Tag: DC Universe

DC Universe Server Mergers, Name System, Phasing


As my emails have shown, I’m not the only one still confused about DC Universe’s upcoming server merger/melding on Monday. Previously, I presumed that this not-merge-merger would allow players to keep their names, as the servers weren’t merging. As it turns out, however, that is not the case. When the mergers go live on Monday, players may find that their superhero title is no longer accessible, and must be changed.

Sony is handling this in a semi-traditional fashion. Players who are subscribed will take precedence over those who do not. If two players carry the same name, the character with more hours logged will be allowed to continue the honor of having that name. If you are on the losing end of the ticket, you will receive a token for a free name change. Also mentioned is how players will change between PvE and PvP phases. In order to swap roles, heroes will have to visit the Watchtower, while villains will need to visit the Hall of Doom.

Hopefully this will bring the much needed population to a game whose multi-year longevity is still deeply in question. The megaservers roll out Monday.

DC Universe Adds Microtransactions


I’d love it if WordPress didn’t write my URL before I’ve finished writing the title for the post. DC Universe today launched its move into microtransactions. Right now the game only offers three items, with more on the way no doubt. The items are proto-bots offering convenient repair on the go, vault tickets offering access to the vault instance, and a pack of five vault tickets.

I’ll let you guys throw around the slippery slope theory on how this is the lead up to free to play and pay to win, and call Sony ‘$OE’ and John $medley.

Station Price Dropping To Little Over 1 Subscription: $19.99/Month


Sony Station access is an excellent deal, and it’s about to get even greater. Normally priced at $29.99, or the cost of about two Station subscriptions, Sony announced at E3 that the price will drop to $19.99, or 1 and 1/3rd the cost of a subscription to one of Sony’s MMOs. The announcement was made at E3 today, with no specific date other than “soon.”

For those unfamiliar with Station Access, the service grants players access to:

  1. Access to all of SOE’s titles:
  1. DC Universe
  2. Everquest
  3. Everquest II
  4. Everquest Online Adventures (Playstation 2)
  5. Pirates of the Burning Sea (membership perks)
  6. Planetside
  7. Star Wars Galaxies
  8. Vanguard
  9. Free Realms (membership perks)
  • Additional character slots for Vanguard, Everquest, and Everquest II
  • Bonus adventure packs.
  • More features added as new content is released.
    • It’s important to note: You MUST own the game in order to receive a subscription to it. You don’t have to buy Pirates of the Burning Sea or Free Realms, but you have to buy Everquest, DC Universe, etc in order to gain access. The pass covers the subscription, not the purchase of the client if one is required.
    Good news? Bad news? Sign of more downgrading to come? Hopefully not.

    DC Universe Merge: "I Think I Get It" Edition


    DC Universe may still be offline in all areas, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it, right? A few weeks ago, I mentioned an announcement by Sony Online Entertainment that the game would be merged into four “super servers,” each servicing one platform in one area (so PCNA, PCEU, PS3NA, and PS3EU). Sony mentioned in the announcement that the merge was unorthodox, and the exact details have been rather confusing up until late. Hopefully I’ll be able to explain it better.

    Rather than having four traditional servers, DC Universe will operate much like Guild Wars or Champions Online. For instance, entering the PC North American server will place the player in one of several Metropolis’, based on factors including PVP preference, presence of league members, and other factors. The instance queuing system, however, will pool players from each instance, meaning my PvP character and your PvE character can be grouped up to fight Harley Quinn in her instance.

    So the amount of servers is remaining the same, the only difference is that players will connect via a single hub (per area/system) and distribute from there. This system will also allow for cross-server queuing and will remove the need to reroll characters just because you discovered your friend plays on the PC, but on a different server.

    So Sony was right in not calling this a “server merger” but rather a “server melding.” I wish they’d better explained it from the start but we all can’t get what we want.

    DC Universe Merge: “I Think I Get It” Edition


    DC Universe may still be offline in all areas, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk about it, right? A few weeks ago, I mentioned an announcement by Sony Online Entertainment that the game would be merged into four “super servers,” each servicing one platform in one area (so PCNA, PCEU, PS3NA, and PS3EU). Sony mentioned in the announcement that the merge was unorthodox, and the exact details have been rather confusing up until late. Hopefully I’ll be able to explain it better.

    Rather than having four traditional servers, DC Universe will operate much like Guild Wars or Champions Online. For instance, entering the PC North American server will place the player in one of several Metropolis’, based on factors including PVP preference, presence of league members, and other factors. The instance queuing system, however, will pool players from each instance, meaning my PvP character and your PvE character can be grouped up to fight Harley Quinn in her instance.

    So the amount of servers is remaining the same, the only difference is that players will connect via a single hub (per area/system) and distribute from there. This system will also allow for cross-server queuing and will remove the need to reroll characters just because you discovered your friend plays on the PC, but on a different server.

    So Sony was right in not calling this a “server merger” but rather a “server melding.” I wish they’d better explained it from the start but we all can’t get what we want.

    PS3: Compensation. No PSN This Week.


    Those of you who play DC Universe on the PS3, of whom are planning on coming back to the game once it comes online, may be interested to hear the details of Sony’s “Welcome back” package. Announced on Sony’s Facebook page, the plan includes:

    • 30 days free game time.
    • Plus one free day for every day the service was interrupted.
    • And the mask you see above.

    I hear if you play your cards right, Shigeru Miyamoto will come to your house and play Super Smash Bros. (but only the N64 version) with you. Actually, I’m being told Shigeru Miyamoto is from Nintendo. My apologies for the mistake. I’ve been tracking down the Free Realms and Massive Action Game, although the Free Realms guys have not released any compensation details, and the Massive Action Game guys haven’t talked about the downtime at all, as far as I can see.

    And finally, a Playstation Network update. According to an article on CSMonitor, a Sony rep has announced that the Playstation Network will not be back up and running “this week.” There has not been an official announcement on the Sony blog, despite the article being published yesterday, so take the news as credible at your own risk.

    At this rate, players will receive almost two months of free DC Universe game time on the PS3, with PC SOE users reportedly receiving 30 days free game time plus one day for every day the service is offline. There is still no information as to when the Sony Station service will be returned.

    Sony Station Offline Today Pending Investigation


    Good morning, folks. Those of you attempting to log into any of Sony Online Entertainment’s games may be asking yourself, “why can’t I log into my favorite SOE game?” or “why am I asking a non-Sony blog why their services are offline?” Of course those of you who came here before checking Sony’s website will have missed the following announcement:

    We have had to take the SOE service down temporarily. In the course of our investigation into the intrusion into our systems we have discovered an issue that warrants enough concern for us to take the service down effective immediately. We will provide an update later today (Monday).

    I call the joke on Sony Offline Entertainment, it’s mine. I’ll be watching for further announcements later today.

    Super Servers Sounds Better Than Server Merger


    I have a new goal: Find the guy who writes Sony’s press releases, and hire him to the MMO Fallout team. In an announcement today on Sony’s website came the revelation of four “super servers,” to reduce queue times, delivered in a much more positive fashion than “we’re merging servers.”

    We have heard your concerns about queue times on the servers. This game is about people playing and fighting together so we feel your pain. Sometime in the next month, we are going to test new technology to meld all of our US and European PC and PS3 servers into four Super-Servers, one for each platform in each region.

    This news couldn’t have come at a worse time, what with Sony not only going through layoffs, but also the continued downtime of the PS3 DC Universe since the 20th.

    This announcement takes me back to what I said in January:

    Will this be one of the few MMOs whose population doesn’t crash one month after launch? I’m not holding my breath, but let’s hope for the best.

    DC Universe is a fun game, but since launch I’ve had to question its long term viability. The leveling to end game is fast, and Sony really went off track in terms of the game’s social features.

    Community Concerns: So Should I Cancel DC Universe?


    This is a tough article for me to write, because it goes against virtually all of my established ethics for MMO Fallout, foremost the ultimate disapproval: Recommending that people not only do not buy, but unsubscribe to a game. Since last week’s Playstation Network outage, I’ve had a number of people emailing me to ask a simple question: Should I cancel my DC Universe subscription (on the PS3)? And after long deliberation, my short answer is…yes.

    Sony is rebuilding the Playstation Network, so if your account is about to run out, simply save yourself the money and do not resubscribe until everything is clear. That is, assuming you still trust Sony with your personal information after the news that data, possibly including credit card information, was stolen in the security breach. Sony maintains that data from Sony Online Entertainment was not affected, and only the Playstation Network experience an intrusion.

    There is still no concrete date on when the PSN service will be back up, so if you have any subscriptions to DC Universe or Massive Action Game, you’re better off just cancelling now, and resubscribing when the service is back online.

    Playstation Network: We Can Rebuild It…


    Good news and bad news for PS3 users on Massive Action Game and DC Universe Online. The good news is that Sony is still working around the clock to get the Playstation Network back up and running. The bad news is this involves rebuilding the system itself, and there is no further information on when the service will be back up and running. On one hand, Sony has officially admitted that the service break is due to an external intrusion (ie: hacker) that broke through the network’s security. As stated on the official blog:

    Our efforts to resolve this matter involve re-building our system to further strengthen our network infrastructure. Though this task is time-consuming, we decided it was worth the time necessary to provide the system with additional security.

    Hopefully there will be better news in the days to come.