Firaxis Is So Screwed...

[SlowwHand]

Thank you Sloww for advocating the end of PC gaming. I hope you will enjoy your console

At times, you're an idiot. God forbid that we hold them to any kind of standard.

[Imran Siddiqui]

We could prevent people from having a choice on what hardware they put in their computers!

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Or we could just totally leave our brains behind and not actually realize why it is that PC games have far more bugs than console games (not that console games have none).

[asleepathewheel]

I just downloaded a 168 mb patch, the 4th one, as I remember. Research what?
If it's a big surprise that Firaxis puts out crap before it's ready, a person really is naive to their tactics. Of course, I JUST bought Civ 4. One would hope they were past selling crap.

Well, I see a few in this thread who betatested civ, including myself, sorry to have let you down

[SlowwHand]

You have to admit,that's a sizeable patch, and the 4th.

[Ben Kenobi]

I'd rather see a buggy game released and modded, then no game at all. Bugs can be worked around.

[Tattila the Hun]

2 months after purchase - there is this bug that makes me not be able to finish the game, please give me my money back.

Who needs piracy after that?

Eh, I'd think, that the burden of proof would have to be with the buyer. Can't finish the game? Print out some reviews or discussion on the matter. Rarely is it a problem with only one machine.

I'd be happy with a law, that would require companies to support their products for, hum, few months? There are many games, where for some reason, the game has remained horribly buggy even after many, many patches, and the developer has simply stopped support.

[CerberusIV]

The article doesn't actually differentiate between PC and console games so they are probably thinking more of console games.

If a new law is written in such a way that developers are held accountable if they release a game with major gamebreaking bugs that should have been found during beta testing (and such games are released, even today) but that they can release with minor issues and fix those with patches then it could be an improvement on the current situation. Unfortunately the chances of the EU writing a law to have that effect are about the same as the chances of a game being released without any bugs.

[Straybow]

When CtP came out, it wouldn't run on my computer. No patches ever fixed it. After a handful of turns the game would lose track of where the units were. It would "activate" a unit, centering focus on the square the unit had been in the turn before, and then nothing would work. Couldn't change focus to another unit, etc.

[Dis]

Firaxis games actually have been pretty good as far as bugs. I don't remember civ4 having many bugs. Other games haven't faired as well. I'm looking at Obsidian here. They put out some good games, but the initial release was kinda bad.

[Whoha]

Continuing the Firaxis example though we have SMAC/X under windows XP. it broke some things, and who is responsible for that under this legislation?

[Sirotnikov]

I think they should also make a law demanding games to be interesting, entertaining, and generally worth their money. That would sure do the general public lots of good

[Alinestra Covelia]

It's hard enough for game designers to make sure their products work across the board on current computer specs. What chance could they possibly have of getting them to work on stuff two years down the line?

This, like DRM enforcement, would just prompt an exodus to games consoles.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Exactly right. Its not like game companies like Firaxis don't TRY.