Dom 3 price...
 

I have long been a «moderate» fan of Dom2. Never played it in multi-player but still managed to get a lot of fun from it. I expected to purchase Dom 3 so I tried the demo... but found it was pretty much the same game with *more* of everything. Don't get me wrong, getting more is great. But 55$ for an independant game that feature basically the same engine as Dom2... well, this seems to me quite overpriced. Most AAA games can be bought for less than that at my local EB Games. Especially now that the game has been released over a year ago. Any chance that the price is lowered anytime soon?

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Use search option, you will find a big recent thread about it that has all the answers.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

No. This has been discussed previously, and Shrapnel Games' business model is not to lower prices. Most games sold in physical stores make net loss, and only big publishers can afford throwing various games at the market in the hopes that the few good ones make enough money to cover the losses, or something similar.

There are various holiday sales. Try around Valentines, Easter, Christmas etc. Also, the FRAGS! newsletter will inform you about any sales SG has. I never read it much, besides the occassional checking of whether Dom3 is still the best seller. I think it's been on top 3 of Shrapnel Games' best-selling games since it was published.

Besides new nations and spells, there are some interface changes. A screen where you can see income, sites, tax rate, unrest etc of your whole kingdom (and adjust taxes, increase pd etc); little icons for every item commander wears in the map view, ability to set mages to automatically cast site-searching spells, every turn, until they've gone through all your provinces, etc. If the new nations don't interest you, the interface changes won't get you to pick up the game; if you still want to play with more of the same, they probably are worth it. It's still far from perfect, though.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

I would recommend buying the DOM_3 game. The quantity of *more* means it will have a longer replay value. DOM_3 is one of those games I'll have on my systems for decades of gaming so $55 is a super deal.

The only downside is DOM_3 still has reported major bugs which are listed in red within the bug thread shortlist... which have been around forever with no signs of them getting fixed. So I suggest reviewing the major bugs and then deciding.

My personal opinion is advising to buy the game.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Sorry for mentioning something often discussed but I guess it means that I'm not the first one who realize that something is not quite right here.

I'm someone who bought in the recent years quite a few independant games. Eschalon, Avernum, Mount and Blades... and all of them are far cheaper than Dominion 3. Sure, the manual might be worth some money... but what about selling a version of the game *without* the manual for 40$?

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Dom 2 and 3 are different, in subtle but significant ways. For example, the more limited random magic, and lesser amount of indie mages. Nations feel different due this. Getting Ice Devils for Caelum and such is much harder. Life draining weapons aren't as awesome as before. National summons are a huge big thing for some nations, adding a whole different angle. Or did Dom 2 have them? I don't think so. Not sure. New nations might feel like "more the same", but for example Dom 3 Mictlan, Bandar Log, Lanka, Agartha and Fomoria are a kind of a thing of their own. Especialy the EA ape nation which is really %¤#! shoot at start but becomes really awesome once you get enough conjuration and evocation. Watching your research levels up has never been more exciting. Oh yeah, Quickness doesn't let your mages cast two spells in row now.

And so on.

Dom 3 feels like the perfect Dominions game in my opinion. Dom 2 was kind of in-between. It didn't have the eldritch misanthropic mysticism of Dom 1 and it's intricate but mind-defying interface, neither it had the (relative) easy and barrels' o features of Dominions 3. In retrospect, Dom 2 was something of a disapointment. Even it's interface was like a spreadsheet or an operating table. Dom 3 interface is prettier. Warmer earth tones and all that. But I digress. Dom 3 3.10 is just awesome. It feels great to play. Some things remain the same as they have ever been. Undead creatures kill everyone dead, blood magic is awesome when you can use, Ulm still gets kicked around and so on. Perversely MA Caelum is now considered a weak nation...heh.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Watch out for shrapnel special offers on gamers front, as already mentioned. They had one before xmas, you could get 15% - 20% off if I remember, it takes it to $40'ish dollars. You will never get the price reduced below this however.

The money I spent on Dom3 was the biggest bargain ever, sometimes you after pay top dollar for pure quality.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Comparing Dom 3 to Avernum, I 'd say that the price of Dom 3 is not exaggerated. Spiderweb software requires you to buy hints manuals for instance, without which you may be unable to finish the game, whereas Dom 3 ships with a manual that happens to be useful, and has more replay value than Avernum.

I thought I'd mention ageing among the new things in Dom 3 over Dom 2. Can be quite significant in terms of gameplay.

And I can't understand why an indep game ought to be cheaper than a AAA game. If you enjoy Dom 3, you're likely to spend more hours on it than most games that are cheaper.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

This is pretty much econ 101 or even Junior High Econ. IMHO they seem to operating at the optimal price for maximum profit. X (amount of units sold) at Y (profit per unit) for Z dollars (total profit). Do you really imagine they would more than double their sales if they cut the price in half or do something else with X and Y to create a larger Z? I very much doubt it. If you consider as well the holiday sales to lure the bargain hunters out there, they're doing the correct strategy.

I very much dislike the arguments for indie games being priced arbitrarily less than regular games (ie. because less people worked on them/less money was thrown at the game/less graphics/whatever) or more than regular games (it is niche, so you must pay more because your tastes/preferences are less important than those of the majority). I'm a big fan of they should charge what they can to max profit. If the game is good, people will buy it, and they can make more of them. If the game is bad, well, at least it points out what you shouldn't do in game development, and creates contrast for the good.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Eh? There aren't that many major red bugs. And some of them are fixed each patch. As an example, I counted 22 red bugs in the shortlist, and 5 of them should be fixed in the next version according to the progress page (vanishing scales/dominion spread from corrupted geotables, the 3 ritual-casting items and the 'y'-key bug).

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

The geneforge series, though... I must have a couple hundred hours logged on some of those games.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Hi:

Given the extraordinary number of hours of joy this game continues to give me (between playing the game, chatting about the game, making maps for the game, etc.), I think the price was extremely well justified. Paying $8.50 to see a 2.5 hour movie is exorbitant in comparison. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I also think that the changes to the game in Dom 3 make it well worth while paying for the newer version. But, obviously, this game trips my trigger. Someone with lukewarm interest would probably feel differently.

Pasha

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

I'm sorry, but comparing A to B and saying A costs such-and-such, so why shouldn't B isn't appropriate. Using that argument would mean that everything we purchase should be one standard price. After all, if Indie Game X is selling for $19.95, then Indie Game Y and Z should also sell for $19.95.

Then again, couldn't the argument also be made that those games are undervaluing themselves and maybe they should really be priced like Dominions 3? Or, maybe we should all follow the Distant Guns price model by Storm Eagle Studios, which is a bargain (!) at only $90.

And no, I don't think that the reason this comes up ever couple months is that other folks "realize something is not quite right here", but rather that for some reason people have gotten it into their heads that all indie games are supposed to sell for $19.95 (or pick your price point).

The price point wasn't chosen out of thin air. It wasn't chosen to because Illwinter needs to keep up their payments on their Diablos. It was chosen because it is a fair price, based on what the game is, and is perfectly in step with the overall market.

Of course, like everything in life, it's ultimately up to the consumer to decide whether the price of something is worth it to them. Obviously on this forum I think you'll find most people feel that the price was well worth it.

Looking back at the original post you made I see that you're a Dom 2 owner. How many hours of gameplay did you get from that game? Do you feel your money was well spent on it?
Dom 2 sold for $49.95. Dom 3 sells for $54.95. I'm pretty sure the improvements in the game and the manual is worth the $5 difference, so look at it that way.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

I don't spend much money on computer software. I'm looking up at my collection right now.

12 games.

how many of them have I played in the past year?

3 of them.

Gal Civ 2... it's ok, but minor issues, including balance, that the developers just don't seem to give a damn about bother me way too much.

UFO: afterlight... X-com was actually a better game.

Dom 3... been playing it consistently since I bought it over a year ago. maybe a month off here and there; but I keep coming back to it. Which is more than I can say for any other game. It is the best. unrivaled atmosphere, and the developers seem to actually be concerned. can't speak to the Dom 2 comparison, as I never played it. But Dom 3 is well worth the price for me. Best game in my collection.

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Other than the obvious "dom3 is awesome and worth the price"...
Well, since Dom3 came out, the dollar dropped by about 15% (at least, compared to my currency), so there's your 15% discount right there http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

Because unlike the waste of dead trees that most computer game manuals consist of, the Dom3 manual is a worthwhile investment. I've seen commercial "strategy guides" with less useful information in them than the Dom3 manual includes.

Dom2 had the most heavily used manual of any computer game I've ever owned; I can't imagine choosing your research path without referring to it. The Dom3 manual is even better; the improved formatting of the reference tables is letting me try strategies that I didn't have enough information to think of in Dom2.

(The reason for the "angry" face on this post is that cheapskate gamers whining about games being too expensive is a pet peeve of mine. Games are a luxury item, people. If you don't want to pay for quality, the mainstream publishers put out plenty of cheap yet overpriced shovelware for you to misspend your gaming budget on.)

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

I didn't think the price was bad. But then, at $1.9 = £1, $55 is about the same as a shop-bought game, the exchange rate works in my favour. I'd expect to pay less for an electronic download and .pdf manual (I prefer CD/DVD and paper manual anyway).

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

As someone pointed out earlier, games such as Dom3 are great value when compared to other forms of entertainment such as films or DVD's.
However, I was somewhat disappointed with Dom3 as I don't think it resolved some of the major issues with Dom2, for instance the micromanagement and unintuitive (to me!) interface and I didn't think it was *that* much of a difference to warrant $55.

Its a good buy but I would consider other options if you are only a moderate fan of the previous version (although to be honest there isn't too many other games in this category that stand out at the moment, at least new ones.)

Re: Dom 3 price...
 

You're not only paying for the mere physical products, whose cost is probably unusually high due to limited publishing run, but you're also paying for an unusually high level of quality support.

Dominions 3 was released in May '06, and the developers and reps of the publisher not only can be found still participating in the forum, but also continuing development work that adds more than bug fixes. From a 'normal' publishing house, you'd probably have never seen many of the post-launch fixes and content without paying for multiple 'expansion packs', if ever. You probably also wouldn't have seen quite the support for mods, because -that- much ability to mod makes it harder to sell aforementioned expansions.