PC1 Project Cars Forum Moderators Banning Customers!

[MaXKiLLz911]

I just wanted to make you all aware to be very careful and withhold any and all complaints on the official Project Cars forums. If you make it known you are having problems with the game and dare to complain, they will ban you, just as they did to me today. It is completely unacceptable to silence customers in this manner. I chose to make SMS, WMD and end users aware of any issues I was experiencing with the game, and they are numerous, as they occurred and for this I paid the price. I post this here so others can be careful and not suffer the same fate.

 

[Kyle Pearson]

Somewhere between 80 and 100% of the grid has been disconnected from the server within the first few laps, every time. But I have also only joined 3-4 times, and all of them were with multiclass cars. Don´t know if that´s the problem, or it is the hoster´s server which is crap.

Was this with the Steam lobbies or with the RD hosted Dedicated Server races?

 

[armani-thomas]

I don´t know how it works. But one of them was this:

http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/v-wec-road-america-wednesday-20-may-2015.105782/

I guess that´s what you call steam lobby game?

 

[jimortality]

I don´t know how it works. But one of them was this:

http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/v-wec-road-america-wednesday-20-may-2015.105782/

I guess that´s what you call steam lobby game?

Steam crashed on everyone that night.

 

[Kyle Pearson]

I don´t know how it works. But one of them was this:

http://www.racedepartment.com/threads/v-wec-road-america-wednesday-20-may-2015.105782/

I guess that´s what you call steam lobby game?

I believe Bram was using Dedicated Server (he can chime in if that's not the case). Dedicated Server is not really ready for mainstream use right now and has a lot of problems. It was included so the WMD members could continue testing and reporting issues but it's not stable right now so I'm not surprised people were having issues.

 

[Andrej Svajger]

According to "Dedicated Server testing" thread @ WMD, you're right. Was that anounced publicly?

 

[jimortality]

I believe Bram was using Dedicated Server (he can chime in if that's not the case). Dedicated Server is not really ready for mainstream use right now and has a lot of problems. It was included so the WMD members could continue testing and reporting issues but it's not stable right now so I'm not surprised people were having issues.

Is it a big job?

 

[Andrej Svajger]

Small things that make life on Internet exciting. Since issue isn't resolved yet, you could say it's big. Ports, Java, access rights, ..... But devs are working on it and i'm sure if we let them, they'll solve it.

 

[Kyle Pearson]

According to "Dedicated Server testing" thread @ WMD, you're right. Was that anounced publicly?

I have no idea. The WMD members have been mentioning it (and I have mentioned it a few times here).

Is it a big job?

I would say yes. It's not something they won't get completed, but it will take a little time.

 

[Bram Hengeveld]

WMD Member @ RD Forum:

Dedicated Server is not really ready for mainstream use right now and has a lot of problems.

SMS Staff @ PCARS Forum:

Is the DS working and finished?
- The DS is working and ready to use. Additional features will be added.

We have been running online events for two consecutive weeks in a row and with exception of one Formula Rookie race all sessions have encountered a lot of problems as detailed in another thread.

These kind of double messages confuse people, me included.

 

[Rob]

Not only did he play his own product, he still has his sim racing skills from the GTR modding days. However, his role is not writing code.

I guess he makes too much money to play his own stuff on the consoles then. The hideous Thrustmaster FFB issues (think of Shift2 with a bit of an upgrade) on the Thrustmaster TX are addressed neither in the first patch OR the second patch (see their notes). Looks like it nay either be a while or "lump it" xbox users....

 

[Kyle Pearson]

Elmo isn't SMS staff. He's another WMD member as myself. He has been identified as the WMD member who can directly log bugs into their tracking system, but he's not employed by SMS. The SMS staff members will have a "Blue" name on the forums.

 

[jimortality]

WMD Member @ RD Forum:

SMS Staff @ PCARS Forum:

We have been running online events for two consecutive weeks in a row and with exception of one Formula Rookie race all sessions have encountered a lot of problems as detailed in another thread.

These kind of double messages confuse people, me included.

The Clio at Brno worked yes?

 

[armani-thomas]

Steam crashed on everyone that night.

Steam wasn't down on my machine at any time that night. I know many of you had steam problems and couldn't get into the game, all the while I was jumping in and out of the game, and chatting with my brother over steam. So here in DK it worked for some reason.

 

[Andy_J]

There's two sides of the coin here.

There certainly are Doc. If you cast your mind back further, we get to the point in time where Mr Bell threatened Bram and this website with civil action in the courts. He came on here all guns blazing with a few of his men and started calling members here all sorts of derogatory names. I think you will find that some people don't forget or forgive so easy. They tried to silence any and all negative reports about the builds etc.

There was also the big investor....can't remember his name.....that was continuously bragging about how much money he was set to make when all the console users purchased the game. He created a lot of animosity. In fact I think Mr Bell had to reign him in at one point but that's just a guess.

And then there was the influx of investors who started calling names and trolling any posts by any member who had a bad report on the games progress or dared to mention how bad the FFB or physics were etc. This was, in my opinion, deliberate action.
But this is all my opinion of course, not RD's.

But this leads us on to today, we have purchased the game, (surely that makes the investors very happy?) and we are enjoying it to a degree but we want it fixed. Surely the devs are going to fix it for all the customers whether Mr Bell comes here or not as that is their duty. One forum will not and should not make any difference to their plans to continually update and fix the game. But what it does do is let them know that disgruntled customers have a voice and that voice gets bounced around the internet at frightening speeds.

So in the end, it's not this place that should feel shame, oh no. This place stood up to them. Unlike other places like VR and No Grip that seemed to be overun and in my opinion run by WMD investors. The boss man himself seems to come here and create bad publicity/PR for some unknown reason. But perhaps he does it on purpose? Perhaps he has a cunning plan? I don't know. He certainly didn't need to follow, track or hunt down the OP just to put him straight. That seems silly to me. He's already banned him from the pcars forum.

And it is nice to have a discussion on this matter without any vitriol or name calling. This is a discussion forum after all. And hopefully this little post will go some way to explain the animosity from both sides that I hope could have stopped if Mr Bell had come on with what @Lazarou said earlier, a "thank you for purchasing, and I/we are doing our best to fix the faults that you and many others are pointing out to us. And I'll pop back in here now and again and see what else you are having problems with, after all you organised Race clubs are very important to us"

Just my subjective opinion. Hope we can remain civil in our discussions here. After all we all want this brilliant racing game to be perfect, or at least as perfect as promised.

 

[Rob Every]

Let's face it Mr Bell has form in this area.

He did it with me, and he has done it with plenty of others since this project was started.

Anytime anyone gets banned from WMD what are they likely to do? Sit there and take it or maybe talk about their situation on other sim specific forums like here, virtualr, Steam etc. I notice nogrip has very little posts about PCARS since they left the scene and I was banned from there without even posting anything about the game! WMD have lieutenants here, on Virtual R and a few places keeping an eye out and that was my issue. I was forced to give my 10 Euros back just so that WMD could not let me have a discount from the game, and this after expressiing my apology for earlier incidents and commenting on the progres the game had made in the time I was away, (my login was still active at the time)

The heavy handed approach on WMD forums is being noticed by a few people, and when you consider the OP made a series of negative comments and one or two of us only made one or two, you can see the pattern.

The game always has and always will have a very difficult time, any time you make such a massive song and dance about a game, you are going to be exposed, and their issues with the Porsche licence, the legal issues etc have always meany people are going to be wary, and quite rightly.

Some of you will buy anything, literally anything and have the time and money to. I do not, but I am interested and fascinatned by this project and how it has been managed.

 

[Mike85]

Guys, you talk here more than play this game.. You have offended Ian and he will never come back ... what a shame... He was so active and was explaining every single issue this game has. wasn't he?

 

[mister dog]

Man, it's not hard to understand why some dev's are so reluctant to interact with the users.

Exactly my thought, first people complain there is no developer feedback directly with the fans (just take a look at GTP and the whole PD situation), but when they actually do bother to reply personally they receive a shitstorm of hostile remarks...

He didnt post here to give much needed answers and to speak with the rd community he posted here to because someone made another claim against him

So when someone makes ridiculous claims against you, you can't respond to them personally?

If RD members really want official answers to their queries it would be wiser to take a peak at the official forums that were created just for that purpose no?

 

[bmanic]

Ian had complete right in defending himself. Mind you, it's not the first time this has happened.

One of THE most overlooked issues in this whole SMS/pCars "attitude" debacle over the years is that THIS VERY FORUM was at the forefront in the witch hunt of SMS. It was so incredibly vile and poisonous that it defies logic (as I recall it went as far as Ian considering legal action against this place). This was back in late 2011 and 2012 when people were already making up their minds about Project CARS. The majority here didn't even give SMS a chance but immediately "executed" them with poison. Same over at the iRacing forums and some pretty decent hate over at nogrip forums.

So yeah, those of you who wonder why there's been such a backlash from people who then actually liked pCars (the "cyber bullying" that some of you call it), conveniently forget your own actions prior to the debacle.

This is similar to / kind of like a "micro cosmos" of the current trending USA hate. <Mod edit: hateful, racist, offensive and instigating posts are not allowed>.

We have the same exact thing here. If I'd work at SMS I'd be up in arms and defensive like crazy as well. Just look at what they have had to endure. First they have had to endure EA and all their <mod edit> (and trust me, they were NOT happy there.. it's easy to read between the lines of some of the comments from Ian about EA), then they announce that they will finally create a nice simulator again, one with the sim community at the very center.. and then they get utterly destroyed by the very community (not all though, but a very vocal and very nasty minority bunch, which ironically is still vastly composed of the same people who continue that poison and vile today) they wanted to serve.

So yeah.. lets not forget the history here folks.

 

[AndrewBo]

 

[Andy_J]

So yeah.. lets not forget the history here folks.

We haven't Mr Bmanic. We are all haters remember.