As someone who used to play Tarkov, the game's current predicament is pretty astounding to me, so I figured it might spark some good conversation here. Escape from Tarkov is sold in increasingly...
As someone who used to play Tarkov, the game's current predicament is pretty astounding to me, so I figured it might spark some good conversation here.
Escape from Tarkov is sold in increasingly expensive editions, with each edition providing more in-game perks than the last. These in-game perks were also accessible through game progression, but these extra bonuses were still clearly pay-to-win. It's a PvPvE game where all player progression is wiped every few months, so having a more expensive edition provides a major advantage over other players at the beginning of a wipe.
The most popular edition of the game was also the most expensive: the $140 "Edge of Darkness" edition. Tarkov is technically still in Early Access, and EoD was a way for players to support the game, since it included all future content. Well, yesterday the developers performed an extremely blatant bait-and-switch by introducing a new $250 "Unheard" edition. Unheard has a cooperative PvE gamemode locked behind it, as well as unique gear and advantages that other players will never be able to attain through regular game progression.
The Unheard edition is not the only major scandal with this game either. A year ago, a YouTuber named g0at revealed just how widespread cheating was in Tarkov in this video. g0at purchased wall-hacks, and in 60% of his matches, he was able to confirm that at least one other cheater could see him through a wall. This revelation killed many players' interest in the game, including mine.
I haven't played Tarkov for years, and I only ever purchased the lowest-tier "Standard" edition. I really enjoy extraction shooters, and I believe they will be very popular in the future, but it's been surreal watching Tarkov deteriorate.
It also turns out they've quietly changed the wording of the previous $140 bundle - and took the old page offline stating this - so you will now get fewer benefits than you did previously....
It also turns out they've quietly changed the wording of the previous $140 bundle - and took the old page offline stating this - so you will now get fewer benefits than you did previously. Effectively, a bundle you bought a year ago is now worth less.
It's scummy all around. I thought game companies already figured out long ago that blatant pay to win will not be widely accepted.
Presumably retroactively with the way the bundle is worded and any mention of the old benefits have been removed. Admittedly, I do not know this for a fact. I haven't seen confirmation.
Presumably retroactively with the way the bundle is worded and any mention of the old benefits have been removed. Admittedly, I do not know this for a fact. I haven't seen confirmation.
I've never played EFT, but their try to label the new content as not a DLC is preposterous. Every new content that is not part of a base game update is a DLC. If I would have payed 100€ for a "all...
I've never played EFT, but their try to label the new content as not a DLC is preposterous.
Every new content that is not part of a base game update is a DLC. If I would have payed 100€ for a "all future DLCs included" version I would seek legal action to get my money back.
I suppose this is the game that Luke Lafreniere (of Linus Tech Tips) mentioned several times in the WAN show around a year ago. What a spectacular way how to kill a video game - death by...
I suppose this is the game that Luke Lafreniere (of Linus Tech Tips) mentioned several times in the WAN show around a year ago.
What a spectacular way how to kill a video game - death by developers, their decisions on pay-to-win and their indifference to cheaters. You can't do this when you want your game to be successful. Even more so if it's still early access...
I enjoyed my time in EFT with a standard account. I got into it during early COVID with my friends and it was great, but after my second wipe I knew I wouldn't be able to keep playing. It's fun...
I enjoyed my time in EFT with a standard account. I got into it during early COVID with my friends and it was great, but after my second wipe I knew I wouldn't be able to keep playing. It's fun but I don't have the time to keep up with the meta or make meaningful progress.
I have heard there's a mod that allows you play single player and doesn't wipe your progress. Essentially turning the game into PvE. My friends who are still interested in the game told me it's the only way they play nowadays.
Sad to see this happen to the game though. I enjoyed my time and definitely got my money's worth. I'll still watch an occasional video of it and that's enough to scratch the itch for me.
SP-Tarkov and it really is the absolute best way to play the game. The online has been a lost cause for a long time between all the cheaters, long wait times, and how outclassed any new player...
I have heard there's a mod that allows you play single player and doesn't wipe your progress. Essentially turning the game into PvE. My friends who are still interested in the game told me it's the only way they play nowadays.
SP-Tarkov and it really is the absolute best way to play the game. The online has been a lost cause for a long time between all the cheaters, long wait times, and how outclassed any new player will be for the first 200 hours.
It's a different game, but if someone's looking for a fresh take on a similar formula in singleplayer, Stalker Anomaly: GAMMA is a modern Stalker conversion with heavy survival milsim elements,...
I have heard there's a mod that allows you play single player and doesn't wipe your progress. Essentially turning the game into PvE. My friends who are still interested in the game told me it's the only way they play nowadays.
It's a different game, but if someone's looking for a fresh take on a similar formula in singleplayer, Stalker Anomaly: GAMMA is a modern Stalker conversion with heavy survival milsim elements, inspired by Tarkov. It adds realistic guns, crafting, scavenging is the main gameloop, and it shifts the focus away from the story and horror elements of the original game. So it's quite far from OG Stalker. But it still has mutants and anomalies. I think it's the best free survival shooter game there is.
I think that would be how I'd play if I ever got into it again. Sadly my current laptop would struggle to run it and I don't think I'll be building a new desktop anytime soon. It looks incredibly...
I think that would be how I'd play if I ever got into it again. Sadly my current laptop would struggle to run it and I don't think I'll be building a new desktop anytime soon. It looks incredibly fun and honestly I'm just not up to keeping up with people who play all the time or have the time to get my raid ruined by a hacker.
I'll be curious when I finally get around to upgrading/rebuilding if this game will still be actively played.
Checked out the subreddit for shiggles, even though I try to avoid that site like it might give me Ultra Space Herpes. The desperation of the playerbase is palpable. Inevitably people will move on...
Checked out the subreddit for shiggles, even though I try to avoid that site like it might give me Ultra Space Herpes.
The desperation of the playerbase is palpable. Inevitably people will move on from one game to another; the trouble for players arises when that migration is instigated by the shit-poor behavior of devs rather than the organic process of finding the Next Big Thing™. This appears to be one such instance.
I have sympathy for the players, but only to an extent. No game claiming to be in "early access" for six-and-a-half years is using EA as anything other than an excuse not to deliver on promises. Shoulda cut bait long ago.
The other thing that strikes me is just how absurd the notion of Reddit protest is. That sub is flooded with hundreds of nearly identical posts from would-be generals of the resistance rallying the troops to hold the line, which I guess in this instance means not paying $250 [more] for an early access game by devs who've shown pretty clearly that they have no qualms about screwing their customers over. It made more sense when the Reddit API thing went down, since it was about the site the protest was hosted on–but it only barely made more sense. I understand the emotional rush of that kind of event, but I think I'm much better off without it, thank you.
I don't play Tarkov, but I have been following the news from a distance on reddit. Looks like the COO of BSG released a statement on the Tarkov subreddit:
Let me clarify the situation in a little more detail regarding owners of the EoD version and access to the cooperative mode, and also other issues.
First of all, PvE gamemode this is not DLC. DLC in our understanding is the major additions to the game, including various functionality and content that are released after the official release of the game as a themed DLC pack (Scav Life DLC for example, which will add a lot of new mechanics and content for Scav gameplay and leveling).
Secondly, this specific functionality of the PvE mode is necessarily located entirely on a separate network infrastructure, because, essentially, you play on our servers, only in closed mode. At this stage, it is not possible to launch all players who are EoD holders - right now we simply do not have the required amount of resources for this.
We observe your dissatisfaction and have decided that the functionality of the PvE mode will be available for free to all owners of the EoD version at the release of the game, when the server infrastructure will be improved to the required capacity.
Now you have the opportunity to test this mode by purchasing the Unheard edition of the game, or upgrade to this version. We also decided to give a 50% discount when upgrading to the Unheard version from the EoD version.
We plan to send one free Left Behind Edition key to everyone who has already upgraded to Unheard Edition at the old price from the EoD version.
Moreover, so that any player of any version of the EFT can have the opportunity to test the PvE mode, we want to add the ability to purchase a separate early access to this mode. For EoD owners there will be a 70% discount on the purchase of early access to PvE. It would be interesting to hear your thoughts on this idea.
Next, regarding special items for the Unheard version, we plan to make restrictive or balancing changes for these items.
This is it for now, please share your thoughts. Thank you!
Absolutely, unequivocally unacceptable. I hope they get a major class action suit from all the EoD owners (myself included). It's absolutely astounding to me how openly hostile so many companies...
Absolutely, unequivocally unacceptable.
I hope they get a major class action suit from all the EoD owners (myself included).
It's absolutely astounding to me how openly hostile so many companies are to their customers nowadays. I dream of a day when money isn't the only variable in the equation, as far as a company is concerned. The money men have ruined so much.
It's doubtful anything will come of this. BSG is a Russian developer that operates through a WeWork office in London. They were always a small, very shady developer run by an egomaniac. This isn't...
It's doubtful anything will come of this. BSG is a Russian developer that operates through a WeWork office in London. They were always a small, very shady developer run by an egomaniac. This isn't some big publicly traded company and they were always chasing the money to some degree, but this is truly another level. I'm betting the game is on its last legs after the failure that was Arena because it does not make any sense why they would do this otherwise.
I vaguely recalled they were based in Russia, but I don't know how international law works -- a man can dream. I already knew nothing would happen. Just lamenting that fact, mostly.
I vaguely recalled they were based in Russia, but I don't know how international law works -- a man can dream. I already knew nothing would happen. Just lamenting that fact, mostly.
I've been waiting ages for a pve coop mode, but I won't be upgrading my pack. I hope they make amends and allow the EoD pack permanent access to the mode, they aren't getting a dime more from me...
I've been waiting ages for a pve coop mode, but I won't be upgrading my pack. I hope they make amends and allow the EoD pack permanent access to the mode, they aren't getting a dime more from me regardless.
As someone who used to play Tarkov, the game's current predicament is pretty astounding to me, so I figured it might spark some good conversation here.
Escape from Tarkov is sold in increasingly expensive editions, with each edition providing more in-game perks than the last. These in-game perks were also accessible through game progression, but these extra bonuses were still clearly pay-to-win. It's a PvPvE game where all player progression is wiped every few months, so having a more expensive edition provides a major advantage over other players at the beginning of a wipe.
The most popular edition of the game was also the most expensive: the $140 "Edge of Darkness" edition. Tarkov is technically still in Early Access, and EoD was a way for players to support the game, since it included all future content. Well, yesterday the developers performed an extremely blatant bait-and-switch by introducing a new $250 "Unheard" edition. Unheard has a cooperative PvE gamemode locked behind it, as well as unique gear and advantages that other players will never be able to attain through regular game progression.
The Unheard edition is not the only major scandal with this game either. A year ago, a YouTuber named g0at revealed just how widespread cheating was in Tarkov in this video. g0at purchased wall-hacks, and in 60% of his matches, he was able to confirm that at least one other cheater could see him through a wall. This revelation killed many players' interest in the game, including mine.
I haven't played Tarkov for years, and I only ever purchased the lowest-tier "Standard" edition. I really enjoy extraction shooters, and I believe they will be very popular in the future, but it's been surreal watching Tarkov deteriorate.
It also turns out they've quietly changed the wording of the previous $140 bundle - and took the old page offline stating this - so you will now get fewer benefits than you did previously. Effectively, a bundle you bought a year ago is now worth less.
It's scummy all around. I thought game companies already figured out long ago that blatant pay to win will not be widely accepted.
Do you mean they're changing the bonuses in the bundle for those that have already bought it or going forward for new sales?
Presumably retroactively with the way the bundle is worded and any mention of the old benefits have been removed. Admittedly, I do not know this for a fact. I haven't seen confirmation.
I've never played EFT, but their try to label the new content as not a DLC is preposterous.
Every new content that is not part of a base game update is a DLC. If I would have payed 100€ for a "all future DLCs included" version I would seek legal action to get my money back.
I suppose this is the game that Luke Lafreniere (of Linus Tech Tips) mentioned several times in the WAN show around a year ago.
What a spectacular way how to kill a video game - death by developers, their decisions on pay-to-win and their indifference to cheaters. You can't do this when you want your game to be successful. Even more so if it's still early access...
It is, and I'll be watching this week's WAN Show for sure.
I enjoyed my time in EFT with a standard account. I got into it during early COVID with my friends and it was great, but after my second wipe I knew I wouldn't be able to keep playing. It's fun but I don't have the time to keep up with the meta or make meaningful progress.
I have heard there's a mod that allows you play single player and doesn't wipe your progress. Essentially turning the game into PvE. My friends who are still interested in the game told me it's the only way they play nowadays.
Sad to see this happen to the game though. I enjoyed my time and definitely got my money's worth. I'll still watch an occasional video of it and that's enough to scratch the itch for me.
SP-Tarkov and it really is the absolute best way to play the game. The online has been a lost cause for a long time between all the cheaters, long wait times, and how outclassed any new player will be for the first 200 hours.
It's a different game, but if someone's looking for a fresh take on a similar formula in singleplayer, Stalker Anomaly: GAMMA is a modern Stalker conversion with heavy survival milsim elements, inspired by Tarkov. It adds realistic guns, crafting, scavenging is the main gameloop, and it shifts the focus away from the story and horror elements of the original game. So it's quite far from OG Stalker. But it still has mutants and anomalies. I think it's the best free survival shooter game there is.
Link appears to be dead. Project get nuked?
Hug of death, it seems. The site's been up and down all weekend, especially the modding pages.
It's up for me, the site is active and so is the dedicated subreddit for it from what I can see.
I think that would be how I'd play if I ever got into it again. Sadly my current laptop would struggle to run it and I don't think I'll be building a new desktop anytime soon. It looks incredibly fun and honestly I'm just not up to keeping up with people who play all the time or have the time to get my raid ruined by a hacker.
I'll be curious when I finally get around to upgrading/rebuilding if this game will still be actively played.
Checked out the subreddit for shiggles, even though I try to avoid that site like it might give me Ultra Space Herpes.
The desperation of the playerbase is palpable. Inevitably people will move on from one game to another; the trouble for players arises when that migration is instigated by the shit-poor behavior of devs rather than the organic process of finding the Next Big Thing™. This appears to be one such instance.
I have sympathy for the players, but only to an extent. No game claiming to be in "early access" for six-and-a-half years is using EA as anything other than an excuse not to deliver on promises. Shoulda cut bait long ago.
The other thing that strikes me is just how absurd the notion of Reddit protest is. That sub is flooded with hundreds of nearly identical posts from would-be generals of the resistance rallying the troops to hold the line, which I guess in this instance means not paying $250 [more] for an early access game by devs who've shown pretty clearly that they have no qualms about screwing their customers over. It made more sense when the Reddit API thing went down, since it was about the site the protest was hosted on–but it only barely made more sense. I understand the emotional rush of that kind of event, but I think I'm much better off without it, thank you.
I don't play Tarkov, but I have been following the news from a distance on reddit. Looks like the COO of BSG released a statement on the Tarkov subreddit:
Absolutely, unequivocally unacceptable.
I hope they get a major class action suit from all the EoD owners (myself included).
It's absolutely astounding to me how openly hostile so many companies are to their customers nowadays. I dream of a day when money isn't the only variable in the equation, as far as a company is concerned. The money men have ruined so much.
It's doubtful anything will come of this. BSG is a Russian developer that operates through a WeWork office in London. They were always a small, very shady developer run by an egomaniac. This isn't some big publicly traded company and they were always chasing the money to some degree, but this is truly another level. I'm betting the game is on its last legs after the failure that was Arena because it does not make any sense why they would do this otherwise.
I vaguely recalled they were based in Russia, but I don't know how international law works -- a man can dream. I already knew nothing would happen. Just lamenting that fact, mostly.
I've been waiting ages for a pve coop mode, but I won't be upgrading my pack. I hope they make amends and allow the EoD pack permanent access to the mode, they aren't getting a dime more from me regardless.
Mirror, for those hit by the paywall:
https://archive.ph/hWBeI
This game seems like a prime candidate for modded private servers with all the cheaters and this p2w stuff. No one's done that yet?