"Explain" me this DLC please?

from Sins Forums

So I bought Forbidden Worlds yesterday and played for a little, and now wonder if it added anything to the game.

 

The new planetary textures are the most visible change. The changes in gameplay and the new planetary types are odd at best.

 

Frankly, it seems a random +/- number was assigned to the new types and for some reason Barren planets are the best thing that can happen in this universe. This really makes me wonder what the designers were thinking?

Does the new social vs industrial mechanic actually ADD value to the game? For all possible benefits of deeper specialization, it is not possible to see what a planet actually is till you click it and it is rather shoehorning planets into specific roles, only few have viable alternatives to develop in this or that way.

 

So, what did the DLC add? Less content and less mechanic changes and a lot of awfully beta changes to the game than a PATCH did during Sins 1 times. For 4-5 bucks.

I am a fan of Sins and showed my support through buying every micro-expansion and recommended the game to a lot of friends, some bought it because of my strong recommendation.

 

I hope some people here can point out what I missed or if this DLC is truly as terrible as I think it is. I am feeling ripped off my money for the first time and was discussing this DLC with friends and so far I am sad to say it's a cash grab for virtually nothing.

 

TL;DR: I hope you produce better DLCs in future or go back to Micro-Expansions, Forbidden Worlds so far only made me feel angry and ripped off.

18,887 views 14 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

So, what did the DLC add? Less content and less mechanic changes and a lot of awfully beta changes to the game than a PATCH did during Sins 1 times. For 4-5 bucks.
End of quote

Well considering no Sins patch has ever added planets, that is certainly something.

Does the new social vs industrial mechanic actually ADD value to the game? For all possible benefits of deeper specialization, it is not possible to see what a planet actually is till you click it and it is rather shoehorning planets into specific roles, only few have viable alternatives to develop in this or that way.
End of quote

In many cases the needs of each game will force you to pick a specialization against the one a particular planet will be best in. Occasionally you will need to build shipyards and culture centers at a given planet just based on location alone. If I desperately need a planet closer to the front lines to manufacture ships, I'll likely go industrial even if its a terran.

 

I don't know, I guess I'm not sure exactly what you'd thought it would do. Yeah maybe by the old microexpansion standard its not as much of a value but I'm sure it would not be hard to compile a long list of worse $5 DLC.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

Is it a shameless money grab? Most definitely.

Is the new content as bad as you think? No.

 

The new planet types add a bit more variety. It has annoyed me since original Sins that there were so few types. Well, here they finally are years later - if you're willing to pay for them, that is. One could also, of course, download one of the numerous mods by talented individuals and get this and much more absolutely free.

The new specialization system does add a [thin] layer of strategy to the game. You are correct that there will mostly be an obvious better choice and that this 'choice' is therefore in fact not very real, but the depth of the economic considerations are fully on par with, for instance, the decision on whether and when to build trade ports or refineries. The depth of the local system-level Sins economy has always been light, this is just another, new 'light' decision to make, and so it does add some depth. It allows you to develop your empire's 'tall' rather than 'wide' to a greater degree (a trending topic in modern 4X, see: Civ V).

Also, it should be noted that this DLC adds over 40 new exploration/planetary feature-thingies, some of which use new code that modders really appreciate. Bleh.

 

... and then, you hit the nail perfectly on the head with this comment:

So, what did the DLC add? Less content and less mechanic changes and a lot of awfully beta changes to the game than a PATCH did during Sins 1 times. For 4-5 bucks.


- though I don't recall "Sins 1" as the rose-tinted 'glory days' you seem to do and I think if they had been so great in the first place, the problems the original game had wouldn't be present in the game still (laughable Kol Battleship? Check, still here years later. Broken pirates? Check, still here years later).

 

In contrast stands a game like Natural Selection 2 which has received great - no, amazing support. Constant patches tweaking balance, news feeds from developers, major free content updates and so on. All this from the moment the game was released and with no sign of ending any time soon. Sins: Rebellion? A patch around release, then a patch here half a year later timed to come out same time this DLC is released.

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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top

@Apheirox i logged in just to scream at you about that last part.

There is a big difference between their companies, and the road they are on and planning. 

 

 

lets just name a few things here:

Right now Ironclad/Stardock are working on Sins of a dark age(From what I've seen it looked like a sort of LoL, and if it's like that, they jumped that boat way too late) taking possible developers away from sins.

They are a small-ish company from what I understand.

They don't only make games but also a shitton of software(Which most people buying their games don't know about...) thus they don't got all their developers on games non-stop

Meh, feel free to add more if anyone knows any more...I can't come up with any more.

 

Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Apheirox, reply 2
In contrast stands a game like Natural Selection 2 which has received great - no, amazing support. Constant patches tweaking balance, news feeds from developers, major free content updates and so on. All this from the moment the game was released and with no sign of ending any time soon. Sins: Rebellion? A patch around release, then a patch here half a year later timed to come out same time this DLC is released.
End of Apheirox's quote

 

WTF?

 

How could you possible have missed to take notice of all those Bug Fixes and balance patches for Rebellion? :O o_O :waaaa:

 

 

Maybe there are developers who support their games more.... but there are much more developers who offer far less support.... and who shamelessly charge 40 $ for a minor addon, break your computer with DRM that makes Orwell appear an optimist and who have no hesitation to lie directly in your face.

 

Sure... just one more month.... and then there will be another patch for C&C 3......

 

Yes we promise....

 

6 Month later:

Wait you believed that? Muhahaha.... dumb fool, but thanks for your money. Of course there is not going to be another patch.

One year later: BUY THE ADDON now... only 40 $. We promise we will support it for a long time....

 

HA

 

HA

 

HA

 

 

 

 

Stardock is - thankfully - not like EA.

 

So honestly, your complaints are exaggerated and even unjustified in some cases.

 

 

Pirates were changed in about any way possible.... there is no way to make everyone happy... for one their are to strong... for the other to weak.

 

Yes, the Kol isnt a particular good ships.... but then it is not alone. The Radiance is neither und before Rebellion and the need for an AM draining ship, it was not built at all.

 

 

Reply #5 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting ezeltje299, reply 3


Right now Ironclad/Stardock are working on Sins of a dark age(From what I've seen it looked like a sort of LoL, and if it's like that, they jumped that boat way too late) taking possible developers away from sins.

 
End of ezeltje299's quote

 

I do have sins of dark ages. Got beta key also if anyone wants.

Stardock isn't part of it, only Ironclad. Devs told me ingame last night.

Reply #6 from Sins Forums Top

Forbidden Worlds adds more game changing content than the Diplomacy expansion did for twice as much.

 

Reply #7 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting OP, reply 7
TL;DR: I hope you produce better DLCs in future or go back to Micro-Expansions, Forbidden Worlds so far only made me feel angry and ripped off.
End of OP's quote

As said earlier, this DLC adds more content then Diplomacy ever did. The best part about Diplomacy was all it's bug fixes which didn't get back ported to Entrenchment, the "diplomacy" added to the game was and is garbage. Things added by the DLC:

4 brand new planets and planet research groups

6 brand new planet bonuses, 4 of which cannot be otherwise put in the game by shoehorning an ability or something along those lines (and abilities cannot be random, they would always spawn with the planet)

Planet specialization, whose values can be entirely modified and changed

I cannot for the life of me figure out why you think Diplomacy was leagues better then this DLC, when the former was absolutely lackluster.

Quoting Apheirox, reply 2
then a patch here half a year later timed to come out same time this DLC is released.
End of Apheirox's quote

The reason that the 1.5 patch and DLC were release at the same time was due to the multiplayer compatibility bit that was put in, it was not an attempt to shore up DLC sales. I'd suggest being slightly less paranoid.

Reply #8 from Sins Forums Top

Quoting Lavo_2, reply 7
The reason that the 1.5 patch and DLC were release at the same time was due to the multiplayer compatibility bit that was put in, it was not an attempt to shore up DLC sales. I'd suggest being slightly less paranoid.
End of Lavo_2's quote

 

Yes, exactly... actually the 1.5 update - among other things - assures compability between DLC and non DLC owners.

Reply #9 from Sins Forums Top

"Delete comment" Insert rage towards haters......

Reply #10 from Sins Forums Top

You can always "Not buy it". There is more "under the hood" of the DLC than what the average gamer sees. From the complaints i've seen it is from people that blindly bought it without looking into it first. However 5 bucks for new planets. Tons of planet bonus's. Balance, Optimizations, and bug fix's. Plus new options opened up for modders. I think it is more than a fair price. You don't honestly expect the dev's to work for free do you?

Reply #11 from Sins Forums Top

Silly Stress, asking a question with such an obvious answer...

Reply #13 from Sins Forums Top

What's the difference between DLC and Micro-expansions? They're essentially the same thing...

Reply #14 from Sins Forums Top

I like the modder vs. casual user response in here.  Shows how ignorant people can be if they don't educate themselves.

Most prolonged gameplay of Sins is usually through mods.  With that being said, you're paying 5 bucks for a decent code expansion.  We have new toys to play with.  Many of the mods will probable require it due to the cheap cost, too.  I know mine will once I get done rebuilding it for 1.5 (waiting on TSOP to update).