Post From Carl Norman On Lomac/patch Issues

[MadJeff 3]

Carl posted this in the UBI forum today and I wanted to make sure everyone here saw it as well. It addresses some of the bug questions that I've seen on the forums the last week.

In reading the forums for the past week I have seen that some people think that we are in denial. That we do not acknowledge anything wrong with Lock On.

 

This assumption is incorrect. As with any software project there are bugs and problems at release. I've never seen a product of this type ship without bugs, problems, or misunderstandings.

 

We have not listed what will specifically be addressed in the first patch because it is an effort that is always subject to change based upon the nature of software development.

 

There are some problems that are clearly things we just missed. While we had plenty of testing, both internal and external teams, sometimes things that seem pretty obvious to you get broken in the last version that were working fine in previous versions. Other times fixing one area only screws up something else.

 

Are we without fault? Hell no. We're human and we work within the constraints of time, money, and organizational requirements from publisher, distributor, to the retailer. Those final days of development are very difficult and are filled with tough choices. There have been plenty of "corporate challenges" throughout the development of Lock On as well as other problems that I am just not going to discuss in public as that would be inappropriate, unprofessional, and simply none of your business. Somethings are obvious while others you'll never know.

 

Some of you may expect a perfect game to be launched. Sorry, that just doesn't happen. If you think those of us working on Lock On want to have bugs or that we look forward to patches, you are also mistaken.

 

So, for the record: We know that some of you are frustrated and even upset. We apologize but we ask you to give us a chance. For a majority of people the game does indeed work and many are having little or no problems.

 

There is plenty of help available to get this game up and running. This forum is filled with people willing to assist. The Read Me file is something that contains many solutions to common problems. I am always surprised how many people don't read it prior to posting an angry and disappointed message.

 

Lock On is not a console product you just jam into the drive. It has to support an incredible matrix of hardware and system configurations. As I've stated in other threads, if you have a way for us to make it run well on every configuration straight out of the box then we would like to talk to you about a career in software development.

 

Matt and I are working closely with the folks in Moscow on the list of priorities for the first patch and any subsequent patches we feel are required. We have read all the forums and have an idea what are the major problems. Many of the problems encountered have already been addressed by the Team and we are in the process of getting our first Beta of the initial patch.

 

I am not going to make the mistake of promising anything as I've been burned too many times. I am also not going to commit to saying when it will be finished as I don't know. It is going to have to take several Betas and the subsequent testing to determine our progress. We are not hinding anything we are just being prudent.

 

If we were in this to just throw out a release and leave the area then you would not see Matt, members of the Development Team, the Mods, the Testers, or myself participating online.

 

Please be patient, keep giving us your feedback in a constructive manner, and hang in there.

 

Cheers,

Carl

 

You can read the full thread here:

 

http://forums.ubi.com/messages/message_vie...mac_gd&id=zrvwc

[Seawolf 0]

good to hear

[Cretin 0]

From my perspective, everything Carl said was already assumed. The glass is half full. :-)