‘EA support team’... Actually supporting?

[jacoja06]

Hey, peeps.

I wanted to create a new thread for this, because this problem is really starting to frustrate me. Has anyone ever successfully received an answer from the EA support team site?

Here is the email I sent out to them... twice. It wasn’t really a MASSIVE ask;

EA. Please could you respond to this E-mail I sent over four days ago.

Thank You

- James
------------
Hi EA.

I just wanted to get in contact for a major issue I have regarding the control options of NFS Shift. There is no custom controller options implemented into the game. There is only a choice of three configuration settings, all of which are unusable for me (and many other people).

I don’t quite understand the reasoning of completely changing controller figurations on a new game, especially when people have grown accustom to the basic controller layout of all other racing games (including older versions of NFS). ‘X’ being accelerate, ‘square’ for brake, L2/R2 for changing gears, etc.

I was amazed and disappointed to find that this standard layout was not one of the three options to choose from. As a result, I have never been able to play the game properly.

After downloading the new patch today, I found that this simple feature has still not been added... even after the numerous complaints on NFS community fan sites, and the official nfs.com forum.

I was wondering, when can these needs be met? Is it a recognised problem that EA is aware of, and is willing to address?

I’ve been a long-time NFS fan, and a long-time community member of the nfsunlimited.net forums. Unfortunately with basic issues like this, I question myself about purchasing future games from the franchise.

It’s a great game nevertheless... I’m very proud of what EA has accomplished. This one issue though is really damaging the experience.

Thanks for reading.

- jacoja06

- You should receive a response within 24 hours.

Still haven’t had a response yet. I was talking to another NFS Shift user on MSN, who said he has sent almost up to 10 queries since Shift was released, and he hasn't received a single response for any of the questions.

Like I said, has anyone else had any experience with EA Support? Is there any way to get them to respond, without bribing them with more money?

[GT3x24x7]

I've sent a request and got a response, though it was back in the days of Most Wanted. The response was a lot slower than they originally said, however.

[jacoja06]

Yay! There's still some hope.
How much longer did they take to respond to you? Was the question as complicated as the one I sent?

[GT3x24x7]

I think it took about 10 days, but I can't be sure, it was literally years ago.

About the question you asked, well, it's not exactly a support question is it. There's nothing particularly broken that you have an issue with, morevover it's just that the game doesn't work the way you'd like it to work. You go on to ask for speculation on when this might be addressed, threaten to leave the franchise and finish up by saying what a great game game it is.

Mixed signals I'm sure, and more to the point there's nothing in there that your average tech support guy is even remotely equipped to fix. Expect a very standard, boilerplate response, something like.. "We're very sorry you had these issues with the game, we've noted these things and they will be taken into account when designing future releases."

Now if you had an addressable problem with the game, like a graphic glitch, stuttering sound or fuzzy shadows, the guy could very quickly tell you to update your drivers, start a new profile, and failing that to reinstall the game, then mark that ticket 'closed ' in his queue and move on.

Seriously, do you expect any gratification? When it all boils down you're refusing to play the game because you refuse to adjust to a new control layout, or switch to a different controller type.

Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but I think you're being a bit stubborn and petty. It really doesn't take too long to adapt to a new control layout.

[boganbusman]

Ya, thanks to SHIFT I stopped using buttons and learned how to accel/brake with the right joystick. It was hard, but worth it in the end. Now it feels weird to play old games with digital controls!

If you really want a challenge, try playing Sin & Punishment (N64) on the Wii virtual console. The game needs an N64 button layout to be able to play without having three hands, but the Wii is not compatible with N64 controllers. My brain asplodes

[jacoja06]

I think it took about 10 days, but I can't be sure, it was literally years ago.

About the question you asked, well, it's not exactly a support question is it. There's nothing particularly broken that you have an issue with, morevover it's just that the game doesn't work the way you'd like it to work. You go on to ask for speculation on when this might be addressed, threaten to leave the franchise and finish up by saying what a great game game it is.

Mixed signals I'm sure, and more to the point there's nothing in there that your average tech support guy is even remotely equipped to fix. Expect a very standard, boilerplate response, something like.. "We're very sorry you had these issues with the game, we've noted these things and they will be taken into account when designing future releases."

Now if you had an addressable problem with the game, like a graphic glitch, stuttering sound or fuzzy shadows, the guy could very quickly tell you to update your drivers, start a new profile, and failing that to reinstall the game, then mark that ticket 'closed ' in his queue and move on.

Seriously, do you expect any gratification? When it all boils down you're refusing to play the game because you refuse to adjust to a new control layout, or switch to a different controller type.

Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but I think you're being a bit stubborn and petty. It really doesn't take too long to adapt to a new control layout.

Try not to lash-out at my throat too quickly. I can see the point you are trying to make... even though the aim of the letter was intended to be a decent question about an important issue. No stubborn, rude, threatening writing was intended (Makes me hope the support team doesn’t read it in a completely negative manner as you did).

I can’t see why customer feedback cannot be included as part of the EA support group. If spend $100 of my money to purchase a game which doesn’t live up to my expectations (because for the lack of one simple feature), don’t you think it will be worth mentioning? Even a brief response like the example you gave me will be acceptable. At least as I know they read it, it will make a difference... no matter how minor.

Obviously I find adjusting to new controls to be very difficult. Everyone's different. But I'm curious, Have you actually used the Shift PS3 controls for a long extent? If I went to your car one day and decided to switch around both the accelerator and brake pedals, you’d probably blame me if you drove straight into your dining room one day. The driving layout you had before was second nature. The unique new layout would probably put you off driving this car, right?

[GT3x24x7]

There's no malice intended Jim, just saying that you shouldn't really be surprised that they don't jump on this one immediately and dash you off a response. It's not an urgent situation and in the end It's not something they can actually fix.

You're right, I'm lucky that they have my preferred control layout right there in the game. Other games haven't necessarily offered it however, but that didn't stop me from turning in very decent times. I just had to go through an adjustment. As you say, some may find this harder than others.

[TheStig]

It would be decent to just answer the question,
even if it was to tell they can't help with the issues.

I never needed to ask EA a question because I never had real problems that I couldn't fix or bugs I thought that they would fix (gfx glitches are in general very low on developers agendas)

Only company I mailed was Turn 10 (Forza Motorsport) and for both FM2 and FM3 they answered within 24 hours and even though in both cases I had a silly question they did answer it and helped me with the problem.

Like said A answer would be very usefull, even if they can't help you, it atleast gives you the feeling they listen.

[jacoja06]

Exactly what I was trying to put into words, Stig.

@GT; No worries. 10 days is still better than nothing. I really set up this thread after I heard the other Shift user hadn't received anything in months, so it's something worth asking.

[GT3x24x7]

Months? Sheesh.

[jacoja06]

2-3 Months .

[GT3x24x7]

Ahah, I found a screenie I took of the response I got from EA to my complaint in Carbon. Looks like it only took them four days to come back, which isn't too bad I guess.

Whinge, whinge whinge..

[jacoja06]

Ahh, Abusive opponents... Nice! Thanks for posting that.

I got a response to my email a few days ago, so it took 9 days in total. Better than nothing. I think though, they should scrub that ‘response in 24hrs’ quote.

Greetings,

Thank you for contacting EA Games Customer Support.

Customer feedback is greatly valuable to Electronic Arts. To comment on any of our titles, please post on the appropriate game forum. These forums are maintained and monitored by the community leaders and production team. By posting on
these forums you will be able to submit direct feedback to the appropriate person. Please make sure that you follow the EA terms of service when posting. You must have an EA member account in order to post on the forum.

Go to our forum site [http://forums.ea.com/mboards/index.jspa] You will be brought to a page containing the forum direct links. Click on the appropriate forum section under your game title.For best results post on the Suggestions section for your title. If there is no Suggestions section post in the General section

Or, visit this link: http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/ph ... faqid=7829

If there is anything else we can help you with please let us know.

Sincerely,

Russell
EA Online Support.

Interesting. They don't give a word of response on the forums either, and there’s quite a number of people posting about the issue. It’s like a game of tennis.