The best armour in any game: The two year track

[RJO1794]

Hello everyone,

I hope that each of you are well and that whatever this new year has in store is better than the last. I would like to discuss a strategy in gaming that I have been deploying for almost a decade now, and how deviating from it instantly brought regret and loss. I call it the two year track.

The two year track:

It's an extremely simple, yet very powerful way of inuslating yourself from dishonest practices, unfinished products and buyers remorse. It involves some will power but nothing more. It can be applied to computing hardware as effectively as it can be to computing software. Many of you will be using similar methods but many of you (and in this lone instance I must include myself) are not. Enough waffle... spill the beans....

Never ever pre-order and never buy a product in the first two years of its release. Via this method I have saved myself 70% of all costs and 100% of all grief. I obtain the product in its best form and at its best price and bear no burden of guilt regarding damaging an industry that, frankly, needs no help from me or you in that regard.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Up until December 10th 2020 I might have thought so. How, one might ponder, can a developer that has a proven track record of producing high quality content at reasonable prices, one that has fostered and earned the respect of gamers and developers the world over let me down? The simple fact is that they can; that it is always a possibility; that there are always risks associated with a purchase. Caveat Emptor were words uttered long ago (1520 ad) but have remained true to this day. A simple truth often overlooked or forgotten all together.

The two year track affords a high degree of insulation from these dangers and I urge you all to consider it. This industry needs to be taught a hard lesson because if it is not then its behaviour will not change and as gamers we will continue to see a decline in standards and practices.

 

[HiltoftheDragon]

 

[Salfin]

Hello everyone,

I hope that each of you are well and that whatever this new year has in store is better than the last. I would like to discuss a strategy in gaming that I have been deploying for almost a decade now, and how deviating from it instantly brought regret and loss. I call it the two year track.

The two year track:

It's an extremely simple, yet very powerful way of inuslating yourself from dishonest practices, unfinished products and buyers remorse. It involves some will power but nothing more. It can be applied to computing hardware as effectively as it can be to computing software. Many of you will be using similar methods but many of you (and in this lone instance I must include myself) are not. Enough waffle... spill the beans....

Never ever pre-order and never buy a product in the first two years of its release. Via this method I have saved myself 70% of all costs and 100% of all grief. I obtain the product in its best form and at its best price and bear no burden of guilt regarding damaging an industry that, frankly, needs no help from me or you in that regard.

Are there exceptions to this rule? Up until December 10th 2020 I might have thought so. How, one might ponder, can a developer that has a proven track record of producing high quality content at reasonable prices, one that has fostered and earned the respect of gamers and developers the world over let me down? The simple fact is that they can; that it is always a possibility; that there are always risks associated with a purchase. Caveat Emptor were words uttered long ago (1520 ad) but have remained true to this day. A simple truth often overlooked or forgotten all together.

The two year track affords a high degree of insulation from these dangers and I urge you all to consider it. This industry needs to be taught a hard lesson because if it is not then its behaviour will not change and as gamers we will continue to see a decline in standards and practices.

Also in terms of say PC hardware you'd be able to run the game better and probably on a budget midrange card. Higher quality experience, you make a good point.

This is how I played witcher 3. Not intentionally, but I didn't have as much free time. When it came out I played 1 and 2 first. Took me about 1-2 years to get around to witcher 3. By then a 1400 laptop that was low midrange ran it perfectly on high.

 

[HiltoftheDragon]

Even though the OP makes sense in what hes practicing, and eases the burden of dealing with the bumpy road that a newly released game has....its overall, for most people, not realistic to do or able to be done. Two years is a long time to tell a gamer to wait for a game he or she really wants to play.....no matter what the outcome may be afterwards.

People who have been waiting for certain items.....because said company announced things they probably shouldnt (hence why the video above is partly related here).....are going to hop at the first chance to get it in their hands and get going with it...no matter the item they purchased. If its games we are focusing on, then its even a bit worse as its clearly entertainment only that people are, in a sense, begging to have immediately. Eagerness plus curiosity overpowers good logic at times.

Human nature always steers us to want things right now. To wait for something after its available is unheard of....right? The faster and more advanced we get...and we are pretty advanced now....the worse this trend is going to be.

 

[SpookyFX]

One tiny problem is that some games get WORSE with time. Especially now that the DEV can upload drastic changes when ever they want to even a game that had been out for a few years like Fallout 4 for example.

Some games will not run on more current hardware. I fell victim to that with my $2000 worth of boxed PC games collection I had assumed I could play for the rest of my life. Even games only a few years old the graphics would not work on my new card.

And after the first year or two avoiding spoilers starts to get to be a night mare...

I agree waiting a little while is sensible but I personally will not wait two years myself for a game I really am anticipating to play. Lack of money would be the exception I think.

 

[Krul2k]

I urge everyone to do wtf they wont with there money.

I pre ordered CP2077 and have zero problems having done so, if i could go back knowing what i know now i'd still pre order simply because i still enjoy it.

I honestly have nigh zero interested in what anyone thinks of this and will, as always, spend my money how i like.

I'd take more care if it was life and death, more care if juggling a game vrs putting food on the table, more care if it was a game vrs the power or gas, but it's none of those, all it is is do i want to play this vrs do i not, most times i win, sometimes i dont, it's no big deal to me

 

[Obstructionist]

Also in terms of say PC hardware you'd be able to run the game better and probably on a budget midrange card. Higher quality experience, you make a good point.

Only for games developed exclusively for or with PC's in mind first. Most games are developed for consoles though. My computer is several years old and I can still run CP on full settings with no slowdowns. Build a good PC (not even a great PC) and it will last you over 2 console cycles for this reason.

 

[RJO1794]

I urge everyone to do wtf they wont with there money.

I pre ordered CP2077 and have zero problems having done so, if i could go back knowing what i know now i'd still pre order simply because i still enjoy it.

I honestly have nigh zero interested in what anyone thinks of this and will, as always, spend my money how i like.

I'd take more care if it was life and death, more care if juggling a game vrs putting food on the table, more care if it was a game vrs the power or gas, but it's none of those, all it is is do i want to play this vrs do i not, most times i win, sometimes i dont, it's no big deal to me

Abdolutely, but if you read my post as an instruction on how you should spend your money then you have misread it. Unfortunately the rest of your post boils down to self interest and is the opposite of what I suggest, namely, to act collectively to bring about much needed change.

Post automatically merged: Jan 5, 2021

One tiny problem is that some games get WORSE with time. Especially now that the DEV can upload drastic changes when ever they want to even a game that had been out for a few years like Fallout 4 for example.

Some games will not run on more current hardware. I fell victim to that with my $2000 worth of boxed PC games collection I had assumed I could play for the rest of my life. Even games only a few years old the graphics would not work on my new card.

And after the first year or two avoiding spoilers starts to get to be a night mare...

I agree waiting a little while is sensible but I personally will not wait two years myself for a game I really am anticipating to play. Lack of money would be the exception I think.

Not pre-ordering removes any immediate knowledge gap and waiting allows for the summing of knowledge gathered to-date about a given product. It should be clear to all that this is not a silver bullet or all encapsulating solution to the problems within the industry, but via its execution we might achieve two goals: send a clear message to publishers/developers and mitigate loss and negative emotional states created by an industry that behaves in a sociopathic manner. We may not be able to alter the motives of the sociopath but we sure as hell can target that which they covet most. Profit.

Post automatically merged: Jan 5, 2021

Even though the OP makes sense in what hes practicing, and eases the burden of dealing with the bumpy road that a newly released game has....its overall, for most people, not realistic to do or able to be done. Two years is a long time to tell a gamer to wait for a game he or she really wants to play.....no matter what the outcome may be afterwards.

People who have been waiting for certain items.....because said company announced things they probably shouldnt (hence why the video above is partly related here).....are going to hop at the first chance to get it in their hands and get going with it...no matter the item they purchased. If its games we are focusing on, then its even a bit worse as its clearly entertainment only that people are, in a sense, begging to have immediately. Eagerness plus curiosity overpowers good logic at times.

Human nature always steers us to want things right now. To wait for something after its available is unheard of....right? The faster and more advanced we get...and we are pretty advanced now....the worse this trend is going to be.

I read as a central theme in your post the fear of missing out (FOMO)? What is it that we miss out on when discussing a broken product, mis-sold and misrepresented? Is it the missing features; the missing joy or any other negative that is imparted upon a consumer when they conclude that they have been wronged in some manner?

Miss out, fear nought.

 

[HiltoftheDragon]

I read as a central theme in your post the fear of missing out (FOMO)? What is it that we miss out on when discussing a broken product, mis-sold and misrepresented? Is it the missing features; the missing joy or any other negative that is imparted upon a consumer when they conclude that they have been wronged in some manner?

Miss out, fear nought.

Well, it wasnt my intention to convey that, but now that i think about it....there could be a hint of that trait involved. Perhaps if looked at hypothetically, the feeling of being left out and the fear of that emotion could play a huge part of why people make hasty decisions as to pre ordering an item way before its remotely ready for distribution. Not many people will admit that...but im sure its at the back of many minds.

You also have to include, from a gamers perspective, the fact that most of these people are involved in groups that all plan on doing the same thing in these games at the same time. Take online games for example....people bulldozing the first stages of a new game as soon as they log in a game that they pre ordered....that they already waited a long time for. There are some in the group that dont have their game....and perhaps feel left out? The people in the meantime who are playing arent for one minute thinking about the ramifications of pre order issues. The regret, if any, will come later.

Again, human nature is a powerful thing. People are going to do what they do no matter if it makes sense or not. Those euphoric emotions...you know the good ones.....hypeness, eagerness, and curiosity all mixed together can be a train wreak sometimes. They will always override consequences and regret down the road.

Your post is sound advice if in fact taken correctly and also an interesting subject as well. id like to hear more input from more people.