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Return to Ostagar delayed again News
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by
Tom Bramwell
BioWare has updated its test procedures across all formats following the release and retraction of a dodgy title update for Dragon Age on Xbox 360 last week.
The developer has also said that DLC Return to Ostagar will be delayed again in order to allow for these more stringent processes.
"[Dragon Age] is an incredibly large, very deep and complex game, making it virtually impossible to test every system and permutation possible for each update/DLC," BioWare's Fernando Melo wrote on the official forum, offering "sincere apologies" to those affected by last week's release.
"When testing any large endeavour like that, we depend on selectively targeting systems related to the changes being made, prioritised by order of perceived risk.
"Unfortunately we did not foresee the changes being made to impact the systems it did, which is how something seemingly so visible still managed to avoid the dev team, and multiple test cycles of seasoned QA all through our internal teams, and EA and MS cert teams, and ultimately ended up out to the public.
"To help us avoid similar problems in the future, we're updating all our test plans across all platforms to take additional edge cases into account, as well as committing to more detailed test passes that will also prevent something like this happening again."
According to BioWare's Chris Priestly, writing last week, the title update introduced "a previously undetected issue that causes specialisation classes to not work correctly". This resulted in the patch being withdrawn along with the Return to Ostagar DLC it was designed to facilitate.
"Short term," Melo continued, "this means another delay across all platforms for the immediate console patches and Return to Ostagar DLC releases as this is a substantial increase in test coverage, and that time is needed to do so and ensure there are no other knock on issues with either the main game, the updates or the DLC."
On the plus side, wrote Melo, "a fix is already in test for the 360 issue and looking very good" and while there's no timeframe for release, the developer has promised to keep watching fans informed via the forum.
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Comments: 1-20 of 20
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ignatiusjreilly
20/01/10 @ 11:28
+2
Despite the fact that he just explained it, I still don't understand how an update with a flaw so obvious made it far enough to actually go on sale.
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0
On another note, I wonder what this whole mess mean for the mod developers. If BW has so much trouble releasing Add-ins it must be a nightmare for modders. If at all possible. From what I've been fooling around with the toolset and poking around forums word has it it's really quirky and difficult to get your head around the whole process.
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metalangel
20/01/10 @ 12:22
+4
Maybe if it's so troublesome making DLC, you should concentrate on releasing a complete game and then just be done with it, eh? Eh? EH??
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+2
Another point for Bioware, one of the few remaining old school developers who are still concerned with quality. As a former tester myself I can vouch for what was said with regards to how changes can have unforseen effects elsewhere in the game, though in this particular case I must ask if any testers were placed on regular playthroughs with and without the DLC? Seems to me that if the issue was easily visible to the public a "seasoned" tester would have spotted it if they were playing the game as normal.
Of course in this instance the blame should lie just as much with EA and Microsoft than it does Bioware, both of which have to test it intensively in order to certify it for release. I just hope that they follow Bioware's example and increase their own testing efforts otherwise Bioware is just wasting their time. |
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farticusmaximus
20/01/10 @ 14:32
+2
Not really surprised there were issues with the DLC to be honest.
Not saying that quality control is bad at Bioware/EA/MS/Greggs the bakers, but the sheer number of dialog and decision branches there are in this game is mind-boggling. It boggled mine at any rate. Is still boggling it in fact. The smallest choices have serious storyline repurcussions all the way through the game which can clock in at well over a hundred hours if you do all the side-quests. There's no way that everything can be regression tested with every patch. /Boggle. |
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+1
I didn't download Return to Ostagar, but did install the update on Xbox Live when prompted and within a few minutes of playing noticed my specialisations which I'd spent hours unlocking throughout the course of the game had been relocked. How all the different testing procedures missed such a glaring problem is beyond me... Either way I hope they hurry up and patch the patch, because it's holding up a game I've been loving for around 79 hours now and wanted to finish before Mass Effect 2 arrives next week.
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farticusmaximus
20/01/10 @ 15:11
+1
"install the update on Xbox Live when prompted and within a few minutes of playing noticed my specialisations which I'd spent hours unlocking throughout the course of the game had been relocked. How all the different testing procedures missed such a glaring problem is beyond me"
That does seem like a bit of a howler. What I used to find at one company I worked for was that the testers could find every little spelling and grammar error tucked away in the million or so lines of code we had, but would miss obvious errors like stock and accounts becoming disconnected from customer records. Testers are often a special bunch (yes, special as in Joey Deacon) and need careful guiding toward actual usability issues, through crafty and sometimes morally dubious means. I just can't get mad at Bioware for letting this slip through. Mass Effect and Dragon Age are amongst the best RPGs of this generation, hell, of any generation. That earns them a whole shedload of brownie points. |
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hiddenranbir
20/01/10 @ 16:42
0
How problematic can an old map with new npc and monster spawns be? :(
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login_name
20/01/10 @ 21:06
0
Testers are often a special bunch (yes, special as in Joey Deacon)
I started my career in a test department and have experienced both the good and the bad. QA is everyone's favourite whipping boy but that fact is, you get what you pay for. Treat your QA department with respect and hire professionals, who know what they're doing, and these issues do not arise. If your company employs a "special bunch" and, more importantly, treats them as such then more fool them. They deserve the hassle that brings. |
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farticusmaximus
21/01/10 @ 10:42
0
@login
I was (mostly) joking about the testers. My current employer has a superb QA team, though working in the financial sector they need it! It's probably just coincidence that 2 of the most socially inept and small-minded people I've ever met happened to be testers. Probably. ;) |
Comments: 1-20 of 20
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