As 2008 comes to an end this week, I thought it would be interesting to do a small statistical summary of the year's Photon Fortune (more popularly known as 'Luck').
I did not compile this information by hand, as that would be far too time-consuming. Earlier this year, I wrote a small application that downloads Photon Fortune information from the Internet daily. It does all the work for me!
Note that the numbers here are averages, and may have been subject to slight rounding error.
To view the complete breakdown of 2008 Photon Fortune by race and gender, click here.
Overall, Photon Fortune for 2008 averaged 1.11* across all races. Female Newmans had the highest average Photon Fortune for the year, at 1.13*. Female Beasts had the lowest Photon Fortune average this year, at 1.09*.
Across all races, zero-Photon Fortune days averaged out to about 154, or approximately 42% of the year. Male Newmans had the fewest zero-PF days (151) while female Beasts had the most (159).
"Megaholy" (3*) Photon Fortune occurred on an average of 76 days, or approximately 21% of the year. Female Newmans had the most "Megaholy" PF days (79). Male CASTs and female Humans tied for the fewest (74 days each).
Sonic Team has said in the past that they try to keep Photon Fortune approximately equal for everyone, and judging by the numbers here, it looks like they did that pretty well in 2008. Looking ahead to 2009, everyone has 3* Photon Fortune for the first two weeks, so we'll all be starting on even footing!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Slightly Off Topic: Stupid Patents
Who knew that online multi-user interaction could be patented?
In fact, there is one company that does own such a patent, and now they're taking legal action to enforce it. Worlds.com, a virtual worlds developer, has filed a civil lawsuit against South Korean MMOG developer NCsoft. They argue that NCsoft has infringed upon U.S. Patent #7,181,690, which lays claim to an online avatar-based method of user interaction in a virtual world. The suit cites several of NCsoft's online games, including Lineage and Lineage II, Guild Wars, and City of Heroes and City of Villains, just to name a few.
This case reeks of a financially struggling company looking for a last ditch effort to save itself from bankruptcy. When your stock is trading at 15 cents a share, I suppose you have to do something to turn things around.
In any case, this lawsuit could have an interesting impact on online gaming. How many online games have you played that don't use avatars for interaction? Just about every MMOG under the sun, from Aion: Tower of Eternity (another NCsoft RPG, interestingly enough) to World of Warcraft, uses avatars. And what about the New Xbox Experience? What about Playstation Home? What about Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Universe (this is a PS-themed blog, after all)?
It also strikes me as strange that the patent was just issued last year, long after MMO games had made their way into ubiquity. Several avatar-based MMOGs also predate the patent's filing date of August 2000 (for example, Lineage) so I doubt Worlds.com was the first company to come up with the idea. Makes you wonder why the patent was issued at all?
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what happens as this case makes its way through the legal system. A copy of the civil complaint is available for viewing here.
Original story: Worlds.com Files Suit Against NCsoft for Patent Infringement
In fact, there is one company that does own such a patent, and now they're taking legal action to enforce it. Worlds.com, a virtual worlds developer, has filed a civil lawsuit against South Korean MMOG developer NCsoft. They argue that NCsoft has infringed upon U.S. Patent #7,181,690, which lays claim to an online avatar-based method of user interaction in a virtual world. The suit cites several of NCsoft's online games, including Lineage and Lineage II, Guild Wars, and City of Heroes and City of Villains, just to name a few.
This case reeks of a financially struggling company looking for a last ditch effort to save itself from bankruptcy. When your stock is trading at 15 cents a share, I suppose you have to do something to turn things around.
In any case, this lawsuit could have an interesting impact on online gaming. How many online games have you played that don't use avatars for interaction? Just about every MMOG under the sun, from Aion: Tower of Eternity (another NCsoft RPG, interestingly enough) to World of Warcraft, uses avatars. And what about the New Xbox Experience? What about Playstation Home? What about Phantasy Star Online and Phantasy Star Universe (this is a PS-themed blog, after all)?
It also strikes me as strange that the patent was just issued last year, long after MMO games had made their way into ubiquity. Several avatar-based MMOGs also predate the patent's filing date of August 2000 (for example, Lineage) so I doubt Worlds.com was the first company to come up with the idea. Makes you wonder why the patent was issued at all?
Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what happens as this case makes its way through the legal system. A copy of the civil complaint is available for viewing here.
Original story: Worlds.com Files Suit Against NCsoft for Patent Infringement
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Rollback Compensation Arrives Friday
In this thread on the official PSU forums, GM Edward has announced that rollback compensation will appear in Friday morning's maintenance. As mentioned previously, the compensation will be available until January 16. This means that players will see a full three weeks of bonuses.
Content updates for Friday (if you want to call them that) include the arrival of the New Year lobbies and removal of the currently active Christmas lobbies.
Content updates for Friday (if you want to call them that) include the arrival of the New Year lobbies and removal of the currently active Christmas lobbies.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Xbox 360 Servers Rolled Back
Sega has responded to the latest maintenance glitch with a rollback.At about 5:10 PM EST, Sega took down the Xbox 360 servers for emergency maintenance involving the latest room-corrupting glitch. Access to the servers was restored around 6:00 PM EST, and posters in this thread on the official PSU forums are reporting that their character data have been rolled back to last night, right before maintenance began.
PC/PS2 servers were not affected by the glitch and will not be rolled back.
Comments on the rollback from the Sega of America GM team are posted here.
More Maintenance Glitches: Rollback Imminent?
If you haven't logged onto PSU yet after this morning's maintenance, you may want to sit tight.
According to this thread on the official PSU forums, some players on the Xbox 360 servers are currently experiencing room glitches. These include the loss of items and meseta as well as room appearance and bulletin board bugs.
There's no word right now on whether or not the glitch is affecting the PC/PS2 servers. At any rate, it's probably a good idea to avoid playing for the moment until Sega provides more information on the issue.
According to this thread on the official PSU forums, some players on the Xbox 360 servers are currently experiencing room glitches. These include the loss of items and meseta as well as room appearance and bulletin board bugs.
There's no word right now on whether or not the glitch is affecting the PC/PS2 servers. At any rate, it's probably a good idea to avoid playing for the moment until Sega provides more information on the issue.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Event Speculation Time
Something struck me as odd on the second read through the rollback compensation announcement. Specifically, this line --
This seemed unusual because while no specific start date is given for the compensation, we know an exact end date of January 16. The implication seems to be that the compensation will end on the 16th regardless of when Sega actually gets around to rolling it out.
Therefore, I'm starting a rumor right here on this blog. It's just my own personal prediction, and it may or may not come to pass, so take it with a grain of salt:
The next event (probably the Lightning Carnival) will begin on Friday, January 16, 2009.
Think about it -- when was the last time Sega announced a specific end date for a timed event without providing a specific start date as well? Sega has to have big plans for the 16th. Otherwise, they could have given a specific time period for the compensation event. For example, "Once the compensation is implemented, it will run for two weeks."
With the current wording, though, the bonuses could last three weeks, two weeks, or even just one week depending on when they get added to the servers.
In any case, keep your eyes on the official PSU site in early January. It wouldn't surprise me if they announced something big.
[Compensation] will not be part of this week's maintenance, although [it] will likely be implemented by the end of this year. These bonuses will last until January 16th.
This seemed unusual because while no specific start date is given for the compensation, we know an exact end date of January 16. The implication seems to be that the compensation will end on the 16th regardless of when Sega actually gets around to rolling it out.
Therefore, I'm starting a rumor right here on this blog. It's just my own personal prediction, and it may or may not come to pass, so take it with a grain of salt:
The next event (probably the Lightning Carnival) will begin on Friday, January 16, 2009.
Think about it -- when was the last time Sega announced a specific end date for a timed event without providing a specific start date as well? Sega has to have big plans for the 16th. Otherwise, they could have given a specific time period for the compensation event. For example, "Once the compensation is implemented, it will run for two weeks."
With the current wording, though, the bonuses could last three weeks, two weeks, or even just one week depending on when they get added to the servers.
In any case, keep your eyes on the official PSU site in early January. It wouldn't surprise me if they announced something big.
Rollback Compensation Announced
Sega of America's PSU GM team has announced its plans for the rollback compensation promised after the electrical maintenance glitches that occurred on December 7th and 8th.
According to posts on the official PSU site and forums, the compensation package will include the following:
Does this mean we're actually going to have yet another week of meaningful maintenance in December? Hopefully this latest turnaround by Sega isn't temporary!
According to posts on the official PSU site and forums, the compensation package will include the following:
- - 10% grind bonus
- - 10% synthesis bonus
- - 3* luck
- - 50% clothes discount
- - Free makeovers
Does this mean we're actually going to have yet another week of meaningful maintenance in December? Hopefully this latest turnaround by Sega isn't temporary!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Shocking Update News!
Late word this Monday afternoon is that Sega will be adding new content to US/EU PSU in Friday morning's maintenance.
This is shocking, of course, because if the update arrives without any hiccups, it will be the first time in nearly two months that Sega has managed to deliver two content updates in a row. Looks like they might finally be starting to get their act together.
Anyway, this post (untranslated) over at Sega of Japan's PSU site lists the content that's coming. Of particular note is the arrival of Master Classes, which have been requested repeatedly by the community for the last several months.
Along with the Master Classes comes an increase of Photon Art level caps (to LV50), as well as some adjustments to PA level caps for certain Advanced Classes.
Other additions include the arrival of Episode III Chapter 6, as well as the Christmas lobbies and decorations. All in all, a solid update.
This is shocking, of course, because if the update arrives without any hiccups, it will be the first time in nearly two months that Sega has managed to deliver two content updates in a row. Looks like they might finally be starting to get their act together.
Anyway, this post (untranslated) over at Sega of Japan's PSU site lists the content that's coming. Of particular note is the arrival of Master Classes, which have been requested repeatedly by the community for the last several months.
Along with the Master Classes comes an increase of Photon Art level caps (to LV50), as well as some adjustments to PA level caps for certain Advanced Classes.
Other additions include the arrival of Episode III Chapter 6, as well as the Christmas lobbies and decorations. All in all, a solid update.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Rollbacks turn people into monsters
It's true. I've seen a few posts like this one where people don't give a damn about those who were effected by this glitch. There is another post that makes a baseless claim that more people quit because of the rollback and that it would have been better to just let the ones hit by the glitch quit; that guy also goes on to comparing "sacrificing" the ones effected to you killing yourself to save your family, sounds like PSU is serious business for this guy. I also enjoyed this one where the guy claimed if he effected by the glitch he would be selfless martyr that refuses a rollback and just quit; sorry but we all know you're full of shit. And the last one I saw I thought was funny (and sad at the same time) in a topic where people were listing what they lost someone listed pride, please you've got to be kidding me. Seeing how PSU items are serious business for these guys I'm sure they would be the would be the first ones crying for a rollback if they were glitched.
Maybe if these Xbox 360 guys didn't live on PSU 24/7 they wouldn't think that the loss of two days is the end of the world and that it's ok for the ones effected by the glitch to lose all the work they put into the game. And to the final point: You guys don't deserve any compensation. You all show how horrible the community is by being greedy monsters that will step all over each other for virtual items, it's disgusting. Anyway once again, it's only two days, deal with it, or do everyone a favor and quit the game. This community just keeps getting worse, seriously. I'm glad that I'd never run into any of these guys.
Remember guys we play this game for fun, and everyone that subscribes to the game should be able to enjoy this game and this rollback was needed to make sure everyone can continue to enjoy the game.
Maybe if these Xbox 360 guys didn't live on PSU 24/7 they wouldn't think that the loss of two days is the end of the world and that it's ok for the ones effected by the glitch to lose all the work they put into the game. And to the final point: You guys don't deserve any compensation. You all show how horrible the community is by being greedy monsters that will step all over each other for virtual items, it's disgusting. Anyway once again, it's only two days, deal with it, or do everyone a favor and quit the game. This community just keeps getting worse, seriously. I'm glad that I'd never run into any of these guys.
Remember guys we play this game for fun, and everyone that subscribes to the game should be able to enjoy this game and this rollback was needed to make sure everyone can continue to enjoy the game.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Rollback Compensation?
It looks like the character-destroying glitch that occurred at the end of the past weekend's downtime was more serious than originally believed.
At approximately 11:00 PM EST Sunday evening, the Xbox 360 PSU servers were taken down for maintenance after players reported their characters and equipment gone. Unfortunately, Xbox 360 players got the short end of the stick here: not only did their maintenance last for a full six hours, server data was rolled all the way back to Friday morning, meaning that two days' worth of gameplay was lost.
By comparison, PC/PS2 server maintenance lasted only one hour, and servers were rolled back to Saturday evening's backup. PC/PS2 players lost approximately one hour of gameplay.
Now players on all of the servers are looking for compensation, and according to GM Edward, Sega of America may be willing to provide it:
Considering the fact that the PC/PS2 rollback was almost a complete non-issue, any compensation we get is just a bonus. I'll be eagerly awaiting this announcement!
At approximately 11:00 PM EST Sunday evening, the Xbox 360 PSU servers were taken down for maintenance after players reported their characters and equipment gone. Unfortunately, Xbox 360 players got the short end of the stick here: not only did their maintenance last for a full six hours, server data was rolled all the way back to Friday morning, meaning that two days' worth of gameplay was lost.
By comparison, PC/PS2 server maintenance lasted only one hour, and servers were rolled back to Saturday evening's backup. PC/PS2 players lost approximately one hour of gameplay.
Now players on all of the servers are looking for compensation, and according to GM Edward, Sega of America may be willing to provide it:
We will be using what we cull from this thread to help fuel our discussion with Sonic Team on ways to compensate all players for this.
We will be posting something more official in a little bit regarding what happened & what we'd like to do. We'll be repeating there what I'm going to say here -- 3* luck will NOT be the only compensation awarded. That was something immediate & easy to do, so we did it.
Considering the fact that the PC/PS2 rollback was almost a complete non-issue, any compensation we get is just a bonus. I'll be eagerly awaiting this announcement!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Downtime Ends With Rollback
Here's a shock: Sega of America's building power maintenance downtime has ended with a major glitch.
According to Sega GM RubyEclipse, the PC/PS2 game servers came back online at approximately 7:15 PM EST this evening. Soon after, players on a popular PSU fansite began reporting that their rooms had been completely reset, destroying PMs and equipment in the process.
Sega must have been informed of the problem, and at 8:15 PM EST the PC/PS2 servers were down again for maintenance. Let's hope things are sorted out quickly, because this is the kind of glitch that makes players quit forever.
Stay tuned for more updates.
UPDATE: According to Sega, the maintenance and rollback was completed as of 9:30 PM EST.
According to Sega GM RubyEclipse, the PC/PS2 game servers came back online at approximately 7:15 PM EST this evening. Soon after, players on a popular PSU fansite began reporting that their rooms had been completely reset, destroying PMs and equipment in the process.
Sega must have been informed of the problem, and at 8:15 PM EST the PC/PS2 servers were down again for maintenance. Let's hope things are sorted out quickly, because this is the kind of glitch that makes players quit forever.
Stay tuned for more updates.
UPDATE: According to Sega, the maintenance and rollback was completed as of 9:30 PM EST.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Friday's Update: Parum GBR, More
It looks like an update really is coming this Friday!
News of the new content has been posted on the official PSU website. Friday's update will contain several new lobbies, the Parum rare mission, a new free mission for Parum (SEED Express), and a level cap increase (to LV150).
Most notably, though, Sega will be adding the Parum GBR and extra difficulty levels for the missions that go with it. Other than SEED Express, which will be getting the S2 difficulty immediately, three existing missions will be seeing S2 upgrades: Scarred Planet, Lightning Beasts, and Electronic Brain.
Overall, I'd say this is a nice update -- and it's about time we got new content. After all, it's been nearly two months since the last meaningful "update" to the NA/EU servers. Hopefully we'll start seeing content updates on a more regular basis.
News of the new content has been posted on the official PSU website. Friday's update will contain several new lobbies, the Parum rare mission, a new free mission for Parum (SEED Express), and a level cap increase (to LV150).
Most notably, though, Sega will be adding the Parum GBR and extra difficulty levels for the missions that go with it. Other than SEED Express, which will be getting the S2 difficulty immediately, three existing missions will be seeing S2 upgrades: Scarred Planet, Lightning Beasts, and Electronic Brain.
Overall, I'd say this is a nice update -- and it's about time we got new content. After all, it's been nearly two months since the last meaningful "update" to the NA/EU servers. Hopefully we'll start seeing content updates on a more regular basis.
Update Finally Coming?
The PSU GMs certainly seem confident that a content update is coming.
In yet another "lack of updates" complaint thread on the PSU forums, GM Edward had this to say:
If the past is any indicator of the future, I wouldn't count on Sega of Japan to change a damn thing in regards to how the NA/EU game is run. But is an update really coming?
We'll probably know what (if anything) is coming this week by the end of the day tomorrow. Only Sega knows if there's definitely a content update on the way, though this much is certain: we were promised new content within the next three weeks, and if it's not delivered, Sega will have hell to pay. (Or maybe everyone will just quit -- who knows?)
In yet another "lack of updates" complaint thread on the PSU forums, GM Edward had this to say:
Info from that [update feedback] thread has been gathered, formatted, and sent along. It is to help us organize things going forward with SOJ & content updates in general.
I do want to thank everyone who posted there, it was a terrific collection of your thoughts on the game and it was very helpful for all involved.
Content updates: Stay frosty, GUARDIANS. Silence to be broken very shortly.
If the past is any indicator of the future, I wouldn't count on Sega of Japan to change a damn thing in regards to how the NA/EU game is run. But is an update really coming?
We'll probably know what (if anything) is coming this week by the end of the day tomorrow. Only Sega knows if there's definitely a content update on the way, though this much is certain: we were promised new content within the next three weeks, and if it's not delivered, Sega will have hell to pay. (Or maybe everyone will just quit -- who knows?)
Monday, December 1, 2008
Servers Down This Weekend
According to Sega of Japan's Xbox 360 site (untranslated), the PSU game servers will be down this weekend for a "server relocation" project.
Maintenance will begin at 8:00 PM EST on Saturday 12/6, at which time players will be kicked from the game. The announcement says the work could run for a full 24 hours. The details are few at this point, but I expect that the Sega of America people will probably give some notice before the end of the week.
In the meantime, still waiting on the maintenance announcement for Friday...
UPDATE: This announcement on the official PSU forums states that the downtime will be for the electrical work at Sega of America headquarters that had been postponed way back in October.
Maintenance will begin at 8:00 PM EST on Saturday 12/6, at which time players will be kicked from the game. The announcement says the work could run for a full 24 hours. The details are few at this point, but I expect that the Sega of America people will probably give some notice before the end of the week.
In the meantime, still waiting on the maintenance announcement for Friday...
UPDATE: This announcement on the official PSU forums states that the downtime will be for the electrical work at Sega of America headquarters that had been postponed way back in October.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
No Maintenance Friday
As expected, Sega will not be performing server maintenance this coming Friday. The news was initially reported by Sega of Japan's Xbox 360 PSU site (untranslated).
Sega has promised to release new content within the next few weeks. Whether or not they actually do it is another story altogether, and I imagine a lot of people are getting very annoyed at this point.
Sega has promised to release new content within the next few weeks. Whether or not they actually do it is another story altogether, and I imagine a lot of people are getting very annoyed at this point.
Monday, November 24, 2008
The Update Kiss of Death II
If last week's Mission Spotlight announcement wasn't enough to destroy your optimism, then you're in for a treat today!
The latest and greatest update killer, the "Great Gurhalian Cup Tournament", was officially announced on the PSU Events page today. It's basically a huge time attack competition being run by the PSU GMs, with prizes that are hardly anything to write home about.
Now here's the treat: The event runs for the next three and a half weeks, until December 18. This does not bode well for updates in the month of December at all. Consider the fact that Christmas Day and New Year's Day fall in the two maintenance weeks following the end of the event, and we've potentially got a huge problem on our hands.
Sega of America would like to have you think differently, though, with this little quote from their FAQ thread on the official site:
We'll see what happens, but I'm not holding my breath. Sega said this about MAG 2 as well, and we all know how that turned out.
Anyway, if you enjoy time attack contests, a registration forum has been set up on the official site. Only the first 32 teams on each server group (PC/PS2 and Xbox 360) are being accepted. Otherwise, be prepared to tough it out with the same old stuff until January (or cancel, of course.)
The latest and greatest update killer, the "Great Gurhalian Cup Tournament", was officially announced on the PSU Events page today. It's basically a huge time attack competition being run by the PSU GMs, with prizes that are hardly anything to write home about.
Now here's the treat: The event runs for the next three and a half weeks, until December 18. This does not bode well for updates in the month of December at all. Consider the fact that Christmas Day and New Year's Day fall in the two maintenance weeks following the end of the event, and we've potentially got a huge problem on our hands.
Sega of America would like to have you think differently, though, with this little quote from their FAQ thread on the official site:
Q: Will this tournament delay any upcoming content?
A: Negative, ghost rider! This tournament will run alongside upcoming additional content updates to PSU.
We'll see what happens, but I'm not holding my breath. Sega said this about MAG 2 as well, and we all know how that turned out.
Anyway, if you enjoy time attack contests, a registration forum has been set up on the official site. Only the first 32 teams on each server group (PC/PS2 and Xbox 360) are being accepted. Otherwise, be prepared to tough it out with the same old stuff until January (or cancel, of course.)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Update Kiss of Death
The chances for an update this week aren't looking good.
Neither the Japanese nor the American PSU site has been updated with update news this week, and we're only five hours away from maintenance time, so it's unlikely that anything will happen.
And for those people that were holding out hope for a content update, the new Mission Spotlight will probably help to kill it. Her Secret Mission gets the Spotlight this week, and we get nothing.
I mean, anybody who's been paying attention for the last three months knows that a Mission Spotlight is never held in an update week. Ever. News of a new Mission Spotlight is just as bad as the "regular maintenance" posts, because you just know nothing's coming. And so it goes again this week.
Let the exodus begin.
Neither the Japanese nor the American PSU site has been updated with update news this week, and we're only five hours away from maintenance time, so it's unlikely that anything will happen.
And for those people that were holding out hope for a content update, the new Mission Spotlight will probably help to kill it. Her Secret Mission gets the Spotlight this week, and we get nothing.
I mean, anybody who's been paying attention for the last three months knows that a Mission Spotlight is never held in an update week. Ever. News of a new Mission Spotlight is just as bad as the "regular maintenance" posts, because you just know nothing's coming. And so it goes again this week.
Let the exodus begin.
Nothing says no update like "Mission Spotlight"
GM Edward@Sega has posted about the new mission spotlight. Apparently it takes place at Her Secret Mission, for those of you who care.
Make it stop Sega. We want a real update not this. Seriously I don't want to do this anymore.
Make it stop Sega. We want a real update not this. Seriously I don't want to do this anymore.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Acknowledgment, Some Action
After days of endless criticism and complaint on the official PSU forums, Sega of America has acknowledged that the lack of update content in recent weeks might be a problem.
In this thread, Sega employee and occasionally-GM Clumsyorchid has asked players for feedback on what kinds of content they'd like to see in upcoming weeks. Personally, I'm just holding out for any significant content update at all - I really don't care what kind of content it is.
In related news, there's still no word this Wednesday on whether or not the game will see a content update this week, though Sega of Japan's PSU site for XBox 360 was updated today with an announcement (untranslated) for Wednesday 11/26. It appears to be information about a server maintenance next week, but the details are vague at this point. Stay tuned.
In this thread, Sega employee and occasionally-GM Clumsyorchid has asked players for feedback on what kinds of content they'd like to see in upcoming weeks. Personally, I'm just holding out for any significant content update at all - I really don't care what kind of content it is.
In related news, there's still no word this Wednesday on whether or not the game will see a content update this week, though Sega of Japan's PSU site for XBox 360 was updated today with an announcement (untranslated) for Wednesday 11/26. It appears to be information about a server maintenance next week, but the details are vague at this point. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
In-Game Support?!
Apparently, Sega GMs decided today to show up in-game for a "player support" session. In an in-game announcement, players were invited to come and discuss their issues with the members of Sega of America's GM team.
With one minor exception:
Are they kidding? For most players, updates are the only issue right now! Sega knows it, too, or else they wouldn't have put that request in the announcement explicitly.
In any case, don't expect that message to stop anybody from asking about updates at this point. It'll be interesting to see what information (if any) surfaces from this little gathering.
With one minor exception:
Are they kidding? For most players, updates are the only issue right now! Sega knows it, too, or else they wouldn't have put that request in the announcement explicitly.
In any case, don't expect that message to stop anybody from asking about updates at this point. It'll be interesting to see what information (if any) surfaces from this little gathering.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Sega of Japan's Twisted Logic
Earlier today, I was reading the continuing complaint-fest over at the official Sega PSU forums when a thought came to me about the company's handling of the US/EU game.
Through the first few rounds of Phantasy Star Online, Sega elected to put players from the United States, Europe, and Japan together on the same servers. They added features like Word Select to enable players to interact with one another, regardless of language spoken. And for three versions of the game, all seemed well.
Sometime between PSOv3 and PSO:Blue Burst, something must have happened over at Sega. Instead of putting all players worldwide on a single set of servers, the company decided to separate the Western players from the Japanese by staggering the release of the game several months and giving them their own servers to play in.
This release model was repeated in Phantasy Star Universe and PSU:Ambition of the Illuminus, and will most likely be repeated in future Phantasy Star online titles as well. But why?
I've long believed that Sega of Japan's primary goal in segregating the US/EU and Japanese players was to keep the US/EU population from hacking the game to bits (this was popular on the worldwide PSO releases) and thus (allegedly) ruining the game for Japanese players.
That's fine with me if the service and support is equal for both versions of the game. But this is not the case for PSU. And it's defeating the purpose of Sega's decision to separate the servers in the first place.
Lately, the lack of updates on the US/EU side of the game has been pushing more and more people to import a copy of Japanese PSU and jump into their servers. Apparently it's gotten pretty easy to do nowadays -- if you've got a valid credit card in the States or Europe you can register an account.
I don't get that at all. I thought Sega of Japan wanted to keep the US/EU players off their servers, but by running the Western version of the game so poorly, it's like they're inviting us to come play with the Japanese. It's nonsense, and raises the question of why they're even keeping the servers separate at all. Even the XBox 360 servers are US/EU/JP -- so what's the big deal?
This is a business decision that the US/EU players will probably never be able to figure out for sure. But if Sega of Japan doesn't take steps to improve the service in the West, it's a decision that will backfire on them in a big way.
Through the first few rounds of Phantasy Star Online, Sega elected to put players from the United States, Europe, and Japan together on the same servers. They added features like Word Select to enable players to interact with one another, regardless of language spoken. And for three versions of the game, all seemed well.
Sometime between PSOv3 and PSO:Blue Burst, something must have happened over at Sega. Instead of putting all players worldwide on a single set of servers, the company decided to separate the Western players from the Japanese by staggering the release of the game several months and giving them their own servers to play in.
This release model was repeated in Phantasy Star Universe and PSU:Ambition of the Illuminus, and will most likely be repeated in future Phantasy Star online titles as well. But why?
I've long believed that Sega of Japan's primary goal in segregating the US/EU and Japanese players was to keep the US/EU population from hacking the game to bits (this was popular on the worldwide PSO releases) and thus (allegedly) ruining the game for Japanese players.
That's fine with me if the service and support is equal for both versions of the game. But this is not the case for PSU. And it's defeating the purpose of Sega's decision to separate the servers in the first place.
Lately, the lack of updates on the US/EU side of the game has been pushing more and more people to import a copy of Japanese PSU and jump into their servers. Apparently it's gotten pretty easy to do nowadays -- if you've got a valid credit card in the States or Europe you can register an account.
I don't get that at all. I thought Sega of Japan wanted to keep the US/EU players off their servers, but by running the Western version of the game so poorly, it's like they're inviting us to come play with the Japanese. It's nonsense, and raises the question of why they're even keeping the servers separate at all. Even the XBox 360 servers are US/EU/JP -- so what's the big deal?
This is a business decision that the US/EU players will probably never be able to figure out for sure. But if Sega of Japan doesn't take steps to improve the service in the West, it's a decision that will backfire on them in a big way.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Looking to Next Week
Almost everyone now seems to be painfully aware that there will not be an update this week. I guess this really shouldn't have surprised anyone -- the fact that Sega chose to let the Halloween update run for three weeks (until Nov. 21) suggests to me that they would not have any content ready to go until then.
Which brings us to next Friday. The Halloween lobbies are scheduled to come down at that time -- but what then? Something's got to give soon. As I've mentioned numerous times on this blog, I think that the future of this game is riding on next week's maintenance.
Look at it this way: Thanksgiving is two weeks away. It's almost a sure bet that Sega of America will not want to do any maintenance on Friday of that week. Last year Sega compensated for the Thanksgiving holiday by doing maintenance on a Tuesday, but there were special circumstances surrounding that update (the release of Ambition of the Illuminus). I doubt that will happen again.
That brings us into December, and kicks off a month of holidays and short working weeks. Given Sega's track record over the last few months, how many times do you think they will want to do maintenance? I see only three Fridays where they could possibly do any updating at all, and I bet they won't take the servers down for more than one of them.
In other words, maintenance weeks from now until the end of the year will probably be few and far between -- despite the "every two weeks" plan Sega reps tried to push back in September. That's why next Friday's maintenance is so crucial. If no new content is pushed onto the servers at that time, I expect that a lot of people will just quit for awhile -- or maybe for good. Who's to say that new content won't arrive until January? There is nothing that would kill this game faster (you know, besides a server crash).
Of course, we wouldn't even be talking about this if Sega would just update the game on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that's apparently too much to ask for these days.
Which brings us to next Friday. The Halloween lobbies are scheduled to come down at that time -- but what then? Something's got to give soon. As I've mentioned numerous times on this blog, I think that the future of this game is riding on next week's maintenance.
Look at it this way: Thanksgiving is two weeks away. It's almost a sure bet that Sega of America will not want to do any maintenance on Friday of that week. Last year Sega compensated for the Thanksgiving holiday by doing maintenance on a Tuesday, but there were special circumstances surrounding that update (the release of Ambition of the Illuminus). I doubt that will happen again.
That brings us into December, and kicks off a month of holidays and short working weeks. Given Sega's track record over the last few months, how many times do you think they will want to do maintenance? I see only three Fridays where they could possibly do any updating at all, and I bet they won't take the servers down for more than one of them.
In other words, maintenance weeks from now until the end of the year will probably be few and far between -- despite the "every two weeks" plan Sega reps tried to push back in September. That's why next Friday's maintenance is so crucial. If no new content is pushed onto the servers at that time, I expect that a lot of people will just quit for awhile -- or maybe for good. Who's to say that new content won't arrive until January? There is nothing that would kill this game faster (you know, besides a server crash).
Of course, we wouldn't even be talking about this if Sega would just update the game on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that's apparently too much to ask for these days.
Surprise! No maintenance this week.
GM Edward@Sega has just posted this wonderful news. Although it's not much of a surprise since we are all familiar with this no update BS by now.
Anyway his post:
Oh, wow no server downtime!? I doubt anyone gives a damn about that with the game in its current state. I rather have my update.
In before the next failure spotlight.
Anyway his post:
Hello everyone --
Just to let you know, there is no scheduled maintenance for tonight... so, no server downtime, either.
Continue playing!
Oh, wow no server downtime!? I doubt anyone gives a damn about that with the game in its current state. I rather have my update.
In before the next failure spotlight.
Friday, November 7, 2008
The no update filler is here
I'm sure you guys all know the drill by now. Anyway the next mission spotlight has been posted which takes place from 11/7 to 11/13 at Seed Awakened. How exciting!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Friday's Update: Another Nail in the Coffin
The late word this Thursday afternoon is that Sega will not be adding any new content to PSU in Friday morning's update, despite rumors earlier this week that something was coming.
I can't say I'm surprised by this news, considering how utterly ridiculous the update schedule for this game has become. If things don't change soon, this game is as good as done in the West.
Unfortunately for Sega, there's not much time to turn things around. I estimate that most people will give them until the end of November before taking off forever. With Thanksgiving in three weeks, Sega effectively has two more chances to set things right (at least for the short term) by putting out some new content.
If Sega of America is interested in keeping this game alive, they had better act fast.
(The original announcement from the JP PSU Xbox 360 website can be found here.)
I can't say I'm surprised by this news, considering how utterly ridiculous the update schedule for this game has become. If things don't change soon, this game is as good as done in the West.
Unfortunately for Sega, there's not much time to turn things around. I estimate that most people will give them until the end of November before taking off forever. With Thanksgiving in three weeks, Sega effectively has two more chances to set things right (at least for the short term) by putting out some new content.
If Sega of America is interested in keeping this game alive, they had better act fast.
(The original announcement from the JP PSU Xbox 360 website can be found here.)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Stealth Maintenance Changes (and Breaks)
As is often the case in update weeks, Sega has managed to sneak a number of changes (besides the Halloween lobbies) into the game.
First and foremost, there seems to be a rumor floating around that the LV150+ Rappy Latan rare drop, the Pumpkin Trick, may not be findable due to a bug. Whether or not this bug is exclusive to the US/EU servers remains to be seen, but somehow it doesn't shock me that Sega would find a way to screw up even the very tiny Halloween update.
On the bright side, boss boxes in Bladed Legacy are fixed, according to this announcement on the official forums. That should draw people away from White Beast -- for at least a little while.
Finally, a few players have reported that boss box item drops in Electronic Brain S have been adjusted, and apparently a new ridiculous typo has been introduced to the game.
Joining the ranks of "Jigo Booma", "Go Bajilla", "Stag Cutralli", etc. is "Nel's Soul", a botched reference to Nei of classic Phantasy Star fame. With references to Nei (spelled correctly) already existing in the game, I honestly have no idea how that could have slipped past Sega's translators. Maybe they've been reading/watching too much Bleach lately -- but that's no excuse -- fix it!
One more bit of potential disappointing news before closing out this post: the fact that the Halloween update is sticking around for three weeks (until Nov. 21) can't be a good sign for future updates. If in fact no new content is released until then, expect all hell to break loose.
First and foremost, there seems to be a rumor floating around that the LV150+ Rappy Latan rare drop, the Pumpkin Trick, may not be findable due to a bug. Whether or not this bug is exclusive to the US/EU servers remains to be seen, but somehow it doesn't shock me that Sega would find a way to screw up even the very tiny Halloween update.
On the bright side, boss boxes in Bladed Legacy are fixed, according to this announcement on the official forums. That should draw people away from White Beast -- for at least a little while.
Finally, a few players have reported that boss box item drops in Electronic Brain S have been adjusted, and apparently a new ridiculous typo has been introduced to the game.
Joining the ranks of "Jigo Booma", "Go Bajilla", "Stag Cutralli", etc. is "Nel's Soul", a botched reference to Nei of classic Phantasy Star fame. With references to Nei (spelled correctly) already existing in the game, I honestly have no idea how that could have slipped past Sega's translators. Maybe they've been reading/watching too much Bleach lately -- but that's no excuse -- fix it!
One more bit of potential disappointing news before closing out this post: the fact that the Halloween update is sticking around for three weeks (until Nov. 21) can't be a good sign for future updates. If in fact no new content is released until then, expect all hell to break loose.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Dear Sega: Halloween is Not an Update!
Seriously, it boggles my mind that Sega would even try to pass the Halloween lobby change off as a weekly update. This "update" is not new, nor is it content -- unless you're one of those people that thinks it'll be fun to spend the next three weeks hunting Rappy Latan for a slim shot at some rare weapon.
Give me a break.
Sega really needs to get their shit together if they want people to continue playing. It's as simple as that. Week after week, they make promises to the fanbase that things will change -- but nothing ever does. Sega said they would try to get us more frequent updates after MAG 2, and they've already failed at that.
What will it take to make things change? Do we all need to cancel our subscriptions? If things keep up like this, most people will make the easy choice and do just that.
Don't get me wrong -- I want to see the game succeed. I'm trying not to complain too much about the lack of updates, though it's obvious that the majority of the community lives and dies by the maintenance announcement each week. It won't be long before there's nobody around to pander to.
Hopefully this didn't come off sounding too angry -- the last 24 hours has been rather frustrating (but for other reasons). I'm not going to get too worked up over this, but you can only bend over and take it for so long before the shit hits the fan.
The bottom line is this: This week's update is pure crap.
Give me a break.
Sega really needs to get their shit together if they want people to continue playing. It's as simple as that. Week after week, they make promises to the fanbase that things will change -- but nothing ever does. Sega said they would try to get us more frequent updates after MAG 2, and they've already failed at that.
What will it take to make things change? Do we all need to cancel our subscriptions? If things keep up like this, most people will make the easy choice and do just that.
Don't get me wrong -- I want to see the game succeed. I'm trying not to complain too much about the lack of updates, though it's obvious that the majority of the community lives and dies by the maintenance announcement each week. It won't be long before there's nobody around to pander to.
Hopefully this didn't come off sounding too angry -- the last 24 hours has been rather frustrating (but for other reasons). I'm not going to get too worked up over this, but you can only bend over and take it for so long before the shit hits the fan.
The bottom line is this: This week's update is pure crap.
Update for October 31st
A post on the official PSU site has brought to my attention that the Japanese Xbox360 site (translated version) has been updated with information on this weeks update. The only things changed this week is the Halloween lobby and item changes in the casino. Yes, that's it.
Looks like we are in for another dry spell until Sega gets to the lightning carnival event. I don't understand why our Japanese overlords over at SOJ can't give us content that while they work on getting the lightning carnival out, you know like some Parum AOTI S2 missions or something. Instead we continue to fall further behind the Japanese PC/PS2 server...
Looks like we are in for another dry spell until Sega gets to the lightning carnival event. I don't understand why our Japanese overlords over at SOJ can't give us content that while they work on getting the lightning carnival out, you know like some Parum AOTI S2 missions or something. Instead we continue to fall further behind the Japanese PC/PS2 server...
Monday, October 27, 2008
Mission Spotlight for October 27th to November 2nd
RubyEclipse has posted that the mission spotlight has started again today which takes place at Electronic Brain.
Sega has posted the same old information about the "event" on the mission spotlight page. The only interesting change mentioned is that two community groups are sponsoring this spotlight; but it's not interesting enough to go into detail about it.
Requesting real updates please. Please!?
Sega has posted the same old information about the "event" on the mission spotlight page. The only interesting change mentioned is that two community groups are sponsoring this spotlight; but it's not interesting enough to go into detail about it.
Requesting real updates please. Please!?
Friday, October 24, 2008
PSU Turns Two
Today is the second anniversary of the release of Phantasy Star Universe in the United States. The then-highly-anticipated "next-gen" PS game was released on October 24, 2006.
Since that time, the online game has hit a number of snags. Surprisingly, the hacking problems that were so prevalent on Phantasy Star Online have been largely contained in PSU. The main issue has turned out instead to be the slow delivery of content updates. In fact, this has been a problem from the very beginning, when critics knocked Sega's decision to keep Moatoob locked for the first three weeks of the game's existence.
Yet despite the mechgun glitching, room hacking, grinder glitching, robot lagging, forum drama, and so on, PSU continues to survive in the United States and Europe. The game is certainly not as popular in the West as it is in Japan, but it's hanging on.
As we enter the game's third year, there's still quite a bit of content left to see. Events, S3 missions, story missions, and plenty of other stuff is out there. Sega needs to get on the ball and get the game back on track, though; otherwise, PSU may not ever make it to October 24 again.
Since that time, the online game has hit a number of snags. Surprisingly, the hacking problems that were so prevalent on Phantasy Star Online have been largely contained in PSU. The main issue has turned out instead to be the slow delivery of content updates. In fact, this has been a problem from the very beginning, when critics knocked Sega's decision to keep Moatoob locked for the first three weeks of the game's existence.
Yet despite the mechgun glitching, room hacking, grinder glitching, robot lagging, forum drama, and so on, PSU continues to survive in the United States and Europe. The game is certainly not as popular in the West as it is in Japan, but it's hanging on.
As we enter the game's third year, there's still quite a bit of content left to see. Events, S3 missions, story missions, and plenty of other stuff is out there. Sega needs to get on the ball and get the game back on track, though; otherwise, PSU may not ever make it to October 24 again.
Server Changes Change Nothing
As we mentioned in a post earlier this week, Sega of America decided that they would drop a number of universes (on both the PC/PS2 and XBox 360 servers) in this week's maintenance. This downsizing left the PC/PS2 players with 10 universes and the XBox 360 players with 20.
I imagine that this change was implemented to make the server populations appear higher by forcing players to play on fewer universes. While this strategy is probably a good idea from a marketing perspective, it doesn't seem to be working:
Not even the Halloween lobbies were added, meaning that the earliest they could arrive is... Halloween? What the hell?
I imagine that this change was implemented to make the server populations appear higher by forcing players to play on fewer universes. While this strategy is probably a good idea from a marketing perspective, it doesn't seem to be working:
Not even the Halloween lobbies were added, meaning that the earliest they could arrive is... Halloween? What the hell?
Monday, October 20, 2008
A new GM
RubyEclipse has announced that Edward from Sega's billing and customer support department has become a full time GM for PSU.
His post:
Oh yes we all remember him on the PC/PS2 side. Not only did he deal with the error 065 problems he also cleared up the billing error where people were charged for an incomplete billing cycle. This guy got my money back; he's cool in books.
Congrats, Edward and good luck, you're going to need it.
His post:
Hey everyone,
Congratulations and a warm welcome to Edward, who comes to us from SEGA's billing and customer support department! Edward has been involved with the PSU community for some time, and as of today, will be stepping into a full Game Master role here at SEGA.
Edward should already be well known by PC/PS2 players for his great work helping out during last summer's billing issues, and you can also listen to our interview with him on the latest episode of the PSU Podcast.
We're all very stoked to have him onboard as the newest member of the team - Please join us in welcoming Edward as our newest PSU Game Master!
Oh yes we all remember him on the PC/PS2 side. Not only did he deal with the error 065 problems he also cleared up the billing error where people were charged for an incomplete billing cycle. This guy got my money back; he's cool in books.
Congrats, Edward and good luck, you're going to need it.
Unsurprising Server Changes
The unnecessarily-hyped "big server change" is now official.
Beginning Friday, the number of universes available to PSU players will be reduced by 18. PC/PS2 players will lose eight universes (leaving 10), while XBox 360 players will lose ten (leaving 20). In addition, PSU will continue the Phantasy Star Online tradition by having its servers renamed after constellations.
An announcement detailing the news had been posted on the main PSU site, but was yanked after a couple minutes for unknown reasons.
This actually might be a good move by Sega. Reducing the number of universes might create the notion that the game is more populated (on both sides), which might lead more new players to join up and stick around. I'm not holding my breath, though: we all know the root of the problem is lack of new content, and until that changes for the better, the population sure won't.
Update: The announcement has reappeared on the site and can be found here.
Beginning Friday, the number of universes available to PSU players will be reduced by 18. PC/PS2 players will lose eight universes (leaving 10), while XBox 360 players will lose ten (leaving 20). In addition, PSU will continue the Phantasy Star Online tradition by having its servers renamed after constellations.
An announcement detailing the news had been posted on the main PSU site, but was yanked after a couple minutes for unknown reasons.
This actually might be a good move by Sega. Reducing the number of universes might create the notion that the game is more populated (on both sides), which might lead more new players to join up and stick around. I'm not holding my breath, though: we all know the root of the problem is lack of new content, and until that changes for the better, the population sure won't.
Update: The announcement has reappeared on the site and can be found here.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Warning: Potential Failure to Deliver
Well, here's a shocker. According to PSU GM ChillAura, there's a problem with the next content update and it may not be ready for delivery by the time next Friday rolls around.
If this does in fact turn out to be the case, it means Sega will have failed at their "every two weeks" update strategy... after only four weeks.
According to his post at the official forums:
I hinted at this back in a previous blog post: Sega of America has no confidence in their update schedule. However, it would be in Sega's best interests to get the work done and roll out content on time. With each passing week with no updates, more people leave. Getting some of these updates delivered on schedule would at least stop the bleeding somewhat -- though I guess if Sega hasn't figured that out by now, they never will.
If this does in fact turn out to be the case, it means Sega will have failed at their "every two weeks" update strategy... after only four weeks.
According to his post at the official forums:
Just for the record this was most definitely not a promise: "We actually have updates scheduled 2 weeks apart for the rest of the year, although we do not yet assume that we can rely on this."
We might have some news for you tomorrow, but there are issues with the scheduled update for 10/24 and we are waiting to hear back from Sonic Team as to when they can realistically go live with the next content update.
-Chill
I hinted at this back in a previous blog post: Sega of America has no confidence in their update schedule. However, it would be in Sega's best interests to get the work done and roll out content on time. With each passing week with no updates, more people leave. Getting some of these updates delivered on schedule would at least stop the bleeding somewhat -- though I guess if Sega hasn't figured that out by now, they never will.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Phantasy Star Portable coming March 2009
According to 1up PSP will be released in the U.S. March 2009. While that is good news an interview on 1up with director Satoshi Sakai confirm that the character transfer option found in the Japanese version of PSP will NOT be in the English version.
Now this leaves a few questions: What will happen with the PSP related quest that was released on the Japanese version of PSU? Will we still get the items like on the Japanese version? Will it show up at all?
Chillaura gave a repsonse on the Sega forums about the two items this quest offered:
I figured that this would happen. It's probably because of the garbage playsega billing system and the low population compared to the 360 version or maybe because it wouldn't work with the 360 version.1UP: Can you explain the functionality between the PS2 version and the PSP version and how it works?
SS: Unfortunately, that won't be incorporated into the Western version. But just to describe what it does: You'll be able to take your character from the PS2 version, download it from the network, and upload it on to your PSP, complete with that character's weapons, armor, facial features, and everything.
1UP: Why isn't that in the U.S. version?
SS: Because of technical difficulties.
1UP: But PSU servers are still running in the U.S., right?
SS: Yes.
Now this leaves a few questions: What will happen with the PSP related quest that was released on the Japanese version of PSU? Will we still get the items like on the Japanese version? Will it show up at all?
Chillaura gave a repsonse on the Sega forums about the two items this quest offered:
I don't know about you guys but it sounds like Sega hasn't planned that far ahead and it doesn't give me much hope for getting either of them.
Yes the Whitill Wing and Vivienne Fluge are still potentially available, not that we can tell you if how or when they might come to our servers.
-Chill
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
PSU Community Links
Sega's current PSU PR stunt, the Community Links page, is now online. The initial version of the page at the PSU site features links to nine fansites, blogs and/or informational sites.
I think it was a good idea for Sega to add a links page to its PSU site, but why now all of a sudden? This should have been there from day one. I understand that the site's purpose is to show potential players what kind of game they're getting into, but having a page for fansite links shows that community support exists for the game. In an online game, that's critically important.
The forums were a good first step, but they tend to bring out the worst in people. The new Community Links page might be a good way to put a more positive spin on community interaction.
I think it was a good idea for Sega to add a links page to its PSU site, but why now all of a sudden? This should have been there from day one. I understand that the site's purpose is to show potential players what kind of game they're getting into, but having a page for fansite links shows that community support exists for the game. In an online game, that's critically important.
The forums were a good first step, but they tend to bring out the worst in people. The new Community Links page might be a good way to put a more positive spin on community interaction.
Playsega.com has a new look
It's true playsega.com has been updated as was pointed out by chillaura in this topic.
In a related note I bring some bad news: it has nothing to do with Sega's billing system for PSU. It seems the site now hosts some flash based games. The crappy billing site we all know and love is still located at billing.playsega.com.
In a related note I bring some bad news: it has nothing to do with Sega's billing system for PSU. It seems the site now hosts some flash based games. The crappy billing site we all know and love is still located at billing.playsega.com.
The Sliding Updates Continue
Looks like Sega's prediction of an event in October won't come to pass.
According to a post on the official PSU forums by GM ChillAura, the estimated date of the next event (which was the Dengeki "Lightning Carnival" on the JP servers) has slid out past the 24th of October due to "delays".
Although he didn't specify when the event would arrive on the US/EU servers, I estimate that we'll probably see it running from mid-November until the second week of December. If it's not here by then... Heaven help the US/EU PSU servers.
In the meantime, the next few weeks are shaping up to be boring as hell.
According to a post on the official PSU forums by GM ChillAura, the estimated date of the next event (which was the Dengeki "Lightning Carnival" on the JP servers) has slid out past the 24th of October due to "delays".
Although he didn't specify when the event would arrive on the US/EU servers, I estimate that we'll probably see it running from mid-November until the second week of December. If it's not here by then... Heaven help the US/EU PSU servers.
In the meantime, the next few weeks are shaping up to be boring as hell.
Friday, October 10, 2008
What? There's More?
The outlook for Phantasy Star Universe might be bleak in the United States and Europe, but that doesn't seem to be the case in Japan as of yet.
In fact, things are apparently so good over there that Sonic Team may have decided to begin work on another expansion pack for PSU! According to this article on Shougai PSO (untranslated), this news was revealed yesterday in a press conference at the Tokyo Game Show. Of course, very little information was provided about this "update", but it's interesting news nonetheless.
If this expansion or update actually happens, though, I'm skeptical that it will ever see the light of day in the United States. The game is on life support at the moment, and I just don't know if Sega of America will want to risk working on another expansion for a niche game. A lot of people said the same thing about the Ambition of the Illuminus expansion, though, and look where we are now.
This is still a long way off, so don't worry too much about it just yet.
(This news was first reported stateside in this thread over at PSO-World. A discussion on the official Sega PSU forums can also be found here.)
In fact, things are apparently so good over there that Sonic Team may have decided to begin work on another expansion pack for PSU! According to this article on Shougai PSO (untranslated), this news was revealed yesterday in a press conference at the Tokyo Game Show. Of course, very little information was provided about this "update", but it's interesting news nonetheless.
If this expansion or update actually happens, though, I'm skeptical that it will ever see the light of day in the United States. The game is on life support at the moment, and I just don't know if Sega of America will want to risk working on another expansion for a niche game. A lot of people said the same thing about the Ambition of the Illuminus expansion, though, and look where we are now.
This is still a long way off, so don't worry too much about it just yet.
(This news was first reported stateside in this thread over at PSO-World. A discussion on the official Sega PSU forums can also be found here.)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Price Jackers Beware
Wow, I've done a lot of ranting on this blog this week, but that's just the way things have been going lately. Today, I'm going to rant a little about the players jacking up prices on the room decorations needed for the Transfer: Neudaiz room move pass.
To trade for the pass, you need three different room decorations: a Paper Lantern, Kakwane Figure, and Scroll. Prices haven't skyrocketed too much for the first two items, which is understandable because they can be synthesized cheaply. Player pricing for the Scroll has left me a little bit confused, though.
Unlike the other items, you actually have to find the Scroll decoration in a mission. I have to assume that sellers are hoping that players will be too lazy to go hunt down the item themselves. However, Scrolls are ridiculously easy to find. I found one during my second run of Mizuraki Defense C, less than ten minutes into the hunt.
Despite the fact that the decoration is common in missions, some players have raised the price for one as high as 5 million meseta! Is the community really that dumb?
If you want a Neudaiz move pass, take my advice: don't give in to the greed of the players running these shops. Find or make the trade items yourself, and watch the prices come down. Let the lazy idiots buy up all of the overpriced junk, and instead show a little effort to get what you want.
To trade for the pass, you need three different room decorations: a Paper Lantern, Kakwane Figure, and Scroll. Prices haven't skyrocketed too much for the first two items, which is understandable because they can be synthesized cheaply. Player pricing for the Scroll has left me a little bit confused, though.
Unlike the other items, you actually have to find the Scroll decoration in a mission. I have to assume that sellers are hoping that players will be too lazy to go hunt down the item themselves. However, Scrolls are ridiculously easy to find. I found one during my second run of Mizuraki Defense C, less than ten minutes into the hunt.
Despite the fact that the decoration is common in missions, some players have raised the price for one as high as 5 million meseta! Is the community really that dumb?
If you want a Neudaiz move pass, take my advice: don't give in to the greed of the players running these shops. Find or make the trade items yourself, and watch the prices come down. Let the lazy idiots buy up all of the overpriced junk, and instead show a little effort to get what you want.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Ten Minutes of Frustration
It seems that the PSU servers have recovered from a major hiccup.
The problem began at about 5:10 PM Eastern time today, when lag became so unbearably bad that the game was only responding every 30-40 seconds. These super-long lag cycles continued until about 5:15, at which point the game stopped responding altogether. I was disconnected two minutes later.
It doesn't look like I'm the only one that was affected by this, either:
(Perhaps this is a glimpse of things to come?)
Things were back to normal around 5:20. Nevertheless, hopefully Sega will provide some information about what happened. I say this because some players are already annoyed enough with the lag. Does this mean that things are getting worse?
UPDATE: Sega GM RubyEclipse reports that the brief outage was an ISP issue.
The problem began at about 5:10 PM Eastern time today, when lag became so unbearably bad that the game was only responding every 30-40 seconds. These super-long lag cycles continued until about 5:15, at which point the game stopped responding altogether. I was disconnected two minutes later.
It doesn't look like I'm the only one that was affected by this, either:
(Perhaps this is a glimpse of things to come?)
Things were back to normal around 5:20. Nevertheless, hopefully Sega will provide some information about what happened. I say this because some players are already annoyed enough with the lag. Does this mean that things are getting worse?
UPDATE: Sega GM RubyEclipse reports that the brief outage was an ISP issue.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Inexplicable Decisions
(Warning: Really long post ahead)You know, sometimes I swear that Sega of Japan is trying to kill off the Western community. After four months of botched events and limited updates, the feeling seems to hit me almost every week.
And, after getting our first look (untranslated version here) at this week's update, that feeling is here again. If you'd rather not click the link, all you need to know is that a bunch of items are being added. No new missions, difficulties, or anything like that.
Many players will be quick to point out that we at least got something added. But I'd also like to note that an update this small is just barely removed from getting nothing at all, and that is the reason that people continue to leave this game.
Updates like this irritate me, because they pose a problem for Sega as well as the community. It's no secret that Sega of America is trying to garner up some enthusiasm for PSU through fan support. They want to show potential players (and customers, and anyone else that cares to know) that this game is still worth picking up and enjoying.
But here's the problem: if the current trickle of updates continues, it won't be. Some players will already tell you that this game isn't worth playing. I understand that Sega of America wants more people to play the game -- I do, too -- but just saying that they want people to play (or even hinting at it) just won't do the trick. Actions speak louder than words.
Sega needs to show potential players that this game is still strong and still being supported. That means delivering content updates that are more than just one short free mission, and certainly more than just adding items to an exchange mission. Unfortunately, this isn't likely to happen anytime soon, and what we're bound to see is a resurgence of bitching threads on the official forums. Few people will want to join an online community that has no confidence in the game's support, nor will existing players want to stay any longer. In the end, we'll simply be stuck in a long downward spiral towards the game's demise.
Members of the community are hurt, too, and for many of the same reasons. Over the past few months, some players have made numerous attempts to get the word out about PSU as part of a grassroots initiative to drum up interest in the game. It's certainly a great effort, but it's an effort that has largely been foiled by Sega's own hand.
When the first version of PSU was released back in October 2006, it was widely panned for the lack of content initially provided to players in the online Network Mode. A lot of people that were looking forward to the game saw these reviews and made the decision to stay away, essentially crippling the game community right from the start.
Things have gotten better, though, and right as the community began to try and demonstrate that to the rest of the online gaming world, PSU got hammered with a poorly handled billing disaster conveniently placed right in the middle of a highly anticipated event (MAG). This was followed by months of no updates, which was followed by a period of minimal updating that includes this Friday's bare-bones content addition. And we're trying to get people back into this game? These blunders only lend more credibility to the early reviews! Poor support then, poor support now. Even though things have changed, does it look that way to skeptical outsiders? Surely it does not.
So, here's the TL;DR version for those of you with a short attention span: this week's update only strengthens the argument that Sega's support for this game is fading. They want people to continue to play the game, but the community wants updates and Sega isn't budging. You can acknowledge the community's concerns all you want, but you don't gain any support among fans unless you make the effort to do what they ask.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Sega's Content Strategy: Here Come the S3's
A lot of people have assumed for a long time that this was coming sooner or later. Sega of Japan today confirmed that the Japanese PC/PS2 servers will be receiving S3 difficulty missions, beginning in next Thursday's content update with four missions on Moatoob.
With this new information, Sega has made it perfectly clear what their intentions for this game are regarding updates. It seems they've pulled a page from the PSO playbook and are simply going to milk the existing content as much as possible, rather than develop new content such as a new expansion pack or DLC (though thanks to the PS2 I suppose DLC isn't a viable option).
It's widely believed that Sega is running out of new PSU:AotI disc content to provide to the Japanese (and 3-4 months later, US/EU) players. For many, this new development will only further that belief.
Don't get me wrong: I don't have any problem with Sega bringing out increased difficulty levels. A lot of people will probably appreciate it. But it'll get old really fast, and over time will surely cause many more to quit the game. New versions of existing missions are fine, but how about some new, original content to go with it?
I posted a link to a translation of the Japanese update page above, but if you'd like to see the original, click here.
With this new information, Sega has made it perfectly clear what their intentions for this game are regarding updates. It seems they've pulled a page from the PSO playbook and are simply going to milk the existing content as much as possible, rather than develop new content such as a new expansion pack or DLC (though thanks to the PS2 I suppose DLC isn't a viable option).
It's widely believed that Sega is running out of new PSU:AotI disc content to provide to the Japanese (and 3-4 months later, US/EU) players. For many, this new development will only further that belief.
Don't get me wrong: I don't have any problem with Sega bringing out increased difficulty levels. A lot of people will probably appreciate it. But it'll get old really fast, and over time will surely cause many more to quit the game. New versions of existing missions are fine, but how about some new, original content to go with it?
I posted a link to a translation of the Japanese update page above, but if you'd like to see the original, click here.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Mission Spotlight for September 30th to October 9th
RubyEclipse has posted that mission spotlight is back and is currently running at the new mission Bladed Legacy.
Apparently they are giving out some in game prizes this time according to the mission spotlight page:
Sounds a little better then the old prizes that they were giving out but then this last bit got me at the end of the page:
Wait what. Let me guess you guys can't even give out in game prizes without the approval of Sega of Japan.
I guess this will have to do while we wait for the next update. Not that it's really an incentive to play...
Apparently they are giving out some in game prizes this time according to the mission spotlight page:
The Mission Spotlight has returned! Back with all new instant-win prizes like Casino Voloyal Coins, rare items and more, all PSU players can automatically get a chance to win by simply playing the spotlight mission during the designated dates!
Sounds a little better then the old prizes that they were giving out but then this last bit got me at the end of the page:
We are also opening the spotlight up to sponsorships, so if your team or community would like to donate items to give out as prizes, contact us on the PSU forums!
Wait what. Let me guess you guys can't even give out in game prizes without the approval of Sega of Japan.
I guess this will have to do while we wait for the next update. Not that it's really an incentive to play...
Friday, September 26, 2008
Update Impressions & Oddities
After just over a month of no updates, PSU was finally given a fresh new content update early this morning. I had a chance to play through the new content (it didn't take long, trust me) and noticed some interesting additions.
Though some people were excited about the two new missions (well, technically one, I guess), the majority of players seemed to be looking forward to the MAG rewards earned in part two of the three-month-long event. And I can see why!
After logging in, I began with some grinder synthesis. Of the 50 S grinders I made, 35 of them turned into S+7, S+8, or S+9. Not bad -- that's a considerable improvement from my usual luck (S+1 and S+2 grinders are common for me). Still no S+10 grinders -- but hopefully that will change.
Weapon grinding is much less frustrating. With 1* luck, I took a few of my S rank weapons to grind. I was pleasantly surprised when my S+2 grinders yielded a "No chance of failure" response on the first grind! It's too bad they can't make this change permanent.
The new free mission, Bladed Legacy, is interesting. It's the first free mission to have a non-boss cutscene (that I know of, even if it is ridiculously short) and the only regular free mission whose blocks aren't all exclusively labeled Block 1, Block 2, etc. (again, that I know of, not counting missions with bosses). Plus it has huge oversized beasts to kill!
(Ok, so maybe they're not gigantic... my CAST is a midget.)
This content update was not without some quirks, though. Some people who did not receive MAG 1 rewards in the prior delivery finally saw them today, though without the MAG 2 rewards they were promised. Some people were rewarded with some MAG 1 prizes for a second time, in addition to the new prizes (I happened to fall into this category). And apparently some unlucky bastards got no rewards from either MAG event. I can't begin to explain how something like that could have happened, but here's hoping Sega gets it together and gives those players the stuff they earned.
Though some people were excited about the two new missions (well, technically one, I guess), the majority of players seemed to be looking forward to the MAG rewards earned in part two of the three-month-long event. And I can see why!
After logging in, I began with some grinder synthesis. Of the 50 S grinders I made, 35 of them turned into S+7, S+8, or S+9. Not bad -- that's a considerable improvement from my usual luck (S+1 and S+2 grinders are common for me). Still no S+10 grinders -- but hopefully that will change.
Weapon grinding is much less frustrating. With 1* luck, I took a few of my S rank weapons to grind. I was pleasantly surprised when my S+2 grinders yielded a "No chance of failure" response on the first grind! It's too bad they can't make this change permanent.
The new free mission, Bladed Legacy, is interesting. It's the first free mission to have a non-boss cutscene (that I know of, even if it is ridiculously short) and the only regular free mission whose blocks aren't all exclusively labeled Block 1, Block 2, etc. (again, that I know of, not counting missions with bosses). Plus it has huge oversized beasts to kill!
(Ok, so maybe they're not gigantic... my CAST is a midget.)
This content update was not without some quirks, though. Some people who did not receive MAG 1 rewards in the prior delivery finally saw them today, though without the MAG 2 rewards they were promised. Some people were rewarded with some MAG 1 prizes for a second time, in addition to the new prizes (I happened to fall into this category). And apparently some unlucky bastards got no rewards from either MAG event. I can't begin to explain how something like that could have happened, but here's hoping Sega gets it together and gives those players the stuff they earned.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Announcement Editorializing
The official Phantasy Star Universe Web site has been updated with information detailing this Friday's content update.
News about the update was also posted on Sega's official PSU forum. According to GM RubyEclipse:
"Much more"? The update page lists one free mission (the other mission being added is for item exchange). Talk about overexaggerating a mediocre update (at best).
When I see "much more", I expect an update like this -- MAG rewards and two missions is hardly anything to write home about. This update is too underwhelming to be "much more" than boring.
News about the update was also posted on Sega's official PSU forum. According to GM RubyEclipse:
GBR will soon be at an end, and there's much more than just MAG2 prizes showing up this Friday - check out the quest release page for full details!
"Much more"? The update page lists one free mission (the other mission being added is for item exchange). Talk about overexaggerating a mediocre update (at best).
When I see "much more", I expect an update like this -- MAG rewards and two missions is hardly anything to write home about. This update is too underwhelming to be "much more" than boring.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Sega Clarifies Update Schedule... Maybe
As mentioned in an earlier blog post, Sega of America reps announced that not only would there be an update next week, now Sega will try to update the game every 2 weeks until December. But there's a caveat, according to PSU GM ChillAura:
I actually found this quote to be rather amusing. The community already knows better than to trust Sega of Japan's update promises. But is it a good thing if not even the Sega of America people trust their Japanese overlords?
The next update is on track for September 26. We actually have updates scheduled 2 weeks apart for the rest of the year, although we do not yet assume that we can rely on this.
-Chill
I actually found this quote to be rather amusing. The community already knows better than to trust Sega of Japan's update promises. But is it a good thing if not even the Sega of America people trust their Japanese overlords?
Update next week
Chillaura has said that next week we will be getting an update next week on the 26th and that updates would be scheduled two weeks apart for the rest of the year.
There are not many details other then a small comment left by GM RubyEclipse:
Unless these updates are huge this won't make up for the two month delay we had. And at this rate we probably won't see the master classes for a few months...
There are not many details other then a small comment left by GM RubyEclipse:
As far as updates, there are two things we can comment on - the first is that Master Classes are scheduled for after the carnival, and the second is that the next update will be before the second, and will include some new stuff to look forward to, besides the arrival of the MAG2 rewards.
Unless these updates are huge this won't make up for the two month delay we had. And at this rate we probably won't see the master classes for a few months...
Saving our severs?
Some PC/PS2 players have formed a group to try and save what's left of the servers and to promote the game to get new players.
As much as I would like it too work I really don't think players alone can do it now. The PC/PS2 servers have been in a death spiral for a while now and has already passed the point of no return. We are lucky to even get 2 stars on universe 2 now when a few months ago we were around 3 to 3 and a half. To illustrate this point I have created a crude image!
I really do think the end is coming if Sega doesn't do something. But it seems they have pretty much given up on the servers. Might as well enjoy the ride before ends.
As much as I would like it too work I really don't think players alone can do it now. The PC/PS2 servers have been in a death spiral for a while now and has already passed the point of no return. We are lucky to even get 2 stars on universe 2 now when a few months ago we were around 3 to 3 and a half. To illustrate this point I have created a crude image!
I really do think the end is coming if Sega doesn't do something. But it seems they have pretty much given up on the servers. Might as well enjoy the ride before ends.
Monday, September 15, 2008
50% or GTFO
I admit there were always issues with this game's community but I really find things like this annoying.
Four days into the second week of GBR I notice this topic. I don't know about you guys but I find it ridiculous that some people actually expect everyone to have a 50% drop boost so soon. Sorry but not everyone plays the game 24/7. Getting 155 points in all five missions in that short amount of time makes the game incredibly boring even if you run the missions on S2 difficulty. What ever happened to playing for fun?
And to top it all off supposedly the drop boost does not affect boss boxes, which have the rares people want. Enjoy your useless Vish Fearas and Okarods!
It seems this type of event just brings out the worst in the community (and delays content); I can't wait for it to end.
Four days into the second week of GBR I notice this topic. I don't know about you guys but I find it ridiculous that some people actually expect everyone to have a 50% drop boost so soon. Sorry but not everyone plays the game 24/7. Getting 155 points in all five missions in that short amount of time makes the game incredibly boring even if you run the missions on S2 difficulty. What ever happened to playing for fun?
And to top it all off supposedly the drop boost does not affect boss boxes, which have the rares people want. Enjoy your useless Vish Fearas and Okarods!
It seems this type of event just brings out the worst in the community (and delays content); I can't wait for it to end.
Sega and online games: Huge potential that ends in failure
Now I'd like to rant a bit on the translated Famitsu article that was posted over at PSO world. It's nice how Sega still hasn't learned anything from PSO. It seems they just enjoy watching thier games die off. I don't know maybe it's time to go back to the basics or something and you know maybe advertise the games outside of Japan?
I think it would help to go back to that "The game should allow players all over the world to interact" idea. This multi-sever set up Sega has going is just stupid. You have the Japanese PC/PS2 sever separated from the rest of the world and then you have an Xbox 360 server that is by itself. What's the hell is with this? Did someone at Sega think it was a good idea to have the game compete against itself along with other online RPG's? The two server thing Sega had going with PSO Ep1&2 sucked so I don't understand why they would do this crap again. If (more like when) there is a new online Phantasy Star game if Sega goes this route again I'd seriously considering avoiding the game.
The next part would be the "giving regular content updates" thing; but I think I've been complaining enough about that though. You know the two month update delay from MAG, no updates because of the Neudiaz GBR, etc.
The final thing I want to touch on is about how people are surprised about the Xbox 360 server's stable population. I for one don't find it surprising at all. After all they are using Microsoft's shitty billing system that uses the philosophy of "easy to sign up; pain in the ass to cancel" since you have to call their horrible support line. I really wouldn't be surprised if a large number accounts were from people that stopped play but had their accounts active because they didn't know how to cancel or thought it was canceled when it really wasn't. Just throwing the word "cancel" into a search of the 360's technical support forum brings up a number of topics, like this one here, asking about it.
I really want Sega to allow PSU to reach its full potential but I fear it is to late now.
I think it would help to go back to that "The game should allow players all over the world to interact" idea. This multi-sever set up Sega has going is just stupid. You have the Japanese PC/PS2 sever separated from the rest of the world and then you have an Xbox 360 server that is by itself. What's the hell is with this? Did someone at Sega think it was a good idea to have the game compete against itself along with other online RPG's? The two server thing Sega had going with PSO Ep1&2 sucked so I don't understand why they would do this crap again. If (more like when) there is a new online Phantasy Star game if Sega goes this route again I'd seriously considering avoiding the game.
The next part would be the "giving regular content updates" thing; but I think I've been complaining enough about that though. You know the two month update delay from MAG, no updates because of the Neudiaz GBR, etc.
The final thing I want to touch on is about how people are surprised about the Xbox 360 server's stable population. I for one don't find it surprising at all. After all they are using Microsoft's shitty billing system that uses the philosophy of "easy to sign up; pain in the ass to cancel" since you have to call their horrible support line. I really wouldn't be surprised if a large number accounts were from people that stopped play but had their accounts active because they didn't know how to cancel or thought it was canceled when it really wasn't. Just throwing the word "cancel" into a search of the 360's technical support forum brings up a number of topics, like this one here, asking about it.
I really want Sega to allow PSU to reach its full potential but I fear it is to late now.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Server Shutdown Rumors Abound
Yesterday, a popular PSU fansite posted a translation of an article from Famitsu.com in which Sonic Team discusses the successes and failures of Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Online.
At the end of the article is a very interesting piece of information. Sonic Team compiled a graph showing the server population trends for the JP PC/PS2, NA PC/PS2, and XBox 360 game servers. What it shows is that while the JP PC/PS2 and XBox 360 server populations have stabilized over the last few months, the NA PC/PS2 servers have posted a slow 9-month decline.
Apparently, this information has been translated into some sort of nasty rumor that Sega is planning to pull the plug on the NA/EU PC/PS2 servers sometime in the future. I'm not sure how that happened, but it certainly seems baseless right now. Sega of America reps have stated on at least one occasion that they would not shut down the PC/PS2 servers if the game remained profitable overall in the United States and Europe. I interpret that to mean that if both the PC/PS2 and XBox 360 servers are pulling in enough combined money to keep things afloat, then everything will be fine.
However, if the PC/PS2 servers were to shut down, I think a lot of people would quit for good. Getting started in this game can be difficult, and many people might not want to put in the effort again. Plus, the XBox 360 version of PSU is still plagued with various performance problems that might make some PC players go crazy.
The bottom line, though, is that there's no reason to panic yet. Sega of America has not provided any indications that they plan to shut down the servers now or in the future. The PSU community seems to eat these kinds of rumors up, and I still can't understand why that is. Just keep on playing, and deal with the problems when (and if) they arise.
At the end of the article is a very interesting piece of information. Sonic Team compiled a graph showing the server population trends for the JP PC/PS2, NA PC/PS2, and XBox 360 game servers. What it shows is that while the JP PC/PS2 and XBox 360 server populations have stabilized over the last few months, the NA PC/PS2 servers have posted a slow 9-month decline.
Apparently, this information has been translated into some sort of nasty rumor that Sega is planning to pull the plug on the NA/EU PC/PS2 servers sometime in the future. I'm not sure how that happened, but it certainly seems baseless right now. Sega of America reps have stated on at least one occasion that they would not shut down the PC/PS2 servers if the game remained profitable overall in the United States and Europe. I interpret that to mean that if both the PC/PS2 and XBox 360 servers are pulling in enough combined money to keep things afloat, then everything will be fine.
However, if the PC/PS2 servers were to shut down, I think a lot of people would quit for good. Getting started in this game can be difficult, and many people might not want to put in the effort again. Plus, the XBox 360 version of PSU is still plagued with various performance problems that might make some PC players go crazy.
The bottom line, though, is that there's no reason to panic yet. Sega of America has not provided any indications that they plan to shut down the servers now or in the future. The PSU community seems to eat these kinds of rumors up, and I still can't understand why that is. Just keep on playing, and deal with the problems when (and if) they arise.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Fixing the Economy, the Stupid Way
I haven't had time to comment on stupid threads lately, but I felt I could make time for a very special suggestions thread.
In case you're like me and don't want to subject yourself to such stupidity: we all know that Sega doesn't want to increase the maximum amount of meseta that a player can carry. Many people have suggested that the amount be increased by a factor of 10, to just under 1 billion meseta, but Sonic Team argues that doing that would require a lot of additional coding.
The brilliant idea presented in this topic was to essentially have GMs mass produce items and place them in special shops for players to purchase. Proceeds from the special shops would be deleted periodically by the GMs, helping to bring down inflation.
Does anybody else see how ridiculous this is? This could certainly take meseta out of the economy, but players would instead be left with rare items that are completely worthless -- a drawback many would argue to be far worse. Meseta may be rampant right now, but the really rare items are not. Mass production of items for the sole purpose of lowering inflation would give the vast majority of players inexpensive access to items that are not readily available right now. Prices would drop across the board, and the economy could actually crash. Not good.
Personally, I think that NPC shops are the best tool Sega has to fix the economy, since meseta spent there is gone forever. Since nothing has actually been done, though, I take it that Sega is content letting things play out the way they have thus far.
That's all I have to say about this stupid thread. I'll cut the guy a little slack, though. There are still even more stupid people roaming the internets this evening...
That's what happens when you mess with a hurricane, I suppose. Pay more attention next time!
In case you're like me and don't want to subject yourself to such stupidity: we all know that Sega doesn't want to increase the maximum amount of meseta that a player can carry. Many people have suggested that the amount be increased by a factor of 10, to just under 1 billion meseta, but Sonic Team argues that doing that would require a lot of additional coding.
The brilliant idea presented in this topic was to essentially have GMs mass produce items and place them in special shops for players to purchase. Proceeds from the special shops would be deleted periodically by the GMs, helping to bring down inflation.
Does anybody else see how ridiculous this is? This could certainly take meseta out of the economy, but players would instead be left with rare items that are completely worthless -- a drawback many would argue to be far worse. Meseta may be rampant right now, but the really rare items are not. Mass production of items for the sole purpose of lowering inflation would give the vast majority of players inexpensive access to items that are not readily available right now. Prices would drop across the board, and the economy could actually crash. Not good.
Personally, I think that NPC shops are the best tool Sega has to fix the economy, since meseta spent there is gone forever. Since nothing has actually been done, though, I take it that Sega is content letting things play out the way they have thus far.
That's all I have to say about this stupid thread. I'll cut the guy a little slack, though. There are still even more stupid people roaming the internets this evening...
That's what happens when you mess with a hurricane, I suppose. Pay more attention next time!
Sunday, September 7, 2008
A Glimpse into PSU 360's Economy
I was browsing a PSU fansite's discussion forums this evening and came across this interesting post about the economy on XBox 360 PSU:
First, all of the XBox 360 players who laugh (still!) at the PC/PS2 servers for having "haxeta" need to shut the fuck up, forever.
Second, why did Sega ban the producers of the illegitimate items, then allow them to come back to the game with those items left intact? We're all aware of players that made up stories like, the only reason I cheated was to show Sega how to do the glitch so they could fix it! Bullshit. Players that cheat should be banned permanently, regardless of why they chose to do it. I don't understand why Sega chooses to selectively enforce their Terms of Service like this, and there's a good chance that neither I nor anybody else will ever know for sure.
Finally, why couldn't Sega just remove all of the S+10 grinders from the servers? I can think of only one reason: Sega didn't want to incur the wrath of the players who had legitimate S+10 grinders. Fine, but this is just one more reason why PSU needs to implement some sort of item tracking system to make it easier to locate and remove illegitimate items without having to trace them through dozens of player transactions.
In any case, there's not much that can be done about the problem now. The damage has been dealt, and we're going to have to live with it.
Everyone I know is aware of the S+10 glitch that was fixed awile back, but allowed good number of cheaters to stock up on stacks of 99 S+10 grinders for 1 meseta apeice.Three thoughts come to mind.
A friend of a friend is one of these cheaters. He was banned for two weeks for producing illegit grinders. Then he emailed SEGA saying that he bought those grinders legally and they gave him back his account. He now has a full common box of S+10 stacks, and sells one stack at a time overnight for something like 33 mil profit everday.
First, all of the XBox 360 players who laugh (still!) at the PC/PS2 servers for having "haxeta" need to shut the fuck up, forever.
Second, why did Sega ban the producers of the illegitimate items, then allow them to come back to the game with those items left intact? We're all aware of players that made up stories like, the only reason I cheated was to show Sega how to do the glitch so they could fix it! Bullshit. Players that cheat should be banned permanently, regardless of why they chose to do it. I don't understand why Sega chooses to selectively enforce their Terms of Service like this, and there's a good chance that neither I nor anybody else will ever know for sure.
Finally, why couldn't Sega just remove all of the S+10 grinders from the servers? I can think of only one reason: Sega didn't want to incur the wrath of the players who had legitimate S+10 grinders. Fine, but this is just one more reason why PSU needs to implement some sort of item tracking system to make it easier to locate and remove illegitimate items without having to trace them through dozens of player transactions.
In any case, there's not much that can be done about the problem now. The damage has been dealt, and we're going to have to live with it.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Sega to Laggers: We Hear You
Good news for players who have been suspecting a server lag problem: Sega of America has more or less acknowledged that a network latency issue might have cropped up since the server move way back in July.
Players that are experiencing lag problems are being encouraged to submit a help ticket at Sega's support website.
It's possible that Sega may just be responding to recent forum threads complaining about lag. I still haven't had any lag issues (as noted in this previous post) but whether or not the problem is real remains to be seen.
Players that are experiencing lag problems are being encouraged to submit a help ticket at Sega's support website.
It's possible that Sega may just be responding to recent forum threads complaining about lag. I still haven't had any lag issues (as noted in this previous post) but whether or not the problem is real remains to be seen.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Unbearable Latency? Not Here
Ever since Sega of America relocated the PSU servers to their new offices, a lot of players have been complaining about the sudden spike in network lag, which they claim has continued even to this day.
I'm not sure where this is coming from. Latency after the server move doesn't seem to have changed at all. Yeah, it's still frustrating at times -- nothing is more irritating than being killed even though you healed right before getting hit -- but it's not terrible as some people say.
Still, there might be a problem. I have noticed that most of the players complaining about latency are playing PSU on the XBox 360 servers. I don't know anything about the infrastructure of those servers, but if a problem really exists, I'm more inclined to believe that it is occurring there. I myself play PSU on a PC, and our servers seem fine as far as I can tell.
What I do know is that XBox 360 PSU is integrated with XBox Live. Maybe the new network infrastructure doesn't jive well with the Live service. Or maybe it takes the console longer to connect to the servers at their new location. Lots of things might have changed in the move -- IP addresses, DNS servers, etc. Obviously, it's hard to tell what could be going on, but it would be in Sega's best interests to fix the problem before the majority of players decide to leave.
A lot of XBox 360 players who claim that they are being hit with latency issues don't seem to know why this is happening to them and not PC players. Take this comment from a recent forum thread on a PSU fansite:
Obviously if this is a latency issue, processing power has nothing to do with it. You can't process what the server has not given you. And even if this were the case, under no circumstances does an XBox 360 have as much processing power as a good gaming PC. None. Period. That might be true when comparing the 360 to a PS2, but that's a whole different issue altogether.
In any case, if Sega of America wants to keep this game alive, they ought to focus on investigating some of the problems plaguing it, starting with latency and slowdown. Like it or not, the XBox 360 players are providing the majority of the community funding for this game in the United States and Western Europe, and if they decide to leave, we're all screwed.
I'm not sure where this is coming from. Latency after the server move doesn't seem to have changed at all. Yeah, it's still frustrating at times -- nothing is more irritating than being killed even though you healed right before getting hit -- but it's not terrible as some people say.
Still, there might be a problem. I have noticed that most of the players complaining about latency are playing PSU on the XBox 360 servers. I don't know anything about the infrastructure of those servers, but if a problem really exists, I'm more inclined to believe that it is occurring there. I myself play PSU on a PC, and our servers seem fine as far as I can tell.
What I do know is that XBox 360 PSU is integrated with XBox Live. Maybe the new network infrastructure doesn't jive well with the Live service. Or maybe it takes the console longer to connect to the servers at their new location. Lots of things might have changed in the move -- IP addresses, DNS servers, etc. Obviously, it's hard to tell what could be going on, but it would be in Sega's best interests to fix the problem before the majority of players decide to leave.
A lot of XBox 360 players who claim that they are being hit with latency issues don't seem to know why this is happening to them and not PC players. Take this comment from a recent forum thread on a PSU fansite:
I really can't understand why lag isn't apperent to the Ps2/PC's but it is on the 360, which by most causes is a supieror processing machine.
Obviously if this is a latency issue, processing power has nothing to do with it. You can't process what the server has not given you. And even if this were the case, under no circumstances does an XBox 360 have as much processing power as a good gaming PC. None. Period. That might be true when comparing the 360 to a PS2, but that's a whole different issue altogether.
In any case, if Sega of America wants to keep this game alive, they ought to focus on investigating some of the problems plaguing it, starting with latency and slowdown. Like it or not, the XBox 360 players are providing the majority of the community funding for this game in the United States and Western Europe, and if they decide to leave, we're all screwed.
And there goes the authentication server. Again.
Yes that's right, Error 060 is back. And this just happened almost a month ago on July 27th. So is this going to be some sort of recurring monthly event? I hope not.
Seriously Sega it's time to invest in some better hardware and software. It's impossible for PC/PS2 version to grow with things like this around.
Update: It's working again, for now.
Seriously Sega it's time to invest in some better hardware and software. It's impossible for PC/PS2 version to grow with things like this around.
Update: It's working again, for now.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
So much for that whole "update" thing, eh?
Chillaura has posted something quite interesting:
Nice. Just when I think things will pick up for the game Sega pulls this crap on us. We are already behind schedule; so what the hell is Sega doing?
No content updates are planned for the next few weeks. If anything can be fixed before that there could be a server or client patch, but nothing is on the schedule at the moment.I'm pretty sure by "for next few weeks" he means "until September 26th," the date the Neudaiz GBR ends.
-Chill
Nice. Just when I think things will pick up for the game Sega pulls this crap on us. We are already behind schedule; so what the hell is Sega doing?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The White Beast Problem Reloaded
As stated in this post over on the official forums, a significant update appears to be coming with the end of MAG 2 this Friday.
Obviously, given Sega's track record over the past few months I would take this with a grain of salt at this point. As with all unofficial announcements, this information is certainly subject to change.
The one unfortunate aspect of this update is that everyone will be running back to White Beast the instant the server comes up. The Neudaiz GBR runs through that mission, and since the GBR has historically (on the Japanese edition of the game) been released with related S2 missions, it's an undeniable fact that we will have White Beast S2 come Friday.
Here's the point: in terms of drops, White Beast S2 is far and away one of the best missions the online game has to offer thus far. The 12* bow (Nasuyoteri) and 11* whip (Vish Feara) make their appearances for the first time on the US/EU servers, as do the 12* and 15* Yohmei armors (Asura-senba, El-senba).
There are some other notable drops there, too -- check the link above for details. But putting all this good stuff in one place only further ensures that nobody will ever want to leave White Beast. The other planets have playable missions, too. If Sega really wants players to explore and play them, a massive tweaking of the drop charts is necessary. Spread all of White Beast's great drops out to the other missions and see what happens!
A drop chart rebalance is the only permanent solution to the White Beast problem. Events like the Mission Spotlight ultimately fail to draw people away from White Beast: most players only show up to the Spotlight mission when GMs are there, and these same players often leave once the GMs are gone.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely that Sega will ever do anything to break players' fascinations with White Beast. Looks like we'll all be heading there to find parties for the forseeable future.
We would run the official announcement today but our web developer is working remotely from the UK SEGA office and will most likely put it up early tomorrow morning.
I can confirm:
Fireworks Lobby
Neudaiz GBR
New Story Mission
New Free Mission
New Rare Mission
5 S2 Missions
Post MAG Missions
New Weapon Boards in Shops
-Chill
Obviously, given Sega's track record over the past few months I would take this with a grain of salt at this point. As with all unofficial announcements, this information is certainly subject to change.
The one unfortunate aspect of this update is that everyone will be running back to White Beast the instant the server comes up. The Neudaiz GBR runs through that mission, and since the GBR has historically (on the Japanese edition of the game) been released with related S2 missions, it's an undeniable fact that we will have White Beast S2 come Friday.
Here's the point: in terms of drops, White Beast S2 is far and away one of the best missions the online game has to offer thus far. The 12* bow (Nasuyoteri) and 11* whip (Vish Feara) make their appearances for the first time on the US/EU servers, as do the 12* and 15* Yohmei armors (Asura-senba, El-senba).
There are some other notable drops there, too -- check the link above for details. But putting all this good stuff in one place only further ensures that nobody will ever want to leave White Beast. The other planets have playable missions, too. If Sega really wants players to explore and play them, a massive tweaking of the drop charts is necessary. Spread all of White Beast's great drops out to the other missions and see what happens!
A drop chart rebalance is the only permanent solution to the White Beast problem. Events like the Mission Spotlight ultimately fail to draw people away from White Beast: most players only show up to the Spotlight mission when GMs are there, and these same players often leave once the GMs are gone.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely that Sega will ever do anything to break players' fascinations with White Beast. Looks like we'll all be heading there to find parties for the forseeable future.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
MAG 2's TA Cheaters Dethroned
(Re-posted to fix the title in the RSS feed.)
Here's an interesting development: A team of four PC/PS2 players has beaten the old top TA time of 7:28, which was set by a group that was (and still is) strongly accused of cheating with the mechgun glitch.
I'm inclined to believe that this new time is legit, since the group that posted it just happened to win MAG 1's TA competition. I have to laugh at the team of glitchers that got knocked off the top -- it's already pretty sad when you have to cheat to win a contest in an online video game, but when you make the effort to cheat and still get beaten by legit players, you really suck.
The current list of top-ranked TA teams can be found here.
Here's an interesting development: A team of four PC/PS2 players has beaten the old top TA time of 7:28, which was set by a group that was (and still is) strongly accused of cheating with the mechgun glitch.
I'm inclined to believe that this new time is legit, since the group that posted it just happened to win MAG 1's TA competition. I have to laugh at the team of glitchers that got knocked off the top -- it's already pretty sad when you have to cheat to win a contest in an online video game, but when you make the effort to cheat and still get beaten by legit players, you really suck.
The current list of top-ranked TA teams can be found here.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
MAG 2: The boredom has set in
I'm not sure what's causing it, in a way I want to play it to get on the kill leader boards but I just can't find any motivation to do so. It could be a number of things like how we already hit the 200 million prize or that I already was ranked for kills in the first MAG or even how this whole thing was delayed two months. But whatever it is (spoilers: I blame the delay) I can't bring myself to play MAG anywhere as much as I did the first time.
Also what happened to having regular updates during MAG2? Granted at one point Sega talked about passing on MAG2 to continue on with updates. I don't understand why they can't do both but seeing how long it took for MAG to come back I'd rather have new content over MAG truthfully.
This game needs some new content fast to break this cycle of eternal boredom caused by MAG.
Also what happened to having regular updates during MAG2? Granted at one point Sega talked about passing on MAG2 to continue on with updates. I don't understand why they can't do both but seeing how long it took for MAG to come back I'd rather have new content over MAG truthfully.
This game needs some new content fast to break this cycle of eternal boredom caused by MAG.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
MAG Cheaters Strike Again
You'd think would-be cheaters had learned something from the fiasco at the end of the first MAG event. Players using the "mechgun glitch" to cheat their way onto the personal and TA leaderboards were removed from the competition after they were exposed on the official PSU forums.
Apparently that didn't deter other people who wanted to cheat their way to the top of the boards this time around. And it looks like these guys are set to suffer the same fate as their MAG 1 counterparts.
A video has appeared on YouTube that offers damning evidence exposing some of the TA cheaters. At one point the guy in the video goes around checking the equipment of the alleged cheaters, and one of the players in the party is shown to be carrying no weapons except for a single mechgun. Seriously, how stupid are these people?
Sega should sort this issue out as soon as possible to show that it is taking cheaters seriously. It's nice to see that these little kiddies are so bad at PSU that they can't make it to the top of the leaderboards without the help of a glitch.
Pathetic.
Apparently that didn't deter other people who wanted to cheat their way to the top of the boards this time around. And it looks like these guys are set to suffer the same fate as their MAG 1 counterparts.
A video has appeared on YouTube that offers damning evidence exposing some of the TA cheaters. At one point the guy in the video goes around checking the equipment of the alleged cheaters, and one of the players in the party is shown to be carrying no weapons except for a single mechgun. Seriously, how stupid are these people?
Sega should sort this issue out as soon as possible to show that it is taking cheaters seriously. It's nice to see that these little kiddies are so bad at PSU that they can't make it to the top of the leaderboards without the help of a glitch.
Pathetic.
Friday, August 1, 2008
MAG2 is here
Well what do you know there wasn't a delay. I would be impressed if it didn't take two months for MAG2 to finally start. Looks like I'll renew my account soon.
For those of you looking for the the new MAG leader boards you can find them here.
Also chillaura has made an official statement that characters who were on the leader boards last time would be able claim another prize as long as they were not removed for cheating in the first MAG.
His post:
It's nice to see that Sega is already dealing with the players who cheated in the first MAG.
For those of you looking for the the new MAG leader boards you can find them here.
Also chillaura has made an official statement that characters who were on the leader boards last time would be able claim another prize as long as they were not removed for cheating in the first MAG.
His post:
The 2nd MAG event leaderboards, both the Time Attack and Kill Ranking, will be open to all players who were not delisted for glitching during the first MAG event.
Enjoy the competition, don't forget to eat and sleep.
-Chill
It's nice to see that Sega is already dealing with the players who cheated in the first MAG.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
MAG 2: Thoughts and Ramblings
With the second round of Maximum Attack G almost upon us (finally), a lot of the attention seems to have turned once again to the leaderboard issue. When MAG 2 was announced way back in June, Sega reps commented that they would not allow characters from the first leaderboard to compete for prizes in the second event.
(Of course, if a player wanted to try and get a different character ranked on the board the second time around, they said that would be OK.)
Now take a look at this post:
I'm not exactly going to complain about this yet though, because it could turn out to be a non-issue.
One major reason: We've been capped at level 130 for a couple months now. Players have had lots of time to level their characters up to the cap, so it's a good bet that there are plenty of people with multiple LV130 characters. With no new content for the past 7 weeks, players have also had time to work on their class levels, too. So a lot of people will be starting this little competition on equal footing. After all, if you're spamming C runs to get yourself on the personal leaderboard, a high level character is all you really need. Whether you do it with LV130 Character #1 or LV130 Character #2 seems really inconsequential to me.
On the other hand, allowing the same characters to compete twice would be unfair to the newer players who don't have the luxury of having multiple high-leveled characters. But even in this case, these players are probably going to wind up competing against the players who ranked in MAG 1, only this time with different LV130 characters.
We'll have to see what happens. There is one group of MAG 1 players I hope Sega keeps tabs on, though, and you can probably guess who they are. Yeah, that group would be the "mechgun glitchers" that were removed from the first competition.
I stress that these players should not, under any circumstances, be allowed to compete with any of their characters. People who go around cheating or using exploits to win at an online game get absolutely no sympathy from me. These players cheated to gain an advantage, and were correctly punished for it. Allowing them to compete this time around would negate these efforts entirely.
Well, that was a pretty long first post. Congratulations if you actually took the time to read all this! Hopefully MAG 2 will go off without a hitch, and we can move on to the next event.
(Of course, if a player wanted to try and get a different character ranked on the board the second time around, they said that would be OK.)
Now take a look at this post:
. . . we do want to discourage players from using the same characters, and will most likely be asking Sonic Team to delist them, but as always Sonic Team will get the final say on this and they may not have the time and resources to prevent players from double dipping into leaderboard exclusive rewards.
I'm not exactly going to complain about this yet though, because it could turn out to be a non-issue.
One major reason: We've been capped at level 130 for a couple months now. Players have had lots of time to level their characters up to the cap, so it's a good bet that there are plenty of people with multiple LV130 characters. With no new content for the past 7 weeks, players have also had time to work on their class levels, too. So a lot of people will be starting this little competition on equal footing. After all, if you're spamming C runs to get yourself on the personal leaderboard, a high level character is all you really need. Whether you do it with LV130 Character #1 or LV130 Character #2 seems really inconsequential to me.
On the other hand, allowing the same characters to compete twice would be unfair to the newer players who don't have the luxury of having multiple high-leveled characters. But even in this case, these players are probably going to wind up competing against the players who ranked in MAG 1, only this time with different LV130 characters.
We'll have to see what happens. There is one group of MAG 1 players I hope Sega keeps tabs on, though, and you can probably guess who they are. Yeah, that group would be the "mechgun glitchers" that were removed from the first competition.
I stress that these players should not, under any circumstances, be allowed to compete with any of their characters. People who go around cheating or using exploits to win at an online game get absolutely no sympathy from me. These players cheated to gain an advantage, and were correctly punished for it. Allowing them to compete this time around would negate these efforts entirely.
Well, that was a pretty long first post. Congratulations if you actually took the time to read all this! Hopefully MAG 2 will go off without a hitch, and we can move on to the next event.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Error 060 says you can't log on
It seems that Sega's authentication server is down again. So anyone trying to log on now will be greeted with error 060. I thought the new billing system was going to fix problems like these?
I'm starting to have a bad feeling about MAG2 now...
Update: The problem is now fixed.
I'm starting to have a bad feeling about MAG2 now...
Update: The problem is now fixed.
What's better then one person complaining?
If you said anything other than "two people complaining" then you were wrong.
Introducing Minus X, the other person that will be posting here occasionally. We go way back to PSOBB on the team enforcers and regularly team up on PSU. I'll let him handle the rest of the introduction if he wishes or he can just jump right into some rants. Either is fine with me.
Introducing Minus X, the other person that will be posting here occasionally. We go way back to PSOBB on the team enforcers and regularly team up on PSU. I'll let him handle the rest of the introduction if he wishes or he can just jump right into some rants. Either is fine with me.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Guntecher and S rank Cards
This has been annoying me for a while now. I've seen multiple posts (Ex: 1, 2, 3) about people wanting GT to have S rank cards. If GT were to get S rank cards it would be more disappointing then Sega boosting attack technics from 20 to 30 (lol, useless).
I'm not sure what the appeal of cards on GT is anyway. I mean they take too long to hit their target and the auto-aim on it sucks. The only thing I can think of is because cards show "big numbars" but still fail compared to the superior crossbow. The only time I use them is when I play a type that can not use crossbow, and even then it's not often since I don't care for them.
Yes GT needs a boost but S rank cards not the way to go. It's like saying "lets make GT better by making them worse!"
I'd like to see these changes to GT (not that Sega will bother with any of this though):
OK, I'm done for now. Of course I could complain about Wartecher but I'll save that for another time. Maybe.
I'm not sure what the appeal of cards on GT is anyway. I mean they take too long to hit their target and the auto-aim on it sucks. The only thing I can think of is because cards show "big numbars" but still fail compared to the superior crossbow. The only time I use them is when I play a type that can not use crossbow, and even then it's not often since I don't care for them.
Yes GT needs a boost but S rank cards not the way to go. It's like saying "lets make GT better by making them worse!"
I'd like to see these changes to GT (not that Sega will bother with any of this though):
- Raise Skills from 10 to 20
- Keep Bullets at 40
- Lower Attack Technics from 20 back to 10
- Keep Support Technics at 30
- Remove access to cards, and long bow.
- Upgrade rifle from A rank to S.
- Add access to A rank grenade and A rank spear.
OK, I'm done for now. Of course I could complain about Wartecher but I'll save that for another time. Maybe.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Mission Spotlight for July 25th to 31st
I totally forgot about these but RubyEclipse has posted the new mission spotlight is Galenigare Lake lobby on Moatoob. Which has four missions and a chance at FOI. Oh my!
With MAG supposedly coming back next week hopefully this will be the last of this no update filler.
I mean seriously the only time people even bother with it is when a GM is there for that small chance to win some PSU related items.
From the bottom of the mission spotlight page:
I am so there! Actually on second thought...
With MAG supposedly coming back next week hopefully this will be the last of this no update filler.
I mean seriously the only time people even bother with it is when a GM is there for that small chance to win some PSU related items.
From the bottom of the mission spotlight page:
A few lucky GUARDIANS each week will also be gifted exclusive PSU Prizes, including PSU wristbands, collector texter tins, Inflatable "Pete" Partner Machines, and PSU T-shirts!
I am so there! Actually on second thought...
August 1st update is official
Or is it?
Chillaura has posted the official announcement for the August 1st update.
About time they did something with the game. And it's nice of them to finally raise the level cap. Although like I feared there is no new content.
Don't tell me there will be nothing new until MAG2 ends. Looks like it's going to be another boring month for those of you who don't care about MAG.
Despite that, Sega just don't delay this update again we really need to get things moving again.
Chillaura has posted the official announcement for the August 1st update.
About time they did something with the game. And it's nice of them to finally raise the level cap. Although like I feared there is no new content.
Don't tell me there will be nothing new until MAG2 ends. Looks like it's going to be another boring month for those of you who don't care about MAG.
Despite that, Sega just don't delay this update again we really need to get things moving again.
Error 065: It's back baby!
Well sort of. According to Edward@Sega it is a temporary error that happens the last day of the billing cycle before the account is re-billed.
Well at least Sega is making some progress with the billing system, right?
Well at least Sega is making some progress with the billing system, right?
Gameguard update
When I finally got around to load up PSU today there was a gameguard update. Initially it downloaded 8 files and then it downloaded another file when I loaded up the game again.
I'm not sure what the update did but it probably did nothing just like how gameguard does nothing to stop cheating.
Update: Seems that this update actually did do something. On the official forums someone has posted that in Vista 32bit and 64bit it has caused some programs to crash and problems with Windows dialog boxes such as open and save file. So far no issues with XP have been reported.
I really wish Sega would replace this crap program with something that actually works and doesn't mess up your computer.
I'm not sure what the update did but it probably did nothing just like how gameguard does nothing to stop cheating.
Update: Seems that this update actually did do something. On the official forums someone has posted that in Vista 32bit and 64bit it has caused some programs to crash and problems with Windows dialog boxes such as open and save file. So far no issues with XP have been reported.
I really wish Sega would replace this crap program with something that actually works and doesn't mess up your computer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)