Visit the Ironworks Gaming Website Email the Webmaster Graphics Library Rules and Regulations Help Support Ironworks Forum with a Donation to Keep us Online - We rely totally on Donations from members Donation goal Meter

Ironworks Gaming Radio

Ironworks Gaming Forum

Go Back   Ironworks Gaming Forum > Ironworks Gaming Classics > Wizards & Warriors Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 04-03-2001, 11:56 PM   #1
BOUND4DOOM
Elite Waterdeep Guard
 

Join Date: March 4, 2001
Posts: 5
http://www.tgeweb.com/ironworks/cgi-...ML/004441.html

Message I am refering to:

sorry for getting back so late been out of town traveling and stuff.

> With all due respect, the makers of the game have asserted that the game was
> not developed for either the Windows Me or Windows 2K platforms, and is
> highly unstable under either one. The game was developed for Windows 95/98,
> and, although I will grant it has some "bugs", the ones you describe are
> largely not an issue under these platforms.

As to playing it on win ME and win 2000, The box that I purchased says win 95 and 98 However the release date of the game is After the the release date of Win ME. So I consider it a flaw that the game is released after the date of the latest operating system. I mean seriously if you call microsoft or other vedors they will ask you is your operating system up to date, do you have the current Direct X, by your statement I am to be punished with bugs because my operating system is up to date. I think not. In any Design Phase you specify a platform 95,98, ME which are all basically the same. These operating system are released to test software well in advance, among other thing I am curently testing Office XP and Windows XP, They are available to developers to test on for the very reason of fixing things before they happen. My pre release copy of windows XP only cost $200 so it is not a money issue. More of a it was never tested against this so it is unsupported and we do not know what will happen.

I won't consider 2000 as it is still a very buggy operating system, not specified by just me but Large technology companies such as Gartner agree Win 2k will not be stable till about SP4 which I also doubt, I am curently testing Win 2k SP3 an it still sucks major.

Also, if they, the bugs, are not largly an issue, then you can review your forum and list the messages in reverse order by date, which is what i did when I started playing. In the first 4 pages you will find every bug I listed posted by other people. Am I unfair in stating these bugs because I have a "Newer Operating System" I think not. I still say the game is fairly buggy no matter what operating system I run. I do have a knack for finding bugs though, it is either a curse or a blessing.

> Forgive me for saying so, but a beta tester such as you claim to be should
> have noticed the system requirements of the game first off...not to mention
> reading the Readme.rtf file in the game directory, which clearly requests
> that outside Windows programs such as ICQ or other TSRs not be running
> during the game execution.

I did not see anything stating this however I could be wrong, I still consider it a design flaw. How many people out there leave thier anti virus running while playing a game. Design of software of any type should be tested and if it is a problem should it be brought up. Yes, Especially if it causes the game to crash beyond recovery. This happened to me 3 times while playing because i forgot to turn them off. I do not claim to be perfect. I forgot to turn them off, but because I forgot to turn them off and the game crashed beyond recovery is it totally my fault? Basically anything that causes the game to crash in such a manner means that there are problems with thier error handling code. Yeah So i shouldn't run ICQ or AIM, I can accept that, however even in windows 98 there is an auto update function, which also got me once, it comes up and tells the user of there are updates on the web for thier operating system. Because we design a game we also specify how a user configures things in control panel. A that auto update is only an accessable option in control panel.

> The same goes for the game not supporting the ALT+TAB function. I agree, this
> is a major frustration, and one that I have not seen in games thus far, but,
> HPI having stated the requirements of the game system, you are incorrectly
> faulting the game for running on a system that it is not designed to run on
> and alongside programs that it was not designed to run with.

As I stated before. I consider this a design flaw, this is actually the first 3D game that did not support it besides everquest. Everquest Ignored the command so that way no 3rd party hack tool could be used, anything 3rd party in everquest could be ran and started by the OS but was ignored in the game. Other games, like Thief, Balders gate and those let the alt tab and OS function continue. they will allow the minimize of the game. However WW doesn't allow this it just crashes the game if it occurs, Hence a design flaw. Yes it does this to me in 98 too. There is no recovery if there is an un expected system event. Again am i to be punished as a user and have the game puke and die and also be left with no option but to reboot because of an un expected system event

> I do not mean to sound inflammatory, but IMO, your attack of the game on this
> basis is rather unfair.

Anyway in no way was my post an attack against the game. I did really enjoy the game and has been one of the better games out there right now. This was more meant for the WW2 more of a what not to do to get a perfect 10 score. I do even recomend it to my friends that have not played it and I recomend it to other guild members. I do warn them of the bugs and they have all reported the same bugs.

Either way Denial of bugs or flaws is not a way to win customers. I will tell you a little story of what I consider the best customer service I have ever seen.

A little Mobil Gas Station, I stopped there and there was a little indin guy there. I asked him for a map of the state I was in. He looked and found one of the city and I said no I need a map of the state. He said Just a minute and went in the back. I am standing there at the counter and I look out to see the indian guy running across a busy street to the Large gas station across the street. I stand there and wait and soon he comes back and hand me the map and says 3.95, which i the price on the map, the same price he paid for it from the other gas station.

Now this guy could have told me to go across the street and get it myself. He didn;t and I to this day have never forgot the service I got from that gas station, and everytime I am in the same area I know I can count on them being Honest and giving me the best service i could immagine.

This is a true story. Now if I take your comment yous posted as well these are not what I would consider bugs, well that is like telling me to go across the street and buy the map there. which ok fine I will buy my next game from a different software vendor.

I dunno you view it any way you want.
BOUND4DOOM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2001, 10:39 AM   #2
Sazerac
Ironworks Moderator
 

Join Date: January 7, 2001
Location: Monroe, LA
Age: 60
Posts: 7,387
Dear BOUND4DOOM,

Your comments are well-received, and I thank you for answering and clarifying.

First, I do agree that it is ridiculous that the game wasn't designed for ME as well as 9x. I also know that the operating kernel for ME is significantly different from that of 9x, and that part of the problem with not being able to see the original intro movie/closing movie sequences, along with town problems, has to do with file compression codecs being set differently between the systems. There are workarounds to this problem. Most people don't know what it is, and it would have been nice for Activision to have placed at least some indication on how to fix the problem. The same goes for Win2k. We've had people who have come on the board who have attempted running WW with Win2k and have had the problem successfully fixed, with no other problems cropping up.

I also agree, there are significant bugs in the game that cause what would otherwise be a near-perfect gaming experience to be less than perfect. I myself rated the game an 8.5; probably because I didn't experience all the bugs you did.

My main contention with your post was that I felt that you were unfairly faulting the game for not supporting the ALT-TAB feature and for crashing with other applications running in the background. Other than Virus Scan (which, I, running McAfee, have never had a problem with running with WW), I never run anything on any game I'm playing, WW or any other. More often than not, I find this to be a Windows problem rather than the game, and would rather "give up" some conveniences to have a more stable gaming environment while I'm playing it.

I do appreciate your story about the service station owner. That is true service, and one rarely gets to see it in the "real world" anymore. Those are the gems that really restores one's faith in the world and its people.

Again, thanks for answering, and I'm glad you made it back to the board.

-Sazerac
Sazerac is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-04-2001, 01:57 PM   #3
Wyvern
Ironworks Moderator
 

Join Date: January 7, 2001
Location: Rural Paradise, MI
Posts: 5,701
>Either way Denial of bugs or flaws is not a way to win customers.

I don't believe Saz was denying any bugs and flaws with this game but that aside, we're not associated with Activision or HPI. We are not Activision or HPI's customer service. We had no input or influence on how the game was developed and the decision to market it with known problems and limitations. When people post problems with bugs we do the best we can to help them find solutions.

I think your complaints are perfectly valid, Bound4Doom. The buying public wants products that are as trouble free as possible. Activision and HPI could have done a better job if they hadn't rushed the release. Even so, it is a good game and a few of us (myself included) have been fortunate enough to run the entire game with no problems at all.

Wyv

Wyvern is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Sazerac. Yorick General Conversation Archives (11/2000 - 01/2005) 7 09-19-2001 12:41 PM
Sazerac 250 General Conversation Archives (11/2000 - 01/2005) 4 09-17-2001 11:57 PM
Sazerac John D Harris General Conversation Archives (11/2000 - 01/2005) 8 09-12-2001 04:01 PM
Sazerac--------> Conan Wizards & Warriors Forum 4 06-26-2001 08:42 AM
to sazerac Ruyyerguy Wizards & Warriors Forum 3 06-02-2001 03:01 AM


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 06:57 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
©2024 Ironworks Gaming & ©2024 The Great Escape Studios TM - All Rights Reserved