Weapon DLC

Chimpster said:

I decided to create a poll to see where people fall on the issue of weapon pack DLC like they had in KF1. I know there's been debate back and forth on this issue, but to the best of my knowledge no poll. I haven't read an official statement other than there will be 4 weapons per perk. I could be wrong, maybe it's already been addressed.

Would you rather:

1. No weapon pack DLC at all. Just the 4 weapons per perk that will ship with the game. Only skins and characters as paid DLC.

2. Have paid weapon pack DLC because you feel it's a good way to support TWI in addition to skins/characters. (Note: not presenting this as bias in favor of paid weapon DLC, just a simple statement).

3. Weapons added, but available as free content for everybody. You didn't like how certain weapons in KF1 were considered OP and had to pay to have them. Only skins and characters as paid DLC.

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This is a bit biased of a poll. Who WOULDN'T want extra free weapons in the game? unless im not understanding the options

Naturally people are going to lobby for free weapon DLC. Why would someone vote otherwise?

My only concern is that any paid DLC should be purely cosmetic. There's an infinite amount of cosmetics to add to this game. Purely optional and all a source of income for the community/Tripwire.

Making new weapons, even sidegrades as paid DLC is just asking for another ****storm

I would say 3 as the best case to be honest. That way it keeps it fair for people just get into the game and maybe don't have a large buildup of friends who would have bought the weapon DLC.

I also don't mind as much the option of weapon DLC if tripwire really needed the money as long as it's kept the same way it was in the first killing floor (if one person has it then they can supply the team and none of the weapons being crazy OP) and doesn't get out of had which considering tripwire's past titles i doubt they would.

I feel like any talk of paid DLC though should be a little down the road for now, I wouldn't mind getting an alternate play style thing like the flare revolvers or a tommy gun later on but the main 4 and at least a secondary weapon or 2 for each class should be free. Most of their generated income will probably and hopefully come for skins like the first game though, especially with the ability to put on different hats, sits, mask, etc as well as entirely new characters. 1 or 2 weapon packs wouldn't be to bad but not 4 or 5, that is pushing it.

The best way to address this is by doing special cosmetics/maps for a paid DLC perhaps but keeping all weapon releases as free DLC.

Having to do pay for certain weapon DLC's could cause some massive issues with the games direction.

Payday 2 is a good example as that, While the DLC packs are good and the game is quite fun, Having all these different DLC packs just to unlock certain weapons is a very aggravating experience for someone who doesn't want to invest all that money.

Cosmetics and maps paid, sure.
Weapon DLC for pay, Could be bad for the community.

What would be more interesting is allowing community created weapons being voted and added to the game. That could create an interesting experience?

But there would need to be some sort of rules for this, Otherwise people could create cheap overpowered weaponry.

Another good idea would be to allow attachments to be bought for certain guns. More customization on the current guns could be a solid idea as well.

There are a lot of options here to make the game more diverse without destroying the communty but still allow Tripwire to generate income from the game.

Thoughts?

Chimpster said:

You're probably right. I think the main battle here is between no new weapons at all. I've read numerous complaints from people saying the weapons introduced in KF1 ruined the game and they wanted just vanilla servers.

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Ehh, i still think though that came down to a balance issiue.

Most of the weapons that got added were not a be all end all and had different strengths and weaknesses. There were 1 or 2 that could be considered kind of OP or out of hand (like the M99 due to the massive damage it does or the Buzzsaw bow considering it was the only zerker renged weapon.).

As long as it's stuff like the Seal Squeal, the Orca Launcher, Sythe, Zed Thrower, etc then i doubt there will be to many problems. Even the FN Fal and Scar combo had their drawbacks being cost and fast ammo consumption.

Chimpster said:

I'd agree with that. I do recall some people disliking the weapon packs because some of the weapons they thought were ridiculous/silly and ruined the atmosphere. I'm not one of them though. I think they primarily fell into the "KF should be a serious game" crowd. Same for the chicken commando and robot.

As for the weapons considered to be OP, as you say, that's a balancing issue which isn't hard to work on.

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The tommy gun was really good, very cheap and high damage with big mag, and was dlc. The scyhe was dlc, was basically a claymore with even more range and damage with slightly slower speed. The flare revolvers were strong enough to kill almost anything from a long range with bodyshots, and were dlc. Im unsure of the buzzsaw bow was dlc (i thought it was but am unsure) but it was really really strong for ranged killing of special zeds. The dlc weapons were just too good except obviously the cosmetic dlc.

Im fine with weapon skin DLC packs, Im even fine if they have separate ammo pools from the non skin weapons. If you payed for it, let them have the bonus ammo pool if they buy both the non skinned and the skinned version.

I'm not happy with content weapon DLC packs. I really wanted all of the steampunk weapon packs, but I didnt have enough money to get any of them, and when I did, all my friends had stopped playing KF1. I guess I'm fine with the occasional content weapon DLC pack, maybe years down the road, but not being able to get all of the guns made me feel kinda sad.

I really enjoyed earning the Z.E.D MKI through achievements, but that's really just a free weapon update wrapped up in a fancy box. I am completely fine with TWI releasing all of the DLC cosmetics they can possibly imagine, I'll gladly buy a good handful of them these days, but weapon DLC that adds a new gun, even if its on the same power level as other guns, if it has a different play style, I want to use it.

I will gladly buy cosmetic DLC if it helps TWI release more future content updates. But I've NEVER been a fan of DLC content. Aside from single player games obviously. I'm not mad that they had a few DLC weapon packs near the end of KF1, I can understand why they did 100%. But I generally dislike content DLC. And it made me feel left out that I couldnt get them.

Now all of that being said, even if they do release weapon DLC packs for KF2, I'll most likely buy them this time around if I want something in them. I just wouldnt enjoy that there are DLC guns.

It's pretty obvious that if you include the option for people just to vote for free DLC weapons they are going to vote for it. Now i'm all for having free content but the devs do need to make money some way or another and if paid DLC is going to be an option i'm fine as long as it's cosmetic and doesn't effect balance. So far Tripwire did fine with the DLC they had in KF1 so if it's similar to that i'm all for it, besides the DLC could be used to support free content updates later down the line.

"Weapon DLC that is released as free to the community."
Lol arnt those just standard weapons in newer updates.
Thats not much of a DLC then.

wholegrain89 said:

This is a bit biased of a poll. Who WOULDN'T want extra free weapons in the game? unless im not understanding the options

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I'd pay for them if they weren't over powered as **** like they were in the first game

Dub said:

I'd pay for them if they weren't over powered as **** like they were in the first game

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please explain to me how those weapons that arent the Flares were overpowered.

TL;DR: No functionality DLC. Yes cosmetic DLC.

Charging for a functionality is like buying a band-aid and charging for the "glue DLC" otherwise it won't stay on. Now it's a completely different thing to charge a few extra cents for the pink one.
It was said in an interview that they would never charge for maps or perks because it would split the playerbase. Four weapons currently adds the same amount of functionality as a new perk.
The worst aspect of killing floor 1 ever was the addition of weapon DLC's (followed closely by those damnable hitboxes).
If you still want to make money out of weapons use a "pay for convenience" model. As in: Pay X dollars to immediately unlock the Husk Gun or get to level Y or complete a set of firebug achievements. In this model: the devs get their dosh; people that voted option 3 on this poll will most likely be satisfied; people who want convenience or throw loadsa money at TW can still do so.
Everybody wins. Truly. Can I get an amen?

I voted for 3, but I want to make it clear I support both the last 2 options.

The actual power and game break-ability of the future weapons aside, I'd like to see tripwire not have to tread on eggshells about what they want to sell.

I'd also, however, like to see what happened in KF1; updating it one day to see a few new weapons added out of the blue which was an immensely good feeling.

Without the free weapon additions, if all additional KF1 weapons were paid DLC, just think how bare the trader menu in KF1 would look right now.

What I would be fine with: Weapon reskins i.e. Remington 870 shotgun that has the same stats as the Mossberg 500, yet it looks different. Camo skins would also be good.

What I'm not good with: Weapons with unique functions i.e. Ksg/Hsg that has a 10 round mag instead of being 8 round tube fed like the Mossberg. People who buy the ksg have the advantage of the extra rounds as well as a quicker reload.

Ryno5660 said:

I voted for 3, but I want to make it clear I support both the last 2 options.

The actual power and game break-ability of the future weapons aside, I'd like to see tripwire not have to tread on eggshells about what they want to sell.

I'd also, however, like to see what happened in KF1; updating it one day to see a few new weapons added out of the blue which was an immensely good feeling.

Without the free weapon additions, if all additional KF1 weapons were paid DLC, just think how bare the trader menu in KF1 would look right now.

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I agree with this more or less. A mix of paid and free weapon DLC is what I would think to be the best compromise. With all of the paid weapons not being any more or less powerful than the default ones of course.
I'm sure plenty of people hate the idea of any paid weapon DLC at all, but personally I think allowing them to charge for additional guns allows the developers to put more resources into making more, and better quality, weapons for the game.
And of course free weapons on occasion to maintain goodwill with the community imo.

At least that's what I think makes the best realistic practice for weapon DLC. I do not mind buying a weapon pack if that enables the developers to make weapons more often and more enthusiastic in doing so.