My brief history of PSO

[AndyPandy]

My brief history of PSO

Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online

Hacked by Barubary and cheat devices. Sonic Team continued to charge for the Hunters License even though players had reported the problem of item modification as well as player killing and memory card corruption. Sonic Team fail to address these problems and the games falls into disrepair.

Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online ver.2

Yet again, Sonic Team tries their hardest to stop cheats by making players pay for what was essentially the same game with some minor upgrades. Ver2 had all the same problems as Ver1 and players where charged once again via the Hunters License to play on a game that was already ruined by cheat devices.

GameCube PSO Ep1 and 2

Beta Version GameCube PSO Ep 1and 2

A beta version was produced and was tested in Japan to iron out the possibility of cheats, and bugs.

Retail version PSO Ep 1 and 2 (Japanese)

Within one week of release a Japanese player had managed to work out how to duplicate items offline via a bug in Sonic Teams code. Servers are segregated because ST did not want the US servers to be infected with the duped items.

ST also admits to problems with the BB code as many Japanese people complained on their forums about the problems.

Retail Version PSO Ep 1 and 2 (US)

Ver 1.1 is released in the US. This version has had the offline dupe trick patched, but it appears that some people are still managing to dupe via a similar method, albeit a little more risky, but possible. It also appears that the BB connection problems have still not been addressed.

UpgradeRetail Version PSO 1.1 (Japanese)

Japanese players are informed of an upgrade disk that they will be able to apply for free online. This version will patch the games infamous dupe bug. Players will loose all items and mags found so far in the game. These items will be replaced by one mag cell as a thank you for upgrading. The old servers will remain for those people that do no wish to upgrade.



Key points

Dreamcast PSO 1 was ruined due to cheat devices and Sonic Teams incompetence in being able to handle the problem.

Dreamcast PSO Ver.2 was ruined due to cheat devices and Sonic Teams incompetence in being able to handle the problem.

GC PSO is ruined by the dupe bug found within one week of playing.

Japanese Version 1.1 seems to be the same as the American Version. I am still unsure if the BB connection problems have been addressed in the US version.

Barubary has been reported jumping from US and Japanese ships, something that should not even be possible yet.

Barubary is apparently hacking items via a GamecubePC link up (obviously)

It has now been reported that modified items have shown up on both US and Japanese versions of PSO, ie; rare items with unnaturally high percents.

What does it say one of the key features of PSO is? Playing with people from all over the world?...False advertising?

Conclusion.

With the recent bombshell that Sonic Team are offering the upgrade disc option and the fact that the very version they want you to upgrade to has already been hacked, why would people want to upgrade? It?s kind of funny how none of these problems are mentioned when you sign up for you hunters license, or on any of Sonic Team's or Sega's websites.


THIS IS NOT A FLAME WAR. There is a point to this post. How do WE go about approaching Sonic TeamSega with a mass complaint? What would they recognise as a official complaint? Is a forum petition going to be recognised by ST and Sega?

If you would like to add any points to this post regarding your opinions and how we could go about approaching Sega, post here. Please dont use this as a way of flaming as I dont want this post to be deleted. If you think any of the above is wrong, or a little too strong please say so.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: AndyPandy on 2002-11-25 06:00 ]</font>

[rena-ko]

version 1.0 (or 3.0 for barubary) lacks the main idea of playing with people from over the world - so its not really that what the players wanted to buy. sure, you lose your money and beloved mags and get a dull mag-cell for that but its better to start your GCNpso-charas over a third time by now.

so far, every onlinegame has its hacker- or technical problems - especially those with the user-side-saving-feature. so before insulting sega to be to stupid to produce bug-free code think about how difficult it is to check up several MB of code about possible security holes.
if sega or any other company with an online-game would instantly fix everything with updated disks for free, then the monthly fees would be even higher than it is just now.

...
but even with all the dupes and cheats around, DCpso-v2 is still fun for me - i dont play like its meant in the first place (join open games, easily make friends from all over the world and play with people you never played with before, etc...) but its still fun.
well, that were my 2 meseta on that...

[MalambisBZ]

I think that it is lame of sega to charge us near MMORPG prices, but all we get is 4 players games, easily hacked, and lack of updates (JP pay less and get more).

Diablo 2 had 9+ patches with major changes, 8 player games, server-side saving, and it was free.
Blizzard has been continually fighting cheating, and they haven't charged a cent for online play. The only game they will charge for is their upcomming MMORPG (which obviously needs to have fees, like all MMOs).

I don't see what we are paying for.. we've had 1 temporary quest (halloween) and that's it.

There's no server side saving, so it's obviously going to be hacked soon (which is beginning now). I don't see how to stop cheating without server side saving. Yes, duping is still possible with server side saving, but it is much less common.

I love PSO, it's an amazing game.. but it shouldn't have a monthly fee.

[saffaya]

Nice recap of PSO history.
You should realize re-reading it that Sonic Team has proven its incompetence and lack of consideration for its customers multiple times.

Considering that, I honestly don't think anything originating from us (being foreigners don't help either) will actually do anything.
No.
If Something can make Sonic Team change their carefree way of life, I would think more of a huge corporation that will not enjoy having ST screwing up their efforts at providing the best online experience they can.
(read : M$ and Xbox Live)

[pre-emptive strike : GC fanboys can cool down on the usual PSO Xbox bashing. Sonic Team cleaning up their code is ultimately good for ALL versions of PSO. Remember too that ST is supposed to work on PSO2 real soon.]

[TeamPhalanx]

I don't think it has anything to do with SONIC TEAM's incompetence. For every patch they put up, another code was made - It was a futile attempt.

Duping/Cheating wouldn't be a problem if the players took the time to be a little skeptical/honest and refuse items.

I've always said that if you want to point a finger at the problems of PSO, don't point it at ST or even Barubary; point it at the players who decide to accept items without question and thereby cheat.

Take the bug in the original JPN version. The duping method in that is pretty vague and I doubt that a player just happened to stumble upon it.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: TeamPhalanx on 2002-11-25 10:32 ]</font>

[Spy]

The sad thing about ver. 2 is that the cheating could have been largely averted had Barubary not been allowed to sell the Xploder with his char. conversion code on this site.

And now here she is again, hacking exclusive content for this very site. The only question is how long will it be before the next "betrayal"(I say it in quotes because it's not really a betrayal, just playing on the stupidity of those who trust in Barubary).

And while Barubary may not be the cause for all the cheating on PSO, she sure does make herself an easy target. And people calling her a 'genius' sure isn't going to make things any better.

[TeamPhalanx]

My guess is that Baru does what Baru does because it's somewhat of a challenge to figure out the cracks and such. But being a genius for doing so? Far from it. I can only assume that those that associate the word genius with such actions are... how shall I say... have received less education than most.

[AMP]

On 2002-11-25 07:00, MalambisBZ wrote:
I don't see what we are paying for.. we've had 1 temporary quest (halloween) and that's it.


I don't think anyone playing the US version has paid for a HL yet, seeing as how the game hasn't been out for 30 days yet.

[Spy]

On 2002-11-25 11:49, TeamPhalanx wrote:
My guess is that Baru does what Baru does because it's somewhat of a challenge to figure out the cracks and such.

I like the idea that some people are just plain assholes. I'm one of them, just not as destructive.



But being a genius for doing so? Far from it.
I can only assume that those that associate the word genius with such actions are... how shall I say... have received less education than most.


Indeed. It doesn't take much to use, as someone stated above, a GC-to-PC link cable and a hex editor. Cavemen ohh'd and ahh'd at fire, so I guess this is some sort of improvement.

I would like to point out that you are right on in your belief that the root of the cheating problem on PSO lies with the casual player that accepts dupes. It's just like the drug problem in America - stupid users.

[JordanLund]

Dreamcast Phantasy Star Online

Hacked by Barubary and cheat devices. Sonic Team continued to charge for the Hunters License even though players had reported the problem of item modification as well as player killing and memory card corruption. Sonic Team fail to address these problems and the games falls into disrepair.

Actually, there never was a fee for PSO v.1 on the Dreamcast unless you lived in Japan. It was 100% free to play in the U.S. and Europe and (AFAIK) still is.


It has now been reported that modified items have shown up on both US and Japanese versions of PSO, ie; rare items with unnaturally high percents.

The big question is how many of those un-natural percents are being reported by people who aren't aware that the new game doesn't have a 60% limit? Natural percents now reach 100%.


What does it say one of the key features of PSO is? Playing with people from all over the world?...False advertising?

Presumably the Japanese and U.S. servers will be re-connected once the fixed disc is released in Japan.

[Bystander]

One thing I never understood is why they couldn't just have a checksum algorithm or something to make hacking a very difficult thing.

The GameShark can hack PSO save files because it replaces data stored at a certain address (such as saber) with another bit of data (such as Double Saber). There is no way they can stop this as long as GameSharks can manipulate memory card contents. But they can make it difficult. The saving routines can do something crazy like add up all the unique ID numbers of the items in inventory and do funky math stuff to it, and then save that number as a verification key (perhaps a single 32-bit integer) on the same game save. The verification key would take some crazy mathematical algorithms to calculate and would be unique depending on things like your name, stats, items in inventory, time of saving, etc. Now if some hacker decides to replace the memory address holding saber with the address holding saber+1... then the verification key would be inconsistent, because it was calculated with saber in that spot and not saber+1... and the file would be reguarded as corrupted. Even if the hackers figure out the sequence of calculations to obtain that verification key from the current game state, they would have to figure it out separately for every game save that they want to manipulate, and it would no longer be a case of simply moving data in memory... the math calculations and cumbersome data gathering needed to create the verification key would make duping less feasible to most people out there.

Oh well, just my two cents.

[Quake]

Nobodys Ever Gonna Stop Hacking Games, Its Just Something That They Enjoy. The More You Try To Stop It The Mores It Gonna Happen. So Its Really Pointless Winging About It, If You Ignore It You Will Feel A Lot Better, Other Wise You Are Just Getting Cut At Nothing.

[Naer]

Sure, people are going to hack and I don't care if they do as long as it's not ruining my experience. When it happens in a game where you PAY to play it I can guarantee MANY people are going to complain.

Spy said something on this thread about Baru hacking for exclusive content for this site, what is this, a fricking race to see who's site collects all the PSO goodies leaving nothing for the mostly legitimate community to discover on their own?

I'm ashamed that i'm part of a community that is associated with such nonsense. Trusting a hacker is like giving shelter to a convicted murderer. Trust hackers so they can ruin the more enjoyable parts of the game? Feh, i'd rather crucify them.

[AndyPandy]

Actually, there never was a fee for PSO v.1 on the Dreamcast unless you lived in Japan. It was 100% free to play in the U.S. and Europe and (AFAIK) still is.

Doh, ok, Maybe I was wrong about that. BUT people still payed for the GAME ie; a transaction of money took place for something that was technically broke after a short period of time.



The big question is how many of those un-natural percents are being reported by people who aren't aware that the new game doesn't have a 60% limit? Natural percents now reach 100%.

I have seen the said items with all stats 100%.


Presumably the Japanese and U.S. servers will be re-connected once the fixed disc is released in Japan.

Yes, but I bought the game mainly because I wanted to play with people from all over the world....NOW. Thats like buying a car that says it's got ABS braking, then finding out from the garage that it hasnt, but they might install them in the future....ie, you have already paid for them, but you have not got them.