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[Niteandgrey]

What I'm not clear on is why so many people are defending them, when you know damn well this place would have exploded in unanimous hatred if it was an EA studio.

But no. Can't rip on Evo, can't suggest that their game just might be a piece of shit, can't say anything about Forza Horizon 2 being 10x better so just get that instead... Come on. At some point, the fanboy shit needs to take a rest, so agnostic game discussion can go down.

Sorry, just venting a bit.

Because EA has a habit of this sort of thing and that leads people to (rightly I think) that EA just doesn't give a shit about putting out a quality product. I don't think there's any reason to believe that Evo didn't give a shit.

You can rip on Evo and say their game might be a piece of shit and that Forza Horizon 2 is 10 x better. But I'm not sure what your (questionable) opinion has to do with their servers being down.

 

[Aaron]

I'm just asking for the angriest among you to cut these guys a little slack. I guarantee you that they're more upset than you are right now. This is their baby and right now their baby is struggling to breathe on its own. I think the game that's there right now is excellent and I expect it to sell well and have a long life in terms of an online community as long as people can take a deep breath and recognize that it's not the end of the world.

They already had a year's worth of slack. They could have mitigated these problems with an open or limited beta like is done with a lot of online games these days, but they didn't.

 

[blitzcloud]

Ahh , I wasn't aware that PSN was the official Driveclub service. When did Sony change the name? Should I check my firmware?

no excuses. Driveclub PS+ edition should be out because we were promised it as a perk to be subscribed. They're failing to deliver and we should have a compensation like 1 extra month, for all active subscribers.

Evolution and sony were the ones to NOT launch Motorstorm on the launch date due to the tsunami that occurred in Japan, which affected its sales. so from a moral standpoint I think they try to be nice. I don't think they were aware and i'm sure something that went undetected in the beta and theoretic tests is what's causing the malfunction.

 

[FeiRR]

Wow in and out policy..... When a player disconnects, you can join.... Sounds like 1994.

I'd like to see an example of a multiplayer server-based game which doesn't work on the slot principle.

 

[w00zey]

Why they didn't have an open beta weekend is beyond me. That seems to be the norm these days but maybe they knew the game was a shell of what it should be and wanted to keep preorders.

 

[travisbickle]

They already had a year's worth of slack. They could have mitigated these problems with an open or limited beta like is done with a lot of online games these days, but they didn't.

They had a beta.

 

[OccamsLightsaber]

no excuses. Driveclub PS+ edition should be out because we were promised it as a perk to be subscribed. They're failing to deliver and we should have a compensation like 1 extra month, for all active subscribers.

To keep my sanity, I'll assume this is a joke post.

 

[Returners]

I'm getting flashbacks to Zipper and the Socom 4 launch server woes because of the PSN hacking.

 

[Smokey]

You and I both know that:

DC servers are the Thunder with Westbrook running the show
2K servers are the knicks.

And it's fuck da Knicks all day

It is irritating how i have two games that I can't full enjoy because of the BS

 

[Niteandgrey]

Nobody is throwing rocks into their windows. People are complaining here in their own private little corner of the Internet. Who cares if upset customers complain here? Christ, you make it seen we have to put on a happy face in case an Evolution dev pops in here.

So just so I understand, because this is a "little corner of the internet" it's okay for people who are upset to complain (which I agree with), but it's not okay for me to gently offer a different perspective?

 

[blitzcloud]

To keep my sanity, I'll assume this is a joke post.

why should it. 1 month is pretty much a trial. Many of us day1 subscribers never even got a trial to begin with. they can offer a trial to "get you", but not a "trial" because they didn't deliver the content?

Right.

PS: also they can gift you 3 months every yearly sub under certain promos, but now they can't do the same?

Right no.2

 

[Shiera Seastar]

Nobody is throwing rocks into their windows. People are complaining here in their own private little corner of the Internet. Who cares if upset customers complain here? Christ, you make it seen we have to put on a happy face in case an Evolution dev pops in here.

Pretty sure he's just advocating people to have some perspective and to consider that however frustrated/angry you might be the people over at Evo right now are in a much more precarious situation.
So no, while you wouldn't have to put on a happy face there's also no need to be insensitive dicks - "unnecessary roughness" is what they call it in Football.

And yes, discussion culture on your "private internet" matters.

 

[OccamsLightsaber]

why should it. 1 month is pretty much a trial. Many of us subscribers never even got a trial to begin with. they can offer a trial to "get you", but not a "trial" because they didn't deliver the content?

Right.

1. The month isn't over. It's been 6 days since it was supposed to show up on the store.
2. The PS+ version isn't cancelled.
3. They said it will be released once the server software is patched.

 

[autoduelist]

It says here that they did large scale server tests. Doesn't really make sense that no problems showed up at all.

One problem with any QA/beta test is that you can't always guess (and therefore test for) what a million (or whatever) different, actual users might do in the wild.

 

[Reallink]

Why they didn't have an open beta weekend is beyond me. That seems to be the norm these days but maybe they knew the game was a shell of what it should be and wanted to keep preorders.

My guess is they didn't want people picking apart the graphics and gameplay cause they knew it would be really mixed and leaning towards negative. They're getting the shit storm 10 fold though, so I don't really have a lot of sympathy. They made a calculated corporate business decision and it's biting them in the ass deservedly as far as I'm concerned.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

Sympathy is something many human beings feel for other human beings who are having a rough time. You can be critical of someone and still feel sympathy for them. They fucked up, but who amongst us hasn't fucked something up?



Well, obviously they should have written better tests. The ones for this time clearly didn't actually exercise their systems end-to-end.

And if you feel sympathetic, that's fine. I'm saying that sympathy for their possible job-loss or instability does not free them from criticism or from the need to rip their work apart. Sympathy and criticism is not mutually exclusive, and we should be able to separate the person from their product.

Have you played the game then?

What is the relevance of that question? I wanted to play the PS+ version before I put out for the game. I'm still waiting.

Let's try it with humans instead of a company since you can't seem to relate to them as a studio:

Good luck to your daughter when her painting is disqualified because it turns out she's colorblind. She thought it looked rad, you thought it looked rad before she turned it in for class and you made sure by even looking up close when she asked, but oops. It doesn't fit the class mural one bit because it turns out the color is just plain wrong.

But damn her. No sympathy for that. So what if she's going to find a way to fix it. She'll never live down the mess of being wrong at the art show.


Too dramatic?

This is the silliest thing I've ever read.

 

[blitzcloud]

1. The month isn't over. It's been 6 days since it was supposed to show up on the store.
2. The PS+ version isn't cancelled.
3. They said it will be released once the server software is patched.

I know the PS+ isn't cancelled. But every day of a subscription without the content being delivered is not okay. Say it takes another week for the ps+ version to appear. That's one half of the month without the main game of the IGC being delivered.

When you're a corporation and you fuck up, you can't nickel and dime the users because that will bring negative press. Giving a free 1 month "trial" (read, extra month) doesn't mean much to them, but it means a lot to the users that are ACTIVE subscribers.

 

[Gold_Loot]

you may be surprised, but A LOT of people took day 1 console and day 1 paying service,
with free driveclub being the biggest enticement for it.

also, this was the news that broke at the same time with the news of the fact that plus had gone the xboxlive way (must pay to play).
to me, and I guess (I know) I was not the only one, that offer sure seemed like the counter weight to the pay to play news.

I never was a plus subscriber before, even though I had a ps3 (and still do have one) since the beginning.

now, its perfectly ok that you want to downplay EVERYTHING, but you must accept that maybe there are people that do not think and act the same as you.

The point is, you're still getting what you were promised. Sorry I don't have much sympathy for those complaining and wanting (even more) free Shit for a week or so delay of their gift.

 

[KingJ2002]

This is one disaster of a launch... but depending on how they turn this around it could work out for everyone. If they compensate users with say... free DLC package then i believe people will forgive this.

Evolution / Sony just have to ensure these issues do not hurt the brand.

Battlefield for example is forever tarnished due to it's Online issues and driveclub isn't a brand that is established enough to endure a large backlash.

Considering that it is a great alternative to Gran Turismo... i would love to see a driveclub 2 happen.

just need to get past this hurdle.

 

[Cyborg]

Wow that's pretty harsh to hate them.....ugh. They are trying to fix it, the bug caught them by surprise, they are working "flat out" to fix it, and you hate them for it? Lose faith, distrust, maybe, but hate them? Come on dude....

I already said hate is a wrong word to use.....

 

[BibiMaghoo]

This is a genuine shame for all parties. I feel bad for the devs.

Also for me, I want my PS+ edition guys.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Other businesses need to look into how the video game industry has conditioned/duped its consumer base into not only accepting that products may or may not work as advertised on day one... but actually defending it.

It's a mighty impressive feat.

It's so true.

You can't delay a game for a year based on how it doesn't have its online social features down and then launch to absolute failure. Personally, I think the recent trend of reviews reviewing the actual game as it operates with the released state of online service that the consumers buy should be the norm, as it would better ensure that game developers get their shit actually working as advertised. The special early-access review environment treatment is not helping the very people those reviews are aimed at, written for. Right now, I'm sure there are plenty of people trying to make use of fully half the game Evo/Sony is still selling them at $60, but it doesn't work. Why, then, are they still selling what is a functionally broken game when they only decided to hold back the PS+ demo? Just let PS+ people play a specially updated offline-only version while they continue to figure out what happened, and when they do, they can then unlock the PS+ game and its ability to upgrade to a full game. Who the hell are they helping there when they continue to not deliver both software demo they promised more than a year ago and a working online-focused game for those they are still, today, selling it to?

 

[Ingueferroque]

What relevance does this have to what you are quoting?

I don't understand the whole "it's their livelihood!" card.Their livelihood rests on providing quality products and services to gamers. So I don't see the need for an outpouring of sympathy. They're adults, they had a job, and they failed at it. They don't deserve pity. They deserve criticism.

How is it not relevant? The post outright states that they did not deliver a product with any redeeming quality.

 

[blitzcloud]

The point is, you're still getting what you were promised. Sorry I don't have much sympathy for those complaining and wanting (even more) free Shit for a week or so delay of their gift.

Lol que. I don't have sympathy for people standing for their subscription goods!

Now for real, i've been a PS+ subscriber since day1, uninterrupted. I love the service BUT (there's a but, yes) if they fail to deliver something they should try and give an extra month, which they really give away with some trials pretty much, or with offers on the store some other times.

Imagine this is your last plus month or second to last. Would you renovate? Now imagine they give you an extra month (which can be used to play DC PS+ and maybe purchase the final game), are you more likely to renovate?

 

[jett]

The development history of this game is quite something. I have to wonder what exactly where they prepared to release last year.

I hope the best for Evolution.

 

[bootski]

Maybe it's because I used to be a software developer, but I'm a little dismayed by the self-righteous anger directed at Evo in this thread.

Sometimes a developer can do everything right, take every precaution, cut zero corners and just in general be customer-focused and do everything they can to make sure their application/title is perfect and things still will go wrong when the app/game hits the real world.

It sucks for people that bought the game that they can't yet fully experience everything the game has to offer, I get that. I'm one of those people, I bought it day 1.

But I can guarantee you that Evolution Studios is a freaking MADHOUSE right now. There's very, very little sleep for those devs right now and I know they're busting their collective ass to get this game running the way it's supposed to. And before anyone accuses me of being a dev there trying to gain sympathy, I'm not. I'm no longer in the gaming industry (for years now) and I don't know a single soul on the Evolution Studios' dev staff.

I'm just asking for the angriest among you to cut these guys a little slack. I guarantee you that they're more upset than you are right now. This is their baby and right now their baby is struggling to breathe on its own. I think the game that's there right now is excellent and I expect it to sell well and have a long life in terms of an online community as long as people can take a deep breath and recognize that it's not the end of the world.

Sometimes companies deserve your hatred and consequently don't deserve your money. I don't think this is one of those situations.

it's a great sentiment but there's a problem with it. it's not just driveclub, it's almost every freakin' AAA game launched in the last few years. between poor testing like this and general bullshittery ala SimCity, people are getting mighty tired of buying/preordering games and having them not work for weeks on end while devs try to rope in the problems they should have fixed before the games were launched.

how the devs feel is really irrelevant, if they didn't want to feel badly they should have done proper testing, open alphas/betas, etc to make sure this didn't happen. they didn't, missed something and now the customer is paying for it. literally.

to add to that, the fact that bungie launched destiny with little/no widespread server issues shows that it IS possible for a AAA title to launch without these problems, if the company really cares to ensure that their launch is problem-free.

 

[p3tran]

The point is, you're still getting what you were promised. Sorry I don't have much sympathy for those complaining and wanting (even more) free Shit for a week or so delay of their gift.

you are still using wrong words like <<gift>>, and i wont even go discussing what was originally promised and what in the end is (not yet) delivered, and if these are the same and what not.....

but,
it is so trivial to you? lets see how trivial it will be when they ask money for resub...
I mean, all these people that you think they are dismissible, falsely entitled, cry babies, and whatever else you think.. lets see how this pans in the future.. sympathy or no sympathy..

 

[Aaron]

They had a beta.

An internal beta. Every time other online games have had major server problems they've also said, "But we had an internal beta." EVO still not learning from the mistakes others have made for years.

 

[Nafai1123]

It would be nice to get some DLC as compensation, but I can't be too mad at Evo since I'm enjoying this game more than any other racer in years.

 

[impact]

It would be nice to get some DLC as compensation, but I can't be too mad at Evo since I'm enjoying this game more than any other racer in years.

I can be mad because I bought a game and it still doesn't work a week later. It's nice that they're trying to fix it, but work harder ffs. This is embarrassing.

 

[Graphics Horse]

An internal beta. Every time other online games have had major server problems they've also said, "But we had an internal beta." EVO still not learning from the mistakes others have made for years.

tbh we don't know if that's in their court, Sony might push back against having open betas for games they publish.

 

[bootski]

tbh we don't know if that's in their court, Sony might push back against having open betas.

destiny had an open beta on two sony consoles this year.

 

[Graphics Horse]

destiny had an open beta on two sony consoles this year.

Sony aren't publishing Destiny. edit: guess I should have made it clear I was talking about them as a publisher.

 

[Holy_Chic]

Let's try it with humans instead of a company since you can't seem to relate to them as a studio:

Good luck to your daughter when her painting is disqualified because it turns out she's colorblind. She thought it looked rad, you thought it looked rad before she turned it in for class and you made sure by even looking up close when she asked, but oops. It doesn't fit the class mural one bit because it turns out the color is just plain wrong.

But damn her. No sympathy for that. So what if she's going to find a way to fix it. She'll never live down the mess of being wrong at the art show.


Too dramatic?

What in the hell? Is this guy serious? Lol

 

[bootski]

Sony aren't publishing Destiny. edit: guess I should have made it clear I was talking about them as a publisher.

so the implication is sony would be ok with another company using their consoles to beta test games but not ok with a company that they're publishing for doing the same thing to ensure the launch goes smoothly.

edit: more likely, evo did their testing saw no issues and said "fuck it, good enough"

 

[Graphics Horse]

so the implication is sony would be ok with another company using their consoles to beta test games but not ok with a company that they're publishing for doing the same thing to ensure the launch goes smoothly.

You got any better ideas? I'm just throwing guesses out there for how this happened.

 

[funkypie]

Probably doesn't help that the psn has been garbage for 2 months to.

 

[Gold_Loot]

you are still using wrong words like <<gift>>, and i wont even go discussing what was originally promised and what in the end is (not yet) delivered, and if these are the same and what not.....

but,
it is so trivial to you? lets see how trivial it will be when they ask money for resub...
I mean, all these people that you think they are dismissible, falsely entitled, cry babies, and whatever else you think.. lets see how this pans in the future.. sympathy or no sympathy..

I'm not subing for drivclub. I'm subbing for PSN as a whole. If you are only subbing for a free version of Driveclub, then sure , my sympathies.

 

[bootski]

You got any better ideas? I'm just throwing guesses out there for how this happened.

sorry i replied before you posted, in an edit.

yes, my better idea is: lazy development testing. not doing their due diligence to make sure the online component of their game, which already caused problems in development, worked properly. not having public betas to load test their game and an obviously, in hindsight, poor synth test.

 

[pop_tarts]

Seeing as I am a 1. Diehard racing fan and 2. Diehard DRIVECLUB fan, buying the season pass and all. The only real compensation I would like is when the servers are fully stable will all the XP that I heard while the servers where offline transfer over into my club? If so I wouldn't need any thing extra they are already giving us a free car and track with these updated dlcs. Sure its been nearly a week, but I doubt too many people are already done with the campaign like me.

 

[benzy]

Terrible article making bogus claims all around. I fear this server issue will delay the weather patch.

 

[Xevren]

All I wanted to do was play with my friends, yet in the last week I've done a total of 0 online games due to their server issues. Sending my copy back, I really don't have fun playing against the AI at all.

 

[orthodoxy1095]

How is it not relevant? The post outright states that they did not deliver a product with any redeeming quality.

Excuse me. Maybe I lack your level of reading comprehension, but where did I say the product lacks any redeeming quality? I said they failed at their job. Their job was to deliver a quality product which they advertised as being a social next-gen racer. It is not "quality," it is half-assed. It has some redeeming qualities due to it being a quality title in of itself, but the lack of firm online support right now has degraded the game from quality to problematic.

So yes, they failed their job. They did not deliver. I do not need to have played the game to know the game is suffering from online issues. Case in point: I haven't been able to play it.

 

[Two Words]

So just so I understand, because this is a "little corner of the internet" it's okay for people who are upset to complain (which I agree with), but it's not okay for me to gently offer a different perspective?

I never said other opinions aren't welcome. I'm saying that saying we need to speak kindly of them even when the fucked up is stupid. You can give that perspective, but I'll call it dumb.

 

[mrklaw]

And now Rushy is saying he won't respond to Driveclub inquiries on Twitter anymore. What wonderful concern for their customers and fanbase.

I imagine he is getting a huge amount of anonymous internet shit on Twitter and is therefore rightly not going to engage. Yes there might be legitimate questions there too, but if it is outnumbered by spam then what is he supposed to do?

 

[a.wd]

I am really confused as to why people think that a game that is sold on its social features as a way of offering some market differentiation shouldn't be criticised when those features don't work?

Genuinely interested, I'm astounded that following the many screw ups that companies have made with online games this game apparently deserves a pass? Why?

 

[Prototype]

With constant online issues for so many games how did anyone think we are even remotely ready for an online /digital future?

 

[impact]

All I wanted to do was play with my friends, yet in the last week I've done a total of 0 online games due to their server issues. Sending my copy back, I really don't have fun playing against the AI at all.

Thanks Sony and Evolution, I JUST LOST A CLUB MEMBER BECAUSE OF YOUR INCOMPETENCE. Now my club only has two people

Not like clubs matter when playing offline anyway. Sigh.

 

[Two Words]

I am really confused as to why people think that a game that is sold on its social features as a way of offering some market differentiation shouldn't be criticised when those features don't work?

Genuinely interested, I'm astounded that following the many screw ups that companies have made with online games this game apparently deserves a pass? Why?

Yeah, it's dumb. People rail on BF4 being broken and Sims 4 and Diablo 3, etc. Apparently those devs were all just as evil as the top level executives in those cases. But at Evolution, those poor devs were just given an impossible task of making an online racing game work.

 

[dugdug]

I'm getting flashbacks to Zipper and the Socom 4 launch server woes because of the PSN hacking.

Hey, that game was functional for a day or two. They had a big beta and everything to make sure. Wasn't their fault.