Shogun's response to patch campaign

**Louis de la Ferte Ste Colombe** · 04-14-2005, 08:53

I know for sure companies that support their product 5 times better then CA.

Louis,

**Colovion** · 04-14-2005, 09:31

Originally Posted by Louis de la Ferte Ste Colombe

I know for sure companies that support their product 5 times better then CA.

Louis,

Valve, for one. So far they've released at least two dozen patches since HL2 release. Not game-stopping bugs, as I never had any noticable problems; just tweaking and working out any bugs the community brings up. Hell, today they released a patch that fixed ONE problem - in Counterstrike: Source sometimes people's names would come up as duplicates in the game list.... nothing important really - but it was fixed within 3 days of it being apparent it was there.

Activision is a dinosaur.

**aphex** · 04-14-2005, 10:04

...and weren't they still releasing patches to HalfLife1 SIX YEARS after its release?!!?

**screwtype** · 04-14-2005, 10:07

Originally Posted by Colovion

Valve, for one. So far they've released at least two dozen patches since HL2 release. Not game-stopping bugs, as I never had any noticable problems; just tweaking and working out any bugs the community brings up. Hell, today they released a patch that fixed ONE problem - in Counterstrike: Source sometimes people's names would come up as duplicates in the game list.... nothing important really - but it was fixed within 3 days of it being apparent it was there.

Wow. Now that's what I call a patch policy!

Valve have obviously realized the benefits to be had from responding quickly to customer concerns. No crap about "it's got to be extensively tested by QA" - QA which turns out to be next to useless anyhow. Just patch it, put it out, and let the community find the next issue for you.

Yes, as you say, this is the right kind of policy for gaming in the 21st century. Most other companies - CA and Activision included - are still behaving as though the internet had never been invented.

**HarunTaiwan** · 04-14-2005, 10:54

Hey, please folks go read reviews for other products.

You'll find them interesting indeed.

I've seen high star reviews for products that were broken, but the after sales service was so good, the reviewer did not feel bad at all.

Just imagine if Microsoft only allowed one patch to Windows. I guess we'd all be giving XP 4 stars even while the hackers and viruses are burning through minor exploits? NO. Even though the program "deserves" more than One Star.

Besides, anyone who reads the reviews will be much better informed about the product now. That is completely fair. I am also willing to edit my review upward later on if I decide it was too harsh.

and by the way, who's to say my review is too low, or too high, etc.? It's my opinion...and everyone's entitled to one of those!

**Cendre** · 04-14-2005, 11:18

Ever heard the say the customer is always right? Well CA hasn't obviously...
I think the Amazon reviews reflect perfectly the state of the game, it was originally at 4.5 with lots of great reviews, it is now at 3.5 with mitigated reviews saying it could be a great game if they fixed it. And that reflects exactly how I feel about the game, when I started playing it I loved every bit of it but when I became more proficient in it I found the AI too flawed to take any enjoyment out of beating it, so I've now shelved the game until there is an XP fixing AI...
- Future customers are better off for those reviews as they can decide for themselves whether it's worth buying the game at this stage (unfortunately there wasn't such reviews when I bought it).
- Existing customers are better off as I believe CA is now well aware of the problems and would not release an XP that would not fix them
- CA is whinging at the moment but they will be better off in the long term when they realise QA is important, support is important and maintaining a recurrent client base is paramount to the long term future of a company.

**Puzz3D** · 04-14-2005, 12:58

Originally Posted by Cendre

Existing customers are better off as I believe CA is now well aware of the problems and would not release an XP that would not fix them

CA has trouble just making the game so it doesn't CTD. Gameplay issues are lower on the scale of what's important. You're dealing with a company that doesn't see the loadgame issue as a problem. They actually believe that designing a strategy game in such a way that the AI needs two turns to re-establish it's strategy after loading a savegame is ok. They also think that the AI is good, so there isn't much chance of the add-on having a significantly better AI.

**Mouzafphaerre** · 04-14-2005, 13:39

-

Ever heard the say the customer is always right?

That essentially was my point.

-

**.Spartan** · 04-14-2005, 13:42

Well I am currently laying the foundation for an organized global boycott of the X-Pack. The main thread is at the TWC. If any poster here wants to become point of contact for .org regarding this effort please contact me. I am also working on a list of international media groups as well as game industry related companies. I will make a banner soon for people to put in their signatures with a link back to the very long bug/issues list.

-Spartan