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.
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