Where to go for tech support?

[morandi]

Where's the best place to go to for technical support?
I can't find anything useful at Microsoft, only FAQs etc not even a newsgroup. And there is no support at the BHG web site.

[magni72]

write here and the BHG support answer you!!!

i hope!!!

[skystreak]

Nowhere. Microsoft has figured it out - post only generic answers to problems like "have you tried rebooting your computer" and "have you updated your drivers" but provide absolutely no specific tech support so you won't be deluged with help requests when they release another buggy as hell game.

Can you tell this RON situation has made me bitter? I havent picked up the game in a week and a half and I'm out 50 bucks.

[benissimo]

I agree completely. What this RON experience has taught me is to not buy new Microsoft games unless my PC is an identical match to that listed as used by some reviewer. Basically if you don't have the most bleeding edge PC, odds are good that Microsoft won't have ever tested its software for compatibility.

Windows XP home edition, Acer, AMD something or other, just bought it _this year_, S3Graphics video card, updated the drivers, etc. etc. and the game still doesn't launch: complains about video card. S3Graphics not even listed w/ correct web site on microsoft's support page where they list how to find where to update your drivers. Google search found me the real S3Graphics site, w/ Windows XP approved drivers, etc. Downloaded those and still nothing, no dice.

Microsoft support system utterly useless, more like a wall to keep back the flood of complaints, rather than a resource for solving problems. I hope that some of this feedback is finding its way back to them (trying to write to Microsoft was also fruitless) and that they are working on some patch to fix the following bugs:

1) incredibly finicky video card / driver support (your setup must be among their "chosen few" or nothing doing...).
2) CTW crashes after choosing which nation you want, without showing any error message.

If they can't fix bug (1), they should at least have the decency to post a complete list of all the video cards for which RON _is_ compatible. That way future buyers won't get ripped off. The box for RON says, check the website for details about video card, etc. Checking their website it only says 16MB 3D card w/ latest drivers, as if that was all it takes (which clearly is NOT true...).

Originally posted by skystreak
Nowhere. Microsoft has figured it out - post only generic answers to problems like "have you tried rebooting your computer" and "have you updated your drivers" but provide absolutely no specific tech support so you won't be deluged with help requests when they release another buggy as hell game.

Can you tell this RON situation has made me bitter? I havent picked up the game in a week and a half and I'm out 50 bucks.

[jmdenver]

despite all the gobbledygook in the EULA you really should insist on a refund as the product clearly does not perform to the implicit fitness of merchantability, ie: it does not perform as it was meant to...

you can sell a car "as is" having advertised it as "working" but if the buyer finds that it does not have an engine then "as is" means squat...

does MS not offer satisfaction guarantees on their software? they did, do?, on their hardware products...

[MattH]

benissimo: What model S3G card is it? Is it new enough to support the pixel shading? Have you tried turning the resolution down? What is the exact message that the game gives you when it refuses to start?

[Makeo]

uh oh. this doesn't bode well for me. i think i have the same card has menissimo.

[benissimo]

ATI Rage Pro 128.
have tried turning resolution down,
have tried every tip i've seen on this and other forums.

there is no error message, and it's not that the game refuses to start, it's that the game insists on finishing, abruptly, without any explanation.

i choose Conquer The World, i choose a nation, the game says it's "loading" and then suddenly, poof,
no error message, the game simply quits.

game behaves this way every single time, an all too reproducible bug...

and meanwhile big huge games seems distracted w/ adding new features rather than fixing these bugs.

Originally posted by MattH
benissimo: What model S3G card is it? Is it new enough to support the pixel shading? Have you tried turning the resolution down? What is the exact message that the game gives you when it refuses to start?

[Lord_Zero]

This may not be the case, but I play counter strike and when I quit counter strike for some reason its gone, but its still running in task manager. Nothing will start game wise until I go to task manager and turn off Cs. Maybe you have another game running in background this way.

[ccoleman]

Hi benissimo,

I apologize for the delayed response. We are currently working on a potential fix for patch 3 to resolve the Conquer the World loading issue.

Thanks,
Chris Coleman
QA Manager
Big Huge Games