Question for Snowblind Tina.

[pleasefixmybuggedgame]

I was wondering if you can tell me how much testing went into the final retail version of this game especially at the higher levels. I am curious because I work at Gamestop and for a game that honestly we didn't sell that many copies of we have had a disproportionate number of calls and in store complaints about this game. Also, if I remember correctly the release date for this game was delayed at least once, I looked at some archives and WITN was on the cover of PS Magazine, in May 2010. If anything that should have meant fewer glithes. I played the game for 3 days on the Xbox 360 and only encountered one glitch and that was the Cult of the Lidless Eye glitch that I think is known about on the several boards I have looked at. I have been lurking here for about 2 weeks and have been directing people with problems here. I understand why PC games have problems with the virtually infinitie number of builds someone can have, but the PS3 and Xbox 360 are stable platforms with the same specs and OS between machines for the most part. I ran this on my X360 that I bought 3 months after the X360 was released and it played fine, yet people on newer machines are having multiple game breaking issues. Been with Gamestop for a while and frankly have never seen anything quite like it. From what the store manager (a huge LOTR fan) has told me the higher ups are not very pleased with the performance of this game and the effort it is taking to satify dissatisfied customers. Well, that's my 2 cents, I hope you respond. Thanks.

[dreadnaught_]

I have been playing video games for over 20 years, and I have never seen a "finished" retail title released for a console in such a state.

This is truly unparalleled, and it is a shame as the title is fun and has promise, but it is clear how rushed it was -- not just on the QA/QC side. Fornost through Mirkwood are awesome, and from there, the levels just run out of steam ... shorter / more linear, less variety, less side quests, etc. ... it is as if they ran out of time or something.

It is interesting to get an industry perspective. I have a lot of respect for Snowblind from the Baldur's Gate days and this is not like them, and I quite honestly don't understand it.

[Arctorus]

I have been playing video games for over 20 years, and I have never seen a "finished" retail title released for a console in such a state.

You really should pay a visit to Bethesda's Skyrim bug forum. You'll instantly regret saying this.

And then maybe pay a visit to the Fallout 3 forum and the New Vegas forum, and well... you'll really truly regret saying this.

Yet people still keep shoveling money into Bethesda's coffers... amazing.

[dreadnaught_]

You really should pay a visit to Bethesda's Skyrim bug forum. You'll instantly regret saying this.

And then maybe pay a visit to the Fallout 3 forum and the New Vegas forum, and well... you'll really truly regret saying this.

Yet people still keep shoveling money into Bethesda's coffers... amazing.

I'll "instantly regret saying this?"

[Modedit: personal attack]

I have played Bethesda titles since Morrowind on the PC. I am well versed in the sort of bugs that trouble their titles and for that reason (and the massive amounts of DLC they put out), I wait to buy until on discount or GOTY editions.

Number One, it is completely absurd to defend a title on the basis that other, more popular and critically acclaimed games have bugs too. If you study argumentation, this is called the relativist fallacy.

Number Two, it is even more absurd to even compare WITN -- as fun as it may be and with what potential it fell short of -- Bethesda's games. Bethesda makes huge, open-world adventures and are infinitely more complex than the linear WITN and thus infinitely more challenging and time consuming to test. I dont know what is going on with Skyrim, but you are comparing apples to oranges and it makes no sense.

Anyway, I have seen many bugs in Bethesda titles and others, and maybe I am just lucky, I have never encountered one as game breaking and severe as what I encountered in WITN, and involving such a basic issue. I am a patient person and found a workaround so I could enjoy the game, but I don't speak for everybody.

It is interesting to see that post from an industry insider that this situation is unparalleled as well, as it is in my memory and those of many others on this forum.

[Modedit: personal attack]

If you want to defend this game, post positive responses with solutions or ideas to those who are seeking help vs. being a general nuisance and contrarian and using the tired "other games have bugs" argument when you see people raging or angry. Doing what you are doing does not defend anything but rather has the opposite effect and further alienates users.

Trying to help others is what I've been doing for the last week plus -- directing people experiencing my issue to the way I got through the game.

I do this because there is value in the title that I want people to experience (especially if you like Lord of the Rings), but it is still unacceptable that it was released in this condition. It is an insult not only to Tolkien's franchise but to the good name Snowblind has built up for itself, going back to Baldur's Gate, etc.

[SnowblindTina]

1) If anyone has questions directly for me, please feel free to PM me.
2) I understand concerns and we are working to address them. We have officially stated that the patch is coming, and we are working to resolve problems as quickly as possible.
3) I'm moving this to the feedback forum, because this is your experience with the game, and we want to keep a record with it, but it's not General Discussion or Questions.
4) While we know that we're working on resolving any issues being experienced as quickly as possible, we also understand there is frustration for the percentage of people who encounter them. That being said, we need to keep this forum civil. Forum rules are located here: http://www.warinthenorth.com/forums/...ew-forum-rules and any name calling is grounds for infractions, and future banning.

[TonyACT]

I have been playing video games for over 20 years, and I have never seen a "finished" retail title released for a console in such a state.

This is truly unparalleled, and it is a shame as the title is fun and has promise, but it is clear how rushed it was -- not just on the QA/QC side. Fornost through Mirkwood are awesome, and from there, the levels just run out of steam ... shorter / more linear, less variety, less side quests, etc. ... it is as if they ran out of time or something.

It is interesting to get an industry perspective. I have a lot of respect for Snowblind from the Baldur's Gate days and this is not like them, and I quite honestly don't understand it.

Well, I have seen the odd console game in worse condition on release, but not such a linear title from a respected developer. As noted above Bethesda games being more open-world are more susceptible to bugs. However, even their bugs allowed me to continue in the game, just hit one here on the PS3 which means I can't carry on with the game, and unlike Bethesda I have no saves I can reload to get me over the hurdle. I also wonder how this one got out of the gate with so many issues, when it obviously has loads of promise and is kinda fun when it works.

[aron the dwarf]

"You really should pay a visit to Bethesda's Skyrim bug forum. You'll instantly regret saying this.

And then maybe pay a visit to the Fallout 3 forum and the New Vegas forum, and well... you'll really truly regret saying this.

Yet people still keep shoveling money into Bethesda's coffers... amazing." -Arctorus


I don't really understand your problem with Skyrim and Bethesda. Have you even tried it? It's a really awesome game and so far I have not experienced a single bug in it, not one. This is unfortunately more than can be said for WITN.

[aron the dwarf]

Quick edit: sorry I did find one bug in Skyrim; the bug where one of the main character in the main quest-line is voiceless. I was however quickly able to fix it by downloading a (voice patch?) from the net.

[crill]

It's too bad this game is buggy. It's a great game. Drakan: Ancient Gates was just as buggy. It got killed in the reviews and hense no sequel, but it was one of the most awesome experiences of this genre. One I'll never give up.

I haven't encountered as many bugs as been posted on this forum. Reached legendary on all 3 characters, so it certainly is playable, but nowadays games need to be fine tuned before release. Otherwise the gaming world will eat you alive.

Had this game not have the bugs listed it would have been perfect. Superb effort but an unfinshed product.

[heavyswinga]

I love playing this game, and since i bought it, my little brother and sister have taken a liking to it, but the bugs are truely game breaking. When ever i play now im on my toes looking for minor bugs, and just waiting for the time when i have turn off the game without saving just to get out of a bug. I finally beat the game on all three levels of difficulty on my dwarf, but sadly i was one of those people who had alot of trouble with the bugs. This attempt was my 5th, and to make sure i didnt hit any glitches or saving problems i did it completely solo, and even then i was in a bug or two where i have to quit without saving just to get out of it. All that said i still play the game now, so if this game is good enough to keep my around with the glitches, im conviced it would keep any around who played it without these problems. I do hope for another game from the makers of WiTN; all the lord of the rings games seem to end to quickly and i wanna see a game that takes us through all the trouble and mishaps of middle earth.