10000 Points Bug and No Profile Backup

Could a Admin fix the spelling of profile in the title of this thread. I didn't spot the error until I posted... Arg... :redface:

Here is another possible N-Gage issue related to re-licensing MHP after you have reinstalled the N-Gage application on a firmware updated or factory reset phone.

MHP - HOW TO ACTIVATE IT??

No response from the moderators on this one yet either...

There's a danger here of seeing a problem with your phone and then assuming that it's a general problem with everyone else's phone.

I've updated my phone's firmware several times since getting N-Gage and I've always been able to reactivate all the games I've bought, including Mile High Pinball.

As far as I know, most people have been able to reactivate their games after a firmware update. If they hadn't, there would be a LOT more threads like the one you mention.

The problems you mention sound like they're related either to a hardware problem (i.e. a faulty phone) or perhaps a particular phone network operator's firmware.

Remember that Nokia's facing a much, much tougher challenge supporting these phones than console makers do.

Not only do Nokia have to test the N-Gage app and games with many different phone models, but each phone model can come in dozens of different variants for different network operators, and each variant can be carrying a different firmware version because they may or may not have been updated.

In effect they're having to test everything N-Gage-related with potentially hundreds of different combinations of hardware and firmware, and the situation may get even more complicated if the user has third party software installed and running while using N-Gage. For example some third party applications will stop N-Gage working if they're uninstalled, because the components they use are also used by the N-Gage app (I've heard PIPS is an example of such a component).

Testing anything on N-Gage is a real challenge, and it's going to get more difficult all the time as more phone models are added to the platform and more people buy compatible phones. If Nokia seem to be moving slowly, there's a good chance it's simply because they're having to spend so long testing things before they can be released to the public.

But having said all that, I do think there has to be some kind of user data backup system which could be stored online, not just to help with game activation but also to more easily preserve game save files in case your phone gets wiped or damaged. It should also let you access your profile from your PC on the Arena website.

Separating your data from your phone is an innately good idea, because it means that whatever happens to your phone your N-Gage purchases and saved games are always safe.

By a curious coincidence I did an article about the topic of improving the N-Gage client today:

http://www.allaboutngage.com/features/item/Looking_forward_to_an_updated_N-Gage_application.php

krisse wrote:There's a danger here of seeing a problem with your phone and then assuming that it's a general problem with everyone else's phone.

The problems you mention sound like they're related either to a hardware problem (i.e. a faulty phone) or perhaps a particular phone network operator's firmware.

Thanks for your reply and fixing my threads title :icon14:

I have fixed MHP but need to say the following:

1) It was a factory reset without backup and I cleared my mass storage as well

2) My firmware is latest N95-8GB and EURO1 (As stock standard as you can get with this phone.)

3) Not a hardware issue, but I expect a software bug in the routine that pops up the dialog... only the developers could identify what exactly

Anyway I tried and tried to get the box that offers Try | Buy | Activate to show up, after the play through that annoying demo in Ranked mode five times ugg!

In the end I shut the phone down while the game was running on a last ditch hunch. No sure if that was what fixed it, but the next time I was able to activate it. Don't ask how I got the idea, just came to me in desperation. Was ecstatic to find I could now activate the full game again. No more full wipes for as long as possible now!

All the gritty details are on N-Gages official forum. I am not the only one to have this problem with MHP, but I am lucky to overcome it.

My real concern is lack of game data backup, and the 10,000 point issue...

(By the way I have had 30 years of computer experience, and been a network admin for 17 years. Identifying strange problems in software is my dubious daily function in life, at work, home, and just about everywhere else...)

Enough bragging though, I just wanted to point out that I posted this information with a real concern for less technical users of the N-Gage system.

I hope AAS see the importance in investigating and reporting these issues to the more general N-Gage crowd.

By the way you are spot on with that article, I agree with every point you have made. Now I am just in fear of getting to 10,000 points and having to start over again in all my games just to be able to keep playing the N-Gage apps. The way I play that will be in about twenty years...

Turbulance wrote:I hope AAS see the importance in investigating and reporting these issues to the more general N-Gage crowd.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with reporting problems, especially when the report is specific enough to allow the problem to be identified exactly. In fact every successful piece of software depends on reports like that, either in development or after release. That's how Nokia Maps became Maps 2.0, which is a much, much more userfriendly and stable application.

HOWEVER, if you are going to report bugs I'd strongly advise doing so on the official N-Gage forums rather than on here. The official forums are monitored by N-Gage engineers and developers, they even post from time to time, so bug reports are far more likely to have an effect if they're posted over there. For example one of the MHP developers regularly responds to posts on the MHP board, including bug reports, and even if they don't reply to a message there's a very good chance that they've read it and taken notice.

Posting about bugs on AAN/AAS is much less likely to have an effect on Nokia, because this is an unofficial forum.

In my previous response I was just trying to make clear that bugs which appear on certain phones and/or in certain circumstances aren't necessarily design flaws but just plain bugs. A design flaw would be something like the way you can't read point pickups, because that's a problem that occurs on all phones.

The 10,000 bug is worrying, though it's difficult to tell how widespread it is as not many people will have bought 10 games and played them right through 100%

The article I wrote was basically calling for a new version of the N-Gage app just like they've done a new version of the Maps app, with not just bugs fixed but also all these bits of feedback taken notice of.

The way I play that will be in about twenty years...

Not if Sims 2 Pets is anything to go by, I had practically 1000 points after just a couple of hours and I wasn't even trying! 😊

http://www.allaboutngage.com/reviews/item/The_Sims_2_Pets_for_N-Gage_Review.php

It's a great graphics engine and interface, just such a shame they neglected to give the player anything to do in the game world.

Team Arena is looking into the 10000 point bug , tbh i dont think any of them expected to reach 10000 so quickly - coz people would have to buy every game (and thats before taking part in any arena events).