Ubisoft Technical Support Issues

[Starbuck1975]

A year or so ago, I purchased Splinter Cell-Pandora Tomorrow...unfortunately, my rig at the time didnt have enough power to run the game, so I shelved it in anticipation for my next build.

Finally got around to the big upgrade, and SPPT was one of the first game's I installed...of course I was a bit dismayed when the game didn't work. I posted a topic about the problem here:

Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow Crash

What is proving most frustrating is that in troubleshooting the problem with the technical support department at Ubisoft, they essentially told me there was nothing they could do after suggesting some fairly generic troubleshooting steps...ones that I already explored to no solution. They went so far as to suggest the problem is with my system, and recommended I take it to a local computer shop for repairs. Not a particularly useful troubleshooting option, given that my system works 100% fine with the exception of their game.

In seeking clarification to this issue, their technical support department continues to close out my questions without even giving me the courtesy of a response as to why they are doing it.

This is probably the worst technical support experience I have ever encountered. Needless to say that I will not be purchasing any Ubisoft games in the near future.

Has anyone else encountered similar problems with Ubisoft? I can't even find a "contact us" link to report this problem to their corporate management...not that I expect to receive any satisfaction from them either.

 

[LikeLinus]

Did you ever consider they may be correct? It could be a driver or some other issue with your system?

I'd suspect a problem with the game itself would be widespread. They probably keep closing your calls because they tell you what to do and you keep calling me.

Just a guess. did you search the net for problems like you are having?

what problem is it?

 

[BlancoNino]

When I installed this game it had a problem with some CD burning software I had on my PC (thinking I was somehow playing a pirated game). The only way to get rid of it was to uninstall all of my CD burning software and Daemon tools. Ubisoft is notorious for this problem.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Did you ever consider they may be correct? It could be a driver or some other issue with your system? I'd suspect a problem with the game itself would be widespread. They probably keep closing your calls because they tell you what to do and you keep calling me. Just a guess. did you search the net for problems like you are having? what problem is it?

First my system specs:

WIN XP w/SP2
Abit AN8 32X
Soundblaster Audigy 2
eVGA 7900GT KO
2GB (2x1GB) OCZ Platinum dual channel memory
AMD X2 3800+

Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow has a system diagnostic tool before running the game, and it accepts my system configuration as being suitable for playing the game.

When I go to run the game, the Ubisoft logo stutters and stammers, often resulting in it crashing to my desktop. In the rare instance that I can actually access the menu, once I enter the game, everything runs in slow motion and inevitably crashes.

My first troubleshooting step was of course to patch the game, update all of my drivers, ensure my DirectX was current, defragment my drive, and run Scan Disk. None of these troubleshooting steps worked.

The tech support representative suggested that I run the game from the executable file that resides in the installed Program folder. The first time I tried this, the game did work for about an hour. However, when I returned to the game the following day, the crashing problem once again appeared.

The next step the technical service representative suggested is that I disable all nonessential programs through msconfig. I selected Selective Startup, and only enabled the system.ini file and win.ini file.

After restarting, Windows appeared differently. I went to run the game, but it crashed out stating that I didnt have an audio driver installed.

I went back into msconfig, and selected "Load System Services" in addition to the system.ini and win.ini files. When I restarted, windows appeared normal, but I encountered the same freezing and crashing problem as before.

At this point, the technical service representative stated that he could not provide any more guidance on troubleshooting this problem.

Interestingly enough, I was able to obtain the phone number to their technical service department, and the gentleman I spoke with on the phone was far more helpful then the person I was dealing with virtually.

He specified specific nVidia and Creative drivers I should download and install. As those did not work, I will have to call them back tomorrow.

I question if there is something wrong with my system as it is a clean install, and I dont have much installed on it...all of my other games work...I assume it is a driver incompatibility issue, but it would help if they could at least help me determine what driver is causing the problem.

I did discover several other people online who have encountered this problem. It usually ends up being an audio driver issue. I ensured my MOBO audio was disabled in the bios, and also shot Creative an email to see if they have any guidance.

They probably keep closing your calls because they tell you what to do and you keep calling me

The problem is that they are not telling me what to do...simply closing out the questions as solved.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Contacted eVGA as I have the problem pinpointed to my video card...a 7900 GT KO.

Working through eVGA technical support, they informed me that all of my drivers are current, and given that I am not experiencing any problems with other current and older games, that the problem is a Ubisoft one.

grrrr...so now I have 3 Splinter Cell coasters...woo hoo.

 

[secretanchitman]

splinter cell chaos theory always crashed for me...then proceeded to crash my comp. stupid starforce. i reinstalled windows after that too.

as for pandora tomorrow, my install discs always crap out at disc 3 and i swapped discs with a friend and i even downloaded an image of it and STILL no luck.

hope this gets resolved for you quickly!