When Sega has good PSU-related news to announce, it doesn't take very long to get it out to the masses. So when PSU GM Edward took the unusual step of announcing a content update on a Monday afternoon, it should have been pretty clear that this would be no ordinary maintenance week.
Friday's maintenance period will kick off the long-awaited Absolute Zero event on the regional servers. PSU GMs had been hinting at the arrival of this event for awhile, and it doesn't really come as a surprise that Sega chose this week to start it.
Though no end date for the event has been announced as of yet, my guess is that it will probably run for five weeks, until January 7th, 2011 (unless Sega enjoys doing maintenance on New Year's Eve -- I know I wouldn't). By doing this, Sega can basically finish any mid-event maintenance on the 17th or 24th of December and then take off for the holiday. This also gives Sega the chance to reel some former players back in for awhile during the hectic holiday release season. (Of course, whether they stay after the event ends is another story altogether, but...)
On the other side, players will be happy to know that they'll actually get something to do during a month where Sega has not typically been forthcoming with new content for PSU. Absolute Zero is a Maximum Attack-style event with a global kill counter and unlockable rewards, which might help keep players motivated. An event Web site, which normally accompanies this type of event, will not be available until after Friday's maintenance.
Only one question remains to be answered: Can Sega hold this event without some kind of catastrophic failure or server problem? Based on the current track record, I wouldn't be too sure, but you never know!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
PSU Network Lag, Now and Forever
After several weeks of no updates, things might be temporarily looking up again on the US/EU PSU servers. Friday's maintenance period kicked off another GBR -- this time on the Guardians' Colony -- and added the autumn lobbies. Plus, with the Absolute Zero event looming on the horizon, there's some hope that players might be able to stay occupied through the holiday season.
However, it's not Sega's style to hold events without some kind of huge server issue, and it looks like we have the potential for another one here. For the last month, players have been reporting irritating lag spikes that have dropped whole universes in some cases.
Things were so bad last weekend that there were actually prolonged server outages. Compensation is planned but so far nothing has been announced.
Call me crazy, but I don't think it's too much to ask to be able to play a cooperative online game without fear of being randomly disconnected or dropped from the server "just because". PSU GMs have apparently been making an effort to pinpoint the problem by surveying users, but it's been almost a month now and very little has changed.
Periodic network outages and connection drops are nothing new, either. PSO: Blue Burst players will remember the infamous 906 errors that occurred for months leading up to the shutdown of those servers.
The bottom line is that Sega should be doing more to ensure that players don't leave the game because of annoying network problems. The upcoming event will bring idle players back, but only if Sega can get things in order before then.
However, it's not Sega's style to hold events without some kind of huge server issue, and it looks like we have the potential for another one here. For the last month, players have been reporting irritating lag spikes that have dropped whole universes in some cases.
Things were so bad last weekend that there were actually prolonged server outages. Compensation is planned but so far nothing has been announced.
Call me crazy, but I don't think it's too much to ask to be able to play a cooperative online game without fear of being randomly disconnected or dropped from the server "just because". PSU GMs have apparently been making an effort to pinpoint the problem by surveying users, but it's been almost a month now and very little has changed.
Periodic network outages and connection drops are nothing new, either. PSO: Blue Burst players will remember the infamous 906 errors that occurred for months leading up to the shutdown of those servers.
The bottom line is that Sega should be doing more to ensure that players don't leave the game because of annoying network problems. The upcoming event will bring idle players back, but only if Sega can get things in order before then.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Phantasy Star Portable 2 news
So I've been busy and haven't wrote anything here in awhile and since I felt I haven't posted enough like Minus I wanted to post this and it probably contains information you already know about... BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THAT OK!?
Anyway, I was pretty disappointed that Sega ruined PSP2's online mode right off the bat. Yes that's right the code for online that came with the game was useless! Oh, but don't worry Ruby said they are working on a fix! I have no idea if they got it working yet but the damage is already done. This is probably the fastest I've seen an online Phantasy Star game get ruined. Sure it was bound to happen but at least the online code could have helped kept off pirated copies of the game.
Next the game seems to have a few glitches. The UMD version of the game seems to have the install "corrupt." I use the word "corrupt" loosely because from my experience it seems that the game randomly shuts off the install data in a mission and once you complete it you are able to just turn it on again. It's pretty annoying and should be fixed. Also there seems to be a freezing issue with the mission Awoken Serpent once you enter the boss warp. This should have never been and definitely must be fix.
Also it looks like the game has no DLC, free and paid (I didn't care about the paid stuff anyway). It seems the English version of the game changed the way some items were obtained so it's looking very unlikely that this content will be released. I have no idea why they took this route. The DLC missions are FREE for the Japanese version of the game so why not just put it on the disc and leave it at that?
There is a way to use the Japanese DLC on the English version of the game though. Besides the mission text being in Japanese for the new content it seems it also updates a few English quests into Japanese, also there are issues playing online with people who do not have the DLC. I haven't tried using this so if you try it do so at your own risk.
And lastly, the nice folks over at PSUPedia released the full list of passwords for PSP2. I thought this was pretty nice, and much better than Sega's slow release of them (PSU updates anyone?). Although Clumsy wasn't too thrilled about this, and compared to them a cheat site (although he later changed his wording on the matter). Lastly he said "hacking out content is killing the game, killing the community, and hurting the franchise." I agree with the first and last statement but in all fairness I'm pretty sure the community is killing the community. Also in this case the "hack" didn't hurt anyone so I don't see what the big deal is compared to some of the stuff that went on in PSO and PSU.
Anyway, I was pretty disappointed that Sega ruined PSP2's online mode right off the bat. Yes that's right the code for online that came with the game was useless! Oh, but don't worry Ruby said they are working on a fix! I have no idea if they got it working yet but the damage is already done. This is probably the fastest I've seen an online Phantasy Star game get ruined. Sure it was bound to happen but at least the online code could have helped kept off pirated copies of the game.
Next the game seems to have a few glitches. The UMD version of the game seems to have the install "corrupt." I use the word "corrupt" loosely because from my experience it seems that the game randomly shuts off the install data in a mission and once you complete it you are able to just turn it on again. It's pretty annoying and should be fixed. Also there seems to be a freezing issue with the mission Awoken Serpent once you enter the boss warp. This should have never been and definitely must be fix.
Also it looks like the game has no DLC, free and paid (I didn't care about the paid stuff anyway). It seems the English version of the game changed the way some items were obtained so it's looking very unlikely that this content will be released. I have no idea why they took this route. The DLC missions are FREE for the Japanese version of the game so why not just put it on the disc and leave it at that?
There is a way to use the Japanese DLC on the English version of the game though. Besides the mission text being in Japanese for the new content it seems it also updates a few English quests into Japanese, also there are issues playing online with people who do not have the DLC. I haven't tried using this so if you try it do so at your own risk.
And lastly, the nice folks over at PSUPedia released the full list of passwords for PSP2. I thought this was pretty nice, and much better than Sega's slow release of them (PSU updates anyone?). Although Clumsy wasn't too thrilled about this, and compared to them a cheat site (although he later changed his wording on the matter). Lastly he said "hacking out content is killing the game, killing the community, and hurting the franchise." I agree with the first and last statement but in all fairness I'm pretty sure the community is killing the community. Also in this case the "hack" didn't hurt anyone so I don't see what the big deal is compared to some of the stuff that went on in PSO and PSU.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
PSO2 Console Versions Possible? Let's Hope Not
Yeah, I realize that I've been posting a lot of PSO2 news/comments on this blog lately. Any new PSO2 news is a lot more interesting than another PSU maintenance period skipped and another week of no new content.
So, on to the PSO2 news. Sega of Japan has posted job listings for software engineers looking to help develop Phantasy Star Online 2. (As a side note, this does not give me great confidence for a release anytime next year.)
Of particular interest are the qualifications required for the positions. According to the job listings, posted on Sega of Japan's corporate site and translated in a post on fansite PSO World, successful candidates will (among other things) have "experience in network game development for PC, PS3 and/or Xbox 360".
I found this to be a little troubling, since it indicates that Sega is at least considering console versions of PSO2. Such a decision could have disastrous effects on the success of the game in the West, primarily in regards to the international servers that many potential players (including this one) are hoping for.
So far, PSO2 has only been announced for the PC. Any console versions of the game that are announced could ruin the dream of international servers. A PS3 version of PSO2 does not necessarily mean certain doom, since PC and PS3 servers would probably be combined (as they were with PSU). However, if an Xbox 360 version of the game is announced, all bets are off. Microsoft's refusal to allow combined Xbox/PC/PS2/PS3 servers means that the server population would have to be split somehow. Of course, if that were to happen, Sega could break the population up into international PC/PS3 and international Xbox 360 servers. However, I think this scenario would be unlikely. Instead, I would expect regional servers and a return to the drama and infighting that made the PSU community so great.
Bottom line: Pray that Sega stays away from the consoles, especially Xbox 360, if you are hoping for worldwide servers.
There's also the issue of actual development. If Sega chose to release console versions of the game, which console would they use to develop the game? I won't care as long as Sega chooses the PC or the PS3. The Xbox 360 is the weakest link of the three platforms, and I think Sega would have a hard time making a really good-looking, expansive, next-generation game there.
Of course, this is all speculation. Sega may choose not to develop any console versions of the game at all. This is the smartest choice, but with Sega it's not a foregone conclusion. We can only wait, watch, and hope they get things right.
So, on to the PSO2 news. Sega of Japan has posted job listings for software engineers looking to help develop Phantasy Star Online 2. (As a side note, this does not give me great confidence for a release anytime next year.)
Of particular interest are the qualifications required for the positions. According to the job listings, posted on Sega of Japan's corporate site and translated in a post on fansite PSO World, successful candidates will (among other things) have "experience in network game development for PC, PS3 and/or Xbox 360".
I found this to be a little troubling, since it indicates that Sega is at least considering console versions of PSO2. Such a decision could have disastrous effects on the success of the game in the West, primarily in regards to the international servers that many potential players (including this one) are hoping for.
So far, PSO2 has only been announced for the PC. Any console versions of the game that are announced could ruin the dream of international servers. A PS3 version of PSO2 does not necessarily mean certain doom, since PC and PS3 servers would probably be combined (as they were with PSU). However, if an Xbox 360 version of the game is announced, all bets are off. Microsoft's refusal to allow combined Xbox/PC/PS2/PS3 servers means that the server population would have to be split somehow. Of course, if that were to happen, Sega could break the population up into international PC/PS3 and international Xbox 360 servers. However, I think this scenario would be unlikely. Instead, I would expect regional servers and a return to the drama and infighting that made the PSU community so great.
Bottom line: Pray that Sega stays away from the consoles, especially Xbox 360, if you are hoping for worldwide servers.
There's also the issue of actual development. If Sega chose to release console versions of the game, which console would they use to develop the game? I won't care as long as Sega chooses the PC or the PS3. The Xbox 360 is the weakest link of the three platforms, and I think Sega would have a hard time making a really good-looking, expansive, next-generation game there.
Of course, this is all speculation. Sega may choose not to develop any console versions of the game at all. This is the smartest choice, but with Sega it's not a foregone conclusion. We can only wait, watch, and hope they get things right.
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