• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Cloud Saves coming tomorrow to PS+ members (plus FW 3.60)

expy

Banned
Karma said:
That is the whole problem. Not going to pay for games that I dont get to pick. If you are ok with others picking your games then good for you.
And discounts, exclusives, betas, full releases of PSN games (sam & max), Qore, PS1 classics and PSP minis for free...


Ya they aren't giving you enough, clearly.
 
surly said:
Could they not just add a "backup all saves to USB stick" option on the console itself? I don't see any advantage in cloud saves over that unless you're using multiple consoles. It's easy on the 360 cos you can put all your saves on a USB stick and backup the contents of that stick to your PC. I dunno why Sony couldn't just use a system like that, although obviously it wouldn't tempt people into paying £40 a year for PSN+.


The 360 partition system was added late though. Before that you had rely on propitiatory memory cards and HDDs. The PS3 was always more flexible/open in that aspect.
However, due to the option for developers to use copyprotected savegames (used by something like 15% of all games), this created problems if you had to switch the console (or your console was already broken beyond "repair").


from the beginning:
- You can copy any unprotected savegame (which includes all PS1, PS2 and Minis) to(&from) any (FAT32) USB storage and do whatever you like with each savegame. Some you can even use with different accounts (but you won't get trophies in that case).
- You can create a complete backup of the PS3's HDD to any (FAT32) USB storage. You can store that backup in any way you want, but copyprotected savegames will only restore on the same system the backup was created on.
added later via firmware updates:
- You can transfer the complete HDD of one PS3 to another PS3 via LAN cable
- You can backup any PS3 savegame to Sony's online storage if you are subscribed to PS+. The savegames can be restored on any PS3.




My strategy is to still make backups of all unprotected savegames to my external HDD/PC etc. and to use the Cloud Storage only for the copyprotected savegames, savegames of games I also play on my buddies' PS3s and future games that can directly save to the Cloud.



Btw while it's very annoying that there is no copy-multiple option (as there is for music, videos, pictures), it doesn't take long to backup your saves after you copied everything for the first time.
(because after that you just have to check the date of the last backup savegame and then copy only the savegames after this date. They are already ordered by time of file update).
 

Dead Man

Member
expy said:
And discounts, exclusives, betas, full releases of PSN games (sam & max), Qore, PS1 classics and PSP minis for free...


Ya they aren't giving you enough, clearly.
Well, beta's should be free, but yeah, you do get a lot of value, if you want the stuff they are giving. And it's not really free, just incredibly cheap ;)
 
jump_button said:
can anyone tell me why they didnt do PS1 saves as well?


I don't think there is a real reason.
It could easily be added but it's just not necessary as you can already backup ANY PS1 savegame and use any save (of the respective version of the game) with any account (or device, PSP etc.).

e.g. recently a buddy of mine sent me his FFIX savegame via email because he couldn't continue past a cutscene or whatever due to a scratch on his disc. I played to the next savepoint for him and sent the file back so he could complete the game :)
No cloud saving needed ^^ (well, our email provider was the cloud in that case ^^).




Actually, while I'm writing this, they should add a sync/cloud function for the PSP/NGP though. Would make playing a PS1 game on multiple devices (PSP on the go, PS3 at home) more convenient.
 

surly

Banned
SolidusDave said:
The 360 partition system was added late though. Before that you had rely on propitiatory memory cards and HDDs. The PS3 was always more flexible/open in that aspect.
I don't care about what happened in the past to be honest. Backing up saves on PS3 is more complicated than it needs to be. It is on the 360 as well, cos they could add a simple "backup all saves" option there too, but at least you can move all saves to a USB stick and back that up.

The only reason I would pay £40 a year for PSN+ is for this feature, and the only reason I want this feature is because I don't want to lose my saves if my PS3 breaks, and that's not an acceptable reason to cough up £40 to Sony every year. I realise PSN+ offers other stuff, but I'm not interested in it.

Oni Jazar said:
People pay $96 a year to have Netflix pick the movies to watch each month. Their catalog is large but movies expire all the time.
The point being "their catalog is large". Who would pay $96 a year if you got to watch 2 or 3 movies a month that you couldn't even choose?
 

Jonnyram

Member
FrenchMovieTheme said:
i have a 150 GB HD and have probably 100 GB still left. why should i give a shit that 150 MB can be put on their servers? what is the purpose? are you guys so low on your storage that 150 MB is going to make a difference? or am i misunderstanding what this is all about?
Two PS3s in one house, but now they can use the same storage instead of having to move stuff around on USB sticks.
Also, this thing supposedly allows you to retrieve anything you deleted within the last 24 hours, which could be pretty cool if you mess up.
 

Andrefpvs

Member
Well, screw me. I have over 400mb of PS3 save files (and none of them is Afrika).

This service really needs a space bump. I'll try and backup the most important ones, but all I see as I scroll save by save is something I know I'd be pissed if I ever lost it.
 

androvsky

Member
jump_button said:
can anyone tell me why they didnt do PS1 saves as well?

I think it's because if they added PS1 (or PSP or minis) then people would expect support on the PSP, and Sony probably doesn't feel like doing anything with the PSP right now. It's a shame, since it'd make PS+ a lot less worthless to Japan. I suspect they'll expand on cloud save support in the future though.

It does make me wonder if all future games are going to support cloud saves, how is Portal 2 going to handle it? Only works for PS+ members, or will Portal 2 be the only game with free cloud saving on the PS3? I'm assuming the latter...
 

Withnail

Member
androvsky said:
I think it's because if they added PS1 (or PSP or minis) then people would expect support on the PSP, and Sony probably doesn't feel like doing anything with the PSP right now. It's a shame, since it'd make PS+ a lot less worthless to Japan. I suspect they'll expand on cloud save support in the future though.

It does make me wonder if all future games are going to support cloud saves, how is Portal 2 going to handle it? Only works for PS+ members, or will Portal 2 be the only game with free cloud saving on the PS3? I'm assuming the latter...

Portal 2 will save progress on the Steam servers, it won't use Sony's method, so it will be available to anybody PSN+ or not.
 

AwRy108

Member
surly said:
I don't care about what happened in the past to be honest. Backing up saves on PS3 is more complicated than it needs to be. It is on the 360 as well, cos they could add a simple "backup all saves" option there too, but at least you can move all saves to a USB stick and back that up.

The only reason I would pay £40 a year for PSN+ is for this feature, and the only reason I want this feature is because I don't want to lose my saves if my PS3 breaks, and that's not an acceptable reason to cough up £40 to Sony every year. I realise PSN+ offers other stuff, but I'm not interested in it.


The point being "their catalog is large". Who would pay $96 a year if you got to watch 2 or 3 movies a month that you couldn't even choose?

Although the discounts are a nice bonus, I didn't see any tangible benefits to Plus until they added the Cloud Saves; now it's really nice to have the back-up option, and I also get to buy Dead Nation for 50% off. IMHO, it's well worth the $4.17 a month, especially if they continue to add exclusive features.

I can understand the arguments from both sides, but, considering how much time and money I already spend on gaming, what's another $5, especially if it means I won't lose any of my saves that belong to games I've poured hours of my life into.
 

AwRy108

Member
Andrefpvs said:
Well, screw me. I have over 400mb of PS3 save files (and none of them is Afrika).

This service really needs a space bump. I'll try and backup the most important ones, but all I see as I scroll save by save is something I know I'd be pissed if I ever lost it.

I don't think that point of the service is to back up every PS3 save you've ever created on the Cloud--I think it makes more sense to look at it as a means to back up specific saves that reflect the largest time commitments. For example, I've definitely backed up my Oblivion saves and all my copy-protected stuff, but I don't see the need to send my Sports Champions files to the Cloud.

Besides, if it's a long-term back-up solution you're looking for, then why not just get a large USB stick?
 

snap0212

Member
I just tried the feature and while it works as advertised it's just not that great. It seems to me like Sony has plans for various potentionally amazing features, but take a look at what they've implemented in the past: Nothing works really well.

Trophies are still not as good as they should be. We still have to update them manually. Years after they've launched this feature. They gave us the ability to take screenshots of games, but the developer has to support it. The result is that very few games actually do. Same with video recording. Custom Soundtracks are also available, but (again) only if the developer goes the extra mile to implement the feature.

Their newest addition is saving files in the cloud. Simple functions like "upload all" or "upload/update automatically" are not available for whatever reason and the fact that all the PS3s play PSOne games is also completely ignored. You can copy the PSOne save files from your PSP to your PS3 and vice versa to continue playing where you left of, but Sony doesn't support the upload of PSOne saves and ignored that the PSP would benefit from cloud saves as well.

It's cool that they add features from time to time, but it pisses me off that this stuff can't "just work". None of the features they've implemented work as well as they should.
 

Andrefpvs

Member
AwRy108 said:
I don't think that point of the service is to back up every PS3 save you've ever created on the Cloud--I think it makes more sense to look at is as a means to back up specific saves that reflect the largest time commitments. For example, I've definitely backed up my Oblivion saves and all my copy-protected stuff, but I don't see the need to send my Sports Champions files to the Cloud.

Besides, if it's a long-term back-up solution you're looking for, then why not just get a large USB stick?

Thanks. That's what I ended up doing. I did some filtering to see what were my most important saves, and with games with multiple save files I only sent the last one.

Regarding my 100 megabytes of PES goals, I'll just back them up to a flash drive, like you said.

Still, more space would be very convenient, I can see myself struggling to find some stuff to delete in a few months when new games come out.
 
So has anyone tested this with demons souls and been able to transfer their save from one PS3 to another successfully? I was thinking of signing up for at least a month to try it out and to mainly transfer some of my saves, mainly demons souls
 
BattleMonkey said:
So has anyone tested this with demons souls and been able to transfer their save from one PS3 to another successfully? I was thinking of signing up for at least a month to try it out and to mainly transfer some of my saves, mainly demons souls

the minimum signup is 3 months.

People have transferred the save but i haven't heard anyone testing it on another system yet.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
snap0212 said:
I just tried the feature and while it works as advertised it's just not that great. It seems to me like Sony has plans for various potentionally amazing features, but take a look at what they've implemented in the past: Nothing works really well.

Trophies are still not as good as they should be. We still have to update them manually. Years after they've launched this feature. They gave us the ability to take screenshots of games, but the developer has to support it. The result is that very few games actually do. Same with video recording. Custom Soundtracks are also available, but (again) only if the developer goes the extra mile to implement the feature.

Their newest addition is saving files in the cloud. Simple functions like "upload all" or "upload/update automatically" are not available for whatever reason and the fact that all the PS3s play PSOne games is also completely ignored. You can copy the PSOne save files from your PSP to your PS3 and vice versa to continue playing where you left of, but Sony doesn't support the upload of PSOne saves and ignored that the PSP would benefit from cloud saves as well.

It's cool that they add features from time to time, but it pisses me off that this stuff can't "just work". None of the features they've implemented work as well as they should.
Considering they can fix this upload all thing, why complain on the whole? It worked great for me and I backed up several files already without thinking about it being annoying to do so one by one. I went down my list of saves and tediously combed through them without being annoyed. I am just happy that this great options is here.
 
levious said:
you can already do that with unlocked PS3 saves as well

Exactly. And you can upload to your computer and store it as an email attachment. Boom. Instant cloud storage for free. Hence, this is a largely pointless feature.
 

levious

That throwing stick stunt of yours has boomeranged on us.
H_Prestige said:
Exactly. And you can upload to your computer and store it as an email attachment. Boom. Instant cloud storage for free. Hence, this is a largely pointless feature.


he asked why they didn't do it for PS1 saves as well, saying that you can do it another way isn't really an answer.

cloud storage isn't the same as physically transferring something.
 

LiquidMetal14

hide your water-based mammals
H_Prestige said:
Exactly. And you can upload to your computer and store it as an email attachment. Boom. Instant cloud storage for free. Hence, this is a largely pointless feature.
If you PC dies, SD/STORAGE dies, you accidentally toss it in the casserole your making for dinner, what else is there? This is more than pointless. It's decadent.
 
levious said:
he asked why they didn't do it for PS1 saves as well, saying that you can do it another way isn't really an answer.

Yes it is. You can't copy ps3 saves that are copy protected, hence there is some utility there. Not so with any other save file the ps3 can store. Sony isn't going to get you to pay for an ability every ps3 owner already has. That would be pointless.
 

levious

That throwing stick stunt of yours has boomeranged on us.
H_Prestige said:
Yes it is. You can't copy ps3 saves that are copy protected, hence there is some utility there. Not so with any other save file the ps3 can store. Sony isn't going to get you to pay for an ability every ps3 owner already has. That would be pointless.


so why not allow storage for all save files... or why not only allow storage for copy protected save files? Again, you're not answering or addressing his question, why would they not include PS1 saves in this?
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
herod said:
I really can't see myself bothering until it's fully automated.

Agreed. I feel like Sony really went half way with this feature. There should be an option to Auto Save to the cloud, or do a mass backup once a week to the cloud, etc.

This really isn't all that great or different than just saving to a USB stick already, and storing them in your computer or e-mail.
 

sajj316

Member
Adam Prime said:
Agreed. I feel like Sony really went half way with this feature. There should be an option to Auto Save to the cloud, or do a mass backup once a week to the cloud, etc.

This really isn't all that great or different than just saving to a USB stick already, and storing them in your computer or e-mail.

While I don't disagree that there can be much more to this feature, I can see future titles having the option of auto-save to cloud. At least the core function is there.

How many of you are going to back-up your non-playing games weekly? Sure, you'll try and save all your games to the cloud to try out this new feature but practically, who's going to do that? I will most likely save games that I'm currently playing to the cloud. I guess that could be a reason why the cloud limit is 150 MB.

Why not PS1? Well, why not PS2 or PSP? The focus is PS3 so I understand why they are limiting this function (for now).

You will see this feature on NGP, guaranteed!
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
I wish they would just allow us to back-up copyprotected saves (just do a bulk encrypted image backup). Why in the hell is every save in The Sly Collection locked? For games with MP, they should at least just have a copy protected save for the MP portion of the game, and leave the SP unlocked.
 

AwRy108

Member
snap0212 said:
I just tried the feature and while it works as advertised it's just not that great. It seems to me like Sony has plans for various potentially amazing features, but take a look at what they've implemented in the past: Nothing works really well.

It's cool that they add features from time to time, but it pisses me off that this stuff can't "just work". None of the features they've implemented work as well as they should.

I agree completely: this has been the case with SONY's products since the day they launched the PSP. It's frustrating to watch them announce features and then never totally flesh them out. For example, they advertise the PS3 as an "end-all" for your media needs, yet there's still no way to fast-forward audio files at multiple speeds. Ever lose your place on a podcast and need to fast-forward to some point two hours in? Try doing it on your PS3: you'll want to smash it with a hammer.

Between the PSP and PS3, there's such a long list of features that have ever only been half-assed, which makes you wonder if they're intentionally operating this way to avoid phasing out their other products? Either way, I'm very skeptical about all the announced UI-based features for the NGP, considering all the stuff on the PSP that they never bothered to fully realize.

Oh, and yes, Trophy Syncing absolutely blows. Ever try transferring your Trophies to a new PS3? Takes like 20 minutes...

All that said, thank God they know how to deliver the best software library in town, because they sure like to make themselves hard to love otherwise.
 

Adam Prime

hates soccer, is Mexican
AwRy108 said:
Ever lose your place on a podcast and need to fast-forward to some point two hours in? Try doing it on your PS3: you'll want to smash it with a hammer.

lol so true. Multiple times I've been cleaning around the house with a podcast on, only to lose my place and get pissed off that the stupid thing doesn't fast forward quickly.
 

cakefoo

Member
AwRy108 said:
I agree completely: this has been the case with SONY's products since the day they launched the PSP. It's frustrating to watch them announce features and then never totally flesh them out. For example, they advertise the PS3 as an "end-all" for your media needs, yet there's still no way to fast-forward audio files at multiple speeds. Ever lose your place on a podcast and need to fast-forward to some point two hours in? Try doing it on your PS3: you'll want to smash it with a hammer.
I agree with the point you're making but are you sure about the audio playback thing? I know on videos you can press triangle to popup various tools, one of which is "Go To" for inputting a specific timestamp.
 

AwRy108

Member
Adam Prime said:
lol so true. Multiple times I've been cleaning around the house with a podcast on, only to lose my place and get pissed off that the stupid thing doesn't fast forward quickly.

Wow, it's like we're twins separated at birth: this is the exact same scenario I've found myself in, too.
 

AwRy108

Member
Zoe said:
But you can...

Other that this new Cloud Save feature we're discussing, there's currently no way to back-up copy-protected saves. The PS3's back-up utility will allow for them to be backed up as part of the entire drive image, but when it's time to perform the actual restore, these protected saves no longer function.
 
AwRy108 said:
Other that this new Cloud Save feature we're discussing, there's currently no way to back-up copy-protected saves. The PS3's back-up utility will allow for them to be backed up as part of the entire drive image, but when it's time to perform the actual restore, these protected saves no longer function.

Only if you restore them on a different PS3, they WILL work on the same PS3.
You can also get them locally on another PS3 via the transfer option, but that requires that your donor PS3 is still stable in the XMB for several hours (which is possible even for many ylod'ed systems).

I was very unlucky and missed the latter feature by 1-2 months and decided it wasn't worth to restore everything again just for the few protected gamesaves I had to abandon (I deleted most of the stuff on the old PS3 to make the backup smaller&faster, so I would have needed to download/install everything again). Plus I would had to abandon copyprotected savegames from my newer games back then, so I was basically stuck :p


BUT! just half an hour ago I installed the new firmware on my ylod'ed PS3 (I kept it for the PS2 B/C) and uploaded all protected savegames to the Cloud!
I'M FINALLY WHOLE AGAIN! :D

(oh and I think somewhere a homebrewer just died a little inside as my old PS2-B/C PS3 still had Linux :p )
 

AwRy108

Member
SolidusDave said:
Only if you restore them on a different PS3, they WILL work on the same PS3.
You can also get them locally on another PS3 via the transfer option, but that requires that your donor PS3 is still stable in the XMB for several hours (which is possible even for many ylod'ed systems).

Good to know, thanks for the info.

SolidusDave said:
(I deleted most of the stuff on the old PS3 to make the backup smaller&faster, so I would have needed to download/install everything again).

Add this to the list of features that SONY refuses to fully realize. Why in the hell can't we pick and choose what items are to be secured as part of the back-up procedure? And who's brilliant idea was it to have the "Game Data" folder included in the list of items to be backed up?
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
SolidusDave said:
BUT! just half an hour ago I installed the new firmware on my ylod'ed PS3 (I kept it for the PS2 B/C) and uploaded all protected savegames to the Cloud!
I'M FINALLY WHOLE AGAIN! :D

This is exactly what I'm doing! I have an old corrupted PS3 backup with some saves that I couldn't get off because they were locked. Now I can restore the backup, upload the saves, format, and be back to normal again!

Even as someone who has a USB stick in their PS3 all the time and backsup saves EVERY TIME after playing a game, I still think the cloud is wonderful. It's a great peace of mind and just convenient. Now I can take that USB stick out.

I get it, not everyone think it's the coming of the new age. That's fine, but it's just one of many bonuses of Plus that make it worth the cost.
 

jayb

Member
Does anyone know if PSN+, and more specifically cloud saving, works on sub-accounts?

I stupidly created my main gaming account as a sub-account (despite the fact that I'm 31). banging-head-against-brick-wall.gif
 
jayb said:
Does anyone know if PSN+, and more specifically cloud saving, works on sub-accounts?

I stupidly created my main gaming account as a sub-account (despite the fact that I'm 31). banging-head-against-brick-wall.gif

Im pretty sure it does, but check the playstation plus FAQ on the PS Blog. I think it's answered there. If not check playstation.com and find the playstation plus area.
 
I wonder if i should give it another go with repairing my 60 gig. I did it once, got it up and running. spent about an hour trying to save files to a usb drive, and i dont even think thats the proper way to transfer saves. then it died again. I redid the heat thing to it, got it to run for about ten mintues and died again. now its just in a corner. I wonder if i should get the firmware on a usb drive, repair it again, and see if i can get the install to work. then save my goddamn uncharted 2 save, i was on crushing run, with only about 4 more levels to go. so pissed.
 

Jomjom

Banned
jump_button said:
can anyone tell me why they didnt do PS1 saves as well?

I just back up my PS1 saves onto a PS2 memory card with that PS3 memory card adapter that they no longer sell.
 

snap0212

Member
LiquidMetal14 said:
Considering they can fix this upload all thing, why complain on the whole? It worked great for me and I backed up several files already without thinking about it being annoying to do so one by one. I went down my list of saves and tediously combed through them without being annoyed. I am just happy that this great options is here.
You're right, Sony can possibly update/fix it. That, however, doesn't mean they will do so. There's no reason why Sony can't include auto-uploading of new Trophies, either. Years after they've introduced the feature they still have not added the most requested features regarding the Trophies.

I'm absolutely happy about the fact that they try to add more value to the service and I can certainly see why cloud saves are a great thing. What I cannot understand is why Sony always releases services that lack basic features. Sure, they can update them, but they could also update the web browser or the Trophy system.
 
Top Bottom