Endureth said:
Some of the fault may be with Sid and some may be with the publisher, but truth be told it's Python. Python is the language used to write the game. Lots of game companies are using it now. Problem is the programming language is buggy as hell. Go to python's web site and look at thier message boards, it's flooded with programmers complaining about bugs.
Firaxis has to make due with the software they're working on. I personally would have avoided Python like the plague, at least for another 5 years or so. It has potential but it's not quite ready yet.
EVE Online was written in python also and the developers for that game have been complaining about it since launch.
-E
Excellent point, one that is being overlooked.
XML is also a tempermental beast...it may run fine ... and test out super... in a small beta sample, then when it hits the ultimate stress test of having a mega amount of users run it it can do some funky things. I worked with the QA team testing out a large - (read multinational) corporation's attempt at an e-business internal web site model based on XML...things that worked well in Q&A would fail in the real production environment...and there was no way to foresee it. And we had presure to get it out...as corporate bonus' depended on it being deployed by set deadline dates. (You think market forces are strong..well, pressure form those who sign your check pressure is even stronger...lol )
New game engine, new graphics engine, fairly cutting edge programming language integrated with XML and C++.... I'm actually almost surprised the game runs as good as it does. Gameplay mechanic glitches are not in the forefront...that is both a good sign and a bad one... to me it shows firaxis, the developers and the beta testers worked hard, but may have been blind sided by issues inherent in creating a cutting edge product.
My main issues of concern are those that are really annoying - the failure of Take2 to provide a tech forum on their site, the apparent lack of planning on Take2's part to have a robust phone help desk system in place - even if they contracted it out to a 3rd party help desk provider (even one who would basically provide level 1 support and just soothe the consumer and give them a person to rant at, it's amazing what that means to people, talking to a liveperson really means a lot) - for a few months to handle the load - and the lack of an automated email response system to tell folks that their emails to support had at least been recieved.
75% of the anger could have been alleviated from the start...I guess the market forces will show whether this decison described in the classic refrain "You can pay now, or you can PAY later" plays out for Take2.
