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DriveClub dev "had confidence" servers would work - compensation possible

Kai Dracon

Writing a dinosaur space opera symphony
You know, I'm okay with the paid expansion content remaining paid content to arrive in the future.

What I would appreciate more, as a response to the terrible launch - aside from you know fixing the servers - would be further commitment from Evo on seriously supporting the game. Don't gimp on the photo mode, make the replay system robust, give us the walking around mode for even better photos, expand the social functions with more expansive groups like communities for more than teams of six players.

Sony's response to this flagship game being so bungled at launch with connectivity and missing content, should be to write that check that allows Evo to support it as much as they can.
 

Gestault

Member
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.

Actually, so long as you're already in the club, the progress you make in offline mode is supposed to still contribute to your club once you log back in.
 

Tookay

Member
I get the weird suspicion some posters' defensive or calm reactions to this whole issue ring false and that they would have gladly grilled EA for such a thing happening.

Where were you guys urging reason when BF4 or Sim City launched?
 
I get the weird suspicion some posters' defensive or calm reactions to this whole issue ring false and that they would have gladly grilled EA for such a thing happening.

Where were you guys urging reason when BF4 or Sim City launched?
But don't you know? Evolution are just good guys trying to do their job! EA are big, bad and terrible!

/s
 

JAYSIMPLE

Banned
I get the weird suspicion some posters' defensive or calm reactions to this whole issue ring false and that they would have gladly grilled EA for such a thing happening.

Where were you guys urging reason when BF4 or Sim City launched?


There is no shadow of a doubt that due to it being Sony and EVO that they are receiving a softer approach from gamers. If this was any other company it would be a slaughter right now.
 

ElRenoRaven

Member
I get the weird suspicion some posters' defensive or calm reactions to this whole issue ring false and that they would have gladly grilled EA for such a thing happening.

Where were you guys urging reason when BF4 or Sim City launched?

Oh no doubt. I've seen it plenty of times. Developer A get shit and rightfully so for something like this and then Developer B gets defended cause they're not evil like Developer A. Why people seem to think one publisher is "Evil" while another isn't is beyond me. None of them are. They're businesses out to make money. It's not like they sit there and go oh how do we fuck over the customer today. No they sit there and throw out ideas. Some very very bad and some good. When they follow through on the bad then they deserve to get shit on. When they follow through with the good then they also deserve praise for that too. When they do something right again they deserve praise while also getting shit on for doing something bad. Ultimately voting with your wallet will decide their fate. Either they'll stay in business or not. But none of them are some evil villain sitting there twirling their mustache. At the same time they're not your friend either. Again they're just a business.
 

teiresias

Member
I get the weird suspicion some posters' defensive or calm reactions to this whole issue ring false and that they would have gladly grilled EA for such a thing happening.

Where were you guys urging reason when BF4 or Sim City launched?

I think Evo deserves crap for this (and obviously I'm giving it to them) but making claims like this is usually considered bad form unless you can provide specific examples of hypocrisy on the part of posters in this thread by citing posts from them.
 
I get the weird suspicion some posters' defensive or calm reactions to this whole issue ring false and that they would have gladly grilled EA for such a thing happening.

Where were you guys urging reason when BF4 or Sim City launched?

I bought neither so neither affected me. I did buy DriveClub and for such an online connected game it works beautifully offline so I'm not worried. I sympathize with the developers trying to fix it and don't feel the flaming torches and pitchforks are deserved yet. If there were less to do offline I might feel differently but what's there is great. Mind you, I'm in no hurry to finish the whole thing in a week, I'm in for the long haul.

If you want to find examples of hypocrisy you may need to use the forum search function.
 

Gestault

Member
I bought neither so neither affected me. I did buy DriveClub and for such an online connected game it works beautifully offline so I'm not worried. I sympathize with the developers trying to fix it and don't feel the flaming torches and pitchforks are deserved yet. If there were less to do offline I might feel differently but what's there is great. Mind you, I'm in no hurry to finish the whole thing in a week, I'm in for the long haul.

So losing access to club cars and a constant red text flashing that the connection was lost is a game working beautifully offline? This is a low bar for quality that a game having any offline functions (which are still interrupted by network issues) is "working beautifully offline."
 
...what? Why? You paid monthly for PS+, just for the DriveClub bonus? You could have just waited until the offer was live before you started paying monthly.

It was before launch, it was on sale. I figured why not because it was the beginning of a new generation and I was going to play this epic racer with my wheel setup on the PS4 in a few months. Can't remember when I bought it, but it was right around when DC was first unveiled and there was still hope for wheel support and just a few© cars and tracks missing in the PS+ edition.
 

Tookay

Member
I think Evo deserves crap for this (and obviously I'm giving it to them) but making claims like this is usually considered bad form unless you can provide specific examples of hypocrisy on the part of posters in this thread by citing posts from them.

If you want to find examples of hypocrisy you may need to use the forum search function.

I understand, hence why I have a "suspicion." I'm willing to look into it.
 
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 second that! Haven't played a racer since Burnout Paradise and DC has me hooked. It will be even better once online functionality is back in properly.

Hope Evo get this sorted soon before I get too deep into Tour mode
 

barit

Member
So losing access to club cars and a constant red text flashing that the connection was lost is a game working beautifully offline? This is a low bar for quality that a game having any offline functions (which are still interrupted by network issues) is "working beautifully offline."

Turn the HUD off, problem solved :p
 

orochi91

Member
Compensation?! That's fucking Ace.

I want store credits or at least some free DLC for the game.

Or perhaps a game or two, or a significant discount on the PS+ upgrade price.


Can Evo actually make those decisions or is it all up to Sony? Either way, Evo will
be in good graces if they can come through on the compensation. I love free stuff :D
 
Compensation?! That's fucking Ace.

I want store credits or at least some free DLC for the game.

Or perhaps a game or two, or a significant discount on the PS+ upgrade price.


Can Evo actually make those decisions or is it all up to Sony? Either way, Evo will
be in good graces if they can come through on the compensation. I love free stuff :D

You want free games?
 

The Beard

Member
This is how not to release a game. It's not like they were rushed to release this broken game by their publisher. They were given an entire extra year. They could've taken more time if they needed it.

I don't understand why people are buying season passes for this game already, wouldn't it be a better idea to wait until they make the game playable online first ? Or do some people just like rewarding incompetence ?
 
How about just making the game F2P?

Seems like this game was FUBAR since November 2013 judging by how shady Sony was acting about the game this past year.
 

Gestault

Member
How about just making the game F2P?

Seems like this game was FUBAR since November 2013 judging by how shady Sony was acting about the game this past year.

It might be an interesting setup to have open "free to play" weekends for the month of the launch, as a mea culpa for the launch issues, but also a demonstration of the quality, and for promotion of the game once things are cleared up. Full game content available for anyone with PS+. It would also give more behind-the-scenes testing data, not to mention a shot in the arm for community numbers.
 
It says here that they did large scale server tests. Doesn't really make sense that no problems showed up at all.

As someone that does this kind of work (in games even), those tests may have misestimated user behaviour. Things thought likely to be rarely used that are slow may have been used often by real users, causing a much larger impact.
 

Xenon

Member
This is how not to release a game. It's not like they were rushed to release this broken game by their publisher. They were given an entire extra year. They could've taken more time if they needed it.

I don't understand why people are buying season passes for this game already, wouldn't it be a better idea to wait until they make the game playable online first ? Or do some people just like rewarding incompetence ?

That new system needs to be fed, regardless of the quality of the meal. This was THE PS4 racer to own. You can't hold the fans responsible for the devs inability to deliver.

edit: Defending it afterwards however, makes little sense.
 
It might be an interesting setup to have open "free to play" weekends for the month of the launch, as a mea culpa for the launch issues, but also a demonstration of the quality, and for promotion of the game once things are cleared up. Full game content available for anyone with PS+. It would also give more behind-the-scenes testing data, not to mention a shot in the arm for community numbers.

Yea I like your idea. Seems like a smart way to go.

Also at this point I think it would be insulting if the "PS+ edition" of the game was just India it should be more like what the insinuation was at E3 2013 and give a big chunk of content to PS+ gamers and not a glorified demo.
 

Niteandgrey

Neo Member
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.

So here's a "dumb" perspective: Reread what you wrote, understand what you said, then have the wontons to stick by it. Feel free to call my rather learned opinion "dumb", I can only hope you won't mind if I find you to be a fucktard. But hey, no harm no foul, it's just a little old corner of the internet so no big deal.
 

Vodh

Junior Member
I get the weird suspicion some posters' defensive or calm reactions to this whole issue ring false and that they would have gladly grilled EA for such a thing happening.

Where were you guys urging reason when BF4 or Sim City launched?

Haven't posted in this thread, but in general I know where those guys weren't: playing the game offline. Which with Driveclub you can and that makes a big difference. Am I annoyed the servers are down and would my experience with the game be much better if they weren't? Sure. But despite the issues I sunk probably more than 10 hours into the game already and I'm having a blast. Soured by the server issues, but a blast nonetheless.
 

DOWN

Banned
The amount of rationalizing and bizarre characterization makes you sound like a crazy person. A product is continuing to be sold at full retail pricing, after years of advertising and promotion, that doesn't work as promised (or designed). People have every right to be annoyed in that situation. No, it's not the audience' job to supplant their interests for those of the people behind the game. Your comparison is also basically the most disrespectful thing I've read toward Evolution in this thread, at least that's purported to be in defense of their situation.

I'll be playing the game when it's in working order, and delivered as it was promoted through the PS+ version. I also have less confidence in the studio, and if it comes to light that Sony was under-supporting them internally, I'll shift that annoyance to Sony. Either way, I'll play a good game when it arrives. I love this genre, and I respect Evolution's work.
Okay it's not like I needed to type out a novel to make a simple anecdote about intention, responsibility, and blame. It's a few sentences that basically says I don't get how people get angry at unexpected issues as if it were all about incompetence and swindling despite the product being fixed as we speak. Do I understand frustration? Sure. I bought the game and would like to play online, but real world factors caused a serious problem and they are fixing it. That's how every product defect I've ever dealt with has worked, via warranty or otherwise. And none rile me up to saying "well they shoulda known!" The implication is that they are either incompetent people or swindlers rather than it being software that was affected differently in real world factors despite the industry standard tests performed and the beta testing.

What more is there? They couldn't do anything different. The issue was unforeseen despite testing and preparation. People are saying it is unacceptable along with insults and accusations. Is Evo doing something to suggest they find it acceptable? I don't see whatever it is, and I'm not going to jump to the idea that they intentionally risked their company.

But the internet and that post are forever *hyperventilating*

Actually, so long as you're already in the club, the progress you make in offline mode is supposed to still contribute to your club once you log back in.

It hasn't been doing that for me. Only fame earned while online is counting.
 
I feel bad for them the way I feel bad for anyone who tries but doesn't succeed, but welcome to the realities of the world. They're trying to sell a $60 AAA game that doesnt work the way it's supposed to, during the busiest AAA season of the year, after a one year delay.

I have all the sympathy in the world, but I'm not going to put down money for a game just because I feel bad, and at this point there is other stuff coming out that has a chance of actually working.
 

SRTtoZ

Member
I still can't believe the PS+ version isnt out. This was one of the incentives of signing up for it back when they announced PS+ is now required for MP games.
 
ha ha.

I bet you don't own the game either do you?

What's up, did your demo not turn up on time and you feel the urge to spit your dummy?
No I don't. I didn't buy it because I wanted to play the Plus demo. I'm glad I did, or I would have thrown $60 at something I couldn't play for a week.

And again, you don't have to own, or hell, even want to own a product to point out when someone is fucking up.

Say I see a news report on the TV saying that a car model has faulty breaks and they need to be replaced by the manufacturer. Do I need to go drive a car with no breaks to understand why that might be a problem? I don't think so. Do I need to go kill myself in a car wreck before I can say "Wow, those guys who were in charge of the breaks really fucked up."? I don't think so.

I'm mad because a company fucked up, and there are a lot of people that should be able to play a game that can't. It's called empathy, and maybe you should learn some of it.

While you're at it, learn to keep the smarmy attitude for situations where your opinion actually has some logic and reasoning behind it instead of using it while you're just spewing out nonsense.
 

pelican

Member
Actually, so long as you're already in the club, the progress you make in offline mode is supposed to still contribute to your club once you log back in.

I hope that is the case for [GAF] DragQueens - I hate my progress not to go towards the fine club I'm in :)
 
Gotta feel for Evo, that's their second big game in a row that launched sans online (although last time it wasn't their fault, since it was the Great PSN Hack). Can't help but feel that this is going to hurt them badly in terms of people either trading in the game quickly for another of the big games or skipping it entirely.

Will Evo survive this? It's a good question that I don't know the answer of. Zipper and Studio Liverpool got shuttered for less.
 
Even though I wanted to wait until weather is patched in I was on the edge of getting this after reading many of the GAF impressions, but not anymore.
 

Gold_Loot

Member
No I don't. I didn't buy it because I wanted to play the Plus demo. I'm glad I did, or I would have thrown $60 at something I couldn't play for a week.

And again, you don't have to own, or hell, even want to own a product to point out when someone is fucking up.

Say I see a news report on the TV saying that a car model has faulty breaks and they need to be replaced by the manufacturer. Do I need to go drive a car with no breaks to understand why that might be a problem? I don't think so. Do I need to go kill myself in a car wreck before I can say "Wow, those guys who were in charge of the breaks really fucked up."? I don't think so.

I'm mad because a company fucked up, and there are a lot of people that should be able to play a game that can't. It's called empathy, and maybe you should learn some of it.

While you're at it, learn to keep the smarmy attitude for situations where your opinion actually has some logic and reasoning behind it instead of using it while you're just spewing out nonsense.
Problem with this is, we ARE playing the game. Yes the online portion is hit and miss, yes, it's annoying and should be working 100% of the time. But, even with the issues at hand we are still able to enjoy a fun racer.

So what if we aren't rioting out in the streets with pitchforks and torches. Anyone with a little bit of sense knows that the server issues are not out of malice or some big evil corporate scheme. Most of us are enjoying what we have and we know that soon it will come out in the wash.

I guess what I'm trying to say is " Chill out "!
 

The Beard

Member
Compensation? God people suck.

Why ? They bought a "social driving game" that doesn't work online. It was sort of the biggest feature.

If I bought a cheeseburger and they left out the patty, I'd want my money back. Sure, I could eat what they gave me, it might even taste good as is, but it's not what I paid for. If they're dumb enough to give me a cheeseburger without the patty, I'm walking out of there with my money in my pocket.

If you sell me an online racing game without the online portion. You get the point.
 
Problem with this is, we ARE playing the game. Yes the online portion is hit and miss, yes, it's annoying and should be working 100% of the time. !
I get really mad reading responses like this.

Come look at my game. The online portion is MISS. As in MISS !! no HIT, all MISS.
It is more than annoying, it is working ZERO percent of the time.
I'm damn sure I'm not the only one with this issue. For all I know everyone whose IP address is evenly divisible by two, or has more than 40 friends, or completed more than 30% of the game before the servers crawled back for some, are in the same boat.

I'm really happy you're getting some HIT and MISS but please don't speak for everyone.
 

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
I just want to be able to use my Preorder multiplier. Had like a 25% success rate the first day, didn't log in again after that.
 
Ikr I don't even want compensation, just gimmie dat online.
Considering much free stuff is on the schedule to come for DriveClub its hard to think of fair compensation.

Just let people who want a refund get their refunds without any hassles, and keep working hard on the fixes while keeping the community in the loop. Not sure what more I could reasonably ask for.
 

CLEEK

Member
Compensation? God people suck.

The game people have is not the game that was marketed or described. Basic consumer protection should mean that you should be able to return the product as defective.

Those rights don't yet exist in the digital space, so compensation is the next step.

If you own Driveclub and are happy with it being an offline experience, then that's fine. Now, what, 8 days after launch and the game is still plagued with networking failures. I pre-orders and pre-loaded and played the game as soon as it was available. Been playing it daily since. I've been online *once* in the entire time, which was yesterday. I played it later on the same evening, and couldn't connect.

If I'd bought any other consumer product and it was broken or not sold as advertised, I'd want refund and/or compensation.
 

Zoned

Actively hates charity
Compensation? God people suck.

People paid 60$ for a service? Seems like there aren't getting anything what they actually paid for.

You won't have any problem if you order food from Dominos and delivery boy comes 6 hours later?
 
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