I think it's just as likely that a game can set off a bug in a driver or other hardware as a system can set off a bug in the game. And this computer really has run a lot of games without issues, also I'm not the only person with this exact problem and they come from many different configurations so it's not my hardware.
At the very least it's an obscure bug in the game. Obscure maybe (I actually doubt it, I think Bioware just doesn't care enough to bother fixing it) but a bug in the game nonetheless.
It's bit like not knowing exactly who was the murderer, but the more evidence comes to light the more obvious it becomes. So far everything is pointing to Bioware.
I can back this up by saying it's probably true that the more people experiencing the exact same problem, the less likely it's flaky hardware. And thus I point you to the BioWare support forum (-->), where my issue was described (at release time) in approximately 5+ threads of 20 pages each (they lock a thread after 20 pages).
I just don't see that happening, I'm a gamer through and through, I've played a lot of games on this computer. There's hardly a chance in hell that Mass Effect somehow managed to stress my card more than Crysis or Fallout 3 or Devil May Cry 4 or Borderlands or Mirror's Edge and many, many others.
If Mass Effect somehow found a way to break my computer where so many other games have failed, then the question in my opinion becomes what the hell were doing they doing so differently in their game and why? Which brings us back to creating games that are stable by reading about and using existing techniques that are known to work well, instead of using your customers as beta testers.
Call it a programmer's intuition, or just calculating chances. If 100 games work on a system and 1 doesn't, there's a good chance it's something to do with the game. For example STALKER: Clear Sky, that games was broken until at least 4 patches later (allegedly they outsourced their testing and this was the result). Yet some people ran through the game perfectly fine! While others experienced the crashes and other bugs. But the problem was with the game, how do we know? Because the scripts are right there for everyone to see, a few people including myself even made some small edits to them to continue through the game when they stumbled on a crash.
Now try and prove that the game is broken to a person for who it worked flawlessly for 3 whole run throughs. Good luck.
But where's the responsibility then in using code paths that are untested and unverified? Is my computer a BETA testing platform for their spiffy new line of code? No. You're creating a product and you want it to be as stable as possible for as many computers as possible.
I bought Mass Effect only to find out that the game simply does not run. My computer is as close to flawless as it could possibly get, it's been running for years and has successfully played many games with many different engines, I have done workarounds for crashes and bugs and all sorts of things, it's a tried and true PC.
This is the first game that just does not run, at all, it starts, crashes or gives a blue screen and that's that. Sometimes it even attempts to break my video card and causes after-effects until a couple more restarts, basically it acts as bad as a virus. I paid $50 for this crap.
There are many, many companies that do not have these problems. They create good engines, good software that works. They test it thoroughly and deliver a working product. And while some issues do persist, I've never seen a game that simply blue screens while trying to start.
There has to be a clear line between selling software that might include a few scripting bugs, maybe a crash every 5 hours if you're unlucky, or problems that come from user error and badly setup PCs and games like Mass Effect which either work or don't, flip a coin and hope for the best.
Damn right I would want the law involved, this is a defective title but I can't do anything about it except trying it on some future computer and hoping that ME finds it satisfactory for whatever reason.
You can fool Steam into thinking you're in America or Britain or even New Zealand pretty easily when you buy the game, and then get the uncensored version.
I think more games should be banned, especially popular ones, it's the only way something will eventually get done about it. Most people don't do anything until they get a kick in the arse.
And also this will hopefully let more people know about importing and digital distribution.
I'll be importing or buying it from Steam anyway, but I wonder if there will be any official Australian servers, might have to make do with New Zealand ones.
I don't know how it is in the US, but in the rest of the world, including actual Asian countries sushi comes in many different varieties. Nobody is forcing you to eat raw fish after all, there are plenty of other kinds of sushi.
So not liking sushi because of raw fish is like saying you don't like cake because it's chocolate.
So why don't you eat actual Sushi instead of Sashimi, with something like chicken if you don't like raw fish?
The more you know...... the less food you'll hate over pure ignorance.
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I think it's just as likely that a game can set off a bug in a driver or other hardware as a system can set off a bug in the game. And this computer really has run a lot of games without issues, also I'm not the only person with this exact problem and they come from many different configurations so it's not my hardware.
At the very least it's an obscure bug in the game. Obscure maybe (I actually doubt it, I think Bioware just doesn't care enough to bother fixing it) but a bug in the game nonetheless.
I run XP.
Well I'm not in or from the US so I have no idea what their legislation is like, I just read Steam's policy on refunds.
It's bit like not knowing exactly who was the murderer, but the more evidence comes to light the more obvious it becomes. So far everything is pointing to Bioware.
I used Paypal. =P
And Steam support doesn't give refunds except for pre-purchases.
I can back this up by saying it's probably true that the more people experiencing the exact same problem, the less likely it's flaky hardware. And thus I point you to the BioWare support forum (-->), where my issue was described (at release time) in approximately 5+ threads of 20 pages each (they lock a thread after 20 pages).
The. Exact. Same. Problem.
I bought it from Steam.
I just don't see that happening, I'm a gamer through and through, I've played a lot of games on this computer. There's hardly a chance in hell that Mass Effect somehow managed to stress my card more than Crysis or Fallout 3 or Devil May Cry 4 or Borderlands or Mirror's Edge and many, many others.
If Mass Effect somehow found a way to break my computer where so many other games have failed, then the question in my opinion becomes what the hell were doing they doing so differently in their game and why? Which brings us back to creating games that are stable by reading about and using existing techniques that are known to work well, instead of using your customers as beta testers.
Call it a programmer's intuition, or just calculating chances. If 100 games work on a system and 1 doesn't, there's a good chance it's something to do with the game. For example STALKER: Clear Sky, that games was broken until at least 4 patches later (allegedly they outsourced their testing and this was the result). Yet some people ran through the game perfectly fine! While others experienced the crashes and other bugs. But the problem was with the game, how do we know? Because the scripts are right there for everyone to see, a few people including myself even made some small edits to them to continue through the game when they stumbled on a crash.
Now try and prove that the game is broken to a person for who it worked flawlessly for 3 whole run throughs. Good luck.
But where's the responsibility then in using code paths that are untested and unverified? Is my computer a BETA testing platform for their spiffy new line of code? No. You're creating a product and you want it to be as stable as possible for as many computers as possible.
It's not always a BSOD. I've also played UT3 and Gears of War on this computer with absolute no problems whatsoever.
Like I said before, this is the game, not my computer. You can dig all you like though.
Nope, Nvidia.
I bought Mass Effect only to find out that the game simply does not run. My computer is as close to flawless as it could possibly get, it's been running for years and has successfully played many games with many different engines, I have done workarounds for crashes and bugs and all sorts of things, it's a tried and true PC.
This is the first game that just does not run, at all, it starts, crashes or gives a blue screen and that's that. Sometimes it even attempts to break my video card and causes after-effects until a couple more restarts, basically it acts as bad as a virus. I paid $50 for this crap.
There are many, many companies that do not have these problems. They create good engines, good software that works. They test it thoroughly and deliver a working product. And while some issues do persist, I've never seen a game that simply blue screens while trying to start.
There has to be a clear line between selling software that might include a few scripting bugs, maybe a crash every 5 hours if you're unlucky, or problems that come from user error and badly setup PCs and games like Mass Effect which either work or don't, flip a coin and hope for the best.
Damn right I would want the law involved, this is a defective title but I can't do anything about it except trying it on some future computer and hoping that ME finds it satisfactory for whatever reason.
Window tabs are already here!
They're in the taskbar.
You can fool Steam into thinking you're in America or Britain or even New Zealand pretty easily when you buy the game, and then get the uncensored version.
I think more games should be banned, especially popular ones, it's the only way something will eventually get done about it. Most people don't do anything until they get a kick in the arse.
And also this will hopefully let more people know about importing and digital distribution.
I'll be importing or buying it from Steam anyway, but I wonder if there will be any official Australian servers, might have to make do with New Zealand ones.
I don't know how it is in the US, but in the rest of the world, including actual Asian countries sushi comes in many different varieties. Nobody is forcing you to eat raw fish after all, there are plenty of other kinds of sushi. So not liking sushi because of raw fish is like saying you don't like cake because it's chocolate.
I didn't know that sushi differences were part of a GP's medical education, thanks for clearing that up.
So why don't you eat actual Sushi instead of Sashimi, with something like chicken if you don't like raw fish? The more you know...... the less food you'll hate over pure ignorance.
No, this isn't the US, this is the Internet.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/6984
RIAA: DRM is dead.
DRM: RIAA is dead.
Survival of the fittest.
So...... when are we starting the bonfires and begin throwing books?
You would pay them to create more of it. In the digital world, content is a service, not a product.