Champions Online experiences open beta troubles
by Seraphina Brennan 
Aug 17th 2009 at 7:30PM
Filed under: Betas, Super-hero, Bugs, Patches, News items, Champions Online
In all seriousness, many users have been reporting that the official Champions Online patcher has been both downloading slowly and disconnecting from the server after timing out, leading to many people becoming furious over not being able to log in. FilePlanet users have also been affected by this as well, even after pre-loading the Champions Online client to be ready for this day.
Patch sizes have also been varied across user reports, with some patches exceeding 3 gigs while others only have to patch 925 mb. Cryptic has responded with a patcher fix that was pushed to the live patch server at 2 PM PT (5 PM ET.) This fix has alleviated the stress for some users, but still has not fixed the widespread problems. We here on the Massively staff still cannot update, along with many other users.
We feel that it is important to stress, however, that it is unsafe to download any fixes from any outside source via BitTorrent or any other downloading website. Doing so may put your computer's data at risk to theft and malicious viruses. The only fixes you should be downloading should be fixes coming across Cryptic's patch server through their client.
We have contacted Cryptic for comment, and we have been told that Bill Roper is preparing a statement on the issue that will be released shortly.
[Edit: Bill Roper has released a statement on the Open Beta issues]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
Lethality said on 7:33PM 8-17-2009
I wonder when MMO studios will learn...
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aurickle said on 3:04AM 8-18-2009
New update: http://www.champions-online.com/node/172973
Be sure to follow the instructions! This will not work if your client installer is the older one that ends with .5 when you mouse over the file and look at the description. (I'm talking about the file that you originally downloaded from FilePlanet.) If your installer doesn't end with .6 the fix will not work and could put you in worse shape.
So if you downloaded over the weekend, you're going to have to download from FilePlanet again. Either that or tough it out with the current patcher, which does actually seem to be progressing again; albeit slowly.
Good luck!
GaaaaaH said on 11:39PM 8-19-2009
Isn't this what betas are for though?
Psychotic Storm said on 7:39PM 8-17-2009
Patcher works for some time now.
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CindyL said on 10:39PM 8-17-2009
Speak for yourself. Have not worked for me all day, at all.
Psychotic Storm said on 2:55AM 8-18-2009
since it works and I was already in and playing, I find it childish that my comment was voted down.
Macabre said on 6:10AM 8-18-2009
So obviously because it just happened to work for you, everyone else who're having problems are just idiots...
I find it childish that some people think their insignificant personal experience dictates the norm...
Aganazer said on 8:36AM 8-18-2009
I got both my PC's updated with no problem this morning. Last night was a mess though. It was entertaining to see people FREAKING OUT in as little as 7 hours after open beta started.
Psychotic Storm said on 5:41PM 8-18-2009
@Macabre
No and I didn't want to pass it as that.
what I wrote was the patcher was working, I didn't knew I had to put disclaimer "only for me, or in my personal experience", besides when I entered the shards were already filled with people, so why not expect they fixed it.
Regardless, I might be the minority or the speaking part of the silent majority, I don't know and probably will never learn, I would accept a it doesn't work for me as a response, "but speak for yourself" and comment down, as if I was flaming someone, sorry its childish.
caj190 said on 7:41PM 8-17-2009
It's a real mess... started this morning and have timed out at least 15 times, reinstalled 8 times, and have finally given up. This is a mess for Cryptic because the majority of people on the forums are fed up especially since this was supposed to be a preview and not so much a beta. Part of me is glad it's happening now instead of launch but this is not going to fair well for Cryptic at all. When will they (MMO developers) learn, test, plan, be ready, and implement an action plan that works? Oh well maybe tomorrow it will work....
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Monkeynugg said on 7:43PM 8-17-2009
Yeah, been trying all day- this after I've pre-loaded in advance.
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Vincent J. Murphy said on 7:47PM 8-17-2009
What's really bad is that Cryptic has done a beta launch right, with City of Heroes, which makes this even more disappointing. It's one thing if Cryptic was new to the MMO scene, but they aren't. They f'ed up good.
And yes, it is a beta, and certainly testing the patching functions of the game is a good idea. Based on that, Cryptic has failed on one of the basic functions of an MMO: if they can't get an updater working correctly, it casts doubt on the game itself. Game crashes I can understand in a beta. Patcher crashes and problems? No excuse.
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Aganazer said on 8:41AM 8-18-2009
In their defense, it never did anything like that in beta. Also, the game itself was running fine all day for those who were smart enough to patch up yesterday morning.
It has definitely been a stable game with the exception of a couple days like yesterday. In four months of testing there was only one patch that introduced a crash bug for one play session. Other than that I never had the client crash or the patcher not patch ever, not even once.
pbintx2001 said on 7:48PM 8-17-2009
i'm confused as how this could be called an "open beta", yeah i got a code, but i need to become a subscriber to fileplanet to download it...so the people who can get in beta are pre-order and fileplanet payers...maybe i missed it,,,where is the "open" part?
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smith.brennan9 said on 7:57PM 8-17-2009
You don't need to subscribe, it just goes slower if you don't. Also, people always mistake "open" for "free". Open beta means the NDA is lifted, nothing else
Andostre said on 1:06AM 8-18-2009
No, you actually need to buy a paid subscription to File Planet to download the open beta files. You can't do it with the free subscription.
aurickle said on 7:56PM 8-17-2009
You know, this isn't Cryptic's first prom. You'd think they would have learned to dance by now...
Seriously, though it really blows my mind that they handled things in this particular manner. The client became available for download on Thursday. Why on earth weren't people allowed to install until the minute beta started? Why couldn't people install on Thursday, patch at their leisure and then actually start playing when the servers came up?
I remember when Cryptic first started letting people pre-download patches a week or two before they were going to go live. How is it that the same company has regressed so far?
On top of that has been the way they've handled communication during this issue. First they gave incorrect info for how to fix it. Then when people found the correct info they didn't update their info; instead they took the info off the patcher altogether. Then they finally said on the forums that the newest patcher will fix the problem -- which is kind of true, but still leaves you with pathetic download speeds and a tendency to hang.
In short, there's been no apology and only slightly more communication. It's like adding insult to injury. Cryptic: these are your most interested fans. You've got issues, and that's fine. But own those issues. Don't leave people guessing. That gets around fast in this day of instant communication, and I guarantee it's losing you customers.
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Chris said on 7:58PM 8-17-2009
This whole situation really puts in doubt if I'll subscribe at all. The comments from testers in the NDA-lift thread, the problems with the patcher (that's just fucking shameful, by the way), are leading me to think I'll just stick with the other games I already enjoy than take my chances.
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wildwinds said on 7:56AM 8-18-2009
I'm sorry to say that I have already cancelled my pre-order based on my experience with the beta. It's sad, I was really looking forward to Champions Online, but the situation with the downloading and patching was almost too much to bare. But once I did manage to get in and play the game, I've found it to be underwhelming and overhyped.
So yes, I've cancelled my preorder based on a beta experience but I think I'd rather wait a few months and see how the game matures now rather than shell out £24.99 on an unfinished, unpolished game.
aurickle said on 7:57PM 8-17-2009
Makes you wonder how much of CoH's success was because of Cryptic, and how much was actually because of NCSoft...
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