The patch presented to the public through ESO by Ensemble Studios needs to be recalled. Plain and simple - it sucks.

The largest problem being that it just crashes to the desktop without any warning. It is NOT our video cards, our chipsets, or programs that we are running... It's AOM. We do not need to call Microsoft, or our hardware guy, or anyone else EXCEPT Ensemble Studios. The boards are crawling with people who are pulling out their hair trying to figure out why their game keeps crashing. And while the patch makes AOM totally unplayable for the majority, AOM Heaven and Ensemble Studios continue to act as if nothing is wrong.

Why is it that Age of Mythology Heaven has become so commercialized that it won't even report to the users - on it's main page - that problems do exist with the patch? For the last four days since the patch the boards have been screaming about the TWO major problems: Crash to desktop and ESO Uploading Stats Error 2,4.

Is AOM Heaven so in bed with both Microsoft and Ensemble that they dare not mention that there is an actual problem with the patch and nobody is admitting it?

What happend to Heaven Games??? They used to be a site where you could get indepth information on any aspect of Age of Empires. Bugs in patch? Front page news... Problems with ESO? Again - FRONT PAGE NEWS.

All that AOM Heaven is now is a gigantic advertisement for both Microsoft and Ensemble Studios - just to sell the product. Pretty statisticals... Pretty pages... "Oh and guess who reviewed AOM?!!"

How about giving us some REAL NEWS.

And the product AOM - while fantastic - has major issues that are not being addressed. Ensemble Studios and AOM Heaven would do well to address the issue on the front page. Stop the myriad of users who are perplexed by the latest patch and what is wrong with their game. Tune into the customers who have purchased your product - some for $50 dollars or MORE - before these customers starting buying elsewhere.

[QUOTE]The reason 'AoM Heaven' 'acts as if nothing's wrong' is because for the most part, nothing is. A minority of people are having technical problems. Just because you are doesn't mean every single person who bought the game can't play it, because I can iterate with strong authority that there are hundreds of people playing it online at this moment and enjoying it. So this is a technical help forum. So what? Every post is going to be about problems, that stands to reason.[/QUOTE]

Hello? Scan this board, scan the general forums, scan the forums of other sites who are also having problems. It is not the "minority" it is the MAJORITY. One guy here even formatted his system (after backing up onto multiple CD's) just to try to get it to work. Just because there are 1000 people playing on ESO right now does not mean that the "Majority" is not having critical issues.

[QUOTE]AoM Heaven doesn't exist as an advertisement for Ensemble. We exist as a source of information for people interested in the game, and a community where people can meet and discuss it. And plastering the front page news with 'Triox can't run the game even though he patched it!!!!!' really doesn't constitute a good source of information about happenings related to AoM.[/QUOTE]

The fact that AOM or ES will not even admit there is a problem angers me. And to write an assanine post such as yours shows your lack of understanding of the issue at hand. I did not ask that you write that "TRIOX CAN'T RUN HIS GAME", I asked that you post that a large percentage of users CAN'T RUN THE GAME. Is that so hard to understand? Is it so hard to comprehend that there is a major flaw in the program causing a vast number of users to be unable to play at all? A single post stating "YES, THERE IS A PROBLEM" would stop those poor SOB's that back their system up onto 28 CD's, format and re-install their systems just to get it to work. Why don't you post their name with a header "can't run the game even though he patched it!!!!!"

So turn the message around and point the finger at me, just as many other mornoic users of this forum do. Do I have to personally go back through your own forums and point out every message and every user that is having the same problem?

It just goes to show how clueless you are and how clueless ES is. Blame the user, don't blame the product - especially when AOM is sleeping with ES - how dare you even mention a problem with the product... SELL! SELL! SELL!

I have installed on my system Red Faction, Dune, Half Life, Alice, Soldier Of Fortune II, GTA 2, GTA 3, HL-Counter Strike, No One Lives Forever, Unreal, Unreal Tournament, Clive Barker's Undying, Age of Kings, Age of Conquerers, Age of Empires, Jedi Knight II and probably three or four others that I can't remember off-hand. The common thing between them all is that THEY ALL WORK. None of them crash to desktop every time you try to play. ONLY AOM.

But because AOM Heaven and ES consider me a "minority", my concerns are summed up to an irate customer who obviously doesn't know his own hardware or how to post an effective message to get help. Nice to be treated like a minority.

[QUOTE]If you want tech help, then post about your problem. Explain what you've tried. Detail your technical specifications. Say what's happening. Don't just whinge about how you're not happy with the game, or you waste the time of everyone who reads your thread.[QUOTE]

And then of course you lock the thread - because you can. And you call this place tech help? After countless messages stating that the product fails to work - countless messages by other users - finally I write a frustrated message - and you call it whining? Why you pompous...

I cannot fathom why I am wasting my time with a product that does not work as advertised. Wait... Yes I can... Because I've been purchasing Ensemble products from day one and I USED TO BE a valued customer.

I am returning the product to the place of purchase this Saturday morning. I will buy it again in six to eight months when and IF they have solved the problem - and the price comes down from $50.00 US. And I will be quite weary of Ensemble Studios products in the future.

Triox - Who will now most likely be banned.

This entire message will be reposted on http://www.smithysanvil.com where it cannot be banned or locked.

Mr. Smith Goes to London, Ontario!

Many of you know of Eric Smith, the lead developer behind both Battlecraft 1942 and Battlecraft Vietnam. In building these tools for the Battlefield Community over the last two years, Eric has proven time and again to EA and DICE that he is a key member of the Battlefield Mod community, both in terms of his map creation (such as for Battlefield Pirates Mod) and through the excellent tools he built and supported. On occasion, Eric has spent time on-site at DICE to integrate functionality into Battlecraft, each time making a very favorable impression. EA and DICE are proud to announce that, in recognition of Eric's past contributions to Battlefield franchise and his development skills, Eric has been hired as a full time employee of DICE Canada.

Eric will be working on continued support of the Battlecraft Toolset as well as new tool development for DICE Canada's future projects.

This hiring, following as it does on the heels of DICE's announcement regarding the acquisition of Trauma Studios (the development team behind the Desert Combat Mod for Battlefield 1942) shows that this is an exciting time to be a part of the Battlefield Mod and tools community.

But there's more. Today we have big news for the burgeoning Battlefield 2 Mod Community -- the very first Battlefield 2 Mod Update!