Patching and the online gaming world

[STownsend]

XBOX Live and the PSN are great tools for gamers. They connect us to people all over the world and let us play our favorite games with friends.

But is this new online gaming world coming at a cost?

Ubisoft's recent release of Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 is having more than just a 'hard time' on the PlayStation 3. The majority of PS3 gamers are having trouble playing the game online. They can't connect to games, matches shut down randomly, and inviting friends is very buggy. Ubisoft has acknowledged the problems, but not (so far) that they are at fault.

Ubisoft did test the game, by I believe using LAN hookups with MLG players. That's all well and good, but did they not think to test the ACTUAL PSN online to see if it worked OK? Where was the testing?

Single player is also riddled with glitches and bugs, on both the XBOX 360 and PS3 versions. Many recall similar woes with Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed for PS3, which froze frequently and had framerate issues, and their latest Splinter Cell title. A patch (surprise, surprise) later fixed the problems that made Assassin's Creed unplayable to many.

Vegas 2 had a patch that needed to be downloaded on the day of its release. Gamers still don't know what the patch was for, but assumed it was fixing some problem.

My question is this: Since when did patches replace well-rounded, effective game testing? Just because companies can fix errors after the game is released doesn't mean they should rely on it. Ubisoft, likely pressured by the upcoming MLG tournament and competition from heralded COD4, probably released Vegas 2 a little prematurely. And that's being nice.

I remember classic NES, SNES, N64, PS, and other older console games that worked without a hitch, when patching was unavailable.

Selling a game that requires patching is a lot like selling a hamburger without the meat and telling a customer they can get it later. I think it's time companies like Ubisoft start taking the time to make sure the meat comes with the game.

 

[Necrohydra]

Patching is just considered another resource to larger companies. Instead of adding time and cost to the development cycle, a game can just squeak by with minimal testing, then ship out. The inevitable bugs in the code that pop up later can be handled by the tech support guys (or guy), who are likely less in number and salary than the actual development team.

 

[Lightbulb]

"Since when did patches replace well-rounded, effective game testing? Just because companies can fix errors after the game is released doesn't mean they should rely on it."

Well, Windows 95 had a fairly major amount of patching so i guess about the early 90's? Probably well before that actually...

That may seem like a factitious answer but I am trying to high light this:

Games software is becoming more and more complex - often it is not possible to completely debug a game and still meet your release window. Since consumers still buy buggy products why bother to delay release if you want to hti a particular date (Christmas and other holidays spring to mind).

Now i will agree with you that i'd rather they released working software but until people stop buying buggy games (and that means highlighting the fact that the game is buggy in reviews) this will continue.

In fact i'd say it was likely to get worse before theres a backlash and then it may get better.

The fact that console games are now able to be patched has almost certainly meant that QA processes are being sped up/cut back.

To be perfectly honest though seeing Ubisoft on a box is starting to make methink twice about purchasing the game...

 

[cleverlymadeup]

game creation isn't as cut and dry as it was back in the days of the snes and nes, which sorry to say some games had HORRIBLE bugs in it

now as for testing, a lot does go on, HOWEVER there are many factors that come into play some being

(works for pc and console)

chipsets on the mother boards
hardware in the box (more so on pc than consoles, cept maybe the 360)
external networking equipment
drivers (pc mostly again but firmware for console can also play a factor, hence why some ps3 games include new firmware on the disc itself)

now while software developers in general do try to work out all the bugs prior to release, it doesn't always happen. some games are released well before they're ready (daggerfall comes to mind and so does quake 2)

also some bugs are REALLY hard to find, chipset ones are loads of fun, we have one where i work, sometimes the keyboard and mouse install fine after imaging and other times it needs you to log in to the box and go thru the hardware wizard. some bugs happen on bizarre equipment or only under certain circumstances, such as one person playing someone on different isp providers or even ppl on the same isp playing one another.

my beef with bugs is when the user is blamed for the issue when it's not the user. i can think of one mmorpg, i found a bug in the world itself, polygon clashes to be exact (it's those cool looking moving jaggies on buildings you will see), i was fully blamed for this issue, i posted screen shots with big red arrows to the clashes, a few other ppl posted they saw it too, the developer blamed me and my machine. i was shortly banned from the forums for that even tho a few patches later, after i quit the game, a friend sent me a link about them fixing part of the world and he said that part of the world which was REALLY slow for everyone was actually running pretty smoothly.

 

[Shamtee]

IIt noramly comes down to 1. the quealtiy of the testers they hire, 2. The dead line.
Testers is they do they job and communicate right a game will come out without a hitch, but sadly this isn't the case most of the time. Sure the development team test it too but they normaly have to spend more time in development.
Then dead lines, publisher are push companies very hard to get game out fast, which often leave lot of them seeming half hearted and glitchy to hell and back. I'm happy for them to try and patch their games once released, means they still care about their game and gamers really. Anyhoo patching been around for a long time, i dont think it that bad.