VGCollect Forum
VGCollect Site Stuff => Site Feedback => Topic started by: jcalder8 on March 13, 2012, 11:40:26 pm
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I'm trying to add Arcade/Indie games for the 360 and as I'm going through I'm seeing lots of listing for DLC. Is DLC something that we want to track?
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We decided a long time ago that we weren't tracking DLC. If we had a way to list them within the game they belong to, it might be a different story. But originally we weren't even going to track Digital games at all, until we had a bunch of users asking for it.
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This makes sense I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't skipping a bunch of things that I should be adding.
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We decided a long time ago that we weren't tracking DLC. If we had a way to list them within the game they belong to, it might be a different story. But originally we weren't even going to track Digital games at all, until we had a bunch of users asking for it.
Actually... um. Aheh. >_>
If the DLC is a proper story expansion, or something that adds more than just a bunch of in-game items, I add it. Examples:
Deus EX HR: The Missing Link -- http://vgcollect.com/item/23128
Dungeons of Dredmor: Realm of the Diggle Gods -- http://vgcollect.com/item/20624
All expansion packs for Borderlands - yes, even the crappy Mad Moxxi one that's basically an arena. It contains some stuff related to the story so it counted.
Stuff that I don't think needs to be tracked: Weapon packs, avatar clothing items, character or weapon skins, downloadable character packs (except when they come with additional story content) or online codes or passes.
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So does the DLC have to have its own story to it for it to be considered? What about extra tracks in a racing game?
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So does the DLC have to have its own story to it for it to be considered? What about extra tracks in a racing game?
Not necessarily.
As I said, I don't add stuff that gives you pointless cosmetic stuff (skins, avatar items) or bonus weapons (like stupid preorder exclusive crap or the Just Cause 2 weapons and vehicles), or online codes or passes (like the Cerberus Network on Mass Effect 2).
If any downloadable character packs are more than a reskin... then I guess they could be added. I don't count them so I wouldn't personally add them to the database. I'd just use the notes to list what I have.
Multiplayer map packs are iffy but I guess I'd add them too.
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It just seems like fluff to me.
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So are we saying that it has to be a standalone product to warrant an entry?
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But all DLC are standalone products! ;D
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have an idea for dlc how about something like in this pic
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Let me show you why that's not a good idea.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/65800/
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Hey, sorry to dig up this old topic, but I've also been wondering about DLC.
There seems to be a lot of it listed in the Steam category, but the lack of finding any Xbox 360 DLC got me wondering...
I do think tracking DLC is a good idea, although like you guys said... tracking stuff like online passes, avatar items, and other cosmetic stuff probably isn't necessary.
I think having a list with checkmarks or a drop down menu on the game itself might be kind of messy for games that have a ton of DLC like Rock Band... I'm sure it'd be possible to add in a search bar just for a single game's DLC, but that would also be kind of odd, I think... just from a design perspective.
If you ask me, I think the best way to handle DLC is a two step process...
First would be to set up multiple categories, like we currently do with Swag.
Some examples:
"Xbox 360 - DLC - Songs/Track Packs"
"Playstation 3 - DLC - Expansion Packs"
"Wii U - DLC - Extra/Bonus Items"
There could also be a generic category for DLC that doesn't fit in any of the other categories.
Actually, I'm not sure if multiple categories would be too much or not. Here's another alternative:
"Xbox 360 - DLC"
"Wii - DLC"
"PC- DLC"
Still though... not sure if that would break it up enough. Another alternative I was thinking of would be without a system listed, like this:
"DLC - Weapon Packs"
"DLC - Character Packs"
"DLC - Map/Level Packs"
Second would be to add something to the Style guide. Not sure exactly what you guys would want, but I think something like this might work nicely:
"Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam"
The title of the game would come first (adhering to the style guide for game titles), and much like the current method of expansion packs, the DLC's title would come after a second colon.
This way, when all is said and done, it would show up as such in search: "Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam - Xbox 360 - DLC - Expansion Packs"
What do you guys think of this idea?
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Its too weird ... I have a few DLC things but I just listed them with the game itself in the notes. FF IV the after years I just listed that I have all the available scenarios and Marvel Pinball that I have all the DLC tables. To make their own category seems to be more work than necessary. The notes section has plenty of room to list details.
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Personally, I don't think we should list DLC as their own entries. I agree that we should list downloadable games, but not so much the downloadable content packs, unless it is something like a PC expansion pack that had both a disc and digital release.
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A few people have already begun to add DLC to the Steam category.
I've been raging for a few days, but I'm too nice to tell them to stop. :P
The way I see it, stuff that has an actual impact on extending the game - extra maps, additional gameplay modes, and sometimes characters - should be added.
Things that give you an advantage, like weapons packs, or purely cosmetic stuff, like costumes, player skin customizations, or this inexcusable cashgrab (http://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/234776/) should NEVER be listed here.
I realize that this contradicts my comments about characters in post #3 of this thread a bit, but as long as it's a proper new character that isn't just a reskin, it's cool.
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A few people have already begun to add DLC to the Steam category.
I've been raging for a few days, but I'm too nice to tell them to stop. :P
The way I see it, stuff that has an actual impact on extending the game - extra maps, additional gameplay modes, and sometimes characters - should be added.
Things that give you an advantage, like weapons packs, or purely cosmetic stuff, like costumes, player skin customizations, or this inexcusable cashgrab (http://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/app/234776/) should NEVER be listed here.
I realize that this contradicts my comments about characters in post #3 of this thread a bit, but as long as it's a proper new character that isn't just a reskin, it's cool.
I don't think it contradicts anything, a new character in a fighting game is essentially a whole new part of that game... They have new movesets, new animations, it changes the balance, and definitely has meaningful gameplay changes...
On the other side of things... those character skins for Street Fighter IV are just that, skins... and I agree that stuff like that shouldn't be added
Also, what the hell? is that a bacon gun?
Hmm, maybe DLC could work like Developers and Publishers currently do (text input with auto-complete generated from previous entries), except you'd be able to add multiple.
This would let the main search bar be free of what would obviously become a super bloated DLC selection... and would still let people add in all of their owned DLC.
Perhaps there would also be some way to relegate what shows up on that auto-complete list to only show DLC for the game you're adding it to?
The problem with this is that it gets rid of a lot of the functionality of the main pages (seeing how many other people own it, release dates, box art, box text, etc.). Perhaps there would be some way to add it like mentioned above, relegate it to only appear on that specific game, in the DLC text box, but also have each entry create it's own small page. Each of those pages could be listed in the person's collection, indented underneath the main game.
Here, here's a few mockup images:
(http://i.imgur.com/xHbg0P5h.jpg)
In this one and the next one, we see the adding process...
(http://i.imgur.com/MhE8KjYh.jpg)
You type in something, and if it's already been added, it auto-completes.
(http://i.imgur.com/3fc12I3h.jpg)
In your collection this is how it will appear, indented. Also note the "show/hide DLC" button. This button would ideally only appear under games where you've added DLC.
(http://i.imgur.com/YJgoYkzh.jpg)
You can also add notes, purchase date, and cost, just like a normal item... however, note that there isn't any boxes to check for "Cart", "box", "manual", etc... since a DLC copy of somethign wouldn't have that.
Also note how the title is presented. It would take the title of the game, add the static text " DLC - " after it... and then whatever name the user supplied for the DLC.
Perhaps this window could pop up for each item a person adds, when they add them.
(http://i.imgur.com/61d43ms.jpg?1)
If you were to click on the DLC's title in your collection you'd be brought to this page, which would look mostly like a full page... except this would not show up in the main search bar, only when adding DLC to a specific game.
Note the "Release Type" where it says "Rock Band DLC" This could be automatically generated for whatever game they added it to.
I'm not sure if we'd want the Developer & Publisher sections to automatically be taken from the game's page or not, but the platform absolutely should be copied.
You'd also be able to add box art & box text, just like any other release.
I'm also wondering if the standard submit could be used as a way of adding new entries (Even though they wouldn't show up in the main search), but then there would have to be a way of noting which game the DLC is for. Perhaps there could be an entirely separate DLC Submission page? ...or maybe once you note that something is DLC, another text box could show, and you would search for a game to add it to... The game you add would then determine the platform, developer, publisher, etc.
I think this idea is definitely superior to the other one I had. What do you guys think?
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On the other side of things... those character skins for Street Fighter IV are just that, skins... and I agree that stuff like that shouldn't be added
Also, what the hell? is that a bacon gun?
No, that's a skin for your gun that makes it look like bacon. It doesn't fire bacon. Though if it did, it'd be an awesome weapon against people who can't eat pork. :P
I like your idea, I had thought about something similar a while back (not nearly as detailed as your own idea, though), but it's still way far off. We have to let matt finish the other stuff he's working on first, ya know.
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On the other side of things... those character skins for Street Fighter IV are just that, skins... and I agree that stuff like that shouldn't be added
Also, what the hell? is that a bacon gun?
No, that's a skin for your gun that makes it look like bacon. It doesn't fire bacon. Though if it did, it'd be an awesome weapon against people who can't eat pork. :P
I like your idea, I had thought about something similar a while back (not nearly as detailed as your own idea, though), but it's still way far off. We have to let matt finish the other stuff he's working on first, ya know.
Yeah, I can see that... I'm sure Matt wouldn't want to implement a feature just to do it all over again after the new site launches... why do all that work twice?