FF XIII doesn't work ??

[Feiryn-]

Hi everyone.
So, first of, I apologize in advance if you don't understand what I'm about to explain (because my English sucks... mostly). So, here's my problem: 
A few years ago, a friend of mine gave FF XIII to my best friend as a birthday gift. My best friend played it, everything was good and all, then IT happened. When she arrived at Palumpolum, the game stopped working. It stops just after the cutscene where Snow and Fang speak to each other through phones in the sewers. After that, there's a black screen and nothing responds. So, at first, when she told me about it, I asked her to give me the game so I can see if it does the same thing with my PS3 and... Well, it does. Same place, same moment.
I've already completed the game at least ten times on 360 and I really really reaaaaaally don't want to go through all the first chapters to see that once again the game doesn't work past chapter 07, so I'm asking you guys if you knew something about that ? If someone already had it or if you have some kind of solution that doesn't involve deleting the game datas ?
That'd be really nice, you'd be lifesavers !

PS: I thought about going in a game store to see if I could make a trade but unfortunately the friend who gave it bought it online... a few years ago. So she has nothing to prove that she bought the game and so, we're stuck. (and I know you're gonna ask "why didn't she play it right away ?", because she's the type of person to finish the games she already has before starting new ones wish I was the same... to the point that she completely forgot that she had it, and she reaaaaally loved it and she's pretty mad right now because she wants to continue her game and anyway I'm off topic haha).
Anyway, thanks in advance !

[Meepy-]

Which model of the PS3 are you using? I know you said you tried it on your PS3 as well, but this exact spot freezing on a black screen was a problem for some people in the way you explain. Everyone who had the issue seemed to be using a fat PS3 and said it happened with every copy of the game they tried. 

[Feiryn-]

1 minute ago, Meepy- said:

Which model of the PS3 are you using? I know you said you tried it on your PS3 as well, but this exact spot freezing on a black screen was a problem for some people in the way you explain. Everyone who had the issue seemed to be using a fat PS3 and said it happened with every copy of the game they tried. 

Hi !
Nope, we both have the super slim PS3...

[MMDE]

Might be a scratch on the disc, or it's data is at the very least problematic reading, if it is still possible, even with the error correction it should have.

[Feiryn-]

2 minutes ago, MMDE said:

Might be a scratch on the disc, or it's data is at the very least problematic reading, if it is still possible, even with the error correction it should have.

It looks like I'm screwed ?
The error connection ? What do you mean ?

[MMDE]

10 minutes ago, Lady-Aya said:

It looks like I'm screwed 
The error connection ? What do you mean ?

 

I think you misread me. I said error correction. Discs have like safe guards in case of data loss or problems reading correct data, so it can know the data that is missing, if not a lot of data is missing or misread.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed–Solomon_error_correction

 

This kind of stuff.

 

Nothing to think about honestly.

 

Yes, I think you are screwed if there's an issue with the disc. You can always try to get it "polished" if it has a lot of scratches, because those scratches can increase the chance of the laser to misread the data from the disc, but this won't do you any good if there isn't a lot of scratches. Not sure I would do it with blu-ray seeing as it has much thinner protective layer.

Edited May 23, 2017 by MMDE

[Feiryn-]

3 minutes ago, MMDE said:

 

I think you misread me. I said error correction. Discs have like safe guards in case of data loss or problems reading correct data, so it can know the data that is missing, if not a lot of data is missing or misread.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed–Solomon_error_correction

 

This kind of stuff.

 

Nothing to think about honestly.

 

Yes, I think you are screwed if there's an issue with the disc. You can always try to get it "polished" if it has a lot of scratches, because those scratches can increase the chance of the laser to misread the data from the disc, but this won't do you any good if there isn't a lot of scratches. Not sure I would do it with blu-ray seeing as it has much thinner protective layer.

Indeed, I misread you, sorry ?

Oh now I get it ! Thanks for the intel.

Er, no the disc itself is intact, there's nothing on it not even a tiny scratch, I thought about it too since I had kinda the same problem with a PS2 game years ago (and I saved it with toothpaste, if someday someone told me that toothpaste could save a disc anyway that's beyond the point...), but no, nothing. I'll try once again to clean it for the 100th time, but I already know it won't work.
Well, I'll try to go in a store to see what I can do but I really don't expect anything since the main game store in France isn't really... "great", if I may say so.

[MMDE]

9 minutes ago, Lady-Aya said:

Indeed, I misread you, sorry 

Oh now I get it ! Thanks for the intel.

Er, no the disc itself is intact, there's nothing on it not even a tiny scratch, I thought about it too since I had kinda the same problem with a PS2 game years ago (and I saved it with toothpaste, if someday someone told me that toothpaste could save a disc anyway that's beyond the point...), but no, nothing. I'll try once again to clean it for the 100th time, but I already know it won't work.
Well, I'll try to go in a store to see what I can do but I really don't expect anything since the main game store in France isn't really... "great", if I may say so.

 

I've had unused discs straight from the box, not lose ones, not work properly several times. It sucks. No scratches or anything. How it has been stored actually makes a difference, heat, cold, direct sunlight, even magnetism I think, can make a difference.

Edited May 23, 2017 by MMDE

[Feiryn-]

1 minute ago, MMDE said:

 

I've had unused discs straight from the box, not lose ones, not work properly several times. It sucks. No scratches or anything. How it has been stored actually makes a difference, heat, cold, direct sunlight, even magnetism I think, can make a difference.

I knew that weather conditions had an impact on discs but magnetism, really ? ?
It only happened to me twice, the first game I spoke about on PS2 and FF XIII. It really sucks.

[MMDE]

5 minutes ago, Lady-Aya said:

I knew that weather conditions had an impact on discs but magnetism, really ? 
It only happened to me twice, the first game I spoke about on PS2 and FF XIII. It really sucks.

 

Nah, they aren't. (the magnetism part)

Edited May 23, 2017 by MMDE

[Feiryn-]

1 minute ago, MMDE said:

 

Nah, they aren't.

?

[marshmeowlo]

It could be a scratch you can't even see on the disc. When I played through XIII on Xbox my game would always freeze at the ending cut scene no matter what so I had to look up a video of the end online. My disc had no noticeable scratches and looked brand new. If a scratch is in the disc in a certain way it will corrupt game data which could make a game unplayable.

[Guest]

Have you tried reinstalling? Dont give up hope!

[Feiryn-]

1 hour ago, marshmeowlo said:

It could be a scratch you can't even see on the disc. When I played through XIII on Xbox my game would always freeze at the ending cut scene no matter what so I had to look up a video of the end online. My disc had no noticeable scratches and looked brand new. If a scratch is in the disc in a certain way it will corrupt game data which could make a game unplayable.

I've already cleaned the disc as much as possible but it never worked unfortunately, I even tried again earlier... 
I remember when I had the same problem with my PS2 game, the game itself worked but then lagged at different moments, in FF XIII's case, it's only at the same moment, both on my and my friend's PS3 ?
And in the end, did your game worked or not at all ?

 

58 minutes ago, ERGOPROXY-DECAY said:

Have you tried reinstalling? Dont give up hope!

Wish I could, I'm becoming more hopeless than ever ! I don't want to delete the datas then replay the whooooooooooooole game to reach chapter 07, I'm gonna diiiiiiiiiiiiiie omg ESPECIALLY if the game still doesn't work

Edited May 24, 2017 by Lady-Aya

[damon8r351]

Deleting and reinstalling doesn't mean you lose your save file. Game data and save files are two different things on the PS3. Delete just the game data and leave the save file alone, then reinstall the game, your save file should still work.

 

https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/get-help/help-library/system---hardware/storage---data/how-to-remove-game-data-utility-files-from-the-playstation-3/

Edited May 24, 2017 by damon8r351

[Feiryn-]

2 minutes ago, damon8r351 said:

Deleting and reinstalling doesn't mean you lose your save file. Game data and save files are two different things on the PS3. Delete just the game data and leave the save file alone, then reinstall the game, your save file should still work.

 

https://www.playstation.com/en-gb/get-help/help-library/system---hardware/storage---data/how-to-remove-game-data-utility-files-from-the-playstation-3/

Oh ! Okay, I'll do it right away and see if it works or not.
Thank you !

[damon8r351]

Being that the gripe has been duplicated on two different machines though, it's possible it's not game data at all and it might just be a bad disc. Deleting and reinstalling would still be one of the steps I'd take while troubleshooting.

[Feiryn-]

Oh my gosh, I think it worked ???? I couldn't get past the next saving point, and now I can. Wtf. I don't get it.

 

2 minutes ago, damon8r351 said:

Being that the gripe has been duplicated on two different machines though, it's possible it's not game data at all and it might just be a bad disc. Deleting and reinstalling would still be one of the steps I'd take while troubleshooting.

Nah, I think it works now ! I've never been that far on PS3 if I remember correctly ! I'll play all the way through until we change characters to see if it really works, but it seems so !
Gosh, I'm so my friend will be so happy ?

But I still don't understand what happened though... Why didn't that work on my friend's PS3 ? And why did I need to erase the game datas ? Well I think I'll stop questioning the whys and hows because it's pointless, but anyway, it seems to work and I can't thank you guys enough !

[damon8r351]

Who knows why.  I've had a Telltale game that worked fine (as can be expected for a Telltale game) all the way through Episode 4, then when Episode 5 installed, nothing worked. I had to delete the whole thing, then redownload and install all 5 episodes for the game to work again. Sometimes things like that just happen.

[Feiryn-]

Dang. It seems I pushed my luck a bit too far. I've defeated a boss, and again THAT FUCKING BLACK SCREEN. Well, I think I'm done now, it sucks.

 

2 minutes ago, damon8r351 said:

Who knows why.  I've had a Telltale game that worked fine (as can be expected for a Telltale game) all the way through Episode 4, then when Episode 5 installed, nothing worked. I had to delete the whole thing, then redownload and install all 5 episodes for the game to work again. Sometimes things like that just happen.

You could start the game or not at all ?  

[Viper5787]

Check for a game Update, I had an Issue like this a bout mid way through the game, nothing I could do would fix it. but then I checked if there was an update and there was! once the update was finished downloading I didn't have the issue anymore

10 minutes ago, Lady-Aya said:

Dang. It seems I pushed my luck a bit too far. I've defeated a boss, and again THAT FUCKING BLACK SCREEN. Well, I think I'm done now, it sucks.

 

You could start the game or not at all ?  

Check for a game Update, I had an Issue like this a bout mid way through the game, nothing I could do would fix it. but then I checked if there was an update and there was! once the update was finished downloading I didn't have the issue anymore

[Feiryn-]

Okay, I've tried a second time to see if I could get to the cutscene after the boss and now the game doesn't even allow me to watch the first cutscene after my save. Before it was always the same spot that didn't work, now it changes.
So it's not a problem of spot/cutscene or something, it's the chapter itself who's bugged like hell. ?
 

1 minute ago, Viper5787 said:

Check for a game Update, I had an Issue like this a bout mid way through the game, nothing I could do would fix it. but then I checked if there was an update and there was! once the update was finished downloading I didn't have the issue anymore

Check for a game Update, I had an Issue like this a bout mid way through the game, nothing I could do would fix it. but then I checked if there was an update and there was! once the update was finished downloading I didn't have the issue anymore

Okay, I'm gonna do that, thanks.

Aaaaand nope, the latest update is already installed.

I tried a third time and the first cutscene still doesn't want to show up. I've cleaned the disc AGAIN, watched for the game data AGAIN (which had disappeared from the console ? I didn't find it?), checked the updates, and nothing.
I think it leaves me no choice, I'm good to go see what the store in my city can do for me tomorrow. 
Thanks to those who tried to help me anyway, that's really nice !  

[Viper5787]

12 minutes ago, Lady-Aya said:

Okay, I've tried a second time to see if I could get to the cutscene after the boss and now the game doesn't even allow me to watch the first cutscene after my save. Before it was always the same spot that didn't work, now it changes.
So it's not a problem of spot/cutscene or something, it's the chapter itself who's bugged like hell. 
 

Okay, I'm gonna do that, thanks.

Aaaaand nope, the latest update is already installed.

This might sound weird, but take the CD and look at it under a light, if you can see through it (looks like a hole) then the game is pretty much useless, here a picture of what I mean

 http://21twzh2wzfud3tp8sh2e2xlt.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/DiscRotPortada-1200x500.jpg?theia_smart_thumbnails_file_version=2

 

The picture on a disc is what holds all the data, not the disc it self. so if that scratches off than its done for. IF the hole is small enough then you can grab a black permanent marker and cover it up (picture side). this helps because if the ps3 detects the hole and the laser goes through it then it will stop working, however if you cover it up with a marker then the laser cant go through the hole it might work

Edited May 24, 2017 by Viper5787

[Feiryn-]

5 minutes ago, Viper5787 said:

This might sound weird, but take the CD and look at it under a light, if you can see through it (looks like a hole) then the game is pretty much useless, here a picture of what I mean

 http://21twzh2wzfud3tp8sh2e2xlt.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/DiscRotPortada-1200x500.jpg?theia_smart_thumbnails_file_version=2

 

The picture on a disc is what holds all the data, not the disc it self. so if that scratches off than its done for. IF the hole is small enough then you can grab a black permanent marker and cover it up (picture side). this helps because if the ps3 detects the hole and the laser goes through it then it will stop working, however if you cover it up with a marker then the laser cant go through the hole it might work

Nope, there's nothing like that

Oh wait I think I've got something that I've never seen (I'm gonna take a picture so you can see it and tell me if that could be the problem)

[Feiryn-]

Spoiler

Is that it ? I've never seen this before.
And if I try to use a marker, if it doesn't work, the store wouldn't want to take the game from me, no ?

WOW LOOK AT HOW STUPID I AM I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE IT'S ONLY BECAUSE THE PICTURE ABOVE IS SLOWLY DISAPPEARING 
Oh my god. I'm so dumb.