PlayStation 3 Console Discussion

[Choze]

We will be using the camera too though. GT5 is thought to have head tracking for the incar view making it natural.

Though yeah its not waving your hands about...

 

I think the major shortcoming/advantage of Natal is its another excuse to make shovelware for the Wii type audience. No doubt MS want to go after the Wii. Sony in this case are going after refinement.

[Daft]

Exactly Daft! I was going to say epic as well but... Reception probably wasn't going to be great.

 

Oh, and I think that trailer is downloadable from the Gamescom videos on the Store. Yeah it does look pretty cool. Funny knock at the Natal; 'Gone are the days where you just stand and wave your arms around'. Although maybe it's explaining the Eyetoy shortcomings.

 

Next Home update needs more dance options.

It's utterly stupid but strangely enjoyable.

 

Yeah, I think you're right about the trailer. It popped up on N4G and there was a closed door conference recently about the motion controls so I assumed it was from there. My bad.

 

They're probably knocking general arm waving camera weirdness as a whole. Including Natal of course.

[MATtheHAT]

Brilliant moment on Home just now, won the Buzz tomato hat from the Events space by answering 10 questions right consecutively (tomato lobbing at Buzz himself). So I put it on and went to leave only to find that everyone started doing the running man in a circle around a revolving statue of Buzz... So naturally me and 'Hat joined in with the new tomato attire.

 

I'm now convinced Home can be good!

 

Yeah it was a 'Had to be there Moment'. About 20 people, including me and the Dwarf bloke, doing the Running Man with Tomato heads around a giant statue.

Edited September 4, 2009 by MATtheHAT

[Emasher]

I've just got back in the country (I've been away since before the slim came out), so I'll be going down to the shop tomorrow to pick one up (The website says they have them in stock at this specific store, and there are other stores around, so I'm not too worried about being able to find one, they don't seem to be selling out here). I think I'll still be getting infamous with it, plus Battlefield 1943, and Fat Princess on PSN.

 

Also, would people recommend signing up for a PSN account beforehand, or doing it on the actual machine?

[dwarf]

Personally I'd take Wipeout HD over Fat Princess any day of the week, I'm not the greatest FP fan and I think it was way overhyped. Plus there's better games out there than Infamous, but still it's pretty decent so I won't advise against it.

 

As for PSN, do what you want. I doubt whatever you decide on as an ID now will be taken by the time you pick up your PS3 but it's up to you really. It's pretty simple on the system once your online is set up.

[MATtheHAT]

Yeah don't bother with Fat Princess, Wipeout HD is by far a better purchase. And you can't go wrong with BF1943

 

Be sure to post your PSN ID in the gamertag thread, or add us regulars from here. I often play BF amongst other games, so see ya online!

[Daft]

Get Super Stardust HD and flower.

 

Make sure you get flower.

[KKOB]

Mmmmm Flower! I recommend getting PixelJunk Eden because it's just stunning.

 

But you get a demo of BF 1943 so try for an hour before you buy - i found myself not liking it so i bought Fat Princess anywho.

 

Yay, btw, for a new Fat Princess map soon ^_^

[Cookyman]

If your looking for something different from PSN then get Zen Pinball and download the Street Fighter 2 table. I love it.

[dwarf]

Get Super Stardust HD and flower.

 

Make sure you get flower.

I do like Stardust but I wouldn't say it was an essential purchase. Saying that, isn't it only £2 now? In that case I don't see why not, it can be addictive and the 10X multiplier trophy is a great big carrot that will tease you as you get a bit better with each try.

 

Flower... I can't comment, it's probably great, but I'm unaware if I'm missing out on it or not. You could say I am but it'll take a lot or persuading. Quite a pricey title (or good value).

[Daft]

flower is a close contender for my GOTY. It was a bit of an experience. Very different from the usual. Fantastic motion controls as well.

[dwarf]

I'm going to round off my opinion on Crash Commando. I know a couple of people here have it, but for £3.99 you can't go wrong. It's really addictive, has a ton of different weapons and is generally brilliant when playing online.

 

One of those games where you have to talk about your own experiences really. Yesterday I thought I possessed some god-like skill when I placed two mines and picked up the chain gun power up. Two people jumped into the mines, and then a few seconds later I was surrounded by five people. I jumped up and in a precise circular motion picked off each enemy for a masive multi-kill combo. The weapon eats through people but dang it felt good.

 

The game gives you a great sense of freedom with the jetpack, it recharges really quickly and you're basically flying 80% of the time which makes for great aerial battles. The powerups are pretty neat and the gun turret that allows you to shoot FPS style at people on the other plane of the map is a stroke of genius. Plus you can usually see the opponents fighting in the background so it's not like you're wondering around the map with no clue as to where your next potential victim is.

 

Cons: online is a bit iffy, hard to connect a lot of the time, but when you do it's usually lag-free.

 

Edit: Tekken 6 is looking pretty awesome, videos below:

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/748466/tekken-next/videos/tekken6_trl_battle_090409.html

 

http://uk.ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/748466/tekken-next/videos/tekken6_trl_campaign_090409.html

Edited September 5, 2009 by dwarf

[Emasher]

I was under the impression that Fat Princess was a must buy, but I guess it isn't. I might get Flower, I've always had a bit of an interest in that game. Wipeout HD is also on my list for now.

Edited September 5, 2009 by Emasher

[KKOB]

I was under the impression that Fat Princess was a must buy, but I guess it isn't. I might get Flower, I've always had a bit of an interest in that game. Wipeout HD is also on my list for now.

 

I really like fat princess, but sometimes the games can go on for too long, and it starts feeling a bit blah! But it's a tiny bit over priced, £9.99 seems like the right price for it. New maps and/or classes will add some new life and variety to the game. Not an instant buy, but one of the best PSN games for sure.

[dwarf]

Tbh, there aren't loads of great PSN games. There's maybe 5 very good games, quite a few decent ones that different people would appreciate and then there's a load of bad stuff.

Top tier stuff would include things like Wipeout, Battlefield (that's it for me in terms of great games although if Flower's your thing then that would probably make it in there too. I think Stardust would come under this almost.

 

Then there's the stuff like Worms, Fat Princess, Crash Commando and the PixelJunk series which you may want to buy if you have spare cash and the titles appeal to you.

 

My problem with FP is that it looks like it should be a fun, quirky game when really the only thing that's good about it is the charming visuals. Otherwise, playing the game feels chore-like and when I sat there wanting to enjoy it I realised that it really wasn't all that. I shouldn't have had to look for stuff I liked within it and it just seemed to me that all the reviews were high because of the buzz it had. The art style is the reason it did well because it covered up the flaws and repetitiveness when it came to review time.

 

This sums it up well:

Much like the cakes that the princesses so greedily scoff down, the game is delicious at first, an overwhelming confection of bright colours and varied flavours, but the sugar rush wears off much too quickly, leaving you bloated and exhausted.

Edited September 5, 2009 by dwarf

[Choze]

Going to get Tekken 6 on both PSP and PS3. The PSP handles SC so well.

[Caris]

is there anywhere I can put forward some suggestions for the XMB to sony? Blog, forum, email?

[Choze]

is there anywhere I can put forward some suggestions for the XMB to sony? Blog, forum, email?

 

All are fine. I think they already know what to do for the next update though :p

[Daft]

is there anywhere I can put forward some suggestions for the XMB to sony? Blog, forum, email?

 

There is an EU forum and a blog. The blog is quite good for getting direct responses. The team there have responded to quite a few of my comments. It has to be relevant to the post though.

 

I'm sure whatever you're going to suggest has already been banged on about tbh. 3.0 is a bit of a mess. They are good at listening to the community so I expect problems will be ironed out sooner or later.

[flameboy]

flower is a close contender for my GOTY. It was a bit of an experience. Very different from the usual. Fantastic motion controls as well.

 

Glad I'm not the only person who still remembers how great this game was...

[Daft]

Yeah, love flower. T'was a breath of fresh air.

 

Been using BBC iPlayer. The quality is surprisingly good when blown up to 42". I didn't realise they had films on it. I watched Drop Dead Gorgeous which was quite good, if not a bit too long.

[Ryan]

There is an EU forum and a blog. The blog is quite good for getting direct responses. The team there have responded to quite a few of my comments. It has to be relevant to the post though.

 

I'm sure whatever you're going to suggest has already been banged on about tbh. 3.0 is a bit of a mess. They are good at listening to the community so I expect problems will be ironed out sooner or later.

 

This list was posted by an EU forum moderator. Hopefully the firmware team have a copy!!

 

The Friends List:

 

Positive Feedback:

 

* A slider now appears when quickly scrolling through the friends list.

 

Negative Feedback:

 

* The grey boxes which encase each friend are ugly and are not consistent with the design template for the rest of the XMB.

* The grey boxes look especially ugly when lined up. Having lots of friends makes for seriously unpleasing aesthetics.

 

Feature Requests:

 

* Display the total number of trophies earned by each friend underneath their ID.

* Add an option which allows users to group their friends into user-defined categories (From FW2.70)

* Change the way the friends list is displayed so that only the currently highlighted friend displays a grey box.

 

Bugs:

 

* None.

 

The XMB

 

Postive Feedback:

 

* Trophies appear much more quickly when the user attempts to view them

* Navigation of the XMB is generally faster and smoother

* The battery icon for controllers no longer covers the clock

* The new startup display is sexier!

* The ability to view your Internet Connection Speed is very useful for reference

* The What's New area is a far better way of presenting information from the PlayStation Network than the Information Board

* The ability to Copy and Paste works well, and is useful for copying links into the Browser

* Icons seem sharper and display better on a HDTV than previously

* Starting a game is faster

* Accessing the XMB whilst in game is faster

* Love the way the background blurs when a sub-menu is opened.

* The "unread message" icon is awesome, but needs a counter to specify how many unread messages the user has.

 

Negative Feedback:

 

* The font size is too large, some users find this slightly insulting

* Animations on the XMB do not appear fluent

* Icons on the XMB are now too large

* The design of the XMB feels disjointed and confused. The grey boxes on the friends list do not suit the rest of the design template, for example

* There is now both an analogue AND a digital clock, which is not necessary

* The battery meter for controllers no longer suits the design template for the XMB

* Battery Icon for the Official Wireless Headset still overlays the clock

* PLAYSTATION 3 Jingle no longer chimes when loading a game. Subject of much distress for many users.

* Music now stops if the user attempts to view a friend's profile or opens anything in the settings menu.

* PlayStation Store is now under games, which makes no sense. The store does not provide only games. It should be under Network only.

* Last played games option doesn't restore your last session. It just starts the game.

* Comment line is MASSIVE in comparison to the amount of text which can be used when writing a comment.

* When in game, the XMB presents ALL options to the user, rather than just those which can actually be used whilst in game.

* Dynamic backgrounds can be turned off for each individual user, but cannot be turned off on the user selection screen. No matter what, every console now logs on to be greeted with glitter.

* The status bar overlays half the screen when displayed in Standard Definition

* What's new takes too long to load, making it unworth the hassle

* The PlayStation Store is far too intrusive now and makes PlayStation reek of marketting.

 

Feature Requests:

 

* Add an option to change the display size of the XMB, including font and icon size. Small, Medium and Large.

* Add an option which allows the user to specify where notification messages are displayed (FW2.80)

* Remove the PlayStation Store icon from the GAME menu.

* Add the ability for the 'Last played' section to restore the session of the most recently played game.Similar to the PSP's hibernate function.

* Add an RSS reader to the XMB, allowing the user to define which RSS feeds they want to read.

* Change thein game XMB so that only options which can be used during gameplay are available

* Add the option to change the theme at the user selection screen

* Add an option to optimise the XMB display for SD screens.

* Add the 'copy multiple' option to the Save Game Data utility to making backing up save data easier

* Add an option to 'fade-out' the XMB after a user-specified time of no input. This would result in the XMB fading away to leave only the background. An especially good way to show off your animated backgrounds~!

* Add the battery indicator for controllers and headsets to the status bar on the XMB, then stop it displaying as a seperate icon when the PS button is pressed.

* Add the ability to apply on specific parts of a theme. For example the icons only, or the font only.

* Add a counter to display exactly how many unread messages a user has.

 

Bugs:

 

* None

 

BBC iPlayer

 

Positive Feedback:

 

* iPlayer no longer stutters during playback

* Bigscreen interface works well with a HD screen

* Bigscreen is easy to use with a DUALSHOCK/SIXAXIS controller

 

Negative Feedback:

 

* Bigscreen interface is extremely difficult to use on an SDTV, as the user cannot 'zoom out' in order to view the full screen.

 

Feature Requests:

 

* Add the ability to zoom out when using the Bigscreen interface OR

* Add an option to display the Bigscreen interface in a way which is suitable for SDTVs.

* Add the option to download content, rather than streaming it.

 

Bugs:

 

* The iPlayer icon sometimes does not display for users

 

Other:

 

Positive Feedback:

 

* Animated Backgrounds are super-cool

* The ability to designate multiple sound outputs is extremely useful for sound management.

* Love the ability to use the Right Analogue Stick to control fast forward/rewind

 

Negative Feedback:

 

* Why no animated backgrounds available for SCEE territories at launch?

* The PS3 Browser STILL doesn't work properly with our forum.

* Bavia Sync cannot be used on older models of the PS3

 

Feature Requests:

 

* Add the option to choose whether the 'PS3 Slim' or 'PLAYSTATION 3' logo on startup

* Improve the Browser to enable full use of our forum

* Add the ability to use BRAVIA Sync on older, more obese consoles.

* Add the ability to play PlayStation 2 titles on all consoles.

* Add the ability to view the 'PlayTV' Guide from the XMB's TV menu

 

Bugs

 

* The "Display [What's New]" setting does not work. Even when set to 'off', What's New is displayed regardless.

Most things on there I wouldn't notice since I don't use PlayTV, have an official headset etc.. Another thing I don't understand is peoples obsession with premium themes and avatars? I didn't buy any when I had an Xbox and I don't plan on buying any on the PS3. In fact, I haven't changed my Ratchet and Clank avatar from when I first setup my PS3. People are basically complaining they don't have an excuse to give Sony £3?

 

BRAVIA Sync is more down to the Slim's hardware, I emailed customer support if older models would get it but it seems it was already built in and 3.0 merely activated it.

 

The grey boxes should be completely removed, having an isolated case in the friends list where it isn't needed is ridiculous.

 

In closing, Sony have one long list to undo and fix alot of the changes they just put in, if something like the music issue was down to something very technical, it's only fair.

 

Less sparkles, more jingles.

[Choze]

I agree with the list. Its like they hired some people from MS and Nintendo to lead the process. Really stupid changes.

 

They should revert the XMB back to the old one. This new one is nonsense. Not sure about some recommendations there but the Pre 3.0 UI was perfect.

 

Its like how some people who jailbreak their iphone ruin the UI with stupid overlays etc and make it look like junk. Ok maybe not that far but as i said Sony shouldnt go in that direction at all. IMO Less is more.

[dwarf]

They should make the messaging quicker. Like if you scroll onto someone's name instead having to press 3 buttons to get to the message you should be able to press square to go to the latest message.

 

At the moment you press triangle, press X to get to the message list which usually loads when in-game, and then you have to select the message you want. Making it slightly more inconvenient, you have to repeat this process if you have more than 1 message from someone, because pressing circle puts you back to the friends list. Need to streamline the whole shebang.

 

And get rid of the store stuff along with the big font & grey boxes. Make the comments visible when you aren't highlighting the ID, like with the games thing.

[Aimless]

Some of those suggestions are, shall we say, unrealistic. I suppose there will always be a few of those, though. Also, I find this part pretty funny: "PLAYSTATION 3 Jingle no longer chimes when loading a game. Subject of much distress for many users."

 

Personally I like the sparkles. I don't have an issue with the slightly larger XMB font/icons either, although from what I can gather that would be because it displays properly for me whereas some other people have encountered a bug where the interface isn't scaling with the resolution as it should; for me the difference is like so.