Deep Rock Galactic - For rock and stone!

[Lichen Bark]

Four months and we still have no word on what the future of the game is

I think I knew things were going to slow down when they kept repeating "this is a finished game" on their 5 year anniversary stream. I also didn't like it when one of the dev's said "we might have created an Evergreen game," suggesting they cracked the code and they didn't have to do anything else. There was also a large focus on other games they were going to publish, but to be honest those games seemed like copies of other crap, and weren't nearly as interesting as Deep Rock. They also said that if you 100% the game, good for you, also you have no life etc. Although seeing how many people were cooped up by the pandemic perhaps that was a reason they played so much. They weren't planning on adding anything to keep the 1000+ hour players interested. I know my playtime has dropped off a lot after completing everything (probably a good thing). Usually I'll come play the elite deep dive, becuase it's can be a challenge sometimes. I do wish there was some kind of harder mode.

They must be making a killing on the board game, although I don't really see the appeal myself. Seems a bit autistic.

Valve mentioned in their DOTA 2 update that the "season style" method of content delivery sucked because it didn't allow them to work on things that might take longer than the average season length. If DRG sticks with seasons maybe it will actually reduce the amount of future content rather than increase what we get. I think there is lots of potential cool things they could do with the game and that setting.

If we look at the raw numbers though they have increased the player base consistently, and now have a larger amount of average players. If something starts to happen to these numbers they may decide to focus less on the board game and more on the actual (good) game.

Spoiler: The Numbers

https://steamcharts.com/app/548430#1y

 

[The Pulverizer]

I think I knew things were going to slow down when they kept repeating "this is a finished game" on their 5 year anniversary stream.

I think the game in its current state has enough content for like 10 hours of gameplay before the repetition starts to set in. The only thing that keeps pushing you forward is the progression system and if you are stuck in your house, because you'll be fucking fined and arrested if you go out without a mask, that progression system goes by pretty fast. The pandemic is over, new games are coming out again, so this game will probably stagnate soon.

If something starts to happen to these numbers they may decide to focus less on the board game and more on the actual (good) game.

No, I think they are sick of working on DRG. They are going to milk whatever's left of their cattle-like playerbase until it inevitably starts dissipating (this will probably happen sooner rather than later), and then they will take the money and run. Whatever idea sparked this game into fruition has now fizzled out, and the devs have resorted to outsourcing to Discord trannies for new gimmicks.
When (honest) developers hit this point, they do one of two things: A) Come up with something completely new, B) They abandon the game like Valve.
Ghost Ship has gone for the middle option, seen by the likes of DbD, EA, etc, which is: Make minor updates to maintain the interest of players for as long as possible, and make tons of DLC to force them to pay money for a game that has no future (not true for DbD because it's doing pretty well). It's very sad to see that indie devs are starting to adopt some of the awful practices of triple A companies.

 

[Asian tech support]

They weren't planning on adding anything to keep the 1000+ hour players interested. I know my playtime has dropped off a lot after completing everything (probably a good thing).

This is the same problem the Vermintide people had but the devs handled it MUCH more poorly. They told people who had thousands of hours and have cleared modded difficulties far beyond the capabilities of what the devs were capable of (the VT devs are bad at their own game; a story for another time) that the game was a 100 hour game tops and that players were expecting too much.

 

[The Pulverizer]

that the game was a 100 hour game tops and that players were expecting too much.

Both Vermintide and DRG bait for extra playtime with their progression system. Then once the player has unlocked everything, the game disappears from underneath him like a Looney Tunes gag.

the VT devs are bad at their own game; a story for another time

I want to hear it.

 

[ABE LINN COHN]

the VT devs are bad at their own game; a story for another time

Just like the DRG devs.

 

[Asian tech support]

Both Vermintide and DRG bait for extra playtime with their progression system. Then once the player has unlocked everything, the game disappears from underneath him like a Looney Tunes gag.

VT2 has one of the most boring progression systems I can think of but it's still better than Darktide's. I don't think DRG's is that bad but waiting for that one oc can take a long long time if you're unlucky.

I want to hear it.

Spoiler: so be it

It's not actually all that interesting. Fatshark devs use a unique hero frame when playing so it's easy to identify them. Way back when the game was still somewhat fresh, they used to do community streams her and there. This was before cataclysm/winds of magic so the max difficulty was still legend. I don't think they ever played with open lobbies but every now and then, a real nigga would sneak into a lobby, grief it, and promptly get kicked. As far as I know, no one ever got banned over such shenanigans. At times they'd be playing on low enough difficulty where there was no ff. When cranking it up, you could tell that they couldn't carry their own weight. People used to post videos of themselves griefing devs or showcasing how dog they were on the FS forum but I think that most if not all of those have been swept up. They might be on the reddit but I never went there. Anyway, the devs are bad and had tranny jannies bin the evidence. I don't think they tried to repeat theexperience with Darktide but probably would have gotten trolled worse considering how trash DT's launch was. Plus some of the choices regarding the higher difficulties made people wonder if they even bothered playtesting it, especially since a lot of the jank people were pointing out was quietly patched.

 

[Lichen Bark]

enough content for like 10 hours of gameplay before the repetition starts to set in

There's definitely more than 10 hours worth of game time. There is easily a solid 80-100 hours.

DRG bait for extra playtime with their progression system

If the core gameplay was garbage I would agree, but it isn't. It's enjoyable, I like zipping around and digging through the caves, the movement is great, environments are varied, weapons are impactful, explosions nice. The new enemies really changed up the game. The only issue is to keep me playing more than 1-2 times per week (when the Elite Deep Dive resets) there needs to be something harder. A masochist mode of some sort, a very hard challenge that isn't easily completed/squeezes your resources. Unless you are lucky. and get 3 greenbeards in your deep dive, you often times can sleep walk through the hardest bits the game currently offers. The Dev's don't seem to have this opinion, but it's ok to have a part of the game some people can't complete, yes some people will cry, but I think it would do more for the longevity of the game.

 

[The Pulverizer]

It's enjoyable, I like zipping around and digging through the caves, the movement is great, environments are varied, weapons are impactful, explosions nice. The new enemies really changed up the game.

I think there might be some rocks and stones stuck in your head. I agree that the game is fun, but the new enemies was just slightly tankier versions of the old enemies. The only new enemies they've added were the bombers and the scorpions.

There's definitely more than 10 hours worth of game time. There is easily a solid 80-100 hours.

It's close to that if they just added a few more objectives, more enemies and more events that affect the matches. If you've played for 100 hours, then you spend 50 of those trying to unlock stuff (good overclocks are a bitch to find), 20 hours on deep-dives and core hunts, 10 hours dicking around at the hub, and you experienced all the unique content the game has to offer in like 20 hours or less.
It doesn't take long to realize that the majority of your missions play out the same way. Drop in > mine > kill bugs > mine > complete gimmicky objective > > kill bugs > leave. Maybe a detonator or an event that gives you cores and scrips will appear to shake things up a bit.

 

[Asian tech support]

It's close to that if they just added a few more objectives, more enemies and more events that affect the matches.

The last thing they added that really knocked it out of the park was on site refining and I think GSG knows it. They should play into the building gimmick and make a mission type where you need to build on/fortify an area to defend against waves.

 

[The Pulverizer]

They should play into the building gimmick and make a mission type where you need to build on/fortify an area to defend against waves.

If you suggested that in the steam forums, all the good boy shills would come after you. Tower defense to the DRG devs is a big no-no (probably coz it's too much work).

 

[Acrid Alchemist]

The last thing they added that really knocked it out of the park was on site refining and I think GSG knows it.

That same update also included Escort Duty which I think is about on par with On-site Refining. Its the rare fun escort mission and it ends in an atypical boss fight. I just wish they'd add more moves to the Ommoran Heartstone so that it has more variety.

They should play into the building gimmick and make a mission type where you need to build on/fortify an area to defend against waves.

People have asked for a horde mode sort of thing for years. It wouldn't even be hard to make since modders have done it and there is already a system for calling in structures that we use all the time for the season events. Its not even hard to flavor. Just call it Population Control and talk about how its to lessen the size of hordes attacking miners doing jobs in the same biome. But the devs keep saying no and being sketchy about it.

 

[not william stenchever]

 

[ABE LINN COHN]

View attachment 5333694

They should've kept that bug in just for the hell of it. It's not like haz 1 detonators are that big of a deal anyway.

 

[not william stenchever]

 

[Counterfeit Obol]

Gonna be honest; the changes to Plasma Burster Missiles fucking slap, and I've been using the OC more often.

 

[Local Wordmason]

GSG are now developing a third DRG spinoff (fourth if you count the board game) that will postpone the next season until 2024. This time it's a roguelike FPS, because that's what people really wanted, I guess.

You had a really good game, and now the scope of it is getting way out of hand. It blows my mind that they try to say with a straight face.
"We aren't adding new content for the game you already bought in favor of a game you will have to buy, and here's why thats a good thing."
Essentially admitting that a game isn't getting content for months is a surefire way to tank your game. I have seen so many developers go down this path where they get too cocky with their studio and leave a great game to get cold on the counter. Survivors is being developed by a different company, so that isn't much of a problem, but GSG has said this will be a game that they will develop. Meaning they will always have a split between resources of the two games, they have confirmed that they will be developing DRG well into 2025 as well so it's not like DRG is being shelved for good.

I think Survivors is pretty neat, I liked that this was a small side game they put out that has some good features. But for fuck's sake GSG get your shit together and realize that the money lies in your flagship title, not all these spinoffs that suck up dev time. Is the lead designer some kind of egomaniac that literally is trying to force DRG into being a big franchise?

 

[Haramburger]

It doesn't take long to realize that the majority of your missions play out the same way. Drop in > mine > kill bugs > mine > complete gimmicky objective > > kill bugs > leave. Maybe a detonator or an event that gives you cores and scrips will appear to shake things up a bit.

Refinery's my favorite mission type, I love pipes. If I don't have special events or promotions to do I pick Refinery errytime

 

[Cantercoin]

GSG are now developing a third DRG spinoff (fourth if you count the board game) that will postpone the next season until 2024. This time it's a roguelike FPS, because that's what people really wanted, I guess.

You had a really good game, and now the scope of it is getting way out of hand. It blows my mind that they try to say with a straight face.
"We aren't adding new content for the game you already bought in favor of a game you will have to buy, and here's why thats a good thing."
Essentially admitting that a game isn't getting content for months is a surefire way to tank your game. I have seen so many developers go down this path where they get too cocky with their studio and leave a great game to get cold on the counter. Survivors is being developed by a different company, so that isn't much of a problem, but GSG has said this will be a game that they will develop. Meaning they will always have a split between resources of the two games, they have confirmed that they will be developing DRG well into 2025 as well so it's not like DRG is being shelved for good.

I think Survivors is pretty neat, I liked that this was a small side game they put out that has some good features. But for fuck's sake GSG get your shit together and realize that the money lies in your flagship title, not all these spinoffs that suck up dev time. Is the lead designer some kind of egomaniac that literally is trying to force DRG into being a big franchise?

I wouldnt have much of a problem with the next season being delayed but waiting until JUNE 2024 or even longer than that for content is just inexcusable.
The only way i can see them even salvage this is making season 5 an absolute behemoth of an update that would make up for the delay

 

[ABE LINN COHN]

Refinery's my favorite mission type, I love pipes. If I don't have special events or promotions to do I pick Refinery errytime

Structure building missions in general are the best type. It's a shame that outside of OSR you only really have an incentive to build stuff during phase 1 of sabotage or phase 2 of salvage.
One thing I hate though is how the bugs don't actually attack the pipes or any of the machinery and how it just spontaneously breaks. It really doesn't matter how well you do at "defending" the refinery, the pipes just crack themselves and you have to rush out to find where the leak is. It's way too predictable and tedious.

 

[Asian tech support]

Damn with all the JF shit going on this flew over my head. Season 4 lasting 13 months? Also, claiming S6 won't happen until 2025 probably means it isn't dropping January of that year. Before the game left early access, I felt like it was getting three big updates annually and now we're down to one. VT2 even at its lowest didn't have a content drought like this I think. GSG niggers need to get out of their groomercord.

Rogue Core seems like it could just have been a game mode, even paid dlc. I'm not against the concept, and I think it's kind of a neat idea, but also I think that having it as a separate game splits the playerbase and breeds resentment. For all its faults, VT2 at least kept the Chaos Wastes contained within the base game.