Freezing issue in RB Blitz (tied to # of songs played?)

[Pankrazzo]

Almost three weeks have passed, and I still can't play Blitz because of this. Do you expect to achieve any progress this week?

If not, I'll create a new gamertag to finally be able to play it again.

[CausingTugBoat8]

Getting really annoyed about this now. Surely it should be simple to fix? If not can they just make a patch that allows power ups and high scores offline? Or do we get refunds cos the game is basically unplayable now? If you create a new game profile on the same Xbox to play this, do you have to purchase it again? I assume not?

[Pankrazzo]

You don't have to purchase it again as long as you play it on the same console.

[CausingTugBoat8]

You don't have to purchase it again as long as you play it on the same console.

Cheers.

[hmxhenry]

Almost three weeks have passed, and I still can't play Blitz because of this. Do you expect to achieve any progress this week?

I've been checking in with the Production team twice daily, and as of the end of the day they were still testing. We're not dragging our heels on this, we just want to make sure that the fix is 100% before deploying. Rushing testing could lead to a fix that doesn't adequately address the issue or, worse, ends up breaking something else.

I haven't heard anything yet today, so it's unlikely they'll have a fix available to deploy in the next 4 hours, but I'll see if I can get a more accurate ETA from them on a roll out. Thanks for your patience.

Getting really annoyed about this now. Surely it should be simple to fix? If not can they just make a patch that allows power ups and high scores offline?

A patch for even the most minor of fixes will usually take between 4-8 weeks to propose, test and submit to first party, which is terribly counter productive. We're working on a non patch server side fix to remedy the situation much quicker.

Very few fixes are simple, and an issue like this that's tied to the in game code and server communications is more complex than it may appear. Please trust that we're working on it as quickly as possible and we've got some of our best folks focused on it.

[Pankrazzo]

Thanks for your detailed reply, will set up a new gamertag then as a temporary solution on my end.

[hmxhenry]

Thanks for your detailed reply, will set up a new gamertag then as a temporary solution on my end.

You're welcome. Literally just heard back on the head producer. Here's the latest:

We are very, very close to having a fix ready. BUT, due to the time, we don't want to roll it out right now. If we deployed today and anything unexpected happened, we needed additional live testing or any one needed additional support, we wouldn't be able to provide it over the weekend. Deploying fixes in the morning is always preferable, so we have all day to monitor to ensure functionality. So that would mean the hope is that the fix will be fully tested by the end of the day, with plans to deploy early next week.

The last additional wrinkle is that Monday is Columbus Day, and we have the holiday off. So we'll check back in on Tuesday to make sure everything is tested and everyone is positioned to monitor and track user feedback in real time.

Once we have that locked down, I'll reach out to the affected users to find a way to thank you for your continued patience, understanding and assistance in dealing with this issue. You guys are hardcore to even make it 1,000+ songs in such a short time, and we really do appreciate your dedication.

[Pankrazzo]

So my parents name me Christopher in his honor, and thanks to him I have to wait one day longer for the fix. **** you Columbus

[Epsilon82]

I'm very encouraged to hear confirmation that this will not require a software patch (which is obviously more expensive and difficult.) That was something I was afraid of as soon as I realized the server was still recording all of the data from the play despite the crash. This is obviously a super obscure issue (who could anticipate that suddenly after 1,020 songs the program would crash on the software side when it's completely fine for hundreds of songs?), and as a programmer and support technician myself, I can definitely understand how this is not nearly as simple as it might seem.

And yes, I would much rather wait a little longer for a fix that is as ironclad as possible. As frustrating as it is to be stuck right now, it would be even worse to have it fixed, play a few more songs, get all excited about having Blitz back, only to have the problem repeat itself all over again.

Thanks for keeping us updated, hmxhenry. It's great to hear we're hopefully almost out of the woods.

[MaximusDM]

Very few fixes are simple, and an issue like this that's tied to the in game code and server communications is more complex than it may appear. Please trust that we're working on it as quickly as possible and we've got some of our best folks focused on it.

Are those the same folks that couldn't figure out the XMB crash on PS3?
Or are they more focused now that it actually affects Xbox 360 users too?
XMB crash stems from the same core issue: game code and server communications

Maybe a low blow. But it had to be said.