Windows BF3 boycott due to preorder DLC in Full swing

Agreed with all the rest but disagree with FPSs going downhill. Since what? Doom? Goldeneye? Half Life?

 

I'm with you on this - I was part of the boycott and I haven't yet bought the game, nor will I do so. Nor will I likely buy any future version; Activision/IW have largely burned their bridges, though I reserve the right to change my mind if they change their attitude.

As for that screenie, their could be 2.2 trillion people sticking with the boycott, but for 50 that might not, we now have a 'damning' screenshot doing the rounds.

EA used to be the Great Satan, and the hardly whiter-than-white now, but at least they are trying to smooth things over with PC gamers, and for that I will forgive them a few slip-ups. Providing the bonus material you get from pre-orders isn't a complete game-changer, then I have no problem. Surely the pre-order customers deserve something for their blind faith?

I suspect the freebies will be cosmetic... a different gun with very similar characteristics as standard guns I suspect. Just think about the time and effort people went to to acquire different hats in TF2 - hats that serve no real purpose.

If EA were crippling the PC game due to console limitations, it would be a different situation...

 

Eh, Whilst I am irked with the "physical warfare pack" and the general trend of DLC across the board these days, I doubt the contents therein will be in anyway imbalancing.

It would be preferable that there was no such pack. Everyone will get the "map pack" including Karkand etc anyway. I've yet to see a "standard version" for sale anywhere.

I'll be pushing to get my DAO-12 unlocked within the first 24 hours of release anyway

 

Aye, that was something i was going to point out.

I believe they even stated if you preorder the game you will be getting Karkand.

Also, i think anyone who even cares about Karkand will be pre-ordering it anyways. It's more for nostalgia IMO than anything else.

As for the Physical Warfare pack, they still haven't said as to whether or not it's early unlockables? Since if it's anything like the Steam pre-order, all you got was the Colt M1911, Tracer Dart and something else on Day One instead of having to grind for it.

Not to mention people citing "balance issues" have no idea what the "DLC" Weapons are like... they'd probably complain if they were super UP and that EA/DICE were wasting their money.

 

I totally agree. If people want to buy an extra upgrade or something let them. The maps on the other hand i do agree. Would split the community up

 

Maybe I just enjoyed the ~2000 era FPS games more. Far Cry was rather good though, Half Life was decent, BF1942 and BF Vietnam were both good games (especially with the desert combat mod for 1942), not sure how DICE managed to go from 1942 and Vietnam, and screw things up with BF2 - but it seems they had to make all the guns weak and inaccurate, and makes the maps much much smaller.

I think back though, and if you go back to the 2000 era, even non-big name games, like No One Lives Forever were cool, had some fun gameplay, were worth playing. These days it seems like everything is just this war-porn ultra-unrealistic idiot fest.

 

Everyone who preorders or buys the game at release or probably for the few months after release will get free access to the Karkand map pack. I can't see it being any different from Bad Company 2 where the only edition you could buy at the start was the 'Limited Edition', it wasn't until it had been out a while that the standard edition popped up.

 

The added maps wouldn't get used, except for servers dedicated to those maps if people didn't have access to them.

 

NOLF, wow, i thought i was the only one REALLY enjoyed it. it was way up there with HL and HL2 for me. Red Faction 1 also.

 

because then you have a tiered service with people that can/want more being able to have access to more weapons in the multiplayer game, which potentially unbalances the experience for the users that dont have access to them (even if in this case the extra weapons are crappy, its still not a good development atall).

 

The way they used to handle pre-orders didn't make a difference because the items were just early release. Anyone could get them through the levelling system.

These are pre-order exclusive, which means the only way to get them will be by pre-ordering. Or that's what EA is saying anyway.

 

Sir, I refer you to *shudders* Command and Conquer 4... They are the great Satan!

I cannot for the life of me understand why people are boycotting on grounds of a weapon and a couple of ammo packs. Like i said before, I could understand if it was a chunk of the storyline... but not an LMG!

2 things...

1) Damn your response time, causing me an edit

2) But are these things really going to effect the core of the game? Highly doubtful... they will probably add a 0.11% variable onto the shotgun, machine gun or something equally silly which in the grand-scheme of The Game (Goddamnit....) will cause very little impact.

As for the machine gun... doesn't look good. Give me my m60 gents!

 

I was originally going to rescind some of my previous points after looking up more information on the pack:

Type 88 LMG - Exclusive Weapon
DAO-12 Shotgun - Day One Unlock
Flechette Rounds - Exclusive Ammo
Flash Suppressor - Exclusive Weapon Mod - Only for SKS

At first glance i was rather annoyed that a lot of the stuff was exclusive, however after looking around:

Type 88 LMG - Personally i found the majority of LMGs very similar in BC2 and it was down to personal preference (this was after the M60 nerf that is). Also since it's an established weapon from BC2 i can see this being similar to the Thompson/Garand Veteran Unlocks in BC2 - i.e. Token Usefulness, otherwise outclassed.

Flechette Rounds - Apparently they do less damage than normal Shotgun rounds but can penetrate some cover (standard buckshot will not penetrate). To be fair it adds variety but i can't see myself actually considering it viable, maybe in HC mode but that's a fairly niche situation.

Flash Suppressor - This was what got me rather annoyed since i read it as "Sniper Rifle Suppressor" and being the Campy Campy Recon that i am, i was interested in it. However then i read that it's only for the SKS rifle... something which looks like it came out of WW2 (actually was slightly afterwards) and reminds me again of the Garand from BC2.

So ultimately, apart from the DAO Day One Unlock the pack IMO doesn't add much for me. Am i slightly miffed that i won't be getting it? Yes. (i'll probably be buying off of Origin or Steam). However do i think the perks are significant enough for me to boycott the game? No.

 

Aw totally these preorders are kind of annoying but lets face it. Any fool that boycotts this is going to lose out. The game just looks fantastic and a silencer is not going to change that.

 

There should never be weapons in a FPS multiplayer game that are completely exclusive to users that preordered the item. Period. They are too much a part of the whole experience to say 'oh its fine its only a crappy lmg'. The boycott is not just about one individual instance - its about the principle of not having a stupid, unfair tiered service which effects the in game dynamics just so EA can milk a few more dollars (its about what might happen in future releases too).

 

Word. The weapons were damn satisfying to use - even the lowly pistol.

 

Just don't pre-order, that's all anyone's saying.

Pre-ordering gives EA an advantage because they get a great idea of how the game is going to sell, improve week one sales to boost standing in sales charts, and encourages people to buy at full price before they've even seen the game reviewed. These people then become unwilling beta testers for the early period of the release.

Pre-ordering gives little value to the consumer, because of the difference between initial price and the price the game will settle at after a month. The exclusive DLC is a stick the publisher can use to give the appearance of added value by actually reducing the value of the finished product.

Pre-ordering is not in your favour, so why would you fall for this marketing ploy?

Hope this simplifies the argument for those comparing this to the MW2 boycott.

 

For all we know the LMG is practically a reskin of another weapon in the game. Also, the game already has a ton of weapons (as you've said), what difference will an extra LMG make?

And if exclusive pre-order bonuses don't affect the game in a significant way (and this looks as if it'll be very minor) then i don't see what the big issue is?

People naturally complain when something doesn't directly benefit them, it's human nature. I know you're trying to campaign against it on principle, however if that's the case pick a game where it's actually significant and doesn't make you simply look petty.

Otherwise you'll just end up constantly opposing a change on the sake of principle and end up as a grumpy bitter vet (Eve reference, it's the only one i can think of atm).

 

If it's that upsetting to you that people get a different LMG, then why not just get the extra content? It won't bother me to be honest.

 

vdbswong- I'm not being petty. You sound like an apologist for EA, though. You can't seriously play online FPS's and not be pee'd off about this kind of thing. Regardless of whether the lmg is crappy or is a death-laser, the fact is it might set the standard for future releases that its ok to let some users have different access to different weapons by virtue of ordering the game earlier.

Glad to see im not the only one who thinks this is a joke: http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/6801802.page