Entire Game is a bug

[troytheface]

man what an interesting turn of events- a good read all of this- its like the world in general- the "haves" gloat and tell the "have nots" not to complain.
No wonder National Health Care never made it.

 

[happy_Alex]

Whats NAtional Health Care...?

 

[Hypus]

I posted the details on my blog (www.pcserenity.com).

After all sorts of install issues, I then get to the main menu and find only the earth and the title bar. No menu in sight. I then made sure my Radeon X800-XL had the latest drivers and re-installed the game. Still no luck.

This is ludicrous. How does a game get past QA that is clearly this challenged?

Then their support is terrible. 2K Games gets me on the phone, tells me I'm in the queue, keeps me on the phone 10 minutes and then says they're too busy and hangs up.

Unacceptable.

On another forum the lead programmer can't even get his information straight about the latest ATI drivers.

Forgive me but I expect more from Sid and Firaxis. It's clear this product was tested. However, it's also clear that it was not ready for release.

To be perfectly honest; YOU SUCK
Moderator Action: Make your points without flaming. Warned.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

and this game is the most polished, bug-free, piece of software my 4 year old pc has ever run. In addition... I think the entire community will be best off without you anyway; so go get your money back you whiny, pathetic pos.

Sorry for the outburst all; I've always had some patience issues around "challenged" people.

 

[Mazruk]

man what an interesting turn of events- a good read all of this- its like the world in general- the "haves" gloat and tell the "have nots" not to complain.
No wonder National Health Care never made it.

Erm, I dont have the game yet (see, it says UK next to my avatar).

However, I'm still saying people should chill as its likely THEIR system and NOT the game that is the problem.

In spite of this, the good people at Firaxis are probably working very hard on fixing problems with peoples specific systems that people could fix themselves.

What we are really lacking is good problem reporting - to fix something, you first need to know what it is. In PC terms, that is complicated by the near infinite combinations possible. If you got a problem, post more detail than you are at the moment, because the detail (or lack thereof) in every post where someone has a problem is frighteningly limited.

If you got graphics problems or error messages about graphics, tell us what was on your system before Civ4 even arrived (ie DX9 already (MS shipped buggy versions that can block the games own fixed one installing))? driver versions etc).

 

[troytheface]

Clinton tried to pass a bill to provide National Health Care for all citizens. It never passed-you hafta consider that all those employed-or in power have health care- and these make up the majority of people that vote-
So the majority voted not provide health care for its citizens.

 

[Hypus]

man what an interesting turn of events- a good read all of this- its like the world in general- the "haves" gloat and tell the "have nots" not to complain.
No wonder National Health Care never made it.

Not really--look closer through history. I don't think it is just "gloating" here; as you call it. It's a form of house-cleaning as well; for our future years of CIV4 to be "moron-free".
imho

 

[troytheface]

moron free? loaded term- i guess that puts some in the "non moron" category. The assertion is that if someone is young with a not so new computer- or without information about certain hardware elements they are a moron. Like saying "he comes from a "good" family which really says -"he comes from a family with money" Kinda reasserts what i said.
"Housecleaning" - ain't gonna touch that one-

 

[kandalf]

I have a fx5200 and it runs pretty well. I recommend getting one because they are cheap, around 50 bucks, and I haven't seen anybody having problems with one on this forum.

 

[s3d]

Actually problem couold have been solved if Fraxis put out downloadable demo, and let it hang of the net for a week. Most of faulty configurations would be identified....

 

[CommanderSpock]

Well after reading all this, I really question the sanity of all parties involved. All sides have brought to the table various illogical points.

But what gets me (and what is very illogical) is why there is a problem with letting John vent? It's his opinion. You may or may not agree with it, but telling someone that they suck and telling them to calm the f--- down proves to me some of you may not have a very strong case. So you fall back to name calling to prove a point.

Here is what I think:

1. $50 were spent on this game. I can understand why he and many others are upset. They understand the value of money and opportunity costs.

2. Since the game isn't working right, the worst thing that could happen to an upset customer is receiving bad customer service. Stuff like being hung up on or transfered to a bogus message would make even the most calm person irate.

3. The customer service representative on the other end of the phone is getting "paid" to get yelled and screamed at. It's their job. A good rep knows how to deal with irate customers and can actually help the situation alot. Don't get me wrong, I don't advocate it and you'll get better help if you are calm about it, but not everyone is that kind.

4. A company that gives poor service or makes a bad product should receive calls from upset and unhappy customers. If we sit back and don't demand a better product the company will sit on their arse as well. This means no improvement in the future.

And also, this game should run relatively well on 99.9% of all the systems out there. I see way too many people posting on here to make me think these are isolated incidents. And to top it off almost all of them have to do with ATI cards. Obviously this game was not tested enough with the ATI cards. So to blame this on someones system and telling them to chill is just rubbing it in. Did John and the others reporting these bugs program and design Civilization IV? Were they responsible for the QA testing of the game? Clearly people this is firaxis or 2ks fault.

Having said all this I don't encourage people to call up yelling and screaming. A polite complaint will do the job just as well. And I do trust that firaxis is working their fannies off to fix the problem. Sadly we shouldn't even be having this discussion if the product would have been released bug free, like it should have been.

 

[Reignking]

Clinton tried to pass a bill to provide National Health Care for all citizens. It never passed-you hafta consider that all those employed-or in power have health care- and these make up the majority of people that vote-
So the majority voted not provide health care for its citizens.

I hope that this was something fictitious in Civ4, because you have no idea what you are talking about. The "majority" never voted on nationalized health care -- Americans vote for representatives, not laws. Unless you are in California, but that's a state issue.

 

[Hypus]

moron free? loaded term- i guess that puts some in the "non moron" category. The assertion is that if someone is young with a not so new computer- or without information about certain hardware elements they are a moron. Like saying "he comes from a "good" family which really says -"he comes from a family with money" Kinda reasserts what i said.
"Housecleaning" - ain't gonna touch that one-

You see--I never made any assertions about age or anything--just the posts. Regardless of what some of these posters' age or IQ's are; they are acting like morons. I define an internet moron by forum posting...go figure.

 

[Cironir]

Okay, I don't want to belittle anyone who has technical troubles with the game, but I feel it's a little unfair to make "blanket" statements or spread the impression that everyone has the same issues. This isn't the case.

I got the game this morning, have played a few hours, and didn't experience any problems. My video card is an ATI x700 Pro with 256 MB (Cats 5.1 drivers), my machine runs with a P4 3.0Ghz HT and 1 GB RAM. Nothing out of the order. The installation from the DVD went flawless, playing was smooth (went from high to medium only because medium looks better to me) and the game didn't crash, hang or act up.

Again, I'm not doubting those who do have problems, but not everyone does. To me, so far, the game seems polished and stable, unlike many other releases I've seen in the past few years. I'm glad I purchased Civ4 and have a blast with it. Can only recommend it.

 

[KymeraTX]

Check my sig Game is beautiful. PPL need to realize PC games are becoming more demanding and you need to upgrade your PCs often to play the latest games. 3.0+ GHZ and 2 gigs of ram with a 256 meg gphx card are the norm nowdays.

 

[happy_Alex]

@hypus stop calling people morons. Its a free country (or at least forum).

I take your point about National Health Care in the US people with power and property vote. Its like here, most people who vote are the ones either with property or who stick around in the same place long enough. People at the bottom of the heap never get their needs met or their opinions heard.

 

[Kolson]

I agree with a comment made by someone earlier in this thread. I for one am glad that the game was released early even if all of the bugs were not cleaned up. This means I get to play the game a month earlier And for all people who are having problems, well you wouldnt have been able to play the game for a month anyway if it was released after a more extensive QA devolopment. So why all of the complaining? I can see that you are frustrated, I would be too if I couldnt play yet, but it isnt like this is all that unacceptable. This is a computer game not a console game, most new games have issues right off the bat.

 

[TheMystic]

The reason the world globe shows but not the menu is because you have SD4Hide and / or AntiBlaxx running. TRUST ME, that's why. I posted about this before. Unload it and your menu will load.

 

[ellie]

To be perfectly honest; YOU SUCK and this game is the most polished, bug-free, piece of software my 4 year old pc has ever run. In addition... I think the entire community will be best off without you anyway; so go get your money back you whiny, pathetic pos.

Sorry for the outburst all; I've always had some patience issues around "challenged" people.

People are bound to be upset if their game doesnt work.

Quite frankly i dont see the need for personal attacks on individuals who let off a bit of steam because of fustration.


Regards

 

[Winged Monkey]

The reason the world globe shows but not the menu is because you have SD4Hide and / or AntiBlaxx running. TRUST ME, that's why. I posted about this before. Unload it and your menu will load.

.. Which would indicate that the threadstarter is running a pirated version of the game. Not saying that he does though; I guess there are legitimate uses for SD4Hide/AntiBlaxx, his problem could be stemming from something else, or he could be using it for ANOTHER pirated software-product.

But it would be kind of funny if threadstarter was getting his pants so bunched up over a pirated game not working properly, though.

 

[ellie]

.. Which would indicate that the threadstarter is running a pirated version of the game. Not saying that he does though; I guess there are legitimate uses for SD4Hide/AntiBlaxx, his problem could be stemming from something else, or he could be using it for ANOTHER pirated software-product.

But it would be kind of funny if threadstarter was getting his pants so bunched up over a pirated game not working properly, though.

If it is pirated then there would be no sympathy on my part. People pirating the game increase costs for the rest of us.