Joystiq

Diablo 3 patch incoming, real-money auction house still without launch date

Mike Schramm — Thu, 24 May 2012 22:15:00 EST

Blizzard has made a quick update on its forums for Diablo 3 today, saying a post-launch patch could be ready as soon as next week. The patch, along with a number of server updates and other incoming fixes, will "further address client issues and apply additional bug fixes." One of the biggest issues is that, while the servers were bobbing up and down like buoys in the ocean last week, lots of players weren't able to earn achievements. Blizzard says it's still working on a solution.

Meanwhile, the real-money auction house has yet to be given a release date. It was supposed to be online earlier this week, but was pushed back after launch last week, and is now delayed indefinitely. "More information soon," says Blizzard.

Finally, Blizzard claims it's following the security concerns of players closely. According to the company, there is no "server spoofing" going on, official Blizzard servers themselves haven't been compromised, and Blizzard Authenticators are still the best way to keep an account secure. There's no word on the PvP update or any post-launch content yet - Blizzard's main goal at this point is to make sure the game is running steadily and securely.

Diablo 3 patch incoming, real-money auction house still without launch date originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 24 May 2012 22:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hawken to be playable via Gaikai prior to official release

Mike Schramm — Sun, 20 May 2012 19:30:00 EST

Hawken keeps surprising us. First, we were surprised that the really great-looking mech shooter is being made by an indie studio, then it surprised us to learn that it would be free-to-play. And here's another surprise: Dave Perry's cloud gaming system Gaikai has signed a deal to let players see Hawken running through the service in advance of the planned December 12 release date.

Gaikai allows nearly any game to be streamed directly from its servers to any browser, which means that the first impression of the graphics-intensive Hawken will be playable anywhere Gaikai will run (including on some tablets, and computers of all shapes and sizes). This deal makes a lot of sense from both sides: Hawken needs a large audience to get its free-to-play engine running, and Gaikai could use a big title to connect users to its servers. The Gaikai demo will be on playhawken.com and a few other sites, so eyes open until then.

Continue reading Hawken to be playable via Gaikai prior to official release

Hawken to be playable via Gaikai prior to official release originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 20 May 2012 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mojang acquires Minecraft mod makers, will make mods official

Mike Schramm — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:59:00 EST

The four main developers behind Bukkit, a popular set of unofficial modifications for Minecraft servers, have been hired on by Mojang, makers of the uber popular block-world simulator. Mojang says Warren Loo, Erik Broes, Nathan Adams and Nathan Gilbert will join the company to update Bukkit and make it more compatible with the next version of the game, and to enable support other server mods in the future.

Loo writes on the official forms that the team will basically redesign the game's API, which means unofficial developers everywhere will be able to hook into the game's mechanics much more easily and smoothly. Mojang points out that there are a few teams that have made popular mods for the game, including Spout and Forge, but the Bukkit team was chosen because they've developed specifically for Minecraft servers. The plan is to have them working on "more than just modding."

Obviously, the gentlemen are quite excited about joining the Mojang guys. That tends to happen when a company whose game you work on for free decides to start paying you in real money.

Mojang acquires Minecraft mod makers, will make mods official originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 28 Feb 2012 23:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Atlus continues Demon's Souls server support into 2012

JC Fletcher — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:45:00 EST

In an announcement timed suspiciously closely to the release of a totally unrelated game (wink!), Atlus announced that it's going to continue operating the servers for Demon's Souls "into 2012." They had previously only been ensured operation until October of this year.

Thanks to this renewal, players will still be able to leave notes for one another, show up as ghosts in others' games to warn of dangerous conditions, or just become a mean-spirited invader. And with that continued support will come new "Pure White" and "Pure Black" world tendency events for unspecified dates this holiday season.

Atlus PR also just casually drops the fact that Demon's Souls has an MSRP of $19.99, making it the best bargain in From Software's two-title-strong library of hardcore action RPGs.

Continue reading Atlus continues Demon's Souls server support into 2012

Atlus continues Demon's Souls server support into 2012 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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EA completes Battlefield: Bad Company 2 server maintenance

Ben Gilbert — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST

[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

EA 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.

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Ubisoft DRM authentification server is down, Assassin's Creed 2 unplayable

Griffin McElroy — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST

Earlier today, our tips inbox and the official Assassin's Creed 2 forum were set ablaze by incensed owners of the PC version of the aforementioned Italian revenge epic. According to numerous reports from prospective players of the game, Ubisoft's DRM authentification servers have crashed, forcing some players to suffer lengthy login periods when booting up Assassin's Creed 2, and locking some folks out of the game entirely.

A Ubisoft representative responded to a particularly rage-filled forum thread, stating "clearly the extended downtime and lengthy login issues are unacceptable, particularly as I've been told these servers are constantly monitored." The representative added "I'll do what I can to get more information on what the issue is here first thing tomorrow and push for a resolution and assurance this won't happen in the future." We've got a really great suggestion for how to make such an assurance: Find a less abominable DRM policy.

[Thanks, Marc!]

Ubisoft DRM authentification server is down, Assassin's Creed 2 unplayable originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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David Jaffe talks death of Calling All Cars as servers go offline

Mike Schramm — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST

This week heralded the end of the Calling All Cars saga, as David Jaffe finally saw the lights go out on his PSN baby. He's got a set of final thoughts over on his blog -- he says that as his first online game, it was definitely a learning experience, and while there were good times, it wasn't the most fun he'd ever had. He's suprisingly regretful about the whole thing: He says that he seriously thinks he probably should have "made it war themed and ['ditched'] the cartoony stuff," and that it was really a problem of expectation. At $10, he says, they were expecting gamers buying downloadable titles to just be "sampling them like candy," not looking for a full game experience.

But we wouldn't worry too much about Jaffe -- while he jokes that the CAC server shutdown "marks the beginning of the end of my career," we're sure there's still more fun to be had from that mind of his. We're hoping to see what he's got planned next by the time E3 rolls around this year.

David Jaffe talks death of Calling All Cars as servers go offline originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Valve addresses Left 4 Dead 2 server lag on Xbox 360

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST

What's the only thing worse than having two dead team members, an approaching wave of special infected, and a fresh sheen of Boomer puke on your person? Having to suffer all those things while also -- fighting -- server la -- tency issues. Fortunately, that experience has become less common, as Valve recently did a bit dusting around their network infrastructure, reducing lag during bouts of Left 4 Dead 2 on Xbox 360.

Of course, even without the lag, you're still going to die. But at least now you'll be able to see where it's coming from. (Hint: It's probably from those three oncoming tanks.)

Valve addresses Left 4 Dead 2 server lag on Xbox 360 originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Atlus says North American Demon's Souls servers not live until Oct. 6

Ben Gilbert — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST

Are you an Atlus devotee who somehow snagged an early copy of this Tuesday's release of Demon's Souls for the PS3? If you do happen to be one of these folks, you might want to head over to the medicine cabinet and grab a chill pill, as Atlus says that nothing is wrong with the lack of connectivity to its North American servers, they just haven't been turned on yet.

Specifically, Atlus says, "What this means is that users that might manage to pick the game up early and start it up will get an immediate PSN error and have to start playing offline." Sure, you could shed a few tears and swear off the publisher forever, but look at it this way -- now you'll have two secret days of soul collecting to rub in your friends faces when the servers go live this Tuesday. Hooray!

Atlus says North American Demon's Souls servers not live until Oct. 6 originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chinese World of Warcraft servers are back online

Griffin McElroy — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST

It seems like forever ago when we first heard that China's World of Warcraft servers were going dark to allow hosting duties to transfer from The9 to NetEase -- in all fairness, to the hardcore Blizzard enthusiast, being sans WoW can make three-and-a-half months actually feel like forever. However, according to a number of reports coming from the country, the transfer is finished, and Chinese MMO players are now able to return to their former Azerothian grind.

The title's new host, NetEase, spent a pretty penny keeping the game's servers up and running during the past month of closed beta -- approximately a million yuan (around $146,000) per day. We're not too worried about the company, however. From what we hear, China's a pretty large territory, and WoW is more addictive than chocolate-covered, heroin-soaked crack. NetEase is going to be just fine.

Chinese World of Warcraft servers are back online originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PAX 2009: MAG producer explains the game's original server technology

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:45:00 EST

Making online, 256-player battles unfold without lag or disconnection issues is nothing short of pure techno-wizardry. However, according to producer Alan Van Slyke, who recently spoke with us at a PAX preview event, that's exactly what MAG will bring to the table thanks to a groundbreaking new form of server architecture.

"Before we started working on the front-end client technology, we started building the servers. We wiped the slate clean and asked 'what do we need to do to scale to these numbers to make sure it's not laggy, and make sure people can't exploit,'" Van Slyke explained. What they decided was that peer-to-peer hosting was insufficient -- instead, the MAG team created their own networking solution which would host and authenticate game data from a (presumably beefy) central server.

Van Slyke couldn't reveal the specifics of the technology (the patent for which is still pending), but promised that it would reduce latency and completely eliminate connection griefing which has plagued other multiplayer shooters in the past. In addition, he said Zipper's not worried about having its servers crushed by a day-one rush of new recruits, explaining that "we've invested a lot in our server technology and our load test harnesses and the things we can do to replicate the scalability of it to ensure that it's stable and rock solid."

PAX 2009: MAG producer explains the game's original server technology originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 18:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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PSN: PSA is down for maintenance today

Griffin McElroy — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:45:00 EST

Err, wait. Scratch that. Reverse it. This is a helpful PSA reminding you, dear reader, that the PSN will be down for regularly scheduled maintenance for at least part of the day today. Servers are going down for a hasty sprucing-up at 8:00 PST, and are expected to stay down "for several hours." In the meantime, why not step outside? It's a beautiful day today -- unless you live in select parts of the midwest, which is currently experiencing a phenomenon meteorologists are referring to as "razor rain." You guys should probably hide in your bathtubs or something.

PSN: PSA is down for maintenance today originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Alert to all Jerks: Valve to rate Team Fortress 2 servers

Xav de Matos — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:45:00 EST

After racking their brains and kicking around a few of different proposals, Valve has figured out how to rate servers automatically in the back end of Steam for Team Fortress 2. Valve's Robin Walker detailed how the system will work and help players in search of a decent game (Read: Not achievement farming): New servers begin with a score of 0, each time a player connects it loses 15 points but gains 1 point per player for each minute they remain inside (with a 45 point max per user).

"In short," Walker writes, "servers that have lots of players joining & leaving rapidly will score badly." The rating will ensure players are walking into honest assessments of a server's quality -- sometimes server hosts write false descriptions to entice people to join. Well, with the new system those jerks can keep their phony servers because the first order of business on Valve's end is to completely "delist" them. The server breakdown (pictured above) shows last week's server statistics, ignoring all password-protected servers as well as servers had fewer than 200 connections per day. Walker also notes that Valve will continue to improve their ability to measure these types of server problems.

[Via Big Download]

Alert to all Jerks: Valve to rate Team Fortress 2 servers originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LittleBigPlanet servers shut off in attempt to fix 'glitches'

Andrew Yoon — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:25:00 EST

Filed under: News

As is the case with many online-integrated games these days, the LittleBigPlanet servers appear to have imploded by the weight of a large influx of gamers trying to play, create and share. According to Media Molecule, "the servers are down while we try to fix the glitching issues some players have experienced. They will be back online as soon as we have fixed the problem."

While many are eager to jump online, let's not forget that these kind of issues are sadly common during the first few weeks of a product launch. (Examples: SOCOM, Metal Gear Online, GTA IV) Hopefully, it won't be too long until things are sorted out.

[Via Kotaku]

LittleBigPlanet servers shut off in attempt to fix 'glitches' originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Xbox Live down Monday morning for spring cleaning

Griffin McElroy — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Microsoft Xbox 360

Did you know that every foul obscenity, racial slur, and homophobic epithet collects in the corners of Xbox Live, much akin to the mood slime in "Ghostbusters II"? It can cause some serious latency issues -- though unfortunately, it cannot be cleared away by a rousing chorus of Auld Lang Syne. It takes hours of tedious chiseling and scraping to clear this hate plaque from Microsoft's servers, during which time Xbox Live is made unavailable for CoD4 grinding and piñata swapping.

Unfortunately for those 360 owners with online gaming on the docket for this coming Monday morning, Xbox Live will be down for said maintenance for eight hours. Before you get your hopes up, Gamerscore Blog assured everyone that this is not the fabled spring update, just some routine sprucing. We know the thought of division from the gaming hivemind is unbearable, but we trust you can go without from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. PST (that's 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST, or "Too Legit 2 Quit" to "Pumps in a Bump" in Standard Hammer Time.)

Xbox Live down Monday morning for spring cleaning originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The death of console game servers

Kyle Orland — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 13:40:00 EST

Filed under: Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, Online, MMO

The fine cranks over at Curmudgeon Gamer have pointed out a somewhat disturbing trend of server shutdowns for some high profile online-enabled games from the last generation. Apparently, the online user base for these games is no longer sufficient to justify the expense for the companies running their servers.

It's a little bit troubling to consider that there's an effective time limit for the online features of any console game you buy, and that this limit is totally at the discretion of the publisher. Then again, it's hard to ask a company to continue to devote resources for servers that few people are using and fewer still will likely use in the future.

The solution seems obvious to us -- let players host their own servers, either through a PC or through the console itself. The online experience might suffer a bit, but at least interested players will still be able to play online without being a burden on the publisher. Failing that, follow the Curmudgeon's suggestion bring back the direct connection, player-to-player multiplayer that was available on the Dreamcast. Either way, don't take away our online play.

Previously: Amplitude servers going offline, 'farewell party' Sunday

The death of console game servers originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 04 Mar 2007 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amplitude servers going offline, 'farewell party' Sunday

James Ransom-Wiley — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:26:00 EST

Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Online, Rhythm

Before Guitar Hero there was FreQuency. After FreQuency came 2003's sequel Amplitude. Harmonix's Sean Baptiste dropped us a note to let us (let you) know that Sony is pulling the plug on Amplitude's servers this coming Monday, February 26. Baptiste is organizing the final "shindig," currently scheduled for Sunday, February 25, at 7pm EST. All are welcome!

Reminder: this will be your last chance to download user-created remixes from the Remix Repository.

Amplitude servers going offline, 'farewell party' Sunday originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 20:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Medal of Honor hype on IGN

Andrew Yoon — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, Medal of Honor, Video

IGN has a huge blow-out on the upcoming PSP Medal of Honor Heroes. They have one written-by-a-marketing-team write-up that features profiles of the in-game characters: ~~Generic McAmerican,~~ Jimmy Paterson, William Holt and John Baker. Snore... The other is an interview with the game's producer, Peter Choi. It very similar to a previous interview, but it's great to know that he understands some of the things PSP fans are looking for from a game:

32 player online (Infrastructure) multiplayer. I can't stress enough how awesome that sounds.
"The game is also optimized to have very short load times, which is hugely important for gamers on-the-go." (Yes!)
"User Hosted Server feature along with official EA Nation Server games, are both fully customizable and have very detailed leaderboards and stat tracking." (Yes!)

If all that hype wasn't enough for you, then you might want to check out the newest trailer for the game. It looks a lot like the previous videos, but with even sharper, prettier graphics.

Medal of Honor hype on IGN originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 07 Oct 2006 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Medal of Honor Q&A confirms online play

Andrew Yoon — Sat, 05 Aug 2006 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Interviews, Medal of Honor, Video

Yesterday, we rushed to show you the first ever video footage from the newly announced PSP-exclusive Medal of Honor: Heroes. As some intelligent people on the internet pointed out, 32 player multiplayer wouldn't be possible over ad-hoc... and they were right. Peter Choi, producer at EA, was grilled by Gamespot about the new game and here are a few of the juicier questions:

GS: How did you approach the multiplayer modes in the game? Will they offer both ad hoc and infrastructure connectivity?

PC: Multiplayer is one of the most exciting features of Heroes. We have 32-player infrastructure support with continuous joining so players can simply pick a server and jump in anytime. There are 15 different maps and six different multiplayer game modes, which are mostly team based. We also have a new innovation on the PSP that allows players to download a user-hosted server to their own PCs and run their own dedicated servers. Both user-hosted servers and EA Nation server games are fully customizable, and we have very detailed leaderboards and stat-tracking. Players can also play all these multiplayer game modes and maps with up to eight of their friends in a local ad hoc multiplayer game.

Continue reading Medal of Honor Q&A confirms online play

Medal of Honor Q&A confirms online play originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 05 Aug 2006 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard to revamp WoW Battlegrounds

James Ransom-Wiley — Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:47:00 EST

Filed under: PC, Online, RPGs, MMO

Gaming Steve - "the man with the game information" - has the scoop on Blizzard's plans to dramatically enhance Battlegrounds, World of Warcraft's PvP mode. The first update, expected in patch 1.12 or 1.13, will effectively link 16 realms per Battleground server, in turn speeding up queues and opening up the playing field for inter-realm action.

But Steve reports that Battlegrounds will undergo its biggest makeover with the release of The Burning Crusade expansion. Players can look forward to features like worldwide rankings, tournaments, and ladders when the expansion drops later this year.

Blizzard to revamp WoW Battlegrounds originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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China threatens mass boycott of WoW

James Ransom-Wiley — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Online, MMO

Unstable servers have prompted Chinese World of Warcraft players to take action. Game unions have threatened to quit playing WoW, as players continue to post their complaints on Internet forums and make personal calls to fellow members to join the cause.

In China, WoW's servers are maintained by The9, which charges gamers by the hour to play WoW. The9 is incapable of solving technical issues related to the game without Blizzard's help, but is currently investigating the server issues. Gamers have cited "severe time delays, long-queue times, and frozen servers" as the primary causes of concern. In the fourth quarter of 2005, WoW's concurrent user count in China peaked at 530,000 players.

China threatens mass boycott of WoW originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 06 Mar 2006 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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