This moment is brought to you by Sega of Japan, which pushed a new version of the PSO2 launcher shortly after maintenance ended earlier this morning.
Of course, that in itself wouldn't warrant a new blog posting if not for the nasty side effects that came with it. In this thread on PSO-World, players are reporting that the launcher will actually delete files from your hard drive under certain conditions. The files may not even be related to PSO2; some players were reporting that the launcher apparently tried to delete files out of their Final Fantasy XIV installations. I guess Sega was tired of competing with other games for players.
In any case, the wise thing to do would be to wait until Sega sorts all of this out before attempting to update your game. I assume that compensation for this disaster will be coming once everything is back to normal, but even so, there really is no excuse for this kind of thing. You would think that a bug this serious would have been caught in testing, but hey, it's Sega.
Showing posts with label Updates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Updates. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Thursday, October 11, 2012
PSO2: (Temporary) King of the Grind
This week's content update for the Japanese version of PSO2 added a new difficulty and raised the level cap to 50. However, apparently not all went as planned – thanks to an oversight on Sega's part, players were in for a nasty shock upon reaching level 41.
The XP required to go from level 40 to 41 is 92,000 – a pretty hefty amount but generally in-line with the game's experience curve so far. (I probably won't make it that far in the Japanese game, so I can only report based on what other players say.)
However, to get from level 41 to 42, a player needs to earn a staggering 2.8 million XP (roughly) – an almost 3000% increase over the previous level! If you thought 20-30 was a grind, then this one's guaranteed to make you jump with joy.
Sega is aware of the problem and has planned an emergency maintenance this evening to correct the error. The issue apparently stems from the fact that the game's experience table was created at launch, with the expectation that the level cap would not need to be raised so soon. That's what Sega says, anyway.
So there's proof that Sega doesn't always screw solely with the English community. In fact, there's a good chance that the English game will never see this little glitch. Yes, the English game is being released several months after the Japanese game, but look at it this way – the Japanese players are helping iron out all the mistakes so that the English game can be perfect! (Yeah, right)
The XP required to go from level 40 to 41 is 92,000 – a pretty hefty amount but generally in-line with the game's experience curve so far. (I probably won't make it that far in the Japanese game, so I can only report based on what other players say.)
However, to get from level 41 to 42, a player needs to earn a staggering 2.8 million XP (roughly) – an almost 3000% increase over the previous level! If you thought 20-30 was a grind, then this one's guaranteed to make you jump with joy.
Sega is aware of the problem and has planned an emergency maintenance this evening to correct the error. The issue apparently stems from the fact that the game's experience table was created at launch, with the expectation that the level cap would not need to be raised so soon. That's what Sega says, anyway.
So there's proof that Sega doesn't always screw solely with the English community. In fact, there's a good chance that the English game will never see this little glitch. Yes, the English game is being released several months after the Japanese game, but look at it this way – the Japanese players are helping iron out all the mistakes so that the English game can be perfect! (Yeah, right)
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Some PSU Event Starts Soon
Yeah. That's right. According to the Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web page, the servers will be seeing an event beginning this Friday. It runs until maintenance on Friday, January 27, 2012. That's six weeks for those of you keeping track at home.
It looks like some seasonal lobbies will also be going up, and Sega will also do whatever it is they usually do during maintenance periods (casino rotations, etc.)
Honestly I don't care anymore. It's been three months since we've posted anything PSU-related on this blog. Just waiting for some significant PSO2 news...
It looks like some seasonal lobbies will also be going up, and Sega will also do whatever it is they usually do during maintenance periods (casino rotations, etc.)
Honestly I don't care anymore. It's been three months since we've posted anything PSU-related on this blog. Just waiting for some significant PSO2 news...
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Next PSU Event Begins Friday
The constant stream of Phantasy Star Online 2 news that's been provided this summer has been a nice diversion from the lack of substantive content updates in Phantasy Star Universe.
It's been very quiet on the PSU news front, actually -- before now, there hasn't been a posting about PSU updates since the beginning of June. With a new event coming, I think it's time to break that streak, if only temporarily.
PSU GM Edward announced on the official PSU forums that the new event, Maximum Attack X, will begin on the regional servers after Friday morning's maintenance. The event is scheduled to run for six weeks, ending with maintenance on the morning of Friday, October 21.
Edward also mentioned that a new lobby will also be added to the game with this maintenance. No additional details were provided, so it's anyone's guess as to whether this is a new permanent lobby or just a seasonal addition.
So that's it. I guess for the hardcore players this is a good reason to jump back into the game for two months, anyway.
It's been very quiet on the PSU news front, actually -- before now, there hasn't been a posting about PSU updates since the beginning of June. With a new event coming, I think it's time to break that streak, if only temporarily.
PSU GM Edward announced on the official PSU forums that the new event, Maximum Attack X, will begin on the regional servers after Friday morning's maintenance. The event is scheduled to run for six weeks, ending with maintenance on the morning of Friday, October 21.
Edward also mentioned that a new lobby will also be added to the game with this maintenance. No additional details were provided, so it's anyone's guess as to whether this is a new permanent lobby or just a seasonal addition.
So that's it. I guess for the hardcore players this is a good reason to jump back into the game for two months, anyway.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
The PSU and PSO2 News Roundup
After a busy start to the summer, things have cooled off a bit on the Phantasy Star news front. That could be about to change, though.
In Phantasy Star Universe, The Great Arms Race is about to come to an end. The Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site is reporting that the first round of rewards from that event will be added in this week's maintenance period. In addition, a new mission will be added. This mission will make up part of a GBR that includes missions The Black Nest, The Dark God, and True Darkness, which will be seeing S3 upgrades this week.
In Phantasy Star Online 2 news, the Japanese Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity blog has hinted that more PSO2 information may be released tomorrow. We haven't heard a whole lot about the game lately, so any news would definitely be welcome.
Finally, the Sega Pass outage from June continues, with the official forums still down at the time of this posting. The US/EU official Phantasy Star Universe Web site is also down with the same "essential maintenance" message that appeared at the forums for a few days in late June. There hasn't been any word on how much longer the outage will continue.
That's all for now. Keep your fingers crossed for some awesome PSO2 news tomorrow!
In Phantasy Star Universe, The Great Arms Race is about to come to an end. The Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site is reporting that the first round of rewards from that event will be added in this week's maintenance period. In addition, a new mission will be added. This mission will make up part of a GBR that includes missions The Black Nest, The Dark God, and True Darkness, which will be seeing S3 upgrades this week.
In Phantasy Star Online 2 news, the Japanese Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity blog has hinted that more PSO2 information may be released tomorrow. We haven't heard a whole lot about the game lately, so any news would definitely be welcome.
Finally, the Sega Pass outage from June continues, with the official forums still down at the time of this posting. The US/EU official Phantasy Star Universe Web site is also down with the same "essential maintenance" message that appeared at the forums for a few days in late June. There hasn't been any word on how much longer the outage will continue.
That's all for now. Keep your fingers crossed for some awesome PSO2 news tomorrow!
Monday, June 6, 2011
The Great Arms Race Begins Friday
The last two months have been rather devoid of PSU news. In fact, the last piece of PSU-related news on this blog was posted exactly two months ago, and it wasn't even a major update!
So what's been going on? The 3rd Anniversary Thanks Festa event ended just over three weeks ago, and since then, the regional servers have seen a new mission and a Parum GBR. The next event, The Great Arms Race, will hit the servers this Friday, June 10th. This appears to be one of the rare moments where the Western community got the news before Japan (it hasn't been posted on the official Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site as of this writing), so it's not known how long the event will last. (Update 6/8: The Japanese Web site has listed July 15th as the end date, meaning the event will run for a standard five weeks.)
Based on GM Edward's post on the official forums, it appears that this event will play out similarly to prior events, with enemy kills unlocking reward panels and so forth. In addition, the event will have a pseudo-PvP element to it in which players register with one of the major weapons manufacturers—GRM, Yohmei, or Tenora—and earn points for that manufacturer. Players will receive a weapon from their manufacturer for participating in the event, but the "team" that wins the event will have their weapon's stats boosted to their maximum values.
A Web site for the event will be posted at some point before it starts. This looks like it will be an interesting event; the competitive aspect certainly hasn't been tried so far in PSU, and I would assume that it alone would boost player enthusiasm. It seems like a lot of players have been clamoring for this event in recent months, anyway.
That's all from the PSU front for now. Stay tuned for more!
So what's been going on? The 3rd Anniversary Thanks Festa event ended just over three weeks ago, and since then, the regional servers have seen a new mission and a Parum GBR. The next event, The Great Arms Race, will hit the servers this Friday, June 10th. This appears to be one of the rare moments where the Western community got the news before Japan (it hasn't been posted on the official Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site as of this writing), so it's not known how long the event will last. (Update 6/8: The Japanese Web site has listed July 15th as the end date, meaning the event will run for a standard five weeks.)
Based on GM Edward's post on the official forums, it appears that this event will play out similarly to prior events, with enemy kills unlocking reward panels and so forth. In addition, the event will have a pseudo-PvP element to it in which players register with one of the major weapons manufacturers—GRM, Yohmei, or Tenora—and earn points for that manufacturer. Players will receive a weapon from their manufacturer for participating in the event, but the "team" that wins the event will have their weapon's stats boosted to their maximum values.
A Web site for the event will be posted at some point before it starts. This looks like it will be an interesting event; the competitive aspect certainly hasn't been tried so far in PSU, and I would assume that it alone would boost player enthusiasm. It seems like a lot of players have been clamoring for this event in recent months, anyway.
That's all from the PSU front for now. Stay tuned for more!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
First "Update 3rd" Content Appears Next Week
The Japanese PC PSU servers will be receiving their first set of "Update 3rd" content next week to coincide with the start of a new event.
Sega's Japanese PSU Web site announced the update on Wednesday. Three new field areas will be added to the game, the first such content update since Ambition of the Illuminus was released nearly four years ago.
The release of this content coincides with the start of Maximum Attack Infinity, a special crossover event with Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity. The event runs until Thursday, May 26.
Of course, it goes without saying that players on the US/EU servers are probably going to be grumbling about this for awhile. Now that the Japanese game has begun to get legitimately new content, it will be even more difficult to swallow the schedule of mostly rehashed updates on the Xbox 360 servers.
There has been speculation in the US/EU community that "Update 3rd" could steal many of the hardcore Xbox 360 PSU players away from the regional servers. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. However, if it does happen, Sega should make a note of it when deciding on region-separated servers for PSO2.
Sega's Japanese PSU Web site announced the update on Wednesday. Three new field areas will be added to the game, the first such content update since Ambition of the Illuminus was released nearly four years ago.
The release of this content coincides with the start of Maximum Attack Infinity, a special crossover event with Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity. The event runs until Thursday, May 26.
Of course, it goes without saying that players on the US/EU servers are probably going to be grumbling about this for awhile. Now that the Japanese game has begun to get legitimately new content, it will be even more difficult to swallow the schedule of mostly rehashed updates on the Xbox 360 servers.
There has been speculation in the US/EU community that "Update 3rd" could steal many of the hardcore Xbox 360 PSU players away from the regional servers. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. However, if it does happen, Sega should make a note of it when deciding on region-separated servers for PSO2.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
JP PSU "Update 3rd" Content Rollout Begins This Month
Back in January, news broke of yet another set of expansion content coming to the Japanese version of Phantasy Star Universe. A few glimpses of new content were shown at the time, but no specific details were provided about the update.
However, a Web page has now appeared on the Japanese PSU Web site offering actual screenshots of the new content, dubbed "Update 3rd" and slated to hit the Japanese PC servers beginning this month.
Of particular interest are the new environments being added. I, for one, was happy to see that an actual beach level is finally being added to the game. It will be interesting to see what kinds of enemies will inhabit these areas. Hopefully we'll get to see some actual new enemies with new moves and abilities, instead of boring reskins. In any case, I must say that this is actually making me want to play on the Japanese servers!
Of course, these updates are made possible because the Japanese version of PSU has finally been freed from the shackles of console support. With the shutdown of PS2 support imminent, Sega / Sonic Team can now theoretically release as much genuinely new content as they want for PC players to enjoy. In fact, Sega has indicated that the content pictured on the Web page is only the tip of the iceberg.
If this had been done earlier, could the US/EU PC servers have been saved? Nobody will ever know. However, if this is the kind of support we could get for PSO2, then I sincerely hope that a console version of that game never sees the light of day.
However, a Web page has now appeared on the Japanese PSU Web site offering actual screenshots of the new content, dubbed "Update 3rd" and slated to hit the Japanese PC servers beginning this month.
Of particular interest are the new environments being added. I, for one, was happy to see that an actual beach level is finally being added to the game. It will be interesting to see what kinds of enemies will inhabit these areas. Hopefully we'll get to see some actual new enemies with new moves and abilities, instead of boring reskins. In any case, I must say that this is actually making me want to play on the Japanese servers!
Of course, these updates are made possible because the Japanese version of PSU has finally been freed from the shackles of console support. With the shutdown of PS2 support imminent, Sega / Sonic Team can now theoretically release as much genuinely new content as they want for PC players to enjoy. In fact, Sega has indicated that the content pictured on the Web page is only the tip of the iceberg.
If this had been done earlier, could the US/EU PC servers have been saved? Nobody will ever know. However, if this is the kind of support we could get for PSO2, then I sincerely hope that a console version of that game never sees the light of day.
Friday, April 1, 2011
It's PC/PS2 Shutdown Day Again
One year ago today, Sega pulled the plug on the PC/PS2 PSU servers in the United States and Europe. Affected players were reflecting on their time in the game, moving to the Xbox 360 servers, or just moving on.
At the time of the shutdown, PSU GMs had argued that the closure of the servers would clear the way for faster content updates and the potential to catch up with the Japanese version of the game. Since the PC/PS2 servers were shut down, the Xbox 360 servers have received the supplemental update, a handful of missions, and the Absolute Zero event. Last week, the "Spring Event", aka the Third Anniversary Thanks Festa, appeared on the regional servers.
That might seem like a fair amount of new content. However, in the same time frame, the Japanese game has received even more events, and a third expansion for the game has been announced. Therefore I would argue that the pace of updates has not really changed at all; in fact, I think we might be further behind now than we were at this time last year.
Perhaps the PC/PS2 servers were not profitable; I suppose that would be sufficient justification to pull the plug for any major company. However, I don't think that the server shutdown has provided any long-term benefit to the Xbox 360 servers, aside from a population increase due to the migration of PC/PS2 players. So while those servers may stay around for at least the next year or so, players shouldn't get their hopes up when it comes to playing catch-up with the Japanese.
At the time of the shutdown, PSU GMs had argued that the closure of the servers would clear the way for faster content updates and the potential to catch up with the Japanese version of the game. Since the PC/PS2 servers were shut down, the Xbox 360 servers have received the supplemental update, a handful of missions, and the Absolute Zero event. Last week, the "Spring Event", aka the Third Anniversary Thanks Festa, appeared on the regional servers.
That might seem like a fair amount of new content. However, in the same time frame, the Japanese game has received even more events, and a third expansion for the game has been announced. Therefore I would argue that the pace of updates has not really changed at all; in fact, I think we might be further behind now than we were at this time last year.
Perhaps the PC/PS2 servers were not profitable; I suppose that would be sufficient justification to pull the plug for any major company. However, I don't think that the server shutdown has provided any long-term benefit to the Xbox 360 servers, aside from a population increase due to the migration of PC/PS2 players. So while those servers may stay around for at least the next year or so, players shouldn't get their hopes up when it comes to playing catch-up with the Japanese.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Well, That Was Unexpected
Given the current state of affairs in Japan, you'd think that Sega might have decided to put updates for Phantasy Star Universe on hold for a little while. For a week, that was the case, but now it looks like Sega of Japan is ready to move on.
Information about this week's content update has been posted on Sega's Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site. The regional servers will see the arrival of the missions that made up the 3rd Anniversary Thanks Festa on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers. The event will run until Friday, May 13, for a total of seven weeks. A lobby change is also slated for this week's maintenance.
I'm sure this is a welcome surprise to many players (especially those who have been clamoring for this event for awhile). Meanwhile, the update cycle resumes on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers this week as well; Sega of Japan has also announced that it will be reducing the number of universes on those servers during this maintenance to help with the power situation there. Players on those servers were also reminded that service failures may still be possible due to rolling blackouts.
Personally, I didn't think updates would start up again so quickly. I guess it's a business decision more than anything else and the desire to get things back to normal, which is commendable. In any case, it looks like the update suspension is over.
Information about this week's content update has been posted on Sega's Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site. The regional servers will see the arrival of the missions that made up the 3rd Anniversary Thanks Festa on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers. The event will run until Friday, May 13, for a total of seven weeks. A lobby change is also slated for this week's maintenance.
I'm sure this is a welcome surprise to many players (especially those who have been clamoring for this event for awhile). Meanwhile, the update cycle resumes on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers this week as well; Sega of Japan has also announced that it will be reducing the number of universes on those servers during this maintenance to help with the power situation there. Players on those servers were also reminded that service failures may still be possible due to rolling blackouts.
Personally, I didn't think updates would start up again so quickly. I guess it's a business decision more than anything else and the desire to get things back to normal, which is commendable. In any case, it looks like the update suspension is over.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Content Updates Postponed Indefinitely
PSU GM Edward has announced that there will be no server maintenance this week, and that scheduled content updates will resume "as soon as we are able".
The reason for this announcement should be obvious to everyone. Sega of Japan plans the updates, and due to the recent earthquake, tsunami, and escalating nuclear disaster there, there are obviously more important things to worry about. Updates on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers have been also been suspended as a result of this tragedy, and Sega of Japan has advised players to be wary of potential service failures due to rolling blackouts or other issues.
Anyone who thinks they have the right to complain about this is out of their mind. The only thing that matters right now is for the Japanese people to get back on their feet, clean up, and rebuild from these disasters. Your precious content update can wait.
The reason for this announcement should be obvious to everyone. Sega of Japan plans the updates, and due to the recent earthquake, tsunami, and escalating nuclear disaster there, there are obviously more important things to worry about. Updates on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers have been also been suspended as a result of this tragedy, and Sega of Japan has advised players to be wary of potential service failures due to rolling blackouts or other issues.
Anyone who thinks they have the right to complain about this is out of their mind. The only thing that matters right now is for the Japanese people to get back on their feet, clean up, and rebuild from these disasters. Your precious content update can wait.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Rewards as Content, Part II
Three weeks ago, I dashed off a post about the arrival of the first set of rewards from Absolute Zero.
At the time, some Xbox 360 players were apparently a little irritated that they weren't getting all of the event rewards in that update. I had said then that I thought it was a good idea to split the rewards up, if only so that players wouldn't feel rushed trying to take advantage of all the bonuses at once. I also hoped that the next content update would be more than just the second half of the rewards.
Here we are, three weeks later. The update for this week has been announced. Lo and behold, the remaining rewards are pretty much the only things the regional servers get this week, which is exactly what GM Edward said would not happen.
To be fair, obviously Edward does not get to decide what goes into the next content update; he only reports what Sega of Japan has told him. Things can (and probably often do) change, and as PSU GM and community liaison, Edward unfortunately has to take the brunt of the players' criticism when that happens. However, Sega of Japan shouldn't be putting Edward in the position to be the bearer of bad news. What it has done here is insulting to players and merely underscores why things continue to go downhill on the US/EU servers.
In addition to receiving the second set of reward updates, players will also be getting the White Day lobbies and an update to the missions Unsafe Passage, Fight for Food, and Moonlight Beast that makes them Ambition of the Illuminus compliant (which I presume is only a drop chart change and maybe a difficulty increase). I don't see any significant updates here at all. For Sega of Japan to say they have "something planned" besides the reward update and then throw out a lobby change and minor mission update is ridiculous.
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the community responds to this announcement. Players didn't take the announcement of the first set of rewards too well, so the next day or so should be fun!
At the time, some Xbox 360 players were apparently a little irritated that they weren't getting all of the event rewards in that update. I had said then that I thought it was a good idea to split the rewards up, if only so that players wouldn't feel rushed trying to take advantage of all the bonuses at once. I also hoped that the next content update would be more than just the second half of the rewards.
Here we are, three weeks later. The update for this week has been announced. Lo and behold, the remaining rewards are pretty much the only things the regional servers get this week, which is exactly what GM Edward said would not happen.
To be fair, obviously Edward does not get to decide what goes into the next content update; he only reports what Sega of Japan has told him. Things can (and probably often do) change, and as PSU GM and community liaison, Edward unfortunately has to take the brunt of the players' criticism when that happens. However, Sega of Japan shouldn't be putting Edward in the position to be the bearer of bad news. What it has done here is insulting to players and merely underscores why things continue to go downhill on the US/EU servers.
In addition to receiving the second set of reward updates, players will also be getting the White Day lobbies and an update to the missions Unsafe Passage, Fight for Food, and Moonlight Beast that makes them Ambition of the Illuminus compliant (which I presume is only a drop chart change and maybe a difficulty increase). I don't see any significant updates here at all. For Sega of Japan to say they have "something planned" besides the reward update and then throw out a lobby change and minor mission update is ridiculous.
In any case, it will be interesting to see how the community responds to this announcement. Players didn't take the announcement of the first set of rewards too well, so the next day or so should be fun!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Rewards as Content
I don't typically post about content updates anymore. Maybe that's because I don't play the game anymore (if you think I play on the Xbox 360 you obviously don't read this blog enough). Maybe it's because I just don't care anymore. However, I spotted the update news for this week on the official forums and I felt obligated to write something about it.
The update itself is pretty minimal. In addition to a GAS update and Valentine's Day lobbies, GM Edward announced that the rewards from Absolute Zero would be arriving this week.
...That is, some of the rewards would be arriving this week. Specifically, the item rewards, PA experience boost, shop discounts, and casino bonus are slated to be added. The other rewards -- 3* Luck, synthesis boost, and grind boost -- will be coming at an as yet unannounced date.
Apparently the reward distribution news did not sit well with players, because within 20 posts Edward was right back in the forums trying to justify the decision. I can understand how Sega could spin this as a decision to "benefit the players" -- split up the rewards and the players have more time to enjoy them. That makes sense, and I don't think it's such a bad thing to do. If all the rewards were given together I bet you'd see somebody complain on the forums about having too many rewards to take advantage of in only a 2- or 3- week period.
However, if the next maintenance period comes and the remaining rewards are listed as the only content update, you can bet that the community will not be happy. Edward claims that this won't happen; whether it does anyway remains to be seen. I just don't think anybody (myself included) would put it past Sega to do such a thing to extend the life of the game another month.
In any event, the players in the forum thread raged for awhile before settling down and talking about the upcoming content. Hopefully Sega won't release the rest of the Absolute Zero rewards as a standalone update, because if that happens the player reaction will be quite different next time.
The update itself is pretty minimal. In addition to a GAS update and Valentine's Day lobbies, GM Edward announced that the rewards from Absolute Zero would be arriving this week.
...That is, some of the rewards would be arriving this week. Specifically, the item rewards, PA experience boost, shop discounts, and casino bonus are slated to be added. The other rewards -- 3* Luck, synthesis boost, and grind boost -- will be coming at an as yet unannounced date.
Apparently the reward distribution news did not sit well with players, because within 20 posts Edward was right back in the forums trying to justify the decision. I can understand how Sega could spin this as a decision to "benefit the players" -- split up the rewards and the players have more time to enjoy them. That makes sense, and I don't think it's such a bad thing to do. If all the rewards were given together I bet you'd see somebody complain on the forums about having too many rewards to take advantage of in only a 2- or 3- week period.
However, if the next maintenance period comes and the remaining rewards are listed as the only content update, you can bet that the community will not be happy. Edward claims that this won't happen; whether it does anyway remains to be seen. I just don't think anybody (myself included) would put it past Sega to do such a thing to extend the life of the game another month.
In any event, the players in the forum thread raged for awhile before settling down and talking about the upcoming content. Hopefully Sega won't release the rest of the Absolute Zero rewards as a standalone update, because if that happens the player reaction will be quite different next time.
Friday, January 28, 2011
JP PSU Gets a Third Expansion; PS2 Support to be Removed
Sega of Japan announced on Thursday that Phantasy Star Universe would be receiving a third expansion update that includes new environments and missions for the game. Images of some new areas were posted with the announcement on the JP PSU Web site.
In related news, Sega also announced that PS2 support for PSU will be dropped after March 31, 2011, one year to the day after the US/EU PC/PS2 servers shut down. PS2 players are being encouraged to upgrade to the PC version of the game, which is a free download.
These announcements are great news for PC players of PSU in Japan, and in my opinion, even better news for potential future players of Phantasy Star Online 2. With this news, Sega seems to be indicating the direction they are interested in taking for the next iteration of the series, and this is a great start.
Once PS2 support for Japanese PSU has been removed, players will only be able to play the game online on a PC. It's no coincidence that Sega then decided to give players some real new content for the PC version. Clearly the game developers have realized that the consoles are holding back the development and expansion of the PSU world. This causes the game to become dull and boring, and as a result, players leave.
If this is in fact the case, a console release of PSO2 looks very much in doubt, which would be fantastic. For several months, I've been arguing the potential consequences of putting PSO2 on the consoles. The only way to create a truly immersive, expandable game world is to release the game only on the PC.
Recently, it was also discovered that Phantasy Star Online 2 is further along in development than many people may think. Hopefully, this means that a release in 2011 is not out of the question (at least not for Japan, anyway). And as we all know, the game is still only slated to be released on the PC, so perhaps that's more validation that Sega is interested in keeping the game alive with new content for a long time like it is now apparently doing with PSU.
As a side note, the odds of seeing the new PC content arrive on Xbox 360 someday are very, very slim. Yes, the Xbox 360 has a hard drive, but it sounds like this content is being developed for the PC specifically and I would be very surprised if Sega of Japan ever made the decision to port it to the Xbox 360. Of course, you never know...
In related news, Sega also announced that PS2 support for PSU will be dropped after March 31, 2011, one year to the day after the US/EU PC/PS2 servers shut down. PS2 players are being encouraged to upgrade to the PC version of the game, which is a free download.
These announcements are great news for PC players of PSU in Japan, and in my opinion, even better news for potential future players of Phantasy Star Online 2. With this news, Sega seems to be indicating the direction they are interested in taking for the next iteration of the series, and this is a great start.
Once PS2 support for Japanese PSU has been removed, players will only be able to play the game online on a PC. It's no coincidence that Sega then decided to give players some real new content for the PC version. Clearly the game developers have realized that the consoles are holding back the development and expansion of the PSU world. This causes the game to become dull and boring, and as a result, players leave.
If this is in fact the case, a console release of PSO2 looks very much in doubt, which would be fantastic. For several months, I've been arguing the potential consequences of putting PSO2 on the consoles. The only way to create a truly immersive, expandable game world is to release the game only on the PC.
Recently, it was also discovered that Phantasy Star Online 2 is further along in development than many people may think. Hopefully, this means that a release in 2011 is not out of the question (at least not for Japan, anyway). And as we all know, the game is still only slated to be released on the PC, so perhaps that's more validation that Sega is interested in keeping the game alive with new content for a long time like it is now apparently doing with PSU.
As a side note, the odds of seeing the new PC content arrive on Xbox 360 someday are very, very slim. Yes, the Xbox 360 has a hard drive, but it sounds like this content is being developed for the PC specifically and I would be very surprised if Sega of Japan ever made the decision to port it to the Xbox 360. Of course, you never know...
Monday, November 29, 2010
Time for Absolute Zero
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!
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!
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, September 20, 2010
"New" Content This Week (Updated)
Last week, the Japanese PC/PS2 PSU servers began their fourth anniversary celebration with a new event while the regional Xbox 360 servers skipped regular maintenance. A lot of players were annoyed and frustrated at the lack of updates and expressed it loudly on the official forums.
Fear not, everyone! Sega does in fact care about its Xbox 360 players and doesn't want them to quit.
In fact, Sega of Japan cares so much that it has rewarded the US/EU community with rehashed content. Four Parum missions -- Train Rescue, Endrum Remnants, Dual Sentinel, and Duel in the Ruins -- will be receiving S3 difficulties this week to go along with the Parum GBR that begins after Friday morning's maintenance.
The news was somehow posted on the Sega of America site first, so we're not sure how long this GBR will last, but odds are it will stick around until sometime in mid-October.
UPDATE: The Japanese site has been updated and it looks like this GBR will run for a ridiculous five weeks, until Friday, October 29. I guess the folks at Sega of Japan are planning some long vacations next month!
Fear not, everyone! Sega does in fact care about its Xbox 360 players and doesn't want them to quit.
In fact, Sega of Japan cares so much that it has rewarded the US/EU community with rehashed content. Four Parum missions -- Train Rescue, Endrum Remnants, Dual Sentinel, and Duel in the Ruins -- will be receiving S3 difficulties this week to go along with the Parum GBR that begins after Friday morning's maintenance.
The news was somehow posted on the Sega of America site first, so we're not sure how long this GBR will last, but odds are it will stick around until sometime in mid-October.
UPDATE: The Japanese site has been updated and it looks like this GBR will run for a ridiculous five weeks, until Friday, October 29. I guess the folks at Sega of Japan are planning some long vacations next month!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Life After the Supplemental Update (Updated)
Mid-July was an exciting time for US/EU PSU players. In a short period of time, Sega of America did a lot to increase the accessibility of the game for current players as well as former players looking to pick the game up again. The release of the supplemental update was followed by the appearance of vanilla PSU on Games on Demand, and the Ambition of the Illuminus expansion pack was made free for all users.
Personally, I thought that Sega's efforts in the last few weeks of July might be able to turn the game around for awhile. Their service in August has made me think otherwise.
Since the supplemental update landed on the US/EU servers one month ago, exactly one new mission has been added. That content update was followed by a week of no maintenance, and Sega of Japan has already announced that there will not be any maintenance this week, either.
I understand that it's the summer and a lot of people might be away on vacation or whatever. However, the frequency of updates post-supplemental update seems about the same as it did before the update appeared. It seems that Sega continues to express no interest in catching up to the JP servers as they pledged they would back when the PC/PS2 servers closed.
Of course, the supplemental update was pretty significant and there's a fair amount of new content to experience, but many players are beginning to run out of things to do and Sega is not doing anything to keep them playing. Let's hope that changes in the next couple of weeks.
UPDATE: Turns out Sega changed their mind and decided to do maintenance this week to fix a bug with the AMP feature. I don't think that really changes the content of this post, though!
Personally, I thought that Sega's efforts in the last few weeks of July might be able to turn the game around for awhile. Their service in August has made me think otherwise.
Since the supplemental update landed on the US/EU servers one month ago, exactly one new mission has been added. That content update was followed by a week of no maintenance, and Sega of Japan has already announced that there will not be any maintenance this week, either.
I understand that it's the summer and a lot of people might be away on vacation or whatever. However, the frequency of updates post-supplemental update seems about the same as it did before the update appeared. It seems that Sega continues to express no interest in catching up to the JP servers as they pledged they would back when the PC/PS2 servers closed.
Of course, the supplemental update was pretty significant and there's a fair amount of new content to experience, but many players are beginning to run out of things to do and Sega is not doing anything to keep them playing. Let's hope that changes in the next couple of weeks.
UPDATE: Turns out Sega changed their mind and decided to do maintenance this week to fix a bug with the AMP feature. I don't think that really changes the content of this post, though!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
The Supplemental Update is Live
The regional PSU servers are back online after just over 18 hours of maintenance, and the supplemental update is live.
Instructions for downloading the update have been posted on the official web site and forums. Players will need to completely remove the old Ambition of the Illuminus download from their hard drives before downloading and installing the new version of the expansion. Don't forget that Ambition of the Illuminus is now a free download on Xbox Live.
Amazingly, the update seems to be going smoothly. Although many players are reporting slow load times on the update download, Sega does not seem to have made any announcements regarding bugs, glitches, or other unexpected side effects.
Keep in mind that the update has only been live for a little over an hour (as I type this), so glitches may still yet appear.
Now that the supplemental update has arrived, it will be interesting to see how the community reacts in the weeks and months to come. I would expect the player population to increase for at least the first few weeks, but after that it's largely up to Sega (as it always has been) to keep players interested by providing new content.
Let the comparisons to the Japanese PC/PS2 servers resume!
Instructions for downloading the update have been posted on the official web site and forums. Players will need to completely remove the old Ambition of the Illuminus download from their hard drives before downloading and installing the new version of the expansion. Don't forget that Ambition of the Illuminus is now a free download on Xbox Live.
Amazingly, the update seems to be going smoothly. Although many players are reporting slow load times on the update download, Sega does not seem to have made any announcements regarding bugs, glitches, or other unexpected side effects.
Keep in mind that the update has only been live for a little over an hour (as I type this), so glitches may still yet appear.
Now that the supplemental update has arrived, it will be interesting to see how the community reacts in the weeks and months to come. I would expect the player population to increase for at least the first few weeks, but after that it's largely up to Sega (as it always has been) to keep players interested by providing new content.
Let the comparisons to the Japanese PC/PS2 servers resume!
Monday, July 12, 2010
"Advanced Content" Arrives July 19
Well, it looks like GM Edward has finally dropped a date for the long-awaited supplemental update. It turns out that our prediction of a mid-July release was spot on.
Maintenance to add the supplemental update, which has been renamed to "Guardians Advanced Content", will begin on Monday, July 19 and is expected to last until sometime on Tuesday, July 20. News of the coming update was announced in this thread on the official forums.
In the meantime, Sega will also be conducting regular Friday maintenance this week to add some themed lobbies and the "rewards" for the Sonic birthday celebration event. I'm sure this is just a very tiny footnote in the minds of most PSU players, though...
Maintenance to add the supplemental update, which has been renamed to "Guardians Advanced Content", will begin on Monday, July 19 and is expected to last until sometime on Tuesday, July 20. News of the coming update was announced in this thread on the official forums.
In the meantime, Sega will also be conducting regular Friday maintenance this week to add some themed lobbies and the "rewards" for the Sonic birthday celebration event. I'm sure this is just a very tiny footnote in the minds of most PSU players, though...
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