Great games ruined by F2P (KILLER INSTINCT)

R

Ryaaan14

Banned
So just got my Xbone One a couple nights ago after wanting one for a year, and the SO bundle I waited on being sold out so got a lame black one and I have been catching up on all the stuff I've been looking forward to and holy fuck.

Bada bum bada bum badumbumpbadumpbaduh Killer Instinct

Great game, had tried it in the MS store a few times since launch and been obsessing over having it in my living room.

So I set up my Xbone One which was very easy and quite a pleasant experience overall. Didn't wanna play the AssCreed games my Xbone came with so went directly to purchase Killer Instinct. F2P game obviously so just let me download it right off.

Ok so cool, game is done and WHOAAAAAAA THESE BOXES ALL OVER SELLING ME SHIT, WHAT IS THIS PLANETSIDE 2? I knew I wanted the Ultimate bundle so I went to purchase it and XBL was broken so I had to wait until tonight to just buy Xbox money cards on Amazon to transfer over to buy Killer Instinct Ultimate so I did. The shit is still everywhere even though I have it. I didn't expect it to disappear but what the hell.

Guys, the game is so damn good but WHY is this garbo F2P interface EVERYWHERE?

tl;dr There are apparently great games out there on the console market being potentially tarnished as F2P games. Shouldn't these games sell more as a full priced game + season pass bullshit? I hate season passes but I hate this advertisement ridden interface more...
 
Ryaaan14 said:
Explain? F2P model here is making even a paid experience feel like a free one.
Click to expand...
Are you talking about the updates that appear rarely when you first boot up the game like the message of the day in cod that you simply press 'b' once to get out of?
 
What the...?

Killer Instinct is actually the best F2P title ever. You can Play EVERYTHING, the FULL GAME, multiplayer and single Player to pay a single dime. They even Change the characters after a period of time, so you dont even have to buy Characters.

it is more than enough to just buy one additional character to Play with your friends with different fighters...
or just buy all characters at once.

Killer Instinct is a really great F2P title.

EDIT:

I'm talking about Console. I am not a huge PC player, but you are right, of course. Nobody touches Dota 2/Valve. Unmatched.
 
daman824 said:
Are you talking about the updates that appear on screen loke the message of the day in cod that you simple press 'b' once to get out of?
Click to expand...

No. Regardless of purchases the game always shows carts and mentions unlocks wherever you go. And if you try and actually buy something on the Xbox store for KI, it's overwhelming and confusing on what you actually need just to get a full experience.

Disclosure: I only bought the $40 season 1 Ultimate Bundle but I still get screens with carts and idk if I have all the content for even the season 1 stuff.
 
Ryaaan14 said:
No. Regardless of purchases the game always shows carts and mentions unlocks wherever you go. And if you try and actually buy something on the Xbox store for KI, it's overwhelming and confusing on what you actually need just to get a full experience.
Click to expand...
No...it doesn't. Could I get some screens?

Never has the game told me about a new item in the marketplace while I was actually in the game menu.
 
Any game that locks gameplay altering features behind paywalls is inherently favoring paid consumers.

KI is certainly no exception.
 
Killer Instinct is awesome. Have no idea what your issue is considering that the free character is just a demo and you can buy the full game all in one.
 
I'll admit that KI's microtransaction system is not immediately easy to grasp, but I'll break it down.

The game has multiple characters, each with different accessories they can equip, and different colors. There are also alternate costumes.

Accessories and colors can be unlocked by grinding. Costumes and characters have to be purchased.

Buying the "combo breaker" (regular edition) of a season gets you all the characters for that season. Buying the "ultra edition" of a season, which costs twice as much, gets you all the characters, their costumes, and their accessories. It does not unlock their colors.

There is also the option to buy in-game money known as "KI Gold" so that you can unlock the specific things you want piecemeal, without grinding or shelling out for the entire Ultimate edition.

The game does not actually beat you over the head with F2P stuff. There is an info pane that you can see by hitting Y that shows news for the game (patch info, free char rotation, etc.). Aside from that, if you don't want to see your unlock progress, you can disable those notifications. That's it.
 
I'm guessing this maybe has to do with that KI Gold stuff they added in season 2?

It was a pretty dumb addition but I haven't really found it to be that intrusive. Never felt like it was forcing it on me anyway. Also the level requirements to unlock anything of value (accessories and colors) seemed low enough to the point where I'd never even consider spending money on the KI Gold crap.
 
Vigilant Gambit said:
I'll admit that KI's microtransaction system is not immediately easy to grasp, but I'll break it down.

The game has multiple characters, each with different accessories they can equip, and different colors. There are also alternate costumes.

Accessories and colors can be unlocked by grinding. Costumes and characters have to be purchased.

Buying the "combo breaker" (regular edition) of a season gets you all the characters for that season. Buying the "ultra edition" of a season, which costs twice as much, gets you all the characters, their costumes, and their accessories. It does not unlock their colors.

There is also the option to buy in-game money known as "KI Gold" so that you can unlock the specific things you want piecemeal, without grinding or shelling out for the entire Ultimate edition.

The game does not actually beat you over the head with F2P stuff. There is an info pane that you can see by hitting Y that shows news for the game (patch info, free char rotation, etc.). Aside from that, if you don't want to see your unlock progress, you can disable those notifications. That's it.
Click to expand...

Ok this is actually quite helpful. I just wish (and would think) they would make this easier to understand especially if you purchase the Ultra. This sort of stuff is really bizarre to see on a console game.
 
The game locks accessories and colors behind progress, it's not really tied into the F2P aspect there.

Not sure what else you'd be focusing on. Season 2 did add a Gold system but it can be ignored completely and I don't think the game ever really brings any focus towards it.
 
Ryaaan14 said:
Ok this is actually quite helpful. I just wish (and would think) they would make this easier to understand especially if you purchase the Ultra. This sort of stuff is really bizarre to see on a console game.
Click to expand...

After playing KI for about a week, I think it's a pretty good system, but I have to admit that they do a pretty weak job of breaking it down. I had to really look into it to figure this stuff out. It seemed insane to me that buying the season didn't get me colors, even if it was the Ultra edition.

I left some stuff out; you can grind or buy icons and backgrounds for your player card, as well as taunts, concept art, and music.

The main issue I have is how janky this system looks from the XBL store side of things. There's actually a different system from that end; in game, you can only buy things piecemeal, and only with the in-game currency. Outside of the game, you buy things in bundles.
 
Ryaaan14 said:
Explain? F2P model here is making even a paid experience feel like a free one.
Click to expand...

If you just play the game (open KI, start a game, play, start a game, play, etc, etc...) you do not even see the F2P part of the game.

Can't really see a problem in here.
 
Endoplasmatisch said:
What the...?

Killer Instinct is actually the best F2P title ever. You can Play EVERYTHING, the FULL GAME, multiplayer and single Player to pay a single dime. They even Change the characters after a period of time, so you dont even have to buy Characters.

it is more than enough to just buy one additional character to Play with your friends with different fighters...
or just buy all characters at once.

Killer Instinct is a really great F2P title.
Click to expand...

Dota 2 offers you 112 heroes to pick from, with no rotation of pickable characters. The only thing you pay for is decorative items.
 
Someone explain the "seasons" to me for KI.

Is each season like a version of SF4? Like the complete version of vanilla SF4 = KI season 1, and the complete version of SSFIV = KI season 2, and so on? How much would it cost me to have the full version of the current KI game?
 
Echoenigma said:
Any game that locks gameplay altering features behind paywalls is inherently favoring paid consumers.

KI is certainly no exception.
Click to expand...

What the fuck is this shit?

It's 2014 and people are still confused over the pricing system of KI?

Again. $20 = the entire cast for season 1.
$20 = the entire cast for season 2.

Accessories are locked by progress. Costumes are part of the ultra packs. $20 for costumes + KI Classic. Same for S1 and S2

What gameplay altering features are locked? Characters don't alter the gameplay. There are no boosting, no powerups. There is no unfair advantage to playing KI for free in comparison to paying for it.

Explain instead of living a shitty post that adds no substance to your argument. This goes the same for you, OP.

This shit is so asinine that it's like saying stick players have the advantage over pad players because they pay more. Lol fuck outta here


BananasWithGuns said:
I'm guessing this maybe has to do with that KI Gold stuff they added in season 2?

It was a pretty dumb addition but I haven't really found it to be that intrusive. Never felt like it was forcing it on me anyway. Also the level requirements to unlock anything of value (accessories and colors) seemed low enough to the point where I'd never even consider spending money on the KI Gold crap.
Click to expand...

Oh now I see his issue. Thankfully it's only tied to cosmetics.
 
captmcblack said:
Someone explain the "seasons" to me for KI.

Is each season like a version of SF4? Like the complete version of vanilla SF4 = KI season 1, and the complete version of SSFIV = KI season 2, and so on? How much would it cost me to have the full version of the current KI game?
Click to expand...
$40 = $20 (8 characters of season 1, no bonus costumes) + $20 (2/8 characters of season 2 released so far, no bonus costumes)

oops, beaten
 
As an owner of the full game, this description isn't representative of my experience with it. Some of the descriptions of disruptive advertising don't even make sense from when I played the unpaid version. I think KIs1/KIs2 are examples of semi-F2P done right. Having a pricing model that doesn't punish you for buying incrementally then upgrading is a nice touch. Having the full game available for $20 per season for a high-quality fighting game tailored to what was certainly a niche audience gets a lot of mindshare from me.

Could OP maybe share video of what they're talking about specifically? Or at least go into more detail.
 
Silky said:
What the fuck is this shit?

It's 2014 and people are still confused over the pricing system of KI?

Again. $20 = the entire cast for season 1.
$20 = the entire cast for season 2.

Accessories are locked by progress. Costumes are part of the ultra packs. $20 for costumes + KI Classic. Same for S1 and S2

What gameplay altering features are locked? Characters don't alter the gameplay. There are no boosting, no powerups. There is no unfair advantage to playing KI for free in comparison to paying for it.

Explain instead of living a shitty post that adds no substance to your argument. This goes the same for you, OP.

This shit is so asinine that it's like saying stick players have the advantage over pad players because they pay more. Lol fuck outta here.
Click to expand...

hahahahahaha

are you fucking serious

"Characters don't alter the gameplay". In a fighting game. That, like any other fighting game, has good and bad matchups. Sure.
 
Endoplasmatisch said:
What the...?

Killer Instinct is actually the best F2P title ever. You can Play EVERYTHING, the FULL GAME, multiplayer and single Player to pay a single dime. They even Change the characters after a period of time, so you dont even have to buy Characters.

it is more than enough to just buy one additional character to Play with your friends with different fighters...
or just buy all characters at once.

Killer Instinct is a really great F2P title.
Click to expand...

I don't think you've played many F2P games...
Someone already posted DOTA2.

There's a lot more F2P games on PC, so it's a very competitive F2P market.
If you want to see where the future of F2P is heading, try gaming on a PC.
Not all of it is good though... ;P
 
captmcblack said:
Someone explain the "seasons" to me for KI.

Is each season like a version of SF4? Like the complete version of vanilla SF4 = KI season 1, and the complete version of SSFIV = KI season 2, and so on? How much would it cost me to have the full version of the current KI game?
Click to expand...

I was just jumping into the thread to ask this, the store page couldn't be less informative if it tried.

They don'y have a pack that includes seasons 1+2 yet? It seems to me that should be the very first bundle over the ultimate packs that they're pushing. Had I spent $40 on that S2 Ultimate bundle expecting S1 to be included for that price I would have been so pissed.
 
godelsmetric said:
Dota 2 offers you 112 heroes to pick from, with no rotation of pickable characters. The only thing you pay for is decorative items.
Click to expand...

Talking about Console Games. Nothing touches Dota 2/Valve. Of course.
But is there another Console game, where you can basically play the whole game for free?
 
Echoenigma said:
hahahahahaha

are you fucking serious

"Characters don't alter the gameplay". In a fighting game. That, like any other fighting game, has good and bad matchups. Sure.
Click to expand...

You know what I mean. Most F2P games have gameplay altering additions like experience / stat boosts that help you level up faster and give you an obvious advantage. There is nothing of the sort like that in the game.

Paying for characters in KI does not give you an unfair advantage over free players. Especially considering they can still train and play against those characters for free.

The unbalanced perception that F2P as a title gives to games does not exist in KI. If you're unable to win against people who bought the characters, then that has nothing to die with the F2P model. It's most likely because you suck.

Gameplay altering in fighting games would have to be something like discovering unintentional bug infinites, or something that wasn't meant to be in the original design.
 
I just think it's really confusing. I understand there is a pack of all 8 s1 characters for 20 dollars, and if I spend 5 on a guy I can get the rest of the pack for 15, spend 10 on 2 I get the pack for 10 etc

are the costumes the same way? If I spend 20 dollars on costumes do I just get the rest of them for free + KI Classic?


I'd really like a pack of all the new costumes only that didn't include the shitty original KI game/costumes but I'd also like to buy a costume or two without having to feel like I'm being punished for doing so. Theres nothing in any of the messaging that says this is possible. Is it?
 
shiftplusone said:
I just think it's really confusing. I understand there is a pack of all 8 s1 characters for 20 dollars, and if I spend 5 on a guy I can get the rest of the pack for 15, spend 10 on 2 I get the pack for 10 etc

are the costumes the same way? If I spend 20 dollars on costumes do I just get the rest of them for free + KI Classic?


I'd really like a pack of all the new costumes only that didn't include the shitty original KI game/costumes but I'd also like to buy a costume or two without having to feel like I'm being punished for doing so. Theres nothing in any of the messaging that says this is possible. Is it?
Click to expand...

Yeah it is just VERY confusing. To the point where it makes you feel like you haven't bought everything you intended to buy. I am honestly just going to try and enjoy playing the game for a while and maybe after seeing all of it for an extended amount of time it will begin to come together a bit.

Again though it's just so disheartening that a great game has issues like this.
 
shiftplusone said:
I just think it's really confusing. I understand there is a pack of all 8 s1 characters for 20 dollars, and if I spend 5 on a guy I can get the rest of the pack for 15, spend 10 on 2 I get the pack for 10 etc

are the costumes the same way? If I spend 20 dollars on costumes do I just get the rest of them for free + KI Classic?


I'd really like a pack of all the new costumes only that didn't include the shitty original KI game/costumes but I'd also like to buy a costume or two without having to feel like I'm being punished for doing so. Theres nothing in any of the messaging that says this is possible. Is it?
Click to expand...

The retro costumes/4th accessory set come with the Ultra pack. They do sell the retro costumes (I assume with the 4th accessory set but not sure) separately for S1, but Ultra pack owners got it I think a month ahead of time. I think they had sales every once in a while to buy them all at once as well.
 
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