Civ5 - shipping with Steamworks * plus Digital Deluxe Edition

Important, but closed, correct? There's realistically nothing that's going to change this decision at this point.

Steam is definitely in this game, yes, but the decision wasn't made in a vacuum and input from fans on many forums over many months helped inform it. And we're always looking for ways to do things better, so what you are saying is important for me. While making a version compiled specifically for each individual's needs isn't realistic, you guys can give us good ideas on what to do better. And, most importantly, I'm here right now to try and explain anything about Steam you might not know or understand.
 
Civ games/TBS games are always going to be more complex than there RTS, FPS relatives. That has always been the case. Civ players therefore have always been a little more educated and intellecual on average than other gamers.

I've seen lots of RTS gamers try Civ after looking at the pretty box art and thinking it's another AoE :p They pretty much all give up and go back to RTS games.

Civ5 will no doubt be an even bigger commercial success than Civ4 was, so maybe with good MP courtesy of Steamworks(we can hope), that it will attract a much wider audience. And even Civ4 was not too complex, you could easily play an enjoyable game against the AI without being the micromanager that some players become to be in that top percentile.

CS
 
In this instance, we do care. The dev team (I'm sure you are aware) read this place all the time, as do I. Your opinions are very important to us - which is one of the reasons I'm here so much today. This is an important discussion.

The DLC/microtransaction/deluxe edition aspect seems to be worrying pretty much everyone, the Steamworks integration appears to have a more mixed receiption.
 
Steam only auto updates games if you have it setup to do so, if you do not want your games auto updated then change the settings.

Actually, he was correct. Steam updates are a forced requirement. The "Do not automatically update this game" option is quite literal in its wording. If a game has an update available then that option will simply not download it automatically. However, Steam will not let you play the game until that update is acquired.

So you MUST update to continue playing.
 
I wouldn't mind if steam was just used to play online and the game was installed and played single player elsewhere somehow(not sure if that'd be possible though) rather than in the steam directory. But yes, the implication of DLC from the deluxe edition and extra civ is what is annoying me.
 
(...)
Bonus items really shouldn't be substantial in-game content. Maybe some aesthetic thing that doesn't impart additional content/story/features, but just looks good or something. I hate having to pre-order from Steam to get the Neb talking head and the map. We'll probably see Gamestop get some different map or something. I hate that crap.

Gah, seems everybody is reading the news differently. From the press release, I wouldn't think any of the content is vendor-specific. Was it confirmed elsewhere? I thought the deluxe edition would include 1 more civ than the standard one and the first DLC for free. It didn't say the Babylonians wouldn't be inlcuded in collector's editions offered by others.

Even if I understood it correctly, I'm not happy about it, for similar reasons as you give. I know in-game bonuses are a very good way of convicing people to pay more, but they really shouldn't have that much effect on the game. It's unfair to standard buyers.

About Steam: I like it (or at least I did before they recalculated prices to Euro :D), but as some of the people here, I'm concerned about games bought elsewhere being strongly integrated with one particular digital distribution service. If the competitors come up with their own versions of Steamworks it will get even more messy: I wouldn't want to have to install Steam, Impulse, D2D at once because each game demands a different one...
 
The DLC/microtransaction/deluxe edition aspect seems to be worrying pretty much everyone, the Steamworks integration appears to have a more mixed receiption.

The Deluxe Edition extras are just that - extras for the expanded version (and it's not just the extra Civ - the behind the scenes and soundtrack are pretty sweet to.) Beyond that, we haven't talked about any post-release plans quite yet. I would like to hear your thoughts though!
 
Hey 2K rep, can you answer me this? What is up with that stupid Digital Deluxe crap? That is such a :):):):)ing rip-off. You cut out one of the leaders from the main game and include him in the deluxe pack, include a "bonus" soundtrack that you get when you install the game anyways and look into the game files, and the videos are of no use to me, all for a price of 10 dollars more. In my mind, I am playing $10 for the privilege of playing as Babylon, one of the most basic civs in Civilization that has been included since the beginning.

You say 2K listens to gamers, yet that is complete and utter bull. Why in the world would you cut content out of the game and sell it separately if you really cared about gamers? This reeks of some :):):):):):):) executive who thinks we are just walking wallets and not human beings. I do not think anyone said "HEY! CUT CONTENT OUT OF THE GAME AND SELL IT SEPARATELY!" And if they did, I want you to point me towards them.

I do not care about Steam. It's the DLC and locking content out that bothers me. If it is not removed (like 2K will listen to me), I am not buying Civ V. Instead, I'm warning people not to buy it, because if they do, they'll be supporting a faceless, greedy corporation that does not care in the slightest about the wants and needs of gamers.

Don't worry, I know this message will be promptly ignored. And if it isn't, don't say something like "oh its an extra." An "extra" would be those videos. An extra would be a poster. An extra would be something cool, yet trivial, and something that wouldn't decrease the value of the game.
 
The people on here complaining about Steam is just strange and some just ignorant. Steam doesn't control your save games, mods, or even games. Take EUIII for example, it's fully possible for me to play without even looking at Steam. I can throw mods into the mod folder as easily as I could otherwise (the folder is a bit deeper but if I have to get in often, I make a shortcut) and start up the game throw the game's default loader by dragging the shortcut to my desktop.

And if I bought EUIII from GamersGate (as I have) I get the game DRM free and have fully functioning installer backed that I can use for ever and ever without ever having to connect to GG again (unless I lose the backup somehow or it get's corrupted).
 
The Deluxe Edition extras are just that - extras for the expanded version (and it's not just the extra Civ - the behind the scenes and soundtrack are pretty sweet to.) Beyond that, we haven't talked about any post-release plans quite yet. I would like to hear your thoughts though!

In my opinion, and it seems many others', the Deluxe Extras aren't great value for money, especially if you're going to buy digitally directly from Steam - no special box, special in-box items; just a few files which could easily be modded in by the community.

I think many people are wary of encouraging trickle-through DLC that has been popularized by consoles and taken up even by PC-only franchises such as Total War as they're generally perceived to be poor value for money, especially in moddable games.
 
Most of the deluxe edition stuff is useless to me but apparently I'll still have to pay more money for it because I want all the civilizations that should have been included in the original game because they have already been designed and are ready for release obviously. Deluxe editions should be for people who want extra physical goodies with a bigger retail box, cloth maps, gadgets and fun things. Things that affect IN NO WAY WHATSOEVER the gameplay of the game that is released. It's just an obvious money grab otherwise on the back of fans of the game and OCD people.

My opinion on DLC is pretty much simple: None shall pass. I have never bought DLC. I will willingly buy a proper expansion pack though. 20-30$ for a bunch of new gameplay features, fixes, many new civs units and buildings, I'm fine with that. That I will buy. But 5$ for a civ, 2$ for a unit. What? No.

EDIT: In a weird way, I'd almost prefer you just go ahead and sell the game 60$ with all the features included instead of calling that a deluxe edition and releasing one incomplete edition below it at 50$.
 
In my opinion, and it seems many others', the Deluxe Extras aren't great value for money, especially if you're going to buy digitally directly from Steam - no special box, special in-box items; just a few files which could easily be modded in by the community.

I think many people are wary of encouraging trickle-through DLC that has been popularized by consoles and taken up even by PC-only franchises such as Total War as they're generally perceived to be poor value for money, especially in moddable games.

You think that this site will allow the Deluxe Extra assets to be in a mod on this site? 2k would send a C&D real fast.
 
You don't need to buy the deluxe version just to get the extra Civ, you can buy the steam exclusive standard edition and get the 19th Civ.

CS
 
I agree with SimonL; if you are going to charge us extra for 'expanded' features, just simply wrap it up in the $60 package and not release the normal version. Then you seem less like a company that seeks solely to extract as much money from the users as possible by witholding features.

Its not really the steam that probably annoys most people; but the DLC. When I first got steam with Empire Total War I had been filled with Steam Horror stories and such. Its actualy not that bad. The most annoying part about steam has to probably be its internal marketplace that allows game designers to sell you DLC at an unfair rate. Then again, my sole experiance with DLC has been with Empire. Buy a DLC at 50 cents a unit for 6 units that only appear late in the campaign, marginaly better than the corresponding unit, and something you will likely never use!

If 2k handles DLC properly, I'll deal with it, same with most of the community.
 
I said could be easily modded, as in they're nowhere near beyond community capabilities. Nothing unique you might say, compared to how in-box items tend to be.
 
I agree with SimonL; if you are going to charge us extra for 'expanded' features, just simply wrap it up in the $60 package and not release the normal version. Then you seem less like a company that seeks solely to extract as much money from the users as possible by witholding features.

Its not really the steam that probably annoys most people; but the DLC. When I first got steam with Empire Total War I had been filled with Steam Horror stories and such. Its actualy not that bad. The most annoying part about steam has to probably be its internal marketplace that allows game designers to sell you DLC at an unfair rate. Then again, my sole experiance with DLC has been with Empire. Buy a DLC at 50 cents a unit for 6 units that only appear late in the campaign, marginaly better than the corresponding unit, and something you will likely never use!

If 2k handles DLC properly, I'll deal with it, same with most of the community.

Funny enough, the company that runs Steam gives the best price to content ration on DLC for their games: 0$ for enough content that 2K would call a sequel.

Seriously, Valve has practically tripled the size of TF2 for free since it launched.

Of course, Valve actually cares about its customers and takes them seriously...
 
Hey 2K rep, can you answer me this? What is up with that stupid Digital Deluxe crap? That is such a :):):):)ing rip-off. You cut out one of the leaders from the main game and include him in the deluxe pack, include a "bonus" soundtrack that you get when you install the game anyways and look into the game files, and the videos are of no use to me, all for a price of 10 dollars more. In my mind, I am playing $10 for the privilege of playing as Babylon, one of the most basic civs in Civilization that has been included since the beginning.

You say 2K listens to gamers, yet that is complete and utter bull. Why in the world would you cut content out of the game and sell it separately if you really cared about gamers? This reeks of some :):):):):):):) executive who thinks we are just walking wallets and not human beings. I do not think anyone said "HEY! CUT CONTENT OUT OF THE GAME AND SELL IT SEPARATELY!" And if they did, I want you to point me towards them.

I do not care about Steam. It's the DLC and locking content out that bothers me. If it is not removed (like 2K will listen to me), I am not buying Civ V. Instead, I'm warning people not to buy it, because if they do, they'll be supporting a faceless, greedy corporation that does not care in the slightest about the wants and needs of gamers.

Don't worry, I know this message will be promptly ignored. And if it isn't, don't say something like "oh its an extra." An "extra" would be those videos. An extra would be a poster. An extra would be something cool, yet trivial, and something that wouldn't decrease the value of the game.

I don't ignore things like this, don't worry (although the copious smiley faces replacing some of your choice words made me distracted!)

There isn't a ton of info out on the game so far, so I understand some of you are wary, but we have a lot of civs in the game and the regular edition is anything but lacking features, civs, and gameplay. I don't think there's any way I can convince you the bonus content is that - extra - instead of something cut, so I hope when more details come out about Civilization V you'll understand than you will have oodles to do and many civs to master even if you don't want to grab the edition with Babylon in it. I also understand if behind-the-scenes videos or the music isn't your cup of tea, either - but I know that some people really do value that stuff, and for them, I hope they like it. But that's why it's optional - we want to give people choice.
 
And what about the comment that even if you have Steam not auto-update, you still can't play your games unless they are fully updated? Can you also turn off all data-collecting and suchlike?
 
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