As was to be expected, servers have been jam packed since Rockstar launched Grand Theft Auto Online earlier this week. While some smug Los Santos citizens have been living the high life of pillaging and plundering like modern day Blackbeards, many more have been sidelined with connection errors, often barely being able to make it past creating a character.
A new patch is out today, courtesy of Rockstar, that aims to fix these problems - first on the PlayStation 3, out now, then the Xbox 360 in the near future. The update details were posted on Rockstar's News Wire blog. If you've been experiencing any of the following errors, you should be good to go as soon as you grab the update:
- For PlayStation 3 users, a PlayStation Network server issue was detected that was limiting the amount of possible concurrent users. This was preventing most players from accessing GTA Online altogether and as of this morning, that problem was resolved.
- There is an issue that is preventing some players from getting through the first tutorial mission across both platforms. Many players have been able to get through this with repeated retries, and we are working on unblocking this for everyone as soon as possible.
- This morning, we experienced some instability across the GTA Online services which is affecting even people who have progressed beyond the tutorial mission. We are identifying these issues now and are working to restore stability for users as soon as possible.
- For the time being and until we have been able to get everybody access to GTA Online and things are running smoothly, we have disabled the option of purchasable GTA$ cash packs. Players can however keep on earning GTA$ by pulling off Jobs and other profitable gameplay activities rather than purchasing cash packs.
According to Rockstar, "All of these initial technical issues will be ironed out as soon as we can. Please know that the entire team here at Rockstar and all of our relevant partners are and will continue to be working around the clock to get the experience to be as smooth as possible, as soon as possible."
I made it as far as Lamar dropping my character off, walking to start a race, where I promptly waited for 15 minutes, listening to the ear-piercing FLYFLO FM, before I was disconnected. Think I'll go grab that update now...
UPDATE - It seems like despite the recent update, problems are still persisting on PS3 versions of GTA Online. Users on the GTA forums are reporting that the patch is causing their consoles to completely freeze up, and the only way to alleviate the issue is to completely unplug the system. Luckily, a few fixes have been spotted, and reported as working by several parties.
1. According to Pixelenemy, "sign in and out several times, keep trying to download." The process worked on a staffer's third attempt.
2. A user on the forums advised to "Wait like 30 seconds before you press x to continue with the update."
3. Finally, Gameranx is suggesting to locate the game's install content from Game data tools in the PS3 menu, and "Delete the file with version 1.01 or 1.02 (~39mb)."
