Game changing updates like this every so often that make you feel like it is an unfinished game still in early access. You may as well just wait until it is finished to actually start playing.
I would call it a complete game that was finished a long time ago but has a passionate developer who provides free content updates. It’s definitely not a live service game, as there are no microtransactions and the updates are free.
Wow, AAA publishers really did a number on us all, huh? Think of them as “expansions”. The game was absolutely complete on 1.0 and you can still get that version! I have most of my time playing the game on v1.0.
The developer then added more content to the game, for free. The bug fixes have been pretty minor and would have happened with paid updates or without, like any modern game…
Bro, the man’s basically releasing free dlc not updating an early access game. The game was never in early access and all your saves are compatible with the new expansions (I sometimes still play the same farm I’ve had since the game was first released). The game already has more content than any other game in the genre and ConcernedApe is still releasing all updates for free and promised to never charge for anything new added to the game. What is there to complain about when you’re getting free shit where in most games it costs $5 to $10?
My issue with Stardew Valley content updates is that they change how the game works. It is not just adding extra postgame missions or something. The content updates tend to fundamentally change how some things work. Your possible/preferred routes to reach endgame today are much different than they were in 2016. It makes it feel like perpetual Early Access.
I don’t know what game you’re playing because I’ve never run into this issue before. I’ve played through year 4 on several different farms and never encountered anything of this magnitude. I’ve been playing this game since day one and have had nothing but positive experiences and so has pretty much everyone else. If minor adjustments to gameplay are enough to classify a game as being in perpetual Early Access, then every single game that is being made today is in perpetual Early Access. In fact in most games you don’t even get the new content with the updates. Also, the game costs $20 it’s not like you’re spending over $100 for the Premium Deluxe Edition Game of the Year Season Pass Preorder Bundle. It’s $20 and goes on sale so frequently you could pick it up for $5 four or five times a year.
As an illustration, grab an endgame save from 1.0 and open it up in a modern version of the game. The moment you step out of the door, you will be greeted with a series of cutscenes/dialogs explaining several of the various game mechanics that were added in the versions since 1.0. These are game mechanics that, if they had been part of the game from the start, would have greatly altered how one would have chosen to play and reach endgame. One may have prioritized different crops, events, upgrades, relationships, decorations, etc.
Stardew Valley is absolutely worth the money, and the content updates definitely make it even more of a bargain. But calling the transition from 1.0 to 1.6+ “minor adjustments to gameplay” is disingenuous.
I just miss the days when games were already finished upon release.
The point folks are making is that Stardew was finished on release, it’s just that the developer has the passion and financial ability to continue to improve it.
If it was 1994, maybe the game would have been released on a cartridge and never changed for myriad reasons (publishing rights, being on physical media, etc).
Example: Super Metroid was one of the best games ever made, and was complete when it was released, but you better believe I’d take free updates that further improve on it. There’s always improvements to make, because nothing can really be perfect. Those hypothetical updates wouldn’t retroactively make it an incomplete game. Maybe it’s too a subtle philosophical point
As another example, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the best game ever made, in my opinion. But there’s a laughable amount of glitches in it and speedrunners can easily tear the game apart. So it’s not perfect. It’s also old and the graphics are dated. If it were somehow still supported today, there would be a high-resolution texture pack released, no doubt about it…
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Game changing updates like this every so often that make you feel like it is an unfinished game still in early access. You may as well just wait until it is finished to actually start playing.
Would you say to not play World of Warcraft until it is “finished”? It has huge game changing updates all the time.
“Games as a service” are by design never really finished, right? If you are cool with that, go for it. I have never personally tried one.
Calling Stardew unfinished is hilarious.
What would you call it? Live service does not really fit
A video game that happens to get big updates every so often…? Call 'em expansion packs if that makes life easier
I would call it a complete game that was finished a long time ago but has a passionate developer who provides free content updates. It’s definitely not a live service game, as there are no microtransactions and the updates are free.
Wow, AAA publishers really did a number on us all, huh? Think of them as “expansions”. The game was absolutely complete on 1.0 and you can still get that version! I have most of my time playing the game on v1.0.
The developer then added more content to the game, for free. The bug fixes have been pretty minor and would have happened with paid updates or without, like any modern game…
Bro, the man’s basically releasing free dlc not updating an early access game. The game was never in early access and all your saves are compatible with the new expansions (I sometimes still play the same farm I’ve had since the game was first released). The game already has more content than any other game in the genre and ConcernedApe is still releasing all updates for free and promised to never charge for anything new added to the game. What is there to complain about when you’re getting free shit where in most games it costs $5 to $10?
I don’t know what game you’re playing because I’ve never run into this issue before. I’ve played through year 4 on several different farms and never encountered anything of this magnitude. I’ve been playing this game since day one and have had nothing but positive experiences and so has pretty much everyone else. If minor adjustments to gameplay are enough to classify a game as being in perpetual Early Access, then every single game that is being made today is in perpetual Early Access. In fact in most games you don’t even get the new content with the updates. Also, the game costs $20 it’s not like you’re spending over $100 for the Premium Deluxe Edition Game of the Year Season Pass Preorder Bundle. It’s $20 and goes on sale so frequently you could pick it up for $5 four or five times a year.
As an illustration, grab an endgame save from 1.0 and open it up in a modern version of the game. The moment you step out of the door, you will be greeted with a series of cutscenes/dialogs explaining several of the various game mechanics that were added in the versions since 1.0. These are game mechanics that, if they had been part of the game from the start, would have greatly altered how one would have chosen to play and reach endgame. One may have prioritized different crops, events, upgrades, relationships, decorations, etc.
Stardew Valley is absolutely worth the money, and the content updates definitely make it even more of a bargain. But calling the transition from 1.0 to 1.6+ “minor adjustments to gameplay” is disingenuous.
I just miss the days when games were already finished upon release.
The point folks are making is that Stardew was finished on release, it’s just that the developer has the passion and financial ability to continue to improve it.
If it was 1994, maybe the game would have been released on a cartridge and never changed for myriad reasons (publishing rights, being on physical media, etc).
Example: Super Metroid was one of the best games ever made, and was complete when it was released, but you better believe I’d take free updates that further improve on it. There’s always improvements to make, because nothing can really be perfect. Those hypothetical updates wouldn’t retroactively make it an incomplete game. Maybe it’s too a subtle philosophical point
As another example, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the best game ever made, in my opinion. But there’s a laughable amount of glitches in it and speedrunners can easily tear the game apart. So it’s not perfect. It’s also old and the graphics are dated. If it were somehow still supported today, there would be a high-resolution texture pack released, no doubt about it…