EA's Customer Support?

[MannyMoenjack]

I know that there are some Shift players who frequent this forum still suffering from the mystery "slowdowns" on several tracks, where everything seems to go very slowly except of course for the other cars and the Lap Timer which keeps ticking along just fine. I call it a "Gravity Well" because it seems like certain corners just don't want to let your car get away.

Well anyway, I emailed EA support and they got back to me pretty quickly, which surprised me. But maybe some of the brighter minds on here can tell me if I'm reading their response correctly... I read it as "please delete your saved game files".

This would be fine if I just started the game last week, but I'd rather not start over from scratch after 3 months.

I mentioned this in my reply and got... nothing

I thought I'd post this here on the off chance someone else has had, or is having the same problems, and I'll try to update things as they progress... if they progress...

_________________________________________________________________________________
Customer (that's me)

I have been playing Need For Speed Shift for the past 3 months and have largely enjoyed it, however due to a game performance problem I have yet to complete more than half of the Career Mode. During Career Mode, Quick Race, or Online gameplay I experience repeated game slowdowns. This can best be described as the car, and the player driving inputs, going into slow-motion. The AI, or in the case on online play other players, continue to move at normal speed as does the Lap Timer. This problem occurs most often on Ambush Canyon, Autopolis GP, Laguna Seca, and Silverstone GP tracks, however with a full grid of cars it can and does happen on any track. I am not alone in experiencing this problem. Several of the players I regularly race with have the same issue to one degree or another, and it has been repeatedly discussed on the EA Need For Speed Shift forum numerous times.
I have not seen on any of the forums, any official acknowledgement of the problem by EA, or any promise of a fix being worked on. I had hoped with the release of Patch 1.02 back in early December that these problems would be rectified, but they were not.
I would like to know if EA is aware of the game performance issues that I’ve mentioned above, and if, and when a patch to fix them will be released. NFS Shift is an excellent game, but these slowdowns make it impossible to even finish the game.
____________________________________________________________________________________

Response (EA Rep)

Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts.

We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you.

This could also be an issue involving corrupt game save files. You will need to remove game related save data by following the below given steps.

1. Press the PS button on the controller to enter the PLAYSTATION 3 XBM (XrossMediaBar).
2. Select the Game tab.
3. Select the Save Data Utility and press the X button.
4. Delete the file related to the game.

Confirm that you have updated the Playstation 3 computer entertainment system with the most recent system software. You can check the version you have installed on your Playstation 3 by selecting:

- Settings.
- Then System Settings.
- Then System Information.

Confirm that you are not using any game modification devices. Unlicensed devices such as game modification devices can interfere with the proper function of the software. We do not recommend the use of any game modification devices or unlicensed products.

I hope that resolves the situation. If you have any other questions, then by all means feel free to let us know. You can also refer to our extensive Self Help Knowledgebase at http://support.ea.com for common technical questions.

Thank you,

Austin
EA Online Support


______________________________________________________________________________________________
Customer

Thank you for your prompt reply.
In your response you suggested that I delete my Save Game files, to correct the slowdown issues. Will this not mean that my current game progress, vinyls, and accumulated cars will also be deleted?

Is there a way to save the progress I've made so far, while deleting the corrupted information?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

 

[bbcnascar2]

Typical BS

 

[THE HOG]

Yea there just throwing you off mate total bs
simple fact of the matter is they know the game was faulted from the start but it would cost to much to bring back in and fix so it got put on the shelves, this is typical of most manufacturers thinking of the money instead of the quality.
Its a shame too because need for speed shift really does have all the makings for one of the best driving games out there for sheer fun this game rules hands down but the glitches and problems EA seem to have with all of the need for speeds will aways bring them down.

 

[Turbo Lag]

Hey at least they replied, when I send them emails they never reply.

 

[boxox]

Is there any way to switch firmware manually on the ps3? I vaguely remember hearing that the devs were having problems with ps3s using a certain revision of it.

A lot of the problems I hear about in the ps3 version sound a lot like problems you can run into on the PC with the wrong service pack, bad configuration settings in the graphics driver, old input drivers, stuff like that.

 

[MannyMoenjack]

Is there any way to switch firmware manually on the ps3? I vaguely remember hearing that the devs were having problems with ps3s using a certain revision of it.

A lot of the problems I hear about in the ps3 version sound a lot like problems you can run into on the PC with the wrong service pack, bad configuration settings in the graphics driver, old input drivers, stuff like that.

I have several driving sims on the PC and it feels like that kind of problem.

 

[NITROVIOUS]

I had a similar problem with nfs pro street, patch came out and really messed up things.
my guess is, that the info in save data files or portions of it, don't mesh properly with new info from patches, so every time a patch comes out there is a possibility that existing files may get corrupted.
if you delete save game data, you need to reinstall the game itself and the 2 patches that came out as well as team racing DLC. Major pain in the rectal region. But you will have a game that works properly in the end. ( as well as can be expected from EA anyway )

 

[darkos]

I run Shift on other account that I'm using to buying things from others psn. And shock ! Shift Run smoothly, at least Manufacturer 135i Coupe Race at Donington National But on my account there are problems with 'slowdowns' and because of that my times suffer badly.

Now ! I'm not gonna delete my save second time, Yes i did that once but that was on other version of the game and it didn't help at that time but now it seems like if you start your game from nothing, then some of the races may not have "slowdowns" problem. I'm just assuming that is correct. But i have no strength in me to start all over again third time and build my career in this game. Screw this

 

[drivatar]

I read it as "please delete your saved game files".

What a joke considerung SHIFT has a copy protected save game.

 

[MannyMoenjack]

I run Shift on other account that I'm using to buying things from others psn. And shock ! Shift Run smoothly, at least Manufacturer 135i Coupe Race at Donington National But on my account there are problems with 'slowdowns' and because of that my times suffer badly.

Now ! I'm not gonna delete my save second time, Yes i did that once but that was on other version of the game and it didn't help at that time but now it seems like if you start your game from nothing, then some of the races may not have "slowdowns" problem. I'm just assuming that is correct. But i have no strength in me to start all over again third time and build my career in this game. Screw this

The Donington 135i race isn't one that I have trouble with. As a matter of fact I think all the Tier 1 & 2 races are OK. It's only when I get into the Tier 3 and above races that I have problems.

In November my Saved Game Data got corrupted and I had to delete the files and start all over. I had spent a lot of time with the vinyls for all the cars and that was all lost. Running the Career Mode races again isn't a big deal, but I'd hate to start doing all the vinyls over a second time!

Like you mentioned darkos, if I thought it would really solve the problem of the slowdowns, I would reluctantly do it, but I have no confidence that EA has a handle on this issue. Like boxox mentioned it seems like a firmware problem.

What a joke considerung SHIFT has a copy protected save game.

Yeah, it seems to me like that was just a canned answer from them, and not a legitimate fix for the problem.

It seems to me, that for a company whose business is gaming, they show remarkably little concern for the performance of their products.

 

[Worst_Driver]

LOL What a joke, they just blame it on your PS3 while the problem is their game and lack of effort. Pathetic.