Another bad disc

[gregm27]

I know this is a broken record, but I have to vent somewhere. I doubt Obsidian is reading these, but I feel everyone's pain on this board. Bought the KOTOR II game, expecting great gaming ( I am such a fan of this story man), and the game would freeze right after I created my character. Now, I only got to this freezing point after opening and closing the CD tray around 40 or 50 times to get past the DISC READ error. Traded discs at gamestop thinking I probably just got a bad one, and it does exactly the same thing. Yeah, this sounds like my XBOX is the problem, but it is my second xbox, and it was purchased only 2 months ago. No other game freezes, and the next to newest game I own is Halo 2. All other games run fine. What is really hilarious, I can play the Republic Commando DEMO with no problem whatsoever. Well I am at a loss, and no one wants to take responsibility, Obsidian, Lucas Arts, or Microsoft. I hope you guys have better luck than me.

[Darth Dreadin]

I exchanged my disc and it fixed the problem, if you have a new box tan Im stumped, check the # on the game and make sure it is not too close to the first 1 you had. Maybe a bad burn. Good luck.

[gregm27]

Thank you for the suggestion, but unfortunately, I didn't even record the serial # from the first disc. I had no idea I would get two bad discs. Thinking about just selling the game back to GameStop for something else(Mechassualt 2 perhaps), and just wait for a pirated copy of the PC version to download, to get back what money will be lost by selling it back.

[Judge Hades]

Sounds like the best thing to do. Man, when will Lucas Arts and Obsidian learn that this sort of thing is simply unacceptable. They need to do a product recall.

[gregm27]

I agree with you, Hades One. I am actually wasting so much time with this issue, I am using my time going through the list on Obsidian's home page and trying to e-mail all the excellent reviewer listings they have posted for us to read when we access the home page. I am asking all these reviewers to please review these forums at Obsidian and read about all the bug issues and to take that into consideration for their review. A total waste of time probably, but I feel we as the consumer should do all we can.

[anari_quun]

Having gone through exactly the same thing, I've come to some conclusions:

 

-Your Xbox is a factor in gameplay, since the game is constantly reading from the disc. If you have an old Xbox, especially one with the Thompson drive, you're going to have loading speed issues, and perhaps others.

 

-There is a difference between different copies of the game. I thought my first copy had issues. Mainly there was load time slowdown due to my antiquated Xbox. I traded it in for another copy, and this one REALLY had issues. The slowdown was ridiculous, the game stopped functioning properly, etc. So I went back and retrieved my first copy. Since, I have had no problems other than excessive slowdown and dropped frames due to load time lag.

 

-Someone mentioned EBX's swap policy for $3.00. Go for it. If they release a fixed copy in February, just walk in and get a new one (of course, you'll probably have to wait a few weeks for the new ones to permeate the market to be sure you get a fixed copy).

 

So, try your copy on a new Xbox, and don't give up swapping out copies. Hopefully you'll get lucky.

 

What this means for the devs is simply more testing was necessary, and I'm sure they know this by now. Since there is a difference between copies of the game, manufacturing seems to be an issue too, and this is something that the poor developers could not have foreseen or changed.

 

-Anari

[gregm27]

Thank you Anari_quun for your suggestions.

 

Sadly it does seem to be a factor for some people who have older Xboxes not being able to play this game, even though it should not be an issue at all, the biggest reason I buy console games is the fact that I don't have to think about any minimum system requirements or upgrades to my system. But as I stated before, this is my second Xbox anyway, less than two months old, and it plays all other games including my next to newest game(Halo 2) just fine.

 

and I also exchanged copies at gamestop like you mentioned, to no avail. same problems.

 

Never heard about an EBX policy for $3.00. This is some good info and thanks for telling me. But I refuse to waste the $3.00 for a game that should work (or at least load) on my Xbox . Likewise I will not do the postage pre-paid return to LucasArts for a new disc that they suggest in their warranty printed in the back of the manual. Since when is it alright for companies to charge us extra for something that should at least half-way work. $50.00 and that is it, man.

 

Again my suggestion is to sell this game back to GameStop for somehing else, and when it is released on PC, become a pirate LOL

 

And if you think this is just endless ranting or whining, then you either have a copy that at least sometimes work, you are waiting for the PC version, or you work for one of these companies, so please don't flame me. I already got burned when I bought this game anyway.

[EnderAndrew]

I have an old XBox with a Thompson DVD drive.

 

But my XBox gets opened and cleaned monthly. I have Artic Silver thermal compound on the CPU and GPU. The crappy 7v case fan has been replaced with a 12v Vantec Stealth. The HDD has been replaced with a brand new Western Digital 120 gig.

 

I cleaned all the optics in my DVD drive, and then pot-tweaked it. I still have trouble reading the disc from time to time, and only with this game. My XBox hardware is in pretty good condition.

[anari_quun]

Evidence seems to be mounting that most if not all of the problems stem from problems reading the discs. The truly defective copy of the game I had the pleasure of using had issues halting and stuttering right from the start because of disc access; my drive is fine, as evident from the other games that work just fine (including KOTOR 1). So I think what may have happened is a glitch in the maunfacturing process.

 

Maybe it's not, but how else to explain the discrepancy between different copies? Were there different versions that went out, pehaps from different plants?

 

Given the variety of bugs that are occuring, it doesn't seem like something specific to the programming itself. And I wouldn't expect such glitches from Obsidian, given their personell's track record.

 

As far as spending an extra $3.00, I know it's not right on principal, but I'm practical- I can't return an opened game, so I may as well get a working copy eventually, even if it does cost me 3 bucks. You can't win 'em all.

 

-Anari

[gregm27]

Yes Anari, I agree the evidence does seem to be in the manufacturing process. I actually got the opportunity to play KOTOR II at a friends house today(he has a working copy), and I was actually impressed with my gaming experience. I didn't get to play too far into the game, but I did enjoy what I did experience. BTW, who are these reviewers complaining about the graphics? I thought they were pretty good, but they could have been worse and I think the game would have still been fun. It actually makes me more bitter that I got a bad disc

 

But as far as principals and practicality, I am really not as crazed about it as you might think. I mean I would take a job I hate at a company I hate more to feed and clothe my family. that's practical, even if it went against my principals. But paying more for a game that was supposed to work when I purchased it at the agreed, set price? no way. I mean if you bought a brand new car, or TV, or anything else that is not involved in the gaming or software industry, would you pay money to have it fixed if it was broken, if you had just bought it? Of course not, and the company that sold it to you would not expect you to. But the software, or gaming industry, seems to get away with more as far as faulty products.

 

But ya know, I can even lower my principals about this, and spend the $3.00 at EB games for a new disc if I can see one thing-an apology. It could be something so simple like,"Hey, we fu**ed up, we are really sorry"

 

And I am not unsympathetic to Obsidian or it's employees. They only had one year to make this sequal. I am a sys admin for my company's network. I know that deadlines can be stressful, and the higher ups may not have a real grasp on what the developers are trying to achieve, and only want to have the product on this or that day, and not care about what effect this could have on finished product. Let's face it, LucasArts has been on the steady decline for several years, I thought it had changed when KOTOR I came out, but I can't help but feel that they really pushed Obsidian to get this out before Christmas, and LucasArts, in my eyes, are sliding right back on the decline.

 

My principals tell me they owe me, so my principals will not be hurt when the PC version comes out and I can run across a bootleg copy somewhere that I can play on my comp.

 

My rant has left me just tired, because we will never get an admission about this game. So I wont post here about this anymore. But since I have found this forum, I will read it as often as I can, I appreciate every reply I got to this, and all the help you suggested for me. And when I do get the PC version, I look forward to a great gaming experience finally.

[Judge Hades]

You expect Obsidian and Lucas Arts admit they made a mistake in releasing this game early or that they sent out defective discs? BWAAAHAAAAAHAAAAAA! That is hilarious. Of course they will not admit anything. American companies don't like being held accountable.

[gregm27]

Alright maybe it is funny to expect something as simple as an apology from LucasArts or Obsidian. But companies in America are not the only ones who have questionable practices. How about Parmalat, Bioland, Shell U.K.??

 

And please when you start bashing away at American companies in general, you take this thread into a whole other realm. You make yourself lose credibility about what you are discussing, and you make my posts lose credibility, so please keep your comments directed toward the subject in this thread. I am sure there are forums for you to vent about things American somewhere else.