Ubisoft’s debacle with Silent Hunter 4 has taken the industry’s game-patching propensities to a new level.
Gamers – PC gamers, in particular – have bemoaned the procession of patches following their favorite releases for many years. Even the best titles often require a patch, and then a patch to patch the patch, to tweak balance issues or fix critical bugs with certain system specifications.
Matters have seemingly sunk to a new low, however, with Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific, published by Ubisoft.
In a message posted by a Ubisoft forum moderator, this was bluntly announced: “We apologize for not posting news on patch 1.3 for Silent Hunter 4: Wolves of the Pacific. This is because it is currently uncertain if there WILL be a patch 1.3.”
The submarine simulation, widely believed by its player base to be ridden with major bugs, is apparently going to lose all support in the near future, and so developers are asking the gamers themselves to compile a list of the “top ten to fifteen fixes [sic] which are hard coded in the game and cannot be fixed through a mod.”
The forum missive also asks gamers to vote in various polls and petition threads by May 28 to convince the higher-ups that a patch is, in fact, needed.
Unsurprisingly, responses in the thread were less than jovial.
One user wrote: “But I must tell you I am officially done with UBISOFT games after this debacle. The game is still clearly broken and UBI isn’t even sure if they will release another patch? That is just disgraceful.”
Another poster opined: “I NEVER post on forums for games I play–this is the first for years. However, I have never felt as ripped off as I do by this game. It has fantastic potential. But UBI should be ashamed for releasing it in the original state and not patching it well. I will not likely ever buy another UBI product unless this is remedied and soon.”
Silent Hunter 4 is a World War II submarine warfare simulation set in the Pacific theater released in March of this year.
