What is your opinion on patches?
Do you think that it is okay to send an unfinished product to the marked just to be the first? Isn't it like buying a new bike with a broken wheel. You can't get a new bike but you can get a new wheel you just have to change it yourself?? Patches are made because the game producers don't spent enough time testing it (any one here like to be a test person for free??)
I don't know if this question is in another topic but here it is again sorry (if the case)
This weeks health tips:
Don't eat sharp objects it can be the cause of 7 out of 10 bad stomages.
I felt so drawn to this topic... What a disappointment... Now I have to go and see if there are other people out there that really do appreciate my hobby... *sob*
I don't have a problem with a patch or two. Sure there are a few bugs in the game but I have seen much worse. I doubt you can totally immulate every possible combination or action a player is going to take in a game like BG2 before you sell it. Lots of these bugs are only found after thousands of people have played the game and reported the bugs
BTW
Did I spell "immulate" correctly? Why is this word not in the dictionary or my spell checker?
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"Four thousand throats may be cut in one night, by a running man."
- Klingon Crewman "Day of the Dove"
[This message has been edited by KN (edited 01-29-2001).]
"Four thousand throats may be cut in one night, by a running man."
- Klingon Crewman "Day of the Dove"
They call me the walking Dictionary (I got a 5 in spelling back in public school on a scale from 1-13 and that was my native ) butt alot have tange zince den
This weeks health tips:
Don't eat sharp objects it can be the cause of 7 out of 10 bad stomages.
Being a Scandinavian, I really think I waited long enough for BG 2. I honestly believe that one more day would have killed me (my brain was so focused towards BG 2 the last two weeks that my heart risked stop beating). So, I didn't mind the need for a patch.
[This message has been edited by Astafas (edited 01-29-2001).]
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Life seems short considering how long you will be dead.
I do agree somewhat with Garcia, but you also must realize that even with a lot of testing certain bugs will only rear their ugly little heads when a large number of people play the game.
For example: At work I spend alot of time building Databases in Access. Sometimes I will build custom dialog boxes using visual basic. I always use the dialog buttons, but other people insist on using the pull-down menus. If you haven't taken this into consideration things can get messed up.
I don't like patches when the publisher releases a game that is MAJORLY flawed, and then they drag their feet releasing a patch that will merely allow people to play the game they paid good $$ for. Electronic Arts is notorious for poor customer support. I don't know if anyone else purchased Shogun:Total War, but I have been unable to get the game to even load. It is a problem with Geforce video cards that EA refuses to acknowledge or fix. Basically anyone with updated drivers can't play the game, and EA doesn't care.
Other games like Half-Life have periodic patches released that make the game better. The improvements to the code have made multi-player smoother over time. Those are good patches.
That funny what you are saying.
A example. Blizard only put the games on sale after very extensive Bug hunting and STILL some patches came out, mosty because of multiplayer.
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"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not became a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss gazes into you..."
Friedrich Nietzsche
Yes, the patches are unavoidable. The reason has been stated - some bugs always reveal themselves too late and must be rectified by a patch. So far so good.
Nevertheless, selling an unfinished and buggy game cannot be tolerated. Do you remember Daggerfail - eee - I wanted to say Daggerfall? Might and Magic 7: one of the mightiest weapon class (spear) has a bug corrected by a patch. How come? Did nobody test spears??? Also, thinking that the buyers are idiots is unforgivable. Again Daggerfall: do you remember how the sparkling brains in Betsehda found a bug in PS/2 mouse?
Therefore, well, patches are a necessary evil. But patches must not be abused.
There didn't seem to be too many problems with BG2 - there's another thread around where several people report finishing the unpatched game.
Fallout 2 was really annoying, and an example of a game that was not tested enough before release. In the original there were several things you could do which would freeze the game. There was a car that you used to drive around the desert in - suddenly the back half of it, including most of your belongings, would vanish etc.
Just imagine how easy it would be to get people to test them I bet that many would do it for free. No BG2 isn't that bad in fact not bad at all if you look at some other games. Take Diablo 2 a good game IMDO. But it had some flaws. It was a great multiplayer game they then found out that the characters was "unbalanced" and then "made up" for it. This means that you had spent 2 mounts building the perfect character and after the patch they were more or less useless. That pisses my off!
But also the producers know the faster they get there products on the marked the less chance for piracy (beta versions e.c.t.)
This weeks health tips:
Don't eat sharp objects it can be the cause of 7 out of 10 bad stomages.
) butt alot have tange zince den 
