BIS Customer Service

[Boris Glasgov 10]

BIS,

As many customers have pointed out, ARMA 2 is completely unplayable due to bugs in the software. This is completely unacceptable. If there were issues in the software, then why did you release it to the public? Does BIS not use testers in an effort to reduce these problems? I am absolutely sure if you had sent a copy for beta test to just ONE of us OFP/ARMA veterans you would have been able to save your customers massive amounts of frustration. There is absolutely no reason why any software product should be released with this many bugs. None. I hope you are working 24 hours a day to fix this piece of junk.

As far as feedback and customer service goes, well, you guys stink at it. Why are you not responding to every feedback thread with a representative from the team who made this game? And if you are, make it clear that the poster is from BIS because I cant tell if you are or not. At least you could let us know that these concerns do not go unnoticed! Do you not care about us after we spent our 50 bucks? Now it will take months for patches to come out and my money will be useless as this game will just be taking up space on my drive.

Finally....I am not here to play Battlefield 2 or Wolfenstein. I am here to play a combat simulator. Nothing has been done to improve realism from a veteran player's standpoint. You guys may have tweaked some things but the overall feel is the same. It seems as if you BIS took very little time to hear what their customers had to say in an attempt to make ARMA1 pretty and fill up their coffers again.

Edit: In addition, Warfare has taken a turn for the worst. Did you guys just forget to add all the features we had in ARMA1? The menus are difficult to understand and are counter-intuitive.

It's no wonder folks head to Pirate Bay for software these days.

Good Day!

Boris (an unhappy customer)

Edited July 2, 2009 by Boris Glasgov

[HKFlash 9]

"Piece of junk"? I would advise you to refrain your words and keep a cold head. BIS worked very hard to bring the best product they could. I know there are issues but the way you demonstrate your frustration is not the best and I've only read the first paragraph to reach that conclusion.

Regards

[dmarkwick 261]

I've been using ArmA2 bug free for nearly two weeks now. ArmA2 represents, to me, the best FPS experience available at the moment. Hardly a piece of junk.

[Boris Glasgov 10]

"Piece of junk"? I would advise you to refrain your words and keep a cold head. BIS worked very hard to bring the best product they could. I know there are issues but the way you demonstrate your frustration is not the best and I've only read the first paragraph to reach that conclusion.

Regards

As a long time customer I feel that I can label the product as such with respect to their previous releases. I don't need you to advise me of anything unless you are a representative of BIS. I am unhappy with the product and I reserve the right to let them know that I am unhappy. I am sure they worked hard, but the game should not have been released if it was not up to standard. Although, this seems to be the way the software industry is going, straight to the "fast buck". You may not agree or like my post, but at least I came here, to them, and told them how I feel.

[cjsoques 0]

I felt the same way about ARMA1 when I first got it. It was unplayable and crashed all the time, the most unstable piece of software I ever used and it was pretty much a waste of my money at the time since I coudln't even use it, not until the very last major patch.

Now I see that the money I wasted back then is now worth it with all the improvements in performance and stability that I personally see in ARMA2...for the price of ARMA1+ARMA2 I def. got my money's worth. It was just sad to wait a couple years for ARMA2 to get here.

What I mean is, wait for the big patches and you'll see most of your problems will get worked out.

I'd rather BIS release something that is playable (it is for me) with some annoying bugs right now, than waiting 2 years for them to work them out on their own.

[Boris Glasgov 10]

I've been using ArmA2 bug free for nearly two weeks now. ArmA2 represents, to me, the best FPS experience available at the moment. Hardly a piece of junk.

Have you been playing online? Try spending three hours seeking out a Warfare server that works.

[HKFlash 9]

As a long time customer I feel that I can label the product as such with respect to their previous releases. I don't need you to advise me of anything unless you are a representative of BIS. I am unhappy with the product and I reserve the right to let them know that I am unhappy. I am sure they worked hard, but the game should not have been released if it was not up to standard. Although, this seems to be the way the software industry is going, straight to the "fast buck". You may not agree or like my post, but at least I came here, to them, and told them how I feel.

Oh my... I only advised you because I believe that you may get an infraction for the words you used. Calling "piece of junk" to ArmA2 in the BIS forums might get you punished, after all, you insulted their product.

And yes, you better get used to more buggy games. Even my games at my X-BOX360 have bugs now...and updates you know? Gone are the times of non-buggy videogames.

[Dallas 9]

As a long time customer, you should have joined the community sooner dude. It's magnificent.

[Boris Glasgov 10]

I felt the same way about ARMA1 when I first got it. It was unplayable and crashed all the time, the most unstable piece of software I ever used and it was pretty much a waste of my money at the time since I coudln't even use it, not until the very last major patch.

Now I see that the money I wasted back then is now worth it with all the improvements in performance and stability that I personally see in ARMA2...for the price of ARMA1+ARMA2 I def. got my money's worth. It was just sad to wait a couple years for ARMA2 to get here.

What I mean is, wait for the big patches and you'll see most of your problems will get worked out.

I'd rather BIS release something that is playable (it is for me) with some annoying bugs right now, than waiting 2 years for them to work them out on their own.

I can agree with most of what you are saying. However, I would rather wait 3-6 more months for a mostly finished and well-tested product, than be duped out of 50 bucks for the same amount of time. I would think that software companies, such as BIS, would learn from their mistakes instead of repeating them. It is very frustrating for the customer and we should not have to put up with it.

[ACF 0]

...As far as feedback and customer service goes, well, you guys stink at it. Why are you not responding to every feedback thread with a representative from the team who made this game?...

Perhaps because some might not appreciate the response? However much we would have liked ArmA2 to be perfect out of the box, the history of the game suggests otherwise, the German release suggested otherwise and so on - what made you buy it?

...I am here to play a combat simulator. Nothing has been done to improve realism from a veteran player's standpoint. You guys may have tweaked some things but the overall feel is the same...

It's the law of diminishing returns. It's a simulator, it seeks to emulate reality. That goal is a fixed point. As each iteration of the simulator gets closer to reality, the scope for big, showy improvements reduces. We're going to have to look really hard to see changes in ArmA3...

[radical_53 10]

Even the demo had bugs. For example I haven't "seen" the silenced rifle you can take before the MOUT course simply because your hands are empty when you pick it. "Wow". Several of the training mission don't trigger right and so you have to start them over to find out what you're supposed to do.

Both no major flaws but still far from a retail product, especially as one might have hoped that at least the "demo" would prove the critics wrong and show at least a small portion of the game, but without the problems the full game has.

Pretty sad situation. I must say that I had the game on pre-order, an order that I cancelled after I had spent some hours with the demo. Maybe a later, patched version works as it is supposed to be. Hopefully, as some ideas really seemed to be right and worked great.

[Boris Glasgov 10]

Oh my... I only advised you because I believe that you may get an infraction for the words you used. Calling "piece of junk" to ArmA2 in the BIS forums might get you punished, after all, you insulted their product.

And yes, you better get used to more buggy games. Even my games at my X-BOX360 have bugs now...and updates you know? Gone are the times of non-buggy videogames.

They have insulted myself and the rest of you, also.

Why should we have to put up with buggy video games?

[dmarkwick 261]

As a long time customer I feel that I can label the product as such with respect to their previous releases. I don't need you to advise me of anything unless you are a representative of BIS. I am unhappy with the product and I reserve the right to let them know that I am unhappy. I am sure they worked hard, but the game should not have been released if it was not up to standard. Although, this seems to be the way the software industry is going, straight to the "fast buck". You may not agree or like my post, but at least I came here, to them, and told them how I feel.

Quite obviously this is a ranting account. Long time user of 5 posts? Sounds to me like you're experimenting with some recreational whining. There are troubleshooting threads and complaining threads available for this, but then where would be the glory in seeing your very own ranting thread? You choice of language indicates a confrontational righteous stance. Obviously not meant as anything approaching constructive.

Toodles :)

[cjsoques 0]

What exactly are all the problems you are dealing with. Is your game unplayable?

[abs 2]

I have no problems with the game at all. Yes, it crashes once in a while, but I blame that on my hardware. When I am in the game, I enjoy myself quite thoroughly. I'm really glad we have ARMAII. I'm really glad that BIS is constantly working to fix it. I'm really glad I've been enjoying their products for eight years now.

Abs

[Zipper5 74]

As many customers have pointed out, ARMA 2 is completely unplayable due to bugs in the software. This is completely unacceptable.

You haven't played many games, have you?

If there were issues in the software, then why did you release it to the public? Does BIS not use testers in an effort to reduce these problems?

Again, this is something that is common in all aspects of business. But in this case, BIS had contractual agreements with publishers of when they had to release the game and have it in a state that is able to be sold, which ArmA II was, granted being buggy.

I am absolutely sure if you had sent a copy for beta test to just ONE of us OFP/ARMA veterans you would have been able to save your customers massive amounts of frustration.

BIS has employees who originally came from the community, such as Str/Gaia and Placebo. Plus, there's the issue of NDAs and other legal matters to prevent the game being leaked or pirated.

I hope you are working 24 hours a day to fix this piece of junk.

I am reaaaaaally starting to lose respect for this post...

As far as feedback and customer service goes, well, you guys stink at it. Why are you not responding to every feedback thread with a representative from the team who made this game? And if you are, make it clear that the poster is from BIS because I cant tell if you are or not.At least you could let us know that these concerns do not go unnoticed!

I think the majority of people here will all agree that BIS has some of the best customer service out of the many developers around today. Plus, I don't think it could be much clearer to indicating their team than the words and pictures stating "Moderator" and "Team", or statements saying their position in BIS, next to their posts...

Now it will take months for patches to come out and my money will be useless as this game will just be taking up space on my drive.

If you really are a veteran player, like you state below, then this is not really the attitude I'd expect if you've stuck with BIS' previous games.

Nothing has been done to improve realism from a veteran player's standpoint. You guys may have tweaked some things but the overall feel is the same. It seems as if you BIS took very little time to hear what their customers had to say in an attempt to make ARMA1 pretty and fill up their coffers again.

No of course, nothing has been done. Just a complete overhaul of the sound engine, the animations, the AI, the campaign, controls, bug fixes, graphics and all of the new content that has not been in previous BIS games. Nothing at all...

It's no wonder folks head to Pirate Bay for software these days.

I wouldn't recommend discussing piracy of the game on the developer's forum, especially after a post like this one. You may end up on a one-way ticket to Bansville.

[Boris Glasgov 10]

Quite obviously this is a ranting account. Long time user of 5 posts? Sounds to me like you're experimenting with some recreational whining. There are troubleshooting threads and complaining threads available for this, but then where would be the glory in seeing your very own ranting thread? You choice of language indicates a confrontational righteous stance. Obviously not meant as anything approaching constructive.

Toodles :)

Of course I am ranting, I'm unhappy. Just because I joined the forums recently does not meant that I have not been a long time customer. Why should I have to troubleshoot and fix major bugs in the software? These are not problems with my computer, they are problems that my entire player group is having. I have little reason to be constructive at this point.

[Sniperwolf572 758]

And with that, there is no reason to keep the thread open.

If you've got technical issues with the game, Troubleshooting forum is a place to report genuine issues with the game. Use it.