darkSpyro

So, will they be returning? So far, every game has had them. Why not this one? But, what would they be, and would Activison let them return? Comment please.

Nothing announced so far... But really hope there are more!

I would have to imagine so.
Honestly, I could see them just port over Sheep Wreck Island and Tower of Time. Perhaps allowing us to capture those villains would be neat too.
What I'd REALLY like, is just some sort of small level thing with a few enemies here and there, power ups and stuff, and then a boss battle with us being able to capture those bosses onto a crystal (perhaps a special one for each). That'd allow players to get the figures (i could see them selling the packs again; I'll talk about that in a sec here) and give us something extra to do.

What i REALLY REALLY want is a legacy collection. Darklight Crypt (the figure) plus a Occulus trap, Dragons Peak with Vathek trap, etc. Then sell the 2 items separately with a single core figure (lets say, Ghost Roaster + Healing Elixer, maybe like Cynder + Time Twist Hour Glass, etc etc). That way, they can get the figures back out to people who want them, and possibly make more money doing so.

(yes, I know Empire of Ice doesn't have a boss, maybe just have some sort of Ice Ogre or something for it. I dunno man)

For new ones, I would assume probably 2 Adventure Packs, 2 Battle Packs again. 4 Adventure Packs would be amazing, but we'll probably see Battle Packs. I hope they dont follow Giants and just 2 Battles though....

There will be no adventure pack ports. I can about guarantee that.

Given there's a 2 year cycle for games now, we should have new adventure packs...assuming they aren't abandoning the concept---which is possible...they've forsaken those who like to upgrade their skylanders...this might be next.

With the ability to capture enemies, Adventure packs with their own Boss suddenly become a LOT better proposition for purchase.

You get the figure in the pack AND the boss to capture, they would be stupid not to make at LEAST 2 and I would hope more. These could sell quite well.

Bringing back the older Adventure packs will not happen (SSA 4) They already abandoned them. The Swap Force 2 however could easily be ported and I don't see why they shouldn't.

Fingers crossed eh.

Quote: Pyrofer

Bringing back the older Adventure packs will not happen (SSA 4) They already abandoned them.

It was VVs choice to remove the older adventure packs - TfB may bring them back like they did in giants, but they may have the older figures unlock a new level instead of the old one.

Quote: GhostRoaster

There will be no adventure pack ports. I can about guarantee that.

Given there's a 2 year cycle for games now, we should have new adventure packs...assuming they aren't abandoning the concept---which is possible...they've forsaken those who like to upgrade their skylanders...this might be next.

Ummm, has the 'no upgrading' thing ever been confirmed? It hasn't, as far as I know. And besides, why would they eliminate upgrades? They only stopped increasing the level cap. And we don't know if they are going to bring back heroics or just bonus missions. We just had Trap Team revealed.

So, about the Adventure and Battle Packs. With the way Trap Team is going, I would honestly not be surprised if they didn't release Adventure and Battle Packs. The traps count for that, in my opinion. But, the items would still have the ability to be used in Trap Team.

I am not expecting any old packs to do much of anything on the new game. As exciting as the new game sounds, so far everything I am hearing about Trap Team seems to be leaving the old game features/characters behind -- old characters will be compatible, but my bet is that is all we get from the past (past purchases) in this new game.

Jeff (Poffenbarger/Executive Producer at Toys for Bob) said they thought about DLC but they won't make any because they doubt every kid has a fast broadband connection. Then I asked him about Battle & Adventure Packs. He said he wasn't allowed to give me a "yes" or "no" but I could expect similar releases as seen in Swap Force.

They got rid of the adventure packs from the first game in Swap force because of the jumping mechanic, right?

Quote: yelvy

They got rid of the adventure packs from the first game in Swap force because of the jumping mechanic, right?

Not necessarily, I always thought it was because TFB didn't remake the levels for Giants, they were exactly identical so it wasn't much effort. VV would have had to completely remake the 4 levels, despite the fact that a lot of the player wouldn't have had.

Quote: myskylanders

Jeff (Poffenbarger/Executive Producer at Toys for Bob) said they thought about DLC but they won't make any because they doubt every kid has a fast broadband connection. Then I asked him about Battle & Adventure Packs. He said he wasn't allowed to give me a "yes" or "no" but I could expect similar releases as seen in Swap Force.

DLC needs to be here, i get the point that some ppl have no internet but that shouldnt stop the rest of the world. They could sell the DLC on a cd or something in store if needed.

Quote: SlayerX11

Quote: myskylanders

Jeff (Poffenbarger/Executive Producer at Toys for Bob) said they thought about DLC but they won't make any because they doubt every kid has a fast broadband connection. Then I asked him about Battle & Adventure Packs. He said he wasn't allowed to give me a "yes" or "no" but I could expect similar releases as seen in Swap Force.

DLC needs to be here, i get the point that some ppl have no internet but that shouldnt stop the rest of the world. They could sell the DLC on a cd or something in store if needed.

It sure as heck doesn't stop other franchises. I don't get all of this limited thinking. They are too chicken to change anything.

An expansion pack that would come out around February/March would go a long way toward keeping people playing the game longer and giving more value to the new characters. Just one Adventure pack after launch isn't enough in my mind.

Rather than DLC, why not try this:
Current RFID technology can only to hold up to 1KB of data.
If we say that each level is 100MB (this is just a guess), that would need roughly 100,000 RFID chips (which is not only expensive, but impossible to use).
If it is possible, TfB & VV could possibly develop RFID chips which hold 50 or 100MB of data (a figure with two or three chips is possible), and sell a figure which needs placing on the portal for a few minutes whilst the game loads the level, and then the level is saved to the console.
This would be expensive to develop, but the technology could open a whole realm of possibilities, not just for adventure packs, but for

They could just put the content on a small USB stick. These are given away with cornflakes these days so cost isn't an issue.

It really comes down to profit. If it would make them a lot of money to make levels that you buy and download I am sure they would do it. They are not, so the "believe" that developing the levels would cost more than they would make back selling them.

I disagree and think they are really missing out. I for one would buy a level pack for Swap Force RIGHT NOW.

The money in Skylanders is IN THE FIGURES. NOT in the game.
They will make a much higher return selling those traps than selling level packs/DLC so why waste development time on levels???

You see the game is only there to give you a reason to buy the toys.

I heartily think downloadable level packs or MUCH larger content expansion packs would be a great way to introduce more adult content (I mean harder puzzles not 'adult' content) but the return would be tiny and hard to justify their initial outlay costs. We can ask, beg and nag, but unless it brings them a lot of money, it won't happen.

The problem with a usb is that it isn't a figure as such, and that would mean less fun for the children when they aren't playing the game.
I agree that it would be a lot cheaper, but as you say - the money is in the figures. How much would you pay for a usb stick with a game level on? How much would you pay for a high quality figure with that level on?
Now look at it from a child's point of view. With the usb stick, they just get the level. With the figure, they get an in-game level, and an out-of-game toy.
Edit: either way, I think we can agree that DLC is harder to distribute to the masses, whereas a physical item which contains the level allows people to get it if they don't have internet access or it is too slow. Maybe an alternative would be to offer DLC at a slightly reduced cost to the same content in physical form.

Or just accept that most of the civilised world has a decent broadband connection now. Certainly people with money to burn collecting Skylanders should be able to afford one!!!
The new XBone was almost a totally ONLINE ONLY console ffs.

Why not embed the USB stick in the figure. Put on portal as normal or pull head off with USB stick inside.

Quote: Pyrofer

Why not embed the USB stick in the figure. Put on portal as normal or pull head off with USB stick inside.

It is a great idea, but would be expensive to implement both RFID and USB - how much would they sell for?
The best way forward if they are going to offer paid after-market levels is to offer DLC for those with a fast internet connection, or the figures at a slightly increased cost for those without.
If they were to include after-market levels with the original price of the game, DLC is realistically the only way forward.
Edit: it isn't only about being able to afford a fast internet connection - if DLC for Skylanders would be the main use for it, it isn't worth the money that people would have to pay. There are people who can easily afford 60 MB/s fibre-optics, but if they are only going to use it twice a year to download DLC, is it worth it?

Quote: Pyrofer

Or just accept that most of the civilised world has a decent broadband connection now. Certainly people with money to burn collecting Skylanders should be able to afford one!!!
The new XBone was almost a totally ONLINE ONLY console ffs.

Why not embed the USB stick in the figure. Put on portal as normal or pull head off with USB stick inside.

They could do that... And then face that issue of alienated people with the Wii version. The Wii has always been holding back the possibility of updates via downloads (except for that one update for Swap Force on everything but the Wii) but since it's near damned impossible to update a game on the Wii, they won't add new content via an update.

^By Skylanders 5, that probably won't be a problem - it is almost certain that Trap Team is the Wii's last Skylanders game.
There is no way that TfB will implement any sort of after-market levels until the Wii is gone (I don't know if VV would), but when they do, they have a variety of distribution methods.
TfB seem to love the Wii a little too much to stop Wii support, but it isn't up to them to decide.(Why are they creating Trap Team for current gen consoles[last in the case of the Wii] then porting to next gen?)
However, if activision pull the plug on Wii support for Skylanders 5 (and they probably will), there is the possibility of game patches and updates which can be easily distributed to everyone.
And as a note on the side, I didn't know there was an update to Swap Force? It may have something to do with being a Wii user [who hasn't faced a single problem, but they may have released an updated game disk with the fix implemented before I got mine at Christmas]

Quote: Pyrofer

They could just put the content on a small USB stick. These are given away with cornflakes these days so cost isn't an issue.

It really comes down to profit. If it would make them a lot of money to make levels that you buy and download I am sure they would do it. They are not, so the "believe" that developing the levels would cost more than they would make back selling them.

I disagree and think they are really missing out. I for one would buy a level pack for Swap Force RIGHT NOW.

The money in Skylanders is IN THE FIGURES. NOT in the game.
They will make a much higher return selling those traps than selling level packs/DLC so why waste development time on levels???

You see the game is only there to give you a reason to buy the toys.

I heartily think downloadable level packs or MUCH larger content expansion packs would be a great way to introduce more adult content (I mean harder puzzles not 'adult' content) but the return would be tiny and hard to justify their initial outlay costs. We can ask, beg and nag, but unless it brings them a lot of money, it won't happen.

They've historically rode that "thin line" of producing "just enough" content to sell "too much" in product. Having 256 combinations or 100+ new figures in a release doesn't mean SQUAT if there's not enough content to enjoy it. It's a total waste.

And in fact, if they don't take steps to address the content issue, I'll take steps to stop buying. Won't hurt them, but if enough of like minded individuals do the same, maybe they'll listen.

I will probably buy Trap Team, but I definitely agree with you - content before characters, or I will not be buying Skylanders 5 at all.
I currently play the Wii versions of the first 3 games, costing £50-£60. If there is enough content in Trap Team, I will be more than happy to pay £70-£80 for the starter pack. Such high numbers of characters are not a priority for anyone other than collectors.