DLC maps have become a standard part of the modern gaming landscape, but they lead to inevitable problems: not everyone buys DLC so what do you do with those that don’t purchase it? How do you keep a game fresh if you have to charge for DLC?
The biggest problem is the DLC death spiral. The most popular lists lose players if they require DLC, and DLC-only lists tend to have fewer players and all of the matchmaking problems that come with that (poor matchmaking leading to uneven matches leading to people quitting out leading to bad games leading to players quitting playing the DLC playlist altogether, leading people who bought the DLC feeling that they did not get their money’s worth, leading them to consider not purchasing in the future, and thus exacerbating all the above issues the next game around.
Plus, and this is really the key point: Developers are constrained in updating their game and keeping it fresh because of the DLC paradigm.People who bought Halo 4 a year ago are largely playing the exact same maps that the game launched with. How can a game be kept fresh if you don’t provide new maps? Yet, developers feel they have to charge for it (and no, laggy, largely unattractive forge maps haven’t really cut it, with some notable exceptions). But, not everyone will buy it. In fact, it seems like most don’t.
So, how do you fix this problem? I suspect that the developers are not willing to give up the revenue they earn in DLC (which I consider to be somewhat short-sighted, but then again so are quarterly earnings statements, which are a reality of the business behind the games). I would propose that they give up DLC revenue and make it up by emphasizing micro-transactions for things like armor, symbols, skins, and other non-game-affecting, in-game add-ons. The DLC is released periodically for free (one map at a time) to keep the game fresh. In short, longevity of the game should be given precedence over DLC revenue. A reputation for providing longevity will lead to more sales of the game overall, and to the extent that the game remains high on XBOX Live, continued sales over time.
Any other ideas? Post away, I think this is an area that needs some insight…
This far into Halo 4’s lifespan no amount of forum discussion is going to ‘fix’ the DLC problem. Best we can do is wait for Halo 5 and hope that more people are interested in the inevitable DLC for it that will follow.
I meant fix for H5; maybe this isn’t the forum for it, but the way DLC is handled in modern gaming is flawed. We need to figure out a way to fix it or else you’re going to be stuck largely playing the same maps that games launch with…
> I meant fix for H5; maybe this isn’t the forum for it, but the way DLC is handled in modern gaming is flawed. We need to figure out a way to fix it or else you’re going to be stuck largely playing the same maps that games launch with…
If this is discussing Halo 5’s possible DLC then yes, this is in the wrong forum.
> I meant fix for H5; maybe this isn’t the forum for it, but the way DLC is handled in modern gaming is flawed. We need to figure out a way to fix it or else you’re going to be stuck largely playing the same maps that games launch with…
I’m a bit indifferent at this point, but I think that is because I got the limited edition, so I got all the dlc anyway.
However I have to disagree with you on the forge aspect. Personally I think more time should be dumped into Forge to make it better. Essentially by doing that, they are outsourcing the creation of “DLC” by getting the community to create maps. If they put the time in to making Forge amazing by adding textures and colours, etc, they then have more time to develop more skins and armour they can sell for money. Although I don’t mind the idea of having one dlc map here or there.
As for whether or not dlc should be abandoned completely, I can’t say. I guess it depends on the quality of the map design, which even for in game maps have gone down significantly. The only quality map they released for DLC imo is skyline. And the only quality map in-game is haven. The rest of the good maps are all forge.
I think outsourcing map design through forge is a good idea assuming they improve forge and the performance of the game using forged maps in matchmaking. That is certainly one way to keep new maps coming, which is one key to longevity.
> Make all DLC free, then make up the post-release cash through cosmetic microtransactions?
Halo 4’s DLC won’t ever be free - I don’t know why people keep suggesting that. Microsoft won’t ever allow it, so constantly badgering 343 about it and suggesting it in the forums won’t help.
Maybe after Halo 5’s launch one or more of Halo 4’s maps might be made free, but right now? No, not going to happen.
> Halo 4’s DLC won’t ever be free - I don’t know why people keep suggesting that. Microsoft won’t ever allow it, so constantly badgering 343 about it and suggesting it in the forums won’t help.
> Maybe after Halo 5’s launch one or more of Halo 4’s maps might be made free, but right now? No, not going to happen.
I’m talking about future DLC systems. IE- Halo 5.
I know it’s impossible to give away Halo 4’s DLC for free.
For Halo 5 and beyond I think mirco transactions and map outsourcing (via better forge) is actually a genius idea. A little mad I didn’t come up with it myself (: (Had Micro, but Forge is brilliant).
To take it further, have ‘competitions’ of forge maps and give the person who made the map that makes the rotation a little recognition and maybe even some free stuff (that Micro transactions normally buy). Encourage more people to get involved.
Halo 4 is doomed, but could be fixed to be made more enjoyable until H5.
Permanent DLC requirements on team slayer. PERMANENT (I hate caps too but this is to keep the kids who don’t know how business works from bringing up the ‘temporary’ requirement before (which clearly is a reason to NOT wanna buy DLC maps for most consumers). People want to buy something that will give permanent (there’s that word again) value.
Lot of people have it and trust me when I say a lot of people would buy it to play TS ‘OR’ go to other playlists (a win in itself, technically). Some will ‘Quit H4’ indeed, some (myself included) would come back b/c it is fixed and my money spent is being put to use. Everyone that played, yes everyone, would be happy. Just like real life business weed them out.
Disclaimer: This is a horrible way to do it compared to the suggestions in this thread for future Halo titles… however, just saying how to technically fix this mess.
I like it. And if you can’t find a match after a certain amount of tries, a pop up shows up asking if you would like to change your search criteria to include all maps/matches or continue with searching only for DLC maps/matches. Kinda like Ranked and Non Ranked matches in other multi-player games.
That little message that pops up on H4 when a playlist is changed could say something like;
“Majestic DLC in the roational playlist this week! - buy for only $5 on marketplace to get into the action, and a chance to win a set of Masterchief hotpants so you can get more action”
or something like that.
plus
a permanent DLC playlist rotating through the map packs. This will mean there will always be the chance of playing your purchased maps and folks will be more likely to buy them - they will then show up more in the other playlists.
for H5 onward, the search option seems best. I sure hope there are lots of search options in H5.
> For Halo 5 and beyond I think mirco transactions and map outsourcing (via better forge) is actually a genius idea. A little mad I didn’t come up with it myself (: (Had Micro, but Forge is brilliant).
Haha thanks, I only thought of it because I try to make high quality forge maps that I wish were in Matchmaking.
So if they made it easier to get community maps in the game, I think it could keep gameplay fresh with new exciting maps and further advance the creativity of forging.
It would also free up the developers to provide more support for the game rather than developing new maps.
