... when something unexpected occurs, the developers depend on the most important part of their team, us, the customer, to help them fix it by giving them the information, since we, as a larger group of individuals than they have the resources or capability to support in house, can actually perform the near infinite number of permutations it would take to reveal many of the bugs that a small number of people with limited resources may miss because of those limitations in spite of their best effort.
Phew! This conversation is fascinating, especially if you're a consumer advocate (such as myself). It's akin to watching a close tennis match. With that said, I think, everyman, that your statement is expecting waaaaaay too much from customers. Why should the consumer be the unwitting *beta* testers for a product we purchased at full price? LOL That doesn't make sense and frankly, to even suggest that Larian would rely on its consumer base to *unwittingly* beta test their products for 'unexpected occurrences" because it's [the permutation factor] a lot cheaper than hiring QA testers is a little absurd! I know if I were a Larian employee, I'd probably take offense to your suggestion.
However, at any rate, everyone has made their points abundantly clear. Why should Larian be held to a different standard than any other software company on the market? Q&A, QC, alpha and beta testing -- they are all part of producing a product. And most companies would NEVER rely on their customer base to provide that information for them. Imagine if car manufacturers started adopting your 'permutation' philosophy? ROFL (Some manufacturers probably do work that way, but that's a whole different discussion, isn't it!?!) <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />
Customers have a right to complain if they feel they have been sold an inferior product. Whether that product was deliberately placed on the market too early or not -- customer feedback is vital to any company's success. As much as I like Larian as a company, I am and will continue to hold them to the same high standards I hold all of the other companys I deal with. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/alien.gif" alt="" />
Faralas <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mage.gif" alt="" />
