lazy games developers

[CaptainSlow]

what is it with games developers/studios? I remember back in the PlayStation1 days, a game would be released and it would work, these days it seems developers can just release any unfinished pap and expect the gaming community to identify bugs in the game, which can fixed with updates and patches. why not just release something that works?

Take for example aliens colonial marines, in the build up to release some amazing trailers came out, then came the game, massive letdown.

Look on YouTube for fifa 13 fails and be amazed that something that glitches as much as that has been released!

What is the most glitchy game you peeps have experienced? and why cant games be released actually finished any more?

 

[d4vy]

Skyrim I found hilariously buggy (even now) on pc, just seemed like an unfinished game!

 

[CaptainSlow]

it seems so common these days, I even hear the new trek game is really bad after all the promising press. your old car is still running well by the way d4vy!

 

[Sargara]

Because console gaming became popular and not just a niche pastime so the big corporations jumped on-board and now everything is about deadlines, investment and share holders. You have to go back to PC Gaming if you want some truly independent game devs who care about the title rather than the bank balance.

 

[chriscummins7]

Yeah skyrim was hilariously buggy. Once had the big dragon at the top of the mountain (can't remember it's been far too long) flying around backwards in circles whilst talking to me.

Also the first fifa with player impact stuff, think it was 12? Sometimes you would tackle players and send them 10 yards spazzing out.

 

[CaptainSlow]

one of the fifa videos on YouTube I watched actually had a player thrown through the stadium, I couldn't stop replaying it and laughing.

 

[B00mer]

If you have been playing Defiance since release then you will feel like you have paid full whack for a BETA, loads of issues.

 

[Rhino172]

I've not played it but there are some awesomes glitch vids on YouTube of Skate.

 

[DrR]

I'm guessing it was a lot easier to bug find on pong than sky rim.

 

[SharkyUK]

It's a lot more complex fixing bugs than it used to be, and the stupid deadlines and pressure put on developers doesn't help one bit. Don't confuse that with lazy game developers; they are far from lazy. And believe me when I say that game developers don't enjoy releasing buggy software to market. Alas, they don't control the purse strings and generally have to do what they are told by those that do; which often means releasing a title and immediately getting to work on a patch to fix known issues.

 

[Gavin.]

EA. That is all.

 

[at3k-]

Take for example aliens colonial marines, in the build up to release some amazing trailers came out, then came the game, massive letdown.

 

[Munson]

TBF I've yet to encounter any software that is 100% bug-free, and the more complex it gets, the more complex the problems and solutions become. Plus, the solutions often include, or uncover, yet more bugs. It simply isn't possible to produce a complex game without glitches in the matrix, and if it were, the development period would be so cost prohibitive that it'd probably never see the light of day in the first place. At some stage the code has to go Gold, and developers know that they can patch it when problems arise. Even problems that are known about in production code but couldn't be fixed in time for shipping.

Skyrim is a perfect example. It's a living breathing thing. Impossible to ever be 100% without bugs. It's a miracle that it even works at all. And even with its issues, it's probably one of the most impressive games ever written IMO.

 

[Munson]

So in summary, I personally think that if the average consumer could fully appreciate the extreme level of effort and complexity that goes into bringing amazing games to them, their head would probably explode.

 

[Darren S]

I haven't got an issue with most of the bugs and issues - especially if they get addressed with patches and updates.

What I do have major gripes with - are when the game fundamentally fails from the get go. An immediate example I can think of was with Rage, when running on ATi cards. At the time, I had a mainstream ATi card - and let's face it - you either have an ATi card or an nVidia one. The PC market isn't exactly saturated with a 100 manufacturers of cards like they used to be.

But the game didn't run. Scenery didn't appear, then it would. Character's faces simply vanished and the frame rate was appalling. Driver updates made no difference - nor did the patch that the developing company released. Luckily I had a lesser-spec nVidia card lying round and I tried that. The game worked flawlessly.

How a game can get released with such grippling issues for a sizeable chunk of the gaming population - is beyond me. The powers-at-be should be directly be held responsible for releasing so a sub-standard product. Deadlines and production targets should never get in the way of finishing a quality product, imo.

D.

 

[Munson]

Never did buy that game. Worth a retro purchase?

 

[Ray Gin]

Yeah skyrim was hilariously buggy. Once had the big dragon at the top of the mountain (can't remember it's been far too long) flying around backwards in circles whilst talking to me.

Paarthunax iirc. Something like that anyway, did that bit couple of days ago.

 

[JaredHasNoBrain]

I've not played it but there are some awesomes glitch vids on YouTube of Skate.

This. Was the funniest part of the game.

 

[iain187]

There are no bugs in FIFA what are you talking about

 

[d4vy]

it seems so common these days, I even hear the new trek game is really bad after all the promising press. your old car is still running well by the way d4vy!

I'm still waiting for a message telling me you want to sell it, back to me

 

[Evey]

Battlefield 3.

Updates, Updates, Updates...

 

[Darren S]

Never did buy that game. Worth a retro purchase?

Solely worth it for the wing-sticks in the game. Many an FPS has attempted a throwing weapon that usually fails miserably. In Rage though, it is epic - slicing through several enemies in some Blade-esque type of encounter. I actually preferred using those than most of the firearms in the game.

That said, it's a very linear game any you can blast through it in a short space of time. I did like my playthrough though....

Battlefield 3.

Updates, Updates, Updates...

See, now that doesn't bother me - so long as they are improving the game. I actually applaud many updates as these prove that the software house is either trying to fix known issues, or improve on aspects that aren't quite right. Game balance being one aspect in particular - and nerfed weapons.

D.

 

[Darius]

I found GTA4 to be quite buggy