GTA IV PC a buggy mess, Steam customers ask for refunds

[boatofcar]

From Ars Technica:

It seems that the PC port of Grand Theft Auto IV is having some problems; the official forums are filled with people suffering from glitches, crashes, and graphical issues. Oh, my. How bad have things gotten? Gamers are reporting that Steam is actually offering refunds on a case-by-case basis.

Gamers were blunt about the refund opportunity. "I asked for one. Frankly, Rockstar was completely misleading in their system recommendations for the game. I'm well above the requirements, yet can't even run the game on the lowest possible settings. Usually, recommendations are optimistic, not an outright lie. I love Steam, buy a lot of Steam games, and will buy more in the future, so I hope they honor my request," wrote a frustrated customer.

When the two of the three stickied threads on the forum are "How to get GTAIV running," and "Missing texture issue," it's not a good thing. Luckily gamers seem to be having some luck troubleshooting the various issues between themselves, but do people really want to spend that much time getting a game to work before they can enjoy it?

While Steam is a contentious issue among gamers, this is one of the bigger issues with the service. Even when refunds are offered, you have to deal with the billing department, and you'll be waiting a few days to hear if your request has been approved. It's certainly not an ideal situation.

Our recommendation? Wait for a patch, and enjoy the console version in the mean time.

[roushimsx]

That's too bad that this port turned out to be a buggy mess. The performance problems are one thing...those go away in time. If it ran well at the lowest settings and still looked nice, then I wouldn't mind at all. Hell, it'd give me a reason to replay through the game after an upgrade (like STALKER or Operation Flashpoint).

Especially disappointing considering the quality of the previous GTA games on PC.

[Berserker]

Our recommendation? Wait for a patch, and enjoy the console version in the mean time.

I know this may be an unthinkable concept by a gadget-obsessed, technophile site like Ars, but is it possible that the reason players are so anxious to get the PC version running correctly might be because they don't have the console version, or even a console to play it on?

I'm not in that basket, as I purchased the 360 version shortly after it came out, but as a formerly-PC-only player I could see reading some snide comment like that that assumes everyone has a modern console stashed away somewhere and being annoyed, especially if I'm trying to find some realistic solution to getting this game running.

[XYXZYZ]

Originally Posted by Ars Technica
Our recommendation? Wait for a patch, and enjoy the console version in the mean time.

My recommendation? Stop giving money to companies that screw you over with defective product.

[DigitalSpace]

[boatofcar]

Our recommendation? Wait for a patch, and enjoy the console version in the mean time.

I know this may be an unthinkable concept by a gadget-obsessed, technophile site like Ars, but is it possible that the reason players are so anxious to get the PC version running correctly might be because they don't have the console version, or even a console to play it on?

I'm not in that basket, as I purchased the 360 version shortly after it came out, but as a formerly-PC-only player I could see reading some snide comment like that that assumes everyone has a modern console stashed away somewhere and being annoyed, especially if I'm trying to find some realistic solution to getting this game running.

It's hardly a snide comment. Just change the and to or and find something actually worth getting annoyed about to occupy your time.

[Berserker]

It's hardly a snide comment. Just change the and to or and find something actually worth getting annoyed about to occupy your time.

And I hardly have cause to be annoyed with it as, like I explained, I have a 360 to play it on. I was merely saying that I sympathize with PC gamers who, between DRM, late buggy ports, and a growing deficit of exclusive A-list titles, are currently getting the short-end of the stick.

However, their marginalization aside, I'd also have the same sympathy for console-only gamers were say, Slashdot or someplace like that to remark that they should just build a high-spec PC and play their non-functioning games on that. But then, I think we'd all consider that a snide comment, since the shoe would now be on our foot as console gamers.

[Poofta!]

i am soooo saddened by this. i had this game since day one on the 360, but i am a pc gamer at heart, been so for almost 20 years now. i waited and waited and counted down the days till this would come out for the pc, luckily my life was real busy lately and i 'missed' the release date and didnt reserve it or pick it up day one. i found out it came out today by the email rockstar sends it's subscribers. so i went over to amazon to order it and what do i see? a 1.5 star rating. WTF i am thinking, no way gta has 1.5, esp such an amazing game as IV. after reading the comments i was genuinely depressed. i decided to pirate a copy to see if it'll run well and then purchase it. after scouring usenet, i found out there is no working crack right now, no problem -- i'll wait, so i come to this site and then i read this post, so depressing - i wasnt even fully aware of the problems plaguing this game.


now, being a pc gamer pretty much my whole life, i accept stuff like bugs and crashes, its fine, most people bitch but i do not -- its like being caught in the rain - an annoyance of life. but this is ridiculous.

fact that having all current (and last) gen consoles but still being a pc gamer at heart hurts me more, even though i played this and already paid for it, i was still eager to play it on pc, i just prefer the environment more, as well as the mouse/keyboard controls.

i am horrified and surprised of this, however, as was mentioned the previouse pc GTA's were absolutely top notch, and were worth waiting almost a year to play! hell i didnt even play any of them on the ps2 cause i thought they looked like shit (i was spoiled by pc graphics for all my life) and was ever so happy to finally play them on pc -- awesome experiences. and now, the best gta yet, and the pc "port" is a POS? sad panda i am. i hope rockstar gets their ass handed back to them and learn a fucking lesson. i hope they never do this again. i hope that DRM never reaches its ugly fucking head in this company's library (or any, for that matter). when or if this game is playable, i will surely be extatic to take hard earned cash out of my pocket, and pay to play this aweome game. till then? F-U rockstar!

for f's sake, this series was BORN on the PC! i remember hacking the demo to the very first game to remove the 10 minute constraint so i could play it! cause i had no cash to buy it at release, but still, this was and is by far one of my favorite game series of all time, and this is sadly a very big slap in teh face to a devoted fan (enough to buy the LE edition, then wanting to buy it again for another platform!)





*sigh*

[RARusk]

After my experience with "Bully: Scholarship Edition" (Xbox 360) I am not surprised by this. Their QA has gone to shit lately and they don't have the balls to hold a title back until it is finished (or, more likely, that their shareholders won't let them hold anything back regardless).

BTW, B:SE on the PC isn't any better from what I have read.

And this probably doesn't bode well for the "Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned" download for the Xbox 360 coming next spring.