Vincenzo_Beretta
Posts: 440
Joined: 3/13/2001 From: Milan, Italy Status: offline
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ORIGINAL: Shemar quote:
ORIGINAL: Vincenzo Beretta Oh, one last thing: are you going to write an official Appendix to the manual detailing al the needed "workarounds" and "obvious behaviours to avoid" to all the new players who consider the manual as a guide to the game as advertised (of course as a stopgap measure while there issues are worked on)? Because, you know, I'm pretty sure that at least a percentage of the costumers will simply spin up Harpoon ANW, after reading the manual, and left wondering what the heck is happening instead of what *should* be happening accordind to the official documentation. No one on this forum is an expert of the "known bugs" and "there are workarounds to this messed up feature" nuances of the game as it stands. I gave you a link to the official list of bugs that gets updated by the developers and anyone can have their input, either to add new bugs or to state their opinion on what bugs should have higher priority and what they think the ideal behavior will be. Short of waving a magic wand and making the bugs dissapear by themselves, there is no better way to handle bugs. Yup, I know about this cool scheme: I have to go to a non-Matrix site somewhere (instead of, let's say, the OFFICIAL HARPOON 3 ANW SUPPORT FORUM, AKA *here*) and re-input bugs *there* (that I've already reported *here*) so that the game I have already paid for *here* will work as advertised. Also, this new site seems to only have problems already reported to HarPlonkHQ.com [ http://tinyurl.com/4vnsg2 ] since the 'Official' Mantis used by the AGSI developers ( http://mantis.advancedgaming.biz ) remains inaccessible. quote:
I have yet to see a bug free game. In addition to that H3 has a much more difficult task than most games, as in most games the level of abstraction is several orders of magnitude higher than what is expected of H3. Me too. But I have seen games that work. And having a *working* ANW is the aim we all hope for here, not the quest for some abstract perfection. Instead of playing ANW, I played BCT Commander - the Iraq 91 scenario (I'm not promoting a game by another company here - only giving a comparison with something I just experienced). My Cavalry brigade had to breach three Iraqi defense belts, made of AT ditches and minefields and defended by mechanized units. The artillery fired covering smoke for the engeneering units while they breached the obstacles, and then the leading M1s and Bradleys raced through the breaches and fanned out to engage the enemies on the other side - while the rest of the brigade followed and set up for the next "leapfrogging" move. Sometimes it was hairy, and IMHO, the M1A1 losses were too high, but at the end I saw a victory of the US forces. What I *didn't* saw was: - Engeneers unable to breach obstacles due to "a known bug" - The suggestion to "find other ways to reach the other side of the defense belt" as a "workaround" - Bradleys not firing AT missiles after the first volley due the unability to reload TOW ammo. - The suggestion to use Bradleys as "one-shot AT weapons" and then as troop carriers only. - The suggestion of "avoid using obstacles and minefields in user-made scenarios", so as to avoid "known problems". - The need to explain that "no game is bug free". Is this example sufficient to explain the difference between a *working* game and ANW? If not, I have many more examples from different working games, ranging from "Conquest of the Aegean" to "Galactic Civilizations II". Take your pick. quote:
As for how to deal with the bugs as a player, that is much more a matter of life outlook than it is a matter of the actual bugs. My outlook on life is to take things as they are and have my fun instead of expect prefection. I am not going to let a waitor getting my order wrong ruin my night out, or a bad behaved driver on the road ruin my day and I am certainly not going to let bugs ruin my gaming time. Which begs the question: "why would anyone even bother with the bug/beta testing if that is their outlook on life?" However, I'm pretty sure that you can pay full price for an accommodation in Paris and find the water tap not working and cockroaches in the bed - and have fun anyway because you are "not looking for perfection". But I feel compelled to warn you: not everybody has your same outlook on life, exp. when people *pay* for a service or a good. Keep this in mind, if you will ever set up an hotel in Paris. Anyway, I'll concede that having a scenario with a strong ASW component and, thirty seconds into it, discovering that ASW is broken, will not ruin *your* personal game time. Oh, before I forget about it: is this "no one is entitled to expect a perfect game!" idea the official nail on the coffin for the [begin quote from Matrix's front page] "new community-focused development initiative. [end quote from Matrix's front page]? Because, you know, the score for me is currently: One problem -- found One explanation about how to "get along with it" -- received. quote:
Frankly, if the bugs are bothering you so much that they make your gaming experience unpleasant, you should not be playing it. Which, surprisingly, is what I'm *already* doing, and suggesting to others to do, too. But I certainly hope that this is not the official Matrix attitude towards bugs and bug-fixing in general.
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