Patch or Sequel...how much will you pay?

[NPK]

okay i'll try kicking thing thanks Mario

well if its significantly improved count me in! one thing i'd def want to change is the agression and sprinting aspect - pressing the S button on the keyboard has left my ring finger really really numb and with soreness and achiness a lot - i've had to cut down on playing the game due to this

all in all however great game!

Just hope you don't wreck your S key and need a new keyboard!

 

[Mr Angry]

Once the novelty wears off people will not play this game.

The same can be said for every game I have ever played, once 'clocked' it sits on the self collecting dust.

As for a patch, Mine is PS2, that does not happen

I would buy the sequel as soon as it is released- price irrelevent

One happy customer, people expect far too much, well done to the creators.

 

[Clevo]

No Mr Angry not true.

I have a few games that I have been playing for more than 3 years on a regular basis. Some games are ageless.

I'm glad you are happy.... some people are easily pleased.

 

[lionmaul]

MARIO, People need to relax and really analyze this game.

Sure it has its minor bugs and I would welcome a patch but, I have played on a slow computer 500mhz, and I still have enjoyed this game tremendously. I have played through 2 whole seasons and the last one was on legend. The game has NEVER froze on me, nor has a bug determined the outcome of any of my games. I don't think people realize how difficult it is to get the AI correct and you guys have done this incredibly well, the computer does not cheat to beat you like other games it simply outplays you. The defense play is as fun to play as offense, you can't just go diving in like a mad man every time like in other sports simulation, you have to coridinate your defense correctly. Sometimes you do one man tackles (depending who has the ball) and sometimes you do multiplayer tackles to get those powerfull runners down, you have to play intelligent when you play this game and that is what makes this such a great game. Great Job Mario and team and looking forward to the sequel.
Cheers and Salu

 

[Petebix]

I enjoy the game.

I have fun playing the game.

I'm glad I bought the game.

When Jonah Lomu Rugby came out on the Playstation in 1997 it was buggy as hell and had 1995 rosters, and the commentary left alot to be desired (Digging in like a demented mole there).

it's now the 31st of December 2003. Jonah Lomu is still buggy as hell. It still has 1995 rosters, and the commentary is still odd at best.

But I still play it. Why?

I enjoy the game.

I have fun playing the game.

Perfection is in imperfection my friends. Let that stew on you for just a bit...

 

[Weasels Ripped My Flesh]

I like the idea of a 'expansion' pack for, with the 2004 rosters and small bugs fixed. i'd be willing to pay 40-50$ for that.

 

[Arnie]

okay i'll try kicking thing thanks Mario

well if its significantly improved count me in! one thing i'd def want to change is the agression and sprinting aspect - pressing the S button on the keyboard has left my ring finger really really numb and with soreness and achiness a lot - i've had to cut down on playing the game due to this

all in all however great game!

Just hope you don't wreck your S key and need a new keyboard!

who need? the ? key anyway? - the ? key can't be that u?eful can it? ?urely it cant be!

 

[AdamH]

Interesting post Petebix! You actually made me think :lol:

 

[btaag]

I will pay any amount of money for ANY computer game related to League - this includes patches, management games (CM4 for League - YES!) - Anything.
We have been starved for too long. Average games (like ARL 96) were a dissapointment, but with so little out there for league fans seeing anything released pleases me.

That there is talk of patches and sequels excites me and I am sure there are loads of people out there other than the more devoted league fans who would buy the game.

Bugs or no bugs, it remains sold out in many stores and this should say something about the quality of the game, the quality of our sport and the level of support for league.

Well done Mario and team, keep up the good work. I will pay anything for a Rugby LEague 2004 game

 

[Clevo]

But btaag I get the impression you would buy a CD with 2000 pictures of doggy turds on it if it had an NRL sticker on it.....true?

 

[btaag]

No, thats not true. I would like to see how good a game some of the posters could create in ten years, let alone two years.
Constructive criticism is fine, but some of you are so deluded it makes me laugh. PLay the game and be thankful it has been made in the first place

 

[Clevo]

I think you are deluded....."Be thankful the game was made in the first place"...seriously comes across as if you would have bought the game if it was a pack of cow manuere with the NRL sticker on it. Why not just admit it?

The game is good, it can be awesome...the bugs make it a short term game for a bit of fun. It needs to be patched very quick or we will end up paying $180 for a game we should have got in the first place.

 

[btaag]

This is a very boring circular argument. If you think a small Australasian design team on a limited budget can produce the immaculate Computer game that is 100% bug and glitch free it is YOU who are deluded.
Thankfully most of the people on this siteand out in the real world like the game and look forward to another one.
I initially had a few issues on the bugs in the game, but after hearing all the whingers, I am now fully in support of the game. Constructive criticism is good, the whining I am hearing is pitiful - do some of these people work for EA Sports or something?

 

[Clevo]

You are mistaken again..... It would be a miracle if ANY game were to come out 100% bug free. Lets not make a mistake here.... a developer saw a market hungry for a game and exploited it. We know this game is as Mario said 12 months late.... the enourmous pressure to get the game on the shelves would have reached a stage of "ready or not". As Mario says again... there are about 2 dozen bugs. No doubt these bugs effect game play.

Back to the topic..... You oprefer a free patch to fix the buggy game you got or pay another $90 for the game we should have got (a sequel).

Games do not come out bug free....unfortunately we as consumers are to blame for this...it's the only product genre on the market that gets away with this time and time agian because of consumers like you who are happy this game was made in the first place....pffft!

 

[theVodkaCircle]

Firstly, the game is NOT 12 months late. A few weeks maybe but that is expected.
Secondly, the game has a few bug issues. We all know that. What you dont know is how the amount of sales is shared between the various platforms. HES would have to decide whether it is commercially viable to spend the resources on a patch that would effect anywhere between 5 and 20% of the people who bought the game. This may also negatively impact people who had bought a console version.
If you think computer games are the only thing that gets released to the public not 100% then you are seriously out there in fantasy land.
Of course some of the bugs effect gameplay. But then you can certainly appreciate that thousands of people can find more than a small team of testers, especially when seeing it for the first time with fresh eyes and even more when you approach the whole experience, not with the intention of having some fun playing a game, but rather like you, to pick it to pieces.

 

[Clevo]

I agree Vodka...that's why it was imperitive to fix those bugs before releasing a cross platform Game.

I've been told that the testers reported most of these bugs but it was too late to fix them before release deadline.

My apologies about the 12 months late I thought I had read that somewhere. But... it is 12 months too late considering the team line ups in the game.

Vodka it's true that not every product out there works 100% as expected but for some reason Video Games somehow circumvent the laws governing return to shop policies and recalls...if this game was a car or an electrical product it would have been recalled.

200 voluntry testers could have been signed up. I've been beta testing games for the last 5 years for free. It's a pain but it needs to be done. The bugs in the game could have been picked up with just 1 hour of playing this game.

As it is...what you're saying is that us fans of this game will be paying $180 for a game...... ouch

 

[Mario]

I've been told that the testers reported most of these bugs but it was too late to fix them before release deadline.

Thats not true. The game shipped with known exploits in the gameplay such as the ease of scoring from scrums. Trying to address and balance these would have jepordised the release of the game and possibly introduced more problems.

However, there were no known bugs at time of shipping.

200 voluntry testers could have been signed up. I've been beta testing games for the last 5 years for free. It's a pain but it needs to be done. The bugs in the game could have been picked up with just 1 hour of playing this game.

Its not that easy. Neither Sidhe nor HES have the resources to manage that many external testers.

Such large beta programmes run by independent developers only work where leaking beta builds is not an issue because full participation requires a legitimate copy (such as MMORPGs and internet server FPS games).

 

[legend]

I think constructive criticism is good because it lets Mario and HES know what they need to do to produce a higer quality version next time round. Having said that, there are ways of going about giving constructive criticism and blatant cheap shots at the developers will simply fall on deaf ears.

Having played the game, I am thankful we have such a good platform to work from to build an exeptional game in the next couple of versions. Rome wasn't built in a day Clevo.

 

[Clevo]

That's fair enough legend and if I was having cheap shots at the developer I'd be more blatant.

I'm not complaining for complaining sake and it's good that Mods and admins are showing an interest in this thread.

I am playing the game too...you should try playing Souths

But Legend... fair dinkum what you are saying is that people should wait for the second third sequel and I can appreciate the concept of building a base and going forward in quantum leaps.

But people like Mario have acknowledged the bugs, flaws and going back to the original post I merely ask what people prefer..... a sequel or a patch.

I'd prefer a patchquel..... I can buy it from the shops.. it will have the 2004 version that loads ontop of the 2003 and an expansion. The patchquel can be $30-$50 and for those that don;t have the 2003 version they can buy the Patchquel for the full price.

This alleviates the cross platform patching problems and rewards those who stay loyal to the games developement.

I don;t like the idea of giving what anounts to a $90 donation just so some publisher/developer can build a platform to listen to beta testers and hire a couple of extra coders.

As Mario claims...they are working on 7 games at the moment and have worked with Lord of the Rings. I don't think they are the little hobbits they make out to be

I do wish them luck though.... but believe me nothing I say falls on deaf ears.

Cheers

 

[Clevo]

[quote="Mario
Thats not true. The game shipped with known exploits in the gameplay such as the ease of scoring from scrums. Trying to address and balance these would have jepordised the release of the game and possibly introduced more problems.

However, there were no known bugs at time of shipping.



Its not that easy. Neither Sidhe nor HES have the resources to manage that many external testers.

Such large beta programmes run by independent developers only work where leaking beta builds is not an issue because full participation requires a legitimate copy (such as MMORPGs and internet server FPS games).[/quote]

Most games I have tested (mmogs especially) require you to sign a confidentiality contract. 200 may indeed be hard to manage 50 would have sufficed.

Of course I won't get into a definition discussion between the difference of an exploit and a bug but the two aren;t mutually exclusive. The Scrum exploit...one of the worse ones, should have been fixed. It's sounds like you tried but couldn't. I understand how trying to fix this up may indeed introduce other problems but scrums set plays are a fundamental part of the game... I'd hate to think if the response had been the same if this were an exploit with passing or kicking?

Mari I know it seems I am giving you a hard time.... I am... You have a winner of the game but I want to make sure the pride in the game development and the consumer comes before the publishers bottom line end of year profit margins.