Sony Home - The official thread*

[patsu]

Home 1.10 released

http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=ps3home&thread.id=558064

1.10 Patch Notes

New features

* We have added a new “Remove Player” function that allows the creator to remove people from a Game Launching session. This is complemented by the Block Player function, accessible via the Safe Screen, which can be used to stop people rejoining.

Changes and Improvements

We are constantly tweaking and enhancing various game elements to improve your experience in PlayStation®Home. Updates in 1.10 include:

* The speed of the initial log-on process has been improved and a progress bar has been added to provide you with more information about what is happening.
* Items that you have already purchased will now be loaded when you first log-in, reducing the loading time when you enter stores in the Mall.
* Other players’ avatars will now load faster when you enter a space.
* The names of Home reward items will now be shown when you obtain them.
* Download priorities have been changed so that certain graphics and images (like thumbnail images and World Map chips) will download more quickly.
* The inventory system (that stores Home Reward items) has been reworked and made more robust. We have also implemented additional safeguards to help ensure that you cannot inadvertently lose any of your items.
* The Chat log window will now always be displayed on top of any other on-screen graphics, except when zoomed in to a video or poster. When zoomed in, the chat window will no longer display.
* The size of the text box has been improved on message boards in Clubhouses.
* The option to “Block voice chat” has been changed to “Block chat,” which will allow you to block both voice chat and text chat at the same time. Players blocked with this feature will not be automatically added to the block list on your Friends list.
* The game camera will now go into attract mode once you have been idle for more than 3 minutes.
* The “Resign sub leader” command has been removed from the Menu Pad. Club leaders will now have to downgrade sub leaders if they wish.
* We have further improved the UI for a variety of systems including Game Launching, Clubhouses and the Store.
* We have made several memory optimizations to improve client stability.
* We have made graphical improvements to particle systems and water effects.

Bug fixes

* Furniture in Personal Spaces will no longer occasionally vanish when you leave lights or lamps turned on.
* Single-seat chairs and sofas can no longer be occupied by more than one person at a time.
* You can now turn lighting objects on/off in your Personal Space.
* Furniture layout issues in Clubhouses have been resolved.
* The “Refresh Club Menus” option in the Menu Pad should now work as intended.
* Dates will now be displayed on Clubhouse bulletin board messages.
* A fix has been applied to the Home Safe Screen reporting process.
* Your screen will no longer freeze if you leave a game session with the game disc ejected.
* Item names and prices will now display correctly in the Mall.
* Wallpapers will now be displayed properly when you invite friends to your Harbour Studio.
* You will no longer be able to make a phone call to players who have deactivated voice chat.
* You should now be able to use two-seater sofas properly.

EDIT:

What's coming...
http://boardsus.playstation.com/pla...hread.id=558067&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

Okay guys and gals - as promised, we’re going to give you a peek into what to expect in terms of content updates in the very near future. Note: We’re not releasing exact dates to the public on any of this. Don’t ask; we won’t tell. The only way to make sure you don’t miss out is to log in to PlayStation Home often.

Anyhow, coming straight for you all are:

A proverbial boatload of game spaces - including spaces for Warhawk, SOCOM, Resistance, and many, many more (we’ll announce more spaces in the coming weeks)...

Of course, you’re all aware of the EA Sports Complex. But let’s just say that is coming sooner rather than later. And it’s cooler than you imagined.

These spaces will usher in the next phase of Home. They will begin to utilize this uber-powerful platform’s true capabilities. We’re talking unlocking items in the games you play from Home (and vice versa), mini-games that take full advantage of the Sixaxis controller, game launching integration. The whole shebang!

We also have leaderboards. Huzzah!

You can also count on tons of apartments and clubhouses that boast increasingly interactive environments. These spaces are freakin’ awesome. You’re going to love ‘em.

Picture frames are coming back. We’re not giving a solid date at this time, but suffice to say you will have them very, very soon.

You’ll have more music, more regularly. And, yes, there will be all different styles (this means that all of you rockers can rejoice!)

You’ll have a bigger Theater, and it will be full of videos (and not just trailers either).

You’ll be able to customize your avatar with more gear – and this stuff is hot. Oh, and there are tons of options for the girls as well. We’re not forgetting about you.

And, to top it all off, we’re gonna be throwing tons of parties, contests, and other events in Home (including a special event to coincide with Valentine’s Day. It’s going to be a killer event). The prizes will be bigger and better than ever before. If you haven’t participated in anything we’ve done before, we’re sure you will now.

See, we weren’t lying when we said we were going to make good on our word to you all.

We appreciate your patience while we make the final tweaks to ensure that all of this is smooth as can be. And we appreciate you diehards keeping the faith while the naysayers pretended like the Beta launch was the be-all, end-all of Home. No way, no how.

 

[wco81]

All these features other than game launching are noise.

They have to get some more high-profile game-launching announcements like RE5.

I have no interest in R2 or KZ2 but you would think they'd have game-launching for those games, particularly where everyone in a Home space when the game is launched (triggered hopefully by a captain or captains for each competitive team) goes into a multiplayer online game.

Do that for NHL10 and FIFA10 and maybe I'll bother to update my Home installation.

 

[Arwin]

This is some good news ... if they keep their word on the stuff they've said here, I think things are definitely looking up for Home. It will be interesting to see if Killzone 2 launches with some Home support - you'd think so, wouldn't you? I agree that Game Launching is essential, and game spaces, when they bring something to the table, or at the very least as a place to meet people to game-launch with, second. But I'm also very happy to hear about sixaxis support in Home, leaderboards (I'm first and foremost interested in scores by friends) and the picture frame of course.

 

[Zassk]

All these features other than game launching are noise.

Agreed... the patch notes read like a MMORPG's patch notes.

I still wonder if the Home team was poached from SOE's MMORPG teams. The graphics and world technology eerily resemble those of Everquest 2. I would be shocked if Home did not start with the same code base.

 

[patsu]

Different requirements.

Home code base is inherited from the game lobby of an action game (Getaway ?).


My guess is people will check out the "Picture Frame" feature once released. I know I would start to decorate my apartment if that feature is available. The standard wallpapers are too sterile.

And of course, game launching. EA seems to be leading the pack in western developer Home support.


EDIT: Btw, Usability enhancements are not noises
It's core to the basic experience... for the current Home users.

 

[Asher]

My prediction is by the time Home becomes functional and truly useful to a meaningful segment of the userbase, we'll be counting down the days til PS4 comes out...

Progress is so slow on some of the most basic of Home features that it's becoming increasingly comical.

 

[patsu]

We shall see !

I heard they are running a RedBull Air Race competition. Top 5 gets a free Sony wireless keypad.
I see cthellis' best score @ 1:39:75

My timing is a glorious 4:10:46 (Yap, right up there for friends to see; second to cthellis). Yeah, yeah I know. There must be an accelerate control but I just wanted to cruise and relax.

Now everyone knows why I refuse to play Warhawk.

 

[BadTB25]

I finally logged into Home a couple of days ago.

Honestly, I just didn't get the reason to utilize it. Admittedly, I only spent maybe 30 minutes with it, but it just didn't grab me.

I need to find some time to really give it a fair shake, but my first impression was more or less unimpressed.

 

[wco81]

EDIT: Btw, Usability enhancements are not noises
It's core to the basic experience... for the current Home users.

Depends on what the goals and expectations of Home are.

If Sony thinks they can create a community separate from gaming, another Facebook or whatever, they're dreaming.

People aren't going to buy a PS3 just to do social networking.

Instead, it's gamers who want some better interface than XMB for finding and launching online games.

Everything else is ancillary to this so the usability for features other than game-launching is indeed noise.

 

[patsu]

If you read through the list carefully, you'd see that the usability enhancements (login speed, load speed, more robust chatting and reward mechanisms, more stable clubhouse/clanrooms, better party management, etc.) can all be tied to gaming.

Although game launching is a key feature, the award of gaming items and a more fun lobby are important too.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Sadly no mention of making the avatars look human. I expect Sony miss completely the importance of that and will never address it.

 

[-tkf-]

Depends on what the goals and expectations of Home are.

If Sony thinks they can create a community separate from gaming, another Facebook or whatever, they're dreaming.

People aren't going to buy a PS3 just to do social networking.

Instead, it's gamers who want some better interface than XMB for finding and launching online games.

Everything else is ancillary to this so the usability for features other than game-launching is indeed noise.

They may be dreaming and they may be completely of the mark when it comes to certain customers, like you. But for me it´s crystal clear that the Home concept appeals to many people, it´s in it´s own space between sims and 2nd life. And that works, why else would people actually log in to the damn thing when they can´t do anything else but chill and hang out.

I doubt it´s gonna be a seller for the PS3, but it´s another "cool thing" you can do with your PS3. It´s another purpose for owning one, it´s another freebie, it´s another time killer and that adds up to the PS3 value. No other console gives something like home away for free.

When i talk to moms at work, i tell them that when they get the PS3 for thier kids they should remember to signon to PSN so they get access to free demos. This makes them happy, because it gives them extra value. I then tell them about Home, and again they are happy because, again they get extra value and their sons get more to play with.

Home is a great place to waste time for everyone that owns a PS3 and does something else than play games. And from the looks of it they are doing what is needed to keep it fresh so that like PS Store, people will end up login in every week to check up on the "new stuff".

I accept that there is a tendency to tunnel vision inside these forums, but it can be a real eye opener to see what people that aren´t pure GAMERS4LIFE do with the PS3. Noise in your eyes/ears are pure bliss for others.

 

[patsu]

Sadly no mention of making the avatars look human. I expect Sony miss completely the importance of that and will never address it.

Post the request in the official forum and see.

If they change the animation now, I am pretty sure people will complain. Shuffle it down the list (I think it would be welcomed).

I'd say besides the usability enhancements (More speed up please ! Don't stop), they should introduce "highlights" into the environment. A pop-up pane for highligting goodies and people in a space will help to simplify usage and condense the experience. Already posted in the official forum. Hopefully they see things the same way. ^_^

The rest are really content changes. There are too many spaces and too little content and activities for people to act on. One mini-game per space is stupid. Game launching support for popular games is without a doubt, the first priority. Media sharing is highly requested too.

 

[Arwin]

Sadly no mention of making the avatars look human. I expect Sony miss completely the importance of that and will never address it.

It doesn't bother me at all, I think they're still the most human of avatars on consoles and have a lot of fun animations. I'm sure there's more possible, and the current ones have a tiny bit of weirdness due to not all motions being the same in each country, but they get the job done.

Anyway, forgot to mention that for Europe the Far Cry 2 spaces are online now also. It's a small thing, but I think it's the first actual gamespace that the Europeans have gotten so at least its something.

 

[patsu]

Ha ha... it's considerably easier to implement some of the things I mentioned in a 2D interface. I expect MS to add similar web, clan and party management facilities. So Sony do have to be (i) quick, and (ii) able to show the advantages of an open and 3D world. At some point, the ability to express oneself adequately (and freely) will be important.

It's a matter of priority and commitment to their vision.

 

[Asher]

Ha ha... it's considerably easier to implement some of the things I mentioned in a 2D interface. I expect MS to add similar web, clan and party management facilities. So Sony do have to be (i) quick, and (ii) able to show the advantages of an open and 3D world. At some point, the ability to express oneself adequately (and freely) will be important.

It's a matter of priority and commitment to their vision.

Why do you believe it's important to "express oneself adequately and freely", and imply this is only done with an open and 3D world? I still don't see how this is the way to go, it just doesn't make any sense -- it adds a lot of friction to what should be quick and dirty tasks (communicating with friends). When I want to talk to my friends, I want to quickly get ahold of them and not have to suffer through loading screens and fumbling around in an interface so our 3D avatars get placed next to eachother and we can just talk normally anyway.

I want to be able to see a quick list of which friends are online and then from there initiate a chat (voice or video) virtually instantenously. Whether they're in a game or not. This is the "holy grail" of social gaming with friends, the ubiquity of the service and the lack of frustration and hoops to jump through to use it. Sony needs to differentiate themselves so they're taking this other, more flashy way to do it and the response has been overwhelmingly negative. And we really should all know why that is -- it's just not a terribly good idea for most gamers. Even if they finally get the UI right, it'll be far more clunky and far more frustrating to use than a simple invite/menu system ubiquitous across all games and services on the console. And what is the payoff for all over this overhead? Pretty virtual landscapes (that get old fast) so our characters can sit there and do the odd weirdly-animated hand gesture while we talk? The payoff isn't worth the cost here.

Home is going to appeal to a niche audience and, despite claims to the country, it is the same niche audience that plays Second Life. It's too heavy and obtrusive for "gamers" to use, and there's no real advantages to it. The closest thing I've heard to being advantageous to gamers is the idea of hosting pre-game lobbies inside of Home (which is ridiculous given the loading times it'd require). The only real use for Home is for people who love the idea of virtual 3D worlds to chat with (think Second Life) and for companies who want to use the opportunity for advertising (Red Bull, EA, etc).

Sony has dramatically missed the boat on this one. There's even an allusion to the idea that the "naysayers" just don't see the potential to the service in the changelogs, which to me reinforces just how delusional the people behind Home have become. They need to focus on what people want from the service, not what they think would be cool in a virtual world. They're clearly not the same things.

 

[joker454]

When i talk to moms at work, i tell them that when they get the PS3 for thier kids they should remember to signon to PSN so they get access to free demos.

You should have recommended the other machine, it has far more free demos than PSN and you would have saved these moms $100 each. But I digress

My problem with home is not the concept, but the platform it's on. Women are on the Wii, not the PS3. Without women you can't have a full social community. Also, historically Sony has problems getting software together. It seems to take them ages to finally sort everything out. For these reasons I don't expect much of anything from Home in the PS3 era.

Where it gets interesting to me is on the PS4. The Wii has taught everyone the folly of ignoring the ladies, so I'm betting the PS4 will take them into account this time. Also come PS4 launch date, Sony will have had a lot of time to get all the details of Home sorted out, and there should be a good amount of bug free content by then as well. The clunky user experience should be sorted out by then as well. At that point I'm thinking they can 'relaunch' Home at PS4's launch date, going for a wider mode diverse audience with an actual finished and polished product. Much of Home can also be preinstalled on the PS4, alleviating some of that initial load pain that the current one seems to get bogged down with.

At this point Home is a mere curiosity, but there is huge potential here, it's just gonna take some time. There is no real reason for Sony to stop work on it since it's not platform bound, then can keep Home going to PS4, PS5, etc, so I'm curious what Home will be like come 2012.

 

[-tkf-]

You should have recommended the other machine, it has far more free demos than PSN and you would have saved these moms $100 each. But I digress

I didn´t recommend the PS3 in these cases, they had a PS2 that they wanted to upgrade. I recommend the PS3 to anyone that wants a Console and would like to enter the HiDef world of movies. The Wii sells itself to those that have it a work "it´s just like in the real world". I know so few that actually have a 360, i think it mostly relates to me moving out of the circle of "hardcore" shooters and Denmark in general being a Playstation country.

I wholeheartly agree with you that Sony seems incapable of boiling eggs if it requires working on a big software project. When Home was presented i didn´t see where the technical challenges were that ended up taking so long to actually launch something that isn´t even all what was promised. I have a hunch that what we saw was a tech demo running on a solo machine and that the actual work must have started either after or shortly before the presentation.

But yes, Home is a long term relationship for Sony and it will hopefully reap it´s rewards at some point. But even in it´s form today, i still believe it adds value.

 

[one]

Why do you believe it's important to "express oneself adequately and freely", and imply this is only done with an open and 3D world? I still don't see how this is the way to go, it just doesn't make any sense -- it adds a lot of friction to what should be quick and dirty tasks (communicating with friends).

Tell it to millions of WoW players

 

[Asher]

Tell it to millions of WoW players

As an avid player of MMORPG games, including WoW back to when it was in beta...there is no comparison. WoW is a game, Home is not. The minigames in Home don't even come close to making it qualify as a game, either.

I'm not saying "virtual worlds" are worthless, just that Sony's implementation and vision one is worthless to most people who use it as a gaming framework. There needs to be a <b>point</b> to them, just the fact that it's pretty, 3D, and free doesn't cut it. Second Life has many of the same obvious failures and shortcomings -- both "Worlds" will hype how many people they had try it out (accounts/registered users), but very few people actually stick around and play them. The reason for that is it's mindless and objectiveless.

Sony's objective for Home is to provide a sense of community for the PS3, but my post was describing why that's a misguided effort -- it adds too much interface friction and still doesn't address core issues (ubiquitous functionality in and outside of games, like Live has).

BTW, if you think a considerable amount of people play WoW for the "social aspect" (hanging around chatting and playing minigames), you are very, very mistaken...they play it for the game.