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WildStar's name registration is on again, off again, on again [Updated]
After a lengthy delay earlier this afternoon, Carbine has declared WildStar's pre-order name registration open once again, though readers and Massively staffers still report problems with the service. "There are over 15,000 trying to access 1 single page, slow load times are going to happen. Just gotta refresh and try again," says Carbine via Twitter. "If you see a timer, that means your name is saved and you are good. If you are seeing "[question marks]" wait a couple minutes and try again." Have you been able to register yet? And did you steal Justin's name? Update: CRB_Gaffer has posted a statement about the downtime to Reddit. We've included it below:
Tamriel Infinium: An open letter to the creators of Elder Scrolls Online
Dear ZeniMax, I understand that you are a new studio, but you stem from a studio with a long history of making good games. I understand that no game has ever been 100% bug free. I also understand that you are extraordinarily excited about bringing your game to the public. And I wanted to see Elder Scrolls Online as much as anyone. You're also a young studio, and I understand the feeling wanting to do things your own way. You want to make your individual mark on the world, but doing that at the expense of wisdom... well, I hope you can see where I'm going with this. On Thursday, I spoke to many people about the console delay. I mentioned to most of them that my last Tamriel Infinium about the PC gamers actually being console beta testers was meant to be hyperbole. Although it was based on truth, I extended my logic beyond what I thought a studio would actually do. I didn't think that you were actually using the PC version that people are playing and paying for as a beta test. Clearly, that's the case since you will not release ESO in its current state to consoles. I don't think all is lost. I believe you might be able to turn some things around. So here's my armchair developer's advice.
Tamriel Infinium: Beta testing Elder Scrolls Online for consoles
With so many fixes, changes, and new bugs, it's hard to keep up with everything that's going on in The Elder Scrolls Online in a biweekly column. So instead of trying to discuss every minute detail of ESO's progress towards perfection, I'd like to look at the bigger picture. Why are these things happening and to what end? And the core question is this: "Was this planned all along?" Paid betas appear to be an unfortunate trend cropping up in MMOs as of late. And I know I'm going to sound like a hater, but I don't like to pay for beta. Yet being the idiot that I am, I still bought the $60 alpha for SOE's Landmark. I'm a sucker; I'll admit it. But that doesn't mean that I don't feel the shame that pours over me like gooey green slime -- a bucket for every dollar spent. Perhaps it's because I am not max level yet, but I'm starting to feel like a sucker when it comes to pre-ordering ESO. Don't get me wrong: I believe it's a great game. I just feel that it's not done, and I'm paying to participate in the console beta test.
The Elder Scrolls Online patches for quest bugs
The Elder Scrolls Online didn't have a bad launch by any means, but it was certainly not free of lag or of bugs. Not much can be done about lag, but bugs exist to be squashed, and the latest patch from the game aims to do that. The patch notes clearly outline several known quest issues that should be eliminated after this latest update, giving players a much more stable story experience than has been on the table before. Other minor fixes and improvements include slight UI tweaks and minor bugs regarding movement and abilities. Players will also no longer accidentally deconstruct their equipped helmets, which is good news for players but bad news for the haberdashers of Tamriel. Check out the full list of fixes and changes in the official patch notes, and enjoy a smoother questing flow the next time you log into the game.
PAX East 2014: Erin Roberts on Star Citizen's development
Star Citizen's backers have been waiting to see the game's dogfighting module in action for quite some time now, and it finally happened just before PAX East 2014. Unfortunately, it also wound up having some technical difficulties right at the beginning, which wasn't exactly what anyone had in mind when showing off the whole thing in action. It wasn't quite as bad as having the computer running the module burst into flames and die, but it was bad. Do the developers regret it? Not a chance. We got a chance to sit down and talk to Squadron 42 producer Erin Roberts and were told, in no uncertain terms, that even hitting technical hiccups like that don't make a more private development cycle feel better. In a way, having the development cycle be so public actually makes technical hurdles less problematic for the company when they're encountered because the language is in place to keep a meaningful dialogue going with the fans.
Apple reportedly testing new Maps feature to notify users of fixed problems
Apple has begun testing a new notification feature in its Maps app, according to a recent report from MacRumors. The report relays that some users who have reported erroneous mapping data to Apple are being presented with a notification option wherein they can elect to be notified when the issue has been resolved. It appears that the feature is still in testing at this point and it is unclear when it might be made available to all users. The initial user who first spotted the feature says that the option has only appeared intermittently, and at least two MacRumors forum users were able to confirm that they had seen it as well. When a mapping problem is fixed, users who have elected to be notified will receive a push notification. For a company that likes to keep its software problems hush hush as it works to fix them behind the scenes, I think it's a good step for Apple to keep users peripherally involved in the process. As a quick example, I was using Apple Maps a few weeks ago to drive to the Omaha Zoo. As tends to happen, the directions were slightly off as I was directed to some back part of the zoo that was completely on the other side of the entrance. Google Maps, however, provided more accurate directions. That said, the option to have Apple notify me when the problem is resolved would make me more inclined to keep on using Apple Maps as I'd have assurance that they're working diligently on the problem.
Diablo III - Hardcore Crusaders absolutely should not use Shattering Throw or they will die
This isn't me being all hyperbolic. This is actually what will happen to you if you use the combination Blessed Shield and Shattering Throw. Your character will die, and for hardcore players, that means your character will be dead forever. Grimiku - PSA: Avoid Blessed Shield - Shattering Throw Hello, Crusaders I wanted to help spread the word that there is currently a very ugly bug with Blessed Shield - Shattering Throw that will result in your Crusader instantly dying if you use this skill. Hardcore players should avoid using this skill for now! We're working on a hotfix for this issue and we'll update the Patch 2.0.4 Hotfix thread once that happens. Thank you all for your patience and understanding while we work on fixing this as soon as possible! source As my Crusader has both of these and likely would have blown himself up (a mere annoyance for me, but the end of that character if you play on Hardcore) I thought you all should know.
Massively's Elder Scrolls launch diary: Day three - Questing, story, and more
I'm just about to level 10 as the sun sets on day three of my Elder Scrolls Online pre-launch experience. After plenty of decisional paralysis on Sunday, I settled on a Redguard Nightblade and spent Monday and Tuesday leveling him through Stros M'kai, Betnikh, and the city of Daggerfall. Now I'm working my way northeast through the wilds of Glenumbra, stopping occasionally to assist the citizens of Deleyn's Mill and clean up the Vale of the Guardians.
PopCap working to squash Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare DLC bugs [Update]
Last week's debut of the Garden Variety DLC for PopCap's Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare brought mixed reactions. Players appreciated that the addition is available free of charge, but they were less than pleased with the bugs that have been causing the third-person shooter to crash on consoles. Since initial bug reports began streaming in, PopCap's tech staff has been working to alleviate the problems. Last Friday, the developer released a patch that should have cleared up any issues with the Xbox One version of the DLC, though the Xbox 360 game remains partially hobbled. PopCap creative director Justin Wiebe has been fielding reports on Twitter. Though Wiebe has yet to offer a specific timeline for when the Xbox 360 bugs will be squashed, his most recent tweet on the topic offers players hope. "We have a potential fix submitted for testing," Wiebe wrote. "If the tests go well X360 should be back to norm soon. Fingers crossed!" We've contacted PopCap and publisher EA for further information on the status of the DLC. We'll report back as soon as we hear anything. Update: EA has offered a reply to our inquiry which you can find below the break. [Image: EA]
Apple's iOS 7.1 update a mixed bag for users: Solutions to the most common problems
Apple's recent iOS 7.1 update resolved a number of issues for many users of the company's smartphone and tablet products. However, results of a survey conducted by TUAW show that over a quarter of a sampling of Apple customers who have installed the update feel that their devices are now in "worse" or "much worse" shape than they were prior to the update. Our survey asked readers to respond to the question "Have things gotten better or worse for you since iOS 7.1 was installed?" with one of five answers ranging from "Much Better" to "Much Worse". Almost a third of the 556 respondents were very happy with iOS 7.1, stating that the update had fixed a variety of issues with iOS 7 ranging from random reboots to slow response time on older iPhones. Altogether, over half of respondents said that life in the iOS 7.1 lane was better. For the unhappy users, the major issues appear to be deteriorating battery life and connectivity problems with cellular data carriers. One reader noted that "Since installing 7.1, the AT&T data connection has completely disappeared on both my phones. AT&T says there is nothing wrong, but every time I try to make a data connection I get an error message saying 'You are not subscribed to a data service.' Even a hard reset and the complete reinstallation of the operating system didn't help." Another wrote that "Cellular connectivity seems to have been decreased: the other day I had 2 "dots" of LTE and 4G service (ATT) and could not establish a viable data connection (iPhone 5). Same for my iPad with T-mobile (one dot)." Here are some helpful solutions for dealing with the most common problems that have arisen following the update. Problem: You can't connect to your cellular data carrier This problem has been occurring to various degrees for many users. The first thing you should try is to turn on your phone's airplane mode for ten seconds (reveal the Control Center with an upward swipe from the bottom of any screen, and then tap on the airplane icon), and then turn it off by tapping the airplane icon again. If this doesn't work, restart your phone by holding down the power button and home button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears. For some users this will fix the problem. However, if you still find yourself unable to connect to your provider after a reset, the best thing you can do is go to a retail location for your carrier. They have access to professional diagnostic tools and should be able to reconnect your phone to their data network. It's a pain, but still better than having to get a new phone. Problem: My battery life seems shorter under 7.1 The folks over at Ars Technica ran a series of tests on iOS devices comparing battery life between iOS 7.0.6 and iOS 7.1. Unfortunately, while they found a slight decrease in general battery life, it wasn't anything major. You can view the results of their study here. There are a number of minor issues that may be causing your battery life to be draining faster. Apps in iOS 7 or 7.1 may consume more battery power than before, in part thanks to iOS 7's new Background Refresh feature. In iOS 7, apps in the background can now request the ability to update their content (like a newspaper), trigger location-based alerts (like Foursquare or Yelp tipping you to a new coffee bar nearby) or just keep chugging along even if you switch the foreground app (like Google Maps giving you voice navigation directions even though you've moved on to something else). This also includes some Apple-provided apps like Podcasts and Weather. While iOS is supposed to be smart about managing this background access for convenient and power-saving times, it doesn't always quite work out that way. Want to see what kind of impact the background refresh is having on your battery life? Easy enough; just turn it off, in Settings > General > Background App Refresh. Either use the master switch to disable all apps at a stroke, or toggle individual apps that seem particularly profligate with your power. You may discover several that have no earthly reason to be updating in the background. (Coca-Cola Freestyle, this side-eye is for you.) Apple also suggests the option of a "force quit" for battery-hungry apps, making sure they can't update again in the background until you relaunch them manually. This is done by double-tapping the Home button to bring up a scrollable list of your currently active apps. Just swipe up with your finger on any app you would like to close. Using either of these approaches to keep apps from chewing up battery when you're not using them will extend the battery life on your iOS device. This is especially important to know if you're new to iOS. For other handy ways to improve the battery life on your iPad or iPhone, check out our previous tutorial on the subject. Problem: Apps are crashing Check to see if there are recent updates available for your app by launching the App Store app and tapping on Updates. Many programs have received patches already that fix crashing issues, and it may be that your device hasn't installed the update automatically. If there isn't a patch available, try uninstalling and reinstalling the app. Problem: This is the first time you've updated your phone in a while With the recent news regarding iOS security updates, it makes sense that some people are upgrading their phones for the first time in a while. We've actually spoken with some users who have never updated their phone beyond the version of iOS it shipped with. For these users the shift to iOS 7.1 is going to be a bit of a jump. A lot has changed since your previous version of iOS, so it's going to take some time to get used to. A good recommendation in this case is to visit Apple's excellent support website at http://apple.com/support/. The site provides a number of topics on how to make the most of the features of your iOS device as well as troubleshooting tips. If you're new to iOS 7, be sure to check out Apple's tips on "iPhone and iOS 7". And whatever you do, please back up your phone first. Conclusion: We're still looking through all of the data that our survey respondents submitted to see if there are other solutions available for the most common problems. In the meantime, give our handy tips a try and see if they help your most pressing iOS 7.1 issues. TUAW editors Steve Sande and Mike Rose also contributed to this report. Updated 3/19/14: Background app refresh information added.
RIFT suffers from chat and mail issues through the weekend
it looks like RIFT's patch 2.6 is bringing some unintended features to the game. Assuming you consider the complete shutdown of the game's chat to be a feature, anyhow. Up through most of yesterday, the game did not feature working chat for groups, raids, or guilds. While a fix has been pushed through early this morning to address most of the remaining issues, conquest chat is still non-functional as of this writing, and there are still "issues" with positional chat modes. Problems first emerged on Wednesday, but despite several hotfixes and updates the game has not yet been restored to full working order. Even the latest round of fixes still leave certain features disabled, although it looks like everyone logging on later today will be able to play normally for the most part. It remains to be seen when the remaining issues will be addressed. [Thanks to nope for the tip!]
The Daily Grind: When should a game lose the 'beta' defense?
There are people who will cry that a game is "just a beta" right up until the day before a launch. There are also people who will proclaim that a game should have been ready for prime time as soon as players were let loose in the playground, even if release is a day away. There appear to be no methods to counteract these two stances. But there is a happy medium somewhere, isn't there? Final Fantasy XIV launched largely clear of bugs despite its brief beta; Cataclysm had a normal beta but still arguably launched in a mid-beta state. Realistically, if a game is suffering from glaring performance issues or enormous bugs when it's a month from launch, these things will not be fixed in time for launch. The few games that have tried to do launch-day patches (such as Champions Online) rarely go over well. But it's hard to know how much work fixing something will take. So when does a game lose the defense of "it's just a beta"? When release is announced? When there's one month remaining? Two? Does it depend on the size of the bug or the issue? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Batman: Arkham Origins team prioritizing DLC over bug fixes
The Batman: Arkham Origins support page is full of frustrated players after community manager "Mercury" wrote that the Origins development team would be focused on completing story DLC instead of fixing the game's numerous, game-breaking bugs. "The team is currently working hard on the upcoming story DLC and there currently are no plans for releasing another patch to address the issues that have been reported on the forums," Mercury wrote. "If we do move forward with creating a new patch, it will try to address the progression blocking bugs for players, not the minor glitches that do not prevent one from continuing to play. The issues that are not progression blockers will unfortunately no longer be addressed." Unfortunately, it's not the first bad news for bat-fans: those who purchased Arkham Origins on Wii U recently had the story DLC for the game canceled.
Battlefield 4 sales not hurt by 'quality issues,' EA says
Sales of Battlefield 4 were not affected by any server issues or bugs in the game itself, EA President Peter Moore said during an investor call today. Any negative impact on Battlefield 4 sales comes from the transition to next-gen, Moore said: "We obviously saw some decline in current-gen software that wasn't picked up by the increased anticipation that gamers had and the sales thereof of next-gen. Battlefield 4 was no different than FIFA or Need for Speed in this issue, but this was focused on current-gen rather than, we believe, any issues with the game itself. This game has got a long tail, as you well know, and we will continue to be able to sell this effectively throughout the next fiscal year. "So yes, we did see some impact of the current-gen softness that was indicated by Andrew and Blake in their prepared statements, but this is not, we believe, a link to any quality issues." EA has not released the sales numbers for Battlefield 4, but Battlefield 4 Premium, a $50 season pass of DLC content for the main game, has 1.6 million members.
Captain's Log Supplemental: STO's Stephen D'Angelo speaks
Last week we reported on the announcement that Star Trek Online has a new Executive Producer. Daniel Stahl, who held the position for the past several years, has moved on to another "secret" project at Cryptic Studios. The game's new (and returning) EP, Stephen D'Angelo, has taken the chair once again and has already posted his first blog outlining a few of his desires for the future of Star Trek Online. We had the opportunity to interview D'Angelo and ask him a few more questions about the game and what direction he sees the ship heading. Massively: Congratulations on your new position as Executive Producer of Star Trek Online! Of course, this isn't your first time in the command chair. What's the first challenge you were faced with when you finally took the seat, and how is it different from the challenges you faced the last time you were at the helm? Stephen D'Angelo: Any time there is a change in leadership, there's a period of learning how the team operates. This time it was a pretty smooth transition, with no significant challenges. I've got a great working relationship with the team, and because there was nothing eminently shipping, I was able to ramp up at a reasonable pace. The last time was much more challenging. I was given the team without warning, and it was only weeks before converting the game to free-to-play. That was a pretty mad scramble.
2013 MacBook Air WiFi problems continue to plague users
Since its release in June of 2013, the latest version of the MacBook Air has plagued many users with a number of frustrating WiFi issues. Over a 131-page Support Communities thread started within days of the computer's release, 2013 Air owners complain of latency issues, dropped packets, dropped network connections and unstable connections. When using two laptops on the same network, Air users are often finding that their 2013 machines get wildly different speeds than other computers connected at the same time. Users who have faced this issue for months are starting to get restless. To quote a user in the support community: It is certainly driving me crazy. I have a 2010 Macbook Air that works flawlessly but my 2013 Macbook Air is constantly disconnecting. Jeff Geerling of Midwestern Mac has been dealing with this issue, trying to troubleshoot a permanent solution while he waits for Apple to help. Geerling has a few hypotheses as to what could be causing the issues. It seems to me that the WiFi driver and/or Mavericks' power-saving features might be too aggressive-it seems the WiFi chip is put into some low-power state if it doesn't have constant activity (like a ping every 1/5th of a second), and this is causing signal strength and stability issues. Also, perhaps the WiFi antenna(s?) is too close, or oriented poorly, in comparison to the Bluetooth antennna(s?). Disabling Bluetooth often leads to a more stable connection, and some Bluetooth applications (like Knock, which keeps a constant low-power connection to an iPhone) can practically disable WiFi. In the meantime, he has compiled a list of "band-aids" for the issues that may help some users until Apple officially fixes the issues. There's hope, however. On January 19, Geerling updated his post, citing a source who says the issue will be fixed with the impending release of Mac OS X 10.9.2. Whether the update actually fixes the long-running issues remains to be seen. There are a lot of frustrated people in the Support Community waiting with bated breath to finally have these issues resolved.
Weekly updates coming to PlanetSide 2
Would you like your favorite game to update more often or less often? Odds are you're prefer the former; barring the occasional update that badly breaks something, updates are a good thing. That's why creative director Matt Higby took to the PlanetSide 2 forums to break the happy news that the game's update schedule will be increasing to weekly patches. Yes, that's weekly, starting next Wednesday and continuing through the remainder of the year. Higby explains that the new schedule will have several benefits, starting with the team no longer requiring frequent hotfixes to take care of minor bugs and performance issues. It also means that each individual update will be a bit smaller, resulting in fewer moving pieces and a lower chance of introducing bugs with any given update. Larger features are still being developed, and they'll be moved into the new weekly schedule, but players will be able to expect at least something once a week.
EA wants your opinion on Battlefield 4
Whether you love Battlefield 4 or despise its constant crashes and tendency to lose save files, EA wants to hear from you. The publisher has issued a survey to members of the Battlefield 4 community which first asks players to rate the likelihood that they would recommend Battlefield 4 to a friend, then asks for a short, personalized review of the open-world, first-person shooter. There's no tangible reward for participation, though given the number of vocal Battlefield 4 detractors we've seen since the game's October debut, the chance to release all of that anger directly at the people responsible for the game should prove tempting by itself. Despite this attempt by EA to take the pulse of its community, Battlefield 4 remains less than functional. The game's ongoing stability issues have improved since launch, but crashes and failures to connect to servers remain common. As a result of these problems, EA now finds itself the target of two class-action lawsuits alleging the publisher convinced players to purchase the unfinished game by filling its marketing materials with false and misleading information.
Evernote CEO pledges to refocus on core features and fix buggy, confusing apps
There are several people here at Engadget that might actually die (or at the very least be unemployed) if it were not for their Evernote accounts. Which makes it all the more painful when the service lets us down by failing to sync notes or falling prey to hackers. Jason Kincaid, formerly of TechCrunch, posted a rather lengthy tirade on his blog about such an instance, in which the iOS app produced corrupted audio notes that were completely unplayable. And during the troubleshooting process with Evernote support, Kincaid came across a bug that captured entire notes in plain text in its log files -- the very files that a support person request when trying to diagnose a problem. Let's just say the self-proclaimed power user was understandably incensed. Well, the post caught the attention of Evernote CEO Phil Libin, who admitted that perhaps the company had focused too much on adding features and expanding its user base at the expense of the core experience. But those days are over Libin proclaimed. In fact, he says the staff quietly shifted its focus back to squashing bugs and improving stability a couple of months ago, but that there was still plenty of work to be done. In addition to boosting performance and fixing broken features, he says updates will be rolling out over "the next few weeks" that will greatly improve and simplify the user experience. He specifically said the engineers and designers will be targeting note editing, navigation, search, sync and collaboration features across all platforms. 2013 was a big year for Evernote, and it's safe to say it endured some growing pains. Lets just hope that 2014 is the year it grows up -- without getting too big for its britches.
DayZ moves 172,000 copies in first 24 hours of early access
The standalone version of Arma II zombie survival mod DayZ, which stealthily went live via Steam's early access program earlier this week, has generated $5.1 million in its first 24 hours of availability. According to Bohemia Interactive's Maruk Spanel, DayZ moved 172,500 copies on launch day and 142,403 players were online at the time of his last update. Creator Dean Hall has been celebrating the successful launch with regular tweets on the game's sales and performance, but he took a moment to remind possible buyers that this version of DayZ is still very much a work in progress: Please do not just buy the game because you heard it was cool. Many streamers are now streaming. Visit this and view the (many) bugs first. Early access to DayZ will run you $29.99.
