THQ is listening to your complaints and they want to help. Details on upcoming patches.....

I am now convinced that THQ is going way out of their way more than ever to help the fans, and make this years game the best it can be.

First off, let's not overlook the fact that they went to the effort of appointing Marcus Stephenson as the easily reachable, "go-to guy", on Twitter, on forums, and with a personal blog every single day to listen to, answer questions, and help bring the fans into the development process from well before the game was released.

That was a major help to the game this year, and he's simply been THE MAN this year. He's had almost limitless patience and understanding with even the worst of the trolls out there, all with the patience of a saint.

He has exhaustively broken down and guided the fans of this series through every step, and also wants the community to voice their ideas and feedback. He's noted all of it (even the rude, trolling insulting comments, he's made notes of. What a guy.) and has been really helpful in the development.

It's so great to have this happen, when last year there were so many issues that THQ just went 100% silent on, and refused to say anything, help anyone, or do anything.

It's been a complete reversal this year. Marcus has been reading every forum, popping up on forums in even obscure threads to answer questions or help people, and when he wasn't working at THQ, or sleeping, he's been attending to the community almost 24/7.


Now....

As i've noted, even I, who always defends this game, has noticed a lot of flaws, bugs and little difficulties with an otherwise WONDERFUL game this year. But I'd be a fool if I didn't honestly say this game has at least some glitches and weird problems.

The ones I know that bother me, are the CAS music isssue, and the constant obnoxious crowd booing that doesn't sound like it's for heels... it sounds like they are shitting on you for playing the game, since the Booing is on a loop that never, ever ends, from beginning to end of every match. And it's loud, and irritating.

But there's also been a lot of talk about laggy Online play, and servers just often refusing to connect or work 70% of the time for some reigons, and an issue where you can pin less than a minute into the match and have a chance of winning, among others.

The "fans" have already taken to collectively insulting, demeaning, demanding, and screaming about "YOU GUYS NEED TO PATCH THIS OR FUCK YOU AHHHHH!!!" On one hand, this is very annoying, and of course, as is usually on-par with the SvR community, really makes the whole community look very bad.

Nevertheless though, I can kind of see why they are overreacting, and so on edge, in a way. Not excusing the general rudeness of the community or anything..... but I have to say, there is a small reason I can understand why they feel that way...

Mainly, because in years past, THQ has been infamous for clamming up, not helping, falling silent, and pretty much giving you the feeling that "you bought the game, now you're shit outta luck."

I am happy to report that we've just gotten proof that THQ isn't just stopping at appointing Marcus, and listening to people.... They are really dedicated to listening AND helping, even after they've already made their money.


The following was written by the administrator of THQ's site, THQ Tank.

Quote :

Hey everyone,

It's been far too long since I have updated you or popped my THQ Tank you know what in here, but thankfully, guys like Jonathan Durr and Marcus Stephenson have been very active, getting you hyped for SmackDown vs Raw 2011, answering your questions, and just being around.

Going forward you will see A LOT more of Marcus Stephenson as he becomes my right-hand wingman (i.e. Associate Community Manager), which is going to really make us a powerhouse tag team for this WWE Games franchise collectively, and believe me, that bodes very well for you.As is the case with any game launch, the focus always turns to hyper magnify the somewhat small-niche things, that while critical to our core community, in the grand scheme are merely but a fractional percentage of the entire game.

We absolutely UNDERSTAND THAT, however, we would sincerely appreciate if specific complaints were kept to a single thread about that complaint. Having tons of threads about the transparency layers or Royal Rumble desync online, makes the forum a mess. Do your community, and US, a huge favor and please comment in the thread that started it first or seems most active, do not start your own if it's already been stated.

We are doing some early work on a patch, nothing has been confirmed, no timelines set, but I wanted to reassure you that your top issues have been heard and we are formulating our plan. We will do everything we can to tune the game where necessary where it matters most for this community (namely the transparency bug, online tweaks, some crashes, etc). Just to be clear and realistic, adding whole new features and drastically modifying current features is not in the cards, but any feedback you have, we will take and learn, and apply to 2012, without a doubt.

I'll keep you updated on the patch timeline, exactly what will be in it, please note, I will have not have this type of info for a little while and our production timeline will not be overnight. From fixes to QA to 1st party approvals, a patch creation process takes patience and time, but we'll do the absolute best we can to keep you updated.

In the meantime, SmackDown vs Raw 2011 offers you endless hours across the board, and you have plenty to keep you busy.

Your feedback is valued, but lets all do this community a favor and try to keep the peace. We're here to listen and learn and always aim to provide you the best wrestling game on the market, bottom line. I for one can't wait to start collecting solid feedback for next year's version and look forward to hearing about what you enjoy most in SvR 2011.

Cheers,
Tank

So basically.... this is reaching out to the fans yet again, and assuring us that..

1. THEY HAVE HEARD YOU. And they are looking into it. And they are drawing up plans for what to do about it.

2. THEY ARE WORKING ON A PATCH. And they are discussing what to put into it, how to go about it, and how they can help make the game 100%.

3. THEY WILL LET YOU KNOW. They aren't going silent, they aren't going to leave you hanging. They are there for you, and it's not going to be like it was before. They aren't ignoring the fans.


I'm just happy to know that they are still listening, and they are still dedicated.

Y'know, even if they don't patch all the things that personally bother ME about the game, at the very least I say THANK YOU for trying.

It's comforting to know they are still looking into things, and they haven't abandoned everyone as soon as the game comes out.

That's actually very good news. Honestly if they just fixed the music and the transparency issues, I'd be perfectly happy.

Personally, I have to say I preferred the old grapple system which I believe offered access to more moves, but I can live with this one, and that isn't going to be changed. So if they can fix the fixable, I'll applaud them.

Yeah, I'm thinking the same as David. I'd be happy with transparency and entrance music fixes. All in all, everything else about the game has been fun for me so far.

So, I've been meaning to ask...

Are you guys really not that bothered by the constant booing?

Am I being too easily annoyed and sensitive by it?

Because when I play the game, it's hard for me to finish a match, or even focus on playing the game, because i'm just thinking "please for the love of god, crowd shut up and stop booing the fucking match!! SHUT UP FOR ONE SECOND!!"

Am I the only one that find this to make the game hard to play? It's just that it's on a loop and it never ever stops.

Like... it doesn't feel like booing the heel "heat". It feels like a Philly ECW Hammerstien crowd watching John Cena versus Doink The Clown "Heat". Like, it feels like the crowd is saying "You suck at the game and this match sucks. Stop playing."

The only way, to me, the booing issue feels like it could be worse was if it was the actual "Boooooring" chant in every match.

Seriously, am I just overreacting here? I need something to put my mind at ease here. :p

Well sicne the AI made Out Cold a heel I guess i need to turn my tv up to hear the booing but sadly, I'm a multi tasker and has a girlfriend who watches shows so the TV isnt turned up all the way. So sorry Mike, I dont hear the booing lol

Ah. It's this steady "ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!" in every match.

Additionally, it also kinda makes me feel like the game is slapping me in the back of the head while trying to play, or something.

It's worse for me, since I basically have to play this game with headphones on, due to not being able to have a lot of noise in the apartment lately.

I don't often have the volume turned up at all. I play in the evening, and my son is usually in bed by the time I turn the 360 on.

lonewolfshanehunt wrote:

I don't often have the volume turned up at all. I play in the evening, and my son is usually in bed by the time I turn the 360 on.

Ahh... that's a good reason. Well, in the case, I envy you. I should just play this on mute, or very very low wso that it's not as audible. 'Cuz it really bothers me. Love the game, but that drives me nuts.

I'm gonna have to do what you're doing, until they (hopefully) do something about it. But something tells me they won't think it's important enough to deal with.

NightStarX wrote:

I'm gonna have to do what you're doing, until they (hopefully) do something about it. But something tells me they won't think it's important enough to deal with.

What? Have a child??

lonewolfshanehunt wrote:

NightStarX wrote:

I'm gonna have to do what you're doing, until they (hopefully) do something about it. But something tells me they won't think it's important enough to deal with.

What? Have a child??

Oh hell no. The last thing I want to do is bring another me into this world.

Not that I don't want the world to put up with another me, that is. Just that I wouldn't want to subject another me to this world. :p

I play on normal volume, and can't say the booing bothers me at all. Hd you not mentioned it, I don't think I would really have noticed.