TWD: Video with unexpected freezes (Xbox 360, disc version with 120GB harddisk)

[Ironlombax1]

So I E-mailed Telltalle a week ago about some problems that I have been getting, so I decided that making a video may help out. If you are working on a future update, that'd be hella awesome. If you have any questions, I'll try and answer them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJrv...ature=youtu.be

Thanks!

[DjNDB]

Thanks for showing initiative. I've given your thread a more accurate Title.

Have you tried clearing the system cache?

Have you installed the title update?

[Ironlombax1]

Thanks for the quick reply!
I have cleared the system cahce and then re-installed the 3 mb update, but I'm still encountering these problems. And I tried playing the game without the update too, and I encountered the same freezing problems as well.

[Ironlombax1]

And I am aware that many 4 GB xbox 360 users have encountered similar problems, but I have a 120 GB HDD, so I'm feeling a bit lost at the moment.

[DjNDB]

I cleaned up a bit so we don't scare away others with Off Topic (about the Topic, Hah).
I personally can't help you, but i sent a PM to MattP linking to this thread.

[Ironlombax1]

Originally Posted by DjNDB

I cleaned up a bit so we don't scare away others with Off Topic (about the Topic, Hah).
I personally can't help you, but i sent a PM to MattP linking to this thread.

Yeah, that's probably for the best, haha.
And that's alright. Thank you very much for trying to help me out, I really appreciate it!

[MattP]

I have forwarded this video up the chain, and we have someone looking into it. At the moment we have not determined any reason why the game would lag with a physical hard drive connected, but we will continue to investigate the issue. I do have a few questions:

Have you ever cleaned or replaced the DVD drive?
Are you using an official Microsoft HDD or have you replaced the unit or hard drive itself?
How full is your HDD?
I can't tell from the video, but do you have a custom background theme?

Thank you.

[Ironlombax1]

Hey Matt, thanks for responding! To respond to your questions:
1) I have never replaced the DVD drive of the unit. My console has red-ringed a couple of times, but I sent my console to Microsoft HQ, and I do not believe that they fiddle with the drive at all.
2) My Hard Drive is an official 120 GB HDD by Microsoft, so it is not a knock-off drive.
3) My hard drive still has about 44.5 GB of free storage space left, so there is still quite a bit of room left in it.
4) I had a custom theme from the marketplace that I downloaded, so I changed it to one of the default ones that comes with the console. After changing it, I am still experiencing the same issues.
I hope that helped. If you have any other questions, please let me know!
Thanks!

[MattP]

You mentioned that your console red-ringed. I can't specualte on how Microsoft resolved this issue for you, but if the red-rings were caused by a CPU or GPU error (ie - hana/ana chip coming unsoldered), it's possible the system is running hot. Do you keep your Xbox in a confined space (backed up to a wall, in a small entertainment center, between other electronics, etc)? During a scene with a lot of action, your system will be using a lot more resources than a average scene. If your system is running hot, the freeze you are experiencing could be due to the system locking up at full load. Please keep in mind, this is all speculation, but it might be worthwhile to check the heat levels inside your console or moving it to a well ventilated location and try again. Also check to see if there's an accumulation of dust on the back of the system where the fans are located.

[Ironlombax1]

Hey, thanks for getting back to me!
I believe this too, in the case of the chip becoming unsoldered because of the lead free soldering thingy. But since then, I have moved my console to a much more open space where it is able to properly cool off. And I was able to dust off the back of the console just in case, and yet I still encountered these problems. And I apologize if this comes off as rude, but I feel that I am not the only one encountering these problems. I recently went to the Amazon reviews page for this game, and I found out that owners with the 250 GB Xbox were encountering the same problems I am as well. Of course I cannot speak for them as well, But I think that they're is an underlying problem. I'm no expert, but could have there been a bad press of xbox discs? I don't really know. Also, I was looking around youtube a bit too, and I stumbled across another video that shares similar problems that mine does too, so there's that, I guess.
Anywho, thanks for helping out! If you have any other solutions or questions, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!
Also, I'm not sure if you would know, but have you heard of an updates possibly coming for the xbox version of the game? I was just a bit curious.. Anywho, have a great rest of the day!
Regards,
Daniel

Amazon Reviews: http://www.amazon.com/The-Walking-De...king+dead+game

Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg8CMR7owVw

[holeydonut]

Ironlombax1 - can you play games like Call of Duty, Mass Effect, Halo, or FarCry 3? If you can then it's definitely not an issue with the GPU. The Infinity Ward Engine, Unreal Engine 3, Reach Engine and Dunia Engine 2 are all much more taxing than the in-house engine employed by Tell Tale games.

[Ironlombax1]

Originally Posted by holeydonut

Ironlombax1 - can you play games like Call of Duty, Mass Effect, Halo, or FarCry 3? If you can then it's definitely not an issue with the GPU. The Infinity Ward Engine, Unreal Engine 3, Reach Engine and Dunia Engine 2 are all much more taxing than the in-house engine employed by Tell Tale games.

I am able to play those games just fine. Halo 4 runs like a dream, as does Mass Effect and other graphically-rich games. I have only encountered a problem with TWD only, so i'm not sure exactly what's up.

[MattP]

We are still looking into this issue, and I have read the comments on Amazon, including the ones where users specify they have physical hard drives. The big difference is the first video you showed looked fairly smooth until you encountered the freeze when the zombie attacked. The other youtube video you linked to shows a framerate issue, but doesn't specify if it's on a 4GB or not. If you are experiencing this too, it could be due to the initial load. Since a large amount of game data is loaded into the cache when the game is first started, by loading directly into an action scene, you may experience a little hitching. If the game clears up after a minute, but still freezes like your initial video, this is a different issue. If the game always freezes at the same point, there could be a scratch on the disc. Or it's possible it's a bad press, as you suggested. Have you tried exchanging the disc for a new one?

[Ironlombax1]

Hey Matt, thanks for getting back to me!
I was a bit curious too, on if the user had a 4 GB Xbox on that video, as they don't specifically tell which model it is, so it could be that.
And you mentioned that in my video, it started to hitch in the action scene. It does occur during action scenes, but it sometimes happens in non-intense conversations as well. It appears probably the most in the recap videos, though.
I do not believe that this issue is occurring from a scratch on the disc, though. I do not see a single smudge or mark on it, so it possibly could be a bad copy. I may exchange it to see if I can resolve these issues.
Thanks for the support!
Daniel

[Ironlombax1]

Okay, I think I may have resolved my problem?
So I had the disc in my system, and I went over to the storage settings. and oddly, the files for each episode were on my HDD. So I grabbed a thumb drive and downloaded the files to it, and now I'm able to play the game without the disc, and it runs perfectly now. So success?
Thanks for all of the help,and I think I was able to solve the problem... Wooho!

[MattP]

Have you ever downloaded a digital version of the game before? Either through your account or a friends account on your Xbox? The disc was built in a way that the data cannot be copied off the disc to your hard drive. So each episode's data was in the storage folder for The Walking Dead, the same place save data is stored?