PLAYSTATION 2/3 GLITCHES NEED TO BE ADDRESSED

[Seinen]

I have been playing Final Fantasy XI since 2004, and have noticed slowly but surely as time passed, that errors and glitches started to rear their head as the years passed by. It started with raising your own chocobo. Myself and friends who also play on the Playstation 2 would get disconnected when trying to take the chocobo on walks. Then we would get disconnected when zoning, but that issue was thankfully fixed over time.
But the chocobo one remains and there are several npcs that now freeze my friends and I when we speak to them. Some of them include Luto in Upper Jeuno, Jeanvirgaud in Northern San d'Oria, the Explorer Moogle in Northern San d'Oria as well as several Artifact Armor npcs. Basically any npc that gives you a cutscene freezes you in this game. THIS IS A PROBLEM THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED.
I am a PAYING CUSTOMER of Square-Enix's product. I pay monthly to play a game which I enjoy WHEN I am able to play it! It would be one thing if these freezes only stopped me from doing minor quests, but they freeze me when I am trying to view storyline for actual missions. I was just frozen moments ago when viewing a cutscene for Chains of Promathia.
That was the final straw that prompted me to write this. Companies who offer a product to consumers who pay for the product on a monthly basis and are being given a shabby product in return, can easily be reported to the Better Business Bureau. I have been through this forum and have read several similar complaints to my own. Obviously Square-Enix has been made aware of these problems yet are doing nothing to fix them, at least publicly.
Maybe children who are playing this game think nothing can be done, but adults know that things such as Class Action Lawsuits can be filed. Square-Enix seems to be ok with accepting our money every month to play this game, but are unwilling to even address these problems that are constantly laid out before them. Stop messing your loyal and paying customers around. If your accepting our money for this "service" your providing, then you should also take responsibility for fixing these glitches.
What's the point of adding new areas, equipment, storylines, etc., when the ones you already have are nigh unplayable by many players. My friends and I have not even purchased any of the downloadable expansions such as Abyssea, purely based on the fact that we think it would be a waste of money, seeing how we would probably get disconnected during the storyline cutscenes.
If you are going to discontinue Final Fantasy XI for Playstation 2/3 users, I do not think your customers are going to simply let it go down quietly as you may hope. Not after paying money over the course of many years for a "damaged" product. Simply put, I pay $13.95 a month to play. Multiply that by 12 months in the year. Then multiply that by 7 years.
I'm just one of many customers and I know quite a few probably pay even more than me because they have more content id's. We want to keep playing this game and we expect a fun-filled and freeze-free experience. Please respect your customers Square-Enix and appreciate them, because without them you'd be out of business.

[Zaknafein]

Holy wall of text batman! I hear ya tho.. the freezing black screen crap.. clingy npcs when your trying to warp somewhere, or the worst the Cut Scene black outs is awful. About the abyssea thing. Zoning into or out of a maw is a 50/50 blackscreen.. about the same or a bit worse than runic portals have been for years. /le sigh

We're all of us going to have to change over to pc sooner or later. Probably best to do it sooner considering the buggy glitchiness of ps2/ps3

[Octaviane]

I have played since April 06. Problems for me started with the coin NPC and Warp NPC in WG that same year. Those issues were fixed eventually. At that time WG was jammed with people and there were several times I would be black screened trying to zone in to WG. This all before WoTG was released. Then it was at the chocobo stables in Sandy trying to raise a chocobo. I was never able to successfully raise one because I would get black screened every time I would try to walk the chocobo. Tried again in Bastok, same result. Conversations with Customer Service/Tech Support denied knowing of any issues. I made a report to the STF, nothing.

More than a year ago, I began to notice I would get frozen at Conrad, OP NPC Bastok Mines, stand there for several minutes and have to force log off, come back and try again. This expanded to include Explorer Moogles, Event Moogles, Chocobo rental NPC's even Signet NPC's. The frequency has grown to having to force log off almost everytime I play at least once and log back on try again, freeze, log, rinse and repeat.

Around the beginning of this year, I had to have a friend guest on my account to move me through a CS for a Windy Mission because I would get blackscreened every time I tried to get through it.

The issue became really annoying this last month or so. I decided to have some fun with a mule and get her levelled up, do fame quests, Missions, etc. 8/10 NPC's that I went to for quests in Bastok resulted in a freeze, especially bad was Flaco, fame giver NPC. NPC's in Sandy and Windy were the same but to a lesser degree and NPC's in Jeuno were bad also. I got blackscreened in the middle of the CS you get upon zoning into Lower Jeuno I think it is to begin ACP.

Yes, I use a PS2. The game was designed and coded for PS2. I doubt though that SE anticipated the games' huge popularity or the need to provide more content way back when, and now we are running into memory issues. Users are being blamed for holding back development of the game, users are flamed almost everyday in posts about everything that is wrong with the game. People always say when a suggestion is made, Can't be done! PS2 limitations! We are told buy a used X-box or PC! Stop holding us back!

SE acknowledged about a year ago PS2 limitations if I remember correctly. I plan on filtering through all their PoL releases to find it at some point. Since then, there has been no mention of any steps that might be taken, if any, to relieve or address the situation.

With the introduction of these Forums, many players have been able to post their frustrations about PS2/3 freeze/blackscreen issues. All that is ever done is players are asked to fill out the template available to give details about the platform/console used etc. A canned, generic response from a rep is all we ever see. Lately, these reports have been quietly moved from In-Game Bugs to Technical Support and left. Not one has been responded to if you look.

With respect SE, you have known for years about our concerns. Players have paid their fees for years and continued to support you. It's time you afforded us the courtesy of a response, and not just a canned, poorly worded, evasive one.

I would rather know that you are planning on discontinuing support of PS2 consoles now than have to wonder each day if I am going to be able to continue to play and progress whether on my for fun mule or my main character when I log on. I am not going to be unhappy if you discontinue support because I can see where eventually it will be necessary. I am unhappy about your lack of response. If you can cater to all the little things that people desire in this game, you can take the time to answer us.

Thank you.

[Gropitou]

After years of freezes on NPCs and blacksceens or POL error messages when using the Runic Portal and Cavernous Maws, I started this thread thinking only a few might be in the same boat. Seems most, if not all, PS2/3 users are affected in some way by this intolerable situation.

How many paying clients having the same problem does it take for SE to really address a situation ???

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxi/threads/623-Zoning-PS2-3-Freeze-Issues

[Shyla]

Kind of to be expected when using an obsolete system like PS2. It's like wanting a brand new stereo system, interior, and rims on your 1975 AMC Pacer. Might just be better to get a new car.

[Gilraen]

Why don't you tell Sony that the PS2 is obsolete. Please, do so so we can get the old PS3 back. If you haven't noticed, Sony still makes the PS2 (just not the fat PS2, which is used to run FFXI unless you went and modded a slim to use an HDD) and the slim PS3 is a far cry from what it used to be (and not in a good way). As far as Sony is concerned the PS2 isn't even beginning to be obsolete, and game makers have yet to stop making new PS2 games. The system isn't dead. It may be picking a burial plot but it's yet to actually be shuffled off to a retirement home.

All that said, FFXI still exists on it's mother console in both the US and it's home market of Japan. Square needs to step up and address whatever they broke in the May update in regards to the PS2 version.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

It's like wanting a brand new stereo system, interior, and rims on your 1975 AMC Pacer. Might just be better to get a new car.

But that shiny new car's stereo system won't play your FFXI 8-track tape any better.

[Octaviane]

Kind of to be expected when using an obsolete system like PS2. It's like wanting a brand new stereo system, interior, and rims on your 1975 AMC Pacer. Might just be better to get a new car.

It still is no excuse for SE to ignore the issues. A 1975 AMC Pacer can be restored btw, doesn't make it obsolete.

[Zaknafein]

Why don't you tell Sony that the PS2 is obsolete. Please, do so so we can get the old PS3 back. If you haven't noticed, Sony still makes the PS2 (just not the fat PS2, which is used to run FFXI unless you went and modded a slim to use an HDD) and the slim PS3 is a far cry from what it used to be (and not in a good way). As far as Sony is concerned the PS2 isn't even beginning to be obsolete, and game makers have yet to stop making new PS2 games. The system isn't dead. It may be picking a burial plot but it's yet to actually be shuffled off to a retirement home.

That isn't going to solve the problem unfortunately. Ps3 fat (which I play on) is running the same game as the Ps2. In fact it has more problems with sticky npc's, and blackscreens than the Ps2 did for the years I played on it. The game would have to be basically rewritten for the Ps3 for it to properly utilize the machine vs just emulating it. SE isn't going to pay for the significant cost to do this. It makes no sense business wise.

The best thing we can do as console users is to understand this situation, and change platforms unanimously to pc. While this might not fix everything that is wrong with the game in one fell swoop it will change several issues right off the bat, and also allow the development team to focus solely on pc development which is what the game needs at this point in it's life.

[Gilraen]

I think you missed something. We aren't asking them to overhaul the client, we just want them to fix what they broke in May. I've played the PC version and it breaks alot of the immersion I get from the console version (the passage of time between night and day passes like a ton of bricks, names spawn with the mobs retarding visual aggro rangefinding, the colors feel drowned and dull, etc., etc.). In fact, I do use the PC version when I do run into cutscene issues and, rarely, if I want to play on the go. But, beyond that, I'd rather play the PS2 version. It just looks better in my opinion, and I'm sure that's how alot of other 'purists' feel as well. It's not that we can't play on PC, it's that we don't want to. But, as was said earlier, we pay the same fees, we should be given the same attention.

[Zaknafein]

As a fellow playstation enthusiast I understand your sentiments. Guess all I'm trying to say is prolly best not to hold your breath.

[Laraul]

Kind of to be expected when using an obsolete system like PS2. It's like wanting a brand new stereo system, interior, and rims on your 1975 AMC Pacer. Might just be better to get a new car.

Well if the PS2 is obsolete, then what does that make the 40 year old PC? I guess for PCs it's like buying a new stereo, rims, and a twin exhaust kit for your horse and carriage...

[Zaknafein]

Well if the PS2 is obsolete, then what does that make the 40 year old PC? I guess for PCs it's like buying a new stereo, rims, and a twin exhaust kit for your horse and carriage...

LOL that makes no sense what so ever.... BUT! at least your not posting /anon and for that I /salute you :)

[Octaviane]

I could play FFXI on my laptop, but I happen to like my cuddly PS2. :) Besides, I like to keep work and gaming separate from each other. My new rims, stereo and twin exhausts don't play FFXI and my horse and carriage is too uncomfortable to sit in plus no access to an electrical outlet. :)

We are still entitled to the courtesy of a response from SE, but I am not holding my breath.

[Legomike]

yes please address and fix this. quit FF14 and put that money into making a proper PS3 version

[Octaviane]

This the response from Support about PS2 freezing issues that I received today, along with a non-toll free # to call for more assistance.

Dear Customer,

Regarding your request for account support. Please find your answer below.

Unfortunately, we currently do not have a solution to this problem. Please contact the Support Center Tech Department and they will assist you further. The contact phone number for the tech department is: 310-846-0345.

Thank you for contacting the SQUARE ENIX Support Center.

[Paksenarrion]

If it makes you feel any better, they haven't fixed the issue with Xbox 360 where, if you shut down or freeze (My typical case. I always properly exit but it'll freeze on exiting.) or whatever without properly exiting POL, you are unable to load the game anymore.

Other than the workaround involving an MP3 player. I find it oddly hilarious that I'm plugging my Apple iPod into my Microsoft Xbox 360 to play a game originally built for the PS2.