Annoyed with all the bugs with S&M304 (SPOILERS)
Although I have enjoyed the game so far, I am annoyed with all the bugs.
1. Kind of annoyed that telltale hasn't fixed the multi-monitor screen bug yet. Every time I install a new episode and try to launch the game for the first time, the game crashes with a direct3d failed to initialize error. This was a known bug from the first episode, and so, they should have fixed it by now. Making customers play the game via workarounds is not acceptable. I have never encountered this problem with any of the other telltale games. The workarounds involve disabling the other monitors, changing the settings to window mode, or copying the prefs.prop from the prior installment (which for me essentially lets me play the game in a window). I SHOULD NOT have to do this to play the game!
2. The controller bug is on this episode is kind of annoying as well. Although I have an xbox 360 controller, the game tells me to use the "triangle" button for every command. I saw a reviewer comment on this bug as well. Although this is not a game stopping bug....
3. At the statue of liberty, if I try to change between sam and max with the controller, the game crashes. Finally..
4. Although I can change between sam and max with the mouse without crashing (as opposed to using the controller), I still cannot get past the statue of liberty stage. I did not know that max was actually controllable as the game did not let me move max (mouse, game controller, or keyboard). I spent hours playing with sam, changing the music, changing back to max, clicking on things as max. I finally broke down by reading the walkthrough and seeing the youtube walkthrough. I was surprised to see that you could actually control max.
Although the writing and story was top notch, the bugs in this game seriously ruined the experience. If the bugs continue, i'll just watch the next game on youtube rather than buy the next game.
1. Kind of annoyed that telltale hasn't fixed the multi-monitor screen bug yet. Every time I install a new episode and try to launch the game for the first time, the game crashes with a direct3d failed to initialize error. This was a known bug from the first episode, and so, they should have fixed it by now. Making customers play the game via workarounds is not acceptable. I have never encountered this problem with any of the other telltale games. The workarounds involve disabling the other monitors, changing the settings to window mode, or copying the prefs.prop from the prior installment (which for me essentially lets me play the game in a window). I SHOULD NOT have to do this to play the game!
2. The controller bug is on this episode is kind of annoying as well. Although I have an xbox 360 controller, the game tells me to use the "triangle" button for every command. I saw a reviewer comment on this bug as well. Although this is not a game stopping bug....
3. At the statue of liberty, if I try to change between sam and max with the controller, the game crashes. Finally..
4. Although I can change between sam and max with the mouse without crashing (as opposed to using the controller), I still cannot get past the statue of liberty stage. I did not know that max was actually controllable as the game did not let me move max (mouse, game controller, or keyboard). I spent hours playing with sam, changing the music, changing back to max, clicking on things as max. I finally broke down by reading the walkthrough and seeing the youtube walkthrough. I was surprised to see that you could actually control max.
Although the writing and story was top notch, the bugs in this game seriously ruined the experience. If the bugs continue, i'll just watch the next game on youtube rather than buy the next game.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I'm playing the game using my keyboard and mouse, and it's the non-Steam PC version. It may be about lack of the testing if you're playing the game using different controllers or playing different versions, since my version always seems to be the most polished up one judging by the previous episodes.
Weird graphical glitches may occur due to a particular card+driver set; asking Telltale to test all the video cards on the market with every driver version that was ever released for them is silly (Although they have recently purchased cards to test when users reported problems with a specific family of nVidia cards).
I'm not sure what to say about the controller. Maybe when you use one it reverts to a 'console' mode, and since the only console The Devil's Playhouse has been released on is the PS3, that's what assets they used. I don't think it's entirely appropriate to use PS3 button assignments for all available controllers, especially when there's no official SIXAXIS driver for use on PCs. With all the available PC-capable controllers on the market, I'd rather they use something much more generic; there's no sense in detecting specific controllers and giving them special treatment.
I'm sure different people are going to have different experiences given the vast number of computer setups. However....
I have purchased nearly every series from telltale so far, and my personal experience has been that the latest S&M series has had the most number of bugs.
I have always felt that all of telltale's games were "rock solid" in terms of stability. However, this series has tarnished that feeling somewhat, and judging from other peoples' comments on this forum, this series (and especially this episode) does appear to be a little bit more buggy than others.
And the multi-monitor bug, which is a pain, still stands even after 4 episodes, which I still insist is unacceptable (although I still giving them money, so I guess I'm the hypocrite). For now, I still am giving Telltale the benefit of the doubt, but if the next episode gives me the same experience as episode 304, then I may pass on Back to the Future and Jurassic Park.
Reply to xbskid:
Regarding the controller bug. This bug does not exist for any of the prior episodes S&M301-303. This controller bug is specific to episode 304. In fact, other people have commented on this bug already, and a reviewer has even mentioned it:
http://alternativemagazineonline.co.uk/2010/07/20/game-review-sam-max-the-devils-playhouse-episode-4-beyond-the-alley-of-the-dolls/
Regarding, your multi-monitor experience, I am not surprised that you are not having any issues given the vast number of different setups. However, I am not the only user with multi-monitor issues. A quick scan through this forum reveals that a number of customers are having the same error message (something like Direct 3D fails to initialize).
I can understand that when you upgrade the graphics engine from season 2 to 3, one may have some encounter some new bugs; however, one would hope that they be ironed out over the next few episodes.
I'm sure that they tinker with the game engine from episode to episode otherwise, this new controller bug would not have appeared specific to 304.
thanks for the replies. I look forward to further suggestions
True, and sadly, true.
Yes, the Devil's Playhouse is indeed the most glitchful series of episodic adventure games Telltale has created. I still think the difficulties you encountered on this episodes are actually "exceptional" since you're the only one I've seen yet, mentioning about those problems, but this doesn't change the fact that this season is really buggy. Maybe your hardware is causing those problems, or some other software is ruining your gaming experience. Either way, if those problems were encountered by much more people, that would mean that Telltale thought such a buggy game could satisfy their customers, and I would eventually feel betrayed like how you do. But to me, sorry, I think they're doing what they can do.
There are game breaking or fast forwarding bugs existing in some episodes, and luckily I've never encountered one. The bugs I've encountered were only small ones. Sure, they shouldn't be there either, but I have to tell you that this season is not only the most glitched one, but is also the most detailed one. Detailed environment, detailed designs, detailed interface, detailed coding required for detailed puzzle structure... They're not going for "use your inventory item with that thing you see on the table", some puzzles require you to stand somewhere spesific, and use Max's powers wisely. So many new details, leads to so many bits of probabilty left open in coding, causing unexpected errors. Complete with the addition of so many new stuff EVERY episode (remember the old seasons? In the old days we were thinking like "ooh, I wonder what the ONLY ONE PLACE they added in the next episode, which most likely has 3 rooms and we can only see it from only one angle?"... Now think about the 304. We got cloning room, office entrance, a very atmospheric docks, and STATUE OF LIBERTY that we can see from... 6 angles? 7?) and a VERY tight schedule of releasing an episode EVERY MONTH... I think some itsy bitsy bugs must be somewhat plausible.
If the issue you're having is encountered by a majority of people, they'll surely release a patched version of the game. If not, you can always ask for their support. Yes, your issue shouldn't have happened, but at least give them a chance to fix. I think you wouldn't want to miss all the BTTF action that TTG comes up with.
The multi-monitor direct3d bug is a well known bug. Here are some previous posts about this bug:
Tomb of Sammun-Mak "Failed to initialize Direct3D"
Xugumad
Sam & Max Season 3: "Could not initialize Direct3D"
LockeOak
Puzzle Agent (Windows 7/64x): Could Not Initialize Direct3D
hushed
S&M S3E1 Could not initialize Direct3D ( 1 2)
Maui
In fact, a member of the Telltale team replied in one of the above posts.
07/02/2010, 11:58 pm #5
Will
Telltale Team
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Sausalito, CA
Posts: 2,254
Hmm, that's *still* happening? Ok, I'll reopen the bug. Thanks for the heads up and sorry about that!
As you can see, the date is July 2. Will implies that the team has known about the bug for sometime.
Regarding the controller bug, a previous poster mentioned the triangle issue in this post titled "A couple S&M 304 bugs..."
In addition, as mentioned above, an online reviewer even mentioned the controller issue.
[url]http://alternativemagazineonline.co....-of-the-[/url]
While I fully accept that the game crashing issue during the statue of liberty scene may be specific to my setup (i have not seen anyone else post about this issue), I can't help but feel that this issue is somehow related to the controller bug and possibly other bugs in the game engine that should have been worked by episode 4. I also accept that my setup is not a "standard" setup (windows 7 x64, 3 monitors, ati 5850). However, my ati is not an unusually rare card, and most new computers are being sold with windows 7 x64 OS. And so other than these "unusual" specs, my system is pretty standard. I am familiar about trying all the usual tricks (such as changing compatibilities), and yes, my drivers are up to date... usually. Here's hoping that they work out these bugs by episode 5.
I too have enjoyed the outstanding writing; however, the technical problems ruin the experience. TOMI was a bold step in pushing the series forward, and I have, so far, enjoyed the direction that they have taken with S&M; however, good faith only lasts so long!
But primarily, I would really like the season finale not to be as buggy as the penultimate episode, please? Can I have an amen?
Also, I just found a bunch of users who appear to be having the same problems I am having:
"ATMachine" started a thread in the S&M series discussion forum, "Two game-breaking bugs in 304 (SPOILERS)" referring to the same statue of liberty bug that I am having. Some users recommended "right clicking" to make max usable. This recommendation does not work for me, and apparently does not work for some of the other users in that thread as well.
302 and 303 fine bugwise? Whut?
^ Hmmm, time to replay that scene I guess. Can you recall the specific Lady Liberty you had and what you clicked?
If you are referring to the game stopping statue of liberty bug that several users, including me have experienced, I'll try to explain it to you. I'm on a different computer, so I don't have a screen capture available.
I'm trying to recall from memory, so I may get some of the details wrong.
For me, when the statue of liberty scene begins, max is seen briefly in an unctrollable close up shot (cut scene). Following that, I am in a view that shows sam and the puppet more close up and max far away.
However, in this view, I am currently in "max" mode. At this point, I cannot move max, I cannot have max comment on clickable objects in the scenery (tablets, crown, etc). I CANNOT even switch to sam.... unless I click on the "back" button first (lower left hand corner).
After I click on this back button, the back button disappears, and max is still uncontrollable. However, this time, I can now switch to sam. I can now control sam and proceed through sam's portion of this scene (talk to the puppet, change music, etc). However, when I change back to max, I can still not control max. I can now SOMETIMES get him to comment on objects, but even then I sometimes have to switch back and forth between sam and max.
Having purchased most of Telltale's games, I can assure you that I am familiar enough with the games' mechanics to see that this is a bug, and not me just overlooking something such as pressing a button, right or left clicking, "escape", etc. (although i do accept that I can and do often overlook things).
I thought I was alone in having this bug; however, I then saw another poster start a thread in the S&M series discussion forum as I mentioned above.
At this point, I doubt there is anything in game that can be done. Please don't ask me to right click something!
I recall having a similar thing happen in 301 (Max modus in the air when Sam is being attacked by Skun'kape's ship instead of normal vision and having control of Sam), but there you get Sam as you disable Max modus.
So, you're in Max modus when being Max, or control him around like Sam?
Sorry if I didn't understand your question properly. But the main problem is max is not movable as opposed to sam being movable in the rest of the game.
Because of this problem, I cannot get past this scene.
This is not to boast about the fact that I've seen very few bugs in Telltale games but to sort of say that just because a fair number of people have posted about bugs it's fairly likely that a lot more people haven't had any real problems.
I guess it's just one of the problems with developing for the PC when such a wide range of possible combinations of hardware & software means it's just about impossible to make sure a game can work for everyone's system. Probably why a lot of companies are favouring developing for consoles over computers.
I feel your defense of TellTale, I just don't think it invalidates my wanting a less buggy game. Would you not be pissed if weird, sloppy-looking bugs started plaguing your up-until-then awesome experience?
Whatever they did to break this episode, they should try doing less of that for the finale, and maybe fix it in this episode a bit when they get a moment.