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Ubisoft has been deceptive by using misinformation to hide server crashes


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This section was originally part of a thread on ACB server issues:

http://www.ps3trophies.org/forum/assassins-creed-brotherhood/215084-trophy-boosting-thread-server-issues-work-arounds.html#post4010473.

 

However, the false "Player has left the session" messages and implications for Ubisoft consumers raises serious issues. While AC Brotherhood is three years old and Assassin's Creed fans are looking forward to AC IV: Black Flag.

 

 

ACB servers will crash and lie, accusing other players of "leaving the session." Do not be fooled into blaming each other. The truth is the designers have programmed the servers to post false messages about other players "leaving the session" when a server crash occurs.

 

EVENT: While Player A is hosting a round, the faulty ACB servers crash. All players are dropped and the round ends due to "insufficient number of players."

 

WHAT THE PLAYERS SEE ON THEIR INDIVIDUAL SCREENS:

 

Message on Player A's screen: "Player D has left the match."

Message on Player B's screen: "Player D has left the match."

Message on Player C's screen: "Player D has left the match."

Message on Player D's screen: "Player A [the host] has left the match."

 

AFTERMATH: When players reconvene in the multiplayer lobby, Player A, the host, accuses Player D of leaving early and ruining the session. Player D responds, "I didn't leave the session early. You did, Player A!" Player B responds, "No, Player A didn't leave! He was the host! I was with him. Player D, you left early! It even said so on the screen!" Player D denies this, but the other players levy "what the screen said" against him, and he counters with "what the screen said" about Player A. The finger pointing intensifies, players become irritated with one another, and the boost becomes strained.

 

REALITY: No one "left the session" voluntarily of his/her own accord. Player D was probably to first to be dropped by ACB servers, and through no fault of his own became the scapegoat. The server informed all remaining players Player D "left the session", when in truth Player D was forced out by the server itself. Rather than notifying Player D this is what occurred, the server tells him, "Player A left the session."

 

Ubisoft could have designed their system to display a hundred different factual messages to inform players of what was occuring: "Server failure", "Connection to Player D lost," "Connection issues, "Error 80211", etc. Instead, the server scapegoats two players, creates confusion and hard feelings via deception, and silently vanishes into the shadows. Players are so busy holding each other responsible for what happened based on false information that they cannot see the real culprit, Ubisoft itself. This closed-loop of false messages allows Ubisoft to appear 0% responsible while avoiding 100% of the fallout, and consumers are none the wiser.

 

I have never seen anything about this issue online, but I know firsthand that it exists. I experienced while hosting/boosting the Role Model trophies with three other players. At the time it occurred, none of us thought much of it. We had expended so much energy trying to get the other player to admit he "left the session" early, we were simply relieved to discover it wasn't true. Happy to have the issue behind us, we continued with our boost and forgot about the fact all four of us had blatantly been deceived by a game we trusted.

 

We continued playing. Other players were dropped and the message "Player has left the session" was displayed onscreen. Yet every time we reconnected in the lobby, and asked, "Why did you leave the session?", the answer was always the same:

 

"I didn't leave; the game dropped me."

 

If a host "left the session", and was asked, "Why did you drop out?", his answer was the same:

 

"I didn't leave; the game dropped me. Didn't you leave first?"

 

In retrospect, the implications are disturbing. How many other games has Ubisoft used a similar approach with? Will they attempt it again in the future products such as AC IV's multiplayer? What else are they hiding when their games or servers malfunction?

 

Ubisoft's decision to not own a faulty product and shift blame to its customers has caused me to lose much respect for the company. It is uncalled for and morally wrong. There is no "oops" on this one; the false "Player left the session" message system is a deliberate choice to deceive gamers and throw innocent parties under the bus in order to cover Ubisoft's own image.

Edited by poetic_justice_
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  • 1 month later...

I've boosted multiplayer trophies for every single AC game this past year (AC:B, AC:R, ACIII and ACIV), and without exception my online experience was just horrible. Players not being able to connect one moment, then connecting the next, only to be disconnected again. Players getting dropped from games, then not being able to connect. Having to restart consoles in hopes to get connection going.

 

Every single time I couldn't wait to be done with boosting, and move on to another game.

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  • 2 years later...
Someone told me to never play another AC game and I didn't listen. Damn. We cannot connect to games so guess I might just have more "unattainables". We are going to try tomorrow. :mad:

 

You can not play any A. Creed PS3 game with multiple PS3s using the same IP Address(ala same PS3s in the same house). You will never connect your party into a game, you need separate IP Addresses which means separate players. This has been a known issue for a long time

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You can not play any A. Creed PS3 game with multiple PS3s using the same IP Address(ala same PS3s in the same house). You will never connect your party into a game, you need separate IP Addresses which means separate players. This has been a known issue for a long time

 

This. Though somehow I managed to connect 3 of my PS3's for the Abstergo trophy.

 

Also the servers are severely struggling nowadays. Some days you will connect while others you wont.

 

And jesus a 3 year bump.

Edited by Combatting
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