PS2 Freeze problem: official response letter

[MaachaQ]

I just got this today after having sent a bug report several weeks ago because my PS2 and PS3 would lock up during many mission cutscenes. I had to log into my husband's XBox to be able to do anything with my character at one point, since the CS would auto-load and then freeze me up. This sounds like some of the same old responses, but I thought it would be interesting to share:

Re: Crashing General:

Thank you for contacting the PlayOnline Information Center,
We are aware that some PlayStation2 users are experiencing freezing, lockups, and other hardware issues when trying to access certain NPCs or cutscenes within areas related to the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion. We are still determining the cause and a definite solution to this issue, but it may be caused by limitations in the PlayStation2 hardware itself. That being said, we have found that the below issues work in some circumstances as a 'work-around.'

1) If you are using any kind of software/hardware Internet Sharing service/device the following ports
need INCOMING access to your PC. TCP 25, 80, 110, 443 and 50000 - 65535, UDP 53, and 50000 - 65535,
also check to make sure that the ports mentioned are not blocked by your ISP for INCOMING access.
Proper configuration of any of the above items mentioned should be done by following the instructions
in the software /hardware manual or calling the manufacturer's technical support.

2) Once the PlayOnline Viewer is loaded, but before log-in is attempted, select the 'Check Files' option on the main PlayOnline Viewer screen. This will check the files of your FINAL FANTASY XI installation for any errors, corruption, or missing files.

3) If selecting the 'Check Files' option does not resolve this issue, then completely uninstall and then reinstall FINAL FANTASY XI and all expansions. This must be done in reverse order of release; Treasures of Aht Urhgan, Chains of Promathia, Rise of the Zilart, and then FINAL FANTASY XI itself for uninstallation, and then FINAL FANTASY XI, Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and then Treasures of Aht Urhgan for the installation.


[quote:2gf0kxqi]During Mission Cutscenes, both for Aht Urgan and Bastok Missions, the Playstation 2 would go to a black screen and freeze up. My character would be disconnected and the only way the complete the Cutscene was to hard reboot the machine. In Aht Urgan, after multiple times trying to load the CS on PS2 and getting frozen, I logged my character onto my husband's XBox and finished the CS there successfully. During the Bastok 9-2 mission Battlfield, my character and that of another player (Moor, also playing on PS2) were frozen and could not act. Jetblack (playing on XBox) was unaffected. The NPC in the Battlefield, Volker, was able to attack Zeid without being attacked back, he killed Zeid and the mission was won. I rebooted my machine while the NPC was fighting Zeid, and logged back on just before the end. When I logged back in, Zeid began attacking finally, and killed Jetblack and I. When we died, Moor was still standing to one side, frozen but still able to see us. Zeid returned to his starting position, and Volker then attacked him again without being attacked back, killing Zeid and triggering the final CS for me. Moor reset her machine and raised Jetblack and I on the outside of the battlefield.

=================================>PlayOnline Information Center

For the latest news, help and support:
1. PlayOnline Viewer main menu -> "Information"
2. FINAL FANTASY XI main menu -> "Help Desk"
3. Official web site: http://www.playonline.com/>> [/quote:2gf0kxqi]

[Epical]

...but it may be caused by limitations in the PlayStation2 hardware itself.

I'm sorry, but I'm in a rather quiet computer lab in our school library right now, and I just laughed loud enough for my entire section to glare at me for distracting their study time.

[Kaisha]

If there's so many problem with 'PS2 limitations', remove the damn virtual keyboard, nobody uses the fucking thing, and it'll free an amazing.....32kb of RAM! OMG!


On a more serious note, what kind of lock-ups are they exactly, does it freeze up, or black-out/freeze? If it's the latter, if they ever fix that, I hope it resolves the black-outs people encounter a fair bit in Ru'Hmets 2nd-floor, hell for my LS to farm DRG or Faith without half our ally D/C'ing at once.
(or in Besieged the odd time)