Too Many Hurdles
Between not being able to download tables and now reading that even if I could, I wouldn't be able to play them offline on the road trip I'm about to go on... I made an account just to say goodbye. Spent about two hours trying to give you money for the star wars pack on my Surface then randomly came across the thread about no offline play. I am glad I didn't waste money. You guys need to get it together.
It's unfortunate that you went to all that effort to give feedback to the wrong company. Both are Microsoft issues and are impossible for us to work around on our own.Originally Posted by Cellien
With the number of message threads regarding those issues being Microsoft-related (not Zen-related) I'm a little surprised you didn't get the facts straight before you gave up. A shame though as the Star Wars tables are uniformly excellent.
All the more reason for you guys to hurry up on the Steam version of these tables. I personally can't wait!
Nice reply. Instills nearly zero confidence in your customer support. I unlocked other full games (from the trials) in-game on the Surface from the app store with zero problems. I am not saying its the exact same issue, but obviously it can be done. Replies like this aren't going to get you very far with the end users.
We sell DLC, rather than full games, and the Store problems relate to DLC, which is why you have problems with one and not the other. I am directing you to the correct customer support. Your problem is with the people running the store, not the people making the game. If Best Buy accidentally overcharges you for a TV, the best thing that Samsung's customer support could do for you is direct you back to Best Buy.
That is a better, more informative response but the analogy isn't as applicable as it may seem as I can download YOUR app fine from the app store and not be over charged (or more related, not encounter failures) but within your app I cannot purchase content. I understand this has much to do with how you are using and implementing transactions through the MS store but this is within in your app. If you sold the tables on the store they would work. A better analogy is that I buy a Samsung TV at Best Buy with no problems and then try to rent a movie through a Samsung app that is supposed to connect to Best Buy for the transaction, but fails. I hope you see that users WILL point to you because I am now in your ecosystem.
What about playing games outside of an internet connection? Who do we blame?
You're right about the analogy. It's kind of a confusing situation, which is why I didn't want to go into detail on the explanation. Most people would just like to know the fastest way to get their problem resolved rather than understand the whole backstory behind it.That is a better, more informative response but the analogy isn't as applicable as it may seem as I can download YOUR app fine from the app store and not be over charged (or more related, not encounter failures) but within your app I cannot purchase content. I understand this has much to do with how you are using and implementing transactions through the MS store but this is within in your app. If you sold the tables on the store they would work. A better analogy is that I buy a Samsung TV at Best Buy with no problems and then try to rent a movie through a Samsung app that is supposed to connect to Best Buy for the transaction, but fails. I hope you see that users WILL point to you because I am now in your ecosystem.
What about playing games outside of an internet connection? Who do we blame?
Offline play is a Microsoft DRM issue - again, completely out of our hands right now, although we are lobbying for changes.
Thanks for your time. I'll be honest, with how good the star wars tables look, I'll be back when it works. I really can't wait to play them.
Thanks, and sorry for the harsh tone. We're just as frustrated as you, if not more so, with the issues surrounding our Windows 8 game.
Offline play is a Microsoft DRM issue - again, completely out of our hands right now, although we are lobbying for changes.[/QUOTE]
So even though I keep reading in other threads that you're working getting an offline version working and that it's a Microsoft DRM issue, this is the first I've read that it's completely out of your hands. Would it be fair to say that this issue might in fact, never be resolved? If Microsoft decides to just ignore the outcry of it's user base and common sense (as it has since basically everything after Windows 7), we may never get rid of the DRM on the Win8 version of PBFX2.
I myself have decided to take a different approach to the whole Win8 fiasco. Initially I was very angry that I'll have to re-buy all the tables for the standalone version, even though both games would be sitting on my hard drive right next to each other. Now I just look at it as, I get to play the Win8 version (which is still very good when you can actually download the tables) until the Zen standalone version is out. If these were real physical tables, I would have blown that much money on them and had nothing to show for it. Then once the standalone version is released, I will gladly pay to be rid of the whole Microsoft Win8 crapola-fest and never look back - only trying hard to recapture my high scores.
Yes, it's possible that it might never be resolved, although I have no indication that Microsoft has decided on that route.
"Working on" in this case means bugging Microsoft about it on a regular basis, not the actual work of implementing a solution.
I am able to play offline on Windows 8
I am able to play Pinball FX 2 offline on Windows 8 with DLC tables I purchased by installing a "Games For Windows Live" game on the desktop side of the OS. The GFWL client downloaded my profile to my machine the first time I played one of those titles. (Some of them have an option to locally download your profile so you can play them and save progress offline.) Since the login info is the same for GFWL and Xbox games for windows, this allows me play the paid tables offline.
This solution has also been tried and confirmed to work by fellow forum user Ipos. Good luck everyone!
Last edited by jujohnso; 03-19-2013 at 07:15 PM. Reason: corrected misinformation
P.S. If you don't have any GFWL games to install for this fix, you should be able to download a demo of one, like Microsoft Flight and get the same result.
Thanks for the tips. Will try the at some point.
No need to install any game or demo. Just install the free GFWL client and sign into that:
http://www.xbox.com/en-US/LIVE/PC/DownloadClient
Yes, this works for me...cool!
Btw, just randomly tried today to get the Star Wars tables since I posted this thread and it worked! The tables are fantastic!
Glad you were able to get the Star Wars tables, Cellien! Enjoy!
Same glad you can play these fantastic tables but as a windows 7 user with no console, ^THIS^
Solitude, it did not work for me. First I downloaded and installed the GFWL client. I then started it up, clicked "Remember Profile", and logged on with an Internet connection. Then I started up PFX2, made sure it showed that I fully owned the tables, and even played one for an extended time period. I then shut down and dropped the internet connection. When I rebooted, I restarted PFX2, but this time it showed the tables I own as each having the "keyhole" over those table tiles. When I clicked on one of those tiles, it showed "Buy collection" and "Single Player/Demo" tiles. After a bit that screen changed and the tile changed to "Download and Play!". So, as you can see, having the GFWL (Games For Windows Live) client installed on my machine did not help once I dropped the Internet connection. By the way, I also did the other suggestion of downloading the "Microsoft Flight" which can now be downloaded and played for free (so more than a demo as Microsoft makes their money on this with Flight add-ons). Unlike PFX2 , I COULD play Microsoft Flight after rebooting without the Internet connection.
So, unless I did something wrong in my experiment, the DRM does still block me from playing the PFX2 tables I own when I am offline. In my case currently, it's not a big deal as I am using a desktop and can run an ethernet cable to the desktop when I have it over by the TV. But I am concerned for others who have laptops and tablets running Windows 8, and who may frequently be away from their internet access.
Solitude, if you (or anyone else that might have this working), has any other suggestion, I will give that a try. Otherwise, please keep up the battle with Microsoft that I know your Zen Studios team is waging to get this resolved.
Last edited by Seattlemark; 04-04-2013 at 04:19 AM.
Installing it isn't enough. As I stated above, install it and sign into it then play offline.
That is what I tried. (And just tried again.) But after I sign in to GFW (without signing out afterwards), power off, go offline, restart the computer, the GFW connection is also lost. Then the GFW shows "Connection error, can't start the program" when I click on GFW tile again (on the start page) after the reboot while I'm offline. (And I can't sign into GFW app while I am offline, as it wants an internet connection to complete that sign in.) Then I still wind up in demo mode in PFX2, so I haven't found how having GFW is helping me once I am offline. Note: As I stated above I am using "Remember Profile" as well when I signed into GFW.
By the way my GFW tile which was installed after I used the link of your post, says"Games for Windows Marketplace", so I hope that is correct.
Last edited by Seattlemark; 04-05-2013 at 08:53 AM.
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