There’s a lot of frustration around the premium cosmetics in Darktide, which I totally understand.
It was released while the game was in a very poor state – it was crashing so much that significant numbers of people couldn’t even play, and more than half of a major system (crafting) wasn’t fully implemented – which was a terrible decision that was quickly addressed by the temporary stoppage on new cosmetic releases.
The cosmetics are expensive, although not quite as expensive as some other games. Diablo Foreskins come to mind. But still, it’s a bummer for folks, like myself, who might be more inclined to purchase more cosmetics if the prices were lower. It doesn’t seem to have stopped a lot of people from purchasing cosmetics though, which (fingers crossed!) should help keep the game a one-time purchase.
The shop also rotates so slowly, which frustrates a lot of people who want to throw more money at it. It’s clear that a lot of 40k fans take the look of their characters very seriously, as seriously as they may take their tabletop minis, and they would pay immediately for more cosmetics. But maybe Fatshark is sticking to this anemic, infrequent release schedule so that they can show steady sales over time.
A lot of the cosmetics are considered by some to be superficial “reskins” or “palette swaps,” and I can see the argument that those items aren’t worth as much as totally unique models. I also agree that it’d be amazing (and profitable!) to shift to a dye system, maybe where we earn models and buy dyes/materials. But again, many people are buying these “palette swaps,” maybe because they like the colors more than the “original” that has long since left the shop.
As you can see, I think all of these frustrations can be rationalized in one way or another. All except one…the fact that there is still not a 100 aquilas pack in the store, as we were told there would be soon on 12/08/22.
This one, I can’t justify in any way. It’s not OK that someone should have to spend more money than they need to in order to purchase a digital pair of pants. That money may make a return customer out of that person, but it is a coercion. It is ethically wrong.