106 odpowiedzi w tym temacie

[Chris Priestly]

Hi Everyone

I get messages asking me when the next Mass Effect 3 patch will be coming and when "X" problem will be fixed. I thought it might be a good idea to give you some insight into how a patch is made so that you understand more about the patching process.

• Everything starts with help from customers like you who report issues here on the BSN or to our EA Custmer Service people.
• These issues are then reported to the Mass Effect 3 team and they begin to investigate the issue.
• The team tries to reproduce the issue
• They then figure out what is causing the issue
• They then work to fix whatever the cause of the issue is. This can take a short or long time depending on how difficult it is to fix the issue.
• Once they have a fix, they test it thoughoughly in the game. They also test to make sure that the fix does not effect the game in some unexpected manner or introduce new issues.
• Once a collection of issues are fixed by the team it is put into a patch and sent off to EA and our partners at Microsoft and Sony for whats is called Certification. They also run tests to make sure that our fix works and that it does not introduce any new issues to the game or their systems.
• If AT ANY POINT in this testing and Certification process a problem is detected, the patch is sent back to us and process begins again until it is fixed.
• Once the patch has passed certification, it is released to the public via Origin, Xbox and Playstation.

All bugs are investigated by the team and are prioritized in a process called triage. Bugs are triaged based on how important they are to the game and how many people are encountering them. This means an issue can be extremely important if it effects a lot of people OR that an issue that effects a few people, but prevents them from playing the game can both be equally important. The team works to fix as many issues as possible in a given patch process.

I want to reassure you all that BioWare IS working on fixing the issues you are reporting and we are working on patching to get you the fixes ASAP. We appreciate your patience and assistance as we work to resolve these issues.

Użytkownik Chris Priestly edytował ten post 14 marzec 2012 - 08:48

[Raiperai]

Thanks. A list of bugs/issues you've acknowledged so far and are working on would be a great plus!

[JustinSaneV2]

Having a dev or member of BioWare confirm in each thread that the bug has been acknowledged and/or being looked into would be preferable to the ignorance that we are currently being treated to.

[DemGeth]

Yeah for game breaking bug...bugs that don't allow the game to be played at all...acknowledgment and updates are kind of an industry standard.

[SloppyFarts]

I work in supportability for a big software shop and I have to say that you just organized in one small forum post what lots of companies can't seem to do in years. The process is scientific and requires a scientific method. Its also extremely expensive - the reality of the expense is often hard to explain to users, but dedicating your product team to patching bugs is rarely if ever a profitable endeavor.

I really appreciate your organized and thoughtful explanation of the steps required to release a patch for this product.

Użytkownik SloppyFarts edytował ten post 14 marzec 2012 - 09:48

[DaBigDragon]

After I find and report an issue here on the forums, I feel kinda helpless. Would sending in my save game help you guys?

[Knife Edge]

Thank you very much Chris for posting this.

Although The 'ME3 Face Import' issue has been a major nuisance for me (and many others), the least I have been asking for is updates on how the Bioware team have progressed.

You have at least given us an insight into the process, and I am grateful for that. I sincerely hope you are able to fix this issue soon, as for myself (and I can only fairly speak for myself), the story of your OWN personal Shepherd - from appearance to the choices you make - is one of the staples of the Mass Effect trilogy, and the experience just will not be the same without it.

I really want to begin playing Mass Effect 3, but cannot bring myself to do so unless I can do it properly. So I thank you for this note, and hope you guys at Bioware can square this all up as soon as possible.

[Serenade]

Where can I sign up for the triage team King Priestly? Is there any form of save-file gathering too? I would 'assume' that would help a lot.

But anyway, thanks for sharing this information.

[FrenchiVIII]

• Once a collection of issues are fixed by the team it is put into a patch and sent off to EA and our partners at Microsoft and Sony for whats is called Certification. They also run tests to make sure that our fix works and that it does not introduce any new issues to the game or their systems.

So bigger problems like the one that affects EVERY italian 360 copy of mass effect 3 and preventing to load the mission of Grissom Accademy won't be available as soon as it's solved? uff... I guess I'll continue the game without that mission, but this really ****** me off

[Gascogne]

Chris Priestly wrote...
I want to reassure you all that BioWare IS working on fixing the issues you are reporting and we are working on patching to get you the fixes ASAP. We appreciate your patience and assistance as we work to resolve these issues.

The patience part we are bad at when we don't get information on regular basis.

But thanks for the update. :innocent:

[Ephemeral 40 SW]

Meh. Very vague Chris. And here I thought we were actually friends. What I would like to know specifically is how far along are you with the character importation glitch. An ETA on that would be great. In addition, although my main choices seem to port over, there is no mention of the DLC I've completed when I import my Xbox 360 Shepard from ME 1 & ME 2. I've tried to bide my time & play multiplayer, but now I've noticed that there is a decay factor at work in Galaxy at War. I can't believe my war readiness decreases over time when I don't play the multiplayer. What's up with this hamster reward system? If I don't stay on the hamster wheel, I lose progress? Who thought this up? For a game centered on the concept of choice, you guys at Bioware certainly know how to force your expectation of gameplay onto your consumer base. (SMH) I'll play something else until the patch is out....By the way, Chris, Ive noticed that your profile pic does not have the Mass Effect 3 logo under it. Have you actually tried to play this game?

[WardyLion]

I have to say that it is refreshing to get up-front and honest feedback from the chaps and chapesses at BioWare, Chris. I never imagined that making a patch was easy but some people tend to forget this and demand patches right-now(!)

Looking back on my playthrough of ME3, I can't actually recall encountering any glitches other than the face-import thing, which ultimately did nothing to ruin my enjoyment of the game.

[cApAc aMaRu]

And to avoid the hassle of the approvals process, you test BEFORE you RELEASE. Especially things needed at game start like CHARACTER IMPORTATION.

[DaBozUK]

JustinSaneV2 wrote...

Having a dev or member of BioWare confirm in each thread that the bug has been acknowledged and/or being looked into would be preferable to the ignorance that we are currently being treated to.

This.

Half of patching is the PR excercise. You have to let people know that you acknowledge a problem exists and intend to do something about it (or not with reason).

[DarkGin87]

So what you are saying is they just started to work on the patch to fix importing eventhough they knew of this issue before the game was released

Thanks Chris

Lets hope there a fix for the
import issue 
180 degress head spin when in conversations
Random crash when trying to enter the firing range

Użytkownik DarkGin87 edytował ten post 15 marzec 2012 - 02:47

[snowkot]

I too have managed support teams for global apps for one of the most respected IT firms in the world.

It is undeniably standard practice - critical to maintain cust sat - to report progress on issues, especially sev 1 issues (such as the 'character import' bug) to the installed consumer base.

Sharing such information as the phase (as noted in the first post in this thread) in the debug process in which the support team is currently engaged, the progress percentage and an ETA for delivery (whether that be 'TBA" or not) is also industry standard.

In that aspect it is absolutely clear that Bioware has failed to properly serve its consumers.

Użytkownik snowkot edytował ten post 15 marzec 2012 - 03:26

[shepardbook]

Thank you for the information, Mr. Priestly. I tweeted to @bioware and @masseffect, that I was able to import one of my Shepards with no face issue. That Shepard did not complete the Overlord or Arrival DLC's... All of my other Shepards get the "can't import face to ME3" error message.

I hope this is at least somewhat helpful with locating how the issue originates...

p.s.- it was one of my Renegade runs, of which I have 2, (I'm a bit of a Paragon, you see) that loaded with the proper face and all choices. Again, thank you and looking forward to more updates moving forward and the eventual patch.

Cheers!

[MrNiceguy976]

Thanks Chris-

But like the others are saying, where the hell is your public relations team? You got these customers clawing and gnawing at any chance for information on when they can properly play this gem you released called Mass Effect 3!

[MeanBob]

Thanks for putting this out there Chris. I've been trying to tell people (even outside of the forums) that it takes time to put out a fix, specifically how Microsoft has a certification system that adds to the extra time it takes to start "rolling out" to everyone.

I really hope that people understand this sort of process and that everyone needs to be patient. I know I'm trying my hardest to do that lol . I just hope that I can play my game soon!

Til next time Chris!

[DOCTOR CHA0TICA]

Thankyou for the update =)

[RealStyli]

Given the lack of specifics and generality of the post, one would assume you can't talk about specific issues but thanks for the information nonetheless. Thanks.

[Gyshall]

Thank you for the update - that is all we wanted (aside from a working ME3 singleplayer)

[King Espi]

Thanks for the condescending post.

Maybe if you guys were actually focused on your game and did proper QA this issue would have been addressed before the game ever went gold.

But nope. Charging for DLC is much more important. Who cares about releasing a good game? It's all about nickle and diming your fans who have supported you throughout the years.

[ThinkIntegral]

Thanks for that info Chris. It does help explain why the process is taking so long but it's not a statement of exactly how long it will take. In a sense you just said in a different manner, "It'll come when it's done," which you already said in the other thread.

Though, I can see if you're working on several large bugs at one time you may not be able to give an exact time frame. Yet, surely there must be general statistics from previous work on other similar bugs or prior games that could give an estimate, no?

Nevertheless, I appreciate that you actually at least made the effort to post something. Was that really so hard to take 10 minutes out of your day?

[azerSheppard]

Thanks, i was waiting for a confirmation.