BioWare Working "Around the Clock" on Return to Ostagar

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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BioWare Working "Around the Clock" on Return to Ostagar


BioWare says Dragon Age: Origins [http://dragonage.bioware.com/addon/rto] DLC that was supposed to launch two weeks ago, is going to be delayed a little bit longer but claims that all the screwing around will help avoid this kind of nonsense in the future.

Ever wonder what happened to Return to Ostagar? It was originally scheduled for release on January 5 but just hours before it was set to come out, pulled down [http://www.bioware.com] when it was discovered that it was buggering up people's games. In the wake of that mini-debacle, BioWare revealed that a title update for the game had resulted in a "previously undetected issue" that was messing with the game's specialization classes.

The studio has now released a more detailed statement, apologizing to 360 owners who were affected by the update and claiming that it's working "around the clock" to solve the problem. "DA:O is an incredibly large, very deep and complex game, making it virtually impossible to test every system and permutation possible for each update/DLC," BioWare's Fernando Melo said in a message posted on the Dragon Age forums [http://social.bioware.com/forum/Dragon-Age-Origins/Dragon-Age-Origins-General-Discussion-NO-SPOILERS-ALLOWED/A-Note-About-the-Xbox-360-Title-Update-655509-1.html] by Community Facilitator Victor Wachter.

"When testing any large endeavor like that, we depend on selectively targeting systems related to the changes being made, prioritized by order of perceived risk," he continued. "Unfortunately we did not foresee the changes being made to impact the systems it did, which is how something seemingly so visible still managed to avoid the dev team, and multiple test cycles of seasoned QA all through our internal teams, and MS [http://www.ea.com] cert teams, and ultimately ended up out to the public."

Melo said BioWare is updating its test processes across all platforms in order to take "additional edge cases" into account and avoid this kind of mess in the future. Unfortunately, that means further delays in current console updates to the game as well as the Return to Ostagar DLC and there is currently no time frame for when the newest fix will be approved and released. On the upside, he added that while Return to Ostagar is taking longer than expected, "the additional testing actually benefits some of the upcoming DLC and expansion pack, and as such is not expected to impact dates of the future content."

In the meantime, Melo said that a fix for the Xbox 360 version of Dragon Age: Origins [http://dragonage.bioware.com] which will restore saved games damaged by the original DLC release is currently being tested and is "looking very good," and if it passes successfully should be ready to for this week's title update.


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Greg Tito

PR for Dungeons & Dragons
Sep 29, 2005
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Why do I have Harrison Ford from that damn movie trailer going through my head right now?

"I already work around the clock!"

http://ialreadyworkaroundtheclock.ytmnd.com/
 

IckleMissMayhem

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Oct 18, 2009
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So will people who downloaded the buggered-up version of Return to Ostagar get a re-download for free when the fixed version comes out?

Not that I'm particularly fussed... I don't 'do' DLC.
 

Rhayn

Free of All Weakness
Jul 8, 2008
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It was originally meant to be released during the holiday season, so that means it's only one month off. Finding it hard to still be excited for it to be honest, but when it eventually comes out I imagine I'll enjoy it even more.

Not to mention I bought the 400 points needed when they first announced it.
 

era81

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Jun 11, 2009
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Maybe they should focus on getting it in the expansion. Does this make anyone else nervous about Mass Effect 2?
 

squid5580

Elite Member
Feb 20, 2008
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It is a shame they don't charge for fixing issues that should have never made it past testing in the retail game. Then maybe they would be working "around the clock" to fix them first. Ahh but who needs bows to do actual damage?
 

mattttherman3

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Dec 16, 2008
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Well I just want Marics sword and Duncans blades back tbh. The dlc itself is actually quite depressing.
 

Therumancer

Citation Needed
Nov 28, 2007
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So basically the rumors that Bioware was infiltrated by an evil cult that hid satanic summoning spells in the code of the game, so players who did the "right" things would summon demons to carry them away, were false? Dang! That was too cool to be true.

So basically I guess this means the "Tails Doll" remains the only verified case of evil magic and curses being unleashed through video games. :)

-

At any rate with all the work they are putting into it I was kind of hoping they would actually extend it a bit further since the content seemed rather small/limited from everything I was reading. I haven't played it yet, but some have basically said it's akin to simply walking in, crushing a few minor enemies, and picking up some phat lewts that help you break the balance of the rest of the game.
 

Jory

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Dec 16, 2009
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Still haven't tried any DLC for DA yet. Perhaps that's a good thing
 

GonzoGamer

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Apr 9, 2008
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I still haven't been able to make it through my first playthrough so they can take their time.
Even when I am done, I'm not sure I'll be ready for more conversation simulations for a while.

Is there any chance they're fixing the soundtrack for that one while they're at it.
 
Jul 22, 2009
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I downloaded the update and return to Ostagar and completed it in an hour. I haven't had any problems but I don't want to corrupt any data so I'm leaving Dragon Age until the update comes out to fix whatever's broken.
 

Chipperz

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Apr 27, 2009
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nikki191 said:
well hopefully it will fix future dlc's so all is good and hopefully its longer than the 15 minutes of wardens keep
There is no fucking way you got through Warden's Keep in 15 minutes. The opening dialogue is longer than that.

OT - Well, it can take it's time. I've got my groove with this stuff down now, and I want to get to 100% completion before new stuff comes in. Unlike Borderlands, which managed to release Mad Moxxie's Underdome Riot just before I'd got the wherewithal to finish the Braaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaains! Trophy...
 

Jared

The British Paladin
Jul 14, 2009
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I really hope they fix it soon. But, better for then to fix it and take times then bring it out again and cause more problems.

Looking forward to it anyway!
 

Xanthious

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Dec 25, 2008
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They sure are taking a long time for what I've heard is about an hour worth of content. Keep on milking that DLC cash cow EA !