We haven’t been studying witchcraft or anything, but for a few precious moments this evening, we were able to connect to DriveClub’s servers. Considering our absence of expertise in the dark arts, that’s probably a sign that Evolution Studios is finally getting on top of its debut PlayStation 4 title’s online issues – and the latest update from the Runcorn-based developer evidences as much.
“We have just released another server update that has increased the number of players racing which is good news, but in order to keep building on these numbers, we will be running further updates in the coming days that will affect availability of some of the online game features,” a spokesperson for the studio wrote on the game’s official Facebook page earlier today.
The message continued: “Some functions are temporarily unavailable, including challenges and social updates, but for those of you that can connect, you will still be able to participate in clubs, leaderboards, and online multiplayer races. This is in addition to the single player Tour mode, custom solo events, and car customisation that are available even when you're not connected.”
The firm admitted that this is “not ideal”, but thanked everyone for their “supportive” comments. “Believe us, we know how frustrating this is for you, and we are working non-stop to find the best solution to get you all connected and racing together online,” the correspondence concluded. Earlier today, creative director Paul Rustchynsky mentioned the possibility of compensation for the errors – but he appears to have been banned from posting Twitter updates as a consequence. Whoops.
[source facebook.com]
Comments 13
The plus version is insignificant at this point. When it's out, it's out. The people who pre-ordered and spent their hard-earned cash on the full game deserve a fully functioning product. It's taken long enough, hopefully things don't drag out for those gamers beyond this week.
Oh well, Sony killed this game...
Really wish this hadn't been branded the forza killer lol. How to jinx a game from the start!
@Mrskinner It's a stupid quote in the first place. Whatever your personal preferences, Sony already owns the franchise that Forza was developed as a reaction to - it's called Gran Turismo.
@get2sammyb couldn't agree more. The quote was very unfortunate considering what has happened with drive club since! However comparing forza and drive club is like comparing chalk and cheese in my opinion. They don't set out to do the same thing. The only real link is they have cars in them.
@Gamer83 pre order with hard earned cash? So the people that may have pre ordered a ps4 way way back to play any version at launch dont really matter, those people that have been PS plus members for the past 12 months don't really matter and the fact they'll need to renew PS plus to play it is insignificant. If anything they should have released the PS plus version first, almost like a beta.
@Bad-MuthaAdebis
I'm one of those people who pre-ordered a PS4 the first day you could, paid right away, bought PS Plus and waited in line the night for the console to come out. When the PS Plus version shows up, it shows up. The people who fronted the $60 or more for the full game, some before the console came out, need to be the priority. They dropped the ball, and yeah, I actually agree with you that the free version should've been out first, could've helped avoid a lot of this. But what's done is done at this point unfortunately. All we can hope is Sony and Evolution have learned lessons for the future.
@Gamer83 day one myself with ps4, they really should have released either version first, it was pretty stupid to try and launch it all on the same day. I'd have been happy to wait a month. It's just pathetic the whole thing really, It doesn't make sense any more not to run a proper beta, especially if its 1st party, geez. Anyway, most of my moaning has been tongue in cheek, its mostly just a whole lot of cruddy publicity, let's hope the PlayStation family have learned a little from this drivecrud saga.
@Bad-MuthaAdebis
As I commented in the article about Pachter's predictions for Sept, I do think complacency is setting in too much at Sony lately, and unfortunately until DriveClub the vast, vast majority of the fanbase has been excusing sh*tty behavior. Maybe this disaster and some months of looking up at the competition in NPDs will light a fire under some corporate a$$es.
i don't get why thet don't release the ps+ version but revoke ALL online connectivity until the servers are fixed so that way those that paid get to play online (as it gradually retuns) and everyone else can stop pissing themselves over their free demo.
This game has lost me and a couple of friends!! We have all pre-ordered "The Crew" now that game looks ACE!!.
I don't think they are bothered about the PSN Plus version, due to the fact there trying to make as much money as possible!! The longer they can hold out, the more people will give in and just buy the game!
Like I've said before, I wish both Sony and Evolution Studios all the luck possible in making DriveClub a successful new ip.
I just hope there're some lessons learned here (which im sure there have been) as this will go down in history as how not to launch a new ip.
@Midzark To be honest they've actually sold a fair few copies so I doubt they're holding it back for that reason. There really is a serious issue with the online side of DriveClub which is actually the main part of the game so it makes total sence to hold back the PlayStation Plus version so as the people who've actually spent money can get online.
I would however like to point out that they could still have given us the free version but lock out the online features which I feel would have gone down better with the PlayStation Plus subscribers and also stopped this conspiracy theory in its tracks.
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