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Blizzard Openly implement bugged content
neya
Member Posts: 44
Today Blizzard have annouced that they are to introduce patch 1.5 with a detremental bug that greatly hinders the Hunter class in the game World of Warcraft.
Ignoring protests from both the European and United States Communities, they are pushing this patch through to live regardless of the effects that it will have.
Blizzard have stated that this bug will be fixed in patch 1.6 and they do not promise that it will be fixed before that.
It is eveident that Blizzard as MMORPG developers are incompetent at controling content deployment and content development.
They blatently ignore their player base community and they offer little or no support to compensate for this.
World of Warcraft is a good game with great potential, but be warned that the support is poor for such a reputable company and their acknowledgement of the communities needs is always disregarded.
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In other words, they operate like any other MMOG on the market today.
Bad as it may be, that's just the way it always is. I'm not sure why anyone should expect any different from Blizzard.
No big shocker there. Why everyone expected Blizzard to be "different" than any other MMO company was beyond me from day one. They were all like "Blizzard is tops! They have such awesome QC they'll never release a buggy product like SOE or Turbine or Mythic or anyone else did!" "They CARE about the customer"
Hate to break it to ya folks... MMO's get away with murder because they're an "ever evolving" game. So the companies tend to use that to bludgeon players with. Regardless of how reliable they are.
Only thing you can guarantee with ANY MMO is that:
1) There will be bugs
2) Bugs will be created, generally, faster than they will get fixed for at least the first year or so after releases, and generally for the first 2 or so years.
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I do not know of another MMOG that has acutally accepted the fact that they where implementing a bugged patch.
Wow is a great game but with blizzard managing this game leaves a lot to be said. Even in EQL they would not apply a patch that would introduce bug's to the game. It is a bad move.
Why break something that is working fine then say you will fix it later. sounds like retard talk to be honest. just does not make sence.
Currently playing:
WoW
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Games im looking foward to:
ZerA
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The difference is probably that blizzard announced they were doing it, while other companies wouldn't say anything.
But i don't really care cause i don't play this game
Are you serious? Did you ever play EQ? Sony took this a step further. They published bugs to the Live servers and then blatantly lied to the playerbase about fixing them in the next patch. It was very commonplace in EQ to log in and say "what the heck.... they SAID in the patch message that <insert bug here> had been fixed!".
Mind you, I don't like this one bit and I expect more from Blizzard. There is no doubt in my mind that from the day of launch, they appear to have been overwhelmed by the monster they created. I can only hope that they do what they can to keep adequate resources dedicated to it over the years.
Sorry but you people need to put the fanboy hat aside and look at the real problem.
This is not about a unknown bug been introduced. This is not minor bug that get introduced with every day to day patches. This is a major known bug. do not feed the the bs that bugs are due to happend. i know this already but when you tell me a company is going to introduce a bug into a system that is working just fine then it is just stupid.
Currently playing:
WoW
GW
Games im looking foward to:
ZerA
Granado Espada
My Zera Blog:
http://www.pcorajr.com
Nearly all of them do, from time to time. It's not at all uncommon to see a dev reply to complaints about a bug on the test servers by stating that they're aware of the new problem that their soon-to-be-released patch will cause. They usually state that they feel the content is worth the inconvenience and they plan to fix it in the next patch. In some instances those bugs live on for a very long time.
I really don't have a problem with this, overall. These are exceptionally complex systems witch enormous ramifications for even the slightest changes. I program for a living and I know how easy it is to commit to a feature in your product that has unforseen consequences. Even with great testing and QA you will still encounter situations where the cost to live with the problem is less than the cost to remove the new feature...cost being measured in time, energy, and finance.
Evolution is inevitable and expected, and it's often painful. I don't mind some bugs from time to time provided they are addressed quickly and safely. The real measure of Blizzard in this kind of affair is in how quickly and effectively they resolve the new issue they are introducing.
Let's use some common sense here.
If they waited until ALL bugs were fixed, the patch would never be released. Eventually, you have to reach a point where you say "Let's go forward with what we've got."
No game is bug-free, especially a MMO. No patch fixes all bugs, especially in a MMO.
It's a non-issue.
Most likely Blizzard felt that the patch they released was important enough to release with the bug in it. It most likely fixed a good many serious bugs and Blizzard decided to bite the bullet and release the patch as is and fix the one bug in the next patch. Makes sense to me.
======================
It's just me, so open the door.
The sad part is that the vast majority of MMO fans have not only come to expect this sort of behavior but more or less count on it, which I think speaks absolute volumes on the current state of the affairs in MMO Gaming.
I don't play WoW anymore, but the time I did play, I had a good time and the attention to detail in the game was quite impressive. That being said, do not think for one second that a Mass Market game like WoW and Blizzard actually care about it's players, because either way they will still be there and continue to gain new one's for years to come. It's unfortunate, but it's the truth and there's not a whole heck of alot you can do about it.
Try to have fun, try to remember that it's a game and you need to derive some sort of enjoyment from it and try to remember that you cannot become emotionally invested in a game, especially since you can obviously see that they care so little about you, the player.
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Sadly, too much of the MMORPG community has bought into the lie: that it is inevitable that software has show-stopper bugs and that truly testing a product before go-live is impossible. This is something the software industry as a whole has taught us, tho no other industry could get away with convincing the public that releasing faulty products is 'normal'.
Surprise!! They really don't want you to know this, but: it is possible to release good software! How many console games (pre-Xbox) have needed patching? How many times has the space shuttle ben hacked mid-flight? Turns out if you spend the time and effort to do it right... you can!
The problem is, of course, that doing it right is more expensive. Tight revision control, peer audits and reviews, and (gasp!) exhaustive testing all take time and money. Sadly, software manufacturers put more money into marketing than they do into quality control.
Sure, quality software is a rare thing. But don't lower your expectations because of that -- expect and demand quality software. Let the manufacturers know when they fall short. And, as they only language they're likely to understand is monetary, cancel subscriptions and return software if it doesn't work as advertised (and if your retailer balks... find another). Beyond that, the user community really needs to begin organizing legal action to hold manufacturers accountable: I don't care what your EULA says, there are truth in advertising and product liability laws, and if your product can't do what the box says, you have a problem.
I cancelled my WoW account for just these reasons: not only are many of Blizzards back-of-the-box features classic vaporware, but their quality control and server availability are abyssmal. Its a real shame, too, as (excepting graphics) the game had a lot going for it. 'A' for concept, 'D-' for execution.
Do not be lulled into complacency! Keep your expectations high, and get indignant when they're not met! Blind acceptance that 'they all suck' will make sure the status-quo continues.
Do you have any comprehension of what happened to the shuttle Columbia?
Blizzard is also the first company to impliment bugged content and admit it to their community. I do not play wow, though on a personal scale I would like to know if the content they push has bugs or not.
So what would you like. A company willing to admit they're implimenting bugged content or a company that will just ignore it all and let you figure it out on your time and your terms?
I think...I would go with the company who admits the fault.
KillerTwinkie - That one guy who used to mod mmorpg.com's forums.
Yes, it's not a good thing. But it's not unique to Blizzard. Every game has seen this. EverQuest has had massive nerfs that have crippled classes for periods of time. I remember tons of debates about Fixers and Soldiers in AO. I've heard plenty of debates about DAoC, UO, AC/AC2...the list goes on.
I have no problem with the idea of decrying the change. But stop pretending like this is somehow different simply because this is Blizzard. It is no worse and no better than any other MMOG I've seen.
I have to agree with the twinkie here
To be honest, introducing known bugs is always a bad practice, but in MMOs it is the norm unfortunately.
The difference between Blizzard and the others, is that at least they admit it and they stated that they gonna fix it in the next patch, which will be in a month time (not 3 months)
To all people that have Hunter characters, I suggest to take a break and level another character class.
In the end it takes only 2 days to level a new character to 60
Well thats kind of retorical isn't it ? A quick read of the WoW forums will garnish the fact that the bug was actually found by "players" on the test server, who have been /reporting and /bugging the issues since 1.5 has been up for quite some time. They ingored such warning until the write up on 1.5 was finalized and then finally admited that the issue could and would not be corrected until a future patch.
Even the little time I played WoW, I was not exactly what you would call "avid" but at the very least I kept up with info offered by players and I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that Blizzard has released there fair share of buggs and stealth nerfs and completely ignored the bellows of countless players.
I'm sorry, but I just dont think that Blizzard admited fault out of the caring for there paying public, they simply didn't have a choice in the matter about everyone knowing. What they DID make a choice on was not fixing the issue, if thats the kind of company you want to deal with, be my guest.
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People love bugs. They keep on paying for more !
How bout option 3: Don't release the patch until they have it right.
I think the fact that they admitt there is a bug and they know about it makes it worse. It's one thing to release a patch and say oops! guess we missed that one and then fix it. It's another to say ya, there's a bug in this patch....Hunters can suck on it for a month or so, no biggie.
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
I agree, release it when you have it fixed. However, I can't fault them for 'full disclosure' most MMOs would just pretend the bug didn't exist.
I can't count how many times I've heard complaints from the 'live' EQ2 that the EQ2 tester community isn't doing their job only for the tester community to say that they reported it. This is nothing new, the only new thing is that they're being honest.
I like the honesty but maybe a delay is more appropriate.
How bout option 3: Don't release the patch until they have it right.
I agree, but the point is not if we are willing to accept passively the bugs.
The point of this thread is to decide if Blizzard is worse than other developers, which in my opinion are not (also they are not any better for what matter)
It is just not fair to single out Blizzard, as the evil bug publisher, when in fact everyone does it, the only difference is that you don't get to know it.
And as far as ignoring the player base, no one is worse than SOE.
At least Blizzard is saying that the nerfing is just a short term issue.
On the other hand, when SOE nerf the classes, that is DEFINITIVE, and the player base can just fuck off.
Nice work. Maybe the poster shouldve read about this a little more untill he posted?