Diabolical Fiasco

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[cherbert]

This is not just VStep this is an industry wide problem as users of Silent Hunter 5 will definitely tell you. The problem is that the publisher sets a schedule for marketing on what they and the developer have as an estimate on project completion this is done many many months in advance. If the project is not finished/ full of bugs by that date it is shipped anyway in whatever state it is in. And things are fixed after release, thank God real planes & ships are not made that way! That's why the v1.1 patch contained so many things that should have been on the DVD disc in the first place. I only hope that this poor launch will not effect Ship simulator in the way it has affect Silent Hunter ie. the probable termination of the series.

As it happens I am a Silent Hunter 5 verteran. So I guess this is why my patience has worn so thin. I am getting sick to death of publishers forcing out unfinished software. Full respect to V-Step if they do continue to support this product. Silent Hunter 5's developers just vanished of the face of the planet.

[haldir323]

Have they earnt it?

I think what is trying to be said is that the STEAM problem is not in anyway under VSTEPs control. It would be unfair to judge VSTEP as a organization because of this mistake. Steam should have verified everything was working correctly on their end and that was obviously overlooked for whatever reason.

[cherbert]

I think what is trying to be said is that the STEAM problem is not in anyway under VSTEPs control. It would be unfair to judge VSTEP as a company because of this mistake. Steam should have verified everything was working correctly on their end and that obviously looks to have been overlooked for whatever reason.

Can we move on from steam please? The Steam problem was sorted yesterday. Steam issued everybody with Keys.

The problem is the game just won't launch with a QuestViewer.exe dump crash. Lots of people are having the same problem and I have seen no solutions. I am running a respectable machine with Windows 7, Q6600 4gb memory. Tried all the usual stuff Moderators ask you to do but to no avail. This problem has nothing to do with Steam.

[haldir323]

Can we move on from steam please? The Steam problem was sorted yesterday. Steam issued everybody with Keys.

The problem is the game just won't launch with a QuestViewer.exe dump crash. Lots of people are having the same problem and I have seen no solutions. I am running a respectable machine with Windows 7, Q6600 4gb memory. Tried all the usual stuff Moderators ask you to do but to no avail. This problem has nothing to do with Steam.

No I think the install/initialization of the program from steam is corrupted. Its nothing to do with missing keys(i think). I do have a different problem than you tho. I see an error that my language is not supported.

[Biggles1975]

I only hope that this poor launch will not effect Ship simulator in the way it has affect Silent Hunter ie. the probable termination of the series.

I think that is going to be the fear of many here. And if you look at how fast Vstep are trying to fix the game they are a lot faster than Ubi with SH5. Plus Frank was up at 2am trying to get steam and paradox to sort out the steam problems no one did that for SH5. Those who stick with this game have got to hope Vstep stick with it afher this and will make more content for it in time once they have fixed the core game.

And if we all think about it microsoft who had about 20years behind them building flightsims had a bad launch like this with FSX so if it can happen to them it can happen to anyone. But it looks like they learnt from it and unless it drops a new flight sim is in the works.

[sonarman]

As it happens I am a Silent Hunter 5 verteran. So I guess this is why my patience has worn so thin. I am getting sick to death of publishers forcing out unfinished software. Full respect to V-Step if they do continue to support this product. Silent Hunter 5's developers just vanished of the face of the planet.

Yes, I know exactly how you feel and it will be a real tragedy for naval simulation if Ubi abandons the Silent Hunter series now. I'm sure VStep is in for the long haul though. They have acquitted themseleves well in the past. Though I would like to see them move away from the Quest3D system as I think it is reaching it's limits as the much higher system requirements and features cut from this release prove.

[sonarman]

Plus Frank was up at 2am trying to get steam and paradox to sort out the steam problems no one did that for SH5.  

Got to disagree with you there as a long term member of subsim.com I can attest than SH developers Dan Dimitrescu & Mihai Maeran were often on the subsim forums helping users with problems often in their spare time very late at night. They have done things above and beyond the call of duty for the modders too. The problem is almost always at the publishing level  the devs in Ubisoft Romania are a highly dedicated bunch who do care about their product just as much as the guys at Vstep, it is the penny pinching suits & publishers that care more about stock price, release dates & quarterly figures than delivering a quality product to their loyal customers that are the problem.

[cherbert]

You know what... in some ways I'm starting to regret the stuff I have said. The situation is so bad right now that I am actually starting to feel sorry for V-Step right now. It can't be nice for them.

I say that with all sincerity.

[Birder]

Well said Cherbert,

I bought a brand new car for over £70k and it would not start and it took them a week to sort it.

Its a game and one thing you are missing is that only the ones with problems are moaning, there are lots that are happy using it but also want a patch.

Chill out, have a beer and see whats happened in a week

[Biggles1975]

I agree with you 100% what you have said about the suits sonarman I said the same on the SH5 fourms. I did not use the subsim side much so I did not know that and therefore take back that comment.

[sonarman]

I agree with you 100% what you have said about the suits sonarman I said the same on the SH5 fourms. I did not use the subsim side much so I did not know that and therefore take back that comment.

That probably explains why you had that view the devs admittedly did not post much on the Ubi forums I suspect becuase they were expressly told not too as Ubi seems to have a  "that's not what we are paying you for" attitude to developers helping/communicating with customers. Their involvement in subsim.com is probably possible as they are in an open public forum free from the Ubi overlords and doing these things in their spare time. If only Ubi would recognise the quality of people it employs and thier comittment to their products rather than simply as cheap Eastern European labour Thankfully Frank & his team at Vstep are not similarly constrained.

Memo to publishers... focus on delivering a quality un-dumbdowned product tailored to your customers, have some faith in your dedicated development teams and the balance sheet will look after itself.

[Sjoerd92]

Why is Diabolical negative?

[Matthew Brown]

Diabolical, relates in a way to the word Dire which means something is in a bad way.
And the word diabolical is used by many people whom wish to express that something is even worse than Dire.
Although there is a bit of confusion as originally, the word Diabolical meant something "Evil" or connected to the devil.
It's only over time that it has changed meaning slightly to some.

The English classes pay off hey 

Kind Regards

Matthew

[Sjoerd92]

The English classes pay off hey  

Kind Regards

Matthew

haha nice job man! my school starts tomorrow 

[Stuart2007]

In fairness to cherbert, from what I've read here- and what I experienced first hand on the release of 08- I have to say that the response thus far has not been great.

If those who are unhappy and those who are seeking patience continue to sling mud at each other then this forum is going to be a right flaming mess. Literally.

Perhaps a little more input from the developers- even a brief acnowledgement- would be nice. THough I DO applaud Pjotr for some involvement.

Nevertheless, the developers should never have agreed to unrealistic release dates. It was the same with 08... and most software from all but the biggest developers these days, I suppose.

Why they ever agreed to steam I do not know... Personally, I could live with the other faults until they are fixed, but not steam. So either d/l or buy boxed from vstep and wait... Hmm.... choices...

[marcstrat]

Yes, it was maybe better to release it at the end of the year,or take some more time out to do tests.
But than you have a problem,with publishers,because all the commercials are made,like flyers,posters a.s.o.!
And that is money,so whatever happen release it.
They will fix it later on,because maybe more errors will show up
Remember the release of the 2008 version ???Well it was the same with the bugs.
Regards
marc

[Stuart2007]

Yes, Marc. But vstep has the experience so should really have avoided signing up to a date that isn't realistic. They shouldn't be brow beaten by the publishers. Once they've agreed the date, as you say it's very hard to change it... But they should not have agreed to it.

I don't really think 08 has ever felt like a truly finished product, with still many odd inconsistencies...

[JHB]

Don't feed the TROLL

Come on, keep on painting the picture black! There are a lot of players that is able to play this game too. And in fact, I'm one of those following this game from the beginning since the 2006-version. YES, there have been some start up problems, and YES there have been some errors, bugs and all that.

Well, that is common these days. Unfortunately any game released today will have some bugs and errors. That's because there is a wide audience of users where everyone have different systems etc. Also, several games are in the same time released for consoles like Xbox and Playstation.

You can blame Steam, so can I, since I'm a Steam-user myself, paid dozens of games from that website.
Still, Steam is not so great when it comes to support. Looking through the Steam-forums and there are pages up and down where people complain about all kinds of bugs, crashes etc.

And when it comes to simulators, this is probably the cheapest and most powerful simulator for PCs (home users) at the market today when it comes to this type of simulator. If you want a decent professional simulator...oh, you better start betting into some Lottery so you can at least pay a million bucks for that one, sure if you got that amount of money?

And when it comes to this classic VSTEP vs Microsoft thing, then Microsoft made FS far back in the 80s, while VSTEP made this simulator in 2006. VSTEP is not a multi-company and this is another major release of their product. Maybe you also should compare the credits list for Ship Simulator vs the credits list for FSX and compare how many people that was involved to create those sims...

Now this is the kind of thread where we likely will not end up with a great conclusion, and I took my time to feed the TROLL here too (in my way), because this looks like a thread where things are getting blown out of proportions  just to make a "I hate VSTEP" club, or a rant about anything related to simulators for home PCs.

Well, some have already established clubs like:

- I hate Ubisoft
- I hate EA Games
- I hate Microsoft
- I hate Valve (Steam)

and now this..

Sorry folks, there will be major bugs and problems running games today and in the next years. That's common for any game released on the market, and it will not end until the publisher releases some patches and updates.

Anyway, VSTEP will fix those issues. It's not like Ubisoft that ignores their customers complaining and goes for DRM...
 

[Stuart2007]

Steady on, no one is starting an 'i hate vstep' club. The ts is lacking in good communication skills, but he is entitled to his opinion-  unless you think he's stepped over the mark, in which case report it...

[JHB]

Steady on, no one is starting an 'i hate vstep' club. The ts is lacking in good communication skills, but he is entitled to his opinion-  unless you think he's stepped over the mark, in which case report it...

Yeah, sure, and where the ... have I made him change his opinion?
Maybe you should get yourself a compass before you start navigating in shallow water
And in fact, I replied to this opinion, Mr Wannabe Moderator...report that!?

(I'll rather take a beer in the sun)

[Stuart2007]

(I'll rather take a beer in the sun)

I think you already have.   


Oh, and wannabe moderator? You're having a giraffe! All that work and hassle for nothing. Not on your bollards.

[dodweb]

...quite possibly the worst release cock-up in gaming history. Has to be in the top 5 at least.

I certainly have never experienced such a let down not only trying to get a game working but trying to obtain technical support.

Star Wars:Galaxies was still in a pre-beta state when it hit the US release date and SOE decided it should go gold. More or less early beta when the EU release date came a few months later. Over a year after release they launched the first addon - Jump to Light Speed - which allowed players to fly space ships. Who cant appreciate the irony of a Star Wars MMORPG that only a year and a bit after launch allows players to pay $29.99 to... fight wars among the stars? Then there was the third Expansion, Trials of Obi-Wan, released November 1st, 2005. All was good. Until 2 weeks later when it was decided that everyone should get it for free. Imagine how well THAT sat with the players that just spent another $29.99 on it...

The better known World of Warcraft was hardly a perfectly cut diamond when it came out. Whole thing was a nightmare at launch. Every addon has brought on a new chapter in the bugbook. Mostly sorted by now though.

Games liked Age of Conan and Vanguard were so bugridden that they were unplayable at launch. AoC lacked a lot of content, while Vanguard lacked content.

There are many more examples. What I'm trying to say, is that the problems and issues experienced with SSE are far from being the worst in gaming history. I had to wait 5 months after purchase, make 10 international phonecalls, 20 emails and several faxes before I could even activate my second SWG account after a CD-key-blunder by SOE.

[JHB]

Star Wars:Galaxies was still in a pre-beta state when it hit the US release date and SOE decided it should go gold. More or less early beta when the EU release date came a few months later. Over a year after release they launched the first addon - Jump to Light Speed - which allowed players to fly space ships. Who cant appreciate the irony of a Star Wars MMORPG that only a year and a bit after launch allows players to pay $29.99 to... fight wars among the stars? Then there was the third Expansion, Trials of Obi-Wan, released November 1st, 2005. All was good. Until 2 weeks later when it was decided that everyone should get it for free. Imagine how well THAT sat with the players that just spent another $29.99 on it...

The better known World of Warcraft was hardly a perfectly cut diamond when it came out. Whole thing was a nightmare at launch. Every addon has brought on a new chapter in the bugbook. Mostly sorted by now though.

Games liked Age of Conan and Vanguard were so bugridden that they were unplayable at launch. AoC lacked a lot of content, while Vanguard lacked content.

There are many more examples. What I'm trying to say, is that the problems and issues experienced with SSE are far from being the worst in gaming history. I had to wait 5 months after purchase, make 10 international phonecalls, 20 emails and several faxes before I could even activate my second SWG account after a CD-key-blunder by SOE.

That's the reply that I was up to write, well put!

[CornishChris]

Diabolical, relates in a way to the word Dire which means something is in a bad way.
And the word diabolical is used by many people whom wish to express that something is even worse than Dire.
Although there is a bit of confusion as originally, the word Diabolical meant something "Evil" or connected to the devil.
It's only over time that it has changed meaning slightly to some.

The English classes pay off hey 

Kind Regards

Matthew

The words dire and diabolical have absolutely no similarity in their derivation
Dire means desparate
Diabolic means originating from the devil

English classes, you should have attended them!

[Stuart2007]

Chris, dire can also mean "very bad"...

In English (even cornish!) words can have multiple meanings dependant upon their context. So in this case, even if over the top, his grammar is not totally incorrect.