Let's be honest, the game feels like it is still in Alpha.......

Hmm it's hard to read the context of your one word post. But yes, fortnite has caused massive issues among teenage boys. I've had two families contact me - because they know my background in programming - to give advice on how to stop their son spending hundreds of pounds on skins in fortnite. Yes it would be easy to say 'don't give them your bank details but that is how the accounts work.

Anyway, like I say, I have no idea what you mean by saying Fortnite. All I can say is, you talk about stuff you know very little about, so leave it to the grown-ups eh?

@TokaiTele You left because they asked you to write micro transaction code. How and why does that make you know business

@TokaiTele You have got some bad ego issues, you know?

So because I've been a professional programmer for 8 years and worked for companies that make software for the gaming industry that makes me egotistical? Man you are an idiot!

I'm guessing you're a streamer. Streamers think they know everything. But anyway, if you wanna carry on acting hard then let's meet and speak face to face. Let's see if you are a cocky wanker then too eh?

Come on tough guy. Please respond with more keyboard warrior rebuttals. Calling me dumb and egotistical is what has brought us here. I'm seeing if you can have a decent conversation without resorting to personal insults. I can guarantee that you wouldn't act like that in a face-to-face situation with people. So tough guy....what do you say? Wanna meet?

@TokaiTele

Microtransactions will cost some people money that should not have had access to spending those money as they are too young or irresponsible. Also if microtransactions are used in a pay-to-win manner it can break a game. These are two aspects that may give games a bad reputation and create problems in some peoples life - Still there is not only bad sides, done right it can be a good thing for a game, bear with me for a moment:

People can get addicted to almost everything that is fun, alcohol, sugar, fast food, driving too fast, still the world would be less off without fast cars, good wine, late night fast food amongst other things that needs to be enjoyed responsibly. We can't ban everything that can be misused just to keep the crazies in check.

I would not compare fast cars with micro transactions as sources of joy, but they are comparable in the way they both can lead to good consequences. Fast cars will give you an adrenaline rush, and well, microtransactions done right can give the devs more leeway to make a more fun game by having more money to spend. No doubt about it.

Microtransactions only used on cosmetics which gives no upper hand is an example that will not be pay-to-win.

The other part about youngsters spending dads credit card also have several solutions. First and foremost you can have a strong parental filter. Have it so you both need a credit card and a phone code or similar to being able to perform a purchase, secondly you could have a maximum amount of transactions possible within a certain timeframe, thirdly you could add a safety filter that would disable the credit card info every third month or so, making the occasional smart rugrat loose access to the card details and phone he stole anyway after a while - though in such a case either his/her parents are too stupid to raise a child or the kid is too smart and will end up a professor or drug addict no matter what restrictions he/she gets=)

Bonus: Adding this heavy filter can be marketed as being a responsible developer and before you know it every mom will be obsessed with having a Sandstorm copy for her toddler so "it" can make America great again in a user friendly way.

@Pacalis Valid points. It is good to have a conversation with somebody who doesn't resort to petty insults.

Micro-transactions are a bane in the game's industry. This is my opinion. Software Development companies have existed, and made healthy profits, long before this phenomena was introduced. It is a growing trend amongst developers to make a half-arsed game, but then bolt on a micro-transaction facility, simply to make a quick profit. My point is, the game is secondary to the micro-transactions.

I feel it is unethical to have loot boxes and micro-transactions in games. As we have seen with certain legal ramifications in Belgium and other countries. So I'm not alone when I take this stance.

There are many other ways to finance a game without resorting to insidious practices.

Also this trend then promotes cheating; PUBG being a perfect example, there are many cheaters, mainly in China, who open accounts, earn in-game credits that they then convert to real cash - mainly trading skins. Once they are found and banned, they simply create another account and do it all over again. So, games with micro-transactions promote cheating and therefore ruin games. Then you have the moral and personal implications where children spend money the family can barely afford. The parents aren't necessarily stupid; they simply don't understand the process.

I've been playing computer games for 40 years now!! lol So I've watched this industry grow from a nugget into a huge pearl. We simply need more ethical practices and decent people to move the industry forward.

I'm sure catknobhead will inject and hurl more insults to prove how intelligent they are but I'm not moving one inch in my opinion.

@TokaiTele

Loot boxes are annoying, especially when you can not delete them from inventory or uncheck them as a feature - Again parental locks could be used if the developer cares about ethical practices and are decent people. Definitely agree the industry is overdue to take a larger responsibility in trying to treat people better overall.

Trading skins and similar is the best example of a possibility that can be introduced with micro transactions and is like cancer when introduced to a game, I agree - No parental filter will probably be able to solve that.

Still I am also interested in seeing solutions being found on the issue without necessarily rejecting the whole concept of micro transactions [MT].

For example if you keep trading away from the formula, making it impossible to earn money for the players, the incentive to open new accounts to make money will be eradicated.

I also mean the concept [MT] would not be insidious if the amount of safety measures are done right, at the same time I mean there should be drawn a line somewhere to how much you need to defend ignorant people against themselves (or whatever you would call a parent that get financially outsmarted by their own kids) - As [you being] a programmer I am sure you are capable of making a healthy safety net against insidious effects if you sat down and discussed viable solutions with a developer who did have sincere intentions (making a butt ton of money, but not by exploiting unaware people).

Also I actually prefer [MT] to some of the alternatives I've seen around - Paid DLCs brings drawbacks of its owns.

What are your thoughts?

last edited by Pacalis

My thoughts?

Well, loot boxes are gambling. Have you noticed how popular digital gambling is nowadays? Yeah, very popular. Loot boxes do not belong in video games, plain and simple.

I don't understand your logic in reference to DLC's. I find it incredulous that you find DLC's worse than MT. DLC's offer more game content, so they add to your experience of the game. Developers have spent time and effort in producing said DLC's and so they should be rewarded for those efforts - although some DLC's are free! MT on the other hand offer nothing but superficial gains; they are for lazy or impatient people who want 'everything now!'. Explain to me why extra content for a game - some DLC's are excellent (Skryim) - is a bad thing? Or at least, as you say, worse than MT.

I don't want to sound like an old git, but this is how I see it: You pay for a game, you play the game. If you want more content for that game - DLC - and it is available, you have the option to pay for that extra content. The only financial exchange should be the initial purchase with the possibility of extra content down the line. Otherwise you open the floodgates - which are already bloody open!! - to unscrupulous parties who's ONLY goal is to fleece the customer; they don't care about the quality of the product, as long as they can add in some lootboxes etc and cash in quick, then they can have their hookers and yachts! 🙂

Another problem is that, because people have the opportunity to start playing computer games at an early age - I was 6 when I started on the Atari 2600! - that they are introduced to these insidious practices from an early age and so expect this to be the norm. I find that very sad.

I feel we've hijacked this thread...which wasn't my intention, especially as catknobhead will keep getting notifications and no doubt pipe up with more intelligent remarks. Let's take this to another forum and/or pm if you like.

As you can see, I feel passionate about this subject 🙂

Biggest problem with the game is the boxed freeaim with no option to change it into smooth rotation freeaim. Ruins the basic mouse controls in an FPS game that relies pretty much on the shooting experience.

https://forums.focus-home.com/topic/35629/mouse-sensitivity-drops-in-the-middle-of-the-freeaim-box/42

@TokaiTele

Paid dlcs never occur as a problem to me in singleplayer games, I mean more in pvp if the dlc includes powerful guns etc like in Payday 2, and suddenly it becomes pay to win or pay to keep up.

In pvp, no dlc is required that often (or not always, its not a binary opinion for me) - Keeping it as a necessity to be able to pay server cost, maintenance and the other stuff can be a bit forced, at least in games like ins2, with MT you can help support the devs to maintain servers etc as mentioned in thread earlier, if done right as previously stated - If it is kept trivial and acts like a non-intrusive donation channel - I think Rising Storm 2: Vietnam did it perfect.

Loot boxes are a bad thing agree, Belgium did the right thing.

No interest in talking bad about anyone, I keep my confrontations direct in the rare occasion I get annoyed for something silly. @CatNipples got a lot of well-crafted posts in this forum, all that matters as far as I am concerned=)

last edited by Pacalis

Catknobhead immediately turned to insults so he's a wanker in my book; a keyboard warrior. I have no time for idiots like him.

I didn't realise you two were buddies so I'll end this convo here.

@TokaiTele The only reason I responed the way I did, is because you were hinting, for some reason, that I myself would be ruining the game. Idk how that works as I am only suggesting things. Do you mean because I suggested it, I am ruining the game? Or because I'd use it?

As for my petty insults, you here are talking down to me as if I know absolutely myself,
"All I can say is, you talk about stuff you know very little about, so leave it to the grown-ups eh?"

Well catknobhead. I fight fire with fire. So yes, if you insult me I insult back. If you can't take it, don't dish it out!

As for me saying you were ruining the game...I said 'it is people like you who are ruining the game's industry', not Sandstorm.

Anyway, I have better things to do than argue with a pillock so let's just end this now eh?

Let's be honest here, many of retail games by bigger developers have more issues. Honestly I think it plays pretty damn good, and other than this cheating violation glitch/error I got I haven't had many issues at all. In fact this game runs and plays better than the last 3-4 Battlefield releases...