Saves prior to latest patch (1.06) are now borked

Quoting Annatar11,

Calm down? Did I use profanity or act in a childish manner? I've seen you fall on the sword several times defending Stardock. Sometimes criticism is more than deserved.
Your tone was more than enough to warrant the response, and it was very much acting in a childish manner. This is not a case where criticism is deserved.

Ah the classic fanboy response: any criticism is childish and unwarranted. Releasing a game that within four days makes previous saves unplayable is most definitely deserving of criticism.

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I wasn't that player, but that happened to me. Resave and reload fixed thee issues.

A moot point now, I guess. I haven't tried the last update, since I heard about the "saves disabled" bit from a dev in chat prior to it going live.

Edit: "I wasn't that player" was meant in reference to the SD post about save/reload.

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It's not exactly unheard of for patches to render saves from previous game versions unplayable.

On top of that, Sothron, you had ALREADY had an issue when you updated from 1.05 to 1.06 and you just blithely updated again without checking for possible problems?

Almost seems like you're asking for trouble at that point.

Like the child with the stove... you'd think he'd learn after the first time getting burned?

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Quoting Sothron,

reply 26

Quoting Annatar11, reply 25

Ah the classic fanboy response: any criticism is childish and unwarranted. Releasing a game that within four days makes previous saves unplayable is most definitely deserving of criticism.

Calling people who disagree with you "fanboys" is childish. The retail release of Elemental warrants some criticism. Devs working around the clock to deliver multiple meaningful patches withing days of release that addresses some of those problems is not a particularly brilliant place to level your criticism. In games like this, patches always run the risk of being incompatible with previous save games. Most people know this, and don't update their games if they're attached to a game in progress. I'm sorry that this was a learning experience for you, but you *are* acting childish.

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It's interesting to me.

This game has boatloads of issues.

Having to start over again with a new patch is generally a good idea at this point since it can be like playing two different games.

I would consider broken save games and having to restart after a patch to be a nonissue compared to other stuff going on.

/shrug

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Quoting Jandurin,

reply 28

It's not exactly unheard of for patches to render saves from previous game versions unplayable.

On top of that, Sothron, you had ALREADY had an issue when you updated from 1.05 to 1.06 and you just blithely updated again without checking for possible problems?

Almost seems like you're asking for trouble at that point.

Like the child with the stove... you'd think he'd learn after the first time getting burned?

This and the other post are comedic gold. I made this thread and had devs respond telling me how to fix the problem, I tested it and posted that it did in fact work. What reasonable person would then think that a hot fix put out shortly after that would then break the solution that was just recently working? It is reasonable to think the hot fix was to specifically fix that problem for goodness sake.

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Quoting Spyndel,

reply 29

Quoting Sothron, reply 26
Quoting Annatar11, reply 25

Ah the classic fanboy response: any criticism is childish and unwarranted. Releasing a game that within four days makes previous saves unplayable is most definitely deserving of criticism.
Calling people who disagree with you "fanboys" is childish. The retail release of Elemental warrants some criticism. Devs working around the clock to deliver multiple meaningful patches withing days of release that addresses some of those problems is not a particularly brilliant place to level your criticism. In games like this, patches always run the risk of being incompatible with previous save games. Most people know this, and don't update their games if they're attached to a game in progress. I'm sorry that this was a learning experience for you, but you *are* acting childish.

What is childish is in fact calling other posters childish. Comedic gold abounds. The customer who can't trust saves will still work from day to day has every right to criticize the fact the product is unreliable. Calling someone childish who is old enough to have played the original Master of Magic on the cutting edge of gaming back then, I believe it was a 486 pentium? is laughable let alone needlessly insulting.

The solution to faulty programming is what wait a year and hope they finally fixed the game to where it is reliable enough to save a game and expect it to work the next day? I can not fathom how anyone can defend this. I'm not cursing out the devs or wishing a plague of crazy cat women flinging tabbies on them. All I ask is when a game comes out of beta and is in retail to be able to save a game and expect it to work the next day. I hardly think that is an unreasonable request or "childish" in asking for.

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Quoting Sothron,

reply 31

This and the other post are comedic gold. I made this thread and had devs respond telling me how to fix the problem, I tested it and posted that it did in fact work. What reasonable person would then think that a hot fix put out shortly after that would then break the solution that was just recently working? It is reasonable to think the hot fix was to specifically fix that problem for goodness sake.

Well, you know what they say about assumptions

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Quoting Sothron,

reply 32

All I ask is when a game comes out of beta and is in retail to be able to save a game and expect it to work the next day.

Oh, I agree with that. And if this had been the first occurrence, I would have no problem with your frustration. But, the fact that you had a problem by following a certain set of steps... and then followed the same set of steps not 12 hours later without reading the forums and seeing if there were any issues?

The only reason this is a problem is because you clearly are internet savvy enough to have found this forum and even received a dev response in the first place...

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Quoting Sothron,

reply 32

The solution to faulty programming is what wait a year and hope they finally fixed the game to where it is reliable enough to save a game and expect it to work the next day? I can not fathom how anyone can defend this.

Because people that are used to playing grand strategy 4x games of this nature know from experience that a patch always runs the risk of being incompatible or messing up previous game saves. Your game would have worked the next day had you not updated it. They are changing the data those games reference, in ways that simply might not work with a new rule change. It is the nature of the beast. If it's not something you can live with, stick to first person shooters and platform jumpers.

Should they have issued a bigger warning in the patch notes? Probably. But this is a lesson you had to learn sooner or later, the same way toddlers learn not to touch a hot stove, and new computer users learn to save their work *often*. Don't update your game if you are attached to a game in progress. Don't upgrade your software, and *expect* complete backwards or forwards compatibility. It's nice when it happens, but it isnt guaranteed.

Quoting Sothron,

reply 32

I'm not cursing out the devs or wishing a plague of crazy cat women flinging tabbies on them. All I ask is when a game comes out of beta and is in retail to be able to save a game and expect it to work the next day. I hardly think that is an unreasonable request or "childish" in asking for.

As explained above, it is an unreasonable expectation in games of this sort, and you continue to express it in a caustic, childish manner. The devs are continuing to work to make fixes and improve the game. Some of these are going to be significant enough to actually change the rules of the game, and become incompatible with previous save games. It is a risk with any patch. Don't patch if you're in the middle of a game you don't want to take that risk with. Let us know how many times you want to be able to make the same mistake, and then blame the people who are trying to improve the game for you.

If it means fixing and improving the game, I hope the devs break save games with every patch, every day for weeks. I am grateful for the timely effort they are putting into addressing player issues.

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Quoting Jandurin,

reply 34

Quoting Sothron, reply 32All I ask is when a game comes out of beta and is in retail to be able to save a game and expect it to work the next day.
Oh, I agree with that. And if this had been the first occurrence, I would have no problem with your frustration. But, the fact that you had a problem by following a certain set of steps... and then followed the same set of steps not 12 hours later without reading the forums and seeing if there were any issues?

The only reason this is a problem is because you clearly are internet savvy enough to have found this forum and even received a dev response in the first place...

You apparently did not read the other post that you responded to. I already had the workaround and even posted in this thread that it did work. I did that as a courtesy to both the devs who posted to let them know it did work and to let you, the fellow gamers out there, to know it did work when they ran into the same problem I had. I was being, ya know, a nice guy? So when I wake up the next day and see there is a hot fix and nothing was mentioned in the details of the hot fix about it not working with previous saves why would I ASSUME it didn't work with previous saves? That does not make sense. It is not a reasonable set of circumstances to expect a customer who 12 hours before was told how to fix a problem not of their making to somehow know it was not only still a problem but one that would wipe out all prior saves.

The "only reason this is a problem" is because the game will not work with prior saves and there was nothing in the hot fix details that said it would not. I don't know what you meant with the comment about a dev response. They told me how to work around a problem and 12 hours later their workaround didn't work and it was not documented in the hot fix notes. That is the problem.

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Quoting Spyndel,

reply 35

Quoting Sothron, reply 32

Should they have issued a bigger warning in the patch notes? Probably. .

I was gracious enough to edit your post to display the only relevant thought expressed. Your personal insults and commentary are out of place.

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Quoting Sothron,

reply 37

Your personal insults and commentary are out of place.

Except when we're insulting the work of the devs, or calling people who don't agree with the tone of your hyperbolic statements "fanboys", eh?

Grow up.

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Quoting Spyndel,

reply 38

Quoting Sothron, reply 37

Your personal insults and commentary are out of place.
Except when we're insulting the work of the devs, or calling people who don't agree with the tone of your hyperbolic statements "fanboys", eh?

Grow up.

Right back at you.

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Wooooh there. That is some serious fanboyism.

How on earth is it Sothron's fault that he applied the latest patch? It is Elemental's responsibility to ensure save game compatibility between versions after release. It isn't the players responsibility to go and search forums for whether a patch will break save games. Unless told otherwise it is perfectly reasonable to assume that patches are improvements to the game, and something which stops you continuing a save game which you have already spent 6 hours on is most definitely NOT an improvement.

This is even more the case when Stardock have Impulse which tells you immediately there is a patch and then applies the patch with a single action. All very smooth and it didn't provide any warnings. Are you telling us that we should NOT be using the very system Stardock provide to patch and upgrade our games?

Even now looking at the History page for Elemental from Impulse I can't see any warning that save games will be broken (correct me if I'm wrong, but if it is there it is hard to find, I'm actively looking for it not just browsing the patch notes!).

Really, how is your average punter meant to realistically avoid losing their save games? Their save games from likely their very first game of Elemental... how do you think it feels losing those? Well I can tell you now it feels pretty crap because that is exactly what has happened to me.

In my opinion Stardock need to produce a 1.07 ASAP which re-enables support for loading 1.05 save games. It was a serious mistake (much as I like Stardock, just one of many at this point) and it needs fixing.

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Quoting Mistwraithe,

reply 40

Wooooh there. That is some serious fanboyism.

How on earth is it Sothron's fault that he applied the latest patch? It is Elemental's responsibility to ensure save game compatibility between versions after release. It isn't the players responsibility to go and search forums for whether a patch will break save games. Unless told otherwise it is perfectly reasonable to assume that patches are improvements to the game, and something which stops you continuing a save game which you have already spent 6 hours on is most definitely NOT an improvement.

This is even more the case when Stardock have Impulse which tells you immediately there is a patch and then applies the patch with a single action. All very smooth and it didn't provide any warnings. Are you telling us that we should NOT be using the very system Stardock provide to patch and upgrade our games?

Even now looking at the History page for Elemental from Impulse I can't see any warning that save games will be broken (correct me if I'm wrong, but if it is there it is hard to find, I'm actively looking for it not just browsing the patch notes!).

Really, how is your average punter meant to realistically avoid losing their save games? Their save games from likely their very first game of Elemental... how do you think it feels losing those? Well I can tell you now it feels pretty crap because that is exactly what has happened to me.

In my opinion Stardock need to produce a 1.07 ASAP which re-enables support for loading 1.05 save games. It was a serious mistake (much as I like Stardock, just one of many at this point) and it needs fixing.

It is refreshing to see another objective opinion agrees with mine, thank you.

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