Hmm I see. Collecting several transcendent items that don’t have the blessing you need to complete your build but still allow you to dump blessings into your library for future use. It’s something. I don’t think it tracks as closely to the casino analogy as say a mobile gacha game giving you an A-tier character instead of the S you were rolling for. But I do take your point.
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just so everyone is aware, the target is children.
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There were some “boosts” datamined in some of the scripts, like +resources or +dockets. Although it wasn’t determined how you got those boosts, it could very easily be monetised, especially if they added stuff like extra Emperor’s gifts, or +base rating chance, etc. etc.
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It’s illegal for gacha games to have rolls be dependent on other rolls, like you had to roll 2 different things before you even got a chance to roll the actual thing you wanted. Non gacha games can get away with it because money isn’t involved, but it doesn’t make it feel any better as a system.
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The mental image I have of the crafting team at this point is basically like a dozen silhouetted Bond villains/Mengele(s), watching security cameras all day, maybe stroking a cat, and just being generally dastardly until the FBI comes in and kicks down the door, which is where the metaphor kinda falls apart, but hey, it feels appropriately thematic I think.
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You reminded me of Black Ops 3 zombies/multiplayers progression system. You would use your weapons in game to level them up, and in doing so you would unlock attachments and skins for the specific weapon. There was also a prestiege system when your character reached a certain level which would reset all your weapons to 1 again but you would get prestiege points to spend on permanently unlocking a weapon at max levels or gum.
…I really miss that system now, and I think a similar system would compliment Darktide nicely. It hits all the right boxes. Progression, replayability, something to work towards.
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I mean… They could have used the Anthanor from V2. That would have been a fantastic system for Darktide. You get resources from in-game, then spend those resources to upgrade your weapon.
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I feel like the entire itemisation as it is from release to now is just one rushed placeholder or band-aid after the other, racing to become “feature complete” at the same time as the port. There are definitely hints of “retention metrics” all over the place in the system, but there’s also the stench of “bad communication” and “not enough time” throughout it too.
Whoever designed the cash shop scheme and warped a noticeable amount of the game design around it is the true mustache twirling, cat stroking MBA.
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Lol, I think that I like my version better; it’s somehow less depressing than the more probable weapon-grade incompetence.
Christ.
Whatever its origin though, it needs to be corrected; as long as it stays like this, it will remain the proverbial unremoved piece of shrapnel lodged in the player’s back, and as we’ve seen, it will cause players to leave. It should be clear by now that there’s no willing this away.
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Player Base: So Fat Shark, do you expect us to redo this RNG chain forever?
Fat Shark: Why no Player Base, I expect you to die.
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You win, this is PERFECT!
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I don’t share some people’s view that the system is designed for some sinister monetization. Personally I think it’s a lack of ideas. Not being able to move away from the “random grind” as a motivation for players to keep playing.
Or maybe they ran out of time.
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The why is less important than the what I think for this. We’ll probably never know the why, the rationale, the reasoning, the expectations in end results. All we can ask for is something different.
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This isn’t some conspiracy theory, there’s plenty of academic literature out there on the insidiousness of games as a service design due to how it incentivizes devs and publishers to abuse dark pattern design in order to enhance revenue. Here’s a paper relating to this:
Dark Patterns in the Design of Games
ABSTRACT
Game designers are typically regarded as advocates for players.
However, a game creator’s interests may not align with the
players’. We examine some of the ways in which those opposed
interests can manifest in a game’s design. In particular, we
examine those elements of a game’s design whose purpose can be
argued as questionable and perhaps even unethical. Building upon
earlier work in design patterns, we call these abstracted elements
Dark Game Design Patterns. In this paper, we develop the concept
of dark design patterns in games, present examples of such
patterns, explore some of the subtleties involved in identifying
them, and provide questions that can be asked to help guide in the
specification and identification of future Dark Patterns. Our goal
is not to criticize creators but rather to contribute to an ongoing
discussion regarding the values in games and the role that
designers and creators have in this process.
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The one thing I wish we could do was like
turn whatever excess material we had into the other. I have so much daimantine and so little plasteel
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Important question. How do you feel about the RNG and locks on the item system for darktide?
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I never said it was a conspiracy theory or that it doesn’t exist.
I was against the chainaxe at first, but I’m getting used to it. I just want a reliable way to get blessings other than babysitting the store and hoping. I’ll pay Brunt more if he just offers more. As it is, I have no idea how long it will take to collect even low level blessings.
Do I buy one and burn resources just to peel off the blessings? Go for one with good stats just to upgrade it and get blessings to peel off?
To even see the blessings I have I need to keep one in my inventory, check Brunt, go to hadron to see if the one Brunt offers has blessings I don’t already have, go back to brunt, buy it, go back to hadron and peel it off. I guess I should just start a spreadsheet with all the blessings I have.
And Melk? You want me to spend a weeks worth of contracts for a weapon with weak stats just to peel off one level 3 blessing? And maybe I won’t even like the chainaxe more than the powersword anyway.
This stinks. Back to damnation and crossing my fingers.
I can live with this stupid system… but at least, Fatshark, do something for Brunt.
I need good base weapon, and Brunt’s just steal my money and never gives something valuable.
I know that they get weapons on battlefields, but could we have an option to bribe Brunt and that he gives us something that is not a pure waste of resources?
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I was simply addressing the “sinister monetization” bit.