darkSpyro

I am bored with trap team and its getting annoying i need the dark pack to beat the game but.....its all sold out swap force has more stuff to do...Do you feel the same.UPDATE i like trap team better than swap force

You don't need anything but a skylander to beat the game. I don't feel the same; kinda salty I can't get all the silly hats without gimmicklanders/villains I don't really want to spend the money on,but for the time playing the game was fun and good.

Quote: Bifrost

You don't need anything but a skylander to beat the game. I don't feel the same; kinda salty I can't get all the silly hats without gimmicklanders/villains I don't really want to spend the money on,but for the time playing the game was fun and good.

im talking when you beat the game and cant spend all your money on trap masters and variants

Eh,played plenty of games that just end or only have hard mode at the end. I'm not even done yet with doom challenge and arenas,so it was a pretty nice journey. Not having 100% is only midly annoying.

It was a great game the first time, but after i finished it it lost its charm (but i had this problem already with Swap Force)

Even without having the possibility to achieve 100% I would still never define Trap Team as "boring".

Yeah, thats the sort of dilemma I have.

Trap team feels like a superior game, yet it gets boring, there needs to be more to do,

Swap Force is too different, and not as good as a game, yet, it has tons of stuff to do, and I'll never get tired of returning to those vibrantly colored levels, or just punching the dummies in Woodburrow~

Which is why, I find myself playing SSF more than STT~

The problem is the lack of extra modes. Trap Team might have Kaos Mode and Arena Challenges (both are really the same thing), but Swap Force had different game modes like time attack, score mode, and bonus missions.

And a few bonus missions had extra boss fights.

I think it's pretty fun to play Kaos mode on nightmare with no towers and just try to survive with a random Skylander with no help from a villain. I could do that with a new Skylander every night for a few weeks and probably be entertained.

Quote: Friendzie

I think it's pretty fun to play Kaos mode on nightmare with no towers and just try to survive with a random Skylander with no help from a villain. I could do that with a new Skylander every night for a few weeks and probably be entertained.

Wish I had that patience. My insistence on having a main save on hard means I'll get frustrated pretty quick playing because I keep losing skylanders and towers and don't feel like restarting to give them another chance. I love challenging games but over the years my skills just didn't catch up(case in point not afraid to admit my Infinite mode Bayonetta record is made of stone trophies,the lowest possible level).

There are a good variety of island/environments in Trap Team. It's just a shame that they are fairly small and limited. There is basically a path you follow to get through each chapter with small areas to the sides to explore. In addition to this each time you play the chapter you fight the same number and type of enemies in the same place each and every time.

So whilst it's fun the first few times, this lack of variety does get dull after a while. I would love to have more places to explore on each island. Not to find soul gems and hats etc, but just areas to go and look at and then be randomly ambushed. And ambushed in different places by different types/numbers of enemies so I never fully know what to expect.

That would give the game a lot more replay value for me.

Quote: Drek95

Even without having the possibility to achieve 100% I would still never define Trap Team as "boring".

Even though I have already 100% completed all four game files, including one permanently in Nightmare mode, I haven't become bored with this game yet. There are still more characters that I really want to play as; Blackout, Spotlight, Echo, Rocky Roll, Short Cut, Enigma, and Legendary Bushwhack. First, what I do is save all four complete game files in my 8GB USB flash drive. Second, I can erase any or all game files. Third, start a new one with my maxed-out Skylander figures. Lastly, after completing whichever game file(s), repeat from second part.

Quote: Bifrost

You don't need anything but a skylander to beat the game. I don't feel the same; kinda salty I can't get all the silly hats without gimmicklanders/villains I don't really want to spend the money on,but for the time playing the game was fun and good.

Let's not go there. People's goals may vary from complete story mode to 100% all elements.

On topic: Swap Force has a lot more to do post story mode, that's not in question. I'd argue that I enjoyed story mode much better in Trap Team but after the post story mode wrapup Swap Force rules. And I know tastes vary, but I enjoy Swap Force's superior graphics more on next gen consoles.

Case in point: I'm playing Swap Force again on my new XBO, and have dumped Trap Team. They've spent two months not delivering any new toys ... not even sure if I'm going to complete buying the toys.

It's like this with any game, you play it a lot and it gets boring over time.

Quote: Skylander3112

It's like this with any game, you play it a lot and it gets boring over time.

Don't disagree, but for a game that commands hundreds of dollars between game and toys I'd say it's dead last in keeping gamer's attention post story mode.

I don't think you can call it boring if you've played for several months or logged up alot of play hours.

In Most story based games your done with it after the 10 -15 hours it takes you to complete story mode.

It's true there's not much to do after story mode in trap team. But the story mode was a decent length and pretty entertaining. And in the end I'd rather they keep making good story modes instead of just lots of mini game things that only reward you portal master rank up stars like They did in swapforce.

If trap team had a proper vs mode were you could battle AI skylanders the game would've been pretty much perfect for me.

Right, but I don't judge skylanders the same way I do a $59.95 game. If I did, it would cost me $59.95. It provides more gaming value than other games for sure, but it's a bit flat in some areas. But to your point I'm going back into past games and doing the adventure with different characters / constraints etc much like the "difficulty" challenges posted here.

The best thing I like about skylanders now is replaying the older games a year or 2 later . Playing with different charscters or trying different upgrade paths does make the games pretty replayable.

While I was waiting for blastermind and the light and dark packs to come out I replayed SA and Giants to 100% again, and it kept me sane while I was waiting lol .

Also to enhance the replayability for my self, I'll mostly purchase then put aside wave 4 and 5 for the next time I want to play trap team again in a year or so.

At this point I'm getting new Skylanders for the next game. I'm giving V.V. the benefit of the doubt here. I'm so disappointed with Trap Team for a lot of the reasons GhostRoaster already stated, and beyond. Given that this game wants/expects us to spend $500 plus I don't believe it's out of line to want more. Granted each person's experience will be different but in this case I believe it's a matter of long term value, which T.T. is lacking...in spades. I spent $40 on Fire Emblem Awakenings and have logged about 1000 hours on multiple play-thrus. Compared to Trap Team, I feel violated. For the life of me I can't understand why they removed features from S.F. to T.T. I think I'm gonna go back to S.F. and wait for the next game. I'll pick up the new cores that come out but mainly for the next game...that's so strange to me...lol.

Quote: Tigorus

At this point I'm getting new Skylanders for the next game. I'm giving V.V. the benefit of the doubt here. I'm so disappointed with Trap Team for a lot of the reasons GhostRoaster already stated, and beyond. Given that this game wants/expects us to spend $500 plus I don't believe it's out of line to want more. Granted each person's experience will be different but in this case I believe it's a matter of long term value, which T.T. is lacking...in spades. I spent $40 on Fire Emblem Awakenings and have logged about 1000 hours on multiple play-thrus. Compared to Trap Team, I feel violated. For the life of me I can't understand why they removed features from S.F. to T.T. I think I'm gonna go back to S.F. and wait for the next game. I'll pick up the new cores that come out but mainly for the next game...that's so strange to me...lol.

i agree 110% with this....

What major features were removed in Trap Team? The only ones I can think of that might lower replay value is the lack of score and scoreboards, and maybe character quests. Time trials don't exist, but you could easily keep track of your best time on a level. There's no reason you have to be given a star to make it something you can do if you find that to be fun. Swap Force doesn't even reward you past level 80, which leaves enough stars remaining that you could get max level without touching any of the extra modes. As far as character quests go, I never found them to increase replay, they just made me do things I didn't want to do like having to win 10 PVP matches.

Quote: Friendzie

What major features were removed in Trap Team? The only ones I can think of that might lower replay value is the lack of score and scoreboards, and maybe character quests. Time trials don't exist, but you could easily keep track of your best time on a level. There's no reason you have to be given a star to make it something you can do if you find that to be fun. Swap Force doesn't even reward you past level 80, which leaves enough stars remaining that you could get max level without touching any of the extra modes. As far as character quests go, I never found them to increase replay, they just made me do things I didn't want to do like having to win 10 PVP matches.

Trap Team also removed PvP itself, which I personally never found that interesting (except for the Quests you mentioned) but has been a solid feature of the series since the first chapter, and Heroics/Bonus Missions.

That being said, it's all a matter of tastes.
The only thing I would want in Trap Team, which SWAP Force had, other than all the ones we already got, are an increased level cap and character's Quests. Nothing more.

In the end, SWAP Force and Trap Team are both high quality games, and Activision, TfB and V.V. sure cannot make everyone happy, with any of their entries.

I don't know where I 'changed', but I've got some hard "disagreements".

First, there is NO expectation that you're going to buy everything. The people on these forums represent the top .01% - stop basing the total value of the game off your specific wants. Just doing the averages, if I was Activision, I'd hope/expect the average player to buy around 9 figures per game. Some are higher, some are lower, that's about an average based on what I saw/see on eBay/Craigslist/FB. Yes, that can be an easy $100 on top, but that's at full value. How many people bought all or even most of their figures at full value (and aren't in an import situation)? The same can be said with traps. All in all, I'd wager that total spent on average - and about what Activision would expect mathematically, would be about $200 per copy - between the game, the traps, and the figures. Yes, that is still expensive for a video game, but doesn't approach the $500 mentioned earlier. As well, as others have mentioned previously, you ARE getting action figures on top of it all.

With that said, the quest for 100% is incredibly overstated as a goal. Personally, I've NEVER gone for 100%, there always remains something I haven't gone through, things like not getting hit are not things I 'enjoy' and frankly if I don't enjoy it, I'm not going to worry about it (like the Heroic challenge where you can only kill certain chompies). The same can be said of MOST players, they don't pursue 100%, they simply play the game with what they have. They might try and get all the stars, but that's about it 'goal' wise. With that said, the most important part of replayability for the game is the MAIN STORY. It's not all the side things. Yes they are nice to do, but the lack of heroics for instance, does not significantly alter how long the average person plays the game. Again, most of us are NOT average, and have to udnerstand that. My wife is much closer to average, and even with Giants being her favorite, she hasn't beaten all the arenas, and only done a handful of heroics with one character.

My overall point, most folks on this forum who are bored - honestly have most likely pushed the game way past the AVERAGE intended audience. I don't recall reviewers complaining about the scarcity of content, just the $$$.
- Unreall

They've also removed trailers from Collections,and the collections menu for Skystones,Cutscenes,Story Scrolls and Legendary Treasures. However, with the acess to it in the Library it looked like they were going to implement more for sure.

That's another really interesting point of view, Unreall.

When we think about it, we are all talking about a game aimed mostly at kids (not a kids game, it's different), that not only is good, but it it waaaay above the standards, for the genre, that teenagers and adults can also enjoy.

A kid probably doesn't care for 100%, and would probably notice more a lack of a PvP mode, but, again, he/she would also probably only own 7 or so characters, as you said.
And would also enjoy the Story Mode A LOT.

So I absolutely agree with you.
While it has to be a great game for its target, we can easily enjoy it in our personal ways too, but we can't complain too much, if that isn't how we intended it to be.

I only really play it when I record videos or get new characters.

Quote: Drek95

That's another really interesting point of view, Unreall.

When we think about it, we are all talking about a game aimed mostly at kids (not a kids game, it's different), that not only is good, but it it waaaay above the standards, for the genre, that teenagers and adults can also enjoy.

A kid probably doesn't care for 100%, and would probably notice more a lack of a PvP mode, but, again, he/she would also probably only own 7 or so characters, as you said.
And would also enjoy the Story Mode A LOT.

So I absolutely agree with you.
While it has to be a great game for its target, we can easily enjoy it in our personal ways too, but we can't complain too much, if that isn't how we intended it to be.

Exacta, I can understand some of you guys getting bored, but its a bit unfair to point at the game as a culprit, as if "TfB" of "VV" screwed up, when as you perfectly worded, they made a game aimed for kids that adults enjoy too. It's like being mad at a G-rated movie for holding back on the amount of fighting. You still caught feels and enjoyed the fight that was there, but ultimately it is aimed at a younger audience, who won't understand the adult jokes or get the full extent of the violence.

And I guess revisiting my post a bit after some lunch - I'm also trying to point out that not only will we burn out on the content quicker due to 'age', but we can do things that the intended age simply can't. I have a full time job, I can buy any skylander I want. I have a car, I can drive by TRU during lunch when I hear a new wave just got released. I have a credit card and a paypal account so I can order stuff off the internet without asking for someone else's permission. Frankly, the only thing to stop me from owning everything is my own spending habits. But the kids this game is made for, I mean to sum it up, my convo this weekend on FB is a perfect example - someone I went to school with went to the store to buy a fire trap for his son, because they didn't have one, he wanted to capture a fire villain, and had been good in school, so it was a reward.

A SINGLE fire trap.

5 months after the game came out, because they didn't have one.

The Sunday the game came out, I had 4 in my basket. Opening weekend, WITH sales, I racked up like $400 or $500 worth of skylander purchases. Average kid can't do that. Average kid gets a figure for being good, or saving up for it (heart warming eBay story, was sellnig some Giants *when I was a reseller*, and saved several dollars on shipping, so I refunded the money, despite sort of taking a loss on the auction price - it just felt right, came to find out a kid had saved up his own money from doing chores and allowance to buy my $8 Swarm, and was ecstatic that I gave him back like $2 from shipping), or life events like B-days or holidays, so something like 100%? A year later, they are most likely still missing Trap Masters to get into certain areas.

So you have to take that into account if you want to talk down to the game or even the series.
- Unreall

Quote: Unreallystic

My overall point, most folks on this forum who are bored - honestly have most likely pushed the game way past the AVERAGE intended audience. I don't recall reviewers complaining about the scarcity of content, just the $$$.l

Solid point, but even with an average set of characters TT falls short of re playability to me that was present in previous games, especially Swap Force. Case in point, I'm playing Swap Force now. So, taking toys out of the equation, my statements still stand in terms of the game itself. The larger number of toys coupled with the game losing features simply exacerbates an already obvious problem.

Sorry drek, but Activision doesn't get out of jail free with the "it's a kid's game" comment. Think about the money they are raking in, and know that there are just as many adults as kids enjoying the game too.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Quote: Unreallystic

My overall point, most folks on this forum who are bored - honestly have most likely pushed the game way past the AVERAGE intended audience. I don't recall reviewers complaining about the scarcity of content, just the $$$.l

Solid point, but even with an average set of characters TT falls short of re playability to me that was present in previous games, especially Swap Force. Case in point, I'm playing Swap Force now. So, taking toys out of the equation, my statements still stand in terms of the game itself. The larger number of toys coupled with the game losing features simply exacerbates an already obvious problem.

Sorry drek, but Activision doesn't get out of jail free with the "it's a kid's game" comment. Think about the money they are raking in, and know that there are just as many adults as kids enjoying the game too.

Ah ah ah, I specifically said "a game aimed at kids", not "a kid's game".

It's not a game made specifically and only for kids, but a game made for them, that other targets can easily enjoy.

Not even lenght or replayability are absolute factors.
With Skylanders, I personally agree with you, it is a series that in my opinion needs a lot more of both (especially the second) but a lot of other games are great even if short, or without anything else to do after completing the main mode.

And I could see a lot of people not caring about those two factors at all.
Once again, a matter of tastes.

Actually, I hadn't realized that they removed PVP. I hadn't gotten around to trying it yet. I would say that's a pretty big removal, and something totally worth being upset over.

I didn't give two drops of milk that PvP was removed myself, only did it a couple times, and it wasn't really fun or fair.

@GhostRoaster - but even that is more a preference thing, I can't say I 'hated' Swap Force, but it was easily the most disliked of the series for me. Story felt longer, because the levels were longer and they added a bunch of no-nonsense collectibles, but it simply wasn't "Fun" for me, and fun trumps length. It's the levels that I could run through in 3-5 minutes in the first two games that I replayed over and over and over again for things like time, as opposed to Swap Force which had levels so long, I only did the time thing once or twice to test out some theories of who would be good for it, and then decided to never do it again. So to say "it has better replay value" is TRULY more opinion than fact, despite the longer levels, I'm pretty positive I spent the least amount of time playing that one. And hey, I've spent more time in Kaos mode than I did farming money from the sheep, doing arena, and all the 'fake' added replability via 'points'/'time'/'SwapZones'. AND that was with SF having a cool gimmick that works better than the 40 villains, but only play as 2 or 3 schtick that TT has.

Let me regress, I don't want to get into bashing any of the games, my overall point being that most of us have pushed the game past its engineered point, so our levels of interest are going to vary, and while some of us may prefer the 'extra's in the previous game that were still honestly monotonous to me, some of us (and the main audience frankly) are more interested in playing the main game, where TT didn't take a step back, despite the shorter length.

Swap Force was like trying to get drunk off beer, while Trap Team is like doing the same with a bottle of rum. You can get there with both, but Trap Team's fun is in a more distilled and potent package, as opposed to the beer which is full of water and wasted carbs. Some folks prefer the beer, some prefer the spirits. I'm a spirits guy.
- Unreall

I actually think that the levels in TT feel longer than in SF. I often get frustrated because I missed a branch and can't get back without restarting the whole level...

Quote: skylandersspyro

I am bored with trap team and its getting annoying i need the dark pack to beat the game but.....its all sold out swap force has more stuff to do...Do you feel the same.UPDATE i like trap team better than swap force

Why do you need the dark pack? Do you mean the Kaos trap?

For me, its also the little things they removed in Trap Team, like the gold/silver/bronze medals attached to characters, which are awarded when you complete a certain amount of quests in Giants and SF. I just don't understand why, in Trap Team, they took away the little medal next to the character's name, to recognize a person's hard work. That really cheesed me off, to be honest. It is what makes my Skylanders special, and is something that rewards long time fans of the series, fans that wanted to immerse their Skylanders in all that the previous games had to offer for bonus content.

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Quote: skylandersspyro

I am bored with trap team and its getting annoying i need the dark pack to beat the game but.....its all sold out swap force has more stuff to do...Do you feel the same.UPDATE i like trap team better than swap force

Why do you need the dark pack? Do you mean the Kaos trap?

I think they mean Midnight Museum.

In regards to Activision's expectations regarding market purchases, yes they do expect us to buy them all. There's a reason why these things have release waves. They want you to comeback for the shiny new toy with the expectation that we buy it. It has little to do with production time tables. They schedule the production cycles months in advance and know when they will be available. Another reason to keep us in the dark and have us find out what's coming out through internet vendors that break the news early. Ultimately they want parents and kids to say "Ohhhh a shiny new Skylander...I must have it because it is new". That's your average Skylander expectation purchase.

Also in the instance of Trap Team the minimum purchase to unlock everything in the game (I'm talking about access not completion) is $266. That's $75 for game 7 Trap Masters @ $15 each, 6 Traps (1 Trap for each element) @ $6 each, Midnight Resume and Sunscraper Spire for Level, Trap Master and Trap and finally 2 Adventure Packs @ $25 each. That's no minis, reposes, specials, elites or new cores. You still think they only expect the average purchase to be around 9-10 figs.? Now clearly these values are based on MSRP which is the only valid way to make the case since everyone's experience may be different. That's still the most expensive game I can think of in the current market where the content doesn't change (like an MMO).

One of the biggest features I miss was the robust Arena system in S.F. Brock's pales in comparison. Character bios, Treasures, pvp, blah blah blah. Tons of people have stated what was removed I don't need to go over it again. So I guess, for me, I'm slowly waking up from the spell of wonder that was Skylanders and I have TFB to thank for it. Let's see if V.V. can recast the spell or if my resistance has a high modifier.

Yes, the average purchase is still around 8-9 figures, because many families have to choose and some may not care about 100% the game.

I fully understand I'm not the focus target of the Skylanders series, and that's why I appreciate and enjoy it so much.

Well, Tigorus, that's taking in account that all the game's DLC is physical. You're saying it's too expensive to be worth it but what about games that are just cruel about it - the microtransaction games that charge you as much as your average Steam game for the Super Deluxe Exclusive Pack which in truth is the only way to enjoy the game?
At least TT you can enjoy the little you have, and for me it's plenty good(though obviously not a good practice,if SKL5 keeps the tradition of gimmicklander gates or adds some similar bullcrap I'll take my older toys and never buy the game on release again).

Quote: Bifrost

Well, Tigorus, that's taking in account that all the game's DLC is physical. You're saying it's too expensive to be worth it but what about games that are just cruel about it - the microtransaction games that charge you as much as your average Steam game for the Super Deluxe Exclusive Pack which in truth is the only way to enjoy the game?
At least TT you can enjoy the little you have, and for me it's plenty good(though obviously not a good practice,if SKL5 keeps the tradition of gimmicklander gates or adds some similar bullcrap I'll take my older toys and never buy the game on release again).

I'm not so much saying it's too expensive for me personally but more that it's too expensive for what I feel we got back from Trap Team. In regards to DLC I am no stranger to that business model. I also still play WoW, am playing and buying Heroes in Heroes of the Storm, Bought DLC maps for Fire Emblem, and a ton of other games. WoW has a $180 annual price tag with a $40-$50 expansion thrown in every other year. With that though I'm getting an ever changing and evolving play experience. Granted I'm not getting anything physical like the figs. in Skylanders but the figs. themselves, outside of the game, don't do much. Also I know what I was signing up for with this franchise. I'm just stating that, for my personal experience, (and I know I'm not alone) I don't feel like I'm getting my money's worth with Trap Team. Especially compared to a similar business modeled game like an MMO or Free to Play game. The content isn't equal to the investment. As well as what I perceive as personal value.

Quote: arenne

For me, its also the little things they removed in Trap Team, like the gold/silver/bronze medals attached to characters, which are awarded when you complete a certain amount of quests in Giants and SF. I just don't understand why, in Trap Team, they took away the little medal next to the character's name, to recognize a person's hard work. That really cheesed me off, to be honest. It is what makes my Skylanders special, and is something that rewards long time fans of the series, fans that wanted to immerse their Skylanders in all that the previous games had to offer for bonus content.

THIS. VV BRING THEM BACK IN SKY5 PLEASE.

VV's and toys for bob probably arnt ever going to incorporate each other's little changes each game.
the big things like jumping they'll do coz that was a big deal( for some reason) but they are seperate company's and can't waste a bunch of time incorporating things into their game system that they dont think are that important.


back to the original topic ...
I think once the game gets on just consoles that can go online , they'll hopefully be able to add downloadable levels or game updates that will enable the game to Get new content a few months after release. like an adventure pack but a bigger deal.


I kind of always thought they should release the adventure packs later like in waves 4 to give us some new playable content several months after the game release to peak people's interest again.

I just feel like their missing out on a bit of profit not encouraging the purchase of things more then a few month after release. They seem to stop caring once the new year starts.

Quote: wild_defender

VV's and toys for bob probably arnt ever going to incorporate each other's little changes each game.
the big things like jumping they'll do coz that was a big deal( for some reason) but they are seperate company's and can't waste a bunch of time incorporating things into their game system that they dont think are that important.


back to the original topic ...
I think once the game gets on just consoles that can go online , they'll hopefully be able to add downloadable levels or game updates that will enable the game to Get new content a few months after release. like an adventure pack but a bigger deal.


I kind of always thought they should release the adventure packs later like in waves 4 to give us some new playable content several months after the game release to peak people's interest again.

I just feel like their missing out on a bit of profit not encouraging the purchase of things more then a few month after release. They seem to stop caring once the new year starts.

TfB also kept the possibility to upgrade while inside a level (with Persephone, instead of the Uograde Pod).

I personally always play the Adventure Packs only after finishing the Story Mode, for that exact reason.
It's a personal choice to buy and play them immediately.

And I could already see someone complaining because "they didn't even released an Adventure Pack D1, this year!".

Quote: Drek95

Quote: wild_defender

VV's and toys for bob probably arnt ever going to incorporate each other's little changes each game.
the big things like jumping they'll do coz that was a big deal( for some reason) but they are seperate company's and can't waste a bunch of time incorporating things into their game system that they dont think are that important.


back to the original topic ...
I think once the game gets on just consoles that can go online , they'll hopefully be able to add downloadable levels or game updates that will enable the game to Get new content a few months after release. like an adventure pack but a bigger deal.


I kind of always thought they should release the adventure packs later like in waves 4 to give us some new playable content several months after the game release to peak people's interest again.

I just feel like their missing out on a bit of profit not encouraging the purchase of things more then a few month after release. They seem to stop caring once the new year starts.

TfB also kept the possibility to upgrade while inside a level (with Persephone, instead of the Uograde Pod).

I personally always play the Adventure Packs only after finishing the Story Mode, for that exact reason.
It's a personal choice to buy and play them immediately.

And I could already see someone complaining because "they didn't even released an Adventure Pack D1, this year!".

Lol yeah people suck

I always save my adventure packs too, but even then you can usually complete the game fully before the end of January , I'd like to see new content added in March or something to stretch my interest that little bit further. I love collecting figures through the waves but towards the end I do wish their was something just to keep me that much more entertained.

I actually think heroic challenges did this well. A a couple of little extra levels to increase a stat that you'd try and complete for all your favourite skylanders, it was worth while. I think That's what kept my interest during Giants even with the small amount of new charscters. And their discontinuation was possibly the reason I didn't play swap force for very long, as their mini games/battles had no purpose but portal master stars. Sure they had their character accolades but its a slower less noticable achievement that felt a little more tedious then challenging.

Quote: Tigorus

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Quote: skylandersspyro

I am bored with trap team and its getting annoying i need the dark pack to beat the game but.....its all sold out swap force has more stuff to do...Do you feel the same.UPDATE i like trap team better than swap force

Why do you need the dark pack? Do you mean the Kaos trap?

I think they mean Midnight Museum.

In regards to Activision's expectations regarding market purchases, yes they do expect us to buy them all. There's a reason why these things have release waves. They want you to comeback for the shiny new toy with the expectation that we buy it. It has little to do with production time tables. They schedule the production cycles months in advance and know when they will be available. Another reason to keep us in the dark and have us find out what's coming out through internet vendors that break the news early. Ultimately they want parents and kids to say "Ohhhh a shiny new Skylander...I must have it because it is new". That's your average Skylander expectation purchase.

Also in the instance of Trap Team the minimum purchase to unlock everything in the game (I'm talking about access not completion) is $266. That's $75 for game 7 Trap Masters @ $15 each, 6 Traps (1 Trap for each element) @ $6 each, Midnight Resume and Sunscraper Spire for Level, Trap Master and Trap and finally 2 Adventure Packs @ $25 each. That's no minis, reposes, specials, elites or new cores. You still think they only expect the average purchase to be around 9-10 figs.? Now clearly these values are based on MSRP which is the only valid way to make the case since everyone's experience may be different. That's still the most expensive game I can think of in the current market where the content doesn't change (like an MMO).

One of the biggest features I miss was the robust Arena system in S.F. Brock's pales in comparison. Character bios, Treasures, pvp, blah blah blah. Tons of people have stated what was removed I don't need to go over it again. So I guess, for me, I'm slowly waking up from the spell of wonder that was Skylanders and I have TFB to thank for it. Let's see if V.V. can recast the spell or if my resistance has a high modifier.

No.

Your falling right into the trap I'm trying to keep you out of. 100%-ing the game is the mark of someone dedicated and focused on the game, its really reserved for that upper 1%. If you CAN get 100%, you are most likely in the top 1%, if you can do it multiple ways, you are in the top 0.1% frankly. Most families do not CARE about having 11 different traps, 4 adventure packs, and 10 Trap Masters. It's simply irrelevant to them. Most kids are like "This guy looks cool, I want him". You have some kids that may say I don't have a Air skylander, I need one (doens't mean they get it), but those are a small percentage compared to the first group. It's why some of the 'cooler' looking characters are often reserved for later releases - like Enigma.

As for Expectations, no no no no no. There is a VAST difference between "what Activision expects to sell" and "What Activision would LIKE to sell". To MAXIMIZE their profits they do what you discussed - yes, but its not out of expectations.

Finally, I don't think anyone is trying to pretend as though "less is more" for the side content. What "I" am trying to voice is that the extra effort was spent on Story and Kaos Mode, and that from a replay stand-point, they will in the long run, have more value than the content that was cut out. And I am not just speaking for myself. Anytime I have kids over playing or my son plays, they don't WANT to do anything 'on the side', they want to play the story, this isn't Disney Infinity where Toy Box is a large enough portion of the game that it warrants the same amount of time as the 'adventure packs'

So would it be great if the next game brought back heroics? Sure. I DID spend time doing them with a few characters before the redundancy bored me. However, I'd much rather them make the storyline as [Bison]Delicious[/Bison] as possible. The main content is the most important content.
- Unreall

I'm aiming for 100% in all of them.

I've nearly got enough crystals for 1 per villain so i need to start catching.

Quote: Greeble

I'm aiming for 100% in all of them.

I've nearly got enough crystals for 1 per villain so i need to start catching.

If I got an HD re-release, I would possibly go for 100%/100%/75%/100%. As it stands though, I don't feel like playing on my 360 (its in a different part of the house, away from where we keep our Landers), and I don't care to 100% Swap Force. I think I got like 80% on the first two games, I was working on 3 starring everything until SF came out, but SF couldn't hold my attention long enough to get everything, and seeing some of the challenges like 'not get hit', turned me off so much, that I didn't even bother trying more than once.
- Unreall

I found swap force 1,000,000% more boring than any other game, it was too long. I didn't have enough time, i didn't beat it yet.

Quote: Unreallystic

Quote: Tigorus

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Why do you need the dark pack? Do you mean the Kaos trap?

I think they mean Midnight Museum.

In regards to Activision's expectations regarding market purchases, yes they do expect us to buy them all. There's a reason why these things have release waves. They want you to comeback for the shiny new toy with the expectation that we buy it. It has little to do with production time tables. They schedule the production cycles months in advance and know when they will be available. Another reason to keep us in the dark and have us find out what's coming out through internet vendors that break the news early. Ultimately they want parents and kids to say "Ohhhh a shiny new Skylander...I must have it because it is new". That's your average Skylander expectation purchase.

Also in the instance of Trap Team the minimum purchase to unlock everything in the game (I'm talking about access not completion) is $266. That's $75 for game 7 Trap Masters @ $15 each, 6 Traps (1 Trap for each element) @ $6 each, Midnight Resume and Sunscraper Spire for Level, Trap Master and Trap and finally 2 Adventure Packs @ $25 each. That's no minis, reposes, specials, elites or new cores. You still think they only expect the average purchase to be around 9-10 figs.? Now clearly these values are based on MSRP which is the only valid way to make the case since everyone's experience may be different. That's still the most expensive game I can think of in the current market where the content doesn't change (like an MMO).

One of the biggest features I miss was the robust Arena system in S.F. Brock's pales in comparison. Character bios, Treasures, pvp, blah blah blah. Tons of people have stated what was removed I don't need to go over it again. So I guess, for me, I'm slowly waking up from the spell of wonder that was Skylanders and I have TFB to thank for it. Let's see if V.V. can recast the spell or if my resistance has a high modifier.

No.

Your falling right into the trap I'm trying to keep you out of. 100%-ing the game is the mark of someone dedicated and focused on the game, its really reserved for that upper 1%. If you CAN get 100%, you are most likely in the top 1%, if you can do it multiple ways, you are in the top 0.1% frankly. Most families do not CARE about having 11 different traps, 4 adventure packs, and 10 Trap Masters. It's simply irrelevant to them. Most kids are like "This guy looks cool, I want him". You have some kids that may say I don't have a Air skylander, I need one (doens't mean they get it), but those are a small percentage compared to the first group. It's why some of the 'cooler' looking characters are often reserved for later releases - like Enigma.

As for Expectations, no no no no no. There is a VAST difference between "what Activision expects to sell" and "What Activision would LIKE to sell". To MAXIMIZE their profits they do what you discussed - yes, but its not out of expectations.

Finally, I don't think anyone is trying to pretend as though "less is more" for the side content. What "I" am trying to voice is that the extra effort was spent on Story and Kaos Mode, and that from a replay stand-point, they will in the long run, have more value than the content that was cut out. And I am not just speaking for myself. Anytime I have kids over playing or my son plays, they don't WANT to do anything 'on the side', they want to play the story, this isn't Disney Infinity where Toy Box is a large enough portion of the game that it warrants the same amount of time as the 'adventure packs'

So would it be great if the next game brought back heroics? Sure. I DID spend time doing them with a few characters before the redundancy bored me. However, I'd much rather them make the storyline as [Bison]Delicious[/Bison] as possible. The main content is the most important content.
- Unreall

No offense, but you're being naive. In regards to the expectation they've programed Eon to tell players "You need a Trap Master of "Blah Blah Blah" Element to open this gate". The game itself is TELLING players they need to get "X' to experience and have access to "Y". So yes that would be an expectation. Also where are you getting this 1%? Do you really think a video game/toy franchise that has 99% of it's base only purchasing 8-9 figures out of just shy of 60 figs. is making this franchise the #1 action figure line? I'm not really sure what school of logic you subscribe to but it totally baffles me. They totally EXPECT us to AT LEAST get what's required to ACCESS 100% of the CONTENT in the game. Retailers expect to sell them...all.

No, they don't, Tigorus.

They would want it, but I doubt they are expecting it.

The majority of the customers are parents with one or more kids, that want to enjoy a family game.
"Enjoy" can mean multiple things, and one of them, which is also the less expensive, is buying a buch of characters that you really like (which has been the focus of the entire series since SA, not 100%, but buying a character that you are interested in, and playing as him. I do admit that in the first game, and Giants too, felt more natural and of course easy, to 100% the game while following this idea, compared to the sequels) and using them to complete the Story Mode, and play with your children.

Obviously, it can also mean multiple things, like 100% the game, collect every new character, collect all the palette swaps and reposes and so on, but, considering the main target, I think it's safe to say that the majority of the customers most likely feel happy with their favorite Skylanders only.

Yes, Christmas, Easter and other special events obviously tend to be occasions to buy more characters than you would usually do, but still, they aren't that indicative of what families would normally spend.

Expectation:

: a belief that something will happen or is likely to happen

: a feeling or belief about how successful, good, etc., someone or something will be

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expectation

Yes they do expect us to purchase as much as we can, at the very least enough to complete the game at 100%. They ship the game with posters that show kids all the bright shiny pieces of plastic to ask their parents for. Collectors get to see what they want as well. You really think it's the top figure franchise because the majority of the player base is only purchasing around 15% of the available figures and not gaining access to 100% of the game? You guys are totally blowing my mind with your train of thought but so be it.

Getting back on topic, for me personally, I'd like to feel like I'm making some kind of contribution to the actual toy's individuality. That was answered in Heroics (even though I hated the execution, the experience was there) by giving an option to customize your Skylander through stats. That went away in Swap Force on an individual basis but was made a global benefit with the Treasures and their pedestals. Overall I liked this as it wasn't so much of a grind doing the same Heroics on each Skylander. Then in Trap Team there's nothing. We have the hats but they've been in every installment. What the hell was the purpose of the outfit accessories? In earlier videos I thought they were going to be Hats version 2.0 but they did nothing? Why not add stats like the hats? They could have been a kids early entry into RPG gearing mechanics. One hat and 3 accessories. How cool would that have been? Instead we lost treasure and gained cosmetic items...what a waste of resources.

Quote: Tigorus

Expectation:

: a belief that something will happen or is likely to happen

: a feeling or belief about how successful, good, etc., someone or something will be

Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expectation

Yes they do expect us to purchase as much as we can, at the very least enough to complete the game at 100%. They ship the game with posters that show kids all the bright shiny pieces of plastic to ask their parents for. Collectors get to see what they want as well. You really think it's the top figure franchise because the majority of the player base is only purchasing around 15% of the available figures and not gaining access to 100% of the game? You guys are totally blowing my mind with your train of thought but so be it.

Getting back on topic, for me personally, I'd like to feel like I'm making some kind of contribution to the actual toy's individuality. That was answered in Heroics (even though I hated the execution, the experience was there) by giving an option to customize your Skylander through stats. That went away in Swap Force on an individual basis but was made a global benefit with the Treasures and their pedestals. Overall I liked this as it wasn't so much of a grind doing the same Heroics on each Skylander. Then in Trap Team there's nothing. We have the hats but they've been in every installment. What the hell was the purpose of the outfit accessories? In earlier videos I thought they were going to be Hats version 2.0 but they did nothing? Why not add stats like the hats? They could have been a kids early entry into RPG gearing mechanics. One hat and 3 accessories. How cool would that have been? Instead we lost treasure and gained cosmetic items...what a waste of resources.

Yeah, best served agreeing to disagree on this one. Those types of expectations are why the Tomb Raider reboot which sold extremely well, was considered a failure.

I think everyone wants more 'customization', its what made Swap Force stand out, you were in essence making your own skylander out of the pieces provided. They gave us 'outfits' (I use the term loosely), but took away customization of strengths. While heroics bored me after a while, maxing out the movement speed for Crusher was awesome until the figure reset (still POed about that). I really hope that the next entry has a more streamlined Kaos Mode (let me skip the talking and speed up the overall process to keep the adrenaline pumping), a story mode about the same length as TT, and while I'm not asking for heroics to return, a system to allow the same kind of 'buffs' would be welcomed. It could even be implemented like Amiibos in Smash Bros where you get items that will add +21 to speed, but take away -17 in defense, so I've turned my Bowser into a Glass Cannon. I don't care if the info isn't even stored on the character for tech reasons.
- Unreall