Topic: F#$Q#% UBISOFT... F@$#!@#% THOSE M@$@%@#@%

[Pugnate]

My issues with Splinter: Cell Chaos Theory can be noted here. Long story short, the game came with 2 CD keys and none of those worked. I had bought two copies of the game, one for my bro and one for myself so that we could play online. I tried FOUR keys and the game wouldn't install! Finally I found one online that worked and the game did install. However Starforce then chose to weave its magic. It basically said it wanted to verify that my CDs were legit and started a lengthy scan of my Splinter Cell DVD... that took twenty minutes to reach HALF!!!!!

So I got really ticked. It had taken an hour before those twenty minutes to find a cd key that allowed an install in the first place. Anyway I found that after patching to 1.05 you could crack the game and remove the starforce filth, which I did.

After that the game ran beautifully and looked gorgeous for a game so old.

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Then there was Rainbow Six: Vegas. The game runs fine on my 8800GTX 768, but only when I have shadows at half. Others aren't so lucky, as you can see here:

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/3801065024

Only lower rigs the game runs poorly, and I really feel for those guys who paid good money for the game. Then there is the multiplayer... it is freakin' broken!!! You can't really play online without encountering numerous showstopping bugs, and the interface has tremendous problems and is incomplete. HELL YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE A SERVER'S PING!

The people on the forums have been crying for a patch, and I really feel sorry for the moderators who have been hung out to dry. Ubisoft has just dropped support for the game, and it is incredible!

I feel so cheated, because I really wanted to enjoy multiplayer.

Furthermore they are releasing a big map pack for the R6 Xbox360 version, but not the PC! That's bullshit.

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Finally I come to Splinter Cell: Double Agent... the situation is so sad, that I want to scream. I paid full value for this game, and despite having the latest patch installed, my game's characters are SCRAMBLED! The stupid shadows are totally screwed up!

Some guy is having the same issues on Vista, and I encourage you to click the link to see the screenies:

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=132228

The thing is... I am using XP damnit! I can't even see my game's characters.

Also Chaos Theory was really polished. This game looks like it was a straight port, and the menu is worse in Double Agent than its prequel Chaos Theory. HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE? Firstly in Chaos Theory there was native support for my monitor's rez, 1680x1050. Not so in Double Agent! How is it that a game like Chaos Theory was released at a time when widescreens were rare managed to support them completely in terms of all possible resolutions, while Double Agent can NOT? That's ridiculous.

Chaos Theory allowed me to quick load from anywhere in the menu. Double Agent refuses, and asks you to go into several sub menus to even quick load! If you want to quit the game, you have to EXIT to the MENU where you MUST WATCH A 2 minute @$@!#%#!@% FMV BEFORE YOU CAN QUIT to WINDOWS!!!!

W T F is THAT?

Here it is really easy to find pirated crap, but I choose to buy genuine games because that's the way I am. I typically buy five games a month and it is a pain in the ass to get them to Pakistan, but I manage past the extra charges, the shipping, the taxes, the waiting... all of that... ALL OF that...

But you know what, screw Ubisoft. I am tired of this crap. They haven't patched Double Agent in so long, that it is obvious they've dropped support for the game.

[MysterD]

This is expected from a publishing company that EA now owns 20% of....

...EA saw how craptastic Ubi has been w/ console ports to the PC, lack of tech support for patches, and how they been using PC-oiriginal Intellectual Properties to fully support more so on the console than the PC, that EA realized this -- "They're EA Jr. now...let's go buy them!"


EDIT:
Oh, Puggy -- don't forget how great GRAW PC turned out, as well, performance-wise... *sarcasm*

[Jedi]

This is expected from a publishing company that EA now owns 20% of....

...EA saw how craptastic Ubi has been w/ console ports to the PC, lack of tech support for patches, and how they been using PC-oiriginal Intellectual Properties to fully support more so on the console than the PC, that EA realized this -- "They're EA Jr. now...let's go buy them!"


EDIT:
Oh, Puggy -- don't forget how great GRAW PC turned out, as well, performance-wise... *sarcasm*

Yeah we get it; you hate EA... *not sarcasm*

[idolminds]

Whats funny is about halfway though I was thinking "Dude, you should just pirate that stuff then." Then I hit your last paragraphs and smiled.

[iPPi]

Heh I know what you mean.  Vegas is brilliant on the 360 though and has absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Double Agent I hated; the technical issues and the overall game sucked.

Chaos Theory I didn't have any problems with, but it's because my copy is not legit.

[Xessive]

When it comes to the Ubisoft situation, the metaphor in my mind is of us as a clan referred to as "The Forsaken".. *sounds of a desolate wind*

Oh here's better one! Ubisoft is Arthas! After they acquired Frostmourne (money & corporate power), evil (EA) seeped into his heart!

EA is just gonna be short for "Evil Alliance" from now on..

[Pugnate]

A game that I missed in my rant is Dark Messiah. I had no issues with it, but I was playing ver 1.12 from the start. Apparently it was unplayable early on.

[Pugnate]

DAMN IT!

So thanks to the dude at Anandtech, I found a way to stop the graphical glitch by running an edited version of the shortcut to the game's exe. But I am getting no SOUND EFFECTS! It keeps coming and going! I tried running the game without the edited shortcut and still have the same stupid problem which leaves the game unplayable. So I thought... maybe the game has an issue with my Creative Soundblaster.

So I uninstalled the card, and used my Asus mobo's sound option and I am getting the same problem. So basically I spent half an hour on my sound card for nothing. And I've already spent good money on the game.

This is too much.

Ubisoft are nothing better than common criminals.

[Xessive]

Well, you could play the game pretending to be deaf..

When I had PAL console games in Canada I pretended I was completely colour-blind..

Apparently they've never heard of Multi-System TV's in North America.. And all the converters convert to PAL, because "when people leave Canada they wanna be prepared for the PAL system in the country they arrive in." What about people who come to Canada from other countries you jackass! Sorry I'm just reacting to one salesman at Radioshack.. Before it became "The Source by CircuitCity"

[Pugnate]

Well it is finally working OK now. The sound was probably because of a issue with the second install. The game looks good, but performance should have been better.

[iPPi]

All that trouble for a terrible game.

[Pugnate]

What the hell is this shit? The game runs like poorly, and the gameplay is sad. This has turned into a 3rd person action game. Where the hell are the shadows?

EDIT:

The worst of it is that I have spent as much time trying to get past the shoddy interface as I have trying to play. Here are some things that are really annoying me:

1. When you quit to the main menu you can't access any options without watching a mandatory 30 second retarded FMV that can't be skipped. If you hit the enter key in frustration, then the game punishes you by loading your last saved game immediately after the FMV ends. Then when you quit, the FMV starts again.

2. You need to mess with the display settings a lot to get things right. Unfortunately you can't when you are playing since all the options are blacked out. Yes you have to quit to the main menu, wait for the retarded FMV to finish and then mess with the settings. Then you have to go through the same process once you want to test the new settings! Crazy innit?

This game is like going on a date with a sadistic leather clad bitch with a barbed whip, who isn't even all that attractive.

[angrykeebler]

MMMMMMMM LET ME BASK IN THE SWEET, SWEET SORROW OF YOUR DESPAIR

[MysterD]

Y'know, I'm gettin' sick and tired of publishers and developers pushing out games way too early before they are even ready. EA has definitely been guilty of this. And Ubi-Soft has been, the last few years -- especially this past year, 2006.

Yeah, I forgot all about Dark Messiah, which Ubi published -- and STEAM too, them bastards. It was fine for me, out the box and patched up, when I bought it -- a few months after they killed all them nasty performance issues and bugs that were once w/ the game. But, really -- straight out the box, most of the issues should be stomped. That, or these companies should charge me less for buying beta-in-a-box -- yet, when you release a PATCHED-UP version of the game on disc (like say a "Re-Release" or "Game of The Year Edition" for a game).

That brings up another point. I sometimes think it's backwards, how they (the publishers) charge for games. I should be paying LESS for "beta-in-a-box", when a game is released and is Beta-in-a-box. Shouldn't the early "beta-in-a-box" adopters be paying say $20 upon release for buying "beta in a box," yet those who buy the "Game Of The Year Patched Up" Edition coming say some 6 months later should spend $40-50??? Makes sense to me. After say a few months and the game is in a "fixed state", the publishers should just stop producing copies of the "beta in a box" version of the game -- period, force the "re-release" on those who didn't take advantage of the $20 "Beta in a box".

Personally, I have no issues w/ spending say some $40-50 for a game out the box that runs great already. But, these days, too many companies are cutting corners and not going this route -- and it's a shame, as not only do the PC gamers suffer, but so do these companies and developers. They just go the "let's release the game now and patch it later" philosophy, which is what causes the trouble. The publishers and developers might not realize it right out the game by the sales figures and all (since games sell best normally straight out the gate), but they can piss off some what-could-be potential customers for when another one of their own products comes to the market.

For example, I refuse to buy any games from Pirahna Bytes (makers of Gothic series) and Arkane Studios (makers of Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah) week of release. I will wait a few months at least, until a few patches are under the belt for their game b/c I know those two companies have a bad track record of releasing buggy games right out the box. And b/c of this, they will suffer, in the long run. I won't spend $40-50 for their products, but I likely will jump at the $20 mark. Oh, same rings true for Obsidian, as well -- given their history (many of the ex-Troika and ex-BIS members, who are known for those same qualities w/ their games, straight out the box).

Now, when I see a company like say Bioware, given how well their games are technically normally, I will likely spend the money for their game upon its release or not too long after it. They deserve it.

[Pugnate]

MMMMMMMM LET ME BASK IN THE SWEET, SWEET SORROW OF YOUR DESPAIR

Also, I read your post D, and while you are right that it makes sense to buy a game long after release because it is cheaper and patched... the sad thing is that DA has been out for ages. They just dropped support! They didn't even try! With Vegas they quit after 1.04.

EA may release games which aren't a whole lot better than their predecessors, but aside from the Battlefield games I can't think of any that are buggy on release. At least EA use the fans to fix the problems with patches. Ubi don't seem to give a damn...

[MysterD]

Also, I read your post D, and while you are right that it makes sense to buy a game long after release because it is cheaper and patched... the sad thing is that DA has been out for ages.

And often, you'll have better support for these "ill-performing games" w/ newer drivers for your vid card for games, as well.

I'm not happy w/ GRAW PC by Ubi -- performance-wise, that is.
Otherwise, I do dig the tactical shooter.

Though, the best thing about PC gaming is that if your current rig can't handle a game b/c of "shitty performance" issues (thanks a lot, game designers and publishers!), your future PC rig likely will be able to handle it. Been the case most times, for me.

They just dropped support! They didn't even try! With Vegas they quit after 1.04.

Bleh.

EA may release games which aren't a whole lot better than their predecessors, but aside from the Battlefield games I can't think of any that are buggy on release. At least EA use the fans to fix the problems with patches. Ubi don't seem to give a damn...

Sims wasn't the best running game, out the box. Sluggish camera and putting loads of Sims in one room was a framerate killer.

Also, Sims 2 wasn't the best performing game out the box, from what I heard, either.

Many said the same about how poor SimCity 4 and C&C Generals ran, upon released -- that the framerate was not so swift, out the box.

[Pugnate]

They weren't too bad. The Sims 2 was far worse, but at least it was patched.

You have to realize the difference between "not so swift" and the headache and fucking torture I've had to endure for the past few hours today. I would have taken not so swift any day.

[MysterD]

They weren't too bad. The Sims 2 was far worse, but at least it was patched.

This is true, Puggy.
Point taken.

You have to realize the difference between "not so swift" and the headache and fucking torture I've had to endure for the past few hours today.

It sucks -- and UbiSoft needs to fix the issues, no doubt.
Whether it'll happen, it'll probably be another story.

Their "patch support" for PC games -- especially "console games-made-into-PC games" has gotten shittier and shittier, over the past few years...

I would have taken not so swift any day.

I'm sure EA's fans loved the C&C 3 bug in the MP aspect of the game, hehe.

[Pugnate]

Yea I doubt it will happen, especially with them working on a new game anyway. I'd never recommend anyone play a console version of a game over the PC version, but with Double Agent I do so with little hesitation.

[MysterD]

Yea I doubt it will happen, especially with them working on a new game anyway. I'd never recommend anyone play a console version of a game over the PC version, but with Double Agent I do so with little hesitation.

Wow, that's bad....

Usually, a PC game will eventually get fixed, in the near-future. Looks like, unfortunately, that ain't happenin'...

Blah! I do want to pick up both R6: Vegas and SC: DA for the PC, but not for their current prices. Not until the game's much cheaper -- especially given what issues this game has.

[Pugnate]

No R6:Vegas is fairly playable. The multiplayer needs a lot of work and there are some scalability issues, but it is playable.

DA needs a 100MB patch.

[MysterD]

No R6:Vegas is fairly playable. The multiplayer needs a lot of work and there are some scalability issues, but it is playable.

That's comforting.

DA needs a 100MB patch.

Wow.
Well, at least it won't need a "Gothic 3" upcoming sized patch -- which will be around ONE GIG.

[Pugnate]

Well I am getting 45-60 fps now with everything at maxed. You know how I was getting atrocious frames? Well the issue was that I had Vsync on from the DA menu and  for some reason it capped frames at 30 and not 60!!! Crazy eh?

[scottws]

So in other words this thread = don't buy PC games from Ubisoft.  Got it.

[Cobra951]

That's what I thought the thread meant at first.  But now it's come to mean don't buy Ubisoft games unless you think getting them to work is the most fun challenge to be had from them.

[iPPi]

Seriously, I agree with everything that's been said.  But I still stand by the fact that the 360 versions of the game are superb.  They just did a really shitty job of porting it.

[Xessive]

Seriously, I agree with everything that's been said.  But I still stand by the fact that the 360 versions of the game are superb.  They just did a really shitty job of porting it.

True. Unfortunately the fact that they're "porting" the games is what disturbs the PC player the most.

[MysterD]

True. Unfortunately the fact that they're "porting" the games is what disturbs the PC player the most.

Yeah, I don't like the fact that when bringing these console games to the PC, they're just not doing a very good job on these ports. They are not taking enough "care" into making these ports come out correctly.

Now, the XBox-to-PC ports of Fable: TLC, Jade Empire and SW: KOTOR came out very well. If only as many companies ported as well as these companies; namely w/ my examples, that'd be Lionhead and Bioware. Companies bringing console games to the PC, follow these examples, please.

[Pugnate]

Seriously, I agree with everything that's been said.  But I still stand by the fact that the 360 versions of the game are superb.  They just did a really shitty job of porting it.

Which game? Vegas? Even on the PC Vegas is great. It just just needs a bit more patching, unfortunately they just abandoned the game.

[Pugnate]

More Ubi goodness:

http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6421019045/m/2591031065

You should check it out. It is from the forums of Silent Hunter, a submarine game. It desperately needs patching, and Ubisoft basically abandoned the community... hell they even abandoned their own support staff.. no joke. Check that link out for a community manager's cry for help.

Just read that a little bit and I promise you you will be feeling some emotions..

reminds me of a quote from a certain comedian:

F*** Ubisoft. F*** them up the a****** with a big rubber d***. Then break it off and beat 'em with the rest of it. -- George Carlin.

Yes he actually said that about them.

[scottws]

Well you know it's not the devs.  I bet the devs that work for Ubisoft feel horribly guilt-ridden when they do that, but you know it's basically Ubisoft's management forcing the devs to work on a new project and don't feel like paying anything out to support a game that's already released.

People need to boycott Ubisoft.  I mean this crap is still going to happen so long as people continue to buy their games.  I don't buy Ubisoft games, but it's because I'm not really interested in any of their games.

[Xessive]

I quit buying Ubisoft games. I used to be a big fan, until they crapped all over us. I'm still a fan of Ubisoft Montréal, though I'm still not buying anything with an Ubisoft logo on it.