Like a lot of gamers these days, we’re often heard complaining about the levels of support our favourite games get after their release. Sometimes we find glitches or bugs that are infuriating but never seem to be addressed. Modern game production is a huge task so there are bound to be things which slip by bug testing and quality assurance. It seems like every time we talk about post-release support it’s a negative story.
So, we thought that today we’d highlight an example of exceptionally good user interaction and post-release support. The guys over at Atari have set up a forum thread (stickied towards the top of the linked page) for each platform where they are explaining what issues they are aware of and in the process of fixing. They’re also taking comments from users who may be having issues and – here’s the most important part – they’re responding.
In addition to the fairly large and up to date list of fixes that have been (or are being) implemented right now, there are responses to individual instances of people having difficulties or issues with the game. We’re not sure we’ve ever seen such an intimate and personal approach to post-release bug fixes.
So there you go, it might not be hot news from the front lines of the games industry but we thought that the good work deserves a bit of recognition. Well done Atari, we applaud you!
wotta
The twitter account is just as good at listing the issues and fixes. Well done Atari :)
simplebob
Blimey, good to hear. There should be an industry award for best support and they should be up for winning it.
Foxhound_Solid
A HA!
Crazy_Del
I hope they fix it FAST!
I’m stuck with a loading screen when entering the C4 and A6 races =(
I spend hours searching for junk cars and photographs and do small missions just to see if it made any impact on the main racing championship.
Crazy_Del
Also forgot to add I usually get phone calls to do racing or going to Hawaii but not anymore o_0
affa
IMPORTANT — i have found that if I ever get stuck at a loading screen, hitting the ps button and going to the XMB for a second, then hitting it again and returning to the game will end the load screen and get you back to playing.
worth a shot at least, it’s always worked for me (i discovered it because i was about to quit my frozen game but then gave it another chance).
Crazy_Del
tried that and no joy =(
gazzagb
So far, I haven’t been too bothered that the online doesn’t work yet, I’ve been having too much fun just exploring the Island and entering in some of the Championships.
It really is a great game.
BadBoyBoogie
Yeah I’m the same. I haven’t even thought about the MP element yet, as I’m just enjoying exploring the island and entering championships at the moment.
Radiitz
THQ could use this for SvR :(
aerobes
Fantastic support Atari. If only more companies cared this much about their product and user base. Makes me more interested in buying the game.
Voganlight
In my opinion the best support given to a game ever is SARPBC. Psyonix have done everything to make it a friendly community… And not only that, they act as normal forum users, so that you actually get to knkw them.
beeje13
Pat yourself on the back Atari, although really this should be industry standard.
HandBanana
Isn’t this game supposed to be really rubbish?