Consider this DEV Team

[MajorDragon]

I have been having this error for multiplay for several months with SH4, Which leads me to this conclusion. I can't log into multiplay session due to UBI servers not running or such. No matter what they say or suggest. It s NOT making me happy at all. What ever happened to direct ip? They should have never created the games they do without it. Bring it back in a patch or something...please. Also make it an option in SH5. I am trying to be civil here. I am in the USA, my friends and I used to play online until several months ago when it quit working.
Our thing is now, why should we even consider SH 5 for purchase when SH4 doesn't even work in multiplay anymore! I am NOT going to purchase this SH5 release until I know it is GOLD and working with NO bugs. I refuse to be taken again from UBI.
Sorry, it just isn't right to treat your clients as they do. I can name several titles I have purchased over the years that have been FUBAR from this company.
UBI...please listen to all of us. If it don't matter at all. I get the hint and will stay away.
Best regards,
Dragon

[MajorDragon]

I have been having this error for multiplay for several months with SH4, Which leads me to this conclusion. I can't log into multiplay session due to UBI servers not running or such. No matter what they say or suggest. It s NOT making me happy at all. What ever happened to direct ip? They should have never created the games they do without it. Bring it back in a patch or something...please. Also make it an option in SH5. I am trying to be civil here. I am in the USA, my friends and I used to play online until several months ago when it quit working.
Our thing is now, why should we even consider SH 5 for purchase when SH4 doesn't even work in multiplay anymore! I am NOT going to purchase this SH5 release until I know it is GOLD and working with NO bugs. I refuse to be taken again from UBI.
Sorry, it just isn't right to treat your clients as they do. I can name several titles I have purchased over the years that have been FUBAR from this company.
UBI...please listen to all of us. If it don't matter at all. I get the hint and will stay away.
Best regards,
Dragon

[Rusty_S85]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by MajorDragon:
I have been having this error for multiplay for several months with SH4, Which leads me to this conclusion. I can't log into multiplay session due to UBI servers not running or such. No matter what they say or suggest. It s NOT making me happy at all. What ever happened to direct ip? They should have never created the games they do without it. Bring it back in a patch or something...please. Also make it an option in SH5. I am trying to be civil here. I am in the USA, my friends and I used to play online until several months ago when it quit working.
Our thing is now, why should we even consider SH 5 for purchase when SH4 doesn't even work in multiplay anymore! I am NOT going to purchase this SH5 release until I know it is GOLD and working with NO bugs. I refuse to be taken again from UBI.
Sorry, it just isn't right to treat your clients as they do. I can name several titles I have purchased over the years that have been FUBAR from this company.
UBI...please listen to all of us. If it don't matter at all. I get the hint and will stay away.
Best regards,
Dragon </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

That sucks. I desided to try the multiplayer for the first time in SHIV last night. What did I get. Said something bout not finding the site. So I went to LAN and there wasnt a single thing listed. I think its crazy that they offer multiplayer but in the end its hard to find people online playing. Its the complete opposite of other games I have. Other games its a pain to get into the servers you like their always filled. But it seems once a game gets a bout 1 - 2 years old the people playing on the servers drops. People move on to something else.

Thats just like not everyone buys a game when it first comes out. I typically wait till the price comes down. I think its crazy to want $49.99 for a new pc game. I mean cmon I used to get these big box games where it was a little cd case in a huge cardboard box at $29.99 when the game was a new release. Then they go to the smaller boxes so you spend less cause theres less cardboard but the prices shoot up to $39.99. Now I am seeing games at $49.99 new and thats just too much. Some people might be ok with it but this is the reason I wait till the price drops down before I even get it. By then any errors would have been fixed with patches already out. But usually by then the online multiplayer option is pretty much dead.

[socko2009]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I am NOT going to purchase this SH5 release until I know it is GOLD and working with NO bugs. I refuse to be taken again from UBI. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

@MajorDragon;

You express a perfectly reasonable viewpoint: ……But please don’t hold your breath while waiting!! UBI has demonstrated in several past releases that they are primarily interested in seducing new, unwary users:

…..Their existing customer base is far too knowledgeable and demanding to be a financially viable target.


******************************
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Thats just like not everyone buys a game when it first comes out. I typically wait till the price comes down. I think its crazy to want $49.99 for a new pc game. I mean cmon I used to get these big box games where it was a little cd case in a huge cardboard box at $29.99 when the game was a new release. Then they go to the smaller boxes so you spend less cause theres less cardboard but the prices shoot up to $39.99. Now I am seeing games at $49.99 new and thats just too much. Some people might be ok with it but this is the reason I wait till the price drops down before I even get it. By then any errors would have been fixed with patches already out. But usually by then the online multiplayer option is pretty much dead. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

@Captain Rusty;

It’s time to point out a hard reality: ….You can’t compare the today’s games with those offerings from a decade ago!

A “Cutting Edge” game in today’s market is typically comprised of some four to five GIGABYTES of executable code and data files! ….It is simply not possible to produce programs of this size for “bargain bin” prices! (….Unless, of course, you do a “bargain bin” job in writing it!!!)

In real life, I use a CAD program called “Solidworks” which actually takes up LESS disk space than my copy of SH4! ……..And my copy of Solidworks ONLY cost me $4500!

If UBI were to actually do their job, and produce a simulation that does what it is advertised to do, ….I would gladly pay $200 for the package!

….But that is the REAL key to the issue, isn’t it??? …….The software has to work as advertised!!

S.

[Rusty_S85]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by socko2009:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I am NOT going to purchase this SH5 release until I know it is GOLD and working with NO bugs. I refuse to be taken again from UBI. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

@MajorDragon;

You express a perfectly reasonable viewpoint: ……But please don’t hold your breath while waiting!! UBI has demonstrated in several past releases that they are primarily interested in seducing new, unwary users:

…..Their existing customer base is far too knowledgeable and demanding to be a financially viable target.


******************************
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> Thats just like not everyone buys a game when it first comes out. I typically wait till the price comes down. I think its crazy to want $49.99 for a new pc game. I mean cmon I used to get these big box games where it was a little cd case in a huge cardboard box at $29.99 when the game was a new release. Then they go to the smaller boxes so you spend less cause theres less cardboard but the prices shoot up to $39.99. Now I am seeing games at $49.99 new and thats just too much. Some people might be ok with it but this is the reason I wait till the price drops down before I even get it. By then any errors would have been fixed with patches already out. But usually by then the online multiplayer option is pretty much dead. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

@Captain Rusty;

It’s time to point out a hard reality: ….You can’t compare the today’s games with those offerings from a decade ago!

A “Cutting Edge” game in today’s market is typically comprised of some four to five GIGABYTES of executable code and data files! ….It is simply not possible to produce programs of this size for “bargain bin” prices! (….Unless, of course, you do a “bargain bin” job in writing it!!!)

In real life, I use a CAD program called “Solidworks” which actually takes up LESS disk space than my copy of SH4! ……..And my copy of Solidworks ONLY cost me $4500!

If UBI were to actually do their job, and produce a simulation that does what it is advertised to do, ….I would gladly pay $200 for the package!

….But that is the REAL key to the issue, isn’t it??? …….The software has to work as advertised!!

S. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I understand that theres more in the games. Point I failed to mention was that if I wait just 1 year after the games release I can pick the game up for $19.99 or 1/2 price of what they were asking when it was still a new release. For instance I got the orange box as a promotional thing the friday it came out from frys for $20 where everyone else was paying $39.99 for it.

But in the end if I really like the game I will pay for it, its just I dont get alot though. Last game I got that was a new release was the FO3 GOTY edition and I paid $40 for that. I paid $20 for SHIV Gold Edition back in July.

In the end I just dont understand how they can knock 50% off the price after the game has aged just alittle. If the game is worth $40 why doesnt it stay at $39.99 instead of dropping down to $19.99 or $29.99. I guess its just one of those "economic" things I dont get.

[socko2009]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">In the end I just dont understand how they can knock 50% off the price after the game has aged just alittle. If the game is worth $40 why doesnt it stay at $39.99 instead of dropping down to $19.99 or $29.99. I guess its just one of those "economic" things I dont get. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Yeah......, I begin to suspect that the drop to $19.99 coincides with the Corporate decision to "Move on to Other Things": (Read: "No more patches, No more support!")


S.

[Rusty_S85]

Thinking about it, it probably does. By time I get a game at that price typically theres no one playing it anymore. Not that I care, I still get to play the game though but if online mode is offered I would expect some people to still be playing it online. But I guess I can make up for it in SHV. I am pretty sure if the min specs are right I will get it the while its a new release.

[JG3_Karbo]

We also had a group who played online at least weekly and with the login errors we have given up. I will also be waiting on purchasing SH5.

[Wolferz]

We here know the Ubisoft business model...

Develop on a shoestring budget.
Stamp unfinished, untested code.
Shovel it into the market pipeline.
Depend on the modding community to fix the bugs and omissions.
Wring every last nickle out of it.
Drop it like a hot potatoe.


They couldn't care less what the established fan base thinks.
They depend on new suckers...err customers to keep their profit margin in the black.
As long as that keeps working for them, why should they care?

PS: The Dev Team is a bunch of hired coders. Why should they care if Ubi is screwing everyone that buys their code?

Ms kleaneasy will be sent in shortly to lock this thread.... http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_wink.gif http://forums.ubi.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif

[Rusty_S85]

Well then I better get one last comment in before this one is locked.

To be fully honest I dont buy many UBI products. Only games by UBI I ever bought was SH II, SH III, SH IV, and IL2 1946. The last one I dont really play cause the flight missions repeat itself or youre a navy bomber and you have to dog fight against 6 zeros that get the drop on you.

Most of my games comes from places like Atari, Bethesda, Value Soft, and Valve. So if there was more people like me UBI would go out of business cause I dont buy much from them. Just the SH series if the game play videos on youtube look interesting.

[WhiteKnight77]

While I can't find it, last year, Ubi CEO stated that the company had some under performing games and that they were gonna do some additional promotions to sell them. Some of it included buying one game and get an under performing game for free or something similar. With the release of a fiscal report this year showing between a 50.8% and 52% decrease in earnings, one has to wonder what is going on at the top.

If a game isn't selling, there is a reason. He should be able to figure out why. If he can't, all he has to do is look at his own forums to see how unhappy gamers are.

The real irony is, niche market games, while not necessarily big sellers, have been selling for years. The biggest niche market game, Flight Simulator by MS spanned 20 years and the last 2 versions of it will be played for years to come.

If one looks at the main forum page here at Ubi, one look indicates that the most popular forums are the one for niche market games, iL2, LoMac and SH (the Ghost Recon and R6 forums used to be really busy and with regular cleanings of all Ubi forums, their total numbers are down, especially due to lack of interest in those 2 franchises now).

The powers that be at Ubi have their heads buried in the sand and until the company loses more money, they will continue to churn out shovelware (the recent Ubisoft's Big Franchises Win, Wii Games Lose - Update (http://kotaku.com/5415348/ubisofts-big-franchises-win-wii-games-lose) article refers a bit about this even). Hopefully, that doesn't translate into the latest SH game.

What sucks for me is most of the games I own are published by Ubi and that includes games created by a company that was a true innovator and creator.

[socko2009]

One does have to wonder just when UBI will recognize AND appreciate the fact that they have a truly dedicated customer base for the Silent Hunter series!

Like many here, I have boxed copies of Silent Hunter 1, 2, 3, and 4!!! Doesn't that count for anything???

(....Oh! ...I forgot!! ..."Facebook" wasn't around back when I bought those copies, so UBI probably doesn't know about any of that! http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/88.gif http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/88.gif http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/88.gif)


S.

[Wolferz]

I have SH III & IV.

III was written with a totally narrow minded approach as to the OS it will run on. Every developer and publisher out there has run their IP's into the ground with countless rehashes of the SOS, over and over and over again. Did Ubi forget that Microshaft does the same thing in regard to their operating systems? Or was it simply a matter of "planned obsolescence?"
I think SH III was planned to be obsolete upon release. It still has the same bugs and omissions to this day. Instead of taking care of the customers that put them where they are and fixing said bugs, they chose instead to rehash the same bugged code, slap on a new title (SH IV) and sold it to the faithful peons and any other gullible buyer that could be enticed with slick advertising. I'm sure they think that this type of business practice is ok, as long as they can get away with it. As I have said before, it's not the dev team that is to blame. They are just clock punchers hired to perform a specific task. It's the suits in the Ubi Ivory tower who make the bad business decisions to release unfinished and barely tested games, with the "we'll only fix the sales stopper bugs" business model.

I can only wish the dev team great success in their next endeavor. But, they can only be as successful as the marketing folks will allow. When their scheduled completion date arrives, the beta code will be taken by the Ubisuits whether it's ready or not. They will stamp it as gold and shuffle it off to market for the unwary to buy.

Personally, I'm rather sick, fed up, and tired of game publishers screwing me over every time I buy one of their less than stellar offerings. Ubi should thank their lucky stars that they have this excellent forum with dedicated fans who are willing to be their volunteer tech support and game fixers. Without us, SH IV would have tanked at retail within six months of its release. Even with that in mind, we were forced to stage a near mutiny on these forums just to get them to fix what the MOD community couldn't.
I'm sad to say that Silent Hunter V will be no different.

Sure, you can call me the angry American if you wish but, think back to the history that the Silent Hunter series portrays. Did you forget what happened or did your schools and parents not teach you about it?
Maybe the next time France is occupied by an invading army, we, the angry Americans, will turn a deaf ear to your pleas for aid.
My only advice to Mr Guillemot and his cadre is to bend over as far as you can, grasp both shoulders firmly and pull until you hear a loud POP.

[WhiteKnight77]

I finally found the quote I was looking for by the Ubi CEO.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">
However, as some of our games did not meet the required quality levels to achieve their full potential they need more sales promotions than anticipated. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ubisoft® reports third-quarter 2008-09 sales (http://www.euronext.com/news/companypressrelease/companypressrelease.jsp?lan=NL&docid=648465&cha=1721)

While this is a few years old, it is backed up by the above linked article from earlier this month. While it did mention console games as under performing this time, when looking at the big picture over the years, one can see it is a trend.

Ubi does not take into account that customers who are not satisfied talk a lot more than those who are satisfied. They will post on forums and tell those around them about an inferior product. Yet, they do not read their own forums to hear how unhappy customers are (this does not include forum managers whose job it is to read the forums, I am talking about upper management). When I suggested that someone from upper management come to the forums to answer questions, I was told that as Ubi is a large company, such a manager couldn't do so. Funny that someone like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates can take time out of their busy schedule to travel to a function and meet with customers and press and a Ubi functionary can't come to the forums from the comfort of his own office for even 5 minutes or so.

[socko2009]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Funny that someone like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates can take time out of their busy schedule to travel to a function and meet with customers and press and a Ubi functionary can't come to the forums from the comfort of his own office for even 5 minutes or so. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>


Sigh..............

Somehow, I don't think that I would have used the word "Funny": .....I think "Pathetic" would have been closer to the mark!

S.

[Rusty_S85]

True story here. I can go to all the local stores that sells PC games like Walmart, Best Buy, Office Depot, Office Max. Not one of those stores carried SH IV when I was looking for it. Only place I found it was at Frys. Lots of those stores are not carrying titles by UBI much anymore. I think they realize people arent buying them so whats the point in ordering titles that will just collect dust on the shelves. There was a huge selection of the Ghostbuster game and the Fallout 3 Game of the Year Edition at those stores. Even then those games have been sold out up till now.

So UBI needs to take a good look and think cause you can only run a bad business so long before owner ship changes hands or the company goes under. Same happened with this engine shop here. They screwed me over quoted me $80 for head work I asked for then I went and got the heads 1 week later they wanted $400 and they did more work than I authorized. Then they lied saying the valve springs were bad even though they were brand new and matched to the camshaft. They have changed ownership twice since I delt with them.

[socko2009]

You got THAT right Rusty!!!! http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/25.gif http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/25.gif http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/25.gif

How long do people have to be in business before the figure out that they have to listen to their EXISTING customers????

S.

[Rusty_S85]

Yep like that shop I went to. I went there once and never again. I told them off and called the place a scam. A sham of a business that rips people off. This other guy there told me to watch my laungauge I was beyond ****ed off and told him that I wasnt talking to him and to mind his own business.

In the end UBI Soft needs to realize people wont be faithful to their product. I think they figure because they are a monopoly in the WWII Sub Simulator franchise they can screw people over. I also just realized that game I got that says its for Vista but yet in the forums I seen people saying that the Blazing Angels 2 game by UBI Soft was offically listed for XP only. But yet the box says Vista as well. I cant even get it to run. They say to install it then copy all files to the desktop and uninstall it or try running as adminstrator. I wasnt going to sit 4 hours transfering a copy of the game file to the desktop. The Adminstrator feature was grayed out. So I shelfed the game and its going in a garage sale I have coming up. Gonna offer it for $25 so I atleast make $5 off it.