wtogami (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} wtogami) wrote,@ 2008-08-04 22:17:00 |
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Civilization Revolution 1.20: Still Very Broken
I last reported on Civilization Revolution 1.10 two weeks ago. Now August 4th it is nearly a month since the American release, and two months since the European release. Three days ago they released the second patch, version 1.20, which was supposed to correct the absolutely broken multiplayer matching system of 1.10. I can report with strong certainty that the game remains very broken on the Playstation 3 for online gaming.
While the game is quite fun in single player, it is quickly too easy even at the highest computer difficulty. The 1.20 game sometimes rarely manages to connect to other players online, and then it can be very fun when it works. A company rep on the 2KGames forums blames user's networking settings, routers and firewalls for these problems. However a multitude of complaints in several threads indicate a consistent story of dismal failure that agrees with my own frustrated attempts to play this game.
~2 months since release and after a fresh patch, it sure seems from this perspective that this company really screwed up. This is a strong recommendation to AVOID this game. It is currently far too broken and frustrating to be worth $60. If they manage to fix these problems and use automatic UPNP NAT traversal the game might be worthwhile.
I had so much hope for this game, yet I have never purchased a game this broken before. I especially dislike the attitude expressed by the company blaming users instead of apologizing. I have never traded in a game before, but I am contemplating doing so now.
I last reported on Civilization Revolution 1.10 two weeks ago. Now August 4th it is nearly a month since the American release, and two months since the European release. Three days ago they released the second patch, version 1.20, which was supposed to correct the absolutely broken multiplayer matching system of 1.10. I can report with strong certainty that the game remains very broken on the Playstation 3 for online gaming.
While the game is quite fun in single player, it is quickly too easy even at the highest computer difficulty. The 1.20 game sometimes rarely manages to connect to other players online, and then it can be very fun when it works. A company rep on the 2KGames forums blames user's networking settings, routers and firewalls for these problems. However a multitude of complaints in several threads indicate a consistent story of dismal failure that agrees with my own frustrated attempts to play this game.
- Even after users port forward all of the suggested ports, put their PS3 in the DMZ (all ports forwarded) or even plugged directly into the cable modem, they are still unable to host or connect to most existing games. Indeed my own experience is exactly this. I estimate roughly 10% success rate in joining other people's games, and 5% success in hosting in dozens of attempts in the past few days since the 1.20 patch.
- All of these users (Including myself) reports having no problems playing online with every other PS3 multiplayer game.
- I successfully got into a multiplayer game maybe 9 times since the 1.20 patch. Of those games, two games survived through completion. 7 of the 9 games failed either with complete deadlock of the PS3 or the game getting stuck with "rotating gears", seemingly due to some kind of network or server issue.
~2 months since release and after a fresh patch, it sure seems from this perspective that this company really screwed up. This is a strong recommendation to AVOID this game. It is currently far too broken and frustrating to be worth $60. If they manage to fix these problems and use automatic UPNP NAT traversal the game might be worthwhile.
I had so much hope for this game, yet I have never purchased a game this broken before. I especially dislike the attitude expressed by the company blaming users instead of apologizing. I have never traded in a game before, but I am contemplating doing so now.
