..Thoughts on the game, bugs and patches

[SpencerH]

I don't disagree that CA is responsible for the bugs. I do disagree that the siege bug was introduced with the patch. Testing suggests it has been present since 1.1, and perhaps even with 1.0, but I haven't read conclusive evidence for the status of 1.0.

I understand that leaving the machine running might not be feasible for some people, but it is simple and effective. Also, the AI does get back on track after a reload, so it's not like it's broken for good when you do need to load it.

No, I'm not saying customers should be responsible for fixing anything. What I'm saying is that we can help ourselves if we choose, rather than just waiting for these jokers to do something. I don't know about you, but I'd rather fix what can be fixed now, because I like the game and don't want to wait for October to get better gameplay. It isn't good, but it is preferable to the alternatives of not playing at all or living with the pain.

A fix for the horse archer problem was posted on this forum about a month ago. It involves changing ONE word in the unit description file for each of the affected units, and those units are listed with the fix. If you cannot find the fix in this forum, I can dig up a copy of it and post it back here, but that might take some time.

I have no conclusive evidence but I doubt that the seige bug was present with 1.0. I didnt patch to 1.1 and played 2.5 long campaigns during which time I fought numerous city defenses against an aggressive AI. In contrast, playing in the same stop and start fashion I've not fought one city defense with 1.2 and the game has stagnated with no (or only little) change in the AI empires for 50-100 years. Clearly, the change came with the patch.

As for fixes, I agree that some 'workarounds' exist but disagree as to their value. There are ways to mitigate the worst of the 'true' bugs and if that was the only problem with RTW then things might be different. In my case though, I'm also disappointed with other issues such as the AI and gameplay/unit speeds (amongst others). Of course I can add a mod but, as with the bugs, the changes are not true fixes since many of the problems are hard coded. My time is simply too valuable to waste on band-aids that prove disappointing after investing many hours of play. I'm stopping my one and only 1.2 campaign and plan to go back to Gran Tourismo until something better (CIV4 maybe) or another patch comes along.