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    Please, give us a simple troubleshooting section in the forums.

    «13
    dizzydee_kdizzydee_k Posts: 475 Member
    edited June 2022 in Forum Ideas & Feedback
    Shunting us to Answers may make life easier for you, but it makes simple troubleshooting needlessly complicated. Everything about the Answers site is designed to discourage discussion.

    @SimGuruNick @SimGuruIcarus
    Post edited by EA_Cade on

    Comments

    • Kita5399Kita5399 Posts: 2,112 Member
      I agree, I can barely get it to open or work for me. I get error messages every time and I may just give up trying at this point. I’m newer to TS4 and sometimes my issue is a well known thing, and other Simmers can help super quick with answers. If I have to fight with something that gives me errors and fill out some form..honestly I won’t even bother.
    • mossbossmossboss Posts: 31 Member
      I completely agree with everything you both said.
      Not to mention the post in Answers on how to use the forum is a long monstrosity with barely any page breaks, and as a user with dyslexia it's impossible to read no matter how many breaks I take. It's just not gonna happen. Also like Kita said, I'd rather not even bother trying to find solutions to my issues because of the sheer amount of errors Answers gives me.

      It would have been a lot simpler to keep troubleshooting on this forum because users are used to, or learning how to, use the functions on this site. All it's done is needlessly add more functions to learn how to use. At least they could have kept the same look/ feel and functions as these forums to keep it a little easier to use. Unfortunately I can't even get the search function on this forum to work, so both forums are pretty much unusable to me if I'm trying to find solutions to issues that are most likely already answered.
    • paradiseplanetparadiseplanet Posts: 4,421 Member
      I honestly don't see why we also have to be shoved to solve our PC technical problems / move our tech discussion to AHQ either; AHQ is not very tech-friendly and you can be much better serviced here instead. The whole atmosphere of AHQ feels off and it's like Limbo for game issues.
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    • EA_MageEA_Mage Posts: 1,354 EA Staff (retired)
      Hi all,

      I am sorry to hear that some of you have been having issues with Answers HQ.

      If you are having issues, please let us know exactly what is going wrong for you and we will do our best to help resolve these issues.
      AHQ is not very tech-friendly and you can be much better serviced here instead.

      Answers HQ is actually very tech friendly :) Just head over to the Technical Issues forum instead of Bug Reports. The different between Bug Reports and Technical Issues is the fact that Bug Reports has a designated template for first post. None of the other The Sims forums have that!

      If you are unsure if the issue you are having is a bug or not, don't hesitate to create a thread in Technical Issues or Game Information instead.

      All your feedback is more than welcome and we will do our best to make this transition the best it can be :smiley:
    • covahenasnicovahenasni Posts: 149 Member
      edited August 2018
      I personally feel that there is far too much verbiage in Answers HQ. Especially for people who are accustomed to Sims easy to use, user friendly forum.
      While yes, it is good to have everything in one place for the team. The place is just daunting, and I am fairly tech proficient, so I cannot imagine how uneasy non-tech savvy users feel.

      I do appreciate the redirect links from the old forum here though.

      Lastly, a long time ago I went there for an issue, and was told they were users helping users, and not employees of EA/Sims, is this still true?
      Origin: covahenasni
    • crinrictcrinrict Posts: 18,771 Member
      edited August 2018
      covahenasni wrote: »
      I do appreciate the redirect links from the old forum here though.

      Lastly, a long time ago I went there for an issue, and was told they were users helping users, and not employees of EA/Sims, is this still true?

      That is still true however CM and in case of Sims also QA-Gurus are fairly active as well and do jump on on issues if necessary. If you do however want help from a EA support member, the best place is live chat at EA Help.

      Everyone is welcome to also help out at AHQ.

      Post edited by crinrict on
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    • EA_MageEA_Mage Posts: 1,354 EA Staff (retired)
      edited August 2018
      covahenasni wrote: »
      I personally feel that there is far too much verbiage in Answers HQ. Especially for people who are accustomed to Sims easy to use, user friendly forum.
      While yes, it is good to have everything in one place for the team. The place is just daunting, and I am fairly tech proficient, so I cannot imagine how uneasy non-tech savvy users feel.

      I do appreciate the redirect links from the old forum here though.

      Lastly, a long time ago I went there for an issue, and was told they were users helping users, and not employees of EA/Sims, is this still true?

      Answers HQ can take a little while to get used to and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask :smile:

      As for the bolded part of your post @covahenasni - it is a mix. Like here on Forums.TheSims.com there is a number of super helpful players who offer advice and guidance, on Answers HQ the most notable of them can be differentiated by the Hero and Champion ranks. But EA staff also have a presence on the forums and for The Sims 4 section on AHQ there are a few SimGurus around that look into Bugs.

      Let me know if you have any questions.

      Edit: I see crin beat me to it :smiley:
    • Pamtastic72Pamtastic72 Posts: 4,545 Member
      edited August 2018
      I HATE AHQ. I now feel abandoned to figure things out myself as best I can now because I cannot figure out after four years how to navigate that plum thing. The only thing I know how to do there is click "me too" and that's only if someone here provides a link to the topic. As for creating or finding one on my own, forget it. I end up getting frustrated and rage quitting. I miss the old help thread terribly. :/:(
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    • Kita5399Kita5399 Posts: 2,112 Member
      Pamtastic72 wrote: »
      I HATE AHQ. I now feel abandoned to figure things out myself as best I can now because I cannot figure out after four years how to navigate that plum thing. The only thing I know how to do there is click "me too" and that's only if someone here provides a link to the topic. As for creating or finding one on my own, forget it. I end up getting frustrated and rage quitting. I miss the old help thread terribly. :/:(

      You’re not alone in feeling that way at all. I’m already looking at alternative sites with TS4 forums, for when I might need help with things in the future.
    • MaggieMarleyMaggieMarley Posts: 5,299 Member
      What I’ve found on AHQ is that you can create a thread stating what your issue is, or if there is already a thread on that issue you can “me too” or comment on it. But, there’s very rarely any solution or workarounds mentioned or even suggested. Just many many other people saying they are the same issue. At least on here, there were people trying to give solutions.
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    • SheriGRSheriGR Posts: 795 Member
      > @mossboss said:
      > I completely agree with everything you both said.
      > Not to mention the post in Answers on how to use the forum is a long monstrosity with barely any page breaks, and as a user with dyslexia it's impossible to read no matter how many breaks I take. It's just not gonna happen. Also like Kita said, I'd rather not even bother trying to find solutions to my issues because of the sheer amount of errors Answers gives me.
      >
      > It would have been a lot simpler to keep troubleshooting on this forum because users are used to, or learning how to, use the functions on this site. All it's done is needlessly add more functions to learn how to use. At least they could have kept the same look/ feel and functions as these forums to keep it a little easier to use. Unfortunately I can't even get the search function on this forum to work, so both forums are pretty much unusable to me if I'm trying to find solutions to issues that are most likely already answered.

      @mossboss ...I know this is not the entire point of your post, but have you tried copying the text from the forum that is a wall of text and pasting it into a text editor and creating the breaks you need so it is not hard for you to read with your dyslexia? WordPress has an issue with paragraph tag stripping (it removes your paragraph breaks), so perhaps something like that is going on? Anyway, I have done that trick occasionally to override formatting (pasting into a text editor). Also, if the search algorithm is weak that would take re-programing or something to improve it 'as-is'. When you are stuck with a weak search accuracy you have to get creative, simplify the searches (one or two words, most basic, etc.), and keep trying.
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    • EA_MageEA_Mage Posts: 1,354 EA Staff (retired)
      Hi all,

      I'd like to address a few points here:
      MaggieMarley wrote: »
      What I’ve found on AHQ is that you can create a thread stating what your issue is, or if there is already a thread on that issue you can “me too” or comment on it. But, there’s very rarely any solution or workarounds mentioned or even suggested. Just many many other people saying they are the same issue. At least on here, there were people trying to give solutions.

      Have these threads been on Bug Report forums or Technical issues? On Answers HQ troubleshooting mostly happens on Technical Issues where as Bug Reports are mainly used to track/report bugs.
      On Technical Issues all questions regarding the game are welcome and there are many players (and EA staff) regularly answer on the board.

      Pamtastic72 wrote: »
      I HATE AHQ. I now feel abandoned to figure things out myself as best I can now because I cannot figure out after four years how to navigate that plum thing. The only thing I know how to do there is click "me too" and that's only if someone here provides a link to the topic. As for creating or finding one on my own, forget it. I end up getting frustrated and rage quitting. I miss the old help thread terribly. :/:(

      @Pamtastic72 I am so sorry for the frustration :( I wrote a guide last year aimed at Pogo players that introduces the basic features of AHQ to them. Would you mind taking a look and let me know if you feel that guide is at all helpful? If so we can mirror it on The Sims side :) Thread here: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Pogo-Game-Questions-Technical/Welcome-to-Pogo-on-Answers-HQ/m-p/5896229#M162292

      Thank you!
    • Pamtastic72Pamtastic72 Posts: 4,545 Member
      edited August 2018
      Yes I've read it. The fact is AHQ is not very user friendly unless you're pretty techie, sorry but that's just a fact. I really had no trouble finding help on here and getting clear straightforward answers from other players and I made many friends on here that way too which was an awesome bonus. Not only do I find AHQ pretty much impossible to navigate, I also find it very cold an impersonal. It seems to be, if I'm being completely honest with you, that the ultimate goal trying to be achieved is to shut down these forums slowly between this and the termination of the trailers. I have noticed a significant decrease in traffic, and I myself come here much less often and stay for shorter periods of time and people who posted frequently in the past have all but disappeared.

      Nothing lasts forever I guess. As for me, like Kita5399 said, I will just check other forums and find my help elsewhere from now on. :/ The whole vibe here is changing, and not for the better, sorry.
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    • simgirl1010simgirl1010 Posts: 35,805 Member
      For those who don't feel comfortable using AHQ you might want to check out Carl's sim forum.
      http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/

      MTS also has a help section.
      http://modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=691
      Just be careful to search first for your problem before posting. :p
    • SimburianSimburian Posts: 6,912 Member
      edited August 2018
      It would be much better if EA took a few month's break or took on more hands to concentrate on mending these bugs so there is not such a long list to have to look through before giving us more of them with a new pack of any sort.

      Also: The first question that Answers HQ should put is " Do you use mods or CC?" as so many of those caused long threads here and wasted time and energy before they, the OP's admitted to them.

      I don't think it is a question of alienating Simmers so much as a general winding down and the elimination of the Forum here. Very bad PR in my opinion.
    • Pamtastic72Pamtastic72 Posts: 4,545 Member
      simgirl1010 wrote: »
      For those who don't feel comfortable using AHQ you might want to check out Carl's sim forum.
      http://www.carls-sims-4-guide.com/forum/

      MTS also has a help section.
      http://modthesims.info/forumdisplay.php?f=691
      Just be careful to search first for your problem before posting. :p

      I will likely rely on Carl's because I already know how to navigate it. Twitter is a source too for short quick Q&As. Sadly though it's starting to feel to me as though the sense of community around this game is starting to dissipate. It makes me really sad.
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    • GageaGagea Posts: 1,275 Member
      AHQ is a great way to focus on sims issues. But I think it is a bit difficult to find somenthing using the search function.
    • Pamtastic72Pamtastic72 Posts: 4,545 Member
      Gagea wrote: »
      AHQ is a great way to focus on sims issues. But I think it is a bit difficult to find somenthing using the search function.

      If you can find them. It’s super complicated, i’ve Now read through 2 separate sets of instructions on how to use it and I’m totally lost. I didn’t need instructions when I was new here. I was always able to find the help I needed while meeting new simmers. I just came off Twitter and several people there said the same thing. Many said they’re done reporting game issues due to this because it’s just too much trouble trying to figure out how to use AHQ.

      It occurs to me there is probably a reason nobody used it until they were forced to.
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    • pinneduphairpinneduphair Posts: 918 Member
      I've had issues with AHQ as well. Tried posting a bug report earlier and the 'Submit' button didn't work at all. I thought maybe I left a field blank or something, but I looked it over and saw no issues within my bug report. And if the problem was in fact on my end, it just shows how confusing and difficult to use the site can be.
    • soupys0upsoupys0up Posts: 10 New Member
      Being forced to go to AHQ for help is just... please, no. At least not if it’s anything like EA help. They don’t even bother responding to support tickets from my experience, and the live chat doesn’t even work. I even had to re-purchase through Origin a game I already owned a legitimate physical copy of just because they blatantly ignored my ticket saying I was having an issue with the registration key. (Over two years later, the ticket is STILL unanswered.)

      Now, I don’t speak for everyone here, but I certainly don’t agree with being forced to ask for help on a site with such unreliable support that paying more money seems preferable at the time than dealing with the hassle of their seemingly nonexistent support team. Especially not when there are other players who would be happy to help.

      It’s too late for me to return my games for a refund, so I guess I’ll look into those other sites mentioned when I have gameplay issues. Between my experiences with EA support and what everyone is saying about AHQ, I already know AHQ is certainly not the place to go.

      Sad, isn’t it?
    • GageaGagea Posts: 1,275 Member
      A lot of the helpers at AHQ have also been helping with technical issues here on the forums.
    • SimburianSimburian Posts: 6,912 Member
      It's about time EA starting paying some of these willing helpers in some way if they are working for free on AHQ. For a long time EA have used such people to lengthen the time games are played and enjoyed. Maybe they should be made "Game Changers" or be given Free access to Origin Games as well as they have enabled more people to play their own games than any video streamer.
    • crinrictcrinrict Posts: 18,771 Member
      edited August 2018
      I have written this guide for the Sims 4 section: https://t.co/j8IXBaQRMg and here's one for the bug forum: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/INFORMATION-How-does-this-forum-work/td-p/3445107/

      Link to the compiled lists are here (for bugs): https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/READ-FIRST-Compiled-list-of-reported-Gameplay-Issues/td-p/3445209/ and https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/READ-FIRST-Compiled-List-of-Build-Buy-Issues/td-p/6448814/

      If you have any questions, you can ask here: https://forums.thesims.com/en_US/discussion/946852/questions-problems-posting-at-answers-hq-ahq#latest but it would be great if they could be very specific.

      I do agree that the layout is not the greatest and that it sometimes gives you errors but I've tried to address all those quirks in my guides.

      The bugs forum and tech are pretty much about helping so yes, it can be cold as someone said here. It's because we want to get your issue solved as fast as possible and sometimes it's also about the sheer ground to cover (especially after releases). Game info is much chattier and you're welcome to join in there (although I think this forum is more the place for that). AHQ is really about getting you the best help you can.

      The bug forum is a special place and yes, not everything is answered. But it's mainly because there's not much to say. All of your reports are read but I find it personally a bit spammy to comment on every post just to say that there's nothing to say. So I concentrate on the new stuff to answer. I'm also testing a lot of stuff and there's only so much time in one day.

      I'm open to suggestions what to change. There's a specific thread for the bug forum for that: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/PLEASE-READ-Questions-and-Suggestions-about-the-bug-forum/td-p/6361358/

      Also, if you have an issue, here's a troubleshooting guide which can help you solve your own issue: https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/READ-FIRST-Troubleshooting-your-Game/td-p/3621199/

      Again, happy to answer your questions on how to navigate but please be specific (other than the layout, can't do much about that) what you need help with.


      Hope you can all find a way to get the help you need.
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    • MaggieMarleyMaggieMarley Posts: 5,299 Member
      edited August 2018
      hyrulerose wrote: »
      I've had issues with AHQ as well. Tried posting a bug report earlier and the 'Submit' button didn't work at all. I thought maybe I left a field blank or something, but I looked it over and saw no issues within my bug report. And if the problem was in fact on my end, it just shows how confusing and difficult to use the site can be.
      @hyrulerose I think I might know what your problem is. At first I couldn’t submit bug reports either. Then, I realised that if you don’t put something that box at the very bottom (the one where you are meant to attach extra info such as screenshots), the report will not submit.

      This is the box you have to put something in or the report won't submit:
      HJwLqkt.jpg


      It’s extremely annoying, especially as you are not told this is why the report isn’t submitting and because they make this box seem optional. Almost as if they want to discourage bug reports... Sneaky ;) I usually just type in the box that I have no additional information that could help - that’s enough to get the thing to submit.
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    • crinrictcrinrict Posts: 18,771 Member
      you can also just put a dot.

      The sentence Provide additional information in the 'Compose field to submit our Bug Report is supposed to give you a clue.

      Maybe that should be adjusted.
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