Latest Update on Game Issues

[baker011]

Hot off the press:

We would like to thank all the players for playing Test Drive Unlimited and reporting issues.

Atari, Eden and Microsoft are working on a Live product update for TDU which will fix various issues found after release. We are also working on increasing the server capacity, which will improve the performance, reduce the Clubs problems and connection issues (“TDU server unavailable”). This will be done no later than the end of the week.

The main issues reported are as follows:

Problem of progression being lost

The problem occurs when you sell a house which contains a car that you’re trying to sell on the E-trade: this creates an issue and the player’s progression is lost.
In order to resolve this, the E-trade system has been temporarily deactivated. You cannot currently trade vehicles with other players, although you can still sell your vehicles via the direct selling option.
The problem is being dealt with as a priority and we will let you know as soon as the E-trade system is operational again.

Issues with CLUBS

During recent peak hours the demand on the servers reached unforeseen levels, resulting in some invitations for clubs being lost and players being unable to resend them.
We are working on increasing the server limit, as well as fixing this issue with an update. The fix will check for lost invites and allow you to re-invite a player if the invitation was permanently lost.

Connections issues (message « TDU servers unavailable »)

Players may have noticed some "TDU server unavailable" messages during peak periods. This is partly due to the number of simultaneous players growing very quickly in a short time.

We are currently tweaking our server to improve the performances, so connection issues will be greatly reduced. The extension of the server’s capacity will also help to solve these issues.

Difficulty to find Friends

This is partly due to the server becoming saturated during peak hours. It will much easier to find your friends when the server capacity is increased.

Currently filters work only on the map - they are not properly implemented while driving. This will be fixed in the forthcoming patch and players will then be able to see only their friends in the game if they wish.

There follows some additional guidelines to make playing with friends easier:

How to play with your friends:

1- The first player goes into a less densely populated area as shown on the map, then zooms in to the island. Other people that want to join him then select him from the map. Players will join a session that’s not full in this area, so the chances are high that this will be the first player’s session.

2- As an alternative, the MS game invite is a very powerful tool, and can be used from a multiplayer lobby as follows:
- create a multiplayer private session
- send an invite to your friends
- race as you want in the created session
- if you get bored of the race you're in, you can change for another one and bring the whole party with you (option available once race is over, before restarting another one)

3- Another way to play with friends is to create a club, meet at the club and start play from there.

Problem in Drive-in


The game freezes when the number of custom challenges in a drive-in is above 256. This is fixed. The maximum number of available custom challenges in a drive-in is now set to 255. This is a server based fix.
The Update will increase this limit so that anyone can post a challenge anytime.

NOTE: The first Update was released on Monday September 11 which deals with a number of issues, but does not include any of the fixes listed above. The first Update fixes a small number of gameplay exploits (loopholes). We’ll keep you posted about the second Update.


We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused. Please continue to send your feedback to Atari and thanks for playing Test Drive Unlimited.

More news on the coming updates will be posted as soon as we have it.

[Sackerius]

great news.

Any update on the referral program?

I just want to free ride with friends and friends friends... that would be the most fun to me

[opsixdelta]

its awesome to see a game company responding to problems with their game and their desire to fix them. way to go eden and atari, you guys are awesome....

[~mike~]

Glad to here that they are working on it...But i did notice an update this morning when i played the game...What about the free Lambo code....

[Anita Blow]

I'm glad things are getting worked on.

[mrman44]

thanks for the info. Sounds like things are being addressed.

But can we get some more info on the locking feature and how and if it will work across the board. Meaning if I lock with someone and enter a dealership/house/race etc will they pop up automatically after i exit????

This problem STILL hasnt been addressed in detail.

Full post here: Thread

[FordGTGuy]

thanks for getting right on the problems!!! I hope all the fixes work out for you and hopefully you will released how high these unforeseen numbers were.

[bctrainers]

Good to hear the update there.

[heilmatt]

Does anyone know whether or not the new car downloads are up on live yet and if so what are they?

[madskillz]

Thanks, Atari for addressing these issues ... I know some admins were 'suggesting' something was wrong with our setups, but seeming we were still on Xbox Live led me to believe they were issues on Atari's end and not ours ... we definitely anticipate the improvements on the horizon ... BRAVO!!!!

[baker011]

I didnt suggest, I merely asked you to check so we could rule it out completely. If you look at your manual you will see a pretty big write up on NAT settings because they are a big problem in xbox live right now.

[Sniperchang]

I hope your going to modify the PC game version so these problems don't happen for the PC people, is that one of the reasons the release for other consoles is pushed so far?

[madskillz]

Originally Posted by baker011

I didnt suggest, I merely asked you to check so we could rule it out completely. If you look at your manual you will see a pretty big write up on NAT settings because they are a big problem in xbox live right now.

I understand. I did do what you asked, btw ... and it all checked out. I was actually able to log on early this morning for a few hours.

Thanks for your hard work ... I know you don't hear thanks often, but we do appreciate your attempts (and successes) bringing us this awesome game, online, for free ... thanks, Atari.

[shaken_bacon]

FordGTGuy I notice you have a car club named after me thats sweet. Yeah I glad to hear they at least fixed the drive in freezing issue which im glad they are going about fixing the issues in the right order.

[Snapper]

Originally Posted by baker011

I didnt suggest, I merely asked you to check so we could rule it out completely. If you look at your manual you will see a pretty big write up on NAT settings because they are a big problem in xbox live right now.

I feel for the developers in this regard. Xbox Live relies on having an Open NAT for a seamless experience. However, a lot of people aren't technical enough to setup an open NAT correctly or even worse, don't even know what a NAT is. I went through 3 routers until I got one that worked perfectly with XBL and for my own networking needs. Most people won't go through that kind of trouble.

TDU is such a great game and a perfect example of an awesome Xbox Live game, I hope that something like NAT issues don't hold up player adoption rates.

[Hale_Yeah]

Originally Posted by Snapper

I feel for the developers in this regard. Xbox Live relies on having an Open NAT for a seamless experience. However, a lot of people aren't technical enough to setup an open NAT correctly or even worse, don't even know what a NAT is. I went through 3 routers until I got one that worked perfectly with XBL and for my own networking needs. Most people won't go through that kind of trouble.

Snapper, what router did you find that worked for you? I've been through 2 routers, a Netgear and a Linksys, both on the certified list, but neither of them will keep the NAT open. I know the routers inside out, and I know what to do to open the NAT, it just won't stay open. I had to quit playing Chromehounds just because I couldn't connect to anyone.

Back on the topic of the game update, thanks to the team for keeping us informed

[Elad 13]

ok so what about the people that had the problems are they going to do anything to apologize for this? If it wasn't for some of the gamers out there contacting Atari about some of these problems they might have gone on for another week...come on eden/Atari what are you guys going to do?

[Keres]

Originally Posted by Anita Blow

I'm glad things are getting worked on.

I agree, and the communication is nice as well. Thanks Baker011!

[bobnice]

to all those having trouble with NAT here is how i got mine open:

1. go to your 360 dashboard and find the network tab then write down the IP address shown. if it is not a static ip make it one otherwise that ip will change every time you start up your 360.

2. i have a linksys wireless g router which is supported by MS but i had the oldest firmware possible which was not supported. and if you also do then you will need to update it. check you router for the model # and version, for example mine is WRT54g v1.1 and then go to the linksys site and download and install latest firmware. for other brands do the same for your brand.

3. next open your browser and then type 192.168.1.1 to open your router dashboard, password will be "admin" by default. add ports:
88 to 88 BOTH
3072 to 3072 BOTH

then enable those ports to the same ip that your 360 is on.

Not sure if this way will work for everyone but it is how i got mine working. and ever since then i have been seeing a lot more people in game. Hope this helps.

[bobnice]

to all those having trouble with NAT here is how i got mine open:

1. go to your 360 dashboard and find the network tab then write down the IP address shown. if it is not a static ip make it one otherwise that ip will change every time you start up your 360.

2. i have a linksys wireless g router which is supported by MS but i had the oldest firmware possible which was not supported. and if you also do then you will need to update it. check your router for the model # and version, for example mine is WRT54g v1.1 and then go to the linksys site and download and install latest firmware. for other brands do the same for your brand.

3. next open your browser and then type 192.168.1.1 to open your router dashboard, password will be "admin" by default. add ports:
88 to 88 BOTH
3072 to 3072 BOTH

then enable those ports to the same ip that your 360 is on.

Not sure if this way will work for everyone but it is how i got mine working. and ever since then i have been seeing a lot more people in game. Hope this helps.

[dngrusd]

Originally Posted by opsixdelta

its awesome to see a game company responding to problems with their game and their desire to fix them. way to go eden and atari, you guys are awesome....

+1

Dave-

[Snapper]

Originally Posted by Hale_Yeah

Snapper, what router did you find that worked for you? I've been through 2 routers, a Netgear and a Linksys, both on the certified list, but neither of them will keep the NAT open. I know the routers inside out, and I know what to do to open the NAT, it just won't stay open. I had to quit playing Chromehounds just because I couldn't connect to anyone.

I went through a Linksys WRT (Not enough range) and a Belkin Pre-N (Great range, horrid port forwarding support). Never had any good success with any Netgear routers. So I was kind of out of options... I actually picked a D-Link 634M. This router is on the XBL certified list, however it does need a firmware update before becoming so.

Config:

Xbox 360 on the DHCP Reservations List (Router based static IP).
UDP port 88 forwarded to 360 IP.
TCP/UDP port 3074 forward to 360 IP.

And that was it! I haven't had any problems with this configuration or the router. Not the best range, but far better range than my WRT.

[Perfect Code]

So... any news on when this patch will be up and running?

[damcgee]

I believe this patch was out Monday, 9/11/06

[analogue]

Originally Posted by damcgee

I believe this patch was out Monday, 9/11/06

Can you read ?

Originally Posted by baker011

The first Update was released on Monday September 11 which deals with a number of issues, but does not include any of the fixes listed above. [...] We’ll keep you posted about the second Update.

[Bigb21]

Any news regarding patch #2? im hoping yall get these bugs ironed out quick.....

[BalzOnYer4Head]

I am really impressed with the interest and information sharing that Eden/Atari is displaying. If anyone here played SOCOM, you know how terrible the info giveback was from Zipper.

Glitches and issues were reported for months on end, Zipper never responded except in cryptic press releases that patches were coming out but they never mentioned when or what they would resolve.

Again, a company finally realizes the future of gaming lies in online presistant worlds, and also recognizes that community is what keeps gamers coming back. (As well as sweet ass game play and graphics).

Thanks for keeping us updated, and exscuse me while I go pwn some noob in a higher class car than me....

[LV2XLR8]

Thanks for the news. I want to sell my cars.

[2JZFAN]

Problem of progression being lost

The problem occurs when you sell a house which contains a car that you’re trying to sell on the E-trade: this creates an issue and the player’s progression is lost.
In order to resolve this, the E-trade system has been temporarily deactivated. You cannot currently trade vehicles with other players, although you can still sell your vehicles via the direct selling option.
The problem is being dealt with as a priority and we will let you know as soon as the E-trade system is operational again.

This IS NOT the only time player progress is lost. Visit the thread in my signature for more informationon my situation as well as other players who have corrupt saves NOT related to the issue listed above.

[glenhoy]

Thanks Eden & Atari, way to go guys. This game is the best I have ever played.