not tested properly... ?

Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:24 am

i have to ask myself why there are so many reported problems with this tremendous game on this platform...

pc's have nebulous permutations of set-ups, hardware and software, so problems are quite understandable which is one of the reasons i wait at least a month or more before buying a new game after its initial release... i can also vaguely accept the presumably temporary lack of promised dlc content, as this varies between purchase outlets so there's a modicum of outside-the-game element...

but the xbox and ps are essentially 'sealed units'... so where's the problem ? an ex computer programmer/anolyst's only suggestion is that it's the testing...

one almost expects the odd glitch like getting stuck in a corner or behind a door or something... these things shouldn't happen if a program has been properly tested, but they do happen, because we are all human and when a tester says 'the area's secure' then he's showing that he's only human by getting it wrong... however, although the number and severity of glitches, freezes and downright errors on this standardised platform may not be the worst i've seen or heard about, for a game of this standing and with its guaranteed uptake/income, i feel that it is unacceptable that the game was released in its present state...

i know nothing about game testing, so maybe i'm missing something here but in my eyes, testing is testing... this fantastic game was programmed beautifully but not tested properly...
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Del Arte
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:55 pm

This seems to be the problem with a lot of games now a days. Just not enough game testing. Hell I'd love to be a game tester.
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FoReVeR_Me_N
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 10:22 am

This seems to be the problem with a lot of games now a days. Just not enough game testing. Hell I'd love to be a game tester.


i would think that it would get quite boring after a while but a job is a job, and should be done properly (without getting too anol about things :))
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Ezekiel Macallister
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:43 pm

300 testers and all these bugs. Seems incredible doesn't it? Maybe it was the testers, they were more into playing the game than testing.
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Tinkerbells
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:59 am

300 testers and all these bugs. Seems incredible doesn't it? Maybe it was the testers, they were more into playing the game than testing.


If they had 300 testers play through this game they should have detected at least some of these bugs. They either released this game with plans to patch it later or they are full of crap about the play testing. They could have asked for a few hundred volunteers with no play testing experience who could have discovered these bugs.
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Stefanny Cardona
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 5:07 am

NO game developed by Obsidian Entertainment is properly bug tested. It's not Bethesda's fault (apart from releasing it in a broken state), it's not the engine, it's Obsidian. They are lazy and incompetent and should be driven out of business.
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Bedford White
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 10:46 am

NO game developed by Obsidian Entertainment is properly bug tested. It's not Bethesda's fault (apart from releasing it in a broken state), it's not the engine, it's Obsidian. They are lazy and incompetent and should be driven out of business.



This isn't necessarily true. I don't have a lot of experience with other games by Obsidian, but both Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had an incredible amount of glitches and bugs upon release. Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending anyone. The number of issues is baffling.
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Hayley O'Gara
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:34 am

This isn't necessarily true. I don't have a lot of experience with other games by Obsidian, but both Fallout 3 and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion had an incredible amount of glitches and bugs upon release. Don't get me wrong - I'm not defending anyone. The number of issues is baffling.


True, but I played through Oblivion and the main quest of Fallout 3 several times with different characters and play styles before I even got internet and a Live account to patch them. Is that even possible with New Vegas?
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Miragel Ginza
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:52 am

Oblivion and Fallout are the only games that have ever crashed on my 360. New Vegas is by far one of the most bugged games I have ever played, and I've played hundreds of games. I've been a Fallout fan since the original title. It's a shame, seeing anything related to my favorite game series release so poorly tested. I've been loosing things out of my inventory, had it freeze up, had quests trigger out of order, and now I'm mysteriously locked out of the Vegas strip. I payed good money and attended a midnight release apparently for nothing but headache and heartbreak. I could have stayed home and got that for free. :(
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Emma Pennington
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:57 am

If they had 300 testers play through this game they should have detected at least some of these bugs. They either released this game with plans to patch it later or they are full of crap about the play testing. They could have asked for a few hundred volunteers with no play testing experience who could have discovered these bugs.


And that wouldn't do s*&t. Have you seen play testers? They play through the game and once they find a bug they have a ton of paperwork. They have to answer so many questions and fill out forms and send it to the right department and they then have to fix the bugs.

The play testers just find the bugs and report them. It's possible the people who received the reports didn't have enough time to fix it. They could have just released the game and expected to patch it rather than delaying the entire game and fixing it. I don't think that would have settled well with others. Businesses and their money lol.

There's a reason play testers get paid alot. They have alot of work to do (apart from playing hours of gameplay ofcourse:) )
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Sweets Sweets
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:28 am

Agreed. twsmith7 makes a perfect point, you wouldn't have even had to pay me to to test it for them.

I would have chomped at the bit to get into content ASAP even if it was buggy (...like it is right now?). Paying 59.99 to do the job of a beta tester is NOT cool.

Putting 100+ hours into these kinda games isn't unusual, I can understand if not everything works as intended in some far off location that isn't even marked on the map.

But having issues on main quest stuff and things <5 hours in? It's like they never popped a finished copy into a 360 and even gave it a spin.
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Averielle Garcia
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:44 pm

there are simple things called test grids... you take 3 or 4 scenarios on one axis, and populate the other axis with possible actions/input... you try out every permutation and fix problems... then you do it all again... once it's smooth, you move onto the next 3 or 4 scenarios and do the same... then you put the 1st and 2nd testing sessions together, and fixall the problems that arise after their amalgamation... then you move on to the next 3 or 4 scenarios... a simple concept, and a lot of hard work i must admit, especially for a game with such dynamic interactive content...

but the basic concept holds fast... as was mentioned in a previous post, maybe the errors were reported by the testers but not enough action was taken on their findings ?

either way, in my opinion it would have been better to have held the game back by a month and completed testing properly... am i just a cynic, or is my nagging feeling true that we were all used not just as the final unit testers, but also as the final regression and integration testers ?

i would never have allowed this marvellous game to have been released until i was sure it was ready... the initial shine of anticipation has sadly been tarnished for many... though i'm sure they'll recover... after all i did, after childishly and aggressively 'testing' the physical structure of a keyboard during zeta on fo3... :)

they should offer me a job - it's not like i'm doing all that much right now... (which is why i have the time to post here :))

i never let gold go out the door before i've cleaned the crap off it...
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Chica Cheve
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:44 am

300 testers?

I watched the credits, and it showed 3 names.
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sas
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 12:26 am

300 testers?

I watched the credits, and it showed 3 names.


likely the testing project managers... maybe they're the ones we should be shouting at... ?
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Jacob Phillips
 
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Post » Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:09 pm

300 testers and all these bugs. Seems incredible doesn't it? Maybe it was the testers, they were more into playing the game than testing.

300?

On forums, when I talk to people about bugs, I assure them that if they haven't gotten a game breaking bug yet, they will.

It was 27 hours before I got mine. I just really hope I don't need to start all over again >.>

:cryvaultboy:
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Mel E
 
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