Is Nordic Being Shady?

[St. Angers Snare]

I posted a question to the Steam discussion page about 4 times now, checking every hour or so for responses and they have all quickly been deleted from the page.

Here is what I asked:

"Nordic, explain something to me. Why were people able to unlock the "massive content update" with the $20 version of the game as far back as like two weeks ago? Is it because all you did was lock those features and they were always in the game files? Now it seems you're making it look as if you did something productive when all you did was unlock the game files and add an extra $5 charge. An explanation would be great, because if you're trying to pull the on-disc DLC stuff that other companies are doing, you won't last long."

People have apparently been able to get into the game and unlock all of the so called "massive content update" for weeks now. They bought the original game alpha that had like nothing included. Now Nordic is charging $5 for stuff that is already available but was hidden? If this wasn't true why wouldn't I get some sort of response? Instead I get a childish removing of my legitimate question. I find this entertaining pushing their buttons since they won't even respect their customers with answers. They are known to delete questions that are not "when is this coming out" "omg i love the game add xxxxx", they avoid constructive criticism and i don't see them lasting long.

[St. Angers Snare]

Hold that thought, I was just banned from their Steam discussion page. I then messaged them the question on Facebook and they blocked me. Class acts. Don't get into the gaming industry and buy IP's if you're incompetent to handle the people when they criticize you or ask for answers. And meanwhile, they release DLC pack after DLC pack and apparently the servers are still broken. (y)

[mcm2boys]

I've heard other people talk about the pricing model but since the price and the content was clearly marked on the tin i can't see how it was shady. If you bought it, you should have known what you were getting. Add to that, that when the game is released you will get all of the content for the original $20 (now $25) i see it as a bargain. The only issue would be if Nordic or BBE (Rainbow) went bust and the final game wasn't released, but that seems very unlikely - to me at least.

I agree, blocking and banning you for asking, what seem like, reasonable and easily answered questions seems more than a bit off, I would give them the benefit of the doubt for now and put it down to some kind of admin issue (maybe it was Steam or Facebook admins), but i guess we'll see if they ever give an explanation.

The guys working on DLC are artists, the guys working on the networking are coders - so working on DLC doesn't slow down work on the net code.

Finally, the unlock is a hack, which I imagine wasn't part of Nordic/Rainbow's plans. As for 'hiding' existing content that happens all the time - gfx cards and cpu's with extra cores that are locked at lower price points for example, these kinds of marketing strategies are common place in todays world, though i also which they weren't, but why would you hold Nordic/Rainbow up to a higher standard than the rest of the world? Seems to me as long as they have told you what you are getting for your money then you can decide if it is worth the money to you.

I bought it on day one, i have no doubt we will see the full release so with all the content that is coming, gear, bikes and Alive tracks all for $20 i really don't see it as shady. That's less than other MX games out there for a game which, in my humble opinion, beats them hands down - and thats before we start adding user content.

Just my $0.02

[JamieT]

A few people have told me that their comments on this subject had been removed by the admins.

I don't know why they didn't just explain why the content was locked in the first place.  That's where the shady behaviour is imo.  Giving no explanation, and then deleting comments when the subject is brought up.  For some reason they wish to avoid it being public knowledge.

Oh well... the content is unlocked now (as it should have been from day one).  It made no sense to me that you would keep content away from the customer that is already functional.  I don't think that it was locked away purely because it gave customers a more enticing price point.  The price hasn't risen that much relative to the amount of content that's now available.

The theory that suggests they kept that stuff locked so that they could trickle it out in small updates so that it appears they're "putting the work in", could be a valid one.  It's moot now anyway.  Content is out there now for everyone to enjoy, so there's not much point dwelling on what their agenda was.

[Fixer]

Regardless of their intent when a company acts like this it engenders disrespect and erodes support, I saw this with other games and they drove me away from supporting them.
Something a 'new' company can't afford..remember THQ had that attitude and look what happened to them.

Like they say...if you don't like it make your own game... or do what I did give up, quit and go away (with my money)