[quote]Viper so did I, apologies for jumping to conclusions. I am a developer and this kind of thing winds me up.[/quote]
No hard feelings. I should be directing by frustrations more towards the fat cat executives but I still think I would be embarrassed to be a developer for a game with a game crashing bug.
I just wish some companies (2K sports or EA for example) would take some of the time wasted on useless gimmicks and spend it on bug testing. Bugs are unavoidable, but when they are immediately obvious and simple to fix are inexcusable. Yes, games have budgets and timelines but companies should be smart enough to realize this is a hits based industry and its always better to delay and spend more money than release an unplayable mess.
Enough with the Updates! (PS3)
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Leo Ames
Enough with the Updates! (PS3)
Being a new PS3 owner that just hooked it up and went online the other night, I can't help but wonder what you're all doing wrong?
Are you using the wifi connection? I'm hardwired into my router. I was expecting a hour of updating the system itself after horror stories like this thread. I had the latest firmware after a 90 second download and a 30 second installation. Motorstorm and Resistance Fall of Man (Launch titles, so safe to assume they have more updates currently than most PS3 titles) were updated to their latest versions in a similar length of time.
Its a non issue, imo. The process was longer than I'm used to on the Xbox 360, but the lengths of time were reasonable and I probably took longer typing this message up than any of those individual updates took to download and install. It isn't 1982 any longer, keep bringing on the updates. That update did, among other things, add Flash 9 support. Now I can stream videos of sites like Hulu, which the Wii's browser never could (And the PS3 couldn't until recent weeks). Certainly was worth keeping me out of a game for under 2 minutes.
Are you using the wifi connection? I'm hardwired into my router. I was expecting a hour of updating the system itself after horror stories like this thread. I had the latest firmware after a 90 second download and a 30 second installation. Motorstorm and Resistance Fall of Man (Launch titles, so safe to assume they have more updates currently than most PS3 titles) were updated to their latest versions in a similar length of time.
Its a non issue, imo. The process was longer than I'm used to on the Xbox 360, but the lengths of time were reasonable and I probably took longer typing this message up than any of those individual updates took to download and install. It isn't 1982 any longer, keep bringing on the updates. That update did, among other things, add Flash 9 support. Now I can stream videos of sites like Hulu, which the Wii's browser never could (And the PS3 couldn't until recent weeks). Certainly was worth keeping me out of a game for under 2 minutes.
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VideoGameCritic
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- Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm
Enough with the Updates! (PS3)
I think the key part of your message was "new owner".
Wait until you just want to fire up a quick game and you get hounded with update notices. You might just wish it was 1982!
Wait until you just want to fire up a quick game and you get hounded with update notices. You might just wish it was 1982!
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Paul Campbell
Enough with the Updates! (PS3)
I can understand all the points of view here, but I still believe it is excessive. Bluemonkey understandably has a soft spot for the developers, which is fine. But I can't help but wonder what they would do if the internet did not exist? Obviously they would have to make sure the game is fully playable before it was released. That shouldn't be too much to ask. I have to wonder if they are not a little less thorough now that they always have the "we can always release a patch later" back door. I definitely know that programming is hard and there will always be bug problems, but I feel like they should just assume that nobody has access to an internet connection.
Actually, I might be more obliging of the downloads if I was given a clear description of what it was going to do for me. Someone back there said "I like them because they make things better". Really? How do you know this? For all we know, they are downloading a spy program to monitor our playing habits and report back to Sony. If there was a little box of text that appeared before the download saying "This update will allow you to use your PS3 as a food processor. Do you wish to continue?" I would not be nearly so iffy about the whole thing.
Actually, I might be more obliging of the downloads if I was given a clear description of what it was going to do for me. Someone back there said "I like them because they make things better". Really? How do you know this? For all we know, they are downloading a spy program to monitor our playing habits and report back to Sony. If there was a little box of text that appeared before the download saying "This update will allow you to use your PS3 as a food processor. Do you wish to continue?" I would not be nearly so iffy about the whole thing.
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ajsmart1
- Posts: 609
- Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm
Enough with the Updates! (PS3)
Finding all the bugs in a closed and known environment is tough, but doable. Releasing a bug free product with on-line gaming is probably not possible. When it comes to the Internet and on-line gaming, I'm going to steal a quote from Rumsfeld:
"there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
It seems to me that for the most part, playing games on-line and patching go hand in hand. If the Internet did not exist, neither would on-line gaming or the need for the constant patching.
I scored a Hat-trick once. My Wii, 360 and PS3 all wanted updates one day. I decided gaming wasn't in the cards for me that night.
"there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
It seems to me that for the most part, playing games on-line and patching go hand in hand. If the Internet did not exist, neither would on-line gaming or the need for the constant patching.
I scored a Hat-trick once. My Wii, 360 and PS3 all wanted updates one day. I decided gaming wasn't in the cards for me that night.
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VideoGameCritic
- Site Admin
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- Joined: April 1st, 2015, 7:23 pm
Enough with the Updates! (PS3)
I can't believe how many people are drinking the Kool Aid about how "no software is perfect" and "bugs are unavoidable". Let's get one thing straight - we're not talking about minor glitches here. We're talking about games that come to a screeching halt or can't otherwise function without a patch.
Obviously patches have led to lower standards. Take for example the 2K baseball game that would play more than two innings. No way would that have gotten out the door if patches could not have come to the rescue.
Sure games are more complex, but developers aren't fiddling with the 1's and 0's anymore. There are robust toolkits and engines that astract away most of the technical details. There are large teams of people involved, including dedicated testers (allegedly). I am a developer and I'm tired of hearing the excuses.
That said, I'd like to emphasize that it's probably not the programmer's fault most of the time when a game needs patches. Those guys put in long hours and will do everything they can to make the software as perfect as they can. It's the management and executives (who only care about the bottom line) who force the stuff out the door (and cut corners) before the product is ready.
By making excuses, it's just the fat cat CEOs you're bailing out.
Finally, I've noticed that most of these patches are related on the on-line experience, which is really hard to properly test (and tune) ahead of time. Most off-line gamers probably benefit little from these.
Obviously patches have led to lower standards. Take for example the 2K baseball game that would play more than two innings. No way would that have gotten out the door if patches could not have come to the rescue.
Sure games are more complex, but developers aren't fiddling with the 1's and 0's anymore. There are robust toolkits and engines that astract away most of the technical details. There are large teams of people involved, including dedicated testers (allegedly). I am a developer and I'm tired of hearing the excuses.
That said, I'd like to emphasize that it's probably not the programmer's fault most of the time when a game needs patches. Those guys put in long hours and will do everything they can to make the software as perfect as they can. It's the management and executives (who only care about the bottom line) who force the stuff out the door (and cut corners) before the product is ready.
By making excuses, it's just the fat cat CEOs you're bailing out.
Finally, I've noticed that most of these patches are related on the on-line experience, which is really hard to properly test (and tune) ahead of time. Most off-line gamers probably benefit little from these.