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.
Star Wars Galaxies is always an interesting topic here on MMO Fallout. On one hand, you have Sony Online Entertainment, who referred to Galaxies as having one of the most active communities in SOE’s portfolio of games. On the other hand, you have those who remain in Star Wars Galaxies who, apart from complaints of only a small number of the remaining servers being active, are more likely to agree that the game has improved in leaps and bounds since the NGE and CU updates. On the third, mostly useless vestigial T-Rex arm sprouting from your chest, you have the Star Wars Galaxies Pre-Update players, a group of disenfranchised “veterans” (I hate that term) that devotes itself to trolling any MMO discussion, even if it has nothing to do with Galaxies, or Sony for that matter.
Sony is opening up free server transfers on Star Wars Galaxies, and historically that has lead to just one outcome: server mergers. The announcement mentions no end date, but does mention that while players will be able to transfer off of Starsider, they will not be able to transfer back. In addition, a Sony staffer mentioned that paid transfers will no longer be possible. Players will be restricted to one transfer, per character, per 90 days.
You can read the details here, but the link has been dead (along with the entirety of Star Wars Galaxies’ website) for quite a while. I will follow up with more details when I can get them. Obviously a server merger has not been announced, but given the status of many of the remaining servers (according to players), a merger is likely on the books.
There is a forum thread to discuss the server transfers here.
That’s actually a picture of what’s going on inside the PSN servers. First off, some backstory for those of you who don’t own a Playstation 3, or don’t read Kotaku (or a number of other websites). The Playstation Network is offline after a few days of sporadic service, and Sony has no idea what is causing it (at least if they do, they aren’t publicizing it). Going by recent events, however, it isn’t exactly a far reach to assume that hackers are behind the service outage, either from Anonymous or some other group.
Of course, this means that DC: Universe is temporarily shuttered on the PS3, as players have to sign in via the Playstation Network, and thus you see the problem. The DC:U team has been strangely silent, last I checked the PS3 forums, there a quick check of the developer tracker will show no posts since the 16th, well before the service went offline on the 20th. So far, the team has only offered the following, on the DCU Facebook page:
Just a small update: We are aware that PS3 players are unable to access the game due to PSN downtime.
According to Sony (SCEA, not SOE), the service could be off for another day or two. Hopefully we’ll have some better information before then.
Word that Sony Online Entertainment Seattle is having layoffs and that studio closure is possible. http://bit.ly/eSxtvq
-George Broussard on Twitter
This was reported by Kotaku, although there has yet to be an official statement, Kotaku reporter Owen Good (who reported on the story) has confirmed it with a more involved source than George. It has yet to be seen which studios have closed down, although reportedly the studio behind the upcoming Agency MMO has been slashed.
This is no doubt a bombshell, not only for us playing Sony’s games but more importantly for the people who are losing their jobs and livelihoods. MMO Fallout is committed to this story, and will be updating as soon as any news is released.
A few days ago, I wrote about how Sony was reactivating inactive Everquest accounts until the 21st of the month in lieu of the time locked progression server, the aptly named Fippy Darkpaw, renowned for his ability to run headlong into guards far higher than his own level, assuredly the first Leroy Jenkins before Leroy was Leroy. As it also stands, I also happen to be a moron, as not only did I manage to misspell “Fippy Darkpaw” in the past two articles, I did it about twenty times, especially given the 490×392 screenshot that sat at the head of the article each time. I am, at this present time, writing this article from inside of The Chokey, where I have to admit my iPad is receiving terrible wifi reception.
Those of you who have experienced Sony’s progression servers in the past will no doubt be sarcastically aghast to learn that the server has attracted so much attention that it has been at maximum capacity since launch. Due to the overwhelming demand for the new server, Fippy Darkpaw (got it!), Sony announced today that a second server is being created, to launch tomorrow (the 16th), if sooner. The server will be named Vulak’Aerr, after the Draconic Lord.
Players wishing to get on Fippy Darkpaw are better off waiting for Vulak’Aerr. The server is at maximum capacity at all hours.
Damn you, Sony! With the impending release of the Everquest progression server, people like myself are no doubt trying their hardest not to resubscribe just to try the game out one more time, a feat that (at least I am finding) is proving hard to keep up. And much like the insensitive alcoholic who shows up at your one year of sobriety celebration with a case of beer, willingly shoveling your addiction right underneath your nose, Sony is ensuring that those of us on the fence will be knocked right off with a brick to the septum.
If you log into your Station accounts, some of you may find that your Everquest accounts have been reactivated until the 21st of February, just long enough to get a good week in with the progression server. Not all accounts appear to be affected by this, and I am unable to pinpoint exactly what the prerequisites are for the reactivation. If your account shows as “pending,” then you will be able to log in until the 21st.
So thank you, Sony. While you’re at it, can you spot me twenty bucks for Cool Ranch Doritos and a couple gallons of Sweet Tea? I’m going to need them.
Pending litigation that I received for the sake of this joke, I am unable to quote a certain Arkmay Acobsjay, and his comment about servers being added after launch being somewhat related to the success of the product itself. Just last week, we saw the addition of one server on the PC and one on the PS3, adding in new player vs player servers. I did note that the addition of two servers shouldn’t be seen as a runaway success, as Aion did the exact same thing post launch, and you may recall the monstrous merger that the game went through a few months ago.
This week, on the other hand, even more servers are being added to mitigate load. The PS3 is receiving three new servers, and the PC is receiving one new server.
PS3:
Relentless (PvE) US
Justice For All (PvE) EU
Absolute Power (PvP) EU
PC:
Last Laugh (PvE) US
Reaction to DC Universe has been pretty positive, even on the MMORPG.com forums. 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.
Sony Online Entertainment remains the juggernaut in the MMO industry, with more than ten titles currently on the market, with more on the way this coming year. Already released is DC Universe Online, based on the popular comic books characters and worlds. Aside from DCU, SOE has three titles that are on their way, two of which should be released by the end of the year.
First in line is expected to come in March, the sequel to Planetside codenamed Planetside Next. The next incarnation is anticipated to take the large scale battles of Planetside, and make them even bigger. As John Smedley stated in an interview with Eurogamer:
“And we haven’t announced a release date for it but you can expect it… We’re looking at late first-quarter, early second-quarter [2011].”
Next up, The Agency, expected to launch late this year. The Agency may be smaller in scale than Planetside (expected to be mostly instanced with social lobbies), but Smedley has big hopes for the game post-release, and is allowing the team to take as long as they need to make sure the game is up to snuff.
“One thing that we’ve learned over our company’s history is that it takes time to make great games. And we’re not trying to make cookie-cutter MMOs. There’s some stuff coming out in the next two or three months, MMO-wise, and a lot of it is generic copycats of other games. That’s not what we want to do. We want to make new experiences for people. So The Agency is a new kind of MMO so we want to make sure it’s as good as it can be.”
Third in line is Everquest Next. Although not slated to release for a good while, Everquest Next is expected to take the world of Norrath and turn it on its head. The number of classes and races is confirmed to be reduced, less than Everquest II and likely more around the numbers in Everquest. With a new art style, new lands to travel, and no doubt tons of lore to become accustomed to, Everquest Next may also be heading onto the Playstation 3 to saddle up with Sony’s increasing number of MMOs slated for release on the console.
Sony Online Entertainment remains the juggernaut in the MMO industry, with more than ten titles currently on the market, with more on the way this coming year. Already released is DC Universe Online, based on the popular comic books characters and worlds. Aside from DCU, SOE has three titles that are on their way, two of which should be released by the end of the year.
First in line is expected to come in March, the sequel to Planetside codenamed Planetside Next. The next incarnation is anticipated to take the large scale battles of Planetside, and make them even bigger. As John Smedley stated in an interview with Eurogamer:
“And we haven’t announced a release date for it but you can expect it… We’re looking at late first-quarter, early second-quarter [2011].”
Next up, The Agency, expected to launch late this year. The Agency may be smaller in scale than Planetside (expected to be mostly instanced with social lobbies), but Smedley has big hopes for the game post-release, and is allowing the team to take as long as they need to make sure the game is up to snuff.
“One thing that we’ve learned over our company’s history is that it takes time to make great games. And we’re not trying to make cookie-cutter MMOs. There’s some stuff coming out in the next two or three months, MMO-wise, and a lot of it is generic copycats of other games. That’s not what we want to do. We want to make new experiences for people. So The Agency is a new kind of MMO so we want to make sure it’s as good as it can be.”
Third in line is Everquest Next. Although not slated to release for a good while, Everquest Next is expected to take the world of Norrath and turn it on its head. The number of classes and races is confirmed to be reduced, less than Everquest II and likely more around the numbers in Everquest. With a new art style, new lands to travel, and no doubt tons of lore to become accustomed to, Everquest Next may also be heading onto the Playstation 3 to saddle up with Sony’s increasing number of MMOs slated for release on the console.
MMO Fallout 