XBOX360 freezing

[jerbola]

I continue to have trouble with the xbox360 version of the game freezing. I have gotten all the achievements and am trying to get at least a gold on everything. I have spent many 100s of hours playing this great game I wish I could complete getting all golds but it seems for some reason I freeze alot, enough that I can not complete any grinder type game anymore. Please help me resolve this issue

[jerbola]

I have tried everything I have read on the forums.
1. Re-downloaded the game and all the dlc
2. deleted my game saves
3. recovered my profile
4. cleared my cache

[jeff]

We wish you could get a fix for the Xbox 360 version of Defense Grid, because we care about that intensely, perhaps more than you would guess, but as best as we can tell, the problem isn’t about the game code itself, but the data that the Microsoft folks uploaded to the back-end achievement system, of which they won’t allow us to update or change.

This frustrates us, and I clearly understand that it frustrates you, and then we come to the situation where some of the folks at Microsoft tried really hard to help us change it, but the folks who controlled the back-end achievement databases wouldn’t help out saying it would cause other problems and we became stuck at an impasse with great desire to fix things, but we aren’t allowed to access the problem area.

So what does a game developer do when they know about a problem, can’t fix it because they are prevented from doing so and because the problem isn’t (as best we know) in the game code itself, but in the back end data that connects to the game? That’s where we are. It turns out that this affects a portion of the Xbox 360 audience but not everyone, which is also confusing.

So, what we decided to do is give folks affected on the Xbox, free game codes for the PC Steam version. On the PC we don’t have this problem with the exact same game (we use one code base for both platforms – there are some platform specific code in each, but for 90% of it, it is the same game and identical code), and we have the ability to control all aspects via Steam and release updates as often as we want if we do run into a problem.

So, we expect you prefer to play on the console and we sincerely wish we could do something to make the game better there for you – we want to so badly. But, we know we can make things work for you on the PC side. So, let us know if you want a code for the PC version and the DLC that you’ve purchased, and we’ll happily give you a free copy for the PC.

[chriss72]

I have the same problem...the xbox live version crashes at level 93 on Super Grinder mode of the portal II map in the :You Monster dlc. It crashed last night and this morning as well at the same spot, wave 93. Would I be able to get a steam code for the game as well? Here is a screenshot:

20130222-P1040900_panasonic.jpg

thanks

We wish you could get a fix for the Xbox 360 version of Defense Grid, because we care about that intensely, perhaps more than you would guess, but as best as we can tell, the problem isn’t about the game code itself, but the data that the Microsoft folks uploaded to the back-end achievement system, of which they won’t allow us to update or change.

This frustrates us, and I clearly understand that it frustrates you, and then we come to the situation where some of the folks at Microsoft tried really hard to help us change it, but the folks who controlled the back-end achievement databases wouldn’t help out saying it would cause other problems and we became stuck at an impasse with great desire to fix things, but we aren’t allowed to access the problem area.

So what does a game developer do when they know about a problem, can’t fix it because they are prevented from doing so and because the problem isn’t (as best we know) in the game code itself, but in the back end data that connects to the game? That’s where we are. It turns out that this affects a portion of the Xbox 360 audience but not everyone, which is also confusing.

So, what we decided to do is give folks affected on the Xbox, free game codes for the PC Steam version. On the PC we don’t have this problem with the exact same game (we use one code base for both platforms – there are some platform specific code in each, but for 90% of it, it is the same game and identical code), and we have the ability to control all aspects via Steam and release updates as often as we want if we do run into a problem.

So, we expect you prefer to play on the console and we sincerely wish we could do something to make the game better there for you – we want to so badly. But, we know we can make things work for you on the PC side. So, let us know if you want a code for the PC version and the DLC that you’ve purchased, and we’ll happily give you a free copy for the PC.

[jeff]

@chriss72 sure thing - just sent

[Blartoom]

We wish you could get a fix for the Xbox 360 version of Defense Grid, because we care about that intensely, perhaps more than you would guess, but as best as we can tell, the problem isn’t about the game code itself, but the data that the Microsoft folks uploaded to the back-end achievement system, of which they won’t allow us to update or change.

This frustrates us, and I clearly understand that it frustrates you, and then we come to the situation where some of the folks at Microsoft tried really hard to help us change it, but the folks who controlled the back-end achievement databases wouldn’t help out saying it would cause other problems and we became stuck at an impasse with great desire to fix things, but we aren’t allowed to access the problem area.

So what does a game developer do when they know about a problem, can’t fix it because they are prevented from doing so and because the problem isn’t (as best we know) in the game code itself, but in the back end data that connects to the game? That’s where we are. It turns out that this affects a portion of the Xbox 360 audience but not everyone, which is also confusing.

After downloading "You Monster" and gaining the achievements therein, the crashes for my profile became so pronounced, the game in unplayable for me at this time.

I am glad I found this thread, and based on the behavior I see (my wife's games don't crash as much because she is still on the first campaign) it looks like I have the same problem.

Jeff, based on what you are saying, and your development team's own debug session with sample data that recreates this defect, are you telling me that your game code makes a valid call to the Achievement API/framework and that the game and console crash while within the Achievement API/framework? If that is true, then you can file a bug report with Microsoft. Also, lots of other developers would probably be hitting the same problem.

On the other hand, if you make a valid call to the Achievement API and the data returned is not what you expect, and *that* is what causes the game and console to crash, then the problem *is* within your code. Your code should be changed to handle unexpected or corrupt data from the Achievement API and continue on without crashing the entire game/console. I'd much rather be have an achievement I just earned not get award than to have the whole game stop suddenly mid-game.

To summarize: the defect is either in the Achievement API/framework, so file a bug report and other developers should be having similar problems, OR the data returned from the Achievement API/framework is not what your code expects, so please add code to handle the currently unexpected situation so the game/console does not crash.

EDIT: As for buying a PC to play games, it just isn't going to happen in this household.

[jeff]

Unfortunately neither of your scenarios covers it. The data we submitted to them on the back end was somehow corrupted, and they won't allow us to overwrite it or replace it. The explanation given to us is that you can just add to the database you can't replace what is there without causing a problem with other existing games. So, we actually did do an addition and a corresponding title update, to move achievements to new ID's, but that didn't work either and the folks we dealt with said they understood that new bug, but weren't allowed to address it and there was nothing we could do. It has been more than a year now since that series of intense calls and emails, so I apologize that I'm not remembering all the details, but it was very clear what we were told after several meetings and conf calls. We weren't able to make a change, and they weren't going to change things on their side. It was pretty clear that the platform wasn't committed to helping improve the game experience sadly. I say this with many friends and former colleagues on the platform and I can tell you I worked with many to see if we could create a good experience for players. I was once told - "well, if you were Call of Duty, maybe they'd fix that."

Jeff

[chillgreg]

Hi Jeff

The freezing seems to be graphically-related. The framerate can slow to a crawl, and also any pop-up messages from the Xbox can cause freezing. Not always, but often when fast forwarding the freezing can be more frequent. On or offline from the internet/Xbox Live doesn't make any difference.

How can this achievement back end problem cause such issues?

Thanks
Greg
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[Poncho]

I tried playing DG today and had the same issues I had awhile back. Checked in the xbox forums and noticed that a Steam code would be offered to those not being able to play the game anymore. Never really used Steam until last week and wanted a game similar to DG with it being my first td game. I didn't really notice anything that caught my eye. Fieldrunners2 is cool,but nothing like DG. Requesting a Steam code and then I will probably purchase the dlc again. Thanks.

[jeff]

Have just sent one out via email. If that isn't you, request one via info [at] hiddenpath [dot] com.

Jeff

[jeff]

Chillgreg - yes. Not intuitive I know, but yes, mandatory communication with the LIVE service as required by the technical requirement can interrupt gameplay.

[Poncho]

Have just sent one out via email. If that isn't you, request one via info [at] hiddenpath [dot] com.

Jeff

I found the email. Thank you.