Dom 3 price...

[vanedor]

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?

[Zeldor]

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

[Endoperez]

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.

[NTJedi]

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.

[Endoperez]

NTJedi said: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.

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).

[vanedor]

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$?

[S.R. Krol]

vanedor said:
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$?

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.

[Omnirizon]

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.

[Agrajag]

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

[capnq]

vanedor said:Sure, the manual might be worth some money... but what about selling a version of the game *without* the manual for 40$?

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.)