The Updated patcher

[Amadan]

Patcher Update

As some of you are experiencing, there are still problems with the patcher. We?ve been testing the new patcher on Blight since February and thought that we had all issues resolved. We sincerely apologize that the release we made today has problems that have prevented some people from logging into the game.

We will be rolling back the patcher.

The immediate goals for the patcher are to improve the download speed of patches. Besides a performance improvement, this release is a step towards a launcher that does not require using a browser and so that the patcher itself can install Horizons ? removing the need to download a huge installer.

We learned two things today: we need a better way to test large updates and we found problems that need to be fixed in the new patcher. We know this has been quite frustrating for some of you, but hope you can see that we working to resolve these issues. Over the long term, this patcher is a great step towards a stand alone launcher so you will not have to open a web browser to play Horizons and will provide a more streamlined install process for our new users.

I would again like to thank you for your patience regarding this matter.

Thank you,

Rick Simmons & Amadan

[gusi]

Ahh, it's good to be able to log in again! However, I do wait with anticipation for this new (revised) patcher, should be great!

[BKBanzai]

one would have hoped you had learned from the last rollback of the patcher not to release it YET AGAIN without making sure it worked....

Why not get some email addies of people that have exhibited and expressed problems logging in with the new patcher, and come up with a method to test it using a different log in page?

[gopher65]

Best bet: everytime you have a significant update like this, post in BIG RED LETTERS on the logging page askingfor help fromanyone who wishes to log into blight to help test the thingiemabobber in question.

[Peaches]

Thank you for the update, and most of all, thank you for trying to give us a stand alone login type of game. I myself, am looking forward to that very much so. Sure, you ran into unexpected issues, and that is expected. Keep up the good work , for that is what I see. Your trying and improving, that is what counts.


Oh and thanks to the team that helped us, on the boards and in irc, lots of support there for those that needed the help!

[Larus-Fel]

i'm still having alot of friends in my guild and on my server having problems even getting in the game... locking the thread for more answers wasn't a good idea... (whatever non of that)

people are still getting the 'click' on the play game button with nothing happening or responding.. even the ones that weren't around for this abrupt patcher.. i'm only saying this because i still have 5 friends having issues[:$]

The mojority had the same issue as me when i had the problem.. i gave them the advice amon gave me.. and its not working..

Also one instance where one cannot even find the caspol.bat to run to fix the problem

[Charlson]

The way to test stuff better before it is released would have our main characters live on Blight as well as our main server. This would allow us the ability to better test the changes.

[cpltom]

Thank you for trying to keep us updated Amadan.

I would like to make a sugestion to help with easing the frustration of those who are having problems( yes , im one of them)

next time you put the new patcher up, put an anouncement with it saying how long it will be up, and then take it down ( seems thats whats having to happen anyway ) and we wont be so scared that we are totaly out of luck.

thank you

[Amadan]

Larus,

Have them completly restart their system if they are still having troubles. They will still get a message asking to install a file to patch the game.

[Blue Hasia]

Amadan is the TUlga staff looking for a way to get rid of the patcher asking for the user to be admin of PC...THough I have I am admin to my pc I do not log in as Admin for internet use(only web I do as admin is windows update and anti-virus updates), I know the risk of having the internet hook up for long periods of times (or any in matter) when you are hooked up to the world wide web as admin to your PC, it means any hacks, tojons, wormsor Hackers thattake over also have admin rights to your machine[li]

[cpltom]

since Peaches wants me to continue on this thread i guess i will,

recap ,

I still can not get into the game and my computer REBOOTS evertime i do try . I did only the things said to do by Amadan and others.

the upside is , EVERYTHING on my computer is screwed up now. I cant run word , excel or even solitaire.

boy , as an unemployed disabled vet I would like to just thank you for probebly costing me money to have my computer fixed that I didnt have in the first place.

[Deth]

The only thing I can say is maybe next time post a message that you have something major like this in test here and ask people to come to blight to test it out. I happened to noticed a small not about it on the blight boards from last month a while ago about there being a problem and thought maybe it was working trie dit and it did not work for me so just went back to the old patcher thinking it was still in work. If I had seem a more up to date messge that it was going live soon or a supposed fix had gone in fo it or something i would have spoken up about my problems.

[Amadan]

Hmm... There is nothing that should make it do that... When does it start to reboot? How far do you get? What exactly did you do? When was the last time you were able connect? Also, please submit a supper case regarding this. You may do so by going to https://support.istaria.com

[Larus-Fel]

*nods* the same thing happened to my friend in my guild Ryumansa he has the SAME exact problem where his whole computer doesn't run anything. following dev's intructions on the other thread.. so its something ... he also states he never had a problem till he installed .NET 1.1 and ran the caspol.bat.

Not sure what he's going to do.

[imported_tjl]

well if your computer doesn't work properly, i would suggest doing a system restore if your on a windows xp machine. press f8 when the computer boots up (usually f8... check the screen) and select the "Last Known Good Configuration"

you could also go to:
start > programs > accessories > system tools > system restore

that is, if it is turned on.

see if that fixes it.

[Dragoniade]

This is another reason while Blight should be turned into a REAL test server, rather than another shard treated like any other shard.

You want more people to test your updates, then give them proper tools.
I, and many others, don't want to level a character on Blight to test. You should give them tools to level to any level, get as much cash as they need.

So a new spells get released. You want to test it. Poof to level 1, test tier 1.
Poof to level 20 and test Tier 2, and so on.
You expect everyone to level to 100, and start over again when something for a lower level get released?

[Kulamata]

The Framework installation aid was a nice idea, and was well done. But I don't think that was the problem for most. I got on by going back to the middle of the second page of the first thread, to Smeglor's post about the difficulties he had on his home computer. There he talked about the trusted site, and while at the trusted site settings, changing unsafe scripting from prompt to enable. (Done from fading memory, read the original before trying at home. ) That sequence really needed to have a little tutorial, even more than the framework download, which MS pretty well walks you through.

And the many other suggestions, after being verified, need to be bundled with the above so that there is a single comprehensive source of immediately accessible trouble shooting information. And of course a way to back the changes out, if all of the above does not work. Bit of logging to give support something to work with might help too.

SQA is a complete discipline in and of itself. In a small firm it is difficult for it to be current and professional (hard in a large firm too for that matter). But as the posted comments reflect, it must be developed further. I know it's difficult to spend scarce money on an overhead function; but you can't afford not to. Pay me now, or pay me later, and the further a bug propagates down the release chain, the more expensive it is, by roughly an order of magnitude as it moves from development, to alpha, to beta, to live. There isn't enough time for shortcuts.But somehowthere is always time to do it over. And with the devs not having to pick up and put down the current project to fight fires, productivity is very likely to improve.

[refuse]

This is another reason while Blight should be turned into a REAL test server, rather than another shard treated like any other shard.

You want more people to test your updates, then give them proper tools.
I, and many others, don't want to level a character on Blight to test. You should give them tools to level to any level, get as much cash as they need.

So a new spells get released. You want to test it. Poof to level 1, test tier 1.
Poof to level 20 and test Tier 2, and so on.
You expect everyone to level to 100, and start over again when something for a lower level get released?

Dragoniade:
Read this thread:
http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=55818

In particular this part:

I've certainly long thought the issue of "free labor" (be it via helper programs, content producers, or unpaid testers) remains one of most underexplored - but critically important - aspects facing games (and online communities more generally).

A true test server, where people are there to test for free, doesn't work because of possible repercussions due to the current laws.

[gopher65]

I don't know how it is in the US, but in Canada it is ILLEGAL for certain professions to work for free (I don't recall exactly what those professions are. All I know is I am not one of them [:P]).

[Pharcellus]

[img]/Web/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif[/img]Dragoniade wrote:This is another reason while Blight should be turned into a REAL test server, rather than another shard treated like any other shard.

You want more people to test your updates, then give them proper tools.
I, and many others, don't want to level a character on Blight to test. You should give them tools to level to any level, get as much cash as they need.

So a new spells get released. You want to test it. Poof to level 1, test tier 1.
Poof to level 20 and test Tier 2, and so on.
You expect everyone to level to 100, and start over again when something for a lower level get released?

Dragoniade:
Read this thread:
http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=55818

In particular this part:
I've certainly long thought the issue of "free labor" (be it via helper programs, content producers, or unpaid testers) remains one of most underexplored - but critically important - aspects facing games (and online communities more generally).
A true test server, where people are there to test for free, doesn't work because of possible repercussions due to the current laws.

Umm. No.

By that reasoning, Open Source contributions would have similar "possible repercussions". It also has never stopped a plethora of other games and companies from having bona fide testing programs and dedicated test servers.