H6 Patching Policy

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Kalah
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H6 Patching Policy

Unread postby Kalah » 11 Dec 2011, 19:41

<img src="/images/news/demonicluckbug.jpg" align=right hspace=10 vspace=10>We, the fans, are far from happy with the current status of the newly released game.



<i>Heroes VI</i> was released on October 13th 2011. When the game went Gold, the programmers at Black Hole knew there were still problems that needed fixing, so they planned to release a patch for release day - essentially meaning that when the game was available in the stores, you could get version 1.1 right away. Not a bad idea in itself - and they <a href="/viewtopic.php?t=12580">kept their word</a> - but there were still problems. Players are still reporting a myriade of <a href="/viewtopic.php?t=12582">bugs</a> and <a href="/https://www.celestialheavens.com/1318616849">issues</a> affecting not only the stability and balance of the game, but the developers' prized <a href="/http://might-and-magic.ubi.com/heroes-6 ... Conflux</b> system</a> as well. <img src="/images/smiles/bug.gif"> <img src="/images/smiles/bug_squash.gif">



Just to explain: the Conflux was supposed to replace the DRM system. Essentially it means that there is no intrusive scheme protecting the game from piracy, but if you go online to the Conflux (with a legit copy) you can get bonus features such as special "Dynasty" weapons. I can't imagine what the programmers must have felt when they <a href="/http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/ ... learned</a> that a bug makes <i>all</i> these weapons available in one place! Related, Malz has also found <a href="/viewtopic.php?t=12760&sid=e3d1cd1b2bfcd ... 9e15b68">a way</a> to farm exp points ...



As <a href="/viewtopic.php?t=2908">was the case</a> with <i>Heroes V</i>, the developers (Ubi or Black Hole; I don't know who made this decision) have opted <i>not</i> to follow <i>my</i> advice: releasing small patches quickly to deal with the most urgent issues ... and then release the bigger patches later, taking care of balance and optimization issues. This would, in my opinion, make the fans <i>see</i> that the devs were working on the game (even if not all bugs could be fixed at once), and it would make the game more or less playable from day one.



Instead, what we have is a game that - <i>two months</i> after release - <i>still</i> isn't working properly. What we have is players already reporting that they have stopped playing the game altogether and moved on to other things. I wonder if Ubisoft are thinking that those players will come back, or that <i>new</i> players will come later, replacing those that have left. Seeing as this game's replayability is likely to be low because custom maps are <a href="/http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.p ... 36846">not usable in multiplayer</a> except hotseat (again a decision I fiercely disagree with and which <i>must</i> be changed), I don't see how they get those numbers to add up. <img src="/images/smiles/disagree.gif">



Irina, our M&M ComDev, has issued a <a href="/https://www.celestialheavens.com/132267 ... atement</a> in an effort to calm the mob ... and I hear on the grapewine that 1.2 should be released next week; the "play with the devs" event is certainly a pretty strong whip on their backs. With this upcoming release in mind, I think a small reminder of <a href="/viewtopic.php?t=3274">what happened last time</a> is in order ...



Please, God, don't let them mess this up ...

If you would like to take a look at the original page visit this link:
https://www.celestialheavens.com/1323632497
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Unread postby jeff » 11 Dec 2011, 20:58

I hope they do fix it; though that will not get me to buy it until the proper editor is released, but if they fail again then worst case, the entire Heroes franchise could be threatened. However best case they could give hope that along with the hoped for expansions a truly great game may emerge. It does not appear that the owner UBI is doing its due diligence in quality control.
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Unread postby ywhtptgtfo » 11 Dec 2011, 23:01

Kalah, the situation is not fixable. Any patch that comes now is bound to be too little and too late because most people (including many of us old-timers) are no longer interested and also because the game's intrinsically designed around reducing strategic complexity (which further reduces its appeal to serious strategy players).



I'd say Ubisoft shouldn't even bother with an expansion. They should simply dump Blackhole and hire a more reliable developer to start on MMX.

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Unread postby Infiltrator » 11 Dec 2011, 23:03

I have to agree Kalah, I would like to believe it won't take 2 expansions to bring Heroes 6 where it should be, but from this point in time it appears it will be the only thing left to hope for.
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Re: H6 Patching Policy

Unread postby Dalai » 12 Dec 2011, 01:22

Kalah wrote:Instead, what we have is a game that - two months after release - still isn't working properly.
I wanted to make a joke that, as everybody knows, all Heroes games after H3 are only playable at version 3.0, so patch 1.2 changes nothing. But in this case I tend to agree with ywhtptgtfo - it's hopeless and unreparable.
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Unread postby maltz » 12 Dec 2011, 02:20

Actually there is a faster way to farm EXP for Dynasty weapons - simply use the editor to make a scenario where you can get a ton of free units, and use that to beat a ton of free untis in a quick combat. You will earn millions of EXP that instantly max out any Dynasty weapon in seconds. And even better somebody already made such a map and post it online. He also posted the editor instructions on Youtube. I personally recommend leveling Dynasty Weapons the hard way, though, so the game won't become too easy (especially with the bug that all previously equipped Dynasty Weapons' traits tend to stick with you forever).

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Unread postby CloudRiderX » 12 Dec 2011, 04:16

Dalai makes a REALLY good point.



I don't know why people keep comparing Heroes V to Heroes VI with the expansion examples. Heroes V needed expansions because it was released with the worst AI in the history of the series and without neutral monsters for god's sake.

As far as completeness goes, as soon as they fix the Conflux issue and the few 'major' bugs, Heroes VI is actually the closest thing to a complete Heroes game since III.
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Unread postby hellegennes » 12 Dec 2011, 05:26

You have got to be joking. H6's AI is the worst thing I've seen in not only Heroes but any strategy game. Sometimes it stops doing anything at all, other times it just goes back and forth. The only progress you see is because of cheating which is much worse than any other time (despite what the developers say).

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Unread postby Sikon » 12 Dec 2011, 07:36

Well, we sure have waited enought...

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Unread postby ywhtptgtfo » 12 Dec 2011, 08:06

>As far as completeness goes, as soon as they fix the Conflux issue and the few 'major' bugs, Heroes VI is actually the closest thing to a complete Heroes game since III.



I gotta agree with hellegennes. I have no clue of how you felt there are "few" major bugs and that the game is the closest thing to being a complete Heroes game. In many ways, it's far behind Heroes IV and V in terms of features and complexity.

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Kalah
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Unread postby Kalah » 12 Dec 2011, 08:42

I happen to think that comparing the games with regards to completeness is a flawed approach in itself. "More complete than earlier games"? As if that makes it all better?

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Unread postby krs » 12 Dec 2011, 09:16

It is unheard of a game to have these kind of MAJOR GAME-BREAKING BUGS 2 MONTHS after release. Every company with some interest in its game and player base would have addressed things like LUCK, griffin dive, conflux within the FIRST WEEK!



There are 5-6 attributes in game (attack, defense, spell power, morale and luck) and one of them is completely not working?!? Who in their right minds would let such a game in this state for 2 MONTHS?



I stopped playing the game 2 days after release with the intent of starting again after patch. But now thinking again, I only find myself bitter because of the money they've taken and disappointed because one of my loved games got destroyed yet again :(.

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Unread postby Spin » 12 Dec 2011, 11:12

they really haven't impressed me to be honest. I encountered a mission-breaking bug in the 1st level of the Inferno campaign and i've basically not played since then (except for one skirmish map). There were urgent issues that needed to be fixed ASAP and yes they've definitely waited too long. Unfortunately that means i'll probably be doing what i did with Heroes V after i got it, just keep it on my computer for 6 months then go back to it when some much-needed patches and content is released. I would imagine the town-screen hippies have already done this, i'll be joining them until the bugs are fixed.

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Unread postby mpapiz » 12 Dec 2011, 13:39

In my opinion, they have missed their window of opportunity for releasing a patch and having the game play properly. I pre-ordered the collector's edition, but was unable to get it due to my living in North America, so I was unable to play it at launch. And after hearing all the horror stories, I have yet to buy it. Why am I gonna spend money for a broken game?



I was really looking forward to this game, but now there are too many other games that I can play, and they work! If after 2 months there are still no fixes at all, how long is it gonna be before the game is relatively bug free? Maybe if I see it in the bargain bin, and after the patches, but I don't see it anytime soon.....it's a shame.
Edited on Mon, Dec 12 2011, 08:39 by mpapiz

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Unread postby CloudRiderX » 12 Dec 2011, 15:33

@hellegenes

Are you aware that every AI cheats to a certain degree in every game ever made in the history of gaming? It's the only way to compensate for the lack of intelligence and provide challenge to the human player.

Also, do you remember how even after the first Heroes V expansion, the AI still did stupid things like trap itself in towns with caravans and run into dead ends when being chased?
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Unread postby Khelavaster » 12 Dec 2011, 15:46

@CloudRiderX: "Are you aware that every AI cheats to a certain degree in every game ever made in the history of gaming?"

I'd say every single person pointing out how the HOMMVI AI underperforms horribly even when indulging in the most obscene degree of cheating in the series (to the point that it deserves a different word) is indeed aware of this.

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Re: H6 Patching Policy

Unread postby Humakt » 12 Dec 2011, 16:53

Khelavaster wrote:I'd say every single person pointing out how the HOMMVI AI underperforms horribly even when indulging in the most obscene degree of cheating in the series (to the point that it deserves a different word) is indeed aware of this.
Is this perception applying only to heavily-scripted campaign maps or does the AI play badly in skirmish maps as well?
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Unread postby Pol » 12 Dec 2011, 18:54

It's playing badly in both cases but sure, in skirmish maps it's so much more evident.
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Unread postby CloudRiderX » 13 Dec 2011, 00:33

@Khelavaster

Oh, see I thought he was arguing that the only reason H6 AI wasn't worse than H5 was specifically because it cheats, a statement which I accuse of being moot, hence my rhetorical question.
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Unread postby hellegennes » 13 Dec 2011, 08:06

No, Cloud. H6 AI manages to perform way worse than any other Heroes game, despite cheating more than ever. In this incarnation, the AI knows exactly the number of your movement points and stands one point away from reach, when you chase it (save for snatch which the AI does not calculate). It also has instant reputation, when starting the map. There was never so much cheating in Heroes. Yet, when it comes to making decisions, the AI is horrible. From building sequence to strategic decisions, it's worse than ever.



And doing stupid things, in previous instalments, is a petty offence compared to NOT DOING ANYTHING AT ALL. I am talking about the AI suddenly stop doing anything and just passing the turn, until some unknown trigger wakes it up. Not even H4, had such problems which was shipped unfinished.



That I am even comparing H4, a game shipped by a failing company, in the bring of bankruptcy, to H6, made by the all-powerful Ubisoft, for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of MM, is utterly ridiculous. We were promised the best game in the series, to celebrate the anniversary and we got a game that feels one year short of completion? Please!
Edited on Tue, Dec 13 2011, 03:07 by hellegennes


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