Support Update from Valve

[MrFlump]

Good to see that Valve are working hard to sort out the Steam and HL2 problems (esp the Memory Problems and Sound Stuttering)... People really do need to lay off them a bit

Originally posted by Waldo on the Steampowered forums

http://www.steampowered.com/forums/...id=184278&perpage=15&pagenumber=1#post1594307

Yes, I have been closing some this morning. Why? Because some threads are overwhelming some good information presented here. Posts about patches released to fix issues, posts by Valve staff explaining that fixes are in the works, and posts trying to say, "We hear you. We are working on it".

I think it's a very incorrect assumption that Valve doesn't care and that Valve isn't trying to fix problems. The assumption is that Valve is ignoring you. Far from it. They are listening, fixing, correcting.

But you have to understand that just because some people post on here "I HAVE A PROBLEM, FIX IT! BUMP!" or even well thought out and polite posts, doesn't mean anyone can wave a magic wand and fix the problem. I or Taylor or DougV may see a post about someone having a particular problem, and we're aware of this being a problem for other users, but we can't just flip some switch or wave a wand and fix that person's problem. What has to happen (and is happening) is that the problem gets fixed once, and then EVERYONE having that problem sees it go away.


So let me share an internal message here. This is from DougV, head support guy for Steam at Valve. He posted this a few days after release...

quote: Originally posted by DougV

T+ 4 days...Doug's Support Update on HL2

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to drop you a note...4 (mostly sleepless) days after the release of HL2 to personally thank you all for all your support and help on the forums.

The Support group, while haggard and with questionable personal hygeine, has help up remarkably well. With the Steam issues post launch we ended up with about 3200 support incidents (97% all related to auth problems). We've answered all of those as of yesterday and most (all?) were resolved when auth went back up.

The 3 big problems we are currently working on are:

1. Memory Errors in the game.
2. Sound problems (mostly stuttering)
3. CD/DVD copy protection issues

There are a couple of other smaller issues that I just can't remember right now but they are mostly account management issues.

Other things I'm working on:

We're continuing to crack down on people who are trying to cheat the system... for example...there was an "exploit" posted using a specific ATI Key and we have disabled a lot of accounts that tried to register using it.

Mod Community Support: We're going to roll support for the mod and licensee community under the Steam Support group at Valve. If you'd like to be involved and / or provide input please let me know.

Sorry if I'm rambling...I need to go get some sleep. Tomorrow is another day...er...today is not tomorrow...er...g'night Gracy...

I hope what he said speaks for itself and shows that Valve is not just ignoring you. But seriously, "STEAM SUCKS" and bump threads do not help at all. They solve nothing. They've done their job, and they've sent the message. And given that they have, really all they do now is create rants and flames, and actually get in the way of helping anyone solve problems.

That's what you want, right? The problems to be solved?

 

[MajorPayne]

Awesome! I had little doubt that VALVe has been working hard on these issues, and some of us (myself included) have been able to solve our own issues and get playing. TO all who are slamming VALVe, please lay off them a little, and let them do thier work! They have made a great game (and well worth the wait), and are trying to fix these issues. They can get this done much faster if you help them by reporting the bugs and not bitching about it, so they can get working on them.