Frustration with the lack of timely support for DLC campaigns.

[StandingCow]

Let me start off by saying I love this sim to death and appreciate all the work ED and affiliates put in to the game, campaigns, modules. This is honestly one of the best flight sims I have ever played.

 

There is one big issue that has been frustrating me since DLC campaigns came into existence.. and that is the lack of timely support for them. We have had to deal with campaigns we paid for being unplayable for weeks at a time, and this has happened multiple times. Usually if a part of a game is broken it gets a hotfix or at least a patch within a certain amount of time. In fact, we have had to use a workaround due to an AI bug for the last two or three patches.

 

I know one argument is going to be that we could just roll back to a previous patch, but I don't see that as an acceptable answer, especially when some of the patches are VERY large, some people have limited amounts/speed of bandwidth on their internet connection (not an issue I am impacted by, but I know many others are).

 

I also expect things to break in alpha/beta releases, but I am not talking about those, I am talking about the release version, if we are going to pay for DLC they should be tested first. I also understand that ED is working long hours trying to get the 2.5 merge out the door, I am sure this is no small feat.

 

Anyway, that's my rant, hopefully (if the thread doesn't get deleted) there is constructive conversation/criticism. We all are here because we love this game and want to see it get more popular, so anything we can do to support ED is something that will benefit the entire community, and sometimes criticism for what we love is one of those things.

Edited December 9, 2016 by StandingCow

[NineLine]

Developers are actively testing a fixing as they can. Of course it can be hard to keep up with ED right now as changes to the core are coming fast and furious (whether we always see that or not). I think it will get better once the merge with 2.5 happens, but I know that isnt all that comforting when you have issues right now.

 

And there is absolutely nothing wrong with your post, we only ask that you be mature and constructive, which you have been, ED isnt all about hiding negative opinions, just the immature or rude ones. Contrary to some beliefs on different sites, we are not evil people trying to suppress opinions, we just want this to be a non-toxic environment for people of all ages and backgrounds.

 

This of course is all covered in the rules found here, https://forums.eagle.ru/rules.php#en specifically 1.10.

 

Back to Campaigns, make sure you are posting bugs as you find them as well, using the template found in my sig is the best bet. The makers of those campaigns should be watching for issues in their respective forums.

Edited December 9, 2016 by NineLine

[Goblin]

we are not evil people

 

Sith Lords are actually quite nice, once you get to know them... ;)

[Mango]

I share your frustration, StandingCow. I'd just purchased two A-10C campaigns when they were both broken with the 1.5.5 update.

 

But a little patience paid off and all was well after they released Update 1 last Friday. :D

 

Given what ED is doing, working on such complex software with so many products while coordinating with third party developers and partners, not to mention the transition period from 1.5 to 2.5, it's a testament to the team that things *are getting done*!

 

It's good to have a few campaigns or sims on the go at once, so that when one is in a "broken" state, you can move on and enjoy another while waiting for the next patch.

[funkyfranky]

Given what ED is doing, working on such complex software with so many products while coordinating with third party developers and partners, not to mention the transition period from 1.5 to 2.5, it's a testament to the team that things *are getting done*!

^This! I also think that if an update breaks a campaign, there should be quick fixes - at least for the release version. However, I am also of the opinion that we will see that more often again once the two branches have been merged. It will make things much easier for us and for the developers.

[Angus]

I use very few solo campaigns. But I think the bugs blocking these are the same as for mission editing.

I'd like to understand why the updates break the functions of the mission editor that worked before.Does the addition of new modules or functions change the DCS database so much? It's just a question ;).

[Highwayman-Ed]

This is one of the reasons why I have not released the campaigns that I have been making. I have three on the shelf right now, one of them almost ready to go with the voice acting almost finished, but updates frequently break the scripts or triggers that are critical to the way that the missions work and finding what is causing the issues alone is painful enough without having to figure out a way to work around them...

 

It sucks the life out of you when you're doing this as a hobby job, my hat goes off to the aircraft developers as they must face this same issue ten fold.

 

I made the decision about 6 months ago that until 2.5 was released in a 'Release' version format, I'm simply not willing to pour the hours into them any longer as I realised that I hadn't flown anything other than repeated tests of my own campaigns for months on end, and I wasn't getting any enjoyment out of DCS any more.

[tintifaxl]

I made the decision about 6 months ago that until 2.5 was released in a 'Release' version format

 

Absolutely sound decision. I made the decision to buy no more campaigns until the 2.5.x release version and only if the older dlc campaigns I have purchased work ok by then.

[The Legman]

The best thing is to find the most stable release, update there and wait.It's annoying when you get features that you want but come with bugs that make the campaigns you paid for unplayable for a long time. And since gamebreaking things are being pulled to the release branch, it's better to wait and see before updating yourself.

[bushido]

I support the OP each and every update there are new bugs introduced and you have just to cross finger in hope that the mission of the campaign will work as intended.

It happen on a regular basis, last example with the last release that broke the mirage 2000 campaign.

 

I understand it's a complicated piece of software but an update is supposed to clean bug not too introduce new one every time.

 

I can't think of an update who did not break something in a module, it's most frustrating and annoying.

[StandingCow]

Yea, I am seeing reports that things are broken yet again.... *sigh*. I understand that things are going to be rough until the merge happens but if you are gonna sell DLC campagins we need quick support to fix them, in the form of hotfixes.

 

Waiting a week+ isn't really acceptable for pay DLC. Think I may just hold off on buying any more campaigns until the merge is complete.