For UK owners who have a level head and want a refund...

antonyf · 09-09-2008, 05:39 PM

I have seen some real absurdity in this forum, I really have. Accusations that EA just did no testing, really unrealistic expectations on the way the software industry works, annoyance at the DRM (well if you pay for a DRM version at £10 over the shop price, well you bring it up on yourself).

I can well accept that many bugs don't surface until a game is released in the wild. So many different PCs have different combinations of specs and drivers, it's a real nightmare (and helps continue the decline of the PC games market).

But for those of us that arent' hysterical, I have this advice. I said before contact EA support, as they need to be aware of these problems to issue a patch in due course. However I have contacted EA support, and they are timewasters. If they said "We're aware of the problem and are fixing it," I'd be fine... but the latest advice I got was to remove the software. Not reinstall it, as I'd already done it, just remove it. Maybe some humor that escapes me.

So to UK members I say be patient for a patch if you want. Otherwise return the product. Under UK law a product must be fit for purpose. So you take it back (or send it back) and say the product is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold. This is what I just did with Game. I suggest this course of action if you're really concerned. It's much better than hysteria and gets you what you want in the end. Then maybe buy the game again in a year, when the price has dropped and the product is patched.

And when it comes to Sims 3... WAIT for a while until after it's released

I will be.

Jason1984 · 09-09-2008, 05:47 PM

Well said, that man. Unfortunately there's a lot of angst flying round the forum, but it's going to take the tech support guys twice as long to find the threads with real problems if they're buried under fourteen other threads accusing them of doing nothing. This game has taken years to develop, yet some people expect a patch to be out and available less than 48 working hours after the release date. Be realistic people - I'm sure these guys genuinely want to help this game fulfil it's massive, massive potential, so let's just be calm about it, yeah? EVERY game has faults in the month or so after initial release, it's just part of the price we pay for being PC gamers.

Paintwister · 09-09-2008, 06:22 PM

Whats wrong with it? I've seen nothing yet? Or maybe It's going to creep up on me when I'm not expectin it

Mungrul · 09-09-2008, 07:19 PM

I would return it if I could, but I bought the digital download.

AbZaDouS · 09-09-2008, 07:26 PM

Click this link and read the post, and if your going to reply to this post in particular, certainly read it... not doing so will ironically be hilarious

Why EA Should Exchange my "Digital copy" of Crysis for a Physical Retail Copy

People are agitated for very good reason, its mostly every ea title ( i can vouch for several ea titles I have owned ) , its a game that wont even play (never mind play and then crash) for most people, more still the support they offer there consumers is shockingly bad.

My two editions work, one required removing windows family safety the other was fine, it doesn't change the fact what's happening here is wrong.
There are companies who set much higher release standards than EA, more than that its how they deal with their customers when there is fault. Its an industry im a programmer within, i more than understand not only to handle the problems faced by users but how to handle the user and it's really not that hard.

This is not a one off for EA, you wouldn't stand for it with any other product; movies, music, food etc etc. Programming standards and good testing are there for reasons and most companies won't stand for anything but stable release and the attitude that its anything but okay on any software for ££'s (more leeway to internal products and freeware / OS ) is not a good one.

Example: Aviation Software, would you accept it if planes started crashing into each other due to unstable software, Medical Software the computer guided equipment doing complex operations.... well its 'mostly' accurate but occasionally crashes, extreme examples you may say but code is code, the coding theories / techniques are the same

The software industry as a whole has worked tirelessly to improve both supporting users and raising release standards, EA on the other hand continue to make buggy releases and provide horrific technical support, do i think they did testing .... yes? do i think they did enough testing? clearly not, so many issues, varying issues

Yes, wait for stable releases when purchasing a game
Yes, take it back to the store for a refund if it doesn't work

but don't fool yourself into thinking it's a one off, it's just this title, that every company and game is like this, that it's just pc software..... it's not, and it certainly shouldn't be, and if you accept it and treat it as the norm, more companies will behave that way, because they can.

People are calm, hell i genuinely could not be more chilled

, but it doesn't change the validity of the argument, nor that people should not voice their personal opinions as they see fit...

MaldrenWins · 09-09-2008, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antonyf

Not reinstall it, as I'd already done it, just remove it. Maybe some humor that escapes me.

lalalala, i commend you.

TrinityFive · 09-09-2008, 10:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jason1984

Well said, that man. Unfortunately there's a lot of angst flying round the forum, but it's going to take the tech support guys twice as long to find the threads with real problems if they're buried under fourteen other threads accusing them of doing nothing. This game has taken years to develop, yet some people expect a patch to be out and available less than 48 working hours after the release date. Be realistic people - I'm sure these guys genuinely want to help this game fulfil it's massive, massive potential, so let's just be calm about it, yeah? EVERY game has faults in the month or so after initial release, it's just part of the price we pay for being PC gamers.

Now just take a quick look at what you posted there:

yet some people expect a patch to be out and available less than 48 working hours after the release date.

No, I do not expect a patch out in less than 48 hours. I do not expect it to be patched because I expect it to work All this talk about patching and it takes time to develop and oooer it's difficult to code for is complete nonsence.

But you have heard it and seen it so many times you expect it and you treat it as the norm.

WRONG

It does not work because EA wanted it out to make a big fat profit now. Why don't they do what Poliphony are doing for Gran Turismo 5? Bring out a cut down version at a really low price and then stress test it, then slowly add content to test again.

SteMot · 09-09-2008, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by antonyf

I have seen some real absurdity in this forum, I really have. Accusations that EA just did no testing, really unrealistic expectations on the way the software industry works, annoyance at the DRM (well if you pay for a DRM version at £10 over the shop price, well you bring it up on yourself).

1. I have seen no unrealistic expectations on the way the software industry works, it pretty reasonable to expect a patch for such a major issue 5 days after release, other publishers release patches and hotfixes a day later for issues a lot less important than this.

2. You can only get DRM versions, wether you buy from EA ONline, or in shops, they all have the same DRM, so nobody brought this on their self.

Please have a little sympathy for those are having trouble rather than attempt to insult our intelligence when your not in possesion of most of the facts,

09-09-2008, 05:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
antonyf Rookie Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 19	For UK owners who have a level head and want a refund... I have seen some real absurdity in this forum, I really have. Accusations that EA just did no testing, really unrealistic expectations on the way the software industry works, annoyance at the DRM (well if you pay for a DRM version at £10 over the shop price, well you bring it up on yourself). I can well accept that many bugs don't surface until a game is released in the wild. So many different PCs have different combinations of specs and drivers, it's a real nightmare (and helps continue the decline of the PC games market). But for those of us that arent' hysterical, I have this advice. I said before contact EA support, as they need to be aware of these problems to issue a patch in due course. However I have contacted EA support, and they are timewasters. If they said "We're aware of the problem and are fixing it," I'd be fine... but the latest advice I got was to remove the software. Not reinstall it, as I'd already done it, just remove it. Maybe some humor that escapes me. So to UK members I say be patient for a patch if you want. Otherwise return the product. Under UK law a product must be fit for purpose. So you take it back (or send it back) and say the product is not fit for the purpose for which it was sold. This is what I just did with Game. I suggest this course of action if you're really concerned. It's much better than hysteria and gets you what you want in the end. Then maybe buy the game again in a year, when the price has dropped and the product is patched. And when it comes to Sims 3... WAIT for a while until after it's released I will be.

09-09-2008, 05:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
Jason1984 Rookie Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 7	Well said, that man. Unfortunately there's a lot of angst flying round the forum, but it's going to take the tech support guys twice as long to find the threads with real problems if they're buried under fourteen other threads accusing them of doing nothing. This game has taken years to develop, yet some people expect a patch to be out and available less than 48 working hours after the release date. Be realistic people - I'm sure these guys genuinely want to help this game fulfil it's massive, massive potential, so let's just be calm about it, yeah? EVERY game has faults in the month or so after initial release, it's just part of the price we pay for being PC gamers.

09-09-2008, 06:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
Paintwister Hi, I'm New! Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1	Whats wrong with it? I've seen nothing yet? Or maybe It's going to creep up on me when I'm not expectin it

09-09-2008, 07:19 PM	#4 (permalink)
Mungrul Rookie Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 6	I would return it if I could, but I bought the digital download.

09-09-2008, 07:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
AbZaDouS Rookie Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 7	Click this link and read the post, and if your going to reply to this post in particular, certainly read it... not doing so will ironically be hilarious Why EA Should Exchange my "Digital copy" of Crysis for a Physical Retail Copy People are agitated for very good reason, its mostly every ea title ( i can vouch for several ea titles I have owned ) , its a game that wont even play (never mind play and then crash) for most people, more still the support they offer there consumers is shockingly bad. My two editions work, one required removing windows family safety the other was fine, it doesn't change the fact what's happening here is wrong. There are companies who set much higher release standards than EA, more than that its how they deal with their customers when there is fault. Its an industry im a programmer within, i more than understand not only to handle the problems faced by users but how to handle the user and it's really not that hard. This is not a one off for EA, you wouldn't stand for it with any other product; movies, music, food etc etc. Programming standards and good testing are there for reasons and most companies won't stand for anything but stable release and the attitude that its anything but okay on any software for ££'s (more leeway to internal products and freeware / OS ) is not a good one. Example: Aviation Software, would you accept it if planes started crashing into each other due to unstable software, Medical Software the computer guided equipment doing complex operations.... well its 'mostly' accurate but occasionally crashes, extreme examples you may say but code is code, the coding theories / techniques are the same The software industry as a whole has worked tirelessly to improve both supporting users and raising release standards, EA on the other hand continue to make buggy releases and provide horrific technical support, do i think they did testing .... yes? do i think they did enough testing? clearly not, so many issues, varying issues Yes, wait for stable releases when purchasing a game Yes, take it back to the store for a refund if it doesn't work but don't fool yourself into thinking it's a one off, it's just this title, that every company and game is like this, that it's just pc software..... it's not, and it certainly shouldn't be, and if you accept it and treat it as the norm, more companies will behave that way, because they can. People are calm, hell i genuinely could not be more chilled , but it doesn't change the validity of the argument, nor that people should not voice their personal opinions as they see fit...