Great news! Patch in development!

[Citizen Philip]

Still....all in all...you mean to tell me they did not have ANYTHING in the hopper in patch form by now?

Come on....you can not tell me that they did not know these problems before hand. That is just plain sad that they are taking a month to patch this game.

That being said then the game WAS released too early. The game should have been released in December like it was originally planned. That being the case then we would be looking at minor patches. Tweaks if you will.

This proves it to me they were going for a money grab....and as people have stated before to make the stockholders happy at the customer's expense!

Never let Beancounters make policy!

You don't even have to bet money: Right now in a beta version of the patch, a number of issues are already resolved. It could be reasoned the game was released now to catch any problems, so that by XMAS the game will be working well.

Only those who have problems believe the game was released early. Again, we lucky few are the minority.

Good testing is long and tedious.

 

[Old Dood]

I hear ya Phil. Still I can play single player without too many real problems. No slow downs. My vid drivers are older and they are staying that way. However, I do freeze/crash in multi-player. That is what I was excited about when I bought the game so my friend and I could play in our own homes and have some fun....and still keep our marriages intact.

Wasn't the Multi-Player the first thing they worked on in this game? Really annoys me that I can not play it. I looked forward to many of a cold and wintery night duking it out with my friend online.

 

[maartena]

Still....all in all...you mean to tell me they did not have ANYTHING in the hopper in patch form by now?

Come on....you can not tell me that they did not know these problems before hand. That is just plain sad that they are taking a month to patch this game.

That being said then the game WAS released too early. The game should have been released in December like it was originally planned. That being the case then we would be looking at minor patches. Tweaks if you will.

This proves it to me they were going for a money grab....and as people have stated before to make the stockholders happy at the customer's expense!

Never let Beancounters make policy!

Here's the thing.

They probably did NOT know about some of the bugs, because they can't possibly test everything on every possible hardware configuration known to exist.

Now, keeping SALES as the major driving force in mind, they could have released the game in the week before Thanksgiving like originally planned, and let pretty much the same code be buggy between Thanksgiving and Christmas, possibly influencing sales because people get cranky about stuff not working.....

OR..... they could have released a month before Thanksgiving, let everyone complain about all the bugs in November, and have a patch ready before Thanksgiving weekend when the biggest sales are going to be.

Either way a game is going to have bugs, and Civ4 is really no exception to the rule.

I am betting they are going to release a patch in the week before thanksgiving, or maybe even a little sooner, that fixes all major problems (that are actually fixable in the code, there are many user issues as well) known so far, which means they will have a GOOD working Civ 4 in all of the month of December and beyond, instead of releasing just before December and it taking till Christmas or after Christmas to get the patch out.

Well lets wait and see shall we?

 

[Renata]

The last thing we need is a botched patch right? You want something that fixes one problem but creates some new ones? I don't.

Software is hideously complicated, and debugging and modifying is no easy matter. You have to do what's known as regression testing if you do it right. That means going back and retesting everything (or at least all the parts you think might possibly be affected by your changes). Firaxis got there with Civ 3 (surely no-one can have forgotton the initial pain) - and they did a lot more than fix the obvious bugs - they did some major changes to improve turn time IIRC.

And gameplay, for that matter.

It seems like a lot of people have forgotten Civ3, or never played it unpatched. And let's not forget the godawful PTW multiplayer fiasco. Firaxis has consistently come through in the past with fixes for all but a few bugs, so I see no reason personally not to leave them to it again this time.

Of course, since I'll be on vacation the next two weeks, a patch by the end of the month is just as good from my persective (better, since it'll fix more problems and/or fix them better) as one by the end of the week.

 

[Sorceresss]

The last thing we need is a botched patch right? You want something that fixes one problem but creates some new ones? I don't. Software is hideously complicated, and debugging and modifying is no easy matter.

That is why I am not certain that I will be installing the upcoming (November) patch right away. As it is now, after 10 days of flawless play, the game runs perfectly for (lucky) me (as it is for many lucky users). Why would I take a chance with a patch I do not really need--"botched" or competent? I am far from being certain of anything, after reading a lot of posts (negative & positive) on this forum.

 

[civspain]

I would rather have Firaxis cast the widest possible net and catch as many things as possible, rather than a series of smaller patches.

i disagree i would rather a series of smaller patches,this way to fix certain issues people are having quicker
is so more people can play the game who are having problems sooner,instead of one big patch which we all will have to wait longer when some people could have there issues and be civing better

 

[MrSevoe]

I sent Firaxis a message saying I had tried every fix possible and I was still stuck and asking when the patch was coming!
Good news is it's on its way!



What can I do to keep busy for just a few more weeks?

To answer the question in bold.... one idea is to take all your Civ IV technical problem frustrations out on people in a virtual city (play some GTA and let the bloodbath begin).

Just a suggestion if thats your cup of tea.

As far as the patch goes, I was looking forward to it this week, but I'll take the best possible patch. Till then, just call me Tommy Vercetti.

 

[JeBuS27]

That is why I am not certain that I will be installing the upcoming (November) patch right away. As it is now, after 10 days of flawless play, the game runs perfectly for (lucky) me (as it is for many lucky users). Why would I take a chance with a patch I do not really need--"botched" or competent? I am far from being certain of anything, after reading a lot of posts (negative & positive) on this forum.

Sounds about right. Game works just fine for me, so I'll let some of the other Cove schmucks test it out first.





and the quote is just in case your post disappears

 

[Sorceresss]

I'll let some of the other Cove schmucks test out [the Civ IV patch] first.

Yesss : those pirates are so used to bugs.

 

[JeBuS27]

You forgot to insert a comma.


But then, I forgot the obligatory quote, so here goes...

Yesss : those pirates are so used to bugs.

Have you developed some form of a lisp lately?

 

[venn]

Hey, WTH are you saying? Those who have the game working fine, and wouldn't like an early patch cause that might break more than it fixes.. well don't install it then! Some people might benefit from it, you know? The game is a mess for a lot of people... they should release a patch right about now or should have done so already. If they don't, it's most likely cause they just can't. As in, haven't really fixed anything (maybe testing the patch reveals it doesn't do much good in most cases).

 

[Sorceresss]

Those who have the game working fine, and wouldn't like an early patch cause that might break more than it fixes.. well don't install it then!

I agree : it is eXactly my point.

 

[pygbe]

Hey, 2830 "views" in 2 days for this post... THAT'S the way to extimate how many people has little or big probs with this game

Let's hope. GO FIRAXIS GO! WORK HARD! HAAAARDEEEEEER!

 

[Captain Pugwash]

I hope they take their time and test the patch to be sure it fixes the problems. I would rather wait for a patch that works

 

[zerokarma]

So where is this patch? Wasn't it supposed to come out this week?

 

[Adamal]

So where is this patch? Wasn't it supposed to come out this week?

I believe they changed that date to the end of this month.

 

[madman1981]

I've decided to wait with playing until the patch is out. Now they better take their time because I have some exams coming up...

 

[TheBarnacle]

hmm...

They probably did NOT know about some of the bugs, because they can't possibly test everything on every possible hardware configuration known to exist.

but that's the thing...the problems exist on such a wide variety of configs that how could they NOT have run across it. you don't believe all the developers, at all the companies involved, use exactly the same machines with the same specs??? you know that's simply not the case.

Now, keeping SALES as the major driving force in mind, they could have released the game in the week before Thanksgiving like originally planned, and let pretty much the same code be buggy between Thanksgiving and Christmas, possibly influencing sales because people get cranky about stuff not working.....

hmmm, cranky about things not working. likely b/c they expect them to work???

OR..... they could have released a month before Thanksgiving, let everyone complain about all the bugs in November, and have a patch ready before Thanksgiving weekend when the biggest sales are going to be.

I am betting they are going to release a patch in the week before thanksgiving, or maybe even a little sooner, that fixes all major problems (that are actually fixable in the code, there are many user issues as well) known so far, which means they will have a GOOD working Civ 4 in all of the month of December and beyond, instead of releasing just before December and it taking till Christmas or after Christmas to get the patch out.

the logic about sales, christmas, and timing of the patch assumes that potential consumers actually check out the product before they buy!!! were you a general shmoo, you'd likely walk into the nearest EB, see Civ IV, say "holy crap! a new civ??" and buy it. or ask someone else to buy it for you. IF you went so far as to check out reviews for the game, you'd see nothing (ha! c'mon...nothing!?!?!) regarding bugs. so....that the game is buggy has little if any influence on NEW customers buying the game running up to xmas -- seriously, when have you ever heard any media (mass/pop) tell moms, dads, consumers "better wait before plunking down your money for that new civ IV game everyone is hot after. there are apparently a few problems with the game that prevent some users from enjoying this computer classic. so, better to wait until a fix is issued and in the meantime, buy little jimmie a pogo-stick. now over to phil with sports."....right!

at least, in the minds of the publishers, they couldn't care less about timing OTHER than the simple fact that the sooner civ IV hit the shelves, the sooner they got paid. to them, a patch coming out in december (pre holiday) is irrelevant. may as well be march, or may.

bottom line, all the speculation about WHEN a patch may arrive and WHY is just that, speculation.

 

[exhile]

Yes, X-mas is important to consumers and shareholders of Firaxis. Thanksgiving would be a wise date to release "service patch 1". Then clean out any other problems by "service patch 2" before the happy holidays.

 

[Utherhimo]

yeah waiting waitng waiting what if they push it out even longer I want to play but this is crap!