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Battlefield 3: EA have outdone themselves
Apologies for the long post.
There’s something wrong with me.
On one hand, all I want is an easy life: I try & do well, keep everyone happy, and have a laugh at the same time. I like to think I succeed, too – especially in terms of having a laugh.
However, on the other hand, I seem to introduce factors into my life that grate directly against my desire for simplicity. Case in point? Electronic Arts PC games.
I KEEP on letting them in. And when they get in, they then run around like coked-up Grainger Games employees – causing havoc, insulting my family and generally being complete pricks.
The reason I consistently open the door is because I apparently suffer from a sort of…rose-tinted view of the past, where EA released games like Populous, Desert Strike (well, the first two at least), and the original Wing Commander series. The problems started – for me, at least – with the Battlefield series.
The BF series of first-person shooters are, in my view, pretty good in terms of team-play, chaos and general hilarity. Right from the first instalment (BF 1942), it essentially got better and better in terms of gameplay & slick graphics. However.
And it’s a big ‘HOWEVER’.
The technical execution of the BF series is mired in complaints, particularly in terms of connectivity issues, menu UI and general bugs/hacks – all of which fall squarely into the QA (Quality Assurance) category. I personally have been quite lucky in the past: my purchases have had a few quirks and bugs, but nothing major to render the game unplayable. My esteemed friend, colleague and ever-sure Medic Novamethod has, on the other hand, had pretty much every technical issue under the sun. And now, it seems, it’s my turn with the latest version – Battlefield 3.
So, enough of my tiring diatribe. Here’s what’s happened:
- I wanted to preorder BF3. So I went onto EA’s site, logged in, and was instantly told I had to download ‘Origin’. This, presumably, is the next reincarnation of EA’s short-lived download manager from a few years ago – and a direct competitor to Valve’s Steam platform. Fine. I’d rather not have yet another bit of software to install, but I go ahead and get Origin in place, preorder the game, and wait for the launch date.
- On the day, I get downloading the game files and install it. We’re nearly there! I can almost taste the cordite.
- After an apparently hassle-free installation, I double click the BF3 icon on the desktop. It loads Origin, and then loads my browser…eh? I’m taken to a kind of launch screen for BF3. So after being made to install Origin as a content delivery platform, I’m now forced to launch my games through my browser. Right.
- I click the button to launch Single Player (I’m clearly a loner). I’m then told I must install a browser plugin
- With no other option, I install the plugin. Finally! Maybe I can play the damn game?
- I’m loading! Even with an Intel quadcore CPU, 4gb RAM + Radeon 5970…just loading the EA intro takes near to a minute.
- We’re treated to the trademark EA / DICE bookend animation. As usual, it’s not skippable. It’s not ever skippable, even after seeing it for the first time (when it’s quite interesting), it’s never skippable. The EA brand is drilled into you regardless of whether you want to see it or not.
- I’m now at the main menu (this has taken nearly 5 minutes). I start customising my controls – at least this bit seems relatively painless, but we’re still treated to some slightly shit UI niggles whereby:
- You can’t scroll up & down the controls list using the mousewheel. There’re a lot of controls, so this just seems sensible?
- When you select a control to edit and bind a new key to it, it doesn’t ‘remember’ where you were in the list: it moves your view to having the newly-bound key at the bottom. This is so minor, but so stupid.
- I finally start loading the game for my first play. Away we go, annnnd…I’m plunged into the action, shooting terrorists on a train – and it’s awesome. Bullets fly, graphics are slick, train chairs explode in chunks of fabric and dust. Here’s a door with a SHOTGUN wedged in it: the game prompts me to pick it up. So I press my newly-bound ‘interact’ key…and nothing. Not a sausage. Certainly not a shotgun. It won’t pick it up. I fumble around for 3 full minutes pressing various keys until finally, somehow, I apparently pick it up. Then, at the next stage, I’m told to ‘jump out’ the window. Pressing my jump button just boings me around. Apparently i need to press the mythical ‘interact’ key again. So another 30 seconds of finding whichever button did it for the shotgun. Then I’m told to jump using [SPACE] from carriage to carriage. But my jump key isn’t [SPACE]. It’s RMB (don’t laugh; that’s been my config since Quake). I die, falling from a moving train carriage.
- So far, so shit. Similar things to the above occur on the next level where I’m meant to pick up a missile launcher…using some key that doesn’t actually exist. The ONLY way I manage to pick it up? By being shot by a sniper whilst STANDING OVER the missile launched, and then the game reloading me – magically carrying the new weapon.
- I know – sod Single Player: I’m in this for the online bloodshed! YEAH. I go back to the browser, and click the ‘multiplayer’ button. Using the server browser, I find a server. It’s password protected, though…the server browser doesn’t have a ‘password protected’ filter option. I find one WITHOUT a password – here we go!
- …aaand no. ‘This server’s about to change map’. Ok. I choose another one. Aaaand…no. There was an error. Ok, so I try the first one again ‘cos surely that map must’ve changed? Nope. I try ANOTHER server…and I’m in! Yes!
- I play for 3 minutes, and then I’m thrown out – another server error.
EA, this is an epically shit user experience. At every turn the user is confronted with stupid choices, being forcibly being made to do things that aren’t natural or intuitive, and then when they finally get into the game, they’re either punished for customising the controls – or plain chucked out of online play.
Quality Assurance dept? Final signoff? What in the hell happened here? MASSIVELY disappointing – although, perhaps, not entirely unexpected. What a great brand association.
In the past, I’ve been focusing on user experiences just on the web and associated channels (like logistics, email comms and offline campaigns). Clearly there’s a dire need for them in the gaming world, because this is utterly awful.
2HTC Desire case – another review!
As an owner of two HTC Desires (one is mine, one is my company phone), I’ve basically got an issue whereby I get confused: they’re identical, and I’m forever pulling the wrong one out of my laptop bag.
In order to solve this, I bought a cheap (99p!) cover off eBay. I’ve been using it for a while, but – let’s be frank – you get what you pay for. The leather strap’s all cracked and the stitching’s a bit frayed…but it’s still doing the job and at least keeping it covered from scratches etc.
So, let’s see whether buying a proper a proper leather mobile phone case from a proper retailer makes a difference: the Tuff Luv HTC Desire case.
Now, some of you may recall my review of the Acer Iconia case made by Tuff Luv: the conclusion was one of disappointment, despite the great build quality. I wanted to give them another chance…
…and they’ve delivered!
At first, I must admit I was confused by the layout of the case (i.e how to get my phone into it). I know that sounds desperately stupid, but – next to my other phone’s case – I was confused. It really wasn’t clear which way round it was meant to go (saving, of course, that they clearly show you in the pic above. Doh).
After I’d figured out how to get the phone in the right way (I can’t believe I’m typing that), all is good. The case build quality is, as per other Tuff Luv products, awesome: it’s been with me to & from work for nearly 2 weeks, and where the cheaper case is looking ropey, the Tuff Luv one just keeps on going.
It also comes with a belt clip adaptor if that’s your idea of a good time. I’ve not used it, but it’s easy enough to attach to the case.
Verdict? Recommended 
Review: Tuff Luv case for Acer Iconia
As an Acer Iconia owner, I’ve been throughly impressed with the tablet: it’s been largely flawless to use, and since I have Android mobile handsets it syncs nicely with all my contacts and email. It made sense, then, to protect my tablet since I commute a fair way each day. Enter the Tuff Luv case to solve my problems.
This Acer Iconia A500 case is billed as being designed specifically for the Iconia, and it’s very well-made with good quality leather and a suede lining inside the front cover – plus the prerequisite business card holders and slots for…things. It also has a kick-stand on the back, meaning you can prop it up to watch/read/browse etc. All sounding good so far. But this is where it goes slightly awry.
I slot the Iconia in and secure it with the little Velcro strap, and immediately notice a problem: the tablet slides around inside the case quite a lot. It’s also apparent that this case has been designed with other tablets in mind, too, since there’re little cutouts in the surrounding leather for ports and cameras that don’t exist on the Iconia. Excuse the slightly pants camera shot quality:
Doesn't quite fit the bill
This is no big deal, so I plough on. Time for the road test!
I’ve taken the tablet to work each day this week in the case, and its been held securely each time and never fallen out or been damaged. In terms of real world use, this is where the lack of snug fit really starts to show: since the Iconia has controls at the bottom left corner of the screen – and the on/off switch sits in the top right of the tablet – when it slides around, it makes accessing these really fiddly. It doesn’t sound like a massive issue, but the reality is that this hinders basic operation of the tablet functions quite a bit. That said, the main on-screen activities such as typing an browsing etc are done without issue.
Slip-slidin'
All in all, it’s a disappointment – not least because it looks fantastic and is very well-made (truly cannot be faulted in that respect), but in terms of actual daily use it’s just too tricky. Back to the drawing board, then!
5ITV Weather – quality typos
ITV, you’re so bad you’re good. Check out these doozies:
Mainly fry & warm
Best tempreture in east?
Be Broadband – a tragic end to a lovely relationship
This is a rant – and one that I hope ends up in the MD of Be Unlimited‘s lap. Sir, this is directed at you & your organisation.
I was a customer of yours for years. I took my connection to 2 or 3 properties whilst a student in Southampton, and then on to my new house in Wiltshire when I’d finished Uni. I then bought a new house, which was in an area you couldn’t service. I cancelled my contract (reluctantly), and sent back my modem. Then, suddenly, without any notice whatsoever 11 MONTHS LATER, I suddenly get a letter from a debt collection agency telling me I owe you money. It’s only £30-odd, but did I hear from you first? Did I receive any letters, emails or calls (you have all this information)? No. The first I hear is a debt collection agency sending me a letter. A final notice letter, all in red. Beautiful. So I call you guys, explain my problem to an agent, who tells me you did send me emails etc – and SMS messages, apparently. I said I’d never got them, and asked to be resent any/all of these messages – which he said he would. That was 3 or 4 days ago, and I’ve still not received any. I KNOW you have the right details on file because you confirmed them to me when I called.
I used to be an evangelist of your products: I even recommended one or two customer. Now I’d recommend people stay away, which – dramatically – is a most terrible and tragic legacy of this relationship. Well done. You handled this break-up really well.
That’s it. Thanks for reading. I guess I’ll just pay this scary debt for fear of being credit blacklisted – which is exactly what I don’t want right now given that I’ve just bought my first house and just become a new father. The issue of whether I owe the money isn’t in question here: it’s the way in which I was never told and referred to a debt collector.
:: Update (26th September): Progress? ::
So, after getting in touch with the MD Chris Stening directly via LinkedIn, I’ve already received a missed call from Be customer services who want to talk to me again about the situation. This feels like progress: I’ll update tomorrow when I’ve spoken to them.
Transcript so far below:
Hi Chris, Thanks very much for the reply. I am sorry to trouble you directly with this, but you seem to be the only way I can get anywhere with this situation. I did indeed receive a call from your billing dept, and have just had a chat with them. Over a week ago, when I first spoke to them, I asked them to resend the emails that I should’ve received alerting me to the amount I owed – bearing in mind this is money supposedly owed from nearly a year ago. I didn’t receive anything. Having just spoken to them, they’ve resent me some billing PDFs (to a different email address). These PDFs are confusing, in honesty: I moved house in October 2010 – which is roughly when I called to cancel because Be couldn’t service the area I’d moved to.
These bills:
- Reference charges for December…
- With a phone number I had in my last residence…
- For a physical address I lived in back in 2009
For a company that relies on accurate address data to actually provide their service, this is a pretty crap customer experience, I’m sure you’ll agree. No wonder I didn’t have any warning before being sent to a debt collection agency. I’d appreciate your intervention here. I’d love to become an advocate again for Be’s products: right now, I’m doing the opposite. Thanks again for your help. George
On 09/26/11 11:02 AM, Chris Stening wrote:
Hi Sorry about this. I’ve asked our Billing team to call you to resolve – apparently they have left a message this afternoon. Please let me know if this is not quickly resolved for you. Apologies again and I hope one day we can welcome you back as as a customer
Thanks Chris
On 09/26/11 7:09 AM, George Rosier wrote:
Hi Chris: sorry for the unorthodox comms method – but I keep getting messages from a Debt Collection agency on Be’s behalf. I’ve not been a customer for over a year now so this is surprise to me I’d like to add you on LinkedIn to discuss, seeing as your call centre can’t/won’t help – G Rosier
0Phones4U rip off ‘Buddy Christ’?
It transpired today that Phones4U had one of their print ads pulled after a complaint made to the Advertising Standards Authority was upheld. Reported in The Guardian, the offending ad was this:
Now, saving the facts that:
- Putting a Facebook ‘Like’ creative on a print ad is completely retarded and misses the point of the Facebook ‘Like’, and
- I couldn’t care less if an ad poked fun at a religion (it’s an ad: get over it)
…what really interested me is the striking resemblance to a certain comedy movie figurine. What the devil am I on about? Well Christ on a bike, if it isn’t BUDDY CHRIST from the rather excellent film Dogma:
Holy shit. Etc.
Acer Iconia A500 tab – review
I recently decided to look into buying a touch-pad tablet. I was initially sceptical of tablet computing when the first iPad was launched back in aerly 2010, but after watching their popularity grow (and, I admit, a bit of green-eyed-monster syndrome whilst watching proud iPad owners messing about with them), I decided to take the plunge and do some research.
We already own iPods, all of which have been great in their own right – but my main gripe with all has been having to install the hated iTunes at some point in order to get them working.
(Incidentally, if you hate iTunes as much as me, you can install MediaMonkey and it’ll do all the same things – just without all the Apple fluff.)
So, my key requirement early on was ideally to not have something that relies solely on iTunes. Since I already have 3 Android handsets in the house (don’t ask), it made sense to go for an Android-powered tablet since it’d sync with my Google accounts happily. So I did.
Acer Iconia A500 16gb
The stats
- Android™ 3.0 Honeycomb
- nVidia Tegra 2 Dual Core
- 16GB storage (upgradeable)
- 1GB DDR2 system RAM
- 1280 x 800 WXGA Display
- 2x cameras: 2.0 MP CrystalEye front & 5.0 MP back
- HDMI
- WiFi 802.11b/g
- Bluetooth 2.1
- 1 x USB
- 1 x micro USB
First impressions
Boxed & packaged well, it looks sleek and actually quite heavy (it’s 130g heavier than the iPad 2).
On boot, it loads pretty quickly (around 10 secs to get onto the desktop), and the Android 3.0 interface seems pretty slick. Swiping between desktops is easy, and adding new shortcuts for apps or widgets is done with a press of a button.
Iconia desktop
A minor negative point is that it’s not initially clear where to go to set up WiFi connections, even as a veteran Android user (it’s down there in the bottom right, by the way: the inverted blue triangle shows what signal you have).
Another immediate negative was that, in order to test my web connection, I started the browser and went onto http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ … which it did, and then instantly crashed.
Apps
Android Apps are, as we know, largely unpoliced and open to anyone (part of the reason I rather like it compared to Apple’s App Store). The Iconia comes with a whole bunch of them pre-installed:
Iconia Apps
I fully admit that I’ve not played with half of them because they’re things that don’t interest me – eReading, games, and linking my every move to Facebook being three off the cuff. However, the bundled browser – after its initial bout of falling over like an embarrassingly-drunk granny at a family dinner – is actually pretty good and works well. It also syncs nicely with all your Chrome bookmarks via your Google account.
The usual Google Maps, Navigation and Mail apps all function nicely and – with all that newfound screen real estate – are way more usable than on their Android smartphone counterparts.
I’m quickly learning that, whilst they work fine, the apps you get for Android 2.+ smartphones are not optimised for Android 3.0, and so look a bit strange occasionally. However, they still work and many authors are releasing Honeycomb editions to coincide with the tablet popularity explosion.
I’ve had issues with the standard POP3 mail app though. I added one account, and when I try to add another, it copies the existing one…and when I try to edit it, it edits both! GAH.
Connectivity
One of the reasons I chose this tablet was because of the USB inputs and the HDMI output, so I’m keen to get this rigged up to a TV soon. However, I have already plugged a standard 4gb USB stick into the tab, and it works flawlessly.
Conclusion
It’s still early days, but definitely pleased with the Iconia A500 so far. Get one here if you’re interested.
6Daily Mail’s Sandra Parsons misses the Internet mark
In an uncharacteristic and dangerous move, I read (well, laughed at) a copy of the Daily Mail yesterday. It spurred me to write this post, because – even though it is an unashamedly right-wing publication – it still stunned me how short-sighted some of the content written in it could be.
Case in point: Sandra Parsons’ column piece entitled ‘At last, we’re logging back on to the real world‘. In it, Sandra asserts that the Internet is:
- “Dehumanising, deadening to the senses and suffocating to creativity”
- Somewhere you can “make instant friends on social networks” – but “most of these ‘friends’ won’t be real”
- Somewhere that, “if you click on Google News, it selects the news it believes will interest you most. So you’re told what Google thinks you should know”
- Not at all like real life, which is “messy, complicated and human”
- Pushing us back into our supermarkets: “We’re flocking back to our supermarkets” apparently, because we’re fed up of having the wrong stuff chosen for us (or late deliveries).
- My favourite: “for a lonely widower or young mother, a chat in the check-out queue can brighten an entire day”
I’d like to address these points in orderm M’Lud:
1: The Internet is dehumanising, deadening to the senses and suffocating to creativity
Sandra, have you EVER been to a digital agency? Have you sat in the middle of one of these places and seen what inspires digital creatives? Clearly not. Now, I’m not saying that only the Internet inspires them – but the Internet is their playground – their canvas. To dismiss it outright is incredibly naive and short-sighted.
Oh, and clearly the Internet couldn’t ever be used for good causes – y’know: charities, privacy campaigners, activists…nope. The Internet is NOT for them.
2: You can “make instant friends on social networks”
Have you tried adding people you don’t know on, say, Facebook? Generally, if people don’t know you, they won’t add you. Adding people you don’t know is considered weird.
Maybe you should try LinkedIn – a social networking site for professionals. Except maybe your views in your article have already precluded you from using that site for a number of reasons…
3: You’re told what Google thinks you should know
Turn personalised results off.
4: The Internet is not like real life, which is “messy, complicated and human”
Really? In many ways, the Internet is a direct reflection of real life – a microcosm of the real world. Dominated by large corporates/brands, lots of adverts, plenty of nutters shouting (leaving comments)…how is this not like real life? Ever seen the mess of Geocities sites? Ever searched Blogger.com’s millions of blogs? The list is endless.
5: “We’re flocking back to our supermarkets”
Shoppers in the UK spent £4.9bn online during February 2011, up 20% from February 2010.[Source: IMRG, March 2011]. Doesn’t sound like they’re too annoyed with online shopping to me…
6: “For a lonely widower or young mother, a chat in the check-out queue can brighten an entire day”
Sorry, but this is downright patronising. Young mother’s need to talk to strangers in supermarket queues, do they? Might it not actually benefit them to do their shopping online instead of cart round a screaming 3-week-old child that’s not yet in a feeding routine?
Sandra, I kinda get where you’re coming from with this whole article: people are relying on digital social networks over genuine actual social interaction. But you delivered it in such a stunted way that I wanted to argue the points above.
1Samsung Smart TV – dodgy user experience?
Today, whilst chatting with my dad, I discovered he rather liked the idea of the new Samsung Smart TV (the internet-connected, 3D, HD beast).
I must admit I was intrigued to find out more guts about the product – at least, more than the current televised ejaculations of marketing hyperbole offered me – so I grabbed the laptop and did a quick search:
Internets: show me your smart tvs!
So, not a bad start. I really want to know about the spec and what this thing does…and how much it costs. I know the Google Shopping results were fairly prominent in the SERP, but the prices were quite disparate so I thought we’d go take a look on Samsung’s site.
First thing I see?
Hooray! A Flash loader! This tells me:
- Samsung know how best to tell me about this product: giving me a choice here about how I could view the info would be FOOLISH
- I’ve gone back in time to 2003
(I am aware I sound like a grumpy old man, but c’mon: at least let me skip this? Or offer me an HTML version?)
And here we go, with Samsung’s “Living Room” Flash … thing. It wants me to answer 10 questions though, before I’ve even started. What? Thanks Samsung: I really just want to know a bit more about the product!
Click to enlarge
In an attempt to dodge Samsung’s Gestapo approach to retail, I thought I’d try the ‘Learn about Smart TV’ link. This nets me this scrolling Flash…thing:
Click to enlarge
Great, well, at least we’re kinda closer to a list of ‘things this TV can do’ – the Feature Gallery beckons! Waheyy…? Except, no. It’s just a bunch of close-crop pics of the TV, with a few more puddles of hyperbole.
Change the way you watch TV.
Ok great. How?
…designed to give you access to greater types of content…
Yes? How?
…you can quickly search for content related to the program you’re watching…
How?? Doesn’t it interrupt the program? How can I see both at the same time?
You can enjoy a true internet-surfing experience but on the big screen…
What browser does it use? Is it all in 1080p? The screen shows an image of Bing. What if I don’t wanna use Bing?
…the widest variety of TV Samsung apps available today…
What are these apps? Which ones? What if I don’t CARE about any of these? What if they’re all proprietary Samsung things that I’ve no interest in?!
ARGH.
Really, I’m not TRYING to be obtuse here: these are questions that I genuinely asked myself whilst reading all this. I really like Samsung products, and want to like this too…but this journey of discovery has left me feeling a bit let-down.
It’s all fluff. Even the ‘Review and buzz’ section is lacklustre, consisting of a bunch of cherry-picked Twitter comments, and some frankly non-committal excerpts from other online publishers – for example:
…the idea of accessing applications through TV screens is beginning to pick up pace. (Techradar piece here)
Well, yes. But that doesn’t exactly review this product. Eventually, I got more sense by going straight to Amazon
Poor show, Samsung. 
T-Mobile app: missed opportunity
As a T-Mobile customer, I log in to my account on their site fairly regularly.
Today, I was greeted with this:
“That’s cool!”, I thought – since I have an Android phone, this could be rather useful and save me needing to log in via the web every time I want to check my account.
So:
- I click on the phones…nothing.
- I click on the Android Marketplace icon…nothing.
- I highlight all the text to ensure I’ve not missed an underlined link: nothing.
Right. Ah, I know: maybe they’ve made it so that when I visit the site on my Android handset, it prompts me then! So off I go on my Android handset – and I see this:
So no – Android users don’t get prompted to download the app. However, I must REALLY want this app so I go to the Android Marketplace and actually type in ‘tmobile app‘. Here’re the results:
Right then. What a wasted opportunity…and a crap customer journey. Well done T-Mobile!
Edit to add:
I eventually found the app here. However, the comments were fairly damning, so I’ve not bothered installing it.
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