Predecessor Mission

[Art Blade]

That isn't really good news  :( Not only no solution to the initial problem, no, now on top you get rewarded with the Boot Loop glitch  :D

People who know me and my attitude towards steam will probably grin when reading your comments about that matter... (I'm with you, though for different reasons, read post #47 in this topic).

The good thing, and that indeed is comforting, is that you do have a DVD version. Go to your windows security manager, firewall, and block FC2 updater/launcher/game exe from accessing the internet so you don't download anything you don't want (You might want to try to play the game without the last patch so you can avoid the boot loop trap). :)

[wexer9]

I love Steam for its convenience, but I must say, I am quite disappointed by their unwillingness to fix this issue. I guess I will just have to wait for the response from Ubisoft, and then maybe try Steam support again...

[PZ]

Like the Impossible Mission force deep voice, Ubisoft disavows all knowledge of this issue.

[Rangoon]

Like the Impossible Mission force deep voice, Ubisoft disavows all knowledge of this issue.

Well that's funny, because Ubisoft support has finally acknowledged to me that there is an issue and that it's being looked into.  I quote (from Ubisoft support ticket):

As indicated previously, this is a known issue that the developers are currently investigating. As soon as any additional information becomes available, it will be placed in the game's forums and in our FAQ.

and

Thank you for reporting this issue. I have sent this along through the appropriate channels for processing. If this issue is resolved, the solution will appear on the support section of our website.

This is promising, but also could just be run-around. I've found at least one user on the Steam forums who has the complete FC2+FP Steam edition, and IS getting the Predecessor Missions.  This is also promising, but why am I not getting them?  Could it be related to the fact that I had the DVD version installed before?  I tried to clean out my system of the old install, but maybe I didn't.  Perhaps something is lingering which irritates the Steam version so much that it won't let me play the Predecessor Missions.  Maybe it's jealous of the DVD ex-girlfriend. I mean ex-installation.

[PZ]

I suspect one of the following:

• They are uncomfortable with you pursuing the issue and are saying something (anything) to you in the hopes that you will eventually drop it...
• ...or they are deliberately lying to me: this is Jason's (Ubi rep.) response "Unfortunately, Technical Support has no  information available on this subject at this time." (This comes after 4 days of him researching the issue.)
  
• ...or the right hand of Ubisoft does not know what the left hand is doing  ;D

[Rangoon]

Yeah, that is interesting.  Jason is the name of the rep on my ticket, too. 

I guess I will just have to wait for the response from Ubisoft, and then maybe try Steam support again...

wexer9, have you heard anything back yet?  It seems Ubisoft usually takes a couple of business days to reply.  Since we've been getting conflicting information, I'm curious what you've heard.

[Art Blade]

Yeah, that is interesting.  Jason is the name of the rep on my ticket, too.

Reminds me of a movie where someone gets a guided tour through a call centre. You see female and male employees, and notice how every female has the same first name, like "this is Mary" and every male also has the same first name, like "my name is Jack." Which isn't far from reality, I know of a case in real life when someone I knew told me the company he worked for had asked him to use a different name (say, "Mike Newman") so it didn't sound foreign to their customers. While using his real name (making it up, "Tandja al-Mabhouh") he had been harassed by customers for nothing less than the sound of his name.

[PZ]

That reminds me of a funny story - when I lived in San Diego, I regularly attended the yearly county fair.  At it, one of my favorite visits was to the barker booths where someone did their best to sell you something.  I recall one booth, where a guy was trying to sell knives - he said "my brother Harry is in the back packing the specials just as I speak".  The funny part is that each time I visited the booth, a different guy would utter the same phrase - must have been driven the patents nuts when the brothers were young.  Imagine calling out "Hey Harry!" and three voices chiming up "Yeah?"

There was another barker who must have laughed all the way to the bank.  At the exit of the fair, he was selling balloons, and had a great special "25 cents, 3 for a dollar, bargain, bargain, bargain!" he would sing out.  Naturally I got a great laugh (as he must have) out of the parents having several children in tow taking him up on the 3 for a dollar deal.

[Rangoon]

"25 cents, 3 for a dollar, bargain, bargain, bargain!"

Wow, that's hilarious!   :)  :-X

[Art Blade]

yeah, that's just great  :-X ;D

[wexer9]

I guess I will just have to wait for the response from Ubisoft, and then maybe try Steam support again...

wexer9, have you heard anything back yet?  It seems Ubisoft usually takes a couple of business days to reply.  Since we've been getting conflicting information, I'm curious what you've heard.

Nope, they never got back to me in over a month. I will enter another support ticket very soon. This is quite disappointing...

[Art Blade]

sorry to hear that  :(

[wexer9]

Well, I just sent another ticket with the exact same text, we'll see how that goes.

[wexer9]

Okay, I got a fast reply this time.

Thank you for reporting this issue. I have sent this along through the appropriate channels for processing. If this issue is resolved, the solution will appear on the support section of our website.

Jason, eh? This seems awful familiar... :o

[Rangoon]

That's verbatim what Jason told me. 

[Art Blade]

Clone Wars? :) Damn, this seems to be a never ending story until the users are dried out.

[mandru]

Maybe you could specifically place a query request and indicate that instead of going through Jason you want this to go to Jason's supervisor because all you get when Jason's in the mix is the bloody run around.

[PZ]

The only problem is that Ubi only hires representatives named "Jason", and that they have cut-and-paste answers that they post into their replies.  I can just see their human resources department - everything goes into the circular file (trash can) except applications from a Jason.  Here's another thought - like we have seen in some of the old scifi movies, "Jason" is nothing more than a computer that spits out "pat" answers like a pair of dice deliver a number combination  ;D

[Art Blade]

Hehe, now this is starting to sound like a conspiracy theory  ;D

[PZ]

In a way... companies are always conspiring to get our money!  ;D

[wexer9]

Maybe you could specifically place a query request and indicate that instead of going through Jason you want this to go to Jason's supervisor because all you get when Jason's in the mix is the bloody run around.

I think I will do just that. :-X

The only problem is that Ubi only hires representatives named "Jason", and that they have cut-and-paste answers that they post into their replies.  I can just see their human resources department - everything goes into the circular file (trash can) except applications from a Jason.  Here's another thought - like we have seen in some of the old scifi movies, "Jason" is nothing more than a computer that spits out "pat" answers like a pair of dice deliver a number combination  ;D

LOL! ;D

[Rangoon]

I insisted a number of times with Steam support that my concern be answered by a supervisor, but had no luck.  Then it all basically got put onto Ubi.  If Ubisoft can't get this sorted out soon, I need to go back to Steam since they took my money.  Then I'll have to get a little more insistent about the supervisor because it's the same runaround at Steam, too. 

[PZ]

Unfortunately my experience has been the following formula:

(run around) = (we're not going to do anything about it, but we don't want you to be mad at us)

[mandru]

I worked for several years in a phone center as a shipping and returns problem resolution specialist.  Part of what I was paid to do was keep the customer from bothering my supervisors and managers in the phone center.

The magic words that took things out of my hands (as a front level employee) and allowed callers to be bumped up the ladder were, "I need this escalated to a supervisor or if that fails to a manager so that a resolution can be reached for this problem."  Once you've reached a higher up and explaned the problem a good word track for you to use may be "What steps are you going to take to make this right?"

Beyond that... (Sigh)

Personally I'm afraid that Steam and UBI have done everything they are going to do.  They have moved on to other projects and FC2 is old news and they only lose money even looking backwards.

I know that for me, part of what moved me away from the UBI forums for FC2, was the amount of open indifference to player's shouts for help from UBI that were for the most part ignored or were directed over to the product problem forum of the site even after the person posting had clearly said that they had not received attention for their problem at the page where they were being directed back to.

Still, best of luck getting a solution for this.

[Art Blade]

I have a professional background too, regarding dealing with complaints over the phone. If I couldn't solve a problem myself, I suggested that I'd forward an order to the department responsible, offered my name again so the customer had me as reference, I told him that I'd leave a trail easily to be picked up in case he didn't get a reply soon enough and that he should refer to our conversation. If a case was so subtle and difficult that I knew no regular employee would even get a grasp of what was going on, I picked someone in a position to make decisions, told him the problem (usually those guys agreed with me), and put the customer through or gave name and extention to the customer in case that particular person was not available at the moment.

You see, there is a difference between taking a call and taking a customer serious. A problem like what you are presented with at UBI and STEAM is indeed worth a different treatment than what has been shown. From a professional point of view, I can only share what mandru said. I don't think that anything is going to happen.