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[Mengetsu]

I totally agree. I love my ps4 but Sony needs a better software team asap. A team that's quicker and more efficient. Maybe a team thats in the west instead of Japan? Idk

But at least we get 2.0 soon and hopefully it'll be great.

This is the main problem right here. SCEA must review what we all want and post about slim the list down and then send it to Japan who must decide what is best off the list. Then they start making the updates. And in Japan most of the stuff might be trivial to them compared to everyone else..Why is there not a team located in the U.S.? Why all the hurdles and barriers? If people want the reason why MS gets it out faster is because they operate here and they take feedback quickly.

As for me Friend Notifications and everything is a added bonus.

 

[Oppo]

do we actually know that Sony does all their system development in Japan still? I'm not doubting that, but I wonder if we actually know for certain.

The friend notification thing is clearly a design decision, not bug or problem. I think they should add it, along with the ability to hide them, but strangely they've opted to not have that for now. I used to find them a little bit annoying to be honest.

and I still think that USB player is a temp concession to get music playback in for the users now, while they finalize all the DLNA stuff, which seems to all be tied in with all media playback.

 

[doby]

I thought it was all being done in the west now? Maybe I imagined that.

Also it's been said there are 100+ people working on the OS...quite what they are doing is anyone's guess.

 

[hagege_s]

Shuhei Yoshida must review what we all want

Fix'ed.

Also it's been said there are 100+ people working on the OS...quite what they are doing is anyone's guess.

Tidux said that. So it can totally be false.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

do we actually know that Sony does all their system development in Japan still? I'm not doubting that, but I wonder if we actually know for certain.

The friend notification thing is clearly a design decision, not bug or problem. I think they should add it, along with the ability to hide them, but strangely they've opted to not have that for now. I used to find them a little bit annoying to be honest.

and I still think that USB player is a temp concession to get music playback in for the users now, while they finalize all the DLNA stuff, which seems to all be tied in with all media playback.

No but everyone assumes they are with no evidence that they actually are.

 

[BruiserBear]

Was Friend Notifications on the PS3 at launch? I had a 360 so I wouldn't know. If not then there's some hope it will come. It's all I want and anything else added is just a bonus.

Yes

I agree. At this point if friend notifications are part of 2.0 I'd be happy. It's my biggest complaint.

do we actually know that Sony does all their system development in Japan still? I'm not doubting that, but I wonder if we actually know for certain.

I believe they've previously talked about the firmware teams being in Japan, during the PS3 era. They've said nothing to suggest it's changed, and I think they would if it did.

The friend notification thing is clearly a design decision, not bug or problem. I think they should add it, along with the ability to hide them, but strangely they've opted to not have that for now. I used to find them a little bit annoying to be honest.

I think it might be a network concern at this point. They've been having trouble with network demands in recent weeks, and adding friend notifications means a lot of new pings to their servers.

 

[Hoo-doo]

Yes

I agree. At this point if friend notifications are part of 2.0 I'd be happy. It's my biggest complaint.



I believe they've previously talked about the firmware teams being in Japan, during the PS3 era. They've said nothing to suggest it's changed, and I think they would if it did.



I think it might be a network concern at this point. They've been having trouble with network demands in recent weeks, and adding friend notifications means a lot of new pings to their servers.

The friends list updates regardless whether it notifies you or not.

It has been a design decision from the start simply because of the upped friend limit. Having more than 200 friends would already leave you with never-ending notifications. It would be unbearable, surely you have seen X360 or PS3 streams before with a never-ending line of popups in the upper right corner because viewers are sending messages or friend requests constantly. You can imagine what happens with 1000 friends.

My guess is that they are working on a system where you can mark friends as favorites or something to that effect. Only showing notifications for select people on your list.

 

[Dunlop]

The friends list updates regardless whether it notifies you or not.

It has been a design decision from the start simply because of the upped friend limit. Having more than 200 friends would already leave you with never-ending notifications. It would be unbearable, surely you have seen X360 or PS3 streams before with a never-ending line of popups in the upper right corner because viewers are sending messages or friend requests constantly. You can imagine what happens with 1000 friends.

My guess is that they are working on a system where you can mark friends as favorites or something to that effect. Only showing notifications for select people on your list.

Why not put a setting whether you want notifications on or off? Should be simple enough to program in

 

[DarthWalden]

Why not put a setting whether you want notifications on or off? Should be simple enough to program in

The xb1 system works very well... You can select anyone on your list as a favorite and then you can set your notifications to only show when your favorite are online... I have 50 people on my list but only really play with 3 or 4 do I just set those guys and it works wonderfully way better then on 360.

Sony should copy this.

 

[Jellzy]

I can't understand why they haven't come up with a simple method of grouping friends (folders for friends if you'd like) under custom headings.

Close friends in one, Neogaf users in another, trophy hunters etc. Then allow the option of picking what notifications you'd like for each group.

Online status for close friends only perhaps. Party notifications for trophy hunters.

Seems so simple yet all they give me is new background colours... with no GREEN!!

 

[FeiRR]

Why is there not a team located in the U.S.? Why all the hurdles and barriers? If people want the reason why MS gets it out faster is because they operate here and they take feedback quickly.

Playstation is a worldwide brand and US market isn't the majority of its install base.

 

[Square Triangle]

The xb1 system works very well... You can select anyone on your list as a favorite and then you can set your notifications to only show when your favorite are online... I have 50 people on my list but only really play with 3 or 4 do I just set those guys and it works wonderfully way better then on 360.

Sony should copy this.

This is awesome.

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

I'd be pretty happy if they included an option to pause downloads, I run my PS4 over powerline adapters, and when it's downloading and I'm watching Netflix at the same time, it's a mess, I either have to deal with it or cancel the download completely until I'm done watching and then queue it up again.

 

[AndyD]

Why not put a setting whether you want notifications on or off? Should be simple enough to program in

Because people will still complain even if it has a setting on/off. Because you might want to see it for your close friends but not everyone.

The xb1 system works very well... You can select anyone on your list as a favorite and then you can set your notifications to only show when your favorite are online... I have 50 people on my list but only really play with 3 or 4 do I just set those guys and it works wonderfully way better then on 360.

Sony should copy this.

Which leads to this system which should be copied and implemented on PSN as well. Allow friend groups and notifications should have settings per group.

 

[le-seb]

Yeah, i can see that situation, but i was thinking more in general for those who have more time to play games. GT install can indeed take a long time, but its a one time thing. Same thing with installing games unless people delete the install files several of times.

But free time is something objectively precious, and most people don't want to lose theirs waiting for stuff to download and install.
So, people complaining about too frequent and too long to install system updates or game patches are not something you should be surprised to see.

Immediacy was one of the key points while designing the PS4, and it shows.
(and it's a very good thing in my book)

 

[iamvin22]

do we actually know that Sony does all their system development in Japan still? I'm not doubting that, but I wonder if we actually know for certain.

The friend notification thing is clearly a design decision, not bug or problem. I think they should add it, along with the ability to hide them, but strangely they've opted to not have that for now. I used to find them a little bit annoying to be honest.

and I still think that USB player is a temp concession to get music playback in for the users now, while they finalize all the DLNA stuff, which seems to all be tied in with all media playback.

yes and no. sony changed their tune when the PS4 was released with allowing scea/ scee to provide input on what should be priority but the final say still goes to scei. the shift has been great since.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Why not put a setting whether you want notifications on or off? Should be simple enough to program in

Well imo, I have over 200+. I hate it already that everyone in my friends list are always joining parties and I get a notification every second for one of them.

Now imagine having 200 friends when 50 of them come on at the same time. It would be crazy and annoying. So turning it off is not a clear solution neither is turning it on. Having favorites and setting specific settings for those few would be better.

Hopefully that's exactly what they want to do instead of just allowing the function.

 

[Jellzy]

Because people will still complain even if it has a setting on/off. Because you might want to see it for your close friends but not everyone.



Which leads to this system which should be copied and implemented on PSN as well. Allow friend groups and notifications should have settings per group.

Like I said above, it's a great idea but why only limit it to two groups? You can expand on it and have only various group showing up in the activity feed (Can for the life on me remember what it's called as it's useless and I don't use it), allow sorting of friends to easier send messages, invites etc. in the friends list.

Simple things like these should be implemented long before crap like playing MP3's of a USB memory stick. They need to flesh out and improve what's already there. No use adding MP3 support via USB when they're going to eventually (I'd assume) allow media to be played back via the HDD or DLNA.

 

[ricen-beans]

Playstation is a worldwide brand and US market isn't the majority of its install base.

Well the majority is definitely not in Japan anymore so...

 

[AndyD]

Like I said above, it's a great idea but why only limit it to two groups? You can expand on it and have only various group showing up in the activity feed (Can for the life on me remember what it's called as it's useless and I don't use it), allow sorting of friends to easier send messages, invites etc. in the friends list.

Simple things like these should be implemented long before crap like playing MP3's of a USB memory stick. They need to flesh out and improve what's already there. No use adding MP3 support via USB when they're going to eventually (I'd assume) allow media to be played back via the HDD or DLNA.

Oh I meant multiple groups. So I can have family, friends, gaf, reddit, racing, shooters, Driveclub, GTA, Nashville and so forth. And also allow me to overlap groups. So that one person can be in multiple groups.

Or better yet, let me tag individuals with unlimited pre-made and also custom tags. And let me have various notification/activity/l;eaderboards by tags. That way each individual can be associated with any number of filters through tags.

 

[Biker19]

I totally agree. I love my ps4 but Sony needs a better software team asap. A team that's quicker and more efficient. Maybe a team that's in the west instead of Japan? Idk

Exactly the main thing that Sony needs to work on. That's the only thing that they're struggling with on PS4.

 

[Paganmoon]

The friend notification thing is clearly a design decision, not bug or problem. I think they should add it, along with the ability to hide them, but strangely they've opted to not have that for now. I used to find them a little bit annoying to be honest.

In what world does a design decision, of not seeing when your friends go online, but seeing when they join a party, make sense?

 

[binarymelon]

No but everyone assumes they are with no evidence that they actually are.

Who cares where the development is being done. Whoever is doing it, is not doing it very well. Early in the PS3 lifecycle everything was humming along at a nice pace and then around 2009 the velocity slowed way down. Mostly just PS+ features going forward. Starting this generation, PS4 development has continued at the same slow pace.

 

[Skele7on]

suspend and resume PLEASE SONY.

 

[Bold One]

Why oh why oh why is the main OS team japanese when 98% of the consoles use will be in the west?

This is the kind of ass-backwards decisions that lands Sony in a steaming soup of its own shit.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

I don't get why Sony doesn't do small updates instead of a massive one that makes everyone impatient. I can already imagine them fucking it up and then needing a maintenance update a week later. It's also weird that they do updates sometimes at the worst times when people are back from work, or that they don't do them based on time difference?! Not to mension PS gamers need to be professional detectives to figure out what the fuck is going on because blog updates are not as clear or consistent as they need to be.

Basically whoever is in charge of that department needs to give it to someone whose competent at their job. A new guy needs to come in and shuffle their entire system.

 

[hagege_s]

Do we know if we'll be able to put a custom background ? (not a theme, a wallpaper). I guess yes but I just want to be sure (you never know with Sony).

 

[Knoxcore]

I just hope someone from Sony is reading this forum and understands that things need to change with regards to firmware updates.

 

[spwolf]

I really wish people would quit saying this, Sony has been in the software business now for decades. The reality is that Sony has been slow to respond with substantial OS updates.. At least it seems like 2.0 will begin to implement some bigger changes in the OS, and hopefully start a trend with more consistent updates.

Personally, I'll be thrilled when they add folders. The library list is easily my biggest pet peeve of the PS4.

at some point people will have to realize that 2.0 has been worked on for a year and more, not from week it was released.

 

[Human_me]

I just hope someone from Sony is reading this forum and understands that things need to change with regards to firmware updates.

I think they know.

 

[On Demand]

Why oh why oh why is the main OS team japanese when 98% of the consoles use will be in the west?

This is the kind of ass-backwards decisions that lands Sony in a steaming soup of its own shit.

I know. It's pretty crazy. Japan is no longer a dominant market so the UI and features need to be designed with a western influence. Japan should have no say in this. But they built the console so I guess they have to feel important some how.

 

[twisted89]

I thought it was all being done in the west now? Maybe I imagined that.

Also it's been said there are 100+ people working on the OS...quite what they are doing is anyone's guess.

'stability improvements'

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Sony really should follow the ms model. Keep working on the big shit, but release small updates once a month that address small concerns. This once a year firmware bullshit isn't going to fly for long.

 

[twisted89]

Sony really should follow the ms model. Keep working on the big shit, but release small updates once a month that address small concerns. This once a year firmware bullshit isn't going to fly for long.

If you've ever worked in development on a large project you would know this is a lot easier said than done. Maintaining separate branches for ongoing large changes and smaller incremental ones is a merging nightmare. Not saying this is a excuse for year long updates but it certainly isn't as easy as you may think.

 

[BruiserBear]

I just hope someone from Sony is reading this forum and understands that things need to change with regards to firmware updates.

If they need to read this thread to know that, they've got much bigger problems.

Honestly, this is the problem with the firmware team being in Japan. Cultural differences, being out of touch with the majority of PS4 owners (Europe/America), it just doesn't lend itself to the OS getting updates like it should.

Of course the real big question we don't have an answer to is how big the OS team is. Maybe it's really small, and Sony hasn't invested in growing it. We just don't know a lot of things about how or why they're handling things like they are. There is very little communication about this stuff.

 

[spwolf]

If you've ever worked in development on a large project you would know this is a lot easier said than done. Maintaining separate branches for ongoing large changes and smaller incremental ones is a merging nightmare. Not saying this is a excuse for year long updates but it certainly isn't as easy as you may think.

yep... it would slow down overall progress thats for sure.

This is internet world, and people want updates on daily basis... large companies need to learn how to PR their updates, regardless of that leading to PR's few minor features every month.

 

[FlashFlooder]

People did nothing but complain when PS3 was updated often with small incremental updates.

I worked prefer that approach with PS4, but that's why we can't have nice things

 

[iceatcs]

I thought it was all being done in the west now? Maybe I imagined that.

Also it's been said there are 100+ people working on the OS...quite what they are doing is anyone's guess.

95% are likely tester - Japanese can't coding
They got to test all games every new OS version.

But SCE do need non-gaming studio, like MS have some for few TV or other apps - maybe they are also part of OS team too.

 

[Synth]

People did nothing but complain when PS3 was updated often with small incremental updates.

I worked prefer that approach with PS4, but that's why we can't have nice things

People won't complain about frequent updates, unless those updates appear to not bring anything worthwhile. That was the main problem with the PS3, and why the X1 doesn't see the same complaints.

Besides, the machines can all update in standby now, whilst the PS3 forced anyone without PS+ to update when they thought they were about to start playing something.

 

[plainr_]

I'm guessing there is a part two to this preview and another couple weeks wait after that.

 

[FlashFlooder]

People won't complain about frequent updates, unless those updates appear to not bring anything worthwhile. That was the main problem with the PS3, and why the X1 doesn't see the same complaints.

Besides, the machines can all update in standby now, whilst the PS3 forced anyone without PS+ to update when they thought they were about to start playing something.

All valid points, but I can't help but think this might be why Sony is gun shy about releasing more frequent updates.

Either way, I agree they're doing a piss poor job with it right now

 

[Glorious Ownage]

Why oh why oh why is the main OS team japanese when 98% of the consoles use will be in the west?

This is the kind of ass-backwards decisions that lands Sony in a steaming soup of its own shit.

Yeah this makes zero sense to me!

 

[pr0cs]

We just don't know a lot of things about how or why they're handling things like they are. There is very little communication about this stuff.

This is exactly the issue. This upcoming OS upgrade is okay, but really it feels like they picked a bunch of features out of a hat. Sony REALLY needs to have more transparency with it's customers, especially around things like this where customer feedback should be driving their features, not random features.
The same thing with the Evo/Driveclub bullshit, little to no feedback is not a solution to keeping your customers happy.
Sony still has a lot to learn about building a connected device with worldwide fans.

 

[orochi91]

Wouldn't it make better sense for ICE team to be in charge of OS development, since they are also primarily in charge of PS4 development tools?

They can probably also shrink the OS down to free up more RAM for gaming.

Either way, the Japanese OS team is the only thing holding the PS4 back somewhat.

 

[Lady Gaia]

do we actually know that Sony does all their system development in Japan still?

They do not. I'm not familiar enough with the organization to know where all aspects are developed, but I know at least some of the system software folks are in California. The same was true of the Vita.

 

[Nightengale]

Actually, I'm kinda skeptical about the whole "the OS is being developed in Japan" narrative.

Because when I look at the names attached to the announcements, details, etc of the recent firmware updates and stuff like ShareFactory, they're from :

Scott McCarthy,Director, Product Planning & Software Innovation, SCEA
Stuart Platt, Sr.Producer for SHAREFactory, SCEA
And we know all Remote Play features, integration and stuff comes from Gaikai, which are based in SCEA as well.

Whereas when SCEE is involved in the detail sharing of Firmware 2.0, it's not a dev that's sharing it, but rather marketing.

Isabelle Tomatis, European Marketing Director, SCEE.

Based off these details, I think it's far more likely that it's a combination of team members from SCEA and SCEJA working together on the OS, rather than just 'hurr Japan-only."

I say those two regions, because the way that Sony has updated and shared further details on these things shows that there's at least some amount of communication lag, because there are times when SCEA's infodump of new features are more detailed, yet there's times when SCEJA infodump are more detailed, which means both sides are presumably doing their own thing, both with knowledge of how the final features will play out in effect, thus sharing it out to marketing. Whereas SCEE are only recipients of the data, thus them only sharing out what SCEA themselves share, and are done by marketing instead of a product team.

I think Sony's approach towards their update of their firmware has a ton of room for improvement, but immediately criticising that it's because of the OS team being based entirely in Japan ( we don't even know this for sure ) is jumping the gun, imo. We know, unquestionably that the hardware team is based in Japan, but the software team, with a bit of due diligence, shows that there are people working on the software in US.

 

[Lady Gaia]

'stability improvements'

Would you prefer having games crash left and right? It takes engineering time and resources to investigate and fix problems, and I certainly experienced a few early in the console's life. I'm glad they want features that work reliably and I'm sure there was a backlog of known issues even at the time they launched.

I would much rather games work than have DLNA support. Of course both would be nice at some point.

 

[Nightengale]

They do not. I'm not familiar enough with the organization to know where all aspects are developed, but I know at least some of the system software folks are in California. The same was true of the Vita.

Lady Gaia beat me to the punch.

 

[twisted89]

Would you prefer having games crash left and right? It takes engineering time and resources to investigate and fix problems, and I certainly experienced a few early in the console's life. I'm glad they want features that work reliably and I'm sure there was a backlog of known issues even at the time they launched.

I would much rather games work than have DLNA support. Of course both would be nice at some point.

It was sarcasm. Sony are known for releasing security updates labelled as stability improvements.

 

[On Demand]

Actually, I'm kinda skeptical about the whole "the OS is being developed in Japan" narrative.

Because when I look at the names attached to the announcements, details, etc of the recent firmware updates and stuff like ShareFactory, they're from :

Scott McCarthy,Director, Product Planning & Software Innovation, SCEA
Stuart Platt, Sr.Producer for SHAREFactory, SCEA
And we know all Remote Play features, integration and stuff comes from Gaikai, which are based in SCEA as well.

Whereas when SCEE is involved in the detail sharing of Firmware 2.0, it's not a dev that's sharing it, but rather marketing.

Isabelle Tomatis, European Marketing Director, SCEE.

Based off these details, I think it's far more likely that it's a combination of team members from SCEA and SCEJA working together on the OS, rather than just 'hurr Japan-only."

I say those two regions, because the way that Sony has updated and shared further details on these things shows that there's at least some amount of communication lag, because there are times when SCEA's infodump of new features are more detailed, yet there's times when SCEJA infodump are more detailed, which means both sides are presumably doing their own thing, both with knowledge of how the final features will play out in effect, thus sharing it out to marketing. Whereas SCEE are only recipients of the data, thus them only sharing out what SCEA themselves share, and are done by marketing instead of a product team.

I think Sony's approach towards their update of their firmware has a ton of room for improvement, but immediately criticising that it's because of the OS team being based entirely in Japan ( we don't even know this for sure ) is jumping the gun, imo. We know, unquestionably that the hardware team is based in Japan, but the software team, with a bit of due diligence, shows that there are people working on the software in US.

vvvvvv

yes and no. sony changed their tune when the PS4 was released with allowing scea/ scee to provide input on what should be priority but the final say still goes to scei. the shift has been great since.

It seems SCEA tells Japan what's needed but they still develop it. Which is the problem.


If i'm reading that correctly.