A Question for Firaxis

Asmodeus · October 8, 2003, 12:09

I would appreciate if someone at Firaxis could answer this for me.

Are there any plans for a patch for Civ3 PTW Multiplayer? At present I would say that it is so poor I will no longer even bother playing it. I know there have been patches already, but even with 1.27f the success rate for launching a game is probably in the region of 25% and a good chance of a crash mid game.

Why is this? Why when the host cancels a game or more frequently it just hangs is it necessary to shut down the game via Task Manager? Why is there no filter to prevent unpatched players joining the game and crashing it?

I do not accept the defence that 'its a complex game' or 'it must be your hardware'. I have none of these problems playing other complex internet multiplayer games and all I hear in the chat room lobby of Civ3 Multiplayer is 'God damn it who crashed it that time? Why does it keep crashing? Are you sure you all have 1.27? It must be your firewall' etc etc

It's really bad. It does not do what it says on the tin ok? I am a software developer myself and frankly I would not have been proud to have worked on this product as it stands. The single player version is ok with the latest patch - (there are still bugs in it, however I do commend you for the good AI) - but the Multiplayer is unacceptably poor whether hosting or joining another server.

I am deeply disappointed and when I compare it to other popular multiplayers, Wolfenstein ET, Medal Of Honour, Quake III, Medieval Total War and others it just makes Civ3 Multiplayer look very poor.

I would hope that some of these problems could be resolved with a patch - I am certainly reluctant to give up of Civ 3 PTW having bought it and enjoyed the Single Player game. However, rumours that some of these issues may be resolved in yet another up coming expansion pack do not give me a deep warm feeling in my heart - I dont see why I should have to pay again for something that should already work.

So if a representative could let me know how Firaxis and or Atari stand on the issue of quality assurance and customer support I would appreciate it.

If the tone of this post is a little harsh, I spent about 2 hours last night and had 7 crashes curtosy of PTW and in the end I gave up and enjoyed playing Wolfenstein ET instead - consistantly stable, fast and above all free for everyone - including patches.

Finally my spec details if it should be of use:
Intel Pentium IV 2.66 GHz
512MB RAM
64MB nVidea MX460 video card
32MB sound Card
Windows XP Home edition SP1, all latest drivers, patches, Direct X 9
512MB Cable Broadband - excellent service with a ping average of between 20 and 40.
Firewall IS disabled
In game autosave disabled, no other programs running in the background and freshly booted machine
And yes I do have 1.27f installed

alva · October 9, 2003, 01:43

I wouldn't expect anymore patches for PTW ( the last one was final).

They want you to buy C3C remember and staying in the patchloop can be one.

PLATO · October 9, 2003, 07:45

Asmodeus, The fact that you gave such detailed info will probably keep you from getting an answer. They would have to give a specific answer instead of just the same old "Well, its probably your..."

My bet is that you will be seen...and ignored.

On the lighter side, everything that I am hearing and seeing about C3C is positive. Although the beta testers are not talking (and they really aren't Jesse!) about specifics, they are saying that we will all love it...it's worth the wait...it overcomes the disappointments of PTW...etc..

So maybe relief is just 19 days away!