Return to Ostagar delayed again

By Tom Bramwell Published 20 January, 2010

To improve Dragon Age testing procedures.

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 This resulted in the patch being withdrawn along with the Return to Ostagar DLC it was designed to facilitate.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.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (15) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • TeaFiend #1 2 years ago

    Coming soon! In THE FUTURE!

  • ignatiusjreilly #2 2 years ago

    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.

  • qoobah #3 2 years ago

    I love "SOON". On a cosmic timescale, our Sun will burn out "SOON".

    Anyway, it's good that they take the time to improve their testing pipeline. Hopefully it will help prevent such slipups in the future.

  • Fillem #4 2 years ago

    At least they saw it fit to update their official website now as well. It finally says: "coming soon" now for the RTO DLC.
    At this rate, we might see the official expansion before the DLC comes out.

  • Yossarian #5 2 years ago

    This is a non-purchase. Please divert time and money wasted on this DLC into Awakening. Okay? Thank you.

  • qoobah #6 2 years ago

    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.

  • the_dudefather #7 2 years ago

    They should release this DLC instead

  • metalangel #8 2 years ago

    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??

  • actionfitz #9 2 years ago

    Duke Nukem Origins: Return to Forever much?
    heh

  • Murton #10 2 years ago

    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.

  • Rodriguez #11 2 years ago

    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.

  • hiddenranbir #12 2 years ago

    How problematic can an old map with new npc and monster spawns be? :(

  • login_name #13 2 years ago

    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.

  • lucky_jim #14 2 years ago

    I think Bioware and Bethesda have had a secret bet on who can screw up most times with DLC.

  • Hantheman #15 2 years ago

    Apparently it's only 20 minutes long.