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BEYOND FED UP! I paid good money for The Sims 3 and I deserve a game that works RELIABLY!
kaosgirl00
Posts: 74 New Member
Well, the deluge of insults by EA directed at its customers continues. Today, I received a warning for posts I made to several threads. Sure, they were the same exact post but the post happened to be pertinent to all of the threads, threads that I comment on regularly. The following is the email sent to me by EA:
Dear kaosgirl00,
Your Electronic Arts account has been issued a warning for violating the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online.
Violation: Service Disruption –Spamming
Disrupt the flow of the webpage with vulgar language, abusiveness or inputting large images so the screen goes by too fast to read, use of excessive shouting (all caps) in an attempt to disturb other users, “spamming” or “flooding” (posting repetitive text).
Chat Log: I usually refrain from using the word ********, but why bother using another word that means the same thing for this? Edit: In other words you fill in the blank, Synonyms: feebleminded, dim-witted, dull-witted, dumb, half-witted, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, simple, slow, soft in the head, stupid, unintelligent, weak-minded.
You can read the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online by going to the following web address.
http://www.ea.com/global/legal/tos.jsp
If you feel that this warning is unwarranted, or if you wish to dispute the claims of this email, please submit a dispute form by using the following link: http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/terminated_form.php
The Electronic Arts support team is available at http://support.ea.com should you have any general questions or concerns about the rule or its enforcement in the game, as we feel it is important to understand the rule completely before returning to the game world.
Sincerely,
Customer Support
Electronic Arts, Inc.
EA.com Customer Relations
The following is the post I made:
I usually refrain from using the word ********, but why bother using another word that means the same thing for this? Edit: In other words you fill in the blank, Synonyms: feebleminded, dim-witted, dull-witted, dumb, half-witted, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, simple, slow, soft in the head, stupid, unintelligent, weak-minded.
What an incredible effort. (This was posted in the Technical Discussions.)
As you can see, since the censor bot wrote over the original word I used (hardly a swear word either) I just copied all of its synonyms into the post. The descriptions of this GURU are well deserved. Not one aspect of that support post is original. All of those recommendations were copied from users who posted their solutions on the forum. Furthermore, this is the first technical support post in months. It is pathetic EA can't offer better solutions than the ones we've come up with!
Now, that link to dispute the warning EA sent doesn't work. I contacted EA support via chat to find out where the link was because I couldn't find it in a search of the Origin website. This is what I had to deal with:
Rajendra: Thanks for contacting EA Help! My name is Rajendra how may I help you?
Rajendra: It seems that you are away from the Keyboard, please let me know if we are still connected.&#*****;
you: Hi. What is the correct link for disputing a warning on the forum? Naturally, EA puts the wrong link in the email.
Rajendra: Please&#*****;provide&#*****;me&#*****;the&#*****;link&#*****;?
you: http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/terminated_form.php
Rajendra: Please give me just a moment while I look into this further.
you: ok...
Rajendra: Here is the link:
http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/categories/list.page
you: ok then what?
Rajendra: By following the above mentioned steps your issue will be resolved. Please contact us again if you need further assistance. We are here to help you out.
&#*****;
Rajendra: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?&#*****;
you: what? yes. you&#*****;re not being clear with your instructions. where is the form. its not located directly at the link you gave me.
Rajendra: Please&#*****;follow all the&#*****;the&#*****;steps&#*****;provided&#*****;in the&#*****;link&#*****;to&#*****;resolve your&#*****;issue.
Rajendra: If you have any more questions about this, please don&#*****;t hesitate to contact back and ask. I&#*****;ll be happy to answer any questions you have.&#*****;
you: what steps?
you: there are no steps.
Rajendra: Please give me just a moment while I look into this further.
you: ok
Rajendra: Here&#*****;is&#*****;the&#*****;game&#*****;forums&#*****;link:
http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/219359.page
Rajendra: If you have any more questions about this, please don&#*****;t hesitate to contact back and ask. I&#*****;ll be happy to answer any questions you have.&#*****;
Rajendra: If you need help with anything else, please feel free to contact us anytime!
Rajendra: Thank you for contacting Origin and chatting with me. I appreciate your time and have a great day!&#*****;
you: what is this?
you: this is about serial numbers. not a forum warning dispute form.
Rajendra: I&#*****;m still looking into your issue. Thanks for your patience.
you: how is it so hard for an EA agent to find the dispute form?
Rajendra: This&#*****;is&#*****;the&#*****;link:
you: I don&#*****;t see a link.
Rajendra: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/forums/list.page
Rajendra: Please check&#*****;it&#*****;above.
you: that is the forum index. NOT the dispute form. how hard is this?
you: where is the dispute form? the form you use when EA claims you&#*****;ve done something wrong on the forums and you know you haven&#*****;t. that form.
Rajendra: I&#*****;m still looking into your issue. Thanks for your patience.
Rajendra: You&#*****;have&#*****;been&#*****;banned&#*****;on&#*****;sims*****&#*****;game&#*****;from&#*****;your&#*****;studio&#*****;.&#*****;Right?
you: no. i am not banned. i received a warning.
you: Dear kaosgirl*****, Your Electronic Arts account has been issued a warning for violating the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online. Violation: Service Disruption –Spamming Disrupt the flow of the webpage with vulgar language, abusiveness or inputting large images so the screen goes by too fast to read, use of excessive shouting (all caps) in an attempt to disturb other users, “spamming” or “flooding” (posting repetitive text). Chat Log: I usually refrain from using the word ********, but why bother using another word that means the same thing for this? Edit: In other words you fill in the blank, Synonyms: feebleminded, dim-witted, dull-witted, dumb, half-witted, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, simple, slow, soft in the head, stupid, unintelligent, weak-minded. You can read the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online by going to the following web address. http://www.ea.com/global/legal/tos.jsp If you feel that this warning is unwarranted, or if you wish to dispute the claims of this email, please submit a dispute form by using the following link: http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/terminated_form.php The Electronic Arts support team is available at http://support.ea.com should you have any general questions or concerns about the rule or its enforcement in the game, as we feel it is important to understand the rule completely before returning to the game world. Sincerely, Customer Support Electronic Arts, Inc. EA.com Customer Relations
Rajendra: Please&#*****;contact&#*****;phone&#*****;support&#*****;to&#*****;resolve your&#*****;issue:
•Call us toll free at *****-*****-*****-***** (*****-*****-*****-***** outside of North America) from *****:*****am-*****:*****pm CST, ***** days a week.
&#*****;
you: i am allowed to dispute it because the reason for the warning is weak at best.
Rajendra: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?&#*****;
you: you have got to be kidding.
Rajendra: Please&#*****;be informed&#*****;again&#*****;you&#*****;would&#*****;need&#*****;to&#*****;contact&#*****;phone&#*****;support&#*****;for&#*****; further&#*****;assistance.
Rajendra: If you have any more questions about this, please don&#*****;t hesitate to contact back and ask. I&#*****;ll be happy to answer any questions you have.&#*****;
Rajendra: If you need help with anything else, please feel free to contact us anytime!
Rajendra: Thank you for contacting Origin and chatting with me. I appreciate your time and have a great
day!&#*****;
This is exactly how the chat was emailed to me. How incompetent can these people get?!
Note: EA no longer lets you view your chat transcripts online. You either have to remember to email the transcript to yourself or lose it. Clearly, EA doesn't want to make it easy for customers to document its incompetence anymore.
To add even more insult to injury, EA has deleted my original thread. Why? Because what I say makes sense (and also, in retaliation for calling their GURU out). I got a lot of support from Mac and Windows users alike!
I intend to embarrass EA in every way I can. It isn't hard to. EA makes it very easy in fact. I am convinced that embarrassing them is the only way EA will do right by its customers and fix The Sims 3. A real fix for this game is long overdue.
The following is a record of my original posts: (it's too bad everyone's comments and support have been deleted, I should have kept a record of the thread)
Dear all,
As a fellow, long-time Mac owner, I feel your pain. Let’s look at the facts. For those like myself who have purchased (or plan to purchase) all of the EPs and SPs, not to mention have pre-ordered Pets, we have spent over $400+ (adjust for sales tax) on these games. That is a lot of money, especially in this economy. For what we pay, and continue to pay, we deserve at least the same level of support that non-Mac users receive. The level of support we currently receive from EA is practically non-existent and entirely inexcusable.
My first warning about the lack of interest EA has in supporting Mac users came when EA released the World Editor Beta for PC only, despite the fact that their games are for both platforms. The move can only be interpreted as a message to Mac users that, “EA does not care about Mac.” Since the release of World Editor I have observed game performance on Macs rapidly decline. Patches are few and far between and are typically released to patch a patch. The frustration I and many others feel over this repeated cycle of problems is immense.
The latest insult has been the Origin store, which first frustrated me when the Pets Demo was released. Being a Mac user, I was prevented from downloading and enjoying a taste of the game I’ve already pre-ordered. The exclusion of Mac user access from the Origin store is indefensible.
Like many of you I have heard all of EA’s excuses, the exasperation of support representatives, and yes, even the haughty remarks by PC users and EA support reps alike saying, “Too bad. You’re a Mac user. It’s Cider. You’ve brought these problems on yourself.” That mentality is unconscionable.
I have reported my game issues to EA on a regular basis and have frequently made my opinions known. Like users Bluebellflora and Snapdragon I am angered, disgusted, and jaded by my experiences. I have spent countless hours uninstalling and reinstalling my game with all EPs and SPs. I have been booted from the online help chats close to the front of the line after hours of waiting for no other reason than “a chat representative is not available” and have had to start over.
The issue I will now describe is the worst issue I’ve had thus far. The issue began after I updated to patch 1.24. Suddenly, my content and my saved game completely disappeared from the game, even though my content still appeared as installed in the Launcher. I was told by a support rep to uninstall and reinstall everything, which I did. Then, something incredibly strange happened. When the game was completely reinstalled, I ran it, quit, then copied my game back into its folder and re-uploaded my content through the Launcher. This of course was to the Documents/EA/Sims 3 folder which had been regenerated. When I ran the game again and started it up, yet again, there was nothing there (no content and no saved game). What I later discovered was that the game had created a new file directory, identical to the correct one, directly on my Mac HD (not in my Documents folder). This was definitely not right. A wonderful Tier I rep named Miles M and I eventually figured out how to fix it (involving uninstalling and reinstalling again) and he gave me 1000 Simpoints for all the trouble I went through. But, not before I was given the worst recommendation from a support rep I have ever received. The following is the recommendation and my response. Honestly, I think I was too nice. Miles M., having read the transcript, agreed.
Response Quentin N via Email 08/05/2011 02:11 PM
Greetings,
Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts Customer Support regarding Sims 3 Save Issues on Mac.
This case has been escalated to me and I would be happy to assist you. There are variety of programs running in the background on your computer which may be using a considerable amount of system resources. Closing these unnecessary background processes will help boost system performance in your game, as well as free up system resources which may be conflicting with the game.
1. From the Finder menu open the Go menu and select Utilities.
2. Open the Activity Monitor program.
3. In the top right corner, make sure the My Processes option is selected from the pull down menu.
4. Highlight the programs listed one at a time and click the Quit Process button in the top left.
5. When the confirmation window appears select Force Quit to close the program.
6. Repeat those steps until only the following four are listed:
Dock
Finder
LoginWindow
Activity Monitor
Note: there will be other programs that either will not close, or will re-appear after being closed. Those processes can be skipped.
7. Close the activity monitor and attempt to run the game.
Be aware that this is only a temporary change, restarting the system will restore it to the default state. If closing these programs helps resolve performance issues you may want to go through them one by one to narrow down which program is causing the conflict.
Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts game in the future, please visit our web site and review our extensive Self Help Knowledge base (http://support.ea.com).
Sincerely,
Quentin N
Electronic Arts
Tier 3 Customer Support
—————————————————–
Quentin,
Excuse me, but that is by far the dumbest solution I’ve heard yet. The game runs just fine, short of accessing the correct folder for reading content. But, that didn’t happen until the last game update. Clearly you didn’t read the chat transcript and came up with a wrong and 🐸🐸🐸🐸 solution. Don’t waste my time. I know what’s running on my computer but I’m not sure how you do since I never sent documentation showing my activity monitor nor did I allow tech support access to my computer. You need to explain that. The fact remains, prior to the update I had no issues. After the couple of hours I spent reinstalling the game (and the cumulative 8 hrs using your ridiculous support chat) I updated and the game partially regenerated the Sims 3 folder in user/documents/electronic arts/sims 3/….etc. but failed to regenerate, for example, .ini and script files. Instead, the game created a new folder in a completely different section on my HD. See attachments and pay attention to the file extensions. And, you tell me to start shutting down processes? (btw quitting the FInder process is bad for the computer and a downright idiotic suggestion) The game runs fine but the Sims 3 folder with scripts (%USER%…***?!) is clearly not where it should be. (you can see this in the images) I will reinstall the game all over again tomorrow and the problem will likely duplicate itself. We shall see. in the meantime, being that one of your other escalation techs said I’d have to wait for EA to come out with a patch for their patch, I think you really need to re-evaluate this situation. I want to deal with someone else who can either come up with a rational explanation for my issue or suck it up and do what EA clearly hates to do, take responsibility and admit your people screwed up, then fix the issue.
——————————————————
Quentin N
Electronic Arts
Tier 3 Customer Support
Greetings,
Thank you for your quick response regarding Sims 3 Save Issues on Mac. The troubleshooting steps are provided in an attempt to isolate the issue and hopefully come to a solution. If you are unwilling to follow the troubleshooting steps provided, then we will be unable to assist you in resolving the issue. There are currently no known issues of this type with the latest update. If you believe there is an issue with the programming of the game itself, I encourage you to post your concerns on the game forums so that the developers may be aware of your concerns.
The Sims 3 Forums
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/forums/list.page
Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts game in the future, please visit our web site and review our extensive Self Help Knowledge base (http://support.ea.com).
Sincerely,
Quentin N
Electronic Arts
Tier 3 Customer Support
CSS Web 08/05/2011 09:08 PM
Quentin N should be fired. He claimed to have information he could not possibly have unless it was obtained illegally (because I certainly did not provide it nor authorize access to it) and he recommended steps that could cause damage to my computer. It is shameful and disgraceful. I know when I’m getting bad advice because I know computers, but others in that situation might not know and create worse problems for themselves. After spending so much time having to figure out these problems on my own I am intimately familiar with how to troubleshoot these issues so I know what works and what affects the game. It’s very probable that I know far more about troubleshooting the Sims 3 than both the support reps and developers for the game.
I admire the persistence of Mac users and especially individuals like Bluebellflora and Snapdragon for helping to solve the problems we encounter. But, let’s face it. Mac users should not have to rely solely on each other for solutions. EA gets away with having no obligation to its users because of the following disclaimer located in the Sims 3 EULA:
Disclaimer of Warranties. EXCEPT FOR THE LIMITED WARRANTY ON RECORDING MEDIA FOUND IN THE PRODUCT MANUAL, AS APPLICABLE, AND TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS,” WITH ALL FAULTS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND YOUR USE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE ENTIRE RISK OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE RESIDES WITH YOU. EA AND EA’S LICENSORS (COLLECTIVELY “EA” FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION AND SECTION 9) DO NOT MAKE, AND HEREBY DISCLAIM, ANY AND ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF CONDITION, UNINTERRUPTED USE, MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, AND WARRANTIES (IF ANY) ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE. EA DOES NOT WARRANT AGAINST INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE SOFTWARE; THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; THAT OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE COMPATIBLE WITH THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE OR THAT ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN ADVICE PROVIDED BY EA OR ANY AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF OR LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATIONS ON THE APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER, SO SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Basically this means that the product may or may not work and EA is not responsible for any problems or anything unsatisfactory to the user. As a result, EA likely views what little Mac support they provide to us as a courtesy.
But, the fact remains that I have purchased these games( and registered them). My purchase affords me the right to a product that works. I frequently can’t play my game due to the issues I’ve encountered until either I’ve spent countless hours working toward a solution or EA releases a patch and I have downloaded it (which typically causes new problems). The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a Federal Law that protects the buyer of any product which costs more than $25 and comes with an express written warranty. This law applies to any product that you buy that does not perform as it should. In this case, EA does not warranty any of its product other than the physical media from defect for 90 days. The entire act is frustratingly complicated but given the numerous and repeatedly unresolved problems from this game, shouldn’t EA be held accountable for the performance quality of the product it sells?
Make some noise. Let’s play a game that truly works as it should! Reply or re-post if you share my sentiments. Disagree with me if you want to but either way EA needs to hear us! Let’s get loud, drown out EAs pathetic excuses, and get what we Mac users deserve!
Best of luck to you all!
————————————————————————–
It’s great to hear from you all!
In response to continued finger pointing at Transgaming’s Cider portability engine by EA for Sims 3 issues on Mac, I decided to contact Transgaming to find out what they had to say. Transgaming only offers the means to contact them by email through their website, so naturally I emailed them. The following is the email I sent to Transgaming yesterday, 10/16/11, and though I expect I won’t hear from them, as it has only been 24 hours, I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
To whom it may concern,
I am at the point where all of my patience has fled and all that remains is anger and frustration. I have some EA games that are, obviously, using Cider to port to my Mac. One game in particular is The Sims 3. I have investigated this exhaustively and come to the conclusion that 1) Because EA’s support for Mac users is practically non-existent they should be sued under Federal Lemon laws for performance failure on their “Mac” products. and 2) Cider doesn’t do what your company claims it should do. The majority of problems with Sims 3 originate from issues with Cider. At least, that’s what most EA support representatives readily say when they’re in way over their head and they’ve encountered yet another unhappy Mac user with innumerable Sims 3 issues. EA seems happy to point the finger at your product. Here is my situation: I have a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Nvidia 9400M/Nvidia 9600M GT 256 MB video cards, and 4 GB RAM. According to your website I should not be having issues. I have way over the required specs for this game and yet my processor and memory are continually overclocked. I very much doubt that the game could be causing that kind of burden on my computer. I have watched wineserver very carefully in the activity monitor and it is most likely the process crashing my game and messing up my computer. Wineserver will frequently spike in usage and I maintain that it is just enough to cause the app to crash. The following is copied straight from your Cider FAQs, “TransGaming’s Cider implements common multimedia Windows APIs such as Direct3D, DirectInput, DirectSound and many others by mapping them to Mac equivalents. This allows games to run with equivalent game play and performance but without the typical brute force porting effort typically required to bring games to Mac.” If in fact Cider is to blame for The Sims 3′s abysmal game performance as EA professes, Cider has not even closely produced equivalent gameplay and performance to Windows on a Mac and this should be considered a completely false statement, and therefore false advertising. If EA is to be believed, the idea that Cider works as “flawlessly” as you make it sound is a fiction. If Cider is to blame, the last thing your company should be touting on its main page is The Sims 3. I have purchased the game with all EPs and SPs and between Cider (if EA is to be believed) and EA’s complete ineptitude I spend 10x more time troubleshooting all my game’s issues than actually playing the game. Your own, CEO Vikas Gupta, said that PC games running using Cider on an Intel-based Mac provide near-native performance and that, “The average user won’t be able to discern any difference.” Well, I can discern the difference VERY CLEARLY. From Newbies to advanced users like myself, the difference is white on black. Don’t try excuses about Apple’s changing APIs either. I’m still running Snow Leopard, so Lion isn’t a factor here. The point is, if Cider is to blame, you need to get it together. If I don’t see some movement by Transgaming and EA to really address these Mac issues I will gather together the many other incensed Simmers and hit the blogosphere with the laundry list of issues we have. Trust me, all you have to do is check The Sims 3 forum to see how many of us are out there. Let’s see if your business will survive being hit by the hard facts. All I want is to be able to play the games I’ve purchased with the “equivalent gameplay and performance” of Windows users that Mac users are owed. I don’t think that should be too much too ask. I look forward to reading your response.
—————————————–
I will let you all know what happens! I suspect that if I do hear from Transgaming, they will participate in an equal amount of finger pointing at EA.
Aren’t we all tired of the lack of accountability in all aspects of our lives? I know I am! I meant it when I said I’d hit the blogosphere and attack the responsible parties with the facts for failure to provide a product that works. This goes beyond our own Sims 3 Mac issues but extends to all video games, operating systems, and consoles. These issues are not unique to us. Companies who create intellectual property (in this instance, video games) should be held legally accountable for products that fail to provide a licensee (all of us who have purchased The Sims 3, EPs, and SPs are licensees for all products purchased) a game that performs according to even the most basic expectations. Expecting a game to work right out of the box is a basic expectation. If these products don’t perform as they should we deserve redress.
We can’t rely on EA, nor any other company to do the “right thing” by their customers, and as a result we must demand that basic consumer rights also cover intellectual property (video games).
Keep on making your voices heard!
Best of luck to you all!
—————————————————————————
Dear ************,
I’m so glad you posted, though I’m sorry Windows users are having as much trouble as we Mac users! I’d love to hear from more Windows users like yourself. I think I might head over to the other forums and see if, working together, we can get EA to wake up. EA clearly demonstrates a pattern of neglect for all users!
It is interesting that you should mention how The Sims 3 fragments your HD. Using my Mac I have experienced the same problem, which is typically unheard of for Macs. I started noticing the fragmentation while watching TV Shows and Movies from iTunes on my computer. The video would from time to time hang up and the drive heads would move (indicating movement to another part of the drive) and then the video would resume. I assumed it was because I frequently create and delete large files (Adobe Premiere video files for example) but now that you’ve brought up your issue on Windows with fragmentation, I have to wonder if the same issue is being replicated on Macs. I have, after all, had to uninstall and reinstall more times than I’d like to remember and now that I think about it, the evidence of fragmentation didn’t appear until I started playing The Sims 3. Transgaming maintains that, “Cider works by directly loading a Windows program into memory on an Intel Mac system and linking it to an optimized version of the Win32 APIs. TransGaming’s Cider implements common multimedia Windows APIs such as Direct3D, DirectInput, DirectSound and many others by mapping them to Mac equivalents. This allows games to run with equivalent game play and performance but without the typical brute force porting effort typically required to bring games to Mac.” Can Cider port the game so “well” that Windows issues become replicated on the Mac? Unfortunately, there is no easy way to defrag a Mac HD. While updating to OSX Lion I performed a 7 Pass Secure Erase on my HD to completely eliminate all data from the drive and used Time Machine to reload everything. Time Machine restores data to a HD in an indexed and contiguous fashion (rather than fragmented). Still, I really should not have to do that.
I cannot emphasize enough that (now) all Sims 3 users make their voices heard! EA customers need to exercise their rights by demanding EA give us the support and quality of play and performance we deserve!
Best of luck to you all!
———————————————————————
Dear all,
Though I’m glad to hear from you, I’m sorry so many are frustrated by these issues we’ve been experiencing.
After loading up Pets last night, an expansion I’ve been looking forward to for months, I was extremely disappointed to find that my saved game wouldn’t load. I don’t know if this is the source of my issue but as it turns out EA went and did something we’ve been asking them to do forever, they added new lots to Sunset Valley. The in-game create a world tool doesn’t work very well since the lots don’t fit nicely with the roads and leave a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, what they also did was add the equestrian center to the only “open” 60×60 lot in the game, which is exactly where I built my house. So no wonder my saved game gets to a point where it’s almost loaded and then freezes. (I found out a few minutes ago that this also happens with Town Life.) My saved game will not load beyond Generations which is limping along. (At least I’ve managed to export all of my custom sims and lots so far, in case I need to drop them into a new world at some point.)
On top of that, I went to create a pet, a horse in this case, and discovered after designing the pet and moving on to traits and lifetime wishes that there weren’t any to select! As a result I could not create the pet that I had just designed (not without selecting at least one trait and a lifetime wish). I’ll admit I became pretty angry. I had just unboxed this game and already I am experiencing huge issues.
So, today (I just got off the phone) I spent two hours trying to contact someone at EA who could get results, not just for me, but for everyone (Windows and Mac users) having issues with this game and its EPs and SPs. I am done with the conciliatory words and placation. I wasn’t going to be happy until I spoke with someone who can make things happen for all of us. After dealing with EA’s faulty phone system and getting disconnected by them on more than one occasion I finally managed to stay on the line with a support rep who eventually agreed to let me talk to her supervisor. The following is the follow-up email from the call:
Hello,
Thank you for contacting EA Support regarding The Sims 3 games never working well. As Douglas told you, we do hear your frustration and we have recorded your comments and will be sharing them with the appropriate people at the corporate level.
This the refund number ********** which Douglas created for you in the amount of $42.39. You should see this amount in your bank account in 5 -7 business days.
As a small compensation for your frustration and inconvenience, I have issued to you, 2 20% Discount Coupons to the Origin Store www.store.origin.com. These coupons are good for one month and cannot be used for preorders. You will find a space to enter this code when you proceed to checkout ************ & **************. If you have any problem at all with these codes, please contact us using the reference number listed below.
Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts game in the future, please visit our web site and review our extensive Self Help Knowledge base (http://support.ea.com). Your reference number for this phone call is **************.
Sincerely,
Lorraine T.
Electronic Arts Customer Support
—————————————————–
Lorraine T., although a very nice person, seems to think EA has more happy Sims 3 customers than unhappy ones. I tend to disagree, as would most I suspect. I explained to Douglas that although a refund was nice, (I really have no use for two 20% off coupons to the Origin store. I have a Mac, I can barely use the Origin store let alone want to buy more EA games after everything I’ve dealt with!) what I really want is for my game to not only work, but to work reliably. These issues I’ve experienced are not tech support issues, they are developer issues. I told Douglas that the SimGurus need to return to the forums, but not only that, the developers need to visit as well. My issues are not the only issues and everyone deserves to have theirs worked out. I even offered to talk to the Developers myself if they aren’t clear about something. I won’t be happy until we get results. But, keep in mind, if we do see results, it won’t be as soon as we deserve.
Douglas has promised to get this information to the right people.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Best of luck to you all!
—————————————————————————————–
I just got a customer service email. I’m posting a copy of it because I think you should all see what EA professes its goals are:
Dear *******,
Thanks for contacting EA. We want you to get the most out of your EA games – anytime, anywhere. You can view the details of your Case with EA (Case #****************) at any time as well as our agent’s response by clicking the following link. (You may need to log in to view your question.)
View My Questions (link)
Our mission is to deliver the world’s best customer experience for the world’s best games. Your opinion will help us accomplish this. We would greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to answer a short survey about your experience with EA.
Click here to take this survey. (link)
Many thanks!
Sincerely,
EA Customer Experience Team
——————————————————
I think we all know that EA’s customer service is far from the world’s best and given all of the issues we’ve had, this game can not be considered one of the world’s best either.
You don't have to agree with me and you certainly don't have to agree with me 100% But, if you feel like I do, then say something! Make your voice heard! Contact EA, gaming magazines, and consumer advocate groups and fight for what we paying customers so richly deserve: a Sims 3 game that not only works but works RELIABLY.
See this thread for suggestions about who to contact:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/457402.page
My last comment to users is this: Be the change you want to see in the world.
And to the EA folks who stalk the forums but never post (because it is clear you have nothing helpful to tell us), I have a record of this post. Deleting this thread will not make me go away, nor will it make the PR disaster you will surely face go away either. I have paid over $450 for this game, as have many others. You can't ask people to spend that kind of money for a game that doesn't work, then abuse those same customers by providing the worst customer support in the world, and not expect it to blow up in your face. Karma is coming to get you.
Dear kaosgirl00,
Your Electronic Arts account has been issued a warning for violating the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online.
Violation: Service Disruption –Spamming
Disrupt the flow of the webpage with vulgar language, abusiveness or inputting large images so the screen goes by too fast to read, use of excessive shouting (all caps) in an attempt to disturb other users, “spamming” or “flooding” (posting repetitive text).
Chat Log: I usually refrain from using the word ********, but why bother using another word that means the same thing for this? Edit: In other words you fill in the blank, Synonyms: feebleminded, dim-witted, dull-witted, dumb, half-witted, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, simple, slow, soft in the head, stupid, unintelligent, weak-minded.
You can read the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online by going to the following web address.
http://www.ea.com/global/legal/tos.jsp
If you feel that this warning is unwarranted, or if you wish to dispute the claims of this email, please submit a dispute form by using the following link: http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/terminated_form.php
The Electronic Arts support team is available at http://support.ea.com should you have any general questions or concerns about the rule or its enforcement in the game, as we feel it is important to understand the rule completely before returning to the game world.
Sincerely,
Customer Support
Electronic Arts, Inc.
EA.com Customer Relations
The following is the post I made:
I usually refrain from using the word ********, but why bother using another word that means the same thing for this? Edit: In other words you fill in the blank, Synonyms: feebleminded, dim-witted, dull-witted, dumb, half-witted, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, simple, slow, soft in the head, stupid, unintelligent, weak-minded.
What an incredible effort. (This was posted in the Technical Discussions.)
As you can see, since the censor bot wrote over the original word I used (hardly a swear word either) I just copied all of its synonyms into the post. The descriptions of this GURU are well deserved. Not one aspect of that support post is original. All of those recommendations were copied from users who posted their solutions on the forum. Furthermore, this is the first technical support post in months. It is pathetic EA can't offer better solutions than the ones we've come up with!
Now, that link to dispute the warning EA sent doesn't work. I contacted EA support via chat to find out where the link was because I couldn't find it in a search of the Origin website. This is what I had to deal with:
Rajendra: Thanks for contacting EA Help! My name is Rajendra how may I help you?
Rajendra: It seems that you are away from the Keyboard, please let me know if we are still connected.&#*****;
you: Hi. What is the correct link for disputing a warning on the forum? Naturally, EA puts the wrong link in the email.
Rajendra: Please&#*****;provide&#*****;me&#*****;the&#*****;link&#*****;?
you: http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/terminated_form.php
Rajendra: Please give me just a moment while I look into this further.
you: ok...
Rajendra: Here is the link:
http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/categories/list.page
you: ok then what?
Rajendra: By following the above mentioned steps your issue will be resolved. Please contact us again if you need further assistance. We are here to help you out.
&#*****;
Rajendra: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?&#*****;
you: what? yes. you&#*****;re not being clear with your instructions. where is the form. its not located directly at the link you gave me.
Rajendra: Please&#*****;follow all the&#*****;the&#*****;steps&#*****;provided&#*****;in the&#*****;link&#*****;to&#*****;resolve your&#*****;issue.
Rajendra: If you have any more questions about this, please don&#*****;t hesitate to contact back and ask. I&#*****;ll be happy to answer any questions you have.&#*****;
you: what steps?
you: there are no steps.
Rajendra: Please give me just a moment while I look into this further.
you: ok
Rajendra: Here&#*****;is&#*****;the&#*****;game&#*****;forums&#*****;link:
http://forum.ea.com/eaforum/posts/list/219359.page
Rajendra: If you have any more questions about this, please don&#*****;t hesitate to contact back and ask. I&#*****;ll be happy to answer any questions you have.&#*****;
Rajendra: If you need help with anything else, please feel free to contact us anytime!
Rajendra: Thank you for contacting Origin and chatting with me. I appreciate your time and have a great day!&#*****;
you: what is this?
you: this is about serial numbers. not a forum warning dispute form.
Rajendra: I&#*****;m still looking into your issue. Thanks for your patience.
you: how is it so hard for an EA agent to find the dispute form?
Rajendra: This&#*****;is&#*****;the&#*****;link:
you: I don&#*****;t see a link.
Rajendra: http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/forums/list.page
Rajendra: Please check&#*****;it&#*****;above.
you: that is the forum index. NOT the dispute form. how hard is this?
you: where is the dispute form? the form you use when EA claims you&#*****;ve done something wrong on the forums and you know you haven&#*****;t. that form.
Rajendra: I&#*****;m still looking into your issue. Thanks for your patience.
Rajendra: You&#*****;have&#*****;been&#*****;banned&#*****;on&#*****;sims*****&#*****;game&#*****;from&#*****;your&#*****;studio&#*****;.&#*****;Right?
you: no. i am not banned. i received a warning.
you: Dear kaosgirl*****, Your Electronic Arts account has been issued a warning for violating the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online. Violation: Service Disruption –Spamming Disrupt the flow of the webpage with vulgar language, abusiveness or inputting large images so the screen goes by too fast to read, use of excessive shouting (all caps) in an attempt to disturb other users, “spamming” or “flooding” (posting repetitive text). Chat Log: I usually refrain from using the word ********, but why bother using another word that means the same thing for this? Edit: In other words you fill in the blank, Synonyms: feebleminded, dim-witted, dull-witted, dumb, half-witted, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, 🐸🐸🐸🐸, simple, slow, soft in the head, stupid, unintelligent, weak-minded. You can read the Terms of Service for Electronic Arts Online by going to the following web address. http://www.ea.com/global/legal/tos.jsp If you feel that this warning is unwarranted, or if you wish to dispute the claims of this email, please submit a dispute form by using the following link: http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/terminated_form.php The Electronic Arts support team is available at http://support.ea.com should you have any general questions or concerns about the rule or its enforcement in the game, as we feel it is important to understand the rule completely before returning to the game world. Sincerely, Customer Support Electronic Arts, Inc. EA.com Customer Relations
Rajendra: Please&#*****;contact&#*****;phone&#*****;support&#*****;to&#*****;resolve your&#*****;issue:
•Call us toll free at *****-*****-*****-***** (*****-*****-*****-***** outside of North America) from *****:*****am-*****:*****pm CST, ***** days a week.
&#*****;
you: i am allowed to dispute it because the reason for the warning is weak at best.
Rajendra: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?&#*****;
you: you have got to be kidding.
Rajendra: Please&#*****;be informed&#*****;again&#*****;you&#*****;would&#*****;need&#*****;to&#*****;contact&#*****;phone&#*****;support&#*****;for&#*****; further&#*****;assistance.
Rajendra: If you have any more questions about this, please don&#*****;t hesitate to contact back and ask. I&#*****;ll be happy to answer any questions you have.&#*****;
Rajendra: If you need help with anything else, please feel free to contact us anytime!
Rajendra: Thank you for contacting Origin and chatting with me. I appreciate your time and have a great
day!&#*****;
This is exactly how the chat was emailed to me. How incompetent can these people get?!
Note: EA no longer lets you view your chat transcripts online. You either have to remember to email the transcript to yourself or lose it. Clearly, EA doesn't want to make it easy for customers to document its incompetence anymore.
To add even more insult to injury, EA has deleted my original thread. Why? Because what I say makes sense (and also, in retaliation for calling their GURU out). I got a lot of support from Mac and Windows users alike!
I intend to embarrass EA in every way I can. It isn't hard to. EA makes it very easy in fact. I am convinced that embarrassing them is the only way EA will do right by its customers and fix The Sims 3. A real fix for this game is long overdue.
The following is a record of my original posts: (it's too bad everyone's comments and support have been deleted, I should have kept a record of the thread)
Dear all,
As a fellow, long-time Mac owner, I feel your pain. Let’s look at the facts. For those like myself who have purchased (or plan to purchase) all of the EPs and SPs, not to mention have pre-ordered Pets, we have spent over $400+ (adjust for sales tax) on these games. That is a lot of money, especially in this economy. For what we pay, and continue to pay, we deserve at least the same level of support that non-Mac users receive. The level of support we currently receive from EA is practically non-existent and entirely inexcusable.
My first warning about the lack of interest EA has in supporting Mac users came when EA released the World Editor Beta for PC only, despite the fact that their games are for both platforms. The move can only be interpreted as a message to Mac users that, “EA does not care about Mac.” Since the release of World Editor I have observed game performance on Macs rapidly decline. Patches are few and far between and are typically released to patch a patch. The frustration I and many others feel over this repeated cycle of problems is immense.
The latest insult has been the Origin store, which first frustrated me when the Pets Demo was released. Being a Mac user, I was prevented from downloading and enjoying a taste of the game I’ve already pre-ordered. The exclusion of Mac user access from the Origin store is indefensible.
Like many of you I have heard all of EA’s excuses, the exasperation of support representatives, and yes, even the haughty remarks by PC users and EA support reps alike saying, “Too bad. You’re a Mac user. It’s Cider. You’ve brought these problems on yourself.” That mentality is unconscionable.
I have reported my game issues to EA on a regular basis and have frequently made my opinions known. Like users Bluebellflora and Snapdragon I am angered, disgusted, and jaded by my experiences. I have spent countless hours uninstalling and reinstalling my game with all EPs and SPs. I have been booted from the online help chats close to the front of the line after hours of waiting for no other reason than “a chat representative is not available” and have had to start over.
The issue I will now describe is the worst issue I’ve had thus far. The issue began after I updated to patch 1.24. Suddenly, my content and my saved game completely disappeared from the game, even though my content still appeared as installed in the Launcher. I was told by a support rep to uninstall and reinstall everything, which I did. Then, something incredibly strange happened. When the game was completely reinstalled, I ran it, quit, then copied my game back into its folder and re-uploaded my content through the Launcher. This of course was to the Documents/EA/Sims 3 folder which had been regenerated. When I ran the game again and started it up, yet again, there was nothing there (no content and no saved game). What I later discovered was that the game had created a new file directory, identical to the correct one, directly on my Mac HD (not in my Documents folder). This was definitely not right. A wonderful Tier I rep named Miles M and I eventually figured out how to fix it (involving uninstalling and reinstalling again) and he gave me 1000 Simpoints for all the trouble I went through. But, not before I was given the worst recommendation from a support rep I have ever received. The following is the recommendation and my response. Honestly, I think I was too nice. Miles M., having read the transcript, agreed.
Response Quentin N via Email 08/05/2011 02:11 PM
Greetings,
Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts Customer Support regarding Sims 3 Save Issues on Mac.
This case has been escalated to me and I would be happy to assist you. There are variety of programs running in the background on your computer which may be using a considerable amount of system resources. Closing these unnecessary background processes will help boost system performance in your game, as well as free up system resources which may be conflicting with the game.
1. From the Finder menu open the Go menu and select Utilities.
2. Open the Activity Monitor program.
3. In the top right corner, make sure the My Processes option is selected from the pull down menu.
4. Highlight the programs listed one at a time and click the Quit Process button in the top left.
5. When the confirmation window appears select Force Quit to close the program.
6. Repeat those steps until only the following four are listed:
Dock
Finder
LoginWindow
Activity Monitor
Note: there will be other programs that either will not close, or will re-appear after being closed. Those processes can be skipped.
7. Close the activity monitor and attempt to run the game.
Be aware that this is only a temporary change, restarting the system will restore it to the default state. If closing these programs helps resolve performance issues you may want to go through them one by one to narrow down which program is causing the conflict.
Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts game in the future, please visit our web site and review our extensive Self Help Knowledge base (http://support.ea.com).
Sincerely,
Quentin N
Electronic Arts
Tier 3 Customer Support
—————————————————–
Quentin,
Excuse me, but that is by far the dumbest solution I’ve heard yet. The game runs just fine, short of accessing the correct folder for reading content. But, that didn’t happen until the last game update. Clearly you didn’t read the chat transcript and came up with a wrong and 🐸🐸🐸🐸 solution. Don’t waste my time. I know what’s running on my computer but I’m not sure how you do since I never sent documentation showing my activity monitor nor did I allow tech support access to my computer. You need to explain that. The fact remains, prior to the update I had no issues. After the couple of hours I spent reinstalling the game (and the cumulative 8 hrs using your ridiculous support chat) I updated and the game partially regenerated the Sims 3 folder in user/documents/electronic arts/sims 3/….etc. but failed to regenerate, for example, .ini and script files. Instead, the game created a new folder in a completely different section on my HD. See attachments and pay attention to the file extensions. And, you tell me to start shutting down processes? (btw quitting the FInder process is bad for the computer and a downright idiotic suggestion) The game runs fine but the Sims 3 folder with scripts (%USER%…***?!) is clearly not where it should be. (you can see this in the images) I will reinstall the game all over again tomorrow and the problem will likely duplicate itself. We shall see. in the meantime, being that one of your other escalation techs said I’d have to wait for EA to come out with a patch for their patch, I think you really need to re-evaluate this situation. I want to deal with someone else who can either come up with a rational explanation for my issue or suck it up and do what EA clearly hates to do, take responsibility and admit your people screwed up, then fix the issue.
——————————————————
Quentin N
Electronic Arts
Tier 3 Customer Support
Greetings,
Thank you for your quick response regarding Sims 3 Save Issues on Mac. The troubleshooting steps are provided in an attempt to isolate the issue and hopefully come to a solution. If you are unwilling to follow the troubleshooting steps provided, then we will be unable to assist you in resolving the issue. There are currently no known issues of this type with the latest update. If you believe there is an issue with the programming of the game itself, I encourage you to post your concerns on the game forums so that the developers may be aware of your concerns.
The Sims 3 Forums
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/forums/list.page
Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts game in the future, please visit our web site and review our extensive Self Help Knowledge base (http://support.ea.com).
Sincerely,
Quentin N
Electronic Arts
Tier 3 Customer Support
CSS Web 08/05/2011 09:08 PM
Quentin N should be fired. He claimed to have information he could not possibly have unless it was obtained illegally (because I certainly did not provide it nor authorize access to it) and he recommended steps that could cause damage to my computer. It is shameful and disgraceful. I know when I’m getting bad advice because I know computers, but others in that situation might not know and create worse problems for themselves. After spending so much time having to figure out these problems on my own I am intimately familiar with how to troubleshoot these issues so I know what works and what affects the game. It’s very probable that I know far more about troubleshooting the Sims 3 than both the support reps and developers for the game.
I admire the persistence of Mac users and especially individuals like Bluebellflora and Snapdragon for helping to solve the problems we encounter. But, let’s face it. Mac users should not have to rely solely on each other for solutions. EA gets away with having no obligation to its users because of the following disclaimer located in the Sims 3 EULA:
Disclaimer of Warranties. EXCEPT FOR THE LIMITED WARRANTY ON RECORDING MEDIA FOUND IN THE PRODUCT MANUAL, AS APPLICABLE, AND TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS,” WITH ALL FAULTS, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, AND YOUR USE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE ENTIRE RISK OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE RESIDES WITH YOU. EA AND EA’S LICENSORS (COLLECTIVELY “EA” FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION AND SECTION 9) DO NOT MAKE, AND HEREBY DISCLAIM, ANY AND ALL EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF CONDITION, UNINTERRUPTED USE, MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, AND WARRANTIES (IF ANY) ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE PRACTICE. EA DOES NOT WARRANT AGAINST INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THE SOFTWARE; THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS; THAT OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE COMPATIBLE WITH THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE OR THAT ANY ERRORS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN ADVICE PROVIDED BY EA OR ANY AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF OR LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATIONS ON THE APPLICABLE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER, SO SOME OR ALL OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Basically this means that the product may or may not work and EA is not responsible for any problems or anything unsatisfactory to the user. As a result, EA likely views what little Mac support they provide to us as a courtesy.
But, the fact remains that I have purchased these games( and registered them). My purchase affords me the right to a product that works. I frequently can’t play my game due to the issues I’ve encountered until either I’ve spent countless hours working toward a solution or EA releases a patch and I have downloaded it (which typically causes new problems). The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a Federal Law that protects the buyer of any product which costs more than $25 and comes with an express written warranty. This law applies to any product that you buy that does not perform as it should. In this case, EA does not warranty any of its product other than the physical media from defect for 90 days. The entire act is frustratingly complicated but given the numerous and repeatedly unresolved problems from this game, shouldn’t EA be held accountable for the performance quality of the product it sells?
Make some noise. Let’s play a game that truly works as it should! Reply or re-post if you share my sentiments. Disagree with me if you want to but either way EA needs to hear us! Let’s get loud, drown out EAs pathetic excuses, and get what we Mac users deserve!
Best of luck to you all!
————————————————————————–
It’s great to hear from you all!
In response to continued finger pointing at Transgaming’s Cider portability engine by EA for Sims 3 issues on Mac, I decided to contact Transgaming to find out what they had to say. Transgaming only offers the means to contact them by email through their website, so naturally I emailed them. The following is the email I sent to Transgaming yesterday, 10/16/11, and though I expect I won’t hear from them, as it has only been 24 hours, I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt for now.
To whom it may concern,
I am at the point where all of my patience has fled and all that remains is anger and frustration. I have some EA games that are, obviously, using Cider to port to my Mac. One game in particular is The Sims 3. I have investigated this exhaustively and come to the conclusion that 1) Because EA’s support for Mac users is practically non-existent they should be sued under Federal Lemon laws for performance failure on their “Mac” products. and 2) Cider doesn’t do what your company claims it should do. The majority of problems with Sims 3 originate from issues with Cider. At least, that’s what most EA support representatives readily say when they’re in way over their head and they’ve encountered yet another unhappy Mac user with innumerable Sims 3 issues. EA seems happy to point the finger at your product. Here is my situation: I have a 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, Nvidia 9400M/Nvidia 9600M GT 256 MB video cards, and 4 GB RAM. According to your website I should not be having issues. I have way over the required specs for this game and yet my processor and memory are continually overclocked. I very much doubt that the game could be causing that kind of burden on my computer. I have watched wineserver very carefully in the activity monitor and it is most likely the process crashing my game and messing up my computer. Wineserver will frequently spike in usage and I maintain that it is just enough to cause the app to crash. The following is copied straight from your Cider FAQs, “TransGaming’s Cider implements common multimedia Windows APIs such as Direct3D, DirectInput, DirectSound and many others by mapping them to Mac equivalents. This allows games to run with equivalent game play and performance but without the typical brute force porting effort typically required to bring games to Mac.” If in fact Cider is to blame for The Sims 3′s abysmal game performance as EA professes, Cider has not even closely produced equivalent gameplay and performance to Windows on a Mac and this should be considered a completely false statement, and therefore false advertising. If EA is to be believed, the idea that Cider works as “flawlessly” as you make it sound is a fiction. If Cider is to blame, the last thing your company should be touting on its main page is The Sims 3. I have purchased the game with all EPs and SPs and between Cider (if EA is to be believed) and EA’s complete ineptitude I spend 10x more time troubleshooting all my game’s issues than actually playing the game. Your own, CEO Vikas Gupta, said that PC games running using Cider on an Intel-based Mac provide near-native performance and that, “The average user won’t be able to discern any difference.” Well, I can discern the difference VERY CLEARLY. From Newbies to advanced users like myself, the difference is white on black. Don’t try excuses about Apple’s changing APIs either. I’m still running Snow Leopard, so Lion isn’t a factor here. The point is, if Cider is to blame, you need to get it together. If I don’t see some movement by Transgaming and EA to really address these Mac issues I will gather together the many other incensed Simmers and hit the blogosphere with the laundry list of issues we have. Trust me, all you have to do is check The Sims 3 forum to see how many of us are out there. Let’s see if your business will survive being hit by the hard facts. All I want is to be able to play the games I’ve purchased with the “equivalent gameplay and performance” of Windows users that Mac users are owed. I don’t think that should be too much too ask. I look forward to reading your response.
—————————————–
I will let you all know what happens! I suspect that if I do hear from Transgaming, they will participate in an equal amount of finger pointing at EA.
Aren’t we all tired of the lack of accountability in all aspects of our lives? I know I am! I meant it when I said I’d hit the blogosphere and attack the responsible parties with the facts for failure to provide a product that works. This goes beyond our own Sims 3 Mac issues but extends to all video games, operating systems, and consoles. These issues are not unique to us. Companies who create intellectual property (in this instance, video games) should be held legally accountable for products that fail to provide a licensee (all of us who have purchased The Sims 3, EPs, and SPs are licensees for all products purchased) a game that performs according to even the most basic expectations. Expecting a game to work right out of the box is a basic expectation. If these products don’t perform as they should we deserve redress.
We can’t rely on EA, nor any other company to do the “right thing” by their customers, and as a result we must demand that basic consumer rights also cover intellectual property (video games).
Keep on making your voices heard!
Best of luck to you all!
—————————————————————————
Dear ************,
I’m so glad you posted, though I’m sorry Windows users are having as much trouble as we Mac users! I’d love to hear from more Windows users like yourself. I think I might head over to the other forums and see if, working together, we can get EA to wake up. EA clearly demonstrates a pattern of neglect for all users!
It is interesting that you should mention how The Sims 3 fragments your HD. Using my Mac I have experienced the same problem, which is typically unheard of for Macs. I started noticing the fragmentation while watching TV Shows and Movies from iTunes on my computer. The video would from time to time hang up and the drive heads would move (indicating movement to another part of the drive) and then the video would resume. I assumed it was because I frequently create and delete large files (Adobe Premiere video files for example) but now that you’ve brought up your issue on Windows with fragmentation, I have to wonder if the same issue is being replicated on Macs. I have, after all, had to uninstall and reinstall more times than I’d like to remember and now that I think about it, the evidence of fragmentation didn’t appear until I started playing The Sims 3. Transgaming maintains that, “Cider works by directly loading a Windows program into memory on an Intel Mac system and linking it to an optimized version of the Win32 APIs. TransGaming’s Cider implements common multimedia Windows APIs such as Direct3D, DirectInput, DirectSound and many others by mapping them to Mac equivalents. This allows games to run with equivalent game play and performance but without the typical brute force porting effort typically required to bring games to Mac.” Can Cider port the game so “well” that Windows issues become replicated on the Mac? Unfortunately, there is no easy way to defrag a Mac HD. While updating to OSX Lion I performed a 7 Pass Secure Erase on my HD to completely eliminate all data from the drive and used Time Machine to reload everything. Time Machine restores data to a HD in an indexed and contiguous fashion (rather than fragmented). Still, I really should not have to do that.
I cannot emphasize enough that (now) all Sims 3 users make their voices heard! EA customers need to exercise their rights by demanding EA give us the support and quality of play and performance we deserve!
Best of luck to you all!
———————————————————————
Dear all,
Though I’m glad to hear from you, I’m sorry so many are frustrated by these issues we’ve been experiencing.
After loading up Pets last night, an expansion I’ve been looking forward to for months, I was extremely disappointed to find that my saved game wouldn’t load. I don’t know if this is the source of my issue but as it turns out EA went and did something we’ve been asking them to do forever, they added new lots to Sunset Valley. The in-game create a world tool doesn’t work very well since the lots don’t fit nicely with the roads and leave a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, what they also did was add the equestrian center to the only “open” 60×60 lot in the game, which is exactly where I built my house. So no wonder my saved game gets to a point where it’s almost loaded and then freezes. (I found out a few minutes ago that this also happens with Town Life.) My saved game will not load beyond Generations which is limping along. (At least I’ve managed to export all of my custom sims and lots so far, in case I need to drop them into a new world at some point.)
On top of that, I went to create a pet, a horse in this case, and discovered after designing the pet and moving on to traits and lifetime wishes that there weren’t any to select! As a result I could not create the pet that I had just designed (not without selecting at least one trait and a lifetime wish). I’ll admit I became pretty angry. I had just unboxed this game and already I am experiencing huge issues.
So, today (I just got off the phone) I spent two hours trying to contact someone at EA who could get results, not just for me, but for everyone (Windows and Mac users) having issues with this game and its EPs and SPs. I am done with the conciliatory words and placation. I wasn’t going to be happy until I spoke with someone who can make things happen for all of us. After dealing with EA’s faulty phone system and getting disconnected by them on more than one occasion I finally managed to stay on the line with a support rep who eventually agreed to let me talk to her supervisor. The following is the follow-up email from the call:
Hello,
Thank you for contacting EA Support regarding The Sims 3 games never working well. As Douglas told you, we do hear your frustration and we have recorded your comments and will be sharing them with the appropriate people at the corporate level.
This the refund number ********** which Douglas created for you in the amount of $42.39. You should see this amount in your bank account in 5 -7 business days.
As a small compensation for your frustration and inconvenience, I have issued to you, 2 20% Discount Coupons to the Origin Store www.store.origin.com. These coupons are good for one month and cannot be used for preorders. You will find a space to enter this code when you proceed to checkout ************ & **************. If you have any problem at all with these codes, please contact us using the reference number listed below.
Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts game in the future, please visit our web site and review our extensive Self Help Knowledge base (http://support.ea.com). Your reference number for this phone call is **************.
Sincerely,
Lorraine T.
Electronic Arts Customer Support
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Lorraine T., although a very nice person, seems to think EA has more happy Sims 3 customers than unhappy ones. I tend to disagree, as would most I suspect. I explained to Douglas that although a refund was nice, (I really have no use for two 20% off coupons to the Origin store. I have a Mac, I can barely use the Origin store let alone want to buy more EA games after everything I’ve dealt with!) what I really want is for my game to not only work, but to work reliably. These issues I’ve experienced are not tech support issues, they are developer issues. I told Douglas that the SimGurus need to return to the forums, but not only that, the developers need to visit as well. My issues are not the only issues and everyone deserves to have theirs worked out. I even offered to talk to the Developers myself if they aren’t clear about something. I won’t be happy until we get results. But, keep in mind, if we do see results, it won’t be as soon as we deserve.
Douglas has promised to get this information to the right people.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Best of luck to you all!
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I just got a customer service email. I’m posting a copy of it because I think you should all see what EA professes its goals are:
Dear *******,
Thanks for contacting EA. We want you to get the most out of your EA games – anytime, anywhere. You can view the details of your Case with EA (Case #****************) at any time as well as our agent’s response by clicking the following link. (You may need to log in to view your question.)
View My Questions (link)
Our mission is to deliver the world’s best customer experience for the world’s best games. Your opinion will help us accomplish this. We would greatly appreciate you taking a few minutes to answer a short survey about your experience with EA.
Click here to take this survey. (link)
Many thanks!
Sincerely,
EA Customer Experience Team
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I think we all know that EA’s customer service is far from the world’s best and given all of the issues we’ve had, this game can not be considered one of the world’s best either.
You don't have to agree with me and you certainly don't have to agree with me 100% But, if you feel like I do, then say something! Make your voice heard! Contact EA, gaming magazines, and consumer advocate groups and fight for what we paying customers so richly deserve: a Sims 3 game that not only works but works RELIABLY.
See this thread for suggestions about who to contact:
http://forum.thesims3.com/jforum/posts/list/457402.page
My last comment to users is this: Be the change you want to see in the world.
And to the EA folks who stalk the forums but never post (because it is clear you have nothing helpful to tell us), I have a record of this post. Deleting this thread will not make me go away, nor will it make the PR disaster you will surely face go away either. I have paid over $450 for this game, as have many others. You can't ask people to spend that kind of money for a game that doesn't work, then abuse those same customers by providing the worst customer support in the world, and not expect it to blow up in your face. Karma is coming to get you.
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And, really. It sounds like part of EA has no information on what the other part is doing. There was already a blog post by one of the programmers that they're investigating the issue with supported cards having issues (which, of course, includes the ones for Macs), and yet this guy is saying there are no reports of this issue. Do I even need to waste my time posting the probably-two-thousand links that prove him wrong?
Anyway, meh. They'll probably delete this one too. EA doesn't seem to like it when you post evidence a Guru is wrong. They've deleted topics in this forum containing such evidence before, including one where I provided the evidence.
I think what mac users should do and pc users together that are having issues with sims is stop spending your money. See if you can get a refund. Get loud is one thing hitting them where it hurts is another. Let them know if you want my dollars i want a quality, working game.
>.< Please for goodness sake EA if you are going to have your customersupport over seas train them to at the very least transfer them to an americna department when they can't handle the customers problems...