When a Patch is Just Too Late to Save a Game

[rhombic21]

Quote: Originally Posted by OMT

Yeah.. I agree. Will needs to get comunity day earlier. The problem is that Madden is the big game and they are on a different dev cycle. So if you guys are brought in with enough time for NCAA changes, then Madden isn't showable.

Given the fact that NCAA is a major title in it's own right, don't you think it ought to be given it's own day, separate from Madden? Why does everything have to revolve around Madden's release schedule when it comes to the community?

Also, I'm of the opinion that you guys should not only have the community day earlier, but you really need to find a way to make it a multi-day event. One day is really not enough time to get deep into the game. You really ought to have 2 or 3 days, so that maybe on the first day or two people are mostly just playing the game and giving general feedback, and then the last day is some sort of intensive feedback session with developers. And FWIW, it would be helpful if you guys would have these on a weekend instead of during the week. I know that the team usually gets the weekend off, but for the guys that have to travel in for the event, you eliminate a bunch of people from consideration when you have a mid-week event that forces people to take several days off of work or to miss school.

[rudyjuly2]

I definitely agree with having a separate community day for NCAA. If the cost gets a little high, then don't invite as many people. But a separate and earlier community day where leaders can spend a couple days with the game would be great.

I'd really like to see more vs. cpu gaming done during these things as well. I'm always reading stuff about human vs. human play but a ton of us only play offline dynasty.

[shigogouhou]

With the NXE's release allowing games to be installed to the 360's hard drive, is there any chance at all that a public beta could be done via the direct download method?

If you can pull it off, throw in a "Everyone who reports a bug gets their gamertag listed in the credits, and a coupon for $X off NCAA 2010 as a thank you for your help", and you'll have thousands of beta testers at the ready. Plus, they'll be a bit more positive as a) they haven't paid $60 for the 'privilege' of finding the bugs for you, and b) they'll be getting paid with the discount (not to mention the "Hey check it out, I'm in the credits of this game" factor I'm sure some people will enjoy more than others)

[Hey_Rebby]

Quote: Originally Posted by rhombic21

Given the fact that NCAA is a major title in it's own right, don't you think it ought to be given it's own day, separate from Madden? Why does everything have to revolve around Madden's release schedule when it comes to the community? Also, I'm of the opinion that you guys should not only have the community day earlier, but you really need to find a way to make it a multi-day event. One day is really not enough time to get deep into the game. You really ought to have 2 or 3 days, so that maybe on the first day or two people are mostly just playing the game and giving general feedback, and then the last day is some sort of intensive feedback session with developers. And FWIW, it would be helpful if you guys would have these on a weekend instead of during the week. I know that the team usually gets the weekend off, but for the guys that have to travel in for the event, you eliminate a bunch of people from consideration when you have a mid-week event that forces people to take several days off of work or to miss school.

Wow, what a slap in the face for fans of NCAA Football. I guess this proves that NCAA is and will always be second fiddle to EA Sports. If you were serious about putting out the best game possible you guys would find a way to host a community day for NCAA that allows for feedback to be useful for the development of the game.

[spit_bubble]

Quote: Originally Posted by OMT

I agree. And while "sad" might not be the best word for you to use, it is a good word to describe how many of us on the team felt when these issues came up. These things are very upsetting because we want to deliver a patch that enhances the game... not something which fixes a bug we should have known about.

*pats OMT on back*



Isn't a "patch that enhances" not a patch?

I dunno. I always thought a patch was to... Ya know, repair things. Maybe software companies use the word "patch" differently. Call Oxford!