Nope. They said Mega Events were going to be included in a free patch. You're wrong.

How does that statement contradict my previous one?  Some Mega Events are free.  Some are DLC.  If Stardock wanted to, they could have made ALL Mega Events DLC. Literally nothing stopped them from doing that. Sure there would have been pissing and moaning.  Same as always then.  

Instead Stardock chose to make some free and some paid.  What the exact method behind the madness was on choosing what for what is up to them to divulge.  It's entirely possible that different departments of Stardock have different reasons as well.  It's also entirely possible that more of the free Mega Events were supposed to go into the DLC and someone messed up along the way.  And/or it was presumed by one hand of Stardock that more was going into the DLC and presumed by another hand of Stardock that it wasn't.

Regardless they weren't "taking out" Mega Events from the free patch.  After all, they could have refused to put these super, game breaking, Mega Events in at all and waited instead to put them in an expansion pack.  You know, kinda like they did for GC II.

If anything Stardock is being faulted for making too many Mega Events free, as some who bought the DLC see it as not a good value.

So, no.  Your entire premise is flawed.  You can argue value like some are.  You can argue against DLC period as others are.  But unless you know for a fact that these Mega Events were going to be part of the free patch and those evil greedy overlords at Stardock decided to rip it from your fingers to make you pay for them instead, then, no, they were not "taken away".  

Finally, for all you know, those Mega Events might not have been offered at all unless there was a DLC along side them.  In fact, you don't even know if the free Mega Events would exist without the paid ones.  It is entirely possible that Mega Events, free or paid, would not come in until an Expansion Pack if it wasn't for this DLC.

In other words, the DLC didn't "take away" from the free ones.  The existence of the DLC enabled the free ones to exist in the first place.

That's one theory at least.

Uh-huh.  You would only know this if 1) you worked for Stardock/know someone who works for Stardock and are taking out of turn or 2) you presume the worst of people.

My theory that the paid mega events (plus Dread Lords art assets) made it possible for the free mega events to exist makes just as much sense, if not more so.

Trust me, I am the furthest thing there is from a "Stardock fanboy".  There are quite a few things about Stardock that I don't particularly approve of (though I tend not to go on about it here, what with it being their home and everything - basic courtesy and all that).  But this?  You are presuming the worst with scant evidence.

The fact of the matter is, they have made absolutely no secret of the fact that there are going to be multiple DLCs released every year and that (along with the expansion(s)) will help fund the continued development of the game.  They could have easily put all or most of the mega events in the DLC with no one the wiser.  Presumably they'll be adding to this DLC (and others) as time goes by.

Buy it or not, it's up to you.  

Never buy it because you hate DLC? That's fine.  

Wait till it becomes an acceptable price for content (either via sale or bundle or additional content)? Also fine.  

But to presume that this content would exist without the DLC and you would have gotten it for free at some point along the line?  Sorry, but you just can not know that.  You simply can't.  And nothing you say, unless you can quote Stardock directly on this, would say differently.

Obvious to you, maybe, but not to others.  Funny how things are obvious to some aren't to others.   Perhaps, just perhaps, it isn't quite as obvious as you think.

As for the thing about the devstream, they've been very quiet as to what is going into various DLCs until it is closer to release, beyond vague generalities.  Probably because plans are always shifting. And even then you still don't know if they were planning on putting ALL Mega Events into a patch and only decided later to take some out.  Stardock might simply be guilty of not telling people everything months and months ahead of time.  But that ain't the same thing at all when it comes to intentionally trying to screw people over.

Again, think the worst of Stardock with almost no supporting evidence if you want. Until I get a little meat on my outrage bone, I refuse to get rustled over this.

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Though, I have to admit I find it funny that one poster is upset that too much was put in this DLC while another poster was(is?) upset that not enough was put in.

I'll save you the trouble. It's in a folder called "DLC".  Not that says much because prior DLC went straight into the base game directories. 

Stardock hasn't been exactly very..... consistent on where it is putting the DLC.  

Given that he said he doesn't mind espionage/commanders coming in DLC (actually, last I heard it was expansion - but that's splitting hairs), I have to presume he isn't against DLC entirely.  He also said earlier that he's especially cheesed off because, paraphrasing, all the cool and interesting Mega Events were put in the DLC while uninteresting ones were put in the base game.  I happen to disagree with him that the mega events in the base game are uninteresting, but that latter bit pretty much is the basis for me finding it amusing that he is complaining that "cool" things were put in the DLC that fans will be "forced" to get.

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Speaking of plans changing.  I do seem to remember that the devs said a map editor would come out when the game was released. It wasn't until a while later that they clarified that the map editor would be DLC. Again, as I recall.  Is this another case of them nickle and dimeing?  I wouldn't say so.  I'd say it was a case of plans coming into focus and knowing just what is going to be a bennie and what is going to be have to be paid for.

Sometimes plans change.  And sometimes plans aren't even set in stone.  I guess I just think things are a tad less black and white than Antilurker77 seems to think it is.

That's.... That's.... That's not hard evidence.  AT ALL. As I said before, they only created the DLC folder with this patch.  Probably because they wanted to have a better system of organization.  

Lets say for a moment that these files were originally in the base game and then moved. They probably were.  So what? It would seem to me for internal purposes that things would be in the base data directory structure for ease of testing.  Why load up DLC modules when testing and designing unless you need to?  It seems to me that only when the DLC itself was close to going live  would it be "moved".

I can tell you one thing.  When the opt-in patch was live but the DLC wasn't, the Dread Lord (and others) tech trees were in fact in the base directories.  But the DLC Mega Events?   I can guarantee you that they were not there.  If they were moved it was long before the opt-in went live.

It seems to me that you are trying to look at everything in (more than) the worst possible light without even considering what else might be going on and using those worst possible light conclusions to support the stance you already had.

Yes, it is hard evidence. You can deny it all you want, but that won't change a thing. The mental gymnastics you're going through are getting more and more ridiculous. I must say, seeing your perceptions of Stardock crumble down has been quite amusing.

I have not touched the Opt-In, all of these files are in everyone's copy.

There is zero reason for these files to be in the game. This type of pattern is common among companies with shady DLC practices. They try to make it seem like it was never there, yet they always manage to miss a few files. The testing excuse is nonsense, the directories wouldn't complicate testing at all.

I am not against DLC. Stardock can do map packs and races until the end of time for all I care, it's this type of scummy DLC I'm against.

And yet here you are, defending scummy DLC practices to the bitter end.

You are missing the point. It doesn't matter where the files are saved, what matters is that Stardock wasn't thorough and left evidence in the game files.

Zero reason?  Again, whatever you say mate.

You obviously came into this pre-convinced that you were right and then twisted all of the evidence around to support your already held stance.  Fair enuf.  But unlike some, I see no reason to debate for pages on end saying the same thing over and over again.  So if you want to think you've won? Fine by me, as I really don't care.

Then please, if you believe this DLC to be honest, then enlighten me on why every single user has the DLC partially installed. As far as I'm concerned, the only thing that should be there are the Dreadlord ship parts because of multiplayer. There is no reason to have text files just sitting in the game files.

 

Actually, no.  If you do get some enjoyment out of having your preconceived notions upheld, I'm happy for you. It's good to get joy out of life after all, no matter how you find it.

Me?  I learned long ago not to get into an argument where I repeat myself 5000 times. Life's too short and all that. I've made my points for all to see.  So this is where I bid adieu to you in this conversation.  

Okay then, have fun being nickle and dimed. Because if this goes well, Stardock will go further and further with this.

Simple.  Setting aside, for the moment, the new artwork, the actual DLC, the thing that makes the DLC the DLC, are the five XML files that define each mega event.  Everything within those XMLs make calls to various files within the game itself.  That Stardock didn't separate all the non-schema calls can simply show that they were sloppy, not malicious. If one presumes that all files that are called by the DLC mega events should indeed be separate, that is.  There's arguments that can go either way in that, not that I'm interested in engaging in them at the moment.

I presume you've heard if Hanlon's Law?  Well substitute sloppiness for incompetance.   Or leave it in, if one wants, as it's all the same.  The fact that Stardock is just now getting around to separating DLC content can back this up, if one wishes.  Or it can show that they had more important things on their minds (like getting the game out the door in a timely manner) and decided to wait to clean up their file structures.  Lots of reasons, really; with only some of them truly rising to the level of maliciousness.

I hope this clairfiles where I am coming from and, once again, I bid you well wishes and a good night.

I did. Repeatedly. You just don't like/accept my answer as an answer. Either way, if you wish to have the last word, please feel free.

This is a persuasive argument for parallel dimensions, where two different people live in the same physical world but still in two different realities, one positive and one negative. 

When faced with that choice, I will take the positive reality nearly every time.

Antilurker, no need to be argumentative. Let it go. You've said your piece... multiple times.