Apology Thread

Over-reacted when FM 2009 originally didn't work for you?

Did you call Miles and Co rude names?

Do you now feel embarrassed because you realise that FM 2009 is the greatest FM ever (or at least up there with FM 01/02!)?

Me too. I over-reacted, got angry because the DRM gave me hassles. Now that I've begun playing the game, and see how good it is (apart from having too many injuries - and that's AFTER the patch), I can only apologise.

It all works out in the end.

Yes , Was absolutly livid when I could not play , But Im sorry haha

Still think it was a bit of a **** up , but ohhwell and I still have a phone bill to pay haha

I must admit I was absolutely livid over the weekend!

However, am playing it now and loving it. It must be remebered though, how frustrating, time consuming and in some cases expensive it has been to actually play the game. The DRM issues weren't the fault of the consumers.

I am over it now though, and it is awesome. Hope some lessons have been learnt though, some people still can't play it

DunfermlineMad & Torres09; I agree, it was still badly done. But easily forgotten once you're enjoying the game.

Sorry you incurred extra costs by way of a phone bill, DunfermlineMad, it only cost me my time, which is still valuable to me.

Good to see some apologies. Some of the personal comments made over the weekend on various threads were offensive and totally over the top.

It's no wonder SI staff are relunctant to post on the forums, attitude on here has really gone down hill over the last couple of years.

Some people definitely crossed the line with some of the things they said, but that doesn't excuse how disgraceful the activiation thing has been. Some people still can't play.

Personally, I got mine to work on Friday and never complained that much, so I was always pretty happy. But the fact the game is so great (which it is) doesn't detract from what a shambles activation has been.

I personally was never offensive, but I was really angry on Friday and Saturday with the whole process. I understood the attitude of some people towards the DRM, but they sometimes aimed it at Miles & Co which was understandable but a shame also.

It does go to show how awesome the game is, and how passionate the fans are, but on this occasion I think that the loyalty was tested to breaking point.

I was v. angry but never posted on the forums about it. Thing is... is it not Sega rather than SI who implemented this DRM nonsense?

Anyway... I wasn't sure I could get into it after playing the demo, but I'm really really enjoying it now.

Activation has always been a key problem for PC games.

Publishers since the 90s kept asking "how do we beat pirates?" Well, it's about time they realise; you can't.

Any security measure brought up will be hacked in a matter of days, if not hours lol

So my advice is to just release the game and let people enjoy it and if they don't want to pay, they will find a way not to pay anyway so I don't see why all these annoying procedures had to be taken.

It IS a great product though and one no-one should have any hesitation towards purchasing it.

I think with FM08, people weren't sure how better it was compared to FM07....Well I think we can mostly agree FM09 is without a doubt the best FM yet

I was never offensive either, Torres09. But I did act a bit like a spoilt brat.

The point is, as you said, it wasn't really Miles & Co's fault. If anything, they were trying to find every way they knew to help.

The problem is, opening day is a big day for a game. All the hype and anticipation! It should be a good marketing exercise for an software company, but it was ruined in this case, by their own lack of testing. Me apologising does not mean that I, in any way, am endorsing the way that SI has conducted themselves in this case.

This is the first time I have ever pre-ordered a game before its release (I have bought most of the FM games, but just not until a few weeks, usually). Next time, I will hold off and see what problems others have before buying.

It only works both ways. Companies like SI or SEGA cannot mess up that bad and then hope that their customers will remain patient and polite while spending days trying to activate a game they've paid money for. People that have had troubles activating and especially those that still haven't got it done are the ones most deserving of an apology.

Don't get me wrong, profanities and generally offensive behavior towards SI/SEGA employees who are trying to help people should really not be acceptable. But this was so obvious to many that the DRM would lead to this mess so they only have themselves to blame for not foreseeing this.

I'm very glad my game didn't arrive last friday. Probably saved me from getting deeply annoyed with all this.

You are lucky ineed! I took Friday off and spent Friday and Saturday trying to unlock it - simply not good enough.

I cannot describe the frustration, but it works now and I can move on. I sincerely hope that the developers have learnt lessons here though. It appears that those who paid for the game were the ones who couldn't play it, whilst the pirates played on!

I took Friday off too. And it took me until 3:00pm (considering the servers in Australia were supposed to be turned on @ 6:00am).

Alot of fiddling around.

I wouldn´t exactly apologize. Bought the game on friday and have yet to play a second of the game because of the activation-trouble... On the other hand, I have spent a great amount of time installing, de-installing, re-installing.

I wouldn´t exactly apologize. Bought the game on friday and have yet to play a second of the game because of the activation-trouble... On the other hand, I have spent a great amount of time installing, de-installing, re-installing.

We're all different. I'm not in any way saying that it is acceptable.

But I used to be a banker (it's not rhyming slang) and I used to cop alot of complaints because of the banks decisions.

Not that it's any consolation to anyone, but I'd bet my bottom dollar that this has been taken very very seriously at Sega/SI. I wouldn't be surprised if someone gets sacked over the fiasco.

Angry? Yes I was

Over reacted? Yes I did

Sorry for that? Yes I am

Buying FM2010 on the day of release next year? No

Feel that my years of loyal customer support has been lost? Yes and that's the worst thing

I'll be honest, I got the feeling that Sega railroaded SI into the whole activation thing and STEAM. It seemed like, at times, SI felt powerless to do anything about it.

In theory I doubt SI could stop SEGA from using DRM even if they didn't want it.

I'll be honest, I got the feeling that Sega railroaded SI into the whole activation thing and STEAM. It seemed like, at times, SI felt powerless to do anything about it.

Do other Sega games have such poorly planned DRM? Does anyone else know?

This is like the only PC game I buy, so I have no way of comparison.

Do other Sega games have such poorly planned DRM? Does anyone else know?

This is like the only PC game I buy, so I have no way of comparison.

I'm in the same boat as you. I'd like to know.

I'm definitely enjoying it, just wish SI would help me skip activation on my Linux machine.

I've offered them proof of purchase and that seems to be the only thing closing all of Linux's users off from playing FM.

Glad most have had the decency to apologise it was not the right way to go about it and hope in future there will be a level of decency in your complaints.

www.footballmanager2009andbeyond.co.uk

number 1 fansite

I agree cynet. But I also believe there must be a level of decency in the way that SI/Sega conduct business. To have a system so poorly planed that even the font the unlock codes were written in were not checked to see if 1's and 0's could be distinguished from i's and o's shows utter contempt for fans.

It's not that it was poor, it was so far away from what we have a right to expect that it has changed me as a consumer of SI products. Where previously, I would've bought the next FM game (say FM10) blindly, without even thinking about the quality, I will now wait, check this forum, check the reviews and then decide whether I should buy the software.

SI/Sega deserve our criticism. Miles, Ben and the other employees do not.

Glad most have had the decency to apologise it was not the right way to go about it and hope in future there will be a level of decency in your complaints.

www.footballmanager2009andbeyond.co.uk

number 1 fansite

Hold on, there is a difference between accepting who is to blame for the problems, and how that can be expressed, and making it out that it is the consumers fault all along!

We have done nothing wrong apart from follow all the advice, jump through the hoops, wait for the fixes, try alternatives, change specs, update drivers, make phone calls, decipher codes, register with third parties, look for files etc etc in order to play a game which we we have always bought and just simply put into our computers.

I agree that some people were out of order, but it wasn't over nothing

i have no apologies for anyone. ok, i never made any personal comments but let's be honest, this is not the first time SI have released a game which wasn't ready. have we all forgotten the version that was released completely unplayable? that was blamed on eidos so i don't accept that this is sega's fault.

SI decide who they work with. if that is steam, sega, eidos or whoever, they are responsible for anything that comes as a result of that agreement. i managed to play the game for two days and now it doesn't work. the error code i get isn't listed in any support threads (apart from people asking for help and not getting it). i have paid my money for something which i can't use so it's of little consolation that they will get it sorted eventually because i paid on friday - not next week, next month or whenever they manage to get it going.

perhaps si should be going with either FML or FM launching before Christmas. it would make far more sense if they had decided a christmas release for one and a summer release for the other.

this has been a monumental ****-up and THAT'S the reason people from SI are laying low.

That's fine, Billy Cook. We're all different and our situations are different. Some people over-reacted when it didn't work at the beginning, others didn't. They really should work on getting the product as close to perfection as they can manager from the start, rather then relying on patches, it really is a poor business plan.

This thread accepts all view points. I haven't been affected as much as you, but did have a fair bit of trouble getting it to work on the first day, so I can sympathise with your situation to a degree.

i

SI decide who they work with. if that is steam, sega, eidos or whoever, they are responsible for anything that comes as a result of that agreement

SI are a "department" of Sega, owned by Sega.

At least get your facts right.

The OP sounded like one of those injury compenstation adverts!

Have you been injured in an accident that wasn't your fault?

perhaps si should be going with either FML or FM launching before Christmas. it would make far more sense if they had decided a christmas release for one and a summer release for the other.

The FML team is a totally different team than the FM team. It's a myth that FML impacted badly on FM's development.

i'm sure the £30 in their pocket from each of you will be all the apology they need

It appears that those who paid for the game were the ones who couldn't play it, whilst the pirates played on!

Which is the suckiest thing of all. Pay your money, look forward to a weekend of grief. Steal the product, play right away.

You couldn't make it up etc etc. When will they learn?

FFS, worst thread in the history of forums...

The OP sounded like one of those injury compenstation adverts!

Have you been injured in an accident that wasn't your fault?

The FML team is a totally different team than the FM team. It's a myth that FML impacted badly on FM's development.

So you say, I happen to believe otherwise and I've said it on many occassions. FML will eventually spell the end of FM as SI know where their bread is buttered and it's most certainly the £8.99 per month option. Football Manager will eventually be incorporated into FML and before you know it you'll have no choice but to pay £8.99 per month to pay for the privilege. Mark my words: the wheels have already been set in motion.

For those blaming Sega, before all this uniloc did have a reputation as the 'DRM that cares', even a number of DRM critics blogged that it was more than a step in the right direction when it first came out... I'm reserving judgement on that until the promised explanation of what happened... I agree that if it wasn't ready for the number of people it should have been left alone but after reading up on it if they're gonna use a DRM they could have screwed us over a hell of a lot worse. But like I said if the system wasn't ready for the number of people it was a bad decision imo.

Andy it's not working for you is it? lol I'm psychic

i'm sure the £30 in their pocket from each of you will be all the apology they need

I doubt that SI sees much of that £30. Firstly Alistair Darling will get his share, then sega will get their cut (probably most of whats left over ) and finally SI will get theirs.

Bottom line is that it appears a good game (not played it extensively yet) but the whole system that SI/Sega used was completely useless.

Its always good that SI do try to sort things out and help in the forums but to be pefectly honest its one of those launches that usually signals job losses after, completely incompetent in some areas.

The problem will be the new users of the game, people who have played it for years know that SI ALWAYS have problems launching this game for one reason or another (bugs, patches, etc) but the new users must have got the game and thought 'what a rip off' took it back and gone elsewhere!

I agree about FML.

Have always said that this could signal the end of the game as we know it and I defo. don't play FML as not my cup of tea.

Interestingly whenever this has been broached before SI have always said that FML and the normal FM series are split into two teams so that FM won't be affected.

Well I'm now wondering if all the best guys/gals are in the FML Team after this weekend!

So you say, I happen to believe otherwise and I've said it on many occassions. FML will eventually spell the end of FM as SI know where their bread is buttered and it's most certainly the £8.99 per month option. Football Manager will eventually be incorporated into FML and before you know it you'll have no choice but to pay £8.99 per month to pay for the privilege. Mark my words: the wheels have already been set in motion.

I'd suggest you don't spout unless you know an iota of the truth, which you patently obviously don't.

The wheels have been set in motion to have two totally different games, one online and one single player PC game with multi player option using the web.

FM can't be incorporated into FML whatever that's supposed to mean anyway.

Most of your posts are nonsensical whinings, you've manage to surpass your previous standards of stupidity with this one.

I guess time will tell with regards to FML and the FM series as to whether they do merge or mutate together.

Certainly if FML takes off I'm sure financially this is a much better option for SI and with the launch of this Steam thing and in game advertising you do get the distinct impression that SI have sold their souls to the Sega Promotional Gods and gone all commercial on us!

I'll be honest, I got the feeling that Sega railroaded SI into the whole activation thing and STEAM. It seemed like, at times, SI felt powerless to do anything about it.

Maybe true, and the sad thing is a crack allows pirates to play so the whole point of authentication is useless....

To be honest SI have allowed the piracy thieves to win (all be it not intentionally).

They have tried to make a game as uncrackable as possible (fair enough) but not put the resources into the systems that this entails to cope with the expected demand (incompetent).

When you buy the game legally and can't register it (all be it that this has hopefully now died down) it is a shocking day and the pirates must have their eye patches full of tears of laughter at this attempt to derail them!

It derailed the genuine users not them!

I doubt any of the cracks actually work properly (yet at least)... one of the things about the Uniloc DRM is it's supposed to be built into the whole game, it's not just the main executable so if it's not run the game will notice it and cause problems for the user...

I know people reported that the cracks that came out on friday/saturday didn't actually work

Hopefully they don't but if this launch is anything to go by they probably work a damn lot better than the game out of the box!!!

So you say, I happen to believe otherwise and I've said it on many occassions. FML will eventually spell the end

Even that was true, it doesn't change the fact that FM09 wasn't negatively impacted by FML because they were two totally different teams.

To be honest SI have allowed the piracy thieves to win (all be it not intentionally).

They have tried to make a game as uncrackable as possible (fair enough) but not put the resources into the systems that this entails to cope with the expected demand (incompetent).

When you buy the game legally and can't register it (all be it that this has hopefully now died down) it is a shocking day and the pirates must have their eye patches full of tears of laughter at this attempt to derail them!

It derailed the genuine users not them!

I can see why people form that opinion, but it's a false one.

There are many things which we are never going to be privy to, I've been involved with DRM and anti piracy on other products, the only people who can judge whether or not it achieved it's aims are those who have far more facts than the end user.

Facts which we will never share because they are pertinent to the ongoing anti piracy measures.

I doubt any of the cracks actually work properly (yet at least)... one of the things about the Uniloc DRM is it's supposed to be built into the whole game, it's not just the main executable so if it's not run the game will notice it and cause problems for the user...

I know people reported that the cracks that came out on friday/saturday didn't actually work

Apparently the cracks do work alright but there are issues like the holiday mode not being available etc. Still, I'm sure it must be a better experience than spending hours or days unsuccessfully trying to activate the thing. The explanation better be good tonight.

I have only recieved the game today (Monday) because of thehut taking ages to deliver! I advise everyone not to use thehut for anything.

I have just authencated my game and it took at most a minute, the demo was great (even thought there were a few problems) but I am really looking forward to the full game, it is currently loading as I type .

Well done SI .

I guess time will tell with regards to FML and the FM series as to whether they do merge or mutate together.

Certainly if FML takes off I'm sure financially this is a much better option for SI and with the launch of this Steam thing and in game advertising you do get the distinct impression that SI have sold their souls to the Sega Promotional Gods and gone all commercial on us!

There isn't anything to merge or mutate, the whole point of FML is to have something totally different from FM which actually appeals to a different audience.

The one thing which FM enthusiasts have railed constantly about in FML is that it isn't FM, that is never going to change.

Two games, two different fan bases, a lot of people will enjoy both BECAUSE of their difference, even more will eschew one for the other.

I'd suggest you don't spout unless you know an iota of the truth, which you patently obviously don't.

The wheels have been set in motion to have two totally different games, one online and one single player PC game with multi player option using the web.

FM can't be incorporated into FML whatever that's supposed to mean anyway.

Most of your posts are nonsensical whinings, you've manage to surpass your previous standards of stupidity with this one.

good to see fml hasn't changed since i gave up on it. the mods are still too opinionated, reactionary, narrow-minded and subjective.

keep up the good work.

the only people who can judge whether or not it achieved it's aims are those who have far more facts than the end user.

Facts which we will never share because they are pertinent to the ongoing anti piracy measures.

it's impossible to get the figures of people who are using the game illegally. that's just a crazy suggestion.

Even that was true, it doesn't change the fact that FM09 wasn't negatively impacted by FML because they were two totally different teams.

if there were no negative impact, there wouldn't be an apology thread about people over-reacting to a massive error. because if they've learned anything over the years it's don't under-estimate or over-estimate your numbers. this is the same company who are still trying to recover from the huge arse they made of the pre-order and retail launch of fml.

very nice but im stll waiting to play since friday