PS3 2.40 VIDEO & updates :tol:

Balla · 06-30-2008, 11:48 AM

Quote:

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

click to enlarge

The first two games to support trophies will be the Sony-published PixelJunk Eden (we saw the XMB screen, but not the game, unfortunately) and Super Stardust HD. The former will be the first PS3 title to feature trophies right out of the gate; the latter will add them via a downloadable update.

Here's the unfortunate news: you'll need to earn trophies in games that are patched to include them even if you've already completely beaten the game. For example, if GTA IV received a trophy update, you'd need to play through it again – even if you achieved 100% completion – in order to earn its trophies.

From the sound of things, though, there's not a lot of movement in terms of already-released titles receiving trophy support. According to Sony, developers would need to go back in and add the "trigger values" that unlock a trophy, something we could only expect larger developers to undertake on titles that already have Xbox 360 achievements.

Still, Sony is going to be offering trophies in two more of its PSN titles for PS3, Pain and Warhawk, at an undisclosed date.

The really interesting aspects of trophies that we noted during our demo of firmware 2.40 are: a "level" system, which takes into account the number of trophies you've earned and displays your progress via a percentage bar towards the next level; developers can customize the trophy achievement art to fit their games; and you earn a platinum trophy for unlocking every other trophy in a game for ultimate bragging rights.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

click to enlarge

The new XMB (in-game and out) lets you quickly view your trophies (the new icon is located under the Games section of the XMB) and compare your collection side-by-side against people on your PSN friends list. In this view, you can see when you and your friend earned the trophy. Plus, a quick description of what's required to earn a certain trophy is always displayed below its name for easy reference.

We're glad to see Sony finally realizing the appeal of an achievement awards system. It's very similar to what Microsoft offers, but that's fine. It's actually the closest 2.40 comes to mimicking Xbox Live, plus elements such as the "gamer level" – and being able to see if someone is more of a "bronze gamer" than a "gold gamer," for example – is intriguing.

A quick press of the PS button brings up the in-game XMB, although it doesn't automatically pause the game. Actually, as Sony pointed out to us, some current games will pause ... others won't. Sony isn't mandating that future games pause when the XMB is called, leaving that decision up to developers.

The most useful aspect of the in-game XMB is the ability to communicate with other PSN users on your friends list – which can now contain up to 100 users – without leaving your game. This is done entirely through text-based messaging; unfortunately, Sony confirmed that it is not possible to initiate a private voice chat and keep your friend with you across games as on Xbox Live.

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

click to enlarge

You can, for example, message a friend and tell them you are currently playing Resistance, and would like them to join you, but there's no option to send any sort of game invite. That functionality will instead be up to developers to build into their games.

The ability to stream your own music off the HDD during gameplay is a feature of 2.40, but only works in games that have been designed to utilize it. If the game you're playing supports custom music playback, a new on-screen overlay can be brought up from the in-game XMB, with options for previous/next track, stop, repeat, shuffle, and volume. Sony demo'd this feature using PixelJunk Monsters Encore, but didn't divulge which other upcoming titles will support it (or if current ones can / will have it patched in).

To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

click to enlarge

We were surprised by the fact that the in-game XMB displays all of the standard XMB functionality, including video, music, photos, and so on. You can select anything from the menus, but it's not guaranteed to work. If the feature isn't supported in-game, you'll get a message asking if you'd like to quit the game to access it. Seeing this in action, we couldn't help but think it would have made more sense for the in-game XMB to be contextual, displaying only the options that could actually be utilized in-game.

Then there's the new trophy system, which is easily the most significant addition to the PS3 in terms of community features since it launched. Click here for our full look at what it's all about and how it works.

Our feelings about this latest PS3 update are mixed. On the one hand, there are handy features such as the ability to communicate with friends without quitting your game and on-the-fly accessory adjustments. On the other, the update still seems decidedly behind the curve in several areas. There's no private voice chat across games, no auto-pause when the XMB is triggered, custom soundtracks are not available in all games. Given the time that Sony has had to study its competition – namely Xbox Live – we'd expected to finally see at least a one-to-one match in terms of basic features.

Sony remains adamant that it will continue to "evolve" the features introduced in the 2.40 update across future firmware revisions. We hope that the key areas we've mentioned get attention sooner rather than later.

<object classid="clsid
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" width="437" height="265" id="viddler"><param name="movie" value="
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed src="
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
width="437" height="265" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowScriptAccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" name="viddler" ></embed></object>

Following months of rumors, speculation, and – most of all – waiting, Sony has officially unveiled version 2.40 of the PlayStation 3's operating system and XrossMediaBar (XMB) interface. Joystiq got a look at it in action last week and can finally unzip our lips about what we saw.

In a nutshell, the update introduces most of the features we've seen floating around as rumors for some time. Here's the short list of what you can now do without exiting from games:

In-game XMB (a quick tap of the PS button brings it up)
View game-specific trophies (We'll have more on this major feature at 8AM EST / 5AM PST)
Time / date display
Send text messages to PSN users on your friends list
Access accessory settings, such as Bluetooth pairing and voice changer
View and manage downloads
Quits game directly from an icon under the "Game" section of the XMB
Search the web using the Google Search option under "Network" (similar to the latest PSP firmware)
Launch directly into another game from the one you're currently playing
Play music tracks stored on the HDD in games that support this feature
Access a new on-screen music player interface (when listening to your own tracks in supported titles)

<strike>Sony hasn't announced a release date for its latest firmware update, stating only that it will be "very soon."</strike> The official press release says the firmware is coming July 2 (this Wednesday!). There are quite a few rumored / hoped for features that aren't finding their way into this release. There are also a number of quibbles with the functionality of the features that did make the cut. We go in-depth with our likes and dislikes of firmware 2.40

Source: Joystiq

WEDNESDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!

Slim · 06-30-2008, 01:25 PM

sweet, ps3 really needed some sort of achievements like the 360. For people who have both the 360 and the ps3, for games that come out for both systems why buy them for the ps3 if you have achievements for the 360. This should help out a little, even though it doesnt sound nearly as good as the achievements.

James Deuce · 06-30-2008, 04:31 PM

Why are all of the video game peoples voices so annoying...the guy in Diablo 3 was really annoying too...anyway, looks sweet, can't wait for the download.

Balla · 07-01-2008, 12:15 PM

Quote:

With the help of PSN director of operations, Eric Lampel, PlayStation.Blog has compiled a Firmware v2.40 FAQ, answering many of our most common questions. In most cases, with "No." Voice messaging? No. In-game web browsing? Negative. In-game display settings? Nope. In-game shopping? Uh-uh. In-game music streaming? Pfft. Cross-game invites? Sorry. Well, okay, what about Trophies -- will they make a funky little noise when unlocked (like Achievements!)? <strike>Of course not</strike> ... er, wait a minute: "I got an email from Eric asking me to update this post; there *will* be a sound effect when a user unlocks a trophy. You'll be hearing it soon enough. Hopefully a lot."

Will voice-messaging/private chat be featured in 2.40 as well? If not, can we expect to see this feature added in the future?

We are evaluating the opportunity to offer voice chat, but for this update, we wanted to focus on text messaging as the key priority for communications that our users have asked for.

Can you use the web browser in game?

No, you must exit the game before browsing the internet.

Will In-Game XMB come up during playback of PS2 games, Blu-Ray discs, and DVDs?

The XMB is an exclusive feature for PS3 game titles. Accessing the XMB during gameplay was the top request from our users, which we focused on for this update. However, we continually engage PS3 owners for feedback and will evaluate the opportunity to offer XMB access during movie playback in the future.

Can we go to the display settings and change anything there in-game (resolution, input, etc)?

No, you must exit the game before changing these settings.

Will it be possible to change in-game the sound output?

Yes, sound output changes are supported.

Will we be able to access the PLAYSTATION Store while in-game?

No, but you can view your downloads in progress.

Will we be able to stream music (either via media server or USB drive) for custom soundtracks or is it relegated to music stored on the HDD?

Currently only music stored on the HDD is accessible in games that support this feature. We’d also like to reiterate that Firmware v2.40 merely enables custom soundtracks. It’s up to developers to include this feature in upcoming games (or to patch existing ones).

Does 2.4 enable cross game invites? Will it down the line?

No, cross-game invites are not available in this system software update. We are evaluating opportunities to expand on the new features delivered in 2.40.

Will trophies be mandatory for all games release here on out?

We are working with developers to ensure that Trophies are supported across the board in the future.

Where is each player’s trophy stat info held? I am going to upgrade my hard drive and I don’t know if the trophies will still be on my account if I earn some and then get a new hard drive.

Trophies will be attached to users’ PSN ID. Trophy data needs to be synchronized to the online account on PSN to be transferred to the new PS3 system.

Will the patch automatically allocate unlocked trophies according to your saved files or would you have to do it again?

No, Trophies aren’t retroactive.

Can we view PSN profiles/Trophies from a PC using a Web browser? Will there be an API for web developers to access the PSN data, so online profiles can be created?

We’re evaluating these opportunities to expand where Trophies can be experienced.

Can you only compare trophies with friends that are online?

As long as a friend has a PSN account, you can compare trophies with them regardless of their online status.

Is there a limit to how many trophies the devs can put set by Sony?

There’s not a limit on number of trophies, but there’s a value assigned to each trophy. Developers must balance out the trophies that are available to stay within an overall value based on whether the game is considered large-scope or small-scope. Essentially, a user that has unlocked every trophy in one game would have the same level as a user that unlocked every trophy in another title, all titles (depending on scope) have the same overall impact on a users’ level.

Will new games have a cool little icon on the back saying “trophy compatible?”

We’re currently working on how Trophy support will be messaged to the consumer on our software packaging.

When you get a trophy, does it make a noise?

<del datetime="2008-07-01T03:52:11+00:00">Currently, no.</del> How quickly things can change - there *will* be a sound effect when you unlock a Trophy.

What is Eric’s favorite cheese?

Mozzarella

Once again, we will continue to evaluate opportunities to enhance the PLAYSTATION 3’s system software throughout the console’s life cycle. Consumer feedback has contributed greatly to the contents of Firmware v2.40, and continues to be appreciated. Don’t forget, this Firmware will be available for download on July 2nd.

Source: Joystiq

James Deuce · 07-01-2008, 02:03 PM

Hopefully with all the no's, Sony will try to get all those things in future updates.

Balla · 07-01-2008, 03:18 PM

yeah hopefully...

Duke · 07-02-2008, 02:03 PM

wow so this comes out sometime today? what a great day to have off.

Spinoff360 · 07-02-2008, 10:13 PM

Not so great if you ended up with a bricked PS3 because of the update that forced Sony to pull the update until they fix things. Glad PS3 isn't a high priority for me since it saved me from rushing off to download the update instead of rushing off to download Soul Calibur for XBLA
To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

PS3 2.40 VIDEO & updates :tol:

This is a discussion on PS3 2.40 VIDEO & updates :tol: within the Video Games & Electronics forums, part of the Non Wrestling Forums category; <object classid="clsid<img src=" http:="" To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 20 or greater. ...