Pinball FX 2 - bugs/issues and recommendations

[BarbieBobomb]

Hey all - it doesn't look like Earth Defense will be hitting today. System should be back up Monday at some point, but we are going to hold the table for when we get back from our much needed studio closure over the next two weeks. Just bad timing but once we're rested up, we'll make sure PFX2 gets its next table and an update to fix a few things. I will still be around occasionally, I may just lurk to make sure everything is okay - but please let me know if you have a pinball emergency!

Have a wonderful weekend!

[Lafleur]

Much needed studio closure over the next two weeks.

Have a fantastic holiday! You guys deserve it!

Don't worry about the mess up with Earth Defense on Steam; these things happen and everyone paying attention knows that you're doing an excellent job for all us pin-fiends

[Typo]

Are You Kidding Me???

we have an update on the new table + patch for PFX2 on Steam - Looks like Valve/Steam is having some major internal issues with publishing, seems the system will be down until Monday at the earliest. This means we won't be able to bring Earth Defense to PFX2 on time, but I'll keep you posted as I hear more.

Hey all - it doesn't look like Earth Defense will be hitting today. System should be back up Monday at some point, but we are going to hold the table for when we get back from our much needed studio closure over the next two weeks. Just bad timing but once we're rested up, we'll make sure PFX2 gets its next table and an update to fix a few things. I will still be around occasionally, I may just lurk to make sure everything is okay - but please let me know if you have a pinball emergency!

Have a wonderful weekend!

This is so messed up. You released a game breaking update and then refused to reverse the update in anything resembling a timely manner, in fact, you figure we can just wait a couple weeks and then when that update is due, you say there is a Steam issue but show no proof whatsoever. You then say that you should have the update pushed on Monday when it gets fixed but now your telling us that it will be at least 2 more weeks.

You people have a lot to learn about customer service. I cannot enjoy the game I have invested over $80 on and I continue to get the feeling that you people don't care one bit.

As far as your "Pinball Emergency" comment, do you really expect anyone to believe you will actually do anything if something were to happen? I reported a significant bug that you introduced 2 weeks ago, a bug that broke local miltiplayer (along with the other stuff reported) and you decided not to fix it immediately and now we have to deal with the bug for at least a month all together.

Why would you take vacation this soon after your new port launches and with such bugs needing addressing not to mention your promised table release? I know you have been busy and deserve a break but you shouldn't take one at the expense of your customers satisfaction and you have clearly made the decision to do that.

You have made it abundantly clear that you don't care.

*Edit ... Can't help but notice that an update for FEZ just came through Steams "broken" system.

[LeanderL]

As much as I love Pinball FX2 and your company in general I am disappointed, too. If Steam has problems it is ok and not your fault but having to wait two more weeks for the local multiplayer fix is sad. I always play with friends at the weekend and we still can't play properly. Hasn't the update already been submitted to Steam and it will automatically be available as soon as Steam has fixed their problems?

I don't know how difficult it is to release an update for Steam but isn't it just a few clicks that can also be done during a vacation (if the fix has already been coded)? Being unable to play local multiplayer for 3-4 weeks is annoying.

Do companies have to pay for each update? I'd understand it then (you explained once how expensive an XBOX update is).

[Typo]

As much as I love Pinball FX2 and your company in general I am disappointed, too. If Steam has problems it is ok and not your fault but having to wait two more weeks for the local multiplayer fix is sad. I always play with friends at the weekend and we still can't play properly. Hasn't the update already been submitted to Steam and it will automatically be available as soon as Steam has fixed their problems?

I don't know how difficult it is to release an update for Steam but isn't it just a few clicks that can also be done during a vacation (if the fix has already been coded)? Being unable to play local multiplayer for 3-4 weeks is annoying.

Do companies have to pay for each update? I'd understand it then (you explained once how expensive an XBOX update is).

They do not pay for updates.

Depending on whether they are using Steam Pipe for faster and more efficient update procedures or still doing the older method of an email with a patch, it is a simple and free process with no input on valves end as far as quality control of what you submit.

They are allowed to push an update any time.

The fact that an indie game was able to push an update just 5 hours after the message above, coupled with the lack of any information anywhere on the internet concerning Steams "major internal issues with publishing" that will take "at least until Monday" to fix, to me pretty mush makes it clear that this was just an excuse. Even if I am wrong and they maybe Steam fixed it sooner, they could have sent the patch to be issued when the system was back up or failing that, take the 10 minutes to push it remotely on your poorly timed vacation.

I honestly don't think they have a patch to push in the first place and for them to still at this point not just push a small update to undo the previous one makes even less sense than it did before.

[inF]

Game crashes after starting up - solved !

Hi,

since of today my PinballFX game did crash meanwhile I was playing Sorcers Lair table ... After the crash I did try to restart the game again but when it was showing the white screen with Microsoft logo the game did crash back to desktop again.

Re-installing the game was no solution, even after deleting all data on local HD + registry cleanup ! and re-install = crash

WHAT I DID ? Just deleted the last 2 new friends I added to my friendlist ... And the game was working again = )

the last 2 friends i did add + delete were: (master)immortal + hauptbahnhof
Both are steam names ... i think this one of these 2 did crash my game !!! hauptbahnhof profile = http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198062727501

(master)immortal you can easily find yourself @ steam community

My opnion: hauptbahnhof did cause the crash !!!!!! After i did test again by adding (master)immortal as friend again and this user accepted again my invitation, the game was still working fine ! NO CRASH

I did add 2 new friends to my friendlist this morning and within half an hour both of them accepted my invitation and therefor my game was crashing while playing and continued crashing after restarting !!!! One of the 2 friends I did add did play the game once (they played the beta version) and deleted it after (few weeks ago), so I think this must be an issue of the game crash ....

Extra Ball,
inF. =PF= (CEO/admin)

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/pinballfamily

[Typo]

Hi,

since of today my PinballFX game did crash meanwhile I was playing Sorcers Lair table ... After the crash I did try to restart the game again but when it was showing the white screen with Microsoft logo the game did crash back to desktop again.

Re-installing the game was no solution, even after deleting all data on local HD + registry cleanup ! and re-install = crash

WHAT I DID ? Just deleted the last 2 new friends I added to my friendlist ... And the game was working again = )

the last 2 friends i did add + delete were: (master)immortal + hauptbahnhof
Both are steam names ... i think this one of these 2 did crash my game !!! hauptbahnhof profile = http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198062727501

(master)immortal you can easily find yourself @ steam community

My opnion: hauptbahnhof did cause the crash !!!!!! After i did test again by adding (master)immortal as friend again and this user accepted again my invitation, the game was still working fine ! NO CRASH

I did add 2 new friends to my friendlist this morning and within half an hour both of them accepted my invitation and therefor my game was crashing while playing and continued crashing after restarting !!!! One of the 2 friends I did add did play the game once (they played the beta version) and deleted it after (few weeks ago), so I think this must be an issue of the game crash ....

Extra Ball,
inF. =PF= (CEO/admin)

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/pinballfamily

This is a bug that has been reported already, I think the last update may have introduced it. People find that when they add too many friends, the game crashes.

You can expect at least a 2 week wait for his to be resolved as the whole Zen team decided this would be a good time for vacation (read my post above yours for more info on that).

[inF]

This is a bug that has been reported already, I think the last update may have introduced it. People find that when they add too many friends, the game crashes.

You can expect at least a 2 week wait for his to be resolved as the whole Zen team decided this would be a good time for vacation (read my post above yours for more info on that).

Ok so it has somethign to do with too many friends in your friendlisting !?
The moment of the crash I did have over the 130 friends in my friendlist.

Hope they fix soon = )

Extra Ball,
inF. =PF= (CEO / Admin)

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/pinballfamily

[BarbieBobomb]

This is a bug that has been reported already, I think the last update may have introduced it. People find that when they add too many friends, the game crashes.

You can expect at least a 2 week wait for his to be resolved as the whole Zen team decided this would be a good time for vacation (read my post above yours for more info on that).

I apologize for the inconvenience, but we do plan on resolving the issue as soon as we get back in the studio. Please understand that this was not our intention to upset anyone. In my time here at Zen (over a year and a half) this is the first time the studio has been closed for more than a weekend. It was time for a break, but again, apologies for the bad timing.

[ta0801]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Mission Attack on Kamino, not possible to complete mission

I cannot finish this mission anymore:

1. Hit the 2 Flashing Lanes - check
2. The Lock Mini Orbit (5) will begin to flash; but when you manage hit the Ball towards it, the Ball will instead be frozen to the spot and another Ball will be launched out –
Now - check
3. Now hit the frozen Ball with the new Ball to release it to move onto - when I hit this ball, the ball only moves a bit and that's it. When I hit it again and again it alway moves only a few inches...

I remember I already finihed this mission some time ago.

Please fix this.

Thanks!

[The Loafer]

Steam issues

While I realise its not fun to have to wait a while, the reality is that Zen are not the only ones to have reported Steam issues the past few days, I believe one of the programmers for Pinball Arcade has reported this when trying to access the Steam servers.

See post #706 here:

http://pinballarcadefans.com/showthread.php/2287-Beta-of-Pinball-Arcade-for-PC/page29

Calling out Zen with unsubstantiated guesses is wrong. Its wrong today, it was wrong yesterday and it will be wrong tomorrow, period. I know Typo you aren't happy, and I can appreciate Zen do not always come through as you see fit and some of your comments were justified, but these two weeks off were planned a long time ago and you can't expect everything to stop at a drop of a hat.

It may not be your intention but you are coming off pretty bad with what looks to be tantrums. You have every right to be upset but bring a little bit of reality into what's going on here. From your POV it looks like nothing is done to address your issues, the patching system is too slow, etc. But you forget there are lots of different software releases and different hardware that need support too and Pinball FX is not the only thing on their plate. A justified comment would be "maybe too much on their plate" but alluding to them not caring? Come one

Although things can be better, Pinball FX 2 has been released only for a couple of months and the show of support they've put out since that time has earned them some patience from the masses. I realize for you some of these bugs are game breaking because you play with your dad and I admire that. I wish my dad was around so I could play with him some pinball, both virtual and real, because he used to love it. But nope, I can't, he died 28 years ago this month.

So if I were you, I'd nurture that relationship by doing something else with your dad for a couple of weeks, knowing that this will eventually get fixed. Its an inadvertent bug that is not going to be ignored, just needs some time, and a little patience.

[Typo]

While I realise its not fun to have to wait a while, the reality is that Zen are not the only ones to have reported Steam issues the past few days, I believe one of the programmers for Pinball Arcade has reported this when trying to access the Steam servers.

See post #706 here:

http://pinballarcadefans.com/showthread.php/2287-Beta-of-Pinball-Arcade-for-PC/page29

Calling out Zen with unsubstantiated guesses is wrong. Its wrong today, it was wrong yesterday and it will be wrong tomorrow, period. I know Typo you aren't happy, and I can appreciate Zen do not always come through as you see fit and some of your comments were justified, but these two weeks off were planned a long time ago and you can't expect everything to stop at a drop of a hat.

It may not be your intention but you are coming off pretty bad with what looks to be tantrums. You have every right to be upset but bring a little bit of reality into what's going on here. From your POV it looks like nothing is done to address your issues, the patching system is too slow, etc. But you forget there are lots of different software releases and different hardware that need support too and Pinball FX is not the only thing on their plate. A justified comment would be "maybe too much on their plate" but alluding to them not caring? Come one

Although things can be better, Pinball FX 2 has been released only for a couple of months and the show of support they've put out since that time has earned them some patience from the masses. I realize for you some of these bugs are game breaking because you play with your dad and I admire that. I wish my dad was around so I could play with him some pinball, both virtual and real, because he used to love it. But nope, I can't, he died 28 years ago this month.

So if I were you, I'd nurture that relationship by doing something else with your dad for a couple of weeks, knowing that this will eventually get fixed. Its an inadvertent bug that is not going to be ignored, just needs some time, and a little patience.

First off, I think its clear I am trying to spend every minute I can doing things with my dad and this was finally something we both enjoyed. This whole thing almost turned him off to the game completely, its one of the reasons I'm so passionate in my writings here.

Pointing out the reality of a situation and being upset at what IS clearly a lack of caring is not 'throwing a tantrum'.

They insinuate the issue is just with Steam but if this was true, they could have done some simple preparation to then push the patch remotely in a matter of minutes while on vacation.

When they reported the Steam issue, a thorough search online and in Steam found nothing regarding any such issue and the forum post you are referring to is not viewable due to the site having database issues but like I said, assuming it was true (and why not assume that), they could still have done the update very easily while on vacation.

I still say if you push an update that breaks things, you should undo it and work on your patch and testing more, not just continue onto the next update and include a fix for what you broke with it.

The initial message from barbie stated "not to worry, this is just a Russian language fix" which was clearly not the case.

Them knowing they were going on vacation only makes them not repairing the issues before they left even worse and I still think that if they actually had the patch done, they would push it remotely.

If I come off as throwing a tantrum, I apologize, I am just extremely frustrated and me being a developer and understanding the patching process makes it worse because I know how easy undoing the bad patch would have been if only they made the decision to do it.

There can be no argument that they made the choice to not immediately repair this and that that bad decision led to us dealing with the things they broke (while fixing what exactly?) for a month (or longer?).

If they have too much to do, they should hire more people, not keep trying to handle 3 times the work they used to have and I do understand the need for them to have some time off but I do no understand the choice to leave this until after that. They never should have waited until the day they were leaving for vacation to try and push such important updates.

[The Loafer]

You say a lot of stuff that is true but when you say "they should hire more people", it makes me cringe a bit. Maybe in the utopia development team you work with, that is something done at the snap of the fingers, without the need to concern oneself about budgetary issues, but that is not how it works everywhere and you can't just add programmers to fix something without considerable training, that could make things work.

IMHO our opinions differ, it is not so CLEAR to me that there is a lack of caring. Your opinion is not fact sir.

Agreed, things could be better. Just think the reaction is over the top. Take care.

Rob

[Typo]

You say a lot of stuff that is true but when you say "they should hire more people", it makes me cringe a bit. Maybe in the utopia development team you work with, that is something done at the snap of the fingers, without the need to concern oneself about budgetary issues, but that is not how it works everywhere and you can't just add programmers to fix something without considerable training, that could make things work.

IMHO our opinions differ, it is not so CLEAR to me that there is a lack of caring. Your opinion is not fact sir.

Agreed, things could be better. Just think the reaction is over the top. Take care.

Rob

I won't repeat myself anymore but I will agree to disagree and I feel I need to respond to your response.

Why would you cringe at the thought of hiring more people? They have, by the sound of it, at least tripled their workload and I hardly believe the decision to expand to two more platforms came at the drop of a hat or happened overnight.

With 2 more platforms comes a ton more work. As you said above, they have very different hardware and software environments to contend with now and that means a much heavier workload not to mention the impact it has on the amount of incoming customer support requests (feature requests, bugs or just thankyous) due to all the new customers and sales. Even Barbie states she has way too many places she needs to keep an eye on to be able to properly reply to everything she would like to.

They have more income and a much heavier workload so it would not require some unrealistic Utopian development team or anything outside of normal budgeting considerations to bring on new people.

You cannot enjoy the kind of success that they have had recently without expanding to meet the demands that your success has created.

You take care too

Jeremy

[The Loafer]

I am referring to the fact deciding that you need to hire someone and actually having someone working and being productive in a video game environments ain't done in the timeframe you seem to be alluding to. It ain't as easy as it sounds. Have a great day, me say no more