The servers are struggling, the game experience is precarious to say the least, but Rockstar is still battling to bring some stability to Grand Theft Auto Online.
Launched on Tuesday, this free multiplayer add-on to Grand Theft Auto V is designed to provide players with the chance to battle each other on the streets of the game's Los Santos environment, taking on heists or competing in races and other challenges. However, the server infrastructure crumpled under the weight of demand with many hundreds of gamers unable to access the online game world.
On Wednesday, Rockstar posted a new update on its GTA Online status site, detailing attempts to stabilise the system. Problems limiting the number of concurrent users allowed onto servers on the PlayStation 3 version of the game have been solved. However, the company is still looking into bugs that prevent players from progressing beyond the tutorial sequence, and it concedes that there are further issues for those who do make it into the main game.
"All of these initial technical issues will be ironed out as soon as we can," explains a post on the company's newswire site. "Please know that the entire team here at Rockstar and all of our relevant partners are and will continue to be working around the clock to get the experience to be as smooth as possible, as soon as possible."
As a result of the instability, Rockstar has removed the option to buy in-game currency with real cash – a controversial feature added for the first time to a GTA title. The publisher explains on its website, "For the time being and until we have been able to get everybody access to GTA Online and things are running smoothly, we have disabled the option of purchasable GTA$ cash packs. Players can however keep on earning GTA$ by pulling off Jobs and other profitable gameplay activities rather than purchasing cash packs."
Games insiders have been unsurprised by Rockstar's difficulties. Speaking to the Guardian on Tuesday, veteran developer Martin Hollis said, "You can simulate a lot. But you can't simulate everything, and bitter experience has shown that you can't foresee everything. There is always a surprise or two with every massively multiplayer game, doubly so if you are dealing with millions of players in a spike."
Comments beneath Rockstar's Newswire post provide a familiar mix of anger, frustration and sanguine acceptance. "I have been trying to get past first race since online launched," writes one user, SilentKillSara. "Tried solo, tried deleting character and starting again. Tried reinstalling the update. Nothing has worked. Very frustrating when half of my friends can play and the other half cannot".
Guardian readers have tended toward forgiving, several pointing out that they're happy to plough through the single-player action until the server situation dies down. Those who have broken through have varying reports. "I created this account just to describe how disappointing this first day of multiplayer has been," wrote Johnnyman93. "I have already lost a rank 18 account and now I'm back at square one not being able to finish the fucking tutorial again." In contrast, one reader, The ElfishGene, enthused, "Online when it works is absolutely sublime. Roving biker gangs and Mad Max style chicanery everywhere!"
For now though, many of the 15 million people who bought the game in September are left watching the Rockstar service updates with interest, and itchy trigger fingers.
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Source: Tablet Android
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