SLOW down the patches - Test and QA more

Duukar · November 2014

This has basically been the roughest week I can recall for our friends at ZoS.

The only thing I can say is SLOW DOWN. Stop rushing out these patching FILLED with broken content.

You are releasing major content updates which have KNOWN broken issues reported by testers on the PTS. This is frustrating beyond belief for those of us who pay to play this game.

Here are the facts.

1. We enjoy your vision for the game and appreciate your attempts to improve and modify our gaming experience. For example removing FC's has been very popular in my circles.

2. We want improved content. Its fun, new and refreshes the game.

3. You have a PTS upon which your new content is tested and bug reports are filed.

4. You appear to completely ignore the test results in a mad dash to release the new content.

5. The player base appreciates a finished and tested and QA'ed product.

6. We will wait happily while you test, re-test, and tweak again to ensure a smooth patch day with finished and working content.

7. We DO NOT enjoy wasting time on the boards announcing bugs which were noticed on the PTS and patched into live.

8. we DO NOT enjoy wasting time posting our frustrations and disbelief about broken things patched onto live.

9. I don't believe people will pay for a game with repeated broken patches. It's incredibly frustrating. I am a HUGE fan of this game, yet when content like this is released it really makes me take a solid look around. No competition yet.

The good news is there is a solution. Pay attention to the PTS bugs. Fix them. Wait. Take another look. QA. Wait. Fix more. Don't release anything you KNOW is broken.

Your player base has enjoyed the game in all of its manifestations. Things are improving, but I'm confident we could have lived with 1.4 for another month.........

This is painful to watch..

Duuk

Morticide828 · November 2014

Duukar wrote: »

This has basically been the roughest week I can recall for our friends at ZoS.

The only thing I can say is SLOW DOWN. Stop rushing out these patching FILLED with broken content.

You are releasing major content updates which have KNOWN broken issues reported by testers on the PTS. This is frustrating beyond belief for those of us who pay to play this game.

Here are the facts.

1. We enjoy your vision for the game and appreciate your attempts to improve and modify our gaming experience. For example removing FC's has been very popular in my circles.

2. We want improved content. Its fun, new and refreshes the game.

3. You have a PTS upon which your new content is tested and bug reports are filed.

4. You appear to completely ignore the test results in a mad dash to release the new content.

5. The player base appreciates a finished and tested and QA'ed product.

6. We will wait happily while you test, re-test, and tweak again to ensure a smooth patch day with finished and working content.

7. We DO NOT enjoy wasting time on the boards announcing bugs which were noticed on the PTS and patched into live.

8. we DO NOT enjoy wasting time posting our frustrations and disbelief about broken things patched onto live.

9. I don't believe people will pay for a game with repeated broken patches. It's incredibly frustrating. I am a HUGE fan of this game, yet when content like this is released it really makes me take a solid look around. No competition yet.

The good news is there is a solution. Pay attention to the PTS bugs. Fix them. Wait. Take another look. QA. Wait. Fix more. Don't release anything you KNOW is broken.

Your player base has enjoyed the game in all of its manifestations. Things are improving, but I'm confident we could have lived with 1.4 for another month.........

This is painful to watch..

Duuk

~QFT

zbtiqua · November 2014

How about, they just hire more QA and test it faster?

^^

bosmern_ESO · November 2014

Well you also have to look at the forums, 60-70% of it is people saying "ZOS FIX THIS NOW!!!!!!! OR I'LL CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU DO!!!!!!"

ferzalrwb17_ESO · November 2014

Duukar wrote: »

Don't release anything you KNOW is broken.

You could have just posted that.

Palidon · November 2014

ZOS has been told this numerous times by players every time a new update or patch comes out. Problem is they are not listening.

Gillysan · November 2014

I agree with the OP. Never forget the lesson of Vanguard & The Vision™.

Virck · November 2014

No, just include less....make the majority of them bug fixes (focus on bug fixes) not like content has been a huge part of patches anyway.

MissBizz · November 2014

I would happily wait 12 weeks for update 6 if it ensured there was very minimal bugs that were not prominent on PTS.

Sindala · November 2014

They don't need to.
We have shown them time and again that we will put up with their level of incompetence and do nothing but moan on here.

If you know your paying customers will do nothing when you constantly screw up then you are no longer worried about dumping great piles of s**t onto them and hoping they wont notice.
They can even place a nice cherry on top now to show they 'really' care.

No, we created this mess and now we have to live with it.

seanvwolf · November 2014

Every time I go on the PTS, I hardly see anyone on.

Sindala · November 2014

seanvwolf wrote: »

Every time I go on the PTS, I hardly see anyone on.

Peeps stopped bothering with the PTS because they ignore all the advice/reports given by those testing anyway.

ex, 1.5.2 was tested on PTS and bug reports were made and balance issues brought to the attention of said Devs.
1.5.3 was the follow up that did not hit PTS but went straight to live.....with basically an unknown quantity of new/fresh/old bugs and balance issues.

can you see the problem here with the PTS???

Thudunblundur · November 2014

I

seanvwolf wrote: »

Every time I go on the PTS, I hardly see anyone on.

I'm not going to help them do their job in my free time. Especially since they don't seem to pay any more than lip service to the work you folk do.

Some old geezer commented that hope too long deferred maketh the heart sicken.. Every time we are told something is going to happen and it doesn't, it's another deferral, more chance of sickening.

What a brilliant concept of a game, blending mmo and fps! How great a combat system - best anywhere imo, and by a long way - and yet as a company you still manage to reduce most of your customers to absolute fury on a regular basis. I've certainly sworn a few times as I've rushed into combat, got 2/3rds through my rotation and....laaaaaaaaaaag.... Or in dungeons, dead before I know I've been hit. AGAIN.
-
Speculation: I don't know how Zenimax organizes itself, but something in the decision making process seems badly flawed. These rotten patches and shoddy bits of work aren't an overnight thing, a one off, it's been like this from the start. It feels to me like someone higher up is trying to get brownie points by being MORE profitable than expected, has cut staff further than they should and too few workers are trying to do too much.

Duukar · November 2014

They have a great product here. I think misunderstand our desires as gamers.

We don't want tons of new content and patches yesterday.

We just want a working game. 1.4 would have been fine for several more months at least.

Duuk

Duukar · November 2014

ferzalrwb17_ESO wrote: »

Duukar wrote: »

Don't release anything you KNOW is broken.

You could have just posted that.

I wrote more because I care. I hope ZoS actually listens to what I'm saying.

Duuk

reften · November 2014

Gotta agree here, love the game, still do, but isn't there a test server you can test stuff out on first?

I know you didn't want the word on the FCs to get out so people didn't stock up on them, but you oculd have just made that a hot fix or something.

hindsight 20/20 of course, but moving forward, is there any new plan for patches?

reften · November 2014

Sindala wrote: »

They don't need to.
We have shown them time and again that we will put up with their level of incompetence and do nothing but moan on here.

You can't say that for certain...only zos knows their unsubscribe rate.

Nestor · November 2014

bosmern_ESO wrote: »

Well you also have to look at the forums, 60-70% of it is people saying "ZOS FIX THIS NOW!!!!!!! OR I'LL CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU DO!!!!!!"

There are some people who say that, but most of us are talking about what got broke. Most of us know they will fix it at some point, well we hope anyway.

It's just frustrating when it was working before and something fundamental that affects most people gets broken, like character progression. I was leveling just fine before 1.5 in the VR Ranks.

Quoriah · November 2014

Nestor wrote: »

bosmern_ESO wrote: »

Well you also have to look at the forums, 60-70% of it is people saying "ZOS FIX THIS NOW!!!!!!! OR I'LL CRY AND THROW A FIT UNTIL YOU DO!!!!!!"

There are some people who say that, but most of us are talking about what got broke. Most of us know they will fix it at some point, well we hope anyway.

It's just frustrating when it was working before and something fundamental that affects most people gets broken, like character progression. I was leveling just fine before 1.5 in the VR Ranks.

Or the actual game is broken and I can't even login because the game client crashes.

Repairing ends up in the same ABORT: Invalid Memory Size (0) error loop. Reinstalling ends up in the 303 - patch unzip fail error leading to ABORT: Invalid Memory Size (0) again.

Spottswoode · November 2014

I'll sign on with the OP. The development process really needs to slow down in the future. Once we get the Champion system, DB, and justice system, the devs should really concentrate on honing the game. They have a good game now and they'd have an awesome one if they focused on making it work better. (I do feel sorry for you EU guys. You get the worst of it.) Once the Champ system gets up they should gradually move to monthly patches so they can be well tested.