RoF ? Good or bad ? Statements wanted

Toadvine · 9 July 2009, 09:07 AM

Hey Tate ,

Sorry you are having so much trouble. It is a great WW1 sim if you can get it running. Like I said earlier I had a ton of frustration myself getting this turkey set up. once you do get it installed and registered it is pretty much smooth sailing from there.

at first my DVD drive wouldn't read the disc. I new it wasn't my drive because it will read everything else I have. I was absentmindedly kind of opening and closing the tray thinking about what to do next and vola! it started installing. Just out of the blue like that. But that wasn't the end of my installation trouble because I kept getting errors during the install process that files were not being read. after the installation was finished of course the game wouldn't run! So I had to uninstall and try again. That time it took.

But wait there is more! I couldn't register my email address in the log on part of the game. I have an _ in my address and their system couldn't read underscore so I kept getting an error saying my password or email address was incorrect. I posted on the web site about the problem, and a few minutes later it was working.

If you can trouble shoot this puppy I guarantee you will have a great WW1 combat flight sim. It is well worth the effort if you can get it running.

Harry Tate · 9 July 2009, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFM

One thing, out of curiousity. Since you feel the sim is so terrible that your advice is to "STAY AWAY," why are you contemplating selling it? You may do whatever you like, of course, but since you feel Neoqb has foisted upon us a "buggy, bad job" sim in the "testing phase" from which potential customers should "STAY AWAY," wouldn't selling your copy put you on the same stratum as Neoqb?

Hi JFM:

Not if sold with the understanding of "Buyer Beware", and especially since you point out that a problematic install is not the typical experience.

I'm not in the business of selling games to a mass market, and am entitled to recover at least part of my costs if the buyer is willing to take on the challenge.

Now, that said, I haven't given up completely on this quite yet. There is apparently a nice reward awaiting the successful install. I'm frustrated because this is not a typical install for me, either- in fact it's the ONLY program that has brick-walled me so thoroughly in all these years- and I'm no computer slouch.

But my warning stands. Any potential buyer should be prepared for a terrible, time-consuming experience. It may not happen, but be prepared for the worst because it is a not an insignificant possibility with this product.

JFM · 9 July 2009, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Tate

But my warning stands. Any potential buyer should be prepared for a terrible, time-consuming experience. It may not happen, but be prepared for the worst because it is a not an insignificant possibility with this product.

That is millenia-old common sense applicable for every monetary transaction in life, not just when buying a lil ol' flight sim. You want to sell what you think is a lemon, that's your business. I was just interested in the dichotomy.

You and Toad had/have serious problems; I have no idea what I'm doing and the sim loaded/registered flawlessly. The preponderance of posts at ROF and SHQ indicate people who bought the sim have it installed and are flying same. I wish I could help you with your troubles because I've been frustrated with computer programs many times and needed help. As I said,though, I am a computer moron and can offer you nothing. If I run across anything at the SHQ or ROF fora that may help your problem, I'll pop over here and and let you know.

Cameljockey · 9 July 2009, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harry Tate

I'm running XP.

Others have posted the same problem on the ROF Website, but so far none of the solutions have worked. I've cleaned out my registry, defragged, uninstalled and reinstalled, and it still won't run.

Add to that the fact that the manual is poorly written, poorly laid-out, and not very substantial in the first place.

So far I've spent nearly 4 hours trying to get this game to function. I don't have unlimited free time to screw around with it. If I can't get it up and running without wasting too much more time on it, I'll sell it for the best offer.

My advice to potential buyers at this point is, unless you like spending time de-bugging, finding work-arounds, loading patches, etc., and generally just trying to make the best of a bad job, STAY AWAY from this game.

Wait until it's actually a marketable product, and avoid the testing phase, which category this release plainly falls into at present.

You may not be able to sell it. I asked the question at SimHQ and never got an answer. You may just be stuck with it. I haven't asked at the RoF forum because for some reason I can't make any posts. I'll keep looking because I'd like to get rid of mine also.

JFM · 9 July 2009, 11:35 AM

CJ,

I wasn't able to post over at the ROF fora, either, for quite some time. From what I understand, they had some serious issues with that place. These have been fixed, however, and now I can post there. Perhaps if you try you'll have some luck now.

If nothing else, you can always Ebay ROF, if it can be sold. I read a thread or two about this but, as are you, I am unclear if selling the disc will do any good; some believe that even though you can sell the physical disc the actual gameplay is dependent upon the account you established and thus a buyer could not use the disc. However, if someone can't even establish an account, such as HT, perhaps he could get rid of his and a buyer could use it and establish his own account. I really don't know. I'm sketchy on the i's and t's but since I'm not selling mine I didn't investigate further.

Cameljockey · 9 July 2009, 12:38 PM

Maybe the term "get rid of it" is a little harsh. It was just a big letdown after all of the hype and I'm disappointed in the product. That's just my opinion and that and $5 will get me a cup of coffee at Starbuck,s.

CJ

Harry Tate · 9 July 2009, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JFM

That is millenia-old common sense applicable for every monetary transaction in life, not just when buying a lil ol' flight sim. You want to sell what you think is a lemon, that's your business. I was just interested in the dichotomy.

Understand that I am not facing a moral dilemma. The law in many parts of the USA allows for purchasers of "lemon" automobiles recourse, and I think a parallel can be drawn here. Tens of thousands of a particular model of car are sold and are probelm-free, however once in a while one slips through that just cannot be made to function as it was advertized. In those cases, the customer is allowed to reverse the transaction. "Caveat Emptor" does not apply. The seller is forced to stand behind his product, or refund the customer's money and take the car back if it can't be made right.

IF I do decide that no amount of work will make this program work on my machine, and no suggestion by the maker solves the problem, I may first try and get my money back from the company I bought it from. Failing that, I may contact the manufacturer but I have my doubts that I would receive a refund from foreign shores.

Again, IF I just can't make it work soon, AND I can get no refund or other suitable compensation, I most certainly will have learned a lesson and never buy this company's products ever again- or at least without a massive demonstration that old problems have been solved.

Understand that I was able to establish an account and even load all the required files, including the third-party folders required to run the game. My problem since then is getting the game to run. It continues to refuse to run, and Windows shuts it down. I have read several posts on the RoF Website with the exact problem, and none of the posted solutions have worked for me.

I am approaching a full day invested in getting the game to function and I just don't have the time -or inclination- to keep it up much longer. It is, after all, just a game. I have to earn a living and raise a family and I can't devote hours to recreational keyboarding every day.

I do understand that software can be tricky, but I have never encountered a program that so stubbornly keeps coming up with new problems as soon as an existing one is solved. I was really looking forward to this game...I still am! But the price of playing it is so-far beyond my means.

Clearly, you were lucky, JFM. I wonder if your position would be same, had you my experience with this game.

Bleddyn · 9 July 2009, 01:23 PM

You have good points HT, I just want to point out that most people are getting it working without trouble (or so it seems). Going by that I would not call JFM lucky, just... normal. Your case would appear to be unlucky.

JFM · 9 July 2009, 01:48 PM

Hi, Guys,

I agree with Harry's points (and thanks for reminding me that you managed an install but it won't run, as you wrote in #37) and Bleddyn's opinion.

I have been in your position, HT. Happened with SH4. Since you wonder, what I did was write the company, asked for a new disc, received/installed new disc, still encountered problems with the new disc, realized it was my computer and not the disc, troubleshot with aid of the more learned, got nowhere, and then put the disc on the shelf and went about my life. As you said, I have way too many real fish to fry. Over a year later I got a new computer and thought, "maybe..." Voila! Loaded right in, no problem.

Again, I wish I could help. Sincerely. When I went back through this thread your frustration is obvious. I've seen some threads at SHQ explaining problems similar to yours but I haven't had time to go through all of them. I'll try to link you to a possible solution if I find one there.

On this end I have ROF installed but no time to fly it! Maybe after sunday I can fire it up and see how the Albatros is, if it actually goes on sale tomorrow.

Harry Tate · 9 July 2009, 01:51 PM

Bleddyn, Be that as it may, I cannot post a good experience that I haven't had. I can only relate what I have first-hand knowledge of.

Believe me, I'd much rather be singing this game's praises.

JFM, I can't let the tail wag the dog at this point. I have too many other programs on my machine, all working splendidly, to resort to an entire new machine just for a game.

We'll see what happens, the war isn't over yet.