Update 4.50 ruined the Notifications

[BlazingCat83]

12 minutes ago, Mar said:

 

My Horizon game corrupted immediately after the update (I havent even played the game yet). It's obvious the update caused it, and it's a known outcome from these large updates.

Hopefully your saves were backed up. I have both my most recent manual save and quick save uploaded to the cloud.

[ShadowStar83x]

14 minutes ago, RHG-SniperFox said:

1) Mark All As Read is now automatic - simply go into the notification list and all new notifications will be marked. You don't need to read each and every one.

 

2) You could never actually clear all notifications before - only the ones that showed up in the first tab. They would still be in the other sections ( I still have notifications from when I got my PS4 back in 2015. They never went away. Ever. Messages that I have long since left, "Like" notifications from friends for stuff almost 2 years old. )

 

3) Features aren't "missing" - they've either been moved to a spot that makes more sense ( IE: Friend Requests still exists under Friends, because duh. ) or they were things that really didn't need a section to begin with ( Like Game Alerts and Invites - Game Alerts being things that are often handled in the game's own menu system and REALLY don't need notifications anyway ( I mean come on, how important is it really that you know your friend beat your score in a game you haven't played for over a year? ), and invites being something that literally only matter right when you get them. ).

 

4) Notifications always return after an update. This isn't new to 4.50. It's happened with pretty much every one.

All they did was get rid of redundant, useless information.

Why do you need 2 sections telling you what friend requests you have, especially when they disappear after you accept them?

How often do you actually find yourself going into the Game Alerts tab?

Do you really need an entire section dedicated to Invitations - a thing that, after you've accepted it, goes away. A thing that, if you don't accept it, expires after a time?

As someone who's beta tested this update for nearly a month - yeah, the change was an odd one.

 

At first.

 

But after awhile, you just get used to it and realize it really isn't that big of a deal. The good far outweighs the bad in this regard - the ability to use external storage on the PS4 is a way bigger deal than a very minor UI change for a UI element that isn't even that important ( As someone who records gameplay, I keep most notifications off anyway - other than trophies, which generally help show progression. I'd have that off too if it weren't for the fact I kinda like knowing when I finish a chapter. ).

 

Also the change to white on things like Trophy notifications makes them easier to see against more backgrounds. Black disappears and blends in on too many games. White stands out better against more backgrounds. It's just a matter of contrast.

 

vs.

 

Two different games with similar dark color palettes.

It's a lot easier to see now. It's a good change, especially for gamers who might be colorblind in someway. For something important like that, in UI, you want it to stand out as much as possible - it's not about looking "good" or "cool". It needs to bring attention to itself. It's a notification.

You're supposed to notice it. Be able to glance up and read it quickly.

This honestly reminds me of that time a few years ago when everyone got all mad about Sony moving the Trophies icon under the Playstation Network tab on PS3.

Even though nothing really changed - it was still the exact same number of button presses to get to it, it just made more logical sense to put it under that tab.

People don't like change.

[TheYuriG]

1 hour ago, furryTay said:

 

 

Not what i wanted to see, sakura answered my question to the fullest already 

[Jak]

26 minutes ago, Torracat83 said:

Hopefully your saves were backed up. I have both my most recent manual save and quick save uploaded to the cloud.

 

..... I havent made actual progression in the game... so im fine.

[BlazingCat83]

Just now, Mar said:

 

..... I havent made actual progression in the game... so im fine.

Oh, well then...disregard what I said.

[Undead Wolf]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of this. It all looks very disorganised now and will only make it harder to go through your notifications. There was nothing wrong with the way it was before.

 

Unfortunately, considering how Sony haven't allowed us to change the colour of our notifications back to how they were despite all the backlash, I doubt they're going to listen to us on this one either. It looks like we're stuck with it. 

[mekktor]

37 minutes ago, RHG-SniperFox said:

1) & 2)

 

You're missing the point. Nobody cares whether a notification is marked as "read" or if the notification still exists somewhere on the system. Before the update, you could make the notifications "go away". Some people just don't like things to be cluttered, and with the new update, that's exactly how it is. So you can't clear the overview, and you also can't easily find notifications in their respective sections. This is a downgrade in every way.

 

49 minutes ago, RHG-SniperFox said:

The good far outweighs the bad in this regard - the ability to use external storage on the PS4 is a way bigger deal than a very minor UI change for a UI element that isn't even that important

 

Of course the update has improved some things. That doesn't mean we shouldn't complain about the things which were made worse.

 

57 minutes ago, RHG-SniperFox said:

For something important like that, in UI, you want it to stand out as much as possible - it's not about looking "good" or "cool". It needs to bring attention to itself. It's a notification.

You're supposed to notice it.

 

If the only point of notifications are to be noticed, then why not use to a flashing red and blue full screen with an alarm sound? Clearly, aesthetics are important too. I would argue that in the context of a video games, a notification should be barely noticeable and certainly shouldn't completely distract you from your gaming. We're not talking about smoke alarms or tsunami warnings here.

[Satoshi Ookami]

1 hour ago, RHG-SniperFox said:

Black disappears and blends in on too many games. White stands out better against more backgrounds. It's just a matter of contrast.

Yea, exactly.

It blends. Therefore, it does not look that out of place.

Sure, you are supposed to notice it, but in moderation.

 

Another thing... Since you cannot turn off trophy screenshots, you are stuck with a huge white rectangle that is always the first thing you or anyone notices. Do you want that from a trophy screenshot?  

And I'm not even talking about the fact that your name appears above it if you have more users logged in.

Edited March 9, 2017 by Satoshi Ookami

[Dav9834]

51 minutes ago, mekktor said:

 

If the only point of notifications are to be noticed, then why not use to a flashing red and blue full screen with an alarm sound? Clearly, aesthetics are important too. I would argue that in the context of a video games, a notification should be barely noticeable and certainly shouldn't completely distract you from your gaming. We're not talking about smoke alarms or tsunami warnings here.

This is the best argument I think lol

 

I agree I had no issues seeing the black, the white is way too distracting. I like to stay immersed. But I don't want to turn it off either because I like to know when I get a trophy.

 

Rock meet hard place. 

[sephiroth4424]

2 hours ago, Mar said:

 

My Horizon game corrupted immediately after the update (I havent even played the game yet). It's obvious the update caused it, and it's a known outcome from these large updates.

So i should delete and reinstall the game? 75 gb are too much

[DrakeHellsing]

Ah, such a lovely jumbled mess the notification area is.  But hey, at least you can still view your downloads.  But as others have said, it was better before, more organized that way.  Throwing it all into one list just makes it a mess and the viewing a bit unpleasant so to speak.

 

Honestly, it's as if every update they give us, they also decide to mess something up to annoy everyone as well, maybe so they can "fix it" in another update down the line.

[Paleblood]

10 hours ago, Elvick_ said:

No, I'm pointing out the silliness of what you're doing. Spend your time better.

Okay Mom.

[Dark Layla]

Notifications was one of the few things i never gave value, when i turn on my ps4 it's usually to play videogames

[DARKB1KE]

10 hours ago, Caesar Clown said:

 

You really need to stop listening to Sony.

 

Microsoft, Valve, basically every service on the internet that allows for a name change, it will track the new change as well. If you block someone on Xbox Live or Steam, and they change their name, that person stays blocked. Sony literally has no valid excuse at all for not allowing PSN name changes.

 

As for this Notification thing, holy smokes, are they ever incompetent. It's all one jumbled mess, and you can't even delete them. It looks like it will store away nearly a months worth of notifications as well, which is just a waste of system resources.

Nope.  I'm already aware of how users behave on the internet.  If they can do whatever they please, they will. 

[Undead Wolf]

47 minutes ago, Rose_OmnisLacrima said:

Notifications was one of the few things i never gave value, when i turn on my ps4 it's usually to play videogames

 

This is just a hunch, but I don't think anyone is turning on their console just too look at notifications. Gaming is kind of the whole reason we're here. Yeah, this doesn't directly affect your enjoyment of a video game, but that doesn't make somebody's complaints about it invalid. While gaming is the primary use of a console, people use them for other things too, and they have done for generations now. Having a user-friendly interface is important as well, whether you choose to agree or not.

[Dark Layla]

5 minutes ago, Undead Wolf said:

 

This is just a hunch, but I don't think anyone is turning on their console just too look at notifications. Gaming is kind of the whole reason we're here. Yeah, this doesn't directly affect your enjoyment of a video game, but that doesn't make somebody's complaints about it invalid. While gaming is the primary use of a console, people use them for other things too, and they have done for generations now. Having a user-friendly interface is important as well, whether you choose to agree or not.

 

Dear friend, opinions are like underpants, each one has his own!

[Property_Damage]

As much as I'm loving the external support and taking full advantage of it

They really muffed up the notifications section

It's like they answer our prayers and give us the middle finger all at the same time

[AJ_Radio]

I have had difficulties accessing the Store, and my DLC and patch downloads are a lot slower than they were a few weeks ago.

 

Luckily I backed up my saves onto my USB and the Cloud, so I have two sources should the files get corrupt.

 

Sounds like when Sony decided to change the PS3 PlayStation Store, which is now an utter mess to navigate through. Now with this system update they don't seem to mind making navigation more clunky and difficult for the average person.

 

Not to mention all the complaints regarding failure to login, online servers being wonky, and not being able to access the Store in the past few months. Sony is ignoring and brushing away a portion of their fanbase.

 

Sounds like some asshat up top in Sony's executive and CEO department is pulling the punches and getting too greedy for their own good. 

 

Sony has sold over 50 million PlayStation 4 consoles, recently released the Slim and Pro, have two fairly new critically acclaimed PS4 exclusives, and is leading the console race by a huge margin. What more do they want? They are at the top, and sadly that isn't enough.

 

In the business world, being on top and earning yourself an annual multi million dollar paycheck is never enough.

Edited March 10, 2017 by Spaz

[marvelboy10]

I really do not like the new notification settings. Now everything is unorganized. Everything else that came with  update so far is Great. But please Sony gives us our old notifications settings back. 

[Gage]

Fun thing that's happened now with this new notification setup: I had a discover notification with a future date attached to it from when I was date switching to do Adventure Capitalist. Before it didn't matter beside you could clear the notification stuff and discover notifications went in their own section. Now I have a Discover notification dated for the year 2099 perpetually stuck at the top of the list because you can't clear or hide the notifications in any way. 

 

I honestly don't think they took feedback on the notification setup or even tested it in any meaningful way. Just something a higher up decided "we gonna do this" and everyone else is just stuck following along beside fuck any sort of common sense that said the way this is set up now doesn't work. 

Edited March 10, 2017 by Gage

[Galactic Hyper Balls]

I don't see a problem with the notification setting at all.

 

Pretty stoked for Boost mode

 

 

 

[Elvick_]

14 hours ago, Caesar Clown said:

 

You really need to stop listening to Sony.

wat, when did Sony say something about that? All I remember is years ago Shu saying that the backend needs and overhaul for it. And when figuring out where to allocate resources, all the work required for one simple feature [changing names] falls lower than the same manpower going toward multiple new features instead.

 

10 hours ago, RHG-SniperFox said:

2) You could never actually clear all notifications before - only the ones that showed up in the first tab. They would still be in the other sections ( I still have notifications from when I got my PS4 back in 2015. They never went away. Ever. Messages that I have long since left, "Like" notifications from friends for stuff almost 2 years old. )

 

3) Features aren't "missing" - they've either been moved to a spot that makes more sense ( IE: Friend Requests still exists under Friends, because duh. ) or they were things that really didn't need a section to begin with ( Like Game Alerts and Invites - Game Alerts being things that are often handled in the game's own menu system and REALLY don't need notifications anyway ( I mean come on, how important is it really that you know your friend beat your score in a game you haven't played for over a year? ), and invites being something that literally only matter right when you get them. ).

 

4) Notifications always return after an update. This isn't new to 4.50. It's happened with pretty much every one.

All they did was get rid of redundant, useless information.

Why do you need 2 sections telling you what friend requests you have, especially when they disappear after you accept them?

How often do you actually find yourself going into the Game Alerts tab?

Do you really need an entire section dedicated to Invitations - a thing that, after you've accepted it, goes away. A thing that, if you don't accept it, expires after a time?

As someone who's beta tested this update for nearly a month - yeah, the change was an odd one.

 

At first.

 

But after awhile, you just get used to it and realize it really isn't that big of a deal. The good far outweighs the bad in this regard - the ability to use external storage on the PS4 is a way bigger deal than a very minor UI change for a UI element that isn't even that important ( As someone who records gameplay, I keep most notifications off anyway - other than trophies, which generally help show progression. I'd have that off too if it weren't for the fact I kinda like knowing when I finish a chapter. ).

 

 

2. You're outright wrong. You could clear EVERY CATEGORY ON THE OLD LIST with the exception of "Notifications", which itself was redundant given all the other lists and "new" in addition to that. But that's another issue entirely. Why even have a notifications menu if it's just dumping every random thing to the point where if you get a lot of them, there's no point even bothering to go through them? Just remove it at this point.

3. No. Uploads and Downloads are not in a spot that "makes more sense". They're hidden away in the options menu for no reason. They should remain tabs in notifications to be easily, and quickly accessible. BTW, Notifications still gets redundant notifications. So I don't know how you can act like it's somehow better now that they're just unorganized. As if I need to see a single random trophy I earned in the notification menu. Never liked that in hte old notification menu either, particularly since I couldn't delete the stupid things. And still can't.

 

4. Doesn't make it alright for the idiotic nature of it. Sony needs to learn how to make firmware updates without bringing in problems to the user. Them having the problem multiple times doesn't make it good. It's not a feature.

All they did was get rid of the better alternatives [organization] and left the redundant, terrible, tab there. I never go to the friend's list. I only ever checked the notifications for them, BECAUSE IT'S FOR NOTIFICATIONS. Not 'some', but all of them.

Ultimately, they should have given us the option to pick and choose which tabs we want to see in notifications. But Sony hates providing options to us, so here we are. Same thing with notifications. I think white is awful, and I'm not a 99 year old blind man, so had no problem noticing the old black ones in dark games. And, they didn't distract you from the game itself like the white ones do. They were noticeable, without being DISTRACTING.

[Nihiris-]

I'm loving the update, but I don't know who the hell would greenlight such a disaster as this new notification page...

[RookieShows]

6 hours ago, Galactic Balls said:

I don't see a problem with the notification setting at all.

 

Pretty stoked for Boost mode

 

 

 

Enjoy that boost mode! If i had a Pro, i'd be all over that,

Does the chaotic way they're just smacked about in the middle of the screen with no way to delete them and the uploads and downloads section hidden away in the options not bother you, Hackerman?

Maybe you hacked yourself back in time and got yourself the old options?!

Bad jokes aside, Game on!

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

I really don't like this update in general, it seems more like a downgrade than anything. It's stupid how they got rid of the sidebar needlessly in notifications, and looking at your storage shouldn't have to require two clicks to get to all your storage now, when it always only took one before.

 

Aside from the little quips, I've also been having issues with my PS4 since the update. When turning it on yesterday, the PS4 completely froze up on me before getting to the dashboard. First time I've ever had the PS4 completely freeze on me in 3+ years of owning it, had to hold down the power button to get it switch off.

Then I had issues with the update actually installing when it turned back on, told me there was an error and couldn't install it the first time it downloads, then it downloads it all over again.

Then after the update, my PS4 takes forever to enter rest mode, then it takes longer than usual to switch back on, and gives me an error code when it does.

 

The PS4 mostly seems fine now, but one update shouldn't cause so many problems, I've never had this many issues with an update before.

I really hope they bring back the sidebar for notifications at least, there was literally no reason to remove it.

Edited March 10, 2017 by SuperSmexy500
Typos