Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com Joystiq http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Joystiq http://www.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[EA completes Battlefield: Bad Company 2 server maintenance]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/15/ea-completes-battlefield-bad-company-2-server-maintenance/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/15/ea-completes-battlefield-bad-company-2-server-maintenance/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/15/ea-completes-battlefield-bad-company-2-server-maintenance/#comments
[sugree]

EA assures us via Twitter that, after a rocky launch period, the Battlefield: Bad Company 2 online servers have now been stabilized. Pretty much every iteration of Bad Company 2 has seen issues arise when connecting to EA's servers for online multiplayer, with Xbox 360 kicking some users all the way out to the Dashboard and PC users experiencing authentication issues with PunkBuster.

The developer now says that those issues have been addressed, due in no small part to new servers being added over the weekend. "All new hardware is in place and ready to serve your BFBC2 needs," the tweet reads, backed up by a Q&A on the Battlefield Blog with more info. While some players may still experience a stat loss issue, EA and DICE are actively looking into a fix and encourage anyone who experiences said glitch to report it online. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got dudes to sneak up on and knife in the back.

Source 1 - Twitter
Source 2 - Battlefield Blog

JoystiqEA completes Battlefield: Bad Company 2 server maintenance originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>bad-company-2battlefieldbattlefield-bad-company-2diceeaea-diceElectronic-ArtsMicrosoftmultiplayeronlinepunkbusterserverserver-maintenanceXbox-360Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Griefing and self-governance in online games]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/15/griefing-and-self-governance-in-online-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/15/griefing-and-self-governance-in-online-games/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/06/15/griefing-and-self-governance-in-online-games/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

The Guardian has produced an excellent column that addresses the problem of "griefers", people that abuse, team-kill and cheat other players of online games, particularly MMOs. Griefing has always been a problem where real players compete against their peers, although with massively multiplayer online games the problem has become much more serious. Earning a battleship in Eve Online or crafting a special item in World of Warcraft can take weeks if not months of game time. On top of that, the recent trend for people to sell items on auction sites like eBay has meant that rare online items have a monetary value.

The article cites several high profile situations where griefers have bent moral codes with the Guiding Hand Social Club's ruination of Ubiqua Seraph in Eve Online and the funeral crash in WoW being the two main examples. Solutions that companies have come up with to limit these types of situations from happening are also looked at with the Xbox Live points system and strong community measures (like guilds and friend lists) being top on the list of letting players self-govern the problem. Effective community governance is essential if companies want to keep players inside the game and so that the owners don't have to resort to more drastic measures, like Blizzard does with its periodic account banning binges.

Update: fixed a couple of minor grammatical errors.

JoystiqGriefing and self-governance in online games originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Jun 2006 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>AbuseAuctionsCheatingCheatseBayEve OnlineEveOnlineGriefingGuardianGuardian UnlimitedGuardianUnlimitedGuild WarsGuildWarsHackingLawsMMOMMORPGSOnline lawOnlineLawPunkbusterRulesteam killersteam killingTeamKillersTeamKillingtkWorld of WarcraftWorldOfWarcraftWoWThu, 15 Jun 2006 06:30:00 EST<![CDATA[F.E.A.R. patch to include PunkBuster]]>http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/06/f-e-a-r-patch-to-include-punkbuster/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/06/f-e-a-r-patch-to-include-punkbuster/http://www.joystiq.com/2006/02/06/f-e-a-r-patch-to-include-punkbuster/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Vivendi announced today that there's a new patch for the psychological shooter F.E.A.R. in the works. This patch will include PunkBuster anti-cheating software and the option to kick players from multiplayer matches, as well as three new maps.

This is eerily similar to the recent Call of Duty 2 fiasco, in which players threatened strike action unless something was done to reduce the levels of in-game cheating. A patch was released with PunkBuster, and everyone seemed to be satisfied. Cheating can make or break a title in terms of its multiplayer success, and as developers will inevitably have to patch anti-cheating in, it's surprising that neither game launched with the functionality.

JoystiqF.E.A.R. patch to include PunkBuster originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Feb 2006 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cheatingf.e.a.rPCpunkbusterMon, 06 Feb 2006 19:00:00 EST