Dead Island is broken

[DeadCamper]

So me and Val bought Dead Island (PS3) as we wanted a new co-op game. Turns out the game has been broken since launch, with symptoms like the game freezing up your PS3 when you play online, forcing you to hard shut off your console with the button in the back. This happens every single time we play, over and over and over.

If you google the problem there are all kinds of reports of the game freezing and being completely unplayable in both single- and multiplayer, corrupt saves, lost progress etc etc. This on PC, PS3 and 360. From what I've read, the problems on PC were so enormous on launch that there was even speculation that the developers might have accidentally released a beta build.

I guess it's my fault for not reading up on it before purchasing, I just assumed I'd get a working product. How silly of me. I'm also in the habit of not buying games on launch to avoid early problems and bugs, but that obviously didn't save me this time as the game's been out for ages and was never fixed.

So there, that's my rant.


P.S. This game is completely unplayable, and now I learned from Val that the developers have announced another DLC just a couple days ago. I'm simply astounded.

[omarionfire]

Lol and here i was thinking of picking up this game for $20. ya saved me a Jackson. Thanks.

and i woulda thought the game was patched to shit and back by now. I remember Napkin and Cincy bitching about it being broken when they played but that was months ago.

and I dont think its DLC. it sounded like a full sequel. Dead Island Riptide.

[Felixlynch777]

Thanks for the heads up. It was £16 so I was considering it but I got it for £8 in a Steam Sale.

Luckily I haven't had crash problems or anything serious but there are tons of little issues that plague it. The sensitivity is extremely low in the menus, the UI is horrible, the FOV was nauseatingly low and screen tearing. Very luckily there's a tool called the Dead Island Config that adds a lot of options and fixes many issues.

I enjoy it but Jesus, having to ask the modding community to fix your game for you is pure laziness.

[DeadCamper]

Me and Val had a ton of fun playing it yesterday. The game really is great fun when it decides to work. It's just so frustrating buying game after game and there always being insane connection problems or freezing. Every time you have to work out these dumb homegrown hillbilly tricks to get the game to work.

For example, in order for us to not freeze, we can't drive cars/trucks. If we do, we have to make sure not to run over zombies, and/or we can't be in the truck at the same time, i.e. one of us has to drive the thing and the other has to be on foot.

In order for Val to be able to connect to my game she must not start the game. I have to start it up, load my save, invite her, but she can't be in the game while this happens. She has to wait in the XMB, then accept the invite via my message and let the game start up automatically on it's own (if that makes sense, poor description).

I mean, how dumb does that sound? And this is something you have to piece together by trial and error. Before you do, you're going to go through hours of frustration figuring out what magic trick to use in order to play properly.

Also, half the time the disc symbol for Dead Island doesn't show up in the XMB for me, it's as if my PS3 doesn't recognize the game disc. To get it to work, hold on to your seats, I have to start up a demo or PSN Store bought game like BF 1943, press the PS-button, and then suddenly the disc symbol shows up, I can click it, ask the PS3 to shut down BF 1943 and start Dead Island instead.
Wow, just wow.

[Valerie]

It really is great fun, and could have made it to being one of my favorite games I've ever played. And I'd try my best to convince more of you to buy it, as I think a lot of you would also enjoy it, plus it's got the 4-player co-op, which really makes the game. And, well, it's zombies in bikinis! ZOMG! However, these glitches and problems make the game unplayable. Literally. Not in a this-just-aggravates-me sort of way, but if the disc can't even be read on Campuh's PS3? And both of ours always, always freezes? Really sucks.

Maybe the game is better suited for the PS3 Slims or something? I only say that since we both have the old fatties, and when we played with Nash the other day, he said he hadn't experienced these problems and he's got a Slim. But I don't know what all the technonerdy differences in hardware are between the two, so it's just a poorly thought idea.

[omarionfire]

Meh, ITS TIME TO PREORDER BORDERLANDS 2 GAIZ.. which hopefully doesn't have the quirky problems that this game has.

And good job on finding crafty solutions to most of the problems Dead.

[DeadCamper]

Hey, the lady did at least half of the brain grinding.

The best news I've heard so far about Borderlands 2, and pretty much all I ever cared about, is that there won't be any more boring fetch quests (and yes, Anthony Burch sure has a small body and a big head. >_>):

At about 2:20:

[Felixlynch777]

I rage quit Dead Island earlier to due my complete confusion and bewilderment at the inventory system. I used the Dead Island Config tool to make it so you have to hold down the "equip" key as the auto equip constantly made me equip any item I picked up. Well that issue is solved but then it glitches out my inventory system. I don't have crashes....just a ton of little stuff like this that makes me want to punch my monitor.

[DeadCamper]

Yeah so Scorex, in reply to the question you sent me on PSN (maybe someone else already filled you in, but it can't hurt to get a second opinion I suppose):

Me and Val play Dead Island in co-op only, and so far the bugs we've encountered are:

-The game freezes every now and then and you have to shut off your console by holding down the Off-button, just like in BC2. Some days this happens 2-3 times, some days not at all.
We haven't narrowed it down to exactly what causes it, but it seems like if there's tons of stuff happening on the screen at the same time (you're in the middle of a street with 8 zombies, and both players throw a Molotov Cocktail at the same time, for example) then there's a chance of it happening.

-Occasional problems connecting to a co-op partner. This seems to happen randomly. Sometime it doesn't happen for days and we almost forget about it, then suddenly it's back. I'm always the host, so Val's the one who has to try to connect, and she's looked up tips online so she knows more about it than me.

-This next one only happens to me, not Val. But I have read about others experiencing it, so it shouldn't be a problem with my PS3, I hope:
Sometimes when I turn on the console there's no Dead Island disc-symbol in the game menu, as if my PS3 can't read it. I can however get it to show up again by starting up a demo and hitting the PS-button. Not sure why this happens.

Other than that, the game has actually run fine. It just took us a while to learn all the dumb tricks to get past the connection issues and so forth.

We haven't had any problems with game saves being corrupted or anything like that. Even if the game freezes on one or both of us at the same time, we never lose any significant progress because the game auto-saves all the time. So, no lost weapons or exp.

Hope this helps.

[Scorex_VII]

Hmm thanks a lot Camper. The game is like 15-20 Euros on amazon UK and its the GOTY version...seems worth it, even if i play alone, but i have heard so much about the glitches and stuff...Might give a try, so cheap anyways.

[DeadCamper]

When you get past the issues, holy fuck is it fucking fun. Fuck.

[Biggles]

Though I don't think this'll be an issue with you, Score, DON'T GET THE PC VERSION. Trust me. The technical issues are horrendous.
I've played a little of the PS3 version, and it's really quite sad how much better it was.

The PS3 version at least ran.

My PC version has this neat, unfixable problem where the ground is covered in scan lines, and if I press the use key, they increase in size.

Until the game crashes. Good times.

[Felixlynch777]

My one works fine except for some severe port-itis and me just generally not liking the game.

[Valerie]

-Occasional problems connecting to a co-op partner. This seems to happen randomly. Sometime it doesn't happen for days and we almost forget about it, then suddenly it's back. I'm always the host, so Val's the one who has to try to connect, and she's looked up tips online so she knows more about it than me.

If I accept the invite while I'm in the game, it'll more than likely fail to join Camper's game. It'll load up my save as usual, but I end up in a empty "lobby". So in order to join him, the trick I've used has been to stay out of the game, and click "Join" from the invite message. That'll boot up the game, and once it loads my saves, it'll show that the invite is from DeadCamper, at Level whatever, in story mission whatever. Only 1 time has that failed me, but every other time it's been successful.

Also, this:

When you get past the issues, holy fuck is it fucking fun. Fuck.

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