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Maybe Don't Download That New Fez Patch

Yes, it fixes some of the pervasive issues from launch, but it's got another especially nasty issue you'll want to avoid.

You may want to skip the new Fez patch.
You may want to skip the new Fez patch.

The almost absurd obsession with getting things just right often displayed by Polytron founder Phil Fish is well known among most independent gaming circles, especially now that said obsession has been shown to the world at large via Fish's role in Indie Game: The Movie. Having seen the anger and anxiety Phil shows when things don't go quite right, it's not too terribly difficult for one to imagine how he might be reacting to the realization that the first patch for Fez is kind of broken.

Yes, Polytron's long-awaited patch to its previously long-awaited Xbox Live Arcade game has arrived, and it does fix many of the issues intended, including several crash bugs and save file issues. However, it also comes with a very important caveat, in that it may now read your save file as corrupted. The good news is that there is a potential workaround. If you flush your Xbox 360 cache, it should fix the problem. However, if it doesn't, then there is currently no other solution. It's worth noting that flushing your system cache deletes all patches and updates to the system, which means that the game will just ask you to install the patch again upon reboot. You'll then have to play the game offline to avoid installing the patch.

Polytron, for its part, is "floored" that the issue wasn't discovered during testing, and will update on the situation once they know more.

So, hey, maybe don't install that patch just yet. And if you see Phil Fish walking around cursing up a storm, maybe give him a little breathing room until all of this is resolved. There's no sense in upsetting him more than he almost assuredly already is.

Alex Navarro on Google+

86 Comments

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L44

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Edited By L44

Fuck.

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Krathoon

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Edited By Krathoon

Ah. The wonders of software development.

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

I feel sorry for those that are affected by the consequences of the patch's problems. I do not feel sorry for Fish, however, and am currently basking in the schadenfreude of his plight.

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BitterAlmond

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Edited By BitterAlmond

Hey, might as well patch 'er up. If it reads as corrupt and the fix doesn't work, just wait until the incoming hotfix arrives and play the save just like before.

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kosayn

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Edited By kosayn

When I heard about the initial bugginess, I resolved to wait for the patch that makes this game stable before playing it. I hope we get there before the $40k patches have to be individually kickstarted.

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Seastalk

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Edited By Seastalk

I doubt it would have cost Polytron $40,000 to push a patch. But sure lets all jump to conclusions based on hear-say.

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Ammut

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Edited By Ammut

@Seastalk said:

I doubt it would have cost Polytron $40,000 to push a patch. But sure lets all jump to conclusions based on hear-say.

40K is a lot, I was under the impression Microsoft allowed 1 free patch then 10k a patch after that. Most recent source I could find after a quick google search shows $40 000 is correct (if you believe what some guy called Tim Shafer has to say...)

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kerse

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Edited By kerse

This is how you get the real ending, if you had the full heart piece and then get your file corrupted you can go through the game again and when you go into the heart room after finding all 3 pieces there is a new puzzle, no one has figured it out yet.

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san_salvador

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Edited By san_salvador

Maybe hire a professional programmer, creativity is not everything.

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1p

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Edited By 1p

hahaha "clear the cache"... it's become such a joke at this point

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deactivated-5b6c667dde711

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@san_salvador said:

Maybe hire a professional programmer, creativity is not everything.

Renaud Bedard already does all the programming, Phil is the designer.

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

@ImsumDave said:

@Illuminosopher said:

Karma?

Uh...for what? The internet overreacting to a relatively harmless things he said, that was misinterpreted by most.

Nope, he's still a douche well beyond his GDC and IGF comments.

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jasondesante

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Edited By jasondesante

You mentioned Phil eight times in this article. Lets keep it real, stop talking about Phil all the time, theres someone else to bitch about.

I blame Renaud. LOL

ITS ALL YOUR FAULT RENAUD BEDARD

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san_salvador

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Edited By san_salvador

@Kowbrainz:

Get a better programmer then. ^^

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Chris

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Edited By Chris

Makes you wonder what the Microsoft certification process involves if it can't even find a fundamental problem like broken saves.

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dropabombonit

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Edited By dropabombonit

Giveth with one hand and taken away with the other

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Gareff

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Edited By Gareff

Ok, I was waiting for this patch before I bought the game. You say that the patch flags up your save as corrupted, but what if you don't have a save yet??? Would the game run AOK?

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alistercat

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Edited By alistercat

Is the patch out in the UK? It didn't prompt me to download anything.

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Y2Ken

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Edited By Y2Ken

@Eristocrat: That comment deserves to be first.

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

@AlisterCat said:

Is the patch out in the UK? It didn't prompt me to download anything.

Microsoft pulled the patch. It's no longer available for download.

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zityz

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Edited By zityz

I'll pick up the game when the patch that fixes everything comes out.

This however should be a lesson to Phil though. Next time Polytron should just release their games on Valve. Look how well it worked out for Super Meat Boy and The Binding of Issac.

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Gildermershina

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Edited By Gildermershina

Having seen Indie Game the Movie, I empathise with Polytron on this. They messed up, because they lack the resources of a larger company to do full-scale testing themselves, and now because of the way certification works they're pretty much back to square 1 with this stuff.

I am waiting and hoping for a Steam version since I have no 360. Steam's update policy seems far more suited to this kind of game, so they can push a lot of small fixes one at a time, and not break the game with a huge patch all at once.

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Dan_CiTi

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Edited By Dan_CiTi

Well I got the patch and I was fine. Oh well.

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Jost1

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Edited By Jost1

Fez is a snoozefest of epic proportions. Played for an hour, never touching again

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kayeyeeff

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Edited By kayeyeeff

@Gareff said:

Ok, I was waiting for this patch before I bought the game. You say that the patch flags up your save as corrupted, but what if you don't have a save yet??? Would the game run AOK?

Wanna know the answer to this as well. I was thinking of buying it, but I won't bother if it's going to corrupt my saves.

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spokkeh

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Edited By spokkeh

Has there been any news on whether Fez will be introduced to other platforms?

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Fire_Of_The_Wind

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Edited By Fire_Of_The_Wind

I don't understand what the first paragraph adds to the discussion. Doesn't every developer get upset if their game is broken?

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hollitz

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Edited By hollitz

Canadian game patches suck.

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laserbolts

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Edited By laserbolts

@hollitz said:

Canadian game patches suck.

What. So is there any word on when they are going to fix this game? I have points sitting there waiting.

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Brackynews

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Edited By Brackynews

:

...almost assuredly already is.

ALEX Y U MAKE GRAMMAR BUNNY CRY??

@Gildermershina said:

They messed up, because they lack the resources of a larger company to do full-scale testing themselves, and now because of the way certification works they're pretty much back to square 1 with this stuff.

While true that Polytron lacks resources, the fact is that Microsoft itself has pushed out console updates that brick their own hardware. The size of a software team is not related to success, given these complexities.

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Gildermershina

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Edited By Gildermershina

@Brackynews: My point is, they don't have the ability to QA that a larger developer or publisher has. Had they had better QA resources, and not had to wait weeks on end for Microsoft to certify the patch, they may well have noticed this and not published this patch.

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nok

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Edited By nok

@Hailinel said:

I feel sorry for those that are affected by the consequences of the patch's problems. I do not feel sorry for Fish, however, and am currently basking in the schadenfreude of his plight.

What the hell does this even mean. You are basking in his pleasure at his own misfortune of.....just no no no. Wrong usage.

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fishbonejenkins

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Edited By fishbonejenkins

@InfiniteGeass: What's up!!!

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

@NoK said:

@Hailinel said:

I feel sorry for those that are affected by the consequences of the patch's problems. I do not feel sorry for Fish, however, and am currently basking in the schadenfreude of his plight.

What the hell does this even mean. You are basking in his pleasure at his own misfortune of.....just no no no. Wrong usage.

Hello, grammar nazi.

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AxleBro

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Edited By AxleBro

@onan said:

Makes you wonder what their patch testing department does all day when they delay these things for months and then don't even test out the most basic functionality, like, I don't know, if a game completely destroys the save file...

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Cerogravian

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Edited By Cerogravian

@NoK:

Not that much wrong with that usage, just the final preposition that could have needed a bit more attention:

"[I] am currently basking in the [pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others] of his plight"

But this is not for a graded essay, and I feel 's sentiment was communicated in an efficient and colourful way.

On a more related note - I'm glad they pulled the patch, finally have time for another fez-fix.