Are People Here Really Ok With This Sort of Thing?

According to gix I am supposed to punch you in the face for thinking that

 

I felt terrible when he said that . I guess we are two artists living in two different worlds..

* preparing to get a punch in the face

 

Nothing wrong with reselling an item you get for free; however, when you upsell it by some ridiculous amount... you are simply tarnishing your reputation and brand and will be labeled greedy. Once you are labeled "greedy," everything you do will be regarded with suspicion. Just because you can mark up an item 5,000%... should you? Would you do such a thing if there was full transparency?

Would Port have still sold this item for $50 had it known it would be called out? If they had a good PR person that answer would be, I hope, no. They just have egg on their face for this one because Ice Queen called them out.

This item should have cost $5 - $10... and they would still reap tremendous benefit over the amount of time put into implementing this free item in game. Hell... they may have even made more money at that price point anyways. You figure retouching (if that even occurred) through addition to the add-on store probably took them 5 hours at most.

 

Alternative Art bro

 

Black Desert Online got slammed hard "at launch" for Add on Store Pricing.

Please all be aware that as the official lauch is not here yet - Critics are holding back.

And the difference of the Add On Store Quality of clothing and Visusof ingame Clothing is hardcore.

They are still considerable cheaper compared to SotA.


After the press slammed them they reduced pricing.

The main reason was that it had double charge for customers

You had to buy a Game for full price
and still had the Store!


This was not the same as in Korea.

Critics say Games before had either Free to play with Store or Buy and Play

Reminds you of a Game?

As SotA is "higher" cost to buy and "higher" cost on Add on Store i expect at release no "nice" words.

Also all Expansions are free on BDO -
does not look like SotA is going that way?

Also GW2 or Elder Scrolls Store compete.

Do you all expect the Add On Store Pricing to be a "Incentive" to buy this Game" or more of a "scare away" for new customers.


So this is my feedback.

Not like we as customers do not compare.

I am happy to take bets if at releae i am going to be right.

Source:

https://www.google.de/amp/www.tento...rt-online-reveals-outrageous-store-prices.amp

https://mmos.com/editorials/black-deserts-buy-to-play-model-wont-work

https://www.google.de/amp/www.games...k-desert-onlines-cash-shop-32-for-one-costume

 

To be honest, I have no interest in the giant horse statue or the smaller horse statue. What I really would like is a table sized model - that would be worth more to me but I'll probably be charged less by Port since the pricing seems to be (as someone pointed out) linked to the volume/amount of surface area occupied by the object.

Since the controversy doesn't seem to involve any violation of the Unity store asset use license nor does it have any gameplay impact on the SOTA backers who don't have the statue - I've concluded that the real issue is the perception of how this is seen by people inside & outside of the SOTA community. To put it more bluntly, I would have been very concerned if this had been the flamberge which also had advanced power stats on it (which it doesn't) -- that would have triggered all the red flags I keep in mind to watch out for in any crowdfunded project.

So, I would like to make a suggestion. I've noticed that hardly any criticism is leveled against the pricing of the Make-a-Difference items on the addon store since a substantial part goes to charity. Why not have something similar to support aspiring modelers or artists or better yet a non-profit organization which supports aspiring artists ? For example so many people posting on DeviantArt are astoundingly talented.

This is a battle of perceptions after all, so this - though not really necessary in any legal or formal way - would still be important in countering such negative impressions.

I do wish that the prices of the more expensive items on the addon store were lower so that more people could afford them. At the same time, I don't want to deprive SOTA of funds it needs to complete the game and do a proper launch. Maybe post-launch would be a good time to review the prices specially if the game draws in more people than expected.

 

I don't think it's overpriced at all. Has anyone seen the size of it yet?? it's HUGE. The last thing Portalarium wants is a zillion of these things in every town. It's more of a 'one per town' type of item, if that. That's most likely the reason for the pricing, despite all the ''conjecturing'' in this thread.

On a serious note though, I really disapprove of anyone who is trying to make someone who buys this feel ''stupid'' or ''scammed.'' People should be able to purchase whatever they like, if they're into horses or that particular breed of horse, maybe their beloved pet, without being made to feel badly. Especially while also supporting this game we all love and support as well. Shame on those of you applicable. Shame shame. tsk.

 

Made. My. Day.

 

heh.. it strikes me as well, we're likely ALL more forgiving if the item is of interest to us personally I've advocated for this before but hey.. I'll say it again. Maybe start a thread called "Stuff I'd buy in the store"

 

Maybe I'm wrong but it seems to me that horse has been used as a decoration in game before being sold in add-on store.

When visiting Xenos few weeks ago (and have suffered bad performances there), I noticed this giant horse statue among many others.

I also saw a walkthrough video where this statue was used with a zombie on it, in some other area.

Therefore, the value of this asset is not limited to its resale : it's actualy used to shape the game.

In my opinion, it's a clever way to maximise the return of investment. If you have any doubt about the "behind the scenes" thing, read this.

To be frank, from a traditional point of view, this kind of practice and prices would be dubious. But here, players who buy this horse statue are helping game development. We don't have the same relationship with Portalarium as with EA, Activision or Ubisoft because we didn't want to, at start !

With Kickstarter, crowdfunding and early access, we don't buy the game, some DLC or cosmetics but we fund Portalarium to help it make the game better. Portalarium is not making easy money. They seek to exploit all possible sources of income to invest in the game.

In any case, it's my opinion, but I'm fine with this.

 

Sure, once you've spent as much as it costs for a POT, what's another $50 for a giant horse statue? It'd be a deal at twice the price.

When you start making the same arguments as every scam artist ever revealed "People should be able to purchase whatever they like ... without being made to feel badly," you should really take a critical look at your position. I'm not suggests that Port's practices are a scam or anyone, but there are better ways to defend them.

Maybe Port should limit announcements of items like these to the Dev+ forums and Dev+ level backers, that'd probably save plenty of heartache without reducing sales...

 

And I stand by my comment.

Let me explain:

You're letting others (non-artists/corporations) believe that they can get people's artwork for free; meaning you're making it that much harder for other artists to get paid because they have to constantly fight the "Why should I pay you? Don't you want exposure?" argument. That illusion that you can get exposure by giving your stuff for free is exactly what they want you to think. You get exposure REGARDLESS of where you showcase your art.

It's a perpetual cycle. That's the problem. Stop it!

You want to impress people by saying your art is in a game, having the devs spend time remastering your artwork (like in this case, they had to rework the horse) is actually a poor way of saying: "Hey! I can do art for games! Hire me!"

You show me that horse in the asset store and tell me in it's SotA... After a couple of minutes of comparison, I'd probably throw your application in the "meh" pile. Assuming we even bothered to spend more time looking at your portfolio and, to be honest, that horse deserved a "meh".

I can scale a cube to be the size of a building, takes 2 seconds.

 

Sorry @Gix but you did not understand my message. Nobody said we, artists, are giving things for free all the time. What I'm saying, and I'll not stop saying this, is that we must let others to do what they want with their work, that's all. Who are we to judge that? if I want give for free a few of my props and assets, why not? I'm completely free and I'm not harming the industry.

Same goes with that "pro tip" you posted. We are here to teach something to other artists? what's wrong if an artist want to keep modeling and creating orcs or elves? let them do what they want with their creativity, and believe me, at some point they will be really good doing that.

Sometimes the passion and enthusiasm wins over the convenient stuff, so who are we to tell others what they need to create? isn't art something that comes from our imagination and inspiration? think about it

 

This is getting out of topic but I'll reply it here considering the conversation branched out a while ago but I'm going to end it here (PM or start a new thread if you want to discuss this further).

The pro tip I shared isn't to dictate what you, as an artist, can or can't do. Go wild and be free! Do art! However, if you want to get into the industry, what I listed are the things you should avoid if you want to increase your odds of getting hired. You want to be hired, you need to grab people's attention and you can't do that if you're doing the exact same thing everybody else does... unless your art is BEYOND what the others are showcasing. I shared this tip because the "this is good for exposure so that they can get into the industry" is an argument that's been thrown around a lot in this conversation... and it's wrong.

Want to be hired in team working on a fantasy-themed game? How about creating some unique creature instead of generic orcs and elves? Once hired, let them tell you they want generic orcs and elves but, until then, show them what your imagination can come up with! SotA's automatons (or mechano-themed kobolds) are a good example of standing outside the norm.

You can do whatever you want. You don't need to give away free things to get exposure. You can, but you shouldn't. I'm saying this as someone who wants to help you (and others).

Just like Portalarium can charge anything they want for their add-on store items... they shouldn't. I'm saying this as someone who wants to help them.

 

What's your CV, Gix?

 

Well, the point that I did not follow those "pro tips" in the past, and like me more people, and managed to get, in our own way, a job in the industry demostrate that we have a lot of ways to do things and to be successful

And we are all here to try to help them, in one way or another. Sorry about the off-topic.

 

I would love to see things like that as rare drops as we don't really have any worth while loot as yet. I love the exitmend when there is a chance for somthing nice to drop. The only thing at the moment are the pristine heads we can find.

 

I normally disagree with Gix but in this instance he is pretty accurate. I would argue against his assertion that generic art will hurt you, though, at least for the most part.

In my experience it is the quality that matters, more so than the subject.

At least for the most part.

 

Then you need to add to your facepunch list the recent Portalarium scenic artist hires, former modders and recent students, both examples where their free portfolios got them noticed and got them hired.

Your claim is that doing free modding work is not going to get you hired, is invalidated by Portalariums own hiring practices. Even the young artist behind a huge mod for Skyrim parlayed that free work into a game design career for a AAA studio.

The increased use of the asset store is what has led to the decrease of asset artists and increase in scenic artists. They are now spending less time on the store only items and more time on the un-cloning of scenes. It used to be one scene every couple of months, now it is several scenes a month. The entire shogunning of the SouthEast area is also a Unity asset flip, one they like so much they decided to redesign an entire area that was not scheduled for uncloning as they was already unique.

 

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that you shouldn't give away your work for free to get hired. There's a difference.

Did that studio re-packaged his mod to sell it? No, he got hired. Grats to him. Please notice the difference.

It being an asset flip isn't the issue... you're not paying attention.

I completely agree. Quality does matter. However, after seeing tons and tons of similar art, it really gets all blurred out for the one who reviews portfolios. Like I've been saying, if your concept is generic, your art has to be no less than astounding to stand out.

At the end of the day, the quality is still what gets you hired.

///

Okay, as of now I'm deliberately ignoring further comments on this thread. We're going in circles.
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