Recent adhocParty Issues; Sony Contacted

**Mass Zero** · 07-02-2012 06:59 PM

4.21 PS3 firmware update fixes the connectivity issues on adhocParty! Be sure to update your systems in order to play Duodecim!

Dear members, but foremost Dissidia 012 players,

In light of the recent PlayStation 3 update, disabling adhocParty functionality for Dissidia 012, Spyder and I have decided to contact Sony about this issue, on behalf of the Dissidia Forums community.

Following is the mail sent to Sony:

Greetings,

I am writing on behalf of the Dissidia Forums community, located at http://dissidiaforums.com; largest of its kind community dedicated to Square Enix's Dissidia [duodecim] 012: Final Fantasy for PSP. Our community hosts various events and tournaments that utilize your adhocParty application provided in the PSN Store to connect players all over the globe, as the game itself doesn not feature standalone network functionality.

Recently, our community has come to a halt with the release of the 4.20 firmware update for PlayStation 3. Since the update none of our players have been able to connect to each other via adhocParty; the game no longer works with adhocParty, virtually terminating our activities and likely ruining the gaming experience of lots of Dissidia fanatics.

Our events and tournaments are the core of the western Dissidia community and not being able to make use of your adhocParty application to hold these comes as a big blow to the community. For this reason we ask that this issue be looked into and hope that a solution may be found for it.

Many thanks,

Giorgio Stokje
Dissidia Forums Administrator

We hope to get a decent reply informing us of positive developments soon. Whatever the case, we'll keep you updated.

Update 1:

Sony replied to my mail with a typical response from their support database.

Good Morning Giorgio,

Thank you for contacting Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC (SCEA). My name is Bryce and I apologize you are unable to play Final Fantasy using the Ad Hoc mode on the PSP® system today. I know how frustrating it can be when it appears that updates may have ruined your game. I want to assure you that at the current time we have no reason to believe the update caused any difficulties such as this and request you please attempt the following troubleshooting steps.

• Make sure the WLAN switch is turned on.

• Make sure that all PSP® systems that you are trying to connect to are configured for Ad Hoc play, using the same channel setting.
- NOTE: All PSP® systems must have the same channel setting, even if the consumer is using "Automatic". For example, if one of the PSP® systems' channel settings is set to "Automatic", all of the PSP® systems must be set to "Automatic".

• Try moving all players closer together. If players are too far apart, the signal between PSP® systems may not be strong enough. All of the PSP® systems that are trying to connect together must be able to connect to all other PSP® systems. Also, verify that you do not have any devices which may interfere with a wireless signal. If any such devices are in close proximity, make sure they are shut off to ensure no such interference is present. Such devices include: Microwave ovens, Florescent lighting, Bluetooth® wireless devices, 2.4 gigahertz cordless phones, High powered audio equipment, Television sets or computer monitors, Electronic insect "zappers", Any other electronic equipment that may produce Radio Frequency (RF) interference.

• Try deactivating the Power Saving feature in the PSP® system.
- Go to Settings icon (Settings) > Power Save Setting icon (Power Save Settings) and press the X button icon button.
- Highlight WLAN Power Save and choose Off.

• Try running an infrastructure scan (without completing the Infrastructure Mode setup). If more than 2 or 3 Wireless Access Points show during the Scan function, try using a different wireless channel for Ad Hoc mode.
- For example, if you are currently using channel 6, try using channel 1 or 11. If the PSP® system is currently using "Automatic", try setting all PSP® systems to channel 1.

I apologize once again for the frustration you have experienced with the PSP® system's use of Ad Hoc mode while playing Final Fantasy. Please keep in mind that SCEA often sends out brief surveys regarding my personal responses. Giorgio, if you happen to receive one, please be sure to let me know how I assisted you today. Have a fantastic weekend!

Happy Gaming,
Bryce G.
PlayStation® Email Specialist

Update 2:

Draec called both Sony and Square Enix, which didn't positively influence our cause one bit.

Originally Posted by Draec Khin

So I took the liberty calling both Sony and Square Enix technical/customer support on behalf of the forum and my experience rated from bad to worse.

After explaining to the support staff what Ad-Hoc Party Application is and how it is different from Ad-Hoc feature on PSP twice over (what confused them was that "Ad-Hoc for Playstation Portable" is a ps3 thing?) Sony was unable to provide me with any support and said no one reported any issues and I should get in touch with Square Enix. They had a very hard time understanding what the issue was, but I think the two techs I spoke with got it and were very "sorry". Anyway, after a lengthy conversation-- they were unable to provide contact information to Sony developers who worked on this application or a way to report this problem directly to them. I asked for games that are supported by Ad-Hoc Party and they had no such list. They suggested I ask on official Sony forums. I guess they are hoping the Sony Playstation Community users will find that official list for them. If this was Modern Warfare or something we would probably have a different conversation. Anyway moving on.

So then I called Square Enix and they claimed only Dissidia was supported for Ad-Hoc Party and could not confirm if Duodecim is supported since their list was bit outdated. Anyway, here is the worst part: they refused to escalate this issue and will not do anything unless it is officially supported by Ad-Hoc Party which Sony failed to provide. Square Enix wont send a simple email to SCEJ (the developers of Ad-Hoc Party) even as a courtesy. I think the expression was: "That's not how it works."

So a big fuck you in the face from both Sony and Square Enix.

So what I ask is please call Sony and write to them:

Phone Number: 800-345-SONY (7669) 7 Days a Week 6:00AM - 10:00PM Pacific
Email Form: http://us.playstation.com/support/ask/

And post in this thread as well (Sony rep told me they read the forum):
http://community.us.playstation.com/...9307#U37449307

I found it but no one seems to care in the community.

P.S. They did mention that the update does effect "some games."

Update 3:

I sent Sony a reply to the mail.

Hello,

Thank you for the swift response, but I think you misunderstand the problem.

I am not talking about "Ad-Hoc Party" in the sense of people with PSP systems sitting in the same room playing together, I am talking about "adhocParty," a PlayStation 3 application that can have the PlayStation 3 console function as a medium for PSP systems around the world to connect to each other. Ever since the 4.20 firmware update it is not the PSP system's Ad-Hoc functionality that has stopped working, it is the adhocParty PlayStation 3 application that has stopped working.

There is nothing wrong with either the hardware or software setup of my, or all other affected players' PSP systems. Suggesting to look at that again will be useless, as I and many others are 100% certain the problem is caused by the latest firmware update. It is impossible that dozens of players who were able to play using the adhocParty application just fine are suddenly unable to play, due to a setup error. Please check your own community forum to see that I am not the only one trying to get something done about this: http://community.us.playstation.com/...tes/bd-p/22035

Not only Dissidia [duodecim] 012 is affected by this; multiple PSP games are. Our community has been playing online using adhocParty for years and members of our community, your paying customers, have bought PlayStation 3 consoles just so they can join our events and tournaments. It is unacceptable for it to not function properly anymore.

Again I ask kindly for this issue to be looked into.

Thank you,

Giorgio Stokje

Update 4:

Another reply from Sony, which gives some hope.

Hey Giorgio,

Thank you for clarifying the situation. It is not often that I receive questions regarding adhocParty. I apologize I misunderstood the situation before. Based off of the information you have provided me with I have passed the information along to our upper management and am conducting research for how we can provide a favorable resolution. I apologize for the frustration that you may be experiencing.

Once we have an update and/or resolution. It will be posted on our PlayStation®Blog at www.blog.us.playstation.com.

If you have any additional information regarding specific error codes, messages, or similar items that may assist us in resolving this situation, I welcome your feedback. I sincerely apologize once again and thank you for your patience. I am confident we will get everyone back up and playing again shortly.

Best Regards,
Bryce G.

I've replied with our available information and a thank you. Now we wait, but remember to keep Sony in the loop through their community forum and by mail and phone.

**Zodiark** · 07-02-2012 07:01 PM

Inb4 Soon™

EDIT: Why do you have NEGATIVE GIL?

**Mass Zero** · 07-02-2012 07:05 PM

Originally Posted by Zodiark

Inb4 Soon™

EDIT: Why do you have NEGATIVE GIL?

They claim to respond timely, but you never know.

As for the Gil, I was just mentioning that to Spyder and how the hell that's possibly lol. Small glitch in the system, call it a "loan." :P

**Kurayami** · 07-02-2012 07:07 PM

Good to hear, Mass. I guess we can only hope that Sony gives you a decent response.

**kewldude475** · 07-02-2012 07:40 PM

I can see Sony's response now.

"LOL TOO BAD. Maybe we'll fix it in the next update...not. Welp, have fun playing Dissidia Final Fantasy."

**LuckySeven** · 07-02-2012 07:45 PM

Still not working huh. Thanks for sending that email mass. Hopefully Sony takes addressing this problem more seriously and fix the issue ASAP. At least this isn't happening during the second season of team wars or tournaments. I hope it's fixed before august