The Bugs
Only 1 in 10 training sessions use the Wii balance board. Yet before each and every training the applications checks that the board has not gone into standby. Pretty annoying.
Even worse is handling of the standard remote control. Thanks to the new controller it two is only needed in 1 of 10 training sessions. Yet it is checked all the time that the controller has not gone to stand by. Very annoying.
The trainer is still giving feedback even after you switched feedback off.
The new controller
First you notice that on fast movements like foot fire they loose about 20% of the moves. Well others here noticed that the controller are not very reliable as well.
After three weeks the heart rate controller stopped working and the recondition of movement became unreliable. It was the battery going weak. But instead of being told that the battery is running low i was made to feel like a fool.
The Training itself
Needing the standard controller in 1 of 10 sessions you thought it might be a good idea to do away with pressing (A) to start the session. As a result, when needing the flex band, preparation is often counted as the fist two iterations.
Speaking of preparation: Being told to hurry up and not being lazy before the actual GO for the session has been given is not motivation. It makes you feel like a fool.
I could probably put with all of that if the training itself was top. The training sessions are far to short for my liking. Last workout was supposed to be 36 sessions in 40 minutes. That is 1'6" per training. I don't get warm in that short time, I almost never leave heard rate zone 1. And then I need to wait 30" for the system load the next session.
Most training sessions are repeated 3 times in one workout. Doing them once but three times as long would be far more helpful.
I have a suspicion here. The first week was kind of OK. But then there was a kind of test. I don't think it is a grand idea to make a fitness test after a 30 minute workout.
Resume
The whole program seems badly thought out and it is full of bugs. I have the distinct suspicion that you released a buggy program early to catch the Christmas sales.
Mind you I bought after Christmas. I would have preferred a bug free program in February.
The PS3 and X360 User might hope for an update with bug fixes but for us Wii user all that is left is a new lesson: “Don't buy software around Christmas”.|||I luv the program despite the bugs. I just lightly tap or move the wiimote after every other exercise and tap the balance board lightly also. I have no problems with the HRM/sensor and all, I mean all, my moves are detected (ya just gotta be in correct form and have that sensors on correctly.
It may be a lemon :)
NotThePest|||The only issue i have is with the website. I find the workouts good and if the dongle is positioned properly it picks up movements easily. The game is good for me|||I beg to differ on how great the first 2 releases were. I love all of the programs and have worked around the issues but this one is no worse than the others for issues.
The first 2 had a lot of problems with detecting motion and you had the added enjoyment of having the nunchuk cord smacking you in the face or wrapping around your neck. It was almost impossible to use anything but a resistance band because you had a remote in one hand and the nunchuk in the other. I have small hands so holding both was a problem. Then you had the neoprene leg strap that either fell down or ripped while you struggled to get the nunchuk in and out of the pocket repeatedly.
The first version was single exercises that got extremely boring, the second incorporated exercises together for more speed and this one has really streamlined the exercises. Having reps of exercises rather than doing a long session of one thing has been proven to be more effective. Working a muscle to exhaustion is not productive.
This program was developed for the general public who are for the most part not in tip top shape and need a program that allows them to start out slowly and build some cardio stamina. If you are at a fitness level that you can get through the 9 week challenge on the hard setting without getting your heart rate out of Zone One then I'd suggest that you probably should be in a gym with the professional body builders.
The program has some issues but so far I've found a way to work with it with very little extra effort. It definitely beats spending a fortune on a gym membership and driving 20 minutes to get there. I guess it's a case of whether your glass is half full or half empty.|||
The only issue i have is with the website. I find the workouts good and if the dongle is positioned properly it picks up movements easily. The game is good for me
The WEB sit is still BETA|||
This program was developed for the general public who are for the most part not in tip top shape and need a program that allows them to start out slowly and build some cardio stamina. If you are at a fitness level that you can get through the 9 week challenge on the hard setting without getting your heart rate out of Zone One then I'd suggest that you probably should be in a gym with the professional body builders.
Only I am overweight and not at all in a good shape. Remember I said the first week was OK. Only in the 2nd week after the blimey fitness test the training dropped in intensity.
BTW: What platform do you use. Because if you have one with a hard-drive you might have gotten a bug fix.|||Change your batteries. The HRM needs a lot of energy. Remember the HRM also has a Tracking Sensor, all that takes a lot of energy.|||
Change your batteries. The HRM needs a lot of energy. Remember the HRM also has a Tracking Sensor, all that takes a lot of energy.
I already found out the hart way. For 15 minutes I thought the HRM is broken and I saw myself going back to the shop for a replacement. Eventually I thought: Lets try fresh batteries.
The Nintendo Controllers tell you when the battery is flat.|||
But instead of being told that the battery is running low i was made to feel like a fool.
Your self-esteem took a hit from a console game badgering you? Wow...
Anyway, now you know to check the battery. Yeah, that would be a good feature to add, if the hardware can handle it, but in any case, you've never had that issue with a console game? I mean, you pick up the controller, you suck at the game, and you think to yourself "I know I'm doing the same thing as always -- wonder why it's not working? Hmm... maybe the batteries?"
Speaking of preparation: Being told to hurry up and not being lazy before the actual GO for the session has been given is not motivation. It makes you feel like a fool.
I have the PS3 version. It tells me "time for a water break!", but goes right into the next exercise. So, I hit the button to pause (actually, I think it's the "show tutorial" button), grab a drink, and then exit out of the tutorial and back into the exercise. No worries...!
I could probably put with all of that if the training itself was top. The training sessions are far to short for my liking. Last workout was supposed to be 36 sessions in 40 minutes. That is 1'6" per training. I don't get warm in that short time, I almost never leave heard rate zone 1. And then I need to wait 30" for the system load the next session.
During the warmup exercises, the PS3 version's trainer avatar repeatedly says, "do more warmups if you need them". Don't know if yours says this or not, but ... if you're not warm when you hit the exercises, then why aren't you warming up a bit before you start the workout? Or, pause the game at the end if its warmups, and warm up on your own to get yourself where you want to be before starting! Really, now...
Most training sessions are repeated 3 times in one workout. Doing them once but three times as long would be far more helpful.
I've seen this happen once or twice in the first seven workouts of the cardio start program (easy intensity). Not a big deal, but it definitely pushes the targeted muscle group!
I have a suspicion here. The first week was kind of OK. But then there was a kind of test. I don't think it is a grand idea to make a fitness test after a 30 minute workout.
It's a test to see how fast your heart returns to normal after a brief stress. Offhand, it doesn't seem that it would be effective at the end of 20 minutes of exercise. Anyway, the system isn't pushing you hard enough, right? Then two minutes of stepping in place shouldn't derail your workout, should it?
Anyway, if it's not pushing you, go to the options screens and make the intensity greater!|||
This program was developed for the general public who are for the most part not in tip top shape and need a program that allows them to start out slowly and build some cardio stamina. If you are at a fitness level that you can get through the 9 week challenge on the hard setting without getting your heart rate out of Zone One then I'd suggest that you probably should be in a gym with the professional body builders.
Only I am overweight and not at all in a good shape. Remember I said the first week was OK. Only in the 2nd week after the blimey fitness test the training dropped in intensity.
BTW: What platform do you use. Because if you have one with a hard-drive you might have gotten a bug fix.
I'm using the Wii so there have been no updates for me and you stated in your first post that the workouts were too easy and your heart rate didn't leave the first zone. The level of the workout didn't drop after you did your fitness test. It doesn't adjust according to that. You can look in the presets and see exactly what each workout of the challenges contains at each level of difficulty. It doesn't change unless you change the intensity level yourself.
I'm a runner and a cyclist and I can tell you that by the time I finished the 9 week challenge on Hard intensity it was a workout. I'm sweating and hoping for it to be over so if you are out of shape and overweight then I must really suck to be tired from it.|||
During the warmup exercises, the PS3 version's trainer avatar repeatedly says, "do more warmups if you need them". Don't know if yours says this or not, but ... if you're not warm when you hit the exercises, then why aren't you warming up a bit before you start the workout? Or, pause the game at the end if its warmups, and warm up on your own to get yourself where you want to be before starting!
I am cooling down again. The Wii has not got a Harddrive and needs to load the next session of the DVD which is a lot slower. More sessions mean more waiting between each of them. A 30 min training needs about 40…45 min in real time.
Well, EA Sports Active 1 was only available for Wii and I begin to think that it was better optimized for Wii as well. And with EA Sports Active 2 being developed for three platforms Wii might have drawn the short stick.
Anyway, if it's not pushing you, go to the options screens and make the intensity greater!
I did. but instead of more intensive sessions I got three additional session. So instead of 30 minutes with heart rate one and two I got 35 minutes.|||Vermithrax you complaints are of a personal nature, you are finding fault with the program many here on this thread don't have a problem with including me. Some things come to my mind in following this thread so I will wax philosophically:
1) We are not disappointed by what we find, we are disappointed by what we expected to find. What did you expect from this program?
2) Because of the above, you have a problem. A problem is the tension between what you want and what you have. A question for you, what did you want from this program and dealing in truth with yourself, what did you actually get and how can you shorten the distance? The answers are several and they, the answer depend on your needs, not your wants, because our wants are fickle.
3) When you first wrote your complaint review you gave the impression that you were an old hat at exercising, and then you admit that you are unfit and overweight. Please deal in truth about your problems or they will never be solved.
People are taking their valuable time, and time is money, to help you; however, no one can help you if you do not give the true picture so we are left, after canceling out your first and second posts, with creating our own imagery of your "true" problem with the program.
Beginning an exercise program is hard, there are a multitude of things that get in the way of achieving our goal of exercising, I know because where you are right now, use to be me. I attempted and attempted, I thought I was, to begin exercising but stuff got in the way, I let “stuff” get in the way. I would begin but then I always gained 14 pounds in the first 8 to 12 weeks, my clothes fit better and I could go down one dress size, but I let the scale numbers talk me out of the program (People would commit that I looked like I had lost a lot of weight 50 to 70 pounds, and I didn’t hear that I only heard my scale.
I allowed my body’s voice, or my self-talk, to give me excuses for not exercising. This battle went on for a long time. I heard medical professionals tell me I needed to lose weight, and my excuse would be, “You just don’t know how hard it is,” a very self-centered and blind-sided view of life, a “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, Nobody knows but Jesus …” view which is a BIG FAT LIE. Everyone has issues they are trying to overcome and there is nothing within the human condition that someone else hasn’t gone through. I wasn’t looking hard enough for the issues of the other and I wasn’t willing to hear anyone else’s story.
Even when I was diagnosed as a Type II diabetic in 2001 I didn’t take exercising seriously, and eating correctly was a joke. Why we all have to die of something don’t we, was my mantra and I sang it well. I call those years, My Fallacy of Inevitability Phase.
It was a Proverb that I had read and spoken over and over again that finally hit me. I had been doing mental assenting of its truths but did not actually believe it. I could have deep conversations about it, but there was no action in my life: A good man/woman leaves an inheritance for his/her children’s children.
It hit me in 2006, February of 2006, that this was a deep and meaningful statement and it had to do with the future, not the past. And this is my reading of that Proverb, or precisely how the Proverb began reading me:
It is about money and wealth, but it isn’t, at least not the way I thought about it. If I, knowing that my lifestyle choices as bad as they are/were, are leading me down the road to sickness and ill health, then I am stealing from my children’s children and their children because I would be forcing my child, my son to divert valuable resources that rightfully belong to the next generation, by way of investment of time, talent and treasury, to me, than I was a thief and a robber. That was my WAKE-UP call.
The choice is yours, you have to choose, but please stop blaming EASA 2.0 for your issues, be real and deal in truth that is how you make lemonade out of a “Lemon.”
I now step down from my soap box and let the rock throwing begin.
NotThePest|||It is easy to explain what I expected from EA Sports Active 2: An improvement over EA Sports Active and More Workouts.
As I said I trained with both the predecessors and WiiFit-Plus. And yes: I still did not manage to get rid of the last 5…6 kg (that is one stone isn't it) I need to get into the green Zone. That is probably due to my eating habits. don't blame the program for that.
As a software developer I do blame the App for the bugs under the heading "Bugs" State of the art software testing should have found those. As I said: I suspect my collogues where forced to release early to meed the Christmas deadline.
Leaves the training sessions as the real complaint. With EA Sports Active and More Workouts one session (like running, rope jumping etc) would be repeated maximum twice per workout. The workout itself consisting of aprox. 25 sessions. Now sessions are repeated up to three times per workout and the workout consists of more then 30 sessions.
This is not the way my body works. For comparison: The boxing session in WiiFit-Plus last 13 minutes alone. And instead of a mere 65 moves as in the boxing session in EA Sports Active 2 I do more then 500 moves in WiiFit-Plus. I much rather prefer to do the same for a prolonged period. So for me the changes in EA Sports Active 2 where in the wrong direction. And I am not the only one: My wife likes short sessions even less then I do.
Lastly I like to point out that this is the “Feedback and Support” forum — My posting was meant as Feedback so EA can learn something for EA Sports Active 3. I never expected that my problems can be fixed. Still I appreciate any help I got here.
|||
The only issue i have is with the website. I find the workouts good and if the dongle is positioned properly it picks up movements easily. The game is good for me
The WEB sit is still BETA
The web my still be in beta, however EA are claiming you can track your workouts online, This should be changed to you may be able to track your workouts online until it WORKS!!|||I have no idea what you are talking about :). I live in Brooklyn, NY USA, and I just finished an exercise session and I can track it on line. In fact I can see all the exercises (using the calender function) I've ever done. I stated where I live because it may be a server issue where you are. For about 1.5 weeks in December there were issues (after Christmas) but I haven't had any issues except right after the game was released in November.
I can also track the group member of all three groups I'm signed up with, as well as the people I have "friended"
NotThePest
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