Mass Effect PC has technical issues? No way.

[Jacks:SmirkingRevenge]

This is news to me.

Since I got ME:PC I have been recommending it to friends. I've found about half the people who have gotten it since have been pissed off at me because "You cost me 50 bucks!" and apparently it won't hardly run for them.

And I know people with nice machines, nicer than mine and I'm getting 30 frames on a very high Crysis.

So whats the dilly yo? After seeing the stuff a couple of my buddies were experiencing like completely random CTD and GPF's I decided to go on a mission.

My mission: Infiltrate ME:PC Tech Support Forums under the guise of a user with technical issues and uncover the root of this evil.

Of course, the first thing I find is an epic, 2 part post @ the top of the page (after stickies) about the "pandemic" that is ME:PC crashing/freezing. Apparently... lol... this is not an uncommon problem. This post was thrown up in this same hour: "Are the rest of us just sh*t out of luck?" (http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=641415&forum=127)

Pretty funny, but I feel bad for those who haven't gotten it to work. A short browse around the forum reveals people have actually threatened to gather a class action suit or involve their lawyers in a refund! There's also pages upon pages of potential fixes people found ranging from simple adjustments to reformatting just to play one game!

It's crazy. I guess I got lucky. But I wonder how they let a game which seems to have so many problems in the public get out of Q/A testing like that? Is anyone else who has played the PC version had anything like this happen to them? It sounds like if you have the problem that it's basically unplayable.

[toniglandyl]

So I guess that people should download the game before buying it so they know if the game can run or not? :rolleyes:

[Airmoran]

Yeah... there's a huge sticky outlining possible solutions. Instead of, I dunno, directing your friends to that page and leaving it at that, you go off posting a whinny sh*t post under a "guise" with fictional crashes. That's hilarious. No wait, I meant "pathetic".

And no, I haven't had problems.

[pine]

I had to fiddle with some stuff to get it to work, and the shadows still look wrong, but oh well I guess. However, it's definitely way buggier than it should be, especially coming from Bioware.

[Jacks:SmirkingRevenge]

So I guess that people should download the game before buying it so they know if the game can run or not? :rolleyes:

Supposedly it can't be cracked. Something about their pirating security, needing a key code and internet verification. It has probably still been done, I'm not up on the warez community, but I'd wonder how it's possible.

You can pirate the game, but would it be playable with the DRM security crap they've stuffed it with?

Instead of, I dunno, directing your friends to that page and leaving it at that, you go off posting a whinny sh*t post under a "guise" with fictional crashes. That's hilarious. No wait, I meant "pathetic".


Uhhh, they know where to go to look for solutions, I never posted anything there. I merely meant that I would go there and scan the forums as though I were also having problems.

However, it's definitely way buggier than it should be, especially coming from Bioware.

What I'm wondering though, is that consequence of a bad console -> PC port or just poor QA testing?

[Airmoran]

Really? My bad.

I just figured it was the case 'cause you said you were "infiltrating" as a user with technical problems. Lo and behold, you link to a thread made 15 minutes earlier that shows a newly-registered user with technical problems that he can't elaborate on and makes the same Crysis remarks you did.

See, most people realize that performance in another game is a completely irrelevant statistic for stability. So when two people across the internet make the exact same observation, you got to excuse me if I thought it was just the same guy talking. Guess I was just reading too deeply into things.

My bad.

[Defeat]

Supposedly it can't be cracked. Something about their pirating security, needing a key code and internet verification. It has probably still been done, I'm not up on the warez community, but I'd wonder how it's possible.

I don't have it but I've seen it and it's possible.

[Haarg]

The largest problem I've had is weapons overheating and never cooling down. There have been various other glitches, but nothing that really annoyed me.

Mass Effect is being pirated just like any other game. Possibly more so given their overreaching copy protection scheme.

[T2A`]

ME is getting pirated nearly as much as CoD4 (still) is. There isn't yet a game protection scheme that crackers haven't gotten around. Until further notice, all DRM and copy protection hurts the legit customers only.

That said, I'm waiting until a patch drops before purchase. And a $30 price tag.

[cubemario]

I agree with T2A.

[|*BILLY$CLINT*|]

Just to through my 2 cents in here the reason you guys are having so many issues with this is that there was very little QA done on the PC ports of console games.

Game developers have very very strict guidelines set by the console makers (Microsoft,PlayStation, and Nintendo) that there games have to meet before they can be released to the console. If your game fails any one of theses test or requirements it will not be released until it can pass them all.

So the PC version is usually just the dev version of the game that gets slapped on the disk and is only released as icing on the money cake. They don't care that it might not work as they have already made most of their money back by selling it on the console.

Finally to compound matters even more it is extremely hard to prove that the game is not working on your PC because there are no PC standards for games. Any game developer can make a PC game slap it in a box and say well it works for me you must need to upgrade your computer.

[Jacks:SmirkingRevenge]

My bad.

lol, sonuvabitch. You got me. I guess I'll have to try and find the words to say to throw you off my trail Sherlock.

You'd be surprised how many people make that comparison, most notably all over that forum to Crysis and Neverwinter. Perhaps I drew the same conclusion due to my having just read that post.
Makes sense to me. People with systems identical and better to mine have had no issues. Others have massive issues.

See, most people realize that performance in another game is a completely irrelevant statistic for stability.

I apoglogize. While I know some crap like how to disassemble and build a PC I'm not that well informed on the nature of this relationship in gaming. I mean I know sh*t conflicts on a wide range of computers, each component from a different assembly line. Go PC's.
But thank you, I learned something here.

Anywho, now that I've distracted the constable,

I don't have it but I've seen it and it's possible.


ME is getting pirated nearly as much as CoD4 (still) is.

That said, I'm waiting until a patch drops before purchase. And a $30 price tag.

That's cool. And good idea on waiting for a bit to buy it.
I bought mine straight up (you should always do that for games you like :tup:) but I'd be interested to know what someone first had to do to crack the .exe and have the game fully functional.

[Soggy_Popcorn]

I haven't tried it yet, but allegedly, the ME crack actually can make the game functional for some people.

Also, Airmoran, just because you aren't experiencing these catastrophic crashes doesn't mean they don't exist. I get them too.

[SirYawnalot]

I haven't had any technical issues, but for some reason I've had a hard time getting into the game. I've just gotten past the meeting with the council at the Citadel, and so far I've enjoyed approximately none of it. KOTOR took a long time to get going (I still think the sequel was the better game despite the lacklustre ending and plot holes), but it didn't take this long to get into the general dynamic.

[JaFO]

....
Finally to compound matters even more it is extremely hard to prove that the game is not working on your PC because there are no PC standards for games.
There are plenty of standards for pc-hardware and pc-software (Vista-certified, Vista-ready, 'designed for Windows' and the more recent 'games for windows').

However there is no one forcing compliance ... and the ones that could work cost (too much) money to bother with them.


Any game developer can make a PC game slap it in a box and say well it works for me you must need to upgrade your computer.

And to make matters worse : the consumer has accepted that behaviour.
At best they will complain on a random forum.
At worst they'll download a no-cd crack as those tend to be the most likely cause of any problems experienced.
Almost no one will return the game/software if it doesn't work as it should.

[Kaleena]

I did complete the game with a hacked version, however the very first crack released wasn't functionnal (couldn't get past the galaxy map).

I enjoyed that game so much that I will indeed buy it later (little low on money at the moment though), and I really didn't have any trouble with it. Oh well just one actually, against one boss that could use her powers to threw me off the limits of the pathable ground. I was actually stuck behind a fence (got a little vid of it : http://files.filefront.com/MEglitchavi/;11127093;/fileinfo.html , no spoil!)
This is of course a quite small issue, but it still means that I had to do that fight a lot of times before actually getting that boss down (got glitched like 3 times, and I also died quite often anyway since I was playing on hard difficulty with a rather weak squad).

[_Lynx]

I bought the russian version (russian text and subtitles + eng voiceover) that was done by one of the local Russian publishers. Well, they boasted that their version would require no internet activation - and it didn't. They replaced it with Starforce. I installed it, tried to run - the damned thing didn't recognize it's own disk. So I downloaded the the english version of game and used one of the cracks.

[-Jes-]

Works A-Ok for me. :o

[MonsOlympus]

It's crazy. I guess I got lucky. But I wonder how they let a game which seems to have so many problems in the public get out of Q/A testing like that?

Id now like to formally welcome you to the nextgen :lol:

[T2A`]

Almost no one will return the game/software if it doesn't work as it should.Because stores will not take back opened software. You have to open it to see if it works, so you're f**ked if it doesn't. Another +1 to the benefits of piracy and -1 to the potential issues of being a legit customer. :o

No-CD/DVD cracks are the best thing evar. :-)

[dotnetbeast]

No-CD/DVD cracks are the best thing evar. :-)

Yet all those donkeys who post on TPB that it doesnt work have no clue how to use it.

[Kantham]

dotnetbeast coman me breda, get ina de kar prunto, an gimme di weeed.

[8-4-7-2]

You have to be careful with complainers. They aren't representative at all. Just very loud, sometimes to the point of being rude and obnoxious.

Yeah, there are some serious issues for some people, judging from forum posts, but people who have no problems at all, hardly come out and say that.

I only had some very minor crashes and glitches. All in all it runs just fine.

[Airmoran]

Also, Airmoran, just because you aren't experiencing these catastrophic crashes doesn't mean they don't exist. I get them too.
...uhhh... thanks? Did I make the claim somewhere that catastrophic crashes don't exist?

Actually, I lied a bit. I did get a series of glitches, most notably once when I got stuck in an unmoving elevator, plus the annoying glitchy shadows on faces (which, as I understand, is an UE3 problem). Both aren't system-specific, though, so hey.

[Jacks:SmirkingRevenge]

Id now like to formally welcome you to the nextgen :lol:

yeah yeah... but I've personally found most all new games purchased over the past year or more to be pretty damn solid. I've run across titles before where it seemed like a lot of people were having issues that required very speedy patches but I never seem to be effected.

You have to be careful with complainers. They aren't representative at all. Just very loud, sometimes to the point of being rude and obnoxious.

Yeah, there are some serious issues for some people, judging from forum posts, but people who have no problems at all, hardly come out and say that.


Oh of course. Software that works never requires a visit to tech support. It was funny though (also kinda weird) to actually see several people literally threatening to call their lawyer or take some sort of "action" after not being able to get the game to work. I came across this sort of talk in a number of those threads still on the first page.

I don't think I've ever really heard of anyone having gotten so worked up over some cheap software that doesn't work. At least not to the point of threatening legal action just to get back 50 bucks :o

[Darkdrium]

Just finished the game (First play through). It crashed once, and I did alt-tab many times. I use the functional crack. It was a very enjoyable experience, a bit slow at the beginning but once you get to the Galaxy it is awesome.
I will play again since I missed some things. :(

[MonsOlympus]

yeah yeah... but I've personally found most all new games purchased over the past year or more to be pretty damn solid. I've run across titles before where it seemed like a lot of people were having issues that required very speedy patches but I never seem to be effected.

Yeah it seems a bit that way, I havent had a great deal of problems with newer games myself, even on my ****ty hardware. Most of it comes down to polish etc, some games are just poorly optimized for the platforms they are put on or whatever not.

Games just tend to be in this infinite loop of patching, beta and all that. Even after a game is released and fully patched you can damn well sure they are thinking about a sequel if it sold even half decently, then that game comes out and a whole new list of problems comes about and the cycle repeats.

I agree though threatening legal action seems very over the top, Im sure you could get a refund if you tried and you could just not buy games from that publisher again. I guess some people just feel that type of action isnt working since there are always other people out there to pickup the slack if they dont buy.

[dragonfliet]

It's one of the very unfortunate things about PC games-they are inherently buggy because every single user (more or less) has a different PC configuration with different drivers, a few different versions of OS, different quality of hardware, different sets of programs on their computer, etc. It isn't that people don't do QA, it's that it's impossible to run every possible configuration--they do what they can for the majority and if you get screwed by it, bitch at best buy until they offer an exchange. Hell, even Valve, the freakishly PC centric, spends forever polishing their games into a spit shine, developer has forums of people bitching about technical issues.

It's a frustration inherent to the medium, and I'm lucky that most of the time it doesn't really affect me.

~Jason

[Sirius]

dotnetbeast coman me breda, get ina de kar prunto, an gimme di weeed.

:lol:
Someone's been practicing.