the booster pack. Its only $10. You get 10 unlocks, and for plenty of people here, $1 per unlock sounds like a good deal to them.

Bottom line. EA owns DICE now, so the days of DICE giving content away are over. Thats fine for the people that want to pay for it. For those that don't well, there are other games on the horizon that will probably be a better choice. The Battlefield franchise that most people fell in love with when 1942 and Vietnam came out is now an EA franchise. If you aren't sure what that exactly means, then all you have to do is look at the Madden, Sims, NFS and Tiger Woods franchises.

For all those that DO buy the booster packs, enjoy the new unlocks. Enjoy the new maps and vehicles (while they last). But please don't come here after the pack is released and complain about the lack of servers, the lack of players, or that servers empty out whenever booster pack maps come up.

All most of us will say to you is: WE TOLD YOU SO.

You've been warned - that is all.


quoted for truth

[vbl]

quoted for truth

Bummer that it's not relevant to the original post.


Do you agree with the release of the new maps to everyone in order to keep the playerbase as a single entity?

[CarbonFire]

Bummer that it's not relevant to the original post.
Umm....yes?

...Bottom line. EA owns DICE now, so the days of DICE giving content away are over. Thats fine for the people that want to pay for it. For those that don't well, there are other games on the horizon that will probably be a better choice. The Battlefield franchise that most people fell in love with when 1942 and Vietnam came out is now an EA franchise. If you aren't sure what that exactly means, then all you have to do is look at the Madden, Sims, NFS and Tiger Woods franchises.

[vbl]

Umm....yes?

Do you agree with the release of the new maps to everyone in order to keep the playerbase as a single entity?.....

[CarbonFire]

What I was trying to say vbl is that it doesn't matter. My post was mostly directed at trying to squelch the budding flamewar we've got going on in several posts now. I know it honestly won't stop it, I'm just trying to get as many people to look at the FACTS of whats going on, rather than feelings or some pro- or anti-EA bias.

I agree with you. But really its all moot. Because EA doesn't care that we all agree. There are enough people who'll buy this pack that they can resonably call the pack a "success". There will be no uprising. There will be no successful boycott. Economies of scale (and people who don't know any better) are pitted against us, and its a LOSING battle.

[vbl]

What I was trying to say vbl is that it doesn't matter. My post was mostly directed at trying to squelch the budding flamewar we've got going on in several posts now. I know it honestly won't stop it, I'm just trying to get as many people to look at the FACTS of whats going on, rather than feelings or some pro- or anti-EA bias.

I agree with you. But really its all moot. Because EA doesn't care that we all agree. There are enough people who'll buy this pack that they can resonably call the pack a "success". There will be no uprising. There will be no successful boycott. Economies of scale (and people who don't know any better) are pitted against us, and its a LOSING battle.

I understand that you think it's a longshot idea, but I already know that and agree with you.

Doesn't make it any less good, though, and it doesn't make me any less curious about what folks (who can stay on topic) think.

And hell, maybe DICE/EA will listen to reason. If this thing is truly coming in March then they have plenty of time to work it out.

[Fakkamajakka]

THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT of all these threads

I wish we could put this whole thing to rest, but the fact that this booster pack is coming out won't let us. So let me try to put it in as plain terms as possible, without trying to add bias (although that probably won't be the case ;) )

Go ahead. Buy the booster pack. Its only $10. You get 10 unlocks, and for plenty of people here, $1 per unlock sounds like a good deal to them.



Okay, that's all fine and good. But where does the madness end? Ten dollars for a booster pack is okay. But after more than one comes out...? Twenty bucks for add ons to a game? Yeah, still okay, I suppose. 30? 40? 50? Now we've just doubled the game price.

This business model is not going to be good in the long run. People will learn that you don't buy EA multiplayer games unless you're willing to shell out $70-$100 to get the full play out of them.

It just seems a bit disingenuous to have someone buy a game and play it for a few months, but to KEEP playing the game you have to keep purchasing booster packs, else the gaming community gets fragmented. It just leaves a sour taste in my mouth and I'd be willing to play a game not quite as cool but more friendly to their community.

But hey, the bean counters at EA know their business and it is their business to get the most profit from their product so they'll do whatever it takes.

[CarbonFire]

Occasionally one must only look to PA for the answer:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2006/20061115.jpg

[Vreki]

Okay, that's all fine and good. But where does the madness end? Ten dollars for a booster pack is okay. But after more than one comes out...? Twenty bucks for add ons to a game? Yeah, still okay, I suppose. 30? 40? 50? Now we've just doubled the game price.


This business model is not going to be good in the long run. People will learn that you don't buy EA multiplayer games unless you're willing to shell out $70-$100 to get the full play out of them.


It just seems a bit disingenuous to have someone buy a game and play it for a few months, but to KEEP playing the game you have to keep purchasing booster packs, else the gaming community gets fragmented. It just leaves a sour taste in my mouth and I'd be willing to play a game not quite as cool but more friendly to their community.


There should always be servers with the core game, just look at how many that has stated here that they will not buy/run it.
And if you do want new content? Subscription based games will charge you 10+$ a month and still sell expansion packs.

The newest info states that you need special badges to get the new unlocks, so that alone will probably keep people interested in the booster maps for a while.
And if you don't want the booster then just ignore it, I don't see how it will harm you.

I know I am repeating my self, but why doesn't anybody complain that the mods are fragmenting the community?

[fshy94]

Simple. Mods are free. Everyone can get them, and therefore servers can reasonably afford to keep a popular mod in their map rotation. Personally I'm going to wait until at least a month after its out to see whether any servers still run it.

[Vreki]

Simple. Mods are free. Everyone can get them, and therefore servers can reasonably afford to keep a popular mod in their map rotation. Personally I'm going to wait until at least a month after its out to see whether any servers still run it.

Yes, I expected the "free" argument, and it has some validity.
But even though everybody can get it, the number of people who has the knowledge, interest and brains to find and install the mods are probably much smaller than the number of people who buy the latest EA booster to get cool weapons.

And you cant really keep several mods in the rotation, at least not from what I have seen.
To run a new mod you actually need to restart the client.

[vbl]

Simple. Mods are free. Everyone can get them, and therefore servers can reasonably afford to keep a popular mod in their map rotation. Personally I'm going to wait until at least a month after its out to see whether any servers still run it.

More accurately, mods are a different beast altogether.

Booster pack = adding content to an existing design, same gameplay rules

Mod = whole new design with new gameplay rules

There's not the same expectation for integration when it comes to mods, especially with the official ranking system.

[fshy94]

Yes, I expected the "free" argument, and it has some validity.
But even though everybody can get it, the number of people who has the knowledge, interest and brains to find and install the mods are probably much smaller than the number of people who buy the latest EA booster to get cool weapons.

And you cant really keep several mods in the rotation, at least not from what I have seen.
To run a new mod you actually need to restart the client.


Yes, I expected this argument also, and the answer here is twofold, one; mods are unranked, and two, because not as many people don't dl the mods, the community isn't "split" as much. On the other hand, many ppl do get the boosters, and therefore the community is split. Because I do think I'm going to have to concede to you that not many servers will run a mod in rotation with vanilla, even if it is possible.

[Vreki]

More accurately, mods are a different beast altogether.

Booster pack = adding content to an existing design, same gameplay rules

Mod = whole new design with new gameplay rules

There's not the same expectation for integration when it comes to mods, especially with the official ranking system.

I am not sure that I completely agree on that, but even if I did, I don't see how that prevents the community from being fragmented?

In the end it is still about how many has the mods/boosters installed.

[Seadogs]

In the end it is still about how many has the mods/boosters installed.

Don't quite agree with that statement but I hear what your saying. The reason I don't is because expansion packs work but boosters do not.

The fragmenting problem is tolerable for an expansion because it comes with enough content (maps) to be playable in a standalone server rotation.

The boosters however, are designed to augment the maps of the original game (only 3 maps). But they are not practical to be added to server rotations for reasons stated before in this thread.

So then you end up with servers that run only the 3 booster maps which everyone gets sick of after the "newness" wears off.

[Vreki]

Is it possible to see somewhere what the BF2 servers are currently running?
I seem to recall seeing a site with that statistic somewhere.

[Vreki]

The boosters however, are designed to augment the maps of the original game (only 3 maps). But they are not practical to be added to server rotations for reasons stated before in this thread.

So then you end up with servers that run only the 3 booster maps which everyone gets sick of after the "newness" wears off.

That makes sense, but I am hoping that the new game mode and badges required for unlocks will keep the boosters fresh for longer.

Personally I stick to the Titan maps,and even though there is 5 many of them looks the same.
Others probably stick to the city maps.
So if the 3 new maps are varied enough it might not be that bad.

[CarbonFire]

That makes sense, but I am hoping that the new game mode and badges required for unlocks will keep the boosters fresh for longer.

Personally I stick to the Titan maps,and even though there is 5 many of them looks the same.
Others probably stick to the city maps.
So if the 3 new maps are varied enough it might not be that bad.

Only 2 of the maps in the booster are Titan maps.

[Vreki]

Only 2 of the maps in the booster are Titan maps.

Actually I am looking more forward to the Conquest Assault Lines maps, it is just currently that I stick to Titan maps.

I dislike the chaos of many of the conquest maps, and I don't want to find a new server each time they are rotated in.


Port Bavaria looks very interesting, it could be similar to Titan combat, but without the lag.

[geubes]

theres a good chance that i will buy it just for the few hours play........but right about now ide give ea £5 extra to get the F**king thing working properly........basicly i have brought a game that doesn't work........constant disconnects, they cant seem to get it right running the game through a router.! but when it does get going i LOVE it.

on bf2 we even got wake-island as a FREE map!!!! what we get this time??? NOTHING! wake-2142! at least no jet horing would take place and u could actually set foot onto the island.

[TheRe4per]

I was never a real fan of stats in the first place (starting with BF2) and now stats are the only reason booster packs even sell. I for one miss the "good ole '42" days when mods were made that were total conversions that had multiple original maps, new modes, new guns(such as DCX that had 52 coop maps with about 60 different weapons and 50 different vehics).

All I have to say is they better package these booster packs, which I doubt they will, because I don't like internet game downloaders. I'd like a hard copy if anything happened to my computer.

I want to see more involvement from independend developers and moders and less paying for some same ole same ole of the game.

[Sir. Tasty]

I dont expect this to be free..i mean if you were EA you could make an easy buck with this , but i think its FAR over hyped . Why pay for this when you could get a better mod ey ?

[CrazyKnifeBoy]

I gotta agree with Erhardt

[vbl]

I am not sure that I completely agree on that, but even if I did, I don't see how that prevents the community from being fragmented?

In the end it is still about how many has the mods/boosters installed.

I told myself that I would stop spoonfeeding concepts to people on this forum, and I'm afraid that you're the first customer under this new policy.

I'll just remind you that my post was in response to the question:
If we expect booster packs to not fragment the community then shouldn't we expect mods to not fragment it either?

[Vreki]

You wrote

More accurately, mods are a different beast altogether.

Booster pack = adding content to an existing design, same gameplay rules

Mod = whole new design with new gameplay rules

There's not the same expectation for integration when it comes to mods, especially with the official ranking system.

Booster pack, expansions or mods, they all run on servers which exclude non-owners, thus fragmenting the community.

I don't see how your argument addresses that problem at all, so stop arrogantly waving your spoon, you will just hurt yourself.

[vbl]

You wrote



Booster pack, expansions or mods, they all run on servers which exclude non-owners, thus fragmenting the community.

I don't see how your argument addresses that problem at all

Yawn.

There is a big difference between a booster pack and a mod. A mod, in most instances, is an entirely different game that is based on (in this case) the 2142/BF2 engine. See POE2, FH2, and First Strike for examples.

I don't think most folks expect different games to integrate. Claiming that a mod fragments the 2142 community is like claiming that Counter-Strike fragments the DoD community (since they both share the source engine). And even if you wanted to make that argument (and God knows you will), it'd be an entirely different kind of fragmentation than the kind we're discussing with booster packs.

You're making something out of nothing.

[Vreki]

Yawn.

There is a big difference between a booster pack and a mod. A mod, in most instances, is an entirely different game that is based on the 2142 engine. See POE, Desert Combat, and First Strike for examples.

I don't think most folks expect different games to integrate. Claiming that a mod fragments the 2142 community is like claiming that Counter-Strike fragments the DoD community (since they both share the source engine).

You're making something out of nothing. Let it go.

:confused: I have a feeling that we are talking past each other, but never mind, as long as there are no spoon-stabbing ;)

I don't expect mods or boosters to fragment the community. The addons might die but the core game will survive, just like BF2

But we will just have to wait and see.

[vbl]

I don't expect mods or boosters to fragment the community.

Well, they do. See BF2's SF, EF, and AF for examples.

Sure, lots of folks migrate back to the original game - but then what is the point of the boosters?

[The_KELRaTH]

I only got the EF booster pack and after a month it was rarely run on servers (fortunately I won it so no loss).

I much prefer the BF1942 format: a proper expansion with good level of new content but still integrated into the game seamlessly.

I enjoyed BF2 SF but it would have been much more fun if it was integrated into BF2 rather than having to be played as a standalone game.

[Badboris_uk]

Sure, lots of folks migrate back to the original game - but then what is the point of the boosters?

to make money, duh :P

[frazle]

Its the only FPS i know of which splits it own community down in such a way, and i dont think its a very good thing. I noticed so many times in BF2 that the