SquallStrife wrote:Yes, that specific stat is hidden from the scoreboard in A SUBSET of the game modes on offer, which is player deaths. As the art […]
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Kerr Avon wrote:apparently (I've not played it)
Yes, that specific stat is hidden from the scoreboard in A SUBSET of the game modes on offer, which is player deaths. As the article mentions, this is likely done to deter toxicity and bullying. The cosmetic watch item allows a player to view their OWN deaths while playing these modes, if they wish.
Did they hide it from the outset with the express intention of charging for the feature later? Arguably no, since other FPS'es also hide player death counts from the scoreboard, largely for the same kinds of reasons.
Should you be able to see player deaths on the scoreboard? Probably, but since the target audience for these games have proven themselves time and time again to be massive cunts, I can see why devs would want to find ways to make their games more inviting (and thus sell more).
Should you be able to see your own death count if you want to? Sure, with a toggle in the options, ideally. Yes.
All this said, is $20 too much for this "feature"? Absolutely, no argument from me. It should be free.
Agreed. It probably should be an option for each player to choose whether or not to make their own death totals viewable by other players, but they should certainly be allowed to view their own death total if they so choose. It bothers me that this might be the thin end of the wedge, and in five years or so, we could be buying games like so:
- The base game, set in a Nazi Germany type environment/world, where you start off imprisoned in a prison camp, and must escape the camp, find a weapon, fight your way to the Nazi-type soldiers to the headquarters of the dictator, and face and kill the dictator.
You pay eighty dollars for the game, and for that you get the single player campaign, and one very basic multiplayer mode with two maps.
And on top of the $ 80 you've paid for the base game, if you like, you can purchase various DLC, such as:
- A co-op mode for single player = $ 20
- Two new multiplayer gameplay modes = $ 25
- Two more new multiplayer gameplay modes = $ 35
- Map pack 1: Four new maps for multiplayer = $ 30
- Map pack 1: Four new maps for multiplayer = $ 50
- Map pack 1: Four new maps for multiplayer (won't workout with the Elite pack) = $ 40
- Map pack 1: Four new maps for multiplayer (won't workout with the Elite pack) = $ 60
- Elite pack. Be the *best* of the best; start the game with two new weapons already in your possession, you have twice the health you'd normally have in-game, and you can change the colour of your uniform = $ 40
- Supreme pack. Includes all the great things from the Elite pack, but you move faster, can carry more ammunition, and your health recharges twice as fast as it does with the base game or the Elite pack. = $ 60
- Ultimate Warrior perks. Simulate the fighting skills of the very best soldiers; You can see through walls so you know where the enemies are, enemy explosions can't hurt you, there's a 50% chance that enemies will get confused and shoot themselves, and all of your bullets are now heat-seeking = $ 100
And by the way, when you get to the dictator's headquarters, then the game ends, unless you pay the $ 50 for the DLC that contains the fight through headquarters. Still, the fight with the dictator only costs another $ 20 to download and play. And they give you the ending video for free.
And we'll be looking back sadly a the days when the initial cost of a game included everything, the full single player campaig, a decent selection of multiplayer mods and maps, and didn't need a mandatory day one patch of around eight to ten gigabytes.