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View Full Version : Another letter to those at Valve...


AgeOfEmpires
01-01-2008, 02:53 PM
My wife purchased an XBOX360 for me last Christmas. I played a few "budget" games on it here and there but started to get interested in a little serious gaming again when Halo 3 was on the horizon.

A friend at work showed me some of the early trailers of Orange Box, and specifically TF2. I was a little intrigued, but was intent on picking up a copy of Halo 3 on the release date.

Well, for whatever reason, I opted for Orange Box instead and got it on the release date, I believe. TF2 quickly became my favorite platform gave of all time (although the original Metroid runs a close 2nd for me). I have immensely enjoyed playing it....that is WHEN I have been able to successfully get into a game and actually stay in a game. The game is enjoyable enough that I've lived through the (sometimes often) frustrations of lag and the other problems.

This Christmas another friend of mine got an XBOX360 along with Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. After putting off the purchase of both of these games due to my TF2 enjoyment, I bought each of them to play with him.

Well, after a week of playing each of them online I've tried to come back to TF2. To be honest with you, I am having a tough time coming back after seeing two much more successful implementations of multiplayer. I've really had no problems with either Halo 3 or COD4 (other than the problems XBOX Live had itself a few days ago).

Come on Valve. You've got a better game, but I'm not sure who coded the piece that handles the multiplayer communications and game selection. I just cannot figure out (being a CS major and computer professional for over 20 years) why:

A) You would release a game with these problems in the first place
B) You will not AGGRESSIVELY pursue a patch ASAP to fix these problems

Yeah, I've read of the patch that is promised, but hasn't the game been out way too long for you to expect users to put up with this?

I am not someone who has a lot of time to play so I have to choose wisely how I use my time. With Halo 3 and COD4 in my library, it is just a waste of my time to spend too large of a percentage of time TRYING to find a TF2 game that I can connect to and stay in.

I do hope you get these problems figured out, and soon. Many forums are full of those that have given up on TF2 and moved on. I do not want to be in that category but I fear I cannot wait much longer.

Sarkie
01-01-2008, 04:43 PM
I believe a Patch is in the Works, but since it is Christmas period it has not been sent and then Microsoft have their own testing to do on it aswell.

Zoomer4321
01-01-2008, 04:55 PM
My wife purchased an XBOX360 for me last Christmas. I played a few "budget" games on it here and there but started to get interested in a little serious gaming again when Halo 3 was on the horizon.

A friend at work showed me some of the early trailers of Orange Box, and specifically TF2. I was a little intrigued, but was intent on picking up a copy of Halo 3 on the release date.

Well, for whatever reason, I opted for Orange Box instead and got it on the release date, I believe. TF2 quickly became my favorite platform gave of all time (although the original Metroid runs a close 2nd for me). I have immensely enjoyed playing it....that is WHEN I have been able to successfully get into a game and actually stay in a game. The game is enjoyable enough that I've lived through the (sometimes often) frustrations of lag and the other problems.

This Christmas another friend of mine got an XBOX360 along with Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. After putting off the purchase of both of these games due to my TF2 enjoyment, I bought each of them to play with him.

Well, after a week of playing each of them online I've tried to come back to TF2. To be honest with you, I am having a tough time coming back after seeing two much more successful implementations of multiplayer. I've really had no problems with either Halo 3 or COD4 (other than the problems XBOX Live had itself a few days ago).

Come on Valve. You've got a better game, but I'm not sure who coded the piece that handles the multiplayer communications and game selection. I just cannot figure out (being a CS major and computer professional for over 20 years) why:

A) You would release a game with these problems in the first place
B) You will not AGGRESSIVELY pursue a patch ASAP to fix these problems

Yeah, I've read of the patch that is promised, but hasn't the game been out way too long for you to expect users to put up with this?

I am not someone who has a lot of time to play so I have to choose wisely how I use my time. With Halo 3 and COD4 in my library, it is just a waste of my time to spend too large of a percentage of time TRYING to find a TF2 game that I can connect to and stay in.

I do hope you get these problems figured out, and soon. Many forums are full of those that have given up on TF2 and moved on. I do not want to be in that category but I fear I cannot wait much longer.


I think you have some reasonable expectations.

One suggestion I would make is that you friend any host that has a stable connection.

That way it's easier to find a game you can enjoy. If you are a courteous player willing to work as a team, send the host a message asking for an invite when a slot opens. People leave frequently particularly when the host returns to the lobby and if you are a good player and asked for an invite, you will usually get one.

See me a friend request if you want to play. I usually host smooth stable 16 player games.

I have to admit that as much as I like the game, some of the blatant bugs should have been found and fixed before the release. I think Valve was/is stuck in the PC/Steam mentality where they can simply release a patch to address bugs that they may have otherwise done more testing to find before release. MS has a lot of restrictions on patches/updates as well as some significant lead times for validation.

As far as the forthcoming patch, unfortunately Valve didn’t get it to MS in time for it to go through validation and be released before Christmas. I suspect we will probably get the patch in a day or two as it has been with MS for a couple weeks now. The rumor is that there is a backlog of validation to be done caused by end of year vacation and holiday time as MS.

I hope you will try TF2 again. The regular players really enjoy it and we want the community to grow not shrink.

My GT is zoomer4321

Bad_Byte
01-01-2008, 05:29 PM
I love TF2 but the network issues should have been discovered and fixed before release. If you hear some one cursing valve (QA/QC people) when playing on xbox live, that is most likely me.

i refuel u
01-05-2008, 10:07 AM
I don't blame valve. I blame the host. Theres even a disclaimer on the bottom when you attempt to host more than your connection can handle. Also temporary speedboost options like comcasts powerboost incorrectly report a sustainable upload speed causing people to believe they can host when they cannot reliably.

Speedtest.net.

Nephlabobo
01-05-2008, 10:53 AM
I believe a Patch is in the Works, but since it is Christmas period it has not been sent and then Microsoft have their own testing to do on it aswell.

Quit making excuses for these guys. If they can't do their job right the first time, MAKE them work 24/7 through Christmas.

The only reason I haven't been banned yet is they can't be bothered looking in the PS3 forums.

brianwmsn
01-05-2008, 08:50 PM
Quit making excuses for these guys. If they can't do their job right the first time, MAKE them work 24/7 through Christmas.

The only reason I haven't been banned yet is they can't be bothered looking in the PS3 forums.

OOookay...