Theory Regarding Lost Characters, Cloud Servers, Losing Progress, Etc

[FrozenInferno]

Here is my theory regarding the lost characters, cloud servers, people losing some progress but not all, and so on. I posted this in another thread but thought I would post it up here for discussion.

 

 

If Rockstar is using cloud servers that means your player info is being stored remotely on their end. When the cloud servers are down and you load your game your character looks like it's missing because the game couldn't access the cloud server to download your info so you get the impression your character was deleted, but in reality it *SHOULD* still be present on the cloud server and available to be imported when the connection is re-established between the game client and the server. The exception to this is when you overwrite that save slot with a new character and it will eventually overwrite the original save when you connect again.

 

If we could store player info on our system hard drives then this wouldn't be an issue but to use things like the iFruit app on our phones and whatnot from remote locations it's easier on Rockstar's end to have the game and companion apps communicating with the same servers. It sucks when the cloud goes down because it interferes with everything but over the long haul it will be working MUCH more than it's down.

 

For the people losing progress, it seams your game is downloading the most recent save file it was able to save correctly before the servers went down. It may have saved when you were at rank 38 for example, but when you reached level 40 the servers may have been down so that save wasn't updated on their end. Therefor when you reload your game the server only has the rank 38 save because it's the last one it was able to receive.

 

The stuff you're seeing on the Social Club website may be the last known progress the cloud was able to save. If the cloud shut down while you were playing it will continue to say you are in a session because it won't know any better until your game connects successfully again.

 

That's my understanding of the system anyway, I could be wrong. If somebody has an intimate knowledge of cloud systems and servers in general and can add or correct any information please do so.

[Varios Los Aztecas]

yawn*

[ThatRandomGuy42]

yawn*

The dude gives a theory on a major issue, and all you can say is "yawn"? Be a bit more respectful.

[irishgoods]

[Cjgotnoswa]

sneeze*

 

 

[kastrenzo]

You brought Logic into a community largley consisting Autism and Immaturity.

[Fake Plastic Head]

Where is Stephen Hawkins when you need him ?

[gunslinginkitty]

Here is my theory regarding the lost characters, cloud servers, people losing some progress but not all, and so on. I posted this in another thread but thought I would post it up here for discussion.

 

 

If Rockstar is using cloud servers that means your player info is being stored remotely on their end. When the cloud servers are down and you load your game your character looks like it's missing because the game couldn't access the cloud server to download your info so you get the impression your character was deleted, but in reality it *SHOULD* still be present on the cloud server and available to be imported when the connection is re-established between the game client and the server. The exception to this is when you overwrite that save slot with a new character and it will eventually overwrite the original save when you connect again.

 

If we could store player info on our system hard drives then this wouldn't be an issue but to use things like the iFruit app on our phones and whatnot from remote locations it's easier on Rockstar's end to have the game and companion apps communicating with the same servers. It sucks when the cloud goes down because it interferes with everything but over the long haul it will be working MUCH more than it's down.

 

For the people losing progress, it seams your game is downloading the most recent save file it was able to save correctly before the servers went down. It may have saved when you were at rank 38 for example, but when you reached level 40 the servers may have been down so that save wasn't updated on their end. Therefor when you reload your game the server only has the rank 38 save because it's the last one it was able to receive.

 

The stuff you're seeing on the Social Club website may be the last known progress the cloud was able to save. If the cloud shut down while you were playing it will continue to say you are in a session because it won't know any better until your game connects successfully again.

 

That's my understanding of the system anyway, I could be wrong. If somebody has an intimate knowledge of cloud systems and servers in general and can add or correct any information please do so.

 

f*ck this cloud system bullsh*t, i hated it since i first saw it in iTunes, i don't trust remote servers.. Cloud, what a fancy name for a hard drive in a different location, it's just online storage with a fancy name. This is what made me sell my 360 and buy a PS4 after all they banged on about at the xbox reveal was cloud technology and blah blah blah. Just store the sh*t you need to store on the local system and f*ck off with your fancy cloud bollocks.

 

Clearly the cloud doesn't work for mass scales like this, its all just come raining down on them.

 

No pun intended.

 

...Kind of intended.

[FrozenInferno]

 

 

yawn*

The dude gives a theory on a major issue, and all you can say is "yawn"? Be a bit more respectful.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much

 

 

You brought Logic into a community largley consisting Autism and Immaturity.

I know, what was I thinking? Logic and reasoning aren't very well received on forums.

 

I guess people would rather keep losing characters and complain about it then try to understand at least a little bit of the mechanics behind a game like this.

[HitGta]

How about some of you think a little before you speak?

 

What would happen if all that information was stored on your local hard drive?

That's right, it would be hacked within a few hours, and you would see people go around at max level with all the money they want.

 

What OP is saying, is what all already should know. It's all simple logic. And even though the servers are a pain right now, cloud servers are still the best choice.

[Yukmout]

Think about it dude. This is GTA.. Any mouth breathing idiot can pick it up and play. Thats why the forums are so retarded. Guy puts a solid theory and you get *yawn from a guy in Los Aztecas ( mexican gang) He probably acts hard when he plays the game too.

 

On the flip side, we're seeing Cloud servers at their finest. Imagine when all online games for xbox one are on the Cloud service. You spend all night in a leveling Rpg or something and then Oh no the cloud servers went offline 10 hours ago , but no one told you to stop playing . Now you've lost 10 levels and 10 hours worth of gameplay. Sounds like a horrible idea and if this cloud servers stuff screws me again I wont even get the new consoles. Ill stick to PC.

[FrozenInferno]

How about some of you think a little before you speak?

 

What would happen if all that information was stored on your local hard drive?

That's right, it would be hacked within a few hours, and you would see people go around at max level with all the money they want.

 

What OP is saying, is what all already should know. It's all simple logic. And even though the servers are a pain right now, cloud servers are still the best choice.

This is another good point I forgot to mention. Rockstar having control over our save data helps to prevent hacking and modding, we don't need another GTA4 mod-fest. The major downside is times like this when the cloud is down. It's a give-and-take that should work for the best in the long run.

 

I do think Rockstar needs to implement some sort of in-game notification when the cloud servers are down and the game can't connect to them. If you are notified but keep playing you will lose any further progress because it won't save, unless you keep your game connected long enough to maybe save again once the servers come back up but you might still need a reset (not sure).

 

Even when the cloud is working here's my advice: Save frequently. Every so often switch to single player, which forces your game to save, then go back into session to make sure the cloud servers have as current a save as possible.

Edited October 5, 2013 by FrozenInferno

[janimal]

There are many possible advantages for hosting saves in the cloud including...

 

Portability - if you log in on someone elses console you could still access your online char (I don't know if they implemented this, but it is possible to do)

 

Flexibility - It is much easier for them to modify server side functionality if they also have control of save data.

 

However more cynically I'm sure the most important reason from R* perspective is that they want to sell MT stuff. They can only do this effectively by ensuring people can't conjure the MT items with a bit of local hex editing.

 

I'm not a fan of Micro transactions and don't intend to purchase anything myself, but I'm not against R* making money from their product, that is after all what enables me to play it.

 

You should remember that it is an incredibly complex system to implement on a global scale. I get the impression that R* are in this for the long haul and aren't going to abandon GTA:O any time soon. In which case I do expect most of these bugs to be fixed in time.

 

Personally, when it is working, it is lag free and I am really enjoying just living in the moment of the mission, race or general messing about I am doing when online.

[JohnGazman]

However more cynically I'm sure the most important reason from R* perspective is that they want to sell MT stuff. They can only do this effectively by ensuring people can't conjure the MT items with a bit of local hex editing.

 

That probably the only reason they did it. Same reason they decided to nerf the Violent Duct mission rather than fix the missing characters issue.