Rocksmithery

Hmm... Rocksmith. What to make of you...


I've played it for the last few hours and do I feel that I'm better on my guitar? No.

Do I feel frustrated at some obvious game design issues? Oh yes. There are three main problems...

1. The transparent guitar neck that you look through when playing gives you no way of knowing where on the neck you're meant to be. There isn't even an option to overlay fret numbers - you just have to wait for the notes to approach and react accordingly (as opposed to being ready for them)
2. The neck again... it moves about. Seemingly at random. Obviously, it has to move to the next note position (especially when going to higher notes), but the constant drifting should again be an option. This is a real problem when notes are approaching, as they usually come at an angle, therefore making it difficult to know exactly which notes they are.
3. Encores. After playing a gig, you usually get an encore. This will be a song that you've (most likely) never played, and usually features techniques that haven't been introduced (which is, lets face it, just shocking game design). The upshot of this is that you play maybe 10% of the notes, and just as you think you're getting the hang of things, you get knocked back further than you'd climbed.

There are other, obvious issues too. The inability to use the L/ R bumpers to skip through the song list for example. Not being able to 'favourite' songs is another gripe.

The extraordinarily lengthy loading times get a bit annoying too.

Oh, and the worst thing... 

... you can't set a difficulty level. If you happen to be good at one bit of a song, it'll ramp up the difficulty of the whole thing - which means you get to the next bit and fail miserably. Combine this with the 'not really sure which fret I'm meant to be playing' and it all gets switched off very quickly. 

Then there's the Chilli Peppers song (Higher Ground)... could a worse song of theirs have been chosen? Really? 

It's a mess - a cacophony. I have no idea what I'm meant to be playing. The notes you get told to play don't seem to be in the song. It's massively frustrating. Especially as you have to play it, in order to progress.

How to lose friends and look like amateurs

Asus. This is all about you...


Again.


I got my 'Stuff magazine's Gadget of the Year' Eee Pad Transformer back from Asus today. This is the second time it's been sent back to them to be repaired, there will be a third.


As previously mentioned, the screen doesn't stay on and there's obviously a problem with the power button/ circuitry as it keeps powering on/ off at random (see this video).


To 'fix' this power issue, which part do you think they changed?


Nope...


Again, no, guess again.


Nope... that's too obvious...


They replaced the camera. Specifically, the front-facing camera.


No really, that's what it says on the repair sheet. Obvious really! Volume up turns the device on and off, the power fluctuates when you don't touch it, so we'll replace the camera. Nice.




My wife summed it up perfectly - Asus, you look like amateurs. Any other company would've just replaced the unit and (maybe) given me something as a gesture of goodwill (not that I'm after anything from them - just a properly working tablet, thanks). 


But Asus, oh no... they're not going to replace it, they'll just keep bashing away at it until (presumably) I give up. Which I will - there are plenty of other Android tablets available, so I'm just going to sell this (probably at a loss) and get another. I hear good things about the Sony S-series and the new Motorola tablet looks quite good too.


Sorry Asus, you've failed me. Me the consumer. Me the customer. You've pushed me away from your company into arms of your competition and believe me, you won't get me back.

Long time no post...

I'm not dead!! Just to dispel any rumours


(There's an important update at the bottom of this post... please read it!!)


I was hoping to show off some of the work I've created on my Eee Pad Transformer using Autodesk SketchBook Pro. I even bought a soft-tipped capacitive stylus... But I can't.


The tablet itself is a lovely bit of kit - high-resolution 1280 x 780 screen, dual-core 1Ghz processor, 16GB RAM - all the usual Android tablet bells 'n whistles. It's a great thing.


I can't show you anything, because I don't have it. Asus does... still.


Get a cuppa, here's the story so far...


About five-or-six weeks ago, I noticed the power button wasn't responding as you'd expect it to. It was getting gradually harder to turn the tablet On or Off. Eventually, the power button decided it had had enough and chose to turn the volume up instead.


Obviously, this isn't right. So I got in touch with Asus's customer support, where I was told to switch it off then hold the button in as hard as possible to turn it back on again. 


Which it didn't do. 


It was at this point I was helpfully informed that it probably needs to be returned to be repaired - well, duh, that wasn't hard to figure out.


On the 16th September, I got a helpful email informing me that (and I quote) "It would appear that your unit requires service". This understated and fairly astute assumption turned out to be the beginning of a month of to-ing and fro-ing between myself and Asus. 


One of my favourite emails from Asus is this helpful little missive sent on the 27th September:


Szanowny Kliencie,

Uprzejmie informujemy, że Państwa sprzęt dotarł do serwisu w poprzednim dniu roboczym.

Przepraszamy za wszelkie niedogodności związane z naprawą Państwa sprzętu.
Jednocześnie zapewniamy, że dołożymy wszelkich starań, by naprawa przebiegła jak najszybciej i najsprawniej.

Pozdrawiamy,
Zespół Wsparcia Technicznego ASUS Polska


For those of you that, like me, don't speak Polish, it reads:


Dear Customer,

Please note that your equipment has reached the site in the previous working day.

We apologize for any inconvenience associated with the repair of your equipment.
At the same time we ensure that we will make every effort to repair proceeded as quickly as possible and efficiently.

Regards,
ASUS Technical Support Team Poland


Obviously, reading this cheered me up a little, gave me a happy, warm feeling inside. Asus, I thought, are a perfectly decent tech company, that actually want to take the tablet fight to Apple. Good on 'em!


Isn't it odd how quickly one's opinion of a company can change? It was on the 30th September I got this email:


Dear customer,

Our records show the repair is classed as out of warranty. The service team will be in touch with you about this.

Kind regards, 
Asus UK Support Team


Now, this came as a bit of a surprise to me. 'Out of warranty'? Really? How long is their warranty? Three months? No, that'd be silly. 


Turns out it's a year. At this point, I'd had the tablet for four months, so I was obviously more than a little confused. 


Time to find out what on Earth is going on.


"How long is the warranty? I only bought it in May. 

I'd like to say that I'm hugely disappointed with the build quality of the tablet, and that I'd 
honestly expect the most important switch on the device to last longer than 4 months. 
It's a shocking fault to have happened so early."

Reasonable, don't you think? Their reply was blunt, to-the-point, and more than a little surprising:

Dear customer, It was classed as out of warranty due to customer induced damage. Kind regards, Asus UK Support Team

Um... 'Customer induced damage'? Are we taking about the same tablet?


Little note here: I sent the tablet back to them wrapped in tissue paper, within a padded envelope that was wrapped in bubble-wrap, within a larger padded envelope. You could've used this as a basketball and no damage would've occurred.


So, now I'm confused. When I sent it to them, all that was damaged was the power button - their power button. That was reason to send it back in the first place. 


"Where is the 'customer induced damage'? The power button is broken internally, and 
as you can see by it, I've not made ANY attempt to open the device. The only thing I've 
done to it is add a screen-protector"

(I added a non-reflective screen protector because if you were near a light source, the tablet made a very handy, if unwanted, mirror). Again, I get a slightly dismissive reply from them: 

"Dear customer,

The service team will be contacting you but you can also reach them on support_uk@asus.com

Kind regards,
Asus UK Support Team"

Oh no, thinks I. What can the matter be? Was all that padding not enough? Did it get damaged in transit? If it did, who's to blame - me for not protecting it enough, or UPS?


I was then informed over the phone (I phoned them - after waiting for a call back that never happened) that there was damage to the bezel.


Blimey, damage to the bezel. HANG ON, What damage to the bezel? There wasn't any when I sent it - nary a scratch on the whole thing - that's why I bought a neoprene sleeve to keep it in.


I thought I'd try to find out more:


"Hi there,

I sent my Transformer back to you to get repaired - the power button broke and I couldn't turn the device on or off. I've recently been told that I've caused damage to the bezel of the TF and will have to pay for the repair and transit, due to this making my warranty null and void. At no point have I attempted to open the device, and it is kept either docked with the keyboard, or in a neoprene laptop sleeve.

I'd like to dispute this claim as I ensured that the TF was very well packaged within two thick bubble-wrap envelopes with an extra layer of bubble-wrap in between.

There are numerous examples on TF forums of the same power button problem happening to other users (therefore, I'd assume that it may be a manufacturing issue with early models)

I would like to resolve this issue as swiftly and as amicably as possible as I really enjoy using the TF and would like to be able to recommend it to friends and family (unfortunately, at the moment I can't - a power button is arguably the most important button on a device like this, and for it to break after only four months is not good)

Your Sincerely,

Doug Holmes "

All things considered, I think that's a fairly level-headed and 'nice' way to ask what's happening.

"Dera Mr Holmes,

Thank you for contacting the Asus Support.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Please be informed that we have contacted the repair centre for further information.

Once we have received a response from them we will contact you as soon as possible.

Regards
Sandra Miles
Asus Support UK "

At last! A name! Progress, thought I... I'm still waiting to hear from them.


Then, on the 10th October, I get this:


Dear Mr Holmes,

Thank you for your email below.

Our apologies for the delay and inconveniences caused.
Please be advised that your case has been escalated over to management.
At this stage, we are awaiting a responds on the escalation which has been made. Please note that only management can make the final decision on the case.

Please bare with us and we will contact you as soon as a responds has been received. We have requested an update on the case as well.

Thank you 
Kind regards
Thi Dinh
Asus support UK


Can anyone enlighten me as to what 'escalated over to management' actually means, cos I'm clueless.


More importantly - 'final decision on the case'. I'm a case now, am I? I'm a case, and I have no idea at all as to what is actually going on. 


"Thanks for the reply.

Would it be possible to be told - and shown - exactly what the issue is?

As all I've been told is that there's a 'problem' with the bezel (which
there wasn't when I sent it) and I have absolutely no idea what the problem
actually is.

I would like to try to understand why what I assumed would be a simple
process is taking so long.

Regards
Doug Holmes"



Again, I'm calm(ish) and not wanting to cause too much of a fuss.


"Dear Mr Holmes,
Thank you for contacting the Asus Support.
Please be informed that when the charge list is sent to you, there will be pictures of the damage included. Unfortunately we are unable to obtain pictures befor the charge lists have been issued.

Regards
Sandra Miles
Asus Support UK"


A 'charge list'? What exactly am I being charged for and accused of? 


I still don't know. 


Am I being told that I'll have to pay for damages to my own tablet, damages that I have no knowledge of at all? Is that what's being implied? 




Up to this point I was more than happy to recommend the Asus Eee Pad Transformer to friends/ family - it's a great tablet. However now I can't, I'm being treated like a idiot - not being told what the problem is, and - most shocking of all - expected to pay for unknown damage.


If Asus truly want to be a big player in the tablet space, they have to improve their customer relations. These are not the actions of a company that cares, these are the actions of a company that just wants your money. 


In this game, the perception that you're the most important person they've ever dealt with is everything.


And right now, I feel like they're trying to scrape me off the bottom of their shoe.




IMPORTANT UPDATE (13/10/11):


Since writing this blog, Asus have been in touch with me about the Transformer, and have shown me the damage to it. I was amazed. Basically, the bezel has broken away from the back panel leaving a large gap - not how it looked when I packaged it up.


I'm hoping to get it all sorted next week - power button and new, mysterious, broken bezel and all.


However, it doesn't excuse the terrible customer relations that Asus has shown (something I intend to address in a later post), but at least they've acknowledged that a month is a LONG time for something as simple as this to drag on.

Work

I've uploaded screengrabs from some of the games I've worked on. Where applicable, all copyright is retained by their respective owners.

Making games began as a hobby, then turned into a career and a passion. I love discovering new techniques and working though problems to achieve the best graphics I can create.

River photos

Pictures of the River Trent as it passes between West Bridgford and The Meadows

Me!

I've been working as a video game artist for 16 years. 

My initial interest was sparked in the early '80s when I saw an art package called The Artist (by Bo Jangeborg) on my uncles 48k ZX Spectrum.

I knew what I wanted to do as a  job - make games. 

Over the years, in addition to in-game art, I have been asked to design and produce P.O.S. (Point Of Sale) adverts, Advertising Posters, T-Shirts and images for magazines.

I am eager to learn and I pick up new tasks very quickly. I am proficient with a wide range of computing tasks.  

I am an avid games-player and have owned (and still own) a variety of systems including the original GameBoy, SNES, GBA, Saturn, Dreamcast, Xbox, Xbox 360 and PC.