Discussion thread - Update to 1.26

[DeletedUser76094]

This has been the buggiest update till date in my experience with FOE. Performance with so called "accelerators" is so bad that I can go have dinner while the game is loading a city or a battle map or a military building to train a troop. Why don't we take the game back to Beta version if the bugs can't be tested before releasing an update?

 

[Amy Steele]

Hi Guptaji - sorry you're having problems with the hardware acceleration. The latest update set the hardware acceleration feature to 'on'/activated for everyone. If this is causing you problems with slow loading, the recommended course of action is to turn it off (set to 'inactive'). You can do this in your Settings menu (the 2 small cogs at the bottom left of your city screen). You will find the hardware acceleration at the bottom of the Settings tab within that menu. If turning hardware acceleration off does not improve things for you, please do let support know by raising a ticket.

 

[GrahamMills]

......................... The latest update set the hardware acceleration feature to 'on'/activated for everyone. If this is causing you problems with slow loading, the recommended course of action .........................

There was NO indication in the update announcement that hardware acceleration was going to be turned on whether we liked it or not!!!!
I get irritated by the incompetent buggy updates that we get. You have a beta server to fix these bugs for gods sake.

However I get REALLY annoyed when we are kept in the dark and treated like morons. Does NOBODY in Inno have any idea about CUSTOMER SERVICE?

 

[DeletedUser13082]

There was NO indication in the update announcement that hardware acceleration was going to be turned on whether we liked it or not!!!!
I get irritated by the incompetent buggy updates that we get. You have a beta server to fix these bugs for gods sake.

However I get REALLY annoyed when we are kept in the dark and treated like morons. Does NOBODY in Inno have any idea about CUSTOMER SERVICE?

Obviously it wasn't intentional that the update would cause the accelerator to be set to active in everyone's city.

 

[DeletedUser6065]

' . . .The latest update set the hardware acceleration feature to 'on'/activated for everyone. If this is causing you problems with slow loading . . .'

An accelerator that causes a slow down. How can anyone possibly respond? . . . mk

 

[DeletedUser76094]

Hi Guptaji - sorry you're having problems with the hardware acceleration. The latest update set the hardware acceleration feature to 'on'/activated for everyone.

Should call it Hardware Decceleration... My computer is going berserk with the new updates. I know it can't be an internet speed or cache problem because the game was functioning just fine before the updates.. I agree there were white screen crashes, but it was still better than waiting for too long for the entire city to load, especially when you are visiting others (GBs are loading in forever), and the worst part is that the animations are running despite them being turned off in my settings... Are the devs not checking these problems before releasing updates? Surely they can't be running the game on machines that a typical user doesn't have. I'm sure they are aware that almost 99% of the online gaming crowd doesn't bother about getting supercomputer-like PCs just for playing an online game. Then why is there so much gap after a release has been supposedly tested for bugs? Are you guys asking this question to your dev team? If there is lack of expertise, I manage outsourcing relationships with leading online gaming companies for my organization in my real life. My organization could help set up a cost-effective testing team for Innogames.
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Oh and thanks for pointing out where to check these settings. I have been playing this game since April 2012, to think that I may not know where to check the settings
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DISCLAIMER - No disrespect intended towards the mods or dev staff.. But criticism is necessary for improvements and definitely needed keeping in view some of the recent "bugdates"

 

[Amy Steele]

Oh and thanks for pointing out where to check these settings. I have been playing this game since April 2012, to think that I may not know where to check the settings

My apologies guptaji - of course I am aware that by now you know exactly where to find the settings menu. I worded my reply in the way that I did to save those others who may not know how to access the settings menu from needing to ask - I should have made that clear

 

[DeletedUser97768]

Hi Guptaji - sorry you're having problems with the hardware acceleration. The latest update set the hardware acceleration feature to 'on'/activated for everyone. If this is causing you problems with slow loading, the recommended course of action is to turn it off (set to 'inactive'). You can do this in your Settings menu (the 2 small cogs at the bottom left of your city screen). You will find the hardware acceleration at the bottom of the Settings tab within that menu. If turning hardware acceleration off does not improve things for you, please do let support know by raising a ticket.

That seems to be the standard template answer to any queries regarding the H/W acceleration...I got the same response when I raised a ticket lol.

Still does not answer the question as to why the release was made without testing/improper testing on Beta in the first place. Especially when they already know it will cause issues with older and/or unconventional graphics cards (as per their own update notes)? And when its now known to be SO buggy, why the delay in rolling it back?

Can anyone give me ONE logical explanation for the H/W acceleration update in the first place?? If anything, it has actually slowed everything down and is ruining the FOE experience for all. And if INNO think that everyone is going to rush out and spend $$$ to upgrade their systems just to play this game, they will have to think again...

 

[DeletedUser4879]

It took a little while before I realised that somebody turned on that HW thingy!
As I leave the game open a lot it even crashed my other games I play(Flash crashed)!
As I play the beta as well the same thing happen there!! That just goes to show
that it wasn't looked at!!

 

[DeletedUser5180]

It took a little while before I realised that somebody turned on that HW thingy!
As I leave the game open a lot it even crashed my other games I play(Flash crashed)!
As I play the beta as well the same thing happen there!! That just goes to show
that it wasn't looked at!!

i think most things are not looked at. I always thought that the server we can not mention had bug-dates before the en and other servers so any problems could be detected there first and fixed.

why all these bugs appear after bug-date is astounding

 

[DeletedUser76094]

i think most things are not looked at. I always thought that the server we can not mention had bug-dates before the en and other servers so any problems could be detected there first and fixed.

why all these bugs appear after bug-date is astounding

I don't think they have any testing team per se. We, users, are the testers and we build their test scripts by submitting bugs/tickets... this allows them to avoid the analysis of their own written (buggy in most aspects) code. I can't see any other more plausible explanation than this.

 

[DeletedUser98465]

I don't think they have any testing team per se. We, users, are the testers and we build their test scripts by submitting bugs/tickets... this allows them to avoid the analysis of their own written (buggy in most aspects) code. I can't see any other more plausible explanation than this.

I suspect that HW acceleration was implemented in an attempt to fix the slow downs and problems with the release of memory when towns are visited, or alternatively due to the increase of detail. Essentially shifting the processing from the back end, to the users. The problem with this is if the code is inherently buggy, then you a) don't fix anything and b) only compound the issue.

Flash being slow is usually the result of a poorly programmed animation, menu, etc and I've said this previously, but flash is very forgiving of REALLY atrocious code, and still have everything run well enough that it doesn't impede the content. It's also very easy to learn so pretty much anyone can do it and you don't have to be a complete uber app developer to do so.

Basically for large flash projects, slowness comes from two sources: Business priorities and app devs who check in slow code. Slow code is more common than normal due to Flash gotchas, but the largest reason they don't get fixed is tight deadlines and priorities. i.e. working on new content instead of getting the existing one 100% perfect.

Don't also forget it's been stated many times (by representatives of Inno) that this game is only 40% complete, not that it's an excuse for poorly thought out implementations or test cycles. I guess they would like to call this phase "UAT"

Additionally these learning curves come with maturity. On a personal note, the implementation of HW Acceleration was a bad move and all it has done is made an existing issue more prevalent, and for me I've switched it off (luckily there is an off button)

 

[DeletedUser97590]

There was NO indication in the update announcement that hardware acceleration was going to be turned on whether we liked it or not!!!!
I get irritated by the incompetent buggy updates that we get. You have a beta server to fix these bugs for gods sake.

However I get REALLY annoyed when we are kept in the dark and treated like morons. Does NOBODY in Inno have any idea about CUSTOMER SERVICE?

Fully subscribe to the above comment.
While I understand that every company Inno Games included want to make as much money as possible with investing the least possible, Inno should not forget that if the minimum investment does not cover a quality product's requirement the inevitable outcome is a loss of the customer base. This is basic logic in today's world.

 

[DeletedUser3200]

Fully subscribe to the above comment.
While I understand that every company Inno Games included want to make as much money as possible with investing the least possible, Inno should not forget that if the minimum investment does not cover a quality product's requirement the inevitable outcome is a loss of the customer base. This is basic logic in today's world.

Sadly we are all in an INNO world

 

[DeletedUser100341]

I've asked my fellow guild mates about the BP drop rate. Since 1.26 its been next to nothing for myself and some of them. I pol/mot about 120 per day and have gotten much fewer than before 1.26.

 

[DeletedUser]

Sadly we are all in an INNO world

It might be an idea for the devs to use mid-range pcs instead of the high spec dedicated gaming pcs they use to develop this rubbish, not everyone can afford 800 quid for a geforce titan card, or even has a laptop capable of being upgraded at all, so basically the other 99% of us are screwed by hardware acc and the update that comes with it. Live in the real world devs!

 

[DeletedUser2989]

I don't believe it was intentional when it was switched on for all players, it was fustrating but I doubt it was intentional. The release of Hardware Acceleration did mention that if your computer can't handle it to switch it off. So really they are considering those without high quality computers, it was just unfortunate that something in an update/patch switched this option feature on for everyone.

As for TheWizEd's observation on BP drop rates. I havn't noticed a decline since the update/patch, but there definitly has been a decline since the GB release. I think now the primary method of gaining BP's is to donate to the specific GB's you want to get, Inno probably intended people to rely on this method more than the others.

 

[DeletedUser100341]

As for TheWizEd's observation on BP drop rates. I havn't noticed a decline since the update/patch, but there definitly has been a decline since the GB release. I think now the primary method of gaining BP's is to donate to the specific GB's you want to get, Inno probably intended people to rely on this method more than the others.

I'm not sure what you mean by "GB release". When did that occur? And I sure hope they haven't reduced the drop rate in favor of GB contributions. That will make it even harder to get BPs. There is already fierce competition for top spots in GB leveling up. I believe its more for medals and FPs than for the BP. I know I'm doing that. This will squeeze out some of the newer players from achieving a GB.

 

[DeletedUser2989]

Great Buildings haven't always existed They were released in an update a long time ago (possibly when the game as a whole was still in beta?) and when they did that the BP drop rates were really high and patch by patch the rates lowered. I recently started up a new city somewhere and I havn't had too much problem finding BP's, it's just getting ones for the right age that can be tricky. I'm not really sure what Inno's intent is though behind BP drops, I could be wrong but to me it looks like that want a better balance between the sources of BP's, involving cutting back the P/M drop rates.

Another thing to consider is that they did want people spending diamonds to get that last missing BP, It's possible that the drop rates were too high to allow that? But without knowing the stats I couldn't possibly know.

 

[GrahamMills]

I don't believe it was intentional when it was switched on for all players................

Since we never have any Inno staff on here it is hard to tell. I gather that the original announcement for this update included stuff that was not actually in the update. How crazy or customer unfriendly is that?

I will repeat what I have said before that they need to think about their customers and act accordingly. How difficult would it be to make an official announcement along the lines "We are sorry but the acceleration feature was accidently turned on for people in the last update, please turn it off if you are having problems".
That would have satisfied a lot of the players.

I note that they have just appealed for more moderators. The cynic in me has to assume that they are losing moderators because they find they are not spending their time helping players but rather acting as an unpaid PR for Inno explaining how everything is wonderful.