PS3 Mass Effect 2 Workaround Revealed, Patch in the Works

[Andy Chalk]

PS3 Mass Effect 2 Workaround Revealed, Patch in the Works

BioWare says a patch to fix the savegame-killing bug in the PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 [http://www.amazon.com/Mass-Effect-3-Playstation/dp/B004FYJFNA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1296158957&sr=8-2] is on the way and in the meantime has a workaround to help users avoid getting sucked through a real-life Omega Relay.

After waiting so patiently for so long, the PlayStation 3 crowd finally got its paws on Mass Effect 2, the latest chapter in BioWare's epic sci-fi RPG series that Xbox 360 owners have been playing since 2007. And then came the bad news: a bug in the game [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107281-Mass-Effect-2-Destroying-Save-Files-on-the-PS3] that not only causes it to crash but destroys saved games as well. Not even saving in different slots helps to avoid the issue because the bug corrupts all data related to a player's character. It's a nasty one.

BioWare [http://www.bioware.com] began collecting data from affected users shortly after the problem became known and now says that a patch is in testing and should be ready to deliver to Sony by Friday for verification and distribution. As well as fixing the save-game bug, the update will also slightly improve load times and level streaming, fix some spelling mistakes, make sure the right love interest picture is on display in Shepard's cabin and straighten out a few other small errors.

BioWare Community Manager Chris Priestly wrote that while "data and telemetry have shown that very few people have seen this issue," a workaround has been developed to ensure that everyone can continue playing the game without fear of losing hours and hours of gameplay. "Simply restart your game every few hours," he said [http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/292/index/5845607]. "By shutting down and restarting your game, you will not encounter the corrupted save issue."

As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox.


Permalink

 

[Dr. wonderful]

...That last sentence is wrong.

You can also buy it on PC.

But seriously, it's mess up.

 

[Woodsey]

That's quite a thing to slip through testing, especially for BioWare.

Still, at least they seem to have responded fairly quickly.

"As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox."

Fucking hell, the Escapist is flame-baiting more than the users at the minute xD

 

[cainx10a]

I guess the last sentence could also be seen as a jab at Wii users. Poor Wii users.

 

[ZeroMachine]

Good things my psychic powers told me to buy an Xbox last year rather than a PS3... I knew the whole time...

Seriously, though, I could imagine a few bugs would slip through considering it's technically a port to a new engine, but that's pretty ridiculous. Good thing they've found a fix pretty damn fast, and a workaround.

 

[LavaLampBamboo]

I'm glad this got sorted out, it must have been super annoying to lose a save i you'd been playing or so long...

On a side note, I still don't get why people say "waiting for Mass Effect on the PS3". I don't think any PS3 owners were going "I'm going to wait for its inevitable release on PS3". It was a pretty big surprise when they announced it. I think I anyone REALLY wanted it, they'd have bought an XBox.

 

[anonymity88]

This thread is going to turn ugly pretty soon. Haha.

Are all the DLC's available on the PS3?

 

[Armored Prayer]

Well I'm glad they are sorting this out and hopefully gets fixed as soon as possible.

And WHOA! That last sentence was a bit uncalled for.

 

[katsabas]

As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox.

Classic! Sure thing. Who's gonna pay for that, though? An update for a game is free. An XBOX is about 200 euros.

Anyway, glad they figured out what was wrong with this. Unlike some other devs, case in point:

 

[mjc0961]

As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox.

Haha, nice one. I lol'd.

I'm not sure what I think about "restart the game every now and then" as a fix for crashing, but eh. Can't hurt, especially if you take that period of downtime to back up your save to a USB flashdrive. Glad to hear a patch is coming as well.

 

[gigastar]

Nice to see Bioware get on top of the problem quickly. Wasnt hit by the save bug myself, but itll be nice to see a reduction in load times.

As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox.

This is flamebait, please remove it before it catches.

 

[TimeLord]

As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox.

Oh come on! Flaming?
Anyway, I'm pretty sure everyone who has waited this long for ME2 on PS3 (like myself) isn't going to just up and abandon the game because of a couple of bugs and buy a completely different console.

 

[Sparrow]

As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox.

Oh, Andy! That was LOW.

 

[RA92]

As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox.

I could state the fact that you can also get it on the PC at a reduced price, on much better hardware and with a choice of either the K&M setup or the XBox controller... but that would be at the expense of me being termed an elitist [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/2679-Fair-Game]...

So yeah, I won't.

[sub]Meanwhile, Andy gets to be called a fanboy.[/sub]

 

[WonderWillard]

Lol can people not take a joke? Nothing wrong with a little console rivalry. (Referring to that last sentence)

 

[NickCaligo42]

After waiting so patiently for so long, the PlayStation 3 crowd finally got its paws on Mass Effect 2, BioWare's epic sci-fi RPG that Xbox 360 owners have been playing since 2007.

Mass Effect 2 wasn't released in 2007, it was released early last year. It was a contender for game of the year for 2010 at this very web site not a few weeks ago. Nice journalism, Chalk.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

when playing the demo a few minutes ago, i still had that sound bug where the music gets cut by the shoutout and environmental sounds of the third mission... i hope they'll do something about the graphic glitches too.

i'll get it on PC, i prefer to have a game with mods and a longer extent of lifetime in a game. that's what lacks on consoles.

 

[JediMB]

I guess the last sentence could also be seen as a jab at Wii users. Poor Wii users.

Nothing wrong with being a Wii user... as long as you're also part of the PC Master Race.

 

[ComicsAreWeird]

As an alternative workaround, PS3 owners can also avoid the Mass Effect 2 save bug by purchasing an Xbox.

Dude, watch out. You might be put on probation for that final remark.

But seriously, i´m glad the issue is fixed and i can enjoy the game on my ps3. With the ultra-cool enhanced graphics, heh.

 

[Dash85]

This thread is going to turn ugly pretty soon. Haha.

Are all the DLC's available on the PS3?

Yes and all the big ones are packaged with the game (Shadow Broker, Overlord and the other one)....also new games get the Cerberus Network free with it.

OT: I'm lucky I didn't encounter this bug, I'm on my second playthrough now. It was pretty epic. Can't wait for ME3 which I'm pretty damn sure is gonna be on PS3 at the start this time around seeing as this game supposedly uses the ME3 engine and in game it tells you to keep your files for ME3. It doesn't even hint, it just straight up tells you.