Split Vendetta DLC on Steam: why is there a price for it?

[Browser_ice]

Hi, I just saw that on the X4 Steam store page, in the DLC section, they put a price on the Split Vendetta DLC.

Why?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3921 ... undations/

[added comment]
I think its about time to close this topic of mine. My question was answered and right now, this thread is kinda not serving the original intent ....

[X2-Illuminatus]

You usually put a price on a ware so buyers know how much they have to pay for it. Pretty common in every store (digital or not) worldwide.

In this case the interesting question from my point of view is rather why the price appears to be so high? At a guess, as the X4: Foundations CE Content is the only additional package which includes "Split Vendetta" the DLC is automatically assigned the price of the CE content. So both prices are displayed as being the same. I doubt that this intended though, but merely an error on the Steam store page.

[Browser_ice]

Did I understood wrong from the start and all X4 DLC have to be bought? They are not free?

[X2-Illuminatus]

Patches (updates) are free. DLCs (addons) cost money.

If you bought the Collectors Edition, then the first two DLCs are already included.

[Buzz2005]

the price is for CE edition and the only way now to get split is to buy the CE, and thats the price steam put, I think steam directs you to CE page when you go to buy it

so that is not the price to get the standalone split dlc, ego didn't put it yet

[Matthew94]

Hopefully this is an indication that SV is coming out soon. I cannot wait for it.

[Skeeter]

Should be free personally since it should be in when the game came out due to lack of content. Not sure why there charging for it as the game came out lacking content tbh. Could be cashgrab.

[Rei Ayanami]

Should be free personally since it should be in when the game came out due to lack of content. Not sure why there charging for it as the game came out lacking content tbh. Could be cashgrab.

You get free content patches and additional features with each of the big updates, like 2.0, 2.6, 3.0, etc.
The DLC is for when you want even more content than the free updates provide.

[Skeeter]

Not really all you really get in patches is bug fixes or stuff that should have been in the game from start. DLC is for new stuff that isnt from the original game and lack of races is not one of them. They should have been in from the start. Ego just released x4 bare form they thought they would get money for split etc when they know fulll well there established races that in past games. Its rather shocking to charge for them later when thy should have been in from the start. No excuses. The price they charged demanded a full game at start not a beta game with missing content an they thought they add it later as dlc cos of the internet. If there was no internet they would have had the split etc and not charged more etc. Companies rely on the internet and patches or dlc far too much to fix releases these days and they know that too well.

[Imperial Good]

Not sure why there charging for it as the game came out lacking content tbh. Could be cashgrab.

It technically is a "cashgrab" of sorts. You see as a company with employees who have families they kind of need consistent income to pay the bills. It has already been over a year since their last product, X4, launched and anyone who has already purchased the collectors edition has already paid for the DLC in advance.

X4 is not an open source project. Developing it costs money and they have put in considerable effort to developing it over the last year.

Previously they released new games each time. For example X3 Reunion, X3 Terran Conflict and X3 Albion Prelude. Instead now they are trying to shift towards a DLC model such as was used by X Rebirth where additional content expands an existing game engine which they constantly upgrade. This model is used by a lot of modern games to allow them to have longer life cycles.

If you like X4 and have invested hundreds of hours playing it, then the DLC is good value. Any more official content is good for a game you enjoyed so much and in the end it is pretty good value. If you do not think the value offered by the DLC is enough you can always keep playing the base game and buy the DLC later when it goes on sale.

The current price for the DLC is likely a placeholder, possibly made public by error during internal setup and preparation. Being Saturday and now Sunday they are not at work to make corrections. This will likely be correct next week.

On the plus side it does mean that the DLC is approaching launch. It could quite well tie in with a 3.00 launch window given how long the PTR has extended. Else it would almost certainly be 3.20 or such a patch.

[tomchk]

What Imperial Good said!

[MHDriver]

I have no problem paying for it. I just hope it is not in the same shape Foundations was in when it was released. In short, no more Beta grade retail releases ES.

[Cdaragorn]

Not really all you really get in patches is bug fixes or stuff that should have been in the game from start.

Which is exactly what all of their patches have been doing and continue to do.

DLC is for new stuff that isnt from the original game and lack of races is not one of them.

The fact that a previous game had something is not evidence that it should be in any future game. The game is principally an economic empire building simulation in space. The specific races are not a required part of that.

They should have been in from the start.

Why? And don't say "because they were in the original game". That's not a reason they should be in any other game Ego puts out ever.

The price they charged demanded a full game at start not a beta game

Here we can agree, but I think most of us are more forgiving of this for a small studio like Ego that has proven over their history that they always support their games until they are solid and even years beyond that. They have continued to demonstrate this commitment in x4.

If there was no internet they would have had the split etc and not charged more etc.

Before the internet made it possible to seriously expand on games you would never have any hope of ever seeing the Split or the other races in the game ever.
I would love to have all the old races back in the game without having to pay for it as well. I just also love the incredible depth they've added to x4 and find that alone more than enough to make it worth paying for the extras that I want to have in the final product that I expect will take years still to come. I'm personally glad that they're taking the time to make those extras worth adding to this awesome foundation of a game.

[mr.WHO]

I bought CE from day one, so I don't care untill DLC 3 (probably Borons)

[DaMuncha]

I think the content included in the game for the initial price was worth it.

[Misunderstood Wookie]

This is always going to be a mixed love and hate feeling about DLC for races which existed, in one hand we have the 'established races isn't content' camp the argument is valid due to a long running history dating back to the earliest of games even XR didn't derive from this and they used a DLC business model then too. Weather it "has" to be there now isn't and shouldn't be the argument the fact it doesn't is going raise eyebrows due to aforementioned.

There is also the camp whom believes nothing is free and time is money and people gotta eat etc..etc which is also a valid point of view and are happy to support the development process with buying the race based DLC.


Now really in the end we should all probably be thinking it's great we even got an X4 a more traditional X3 rooted game after the Rebirth thing which as much as they may or may not admit was a bit of a let down and a mistake in ways that it was good for lesser fans to get into and good to push the move to console and expand the engine and platforms possible to ship on but bad for the long term customers who stay for the real experience.

Now I guess I will input my own personal opinions on this DLC, I'm between both major arguments I half dislike we are paying for races which already existed instead of expand upon what did exist into brand new lore and half understand that it probably took considerable hours and money to give us a fully functional X3 experience even if the base engine is clearly derived from XR.

My only objection is going to be the quality of the contents vs the price they are asking which is yet to be determined in an official capacity and I'm not sure what the issue is with the price on steam atm it is likely a mistake I doubt Egosoft expects you to buy the CE for the DLC tho if you love the series I suggest maybe throwing in the extra tenner or two if you can spare it and go with with CE and get the two DLC along with it just to support future development because remember the more cash the team has the better they can pay employees in the long run and the better quality assets we get and work that can be done.

Just remember unlike some other big budget studio concepts for a space game this one actually deliveres in a fraction of the time with support to back it up and a team whom actually individually respond to customers and react just remember that, it's not always about the content sometimes money should be given to support the way things get management, yes I have some opinions on why things went in certain directions but in the end the company earnings paint the picture for the right direction or of its time for a change and I think this is one of very few companies left who interact and communicate with the customer desires and not focus on just profit margin tactics and trends.

[Rei Ayanami]

Not really all you really get in patches is bug fixes or stuff that should have been in the game from start.

Please explain how you differentiate between "new stuff" and "stuff that should have been in the game from start, therefore its not 'new' stuff", when both is adding new stuff?
Regardless of what Egosoft does, be it adding tons of weapons, sectors, ships, ui features, people could always claim "that should have been in there from the start. therefore i demand this to be free"

If there was no internet they would have had the split etc and not charged more etc.

Can you prove that? Because i have tons of games from "before the internet" that added stuff later with "expansion packs" (the equivalent to DLC back then) and people back then also said the same "shouldve been in the base game. Give it for free!".

[MegaJohnny]

I get being disappointed that some race or sector isn't in X4. Every race is somebody's favourite, and they all represent a different aesthetic that might seem conspicuously missing if they're not in the next game.

But, they never promised Split would be in the base game, and that's all there is to it.

[Misunderstood Wookie]

I get being disappointed that some race or sector isn't in X4. Every race is somebody's favourite, and they all represent a different aesthetic that might seem conspicuously missing if they're not in the next game.

But, they never promised Split would be in the base game, and that's all there is to it.

Pretty much is why I am not overly mad about it, disappointed it might take forever to get them all but that is about it. It really comes down to your argument and how it gets justified from what perspective, simply saying Split was in XYZ and should be free is not enough leg to stand on.

[Mackan]

I'm sure even egosoft would have loved and preferred to have all the previous races and factions available in the game at launch, but the resources required to make that happen probably weren't there.

It's not like they are just reselling "old content" either. With the exception of some recycled X: Rebirth assets, all X4 race assets are made from scratch. Adding the previous races to X4 at launch or otherwise is probably as big of an undertaking as creating a completely new race.

If we're still going to compare X4 launch content with previous releases, then it's honestly more fair and accurate to do so with X: Rebirth rather than X3. Math is not my strong suit, but I'm pretty sure X4 launched with more ships and races than X: Rebirth.