The day after - A toast for the PS3 Naughty Dog Servers shut down

[Ghanupher]

Alright, so I decided to write a little on the aftermath of Naughty Dog servers being decommissioned.

 

I'll try to put down in words my personal experience about this last three months.

 

I'm a 30-year-old guy, who works on his own and still lives with his parents because I can't afford to live on my own.

So, that in mind, I saw the Naughty Dog's message of servers shut down of Uncharted 2, Uncharted 3, and The Last of Us on last days of May, on this very site.

 

I said to myself "Wow! That kinda came out of nowhere" (despite the obvious logical thinking regarding the games' servers being 6-10 year old) and wondered "I own these games, started 2 of them (both Uncharted) and now my trophy profile will be a lot more incomplete" because I barely touched the multiplayer.

 

With that in my mind, I hesitated a week or two, and then embarked on this journey that would test my patience, my courage (it was just a videogame, but hey! to each his own, right?), my luck, but most of all, my resolve.

 

Given that I didn't have much "work" going around those days, I felt that this was a "go big or go home" situation, and decided to move forward on this trophy hunting.

 

Let me tell you now: the people I met over the internet hunting these trophies too, the laughter, frustration, and sense of achievement shared, the stories told in between matches, the camaraderie, the feeling of belonging...all that made it for me not just another boosting (which ultimately was). I took it as a daily chore, almost like work. Somedays I wouldn't even play the damned games out of being saturated or burned out. Other days, I'd spend hours sitting in front of the TV for a single trophy.

 

But as days passed by, I knew I was accompanied. I was on the same boat as another person was. It made me feel worthy of something.

 

I don't even play that many games overall nowadays, but these last three months were like a throwback to my youth, and that really means something for me.

 

So I thank you Naughty Dog, and all that walked alongside or helped me one way or another on this little three-months endeavor.

 

Cheers to you all.

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by Ghanupher

[Gretchen27]

That was very well put.

 

& now you can kick back to enjoy the single player in all three!

[Ghanupher]

8 minutes ago, Gretchen27 said:

That was very well put.

 

& now you can kick back to enjoy the single player in all three!

Well, thank you! Tried my best to do a cohesive and understandable post while not being a well-versed English speaker.

[PerryToxteth]

Your profile provided a good laugh for me, because the trophies you earned in Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3, are the exact opposite of what 99% of other gamers typically earn in those games (SP vs. MP).

 

Congrats on running a double marathon this summer! Enjoy the single player when you find time. 

[Mina]

3 minutes ago, Ghanupher said:

Well, thank you! Tried my best to do a cohesive and understandable post while not being a well-versed English speaker.

 

Really, not a native English speaker? You write quite well actually and congrats on your achievements ?

[Fr_0zt]

Sad I was unable to be there but cheers! 

[flashpool23]

This was a nice read

 

I can't say the same too much as I didn't really attempt either of the Uncharted online trophies but I did find a small group for the Last of Us dlc and it felt similar enough, although in lesser days. It's actually quite funny but I think the platinum name for The Last of Us describes it well. "It can't be for nothing"

[Ghanupher]

8 minutes ago, PerryToxteth said:

Your profile provided a good laugh for me, because the trophies you earned in Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3, are the exact opposite of what 99% of other gamers typically earn in those games (SP vs. MP).

 

Congrats on running a double marathon this summer! Enjoy the single player when you find time. 

Yeah, I try to save the single player campaigns of games for later on, when I really need to lay off my head of everyday's monotony.

Have a nice backlog just waiting it's turn!

[DARKB1KE]

I know the experience you describe.... back when the great GameSpy shutdown occurred, gamers were frantically struggling to finish a list of games.  Then it happened again with Killzone 2. 

 

[Seraphim_Rez]

I normally don't care about multiplayer modes unless I have to boost them for trophies, but I do have a soft spot for Uncharted 2 and 3.

 

It was back in 2015. I had only really got into collecting trophies a year before, but now I was getting more serious about it. I was new to psnprofiles thinking how cool it was that people organized sessions and worked together to collect trophies.

Uncharted 2 was he first game I ever boosted and it's something I have fond memories of.

I was somewhat nervous at first, because I never played online with anybody. I had heard more than my fair share of stories of how certain people are treated, how if you're a minority and/or a woman, you would be told to go back to where you're from, racial slurs, and to go back to the kitchen, harassed with sexual insults, etc.

 

I was very happy that the group I boosted with was full of great people. They were friendly and welcoming, wiling to help anybody in the group any way they could. They made the grind less stressful by telling stories and cracking jokes. My race and gender was never a factor in how I was treated. There was almost no drama whatsoever.

We did Uncharted 2 and 3 back to back so we all played together for quite a while. It got to the point where I didn't mind the grinding because it meant I could spend time with friends.

Once I got my last treasure and left Uncharted 3 behind, I felt kind of lost, like now what am I going to do after work because it became an embedded part of my routine.

 

Later on I boosted a couple Assassin's Creed games and had a similar experience, again meeting some great people. We boosted both Brotherhood and Revelations together and I still talk to some of those people from time to time.

 

Another boosting experience that left an impression was FFXV Comrades before it went standalone. There was a bit of drama with a....certain someone, but also made lasting friends.

 

Thanks Naughty Dog and psnprofiles for the memories and good times. Thanks for breaking the ice and reminding me that in the chaos and hate of the Internet, there are still pockets of good. "The real treasure was the friends we made along the way."

 

[Dauersack]

Horrendously shitty and atrociously grindy multiplayer trophies have this tendency of getting people closer together, because at some point you are not in this to have fun, you are fighting a war of attrition against this game and its sadistic developers, you see the other people also suffering through it as comrades battling the same enemy, enduring the same mind numbing grind and trying anything to get some diversion. I have been through this with several games, most noteworthy Orcs Must Die Unchained and Monster Hunter World, both decent games that have turned horribly sour by the developers utter misjudgement of how long of a forced multiplayer grind is appropriate for their level of gameplay variety, and I still hold contact to the people that suffered through this with me, for they and I are connected through these harsh experiences.

 

Thankfully I only have the remastered versions of Uncharted, so no forced multiplayer for these games that I consider average at best. The Last Of Us multiplayer was really great back in the day at least, but that game was on another level compared to Uncharted.

Edited September 8, 2019 by Nighcisama

[Helyx]

Here's a toast to all the add-on content I purchased for these games that I can't use again. Respect.

[Potent_Delusions]

Oh dear.....

[Ghanupher]

10 hours ago, DARKB1KE said:

I know the experience you describe.... back when the great GameSpy shutdown occurred, gamers were frantically struggling to finish a list of games.  Then it happened again with Killzone 2. 

 

 

Yes. Sad news about GameSpay servers back in the day. Would love to do games like Bulletstorm or Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

I've heard there is a way to boost the former, but the later seems unplatinumable by now.

2 hours ago, Seraphim_Rez said:

I normally don't care about multiplayer modes unless I have to boost them for trophies, but I do have a soft spot for Uncharted 2 and 3.

 

It was back in 2015. I had only really got into collecting trophies a year before, but now I was getting more serious about it. I was new to psnprofiles thinking how cool it was that people organized sessions and worked together to collect trophies.

Uncharted 2 was he first game I ever boosted and it's something I have fond memories of.

I was somewhat nervous at first, because I never played online with anybody. I had heard more than my fair share of stories of how certain people are treated, how if you're a minority and/or a woman, you would be told to go back to where you're from, racial slurs, and to go back to the kitchen, harassed with sexual insults, etc.

 

I was very happy that the group I boosted with was full of great people. They were friendly and welcoming, wiling to help anybody in the group any way they could. They made the grind less stressful by telling stories and cracking jokes. My race and gender was never a factor in how I was treated. There was almost no drama whatsoever.

We did Uncharted 2 and 3 back to back so we all played together for quite a while. It got to the point where I didn't mind the grinding because it meant I could spend time with friends.

Once I got my last treasure and left Uncharted 3 behind, I felt kind of lost, like now what am I going to do after work because it became an embedded part of my routine.

 

Later on I boosted a couple Assassin's Creed games and had a similar experience, again meeting some great people. We boosted both Brotherhood and Revelations together and I still talk to some of those people from time to time.

 

Another boosting experience that left an impression was FFXV Comrades before it went standalone. There was a bit of drama with a....certain someone, but also made lasting friends.

 

Thanks Naughty Dog and psnprofiles for the memories and good times. Thanks for breaking the ice and reminding me that in the chaos and hate of the Internet, there are still pockets of good. "The real treasure was the friends we made along the way."

 

 

Alright! That's the kind of stories I was looking forward to find when I posted this!

Really glad that you found your way through without any prejudices or harassment from your fellow boosters.

20 minutes ago, Nighcisama said:

Horrendously shitty and atrociously grindy multiplayer trophies have this tendency of getting people closer together, because at some point you are not in this to have fun, you are fighting a war of attrition against this game and its sadistic developers, you see the other people also suffering through it as comrades battling the same enemy, enduring the same mind numbing grind and trying anything to get some diversion. I have been through this with several games, most noteworthy Orcs Must Die Unchained and Monster Hunter World, both decent games that have turned horribly sour by the developers utter misjudgement of how long of a forced multiplayer grind is appropriate for their level of gameplay variety, and I still hold contact to the people that suffered through this with me, for they and I are connected through these harsh experiences.

 

Thankfully I only have the remastered versions of Uncharted, so no forced multiplayer for these games that I consider average at best. The Last Of Us multiplayer was really great back in the day at least, but that game was on another level compared to Uncharted.

I concur. There's plenty of games with ludicrous multiplayer trophies set that just aren't fun (let alone welcomed). And this might have been the case with Uncharted 3, but I couldn't simply neglect the multiplayer trophies and leave my profile more incomplete than it already is.

I'm aware that trophies as a whole are a hit or miss trend (I've even created a topic a few months back wondering if trophies are more important than 100% completing a game), but there they are, and it's ok to accept them as a new challenge or just dismiss them.

12 minutes ago, dj_helyx said:

Here's a toast to all the add-on content I purchased for these games that I can't use again. Respect.

I feel you. Bought all the add-on content too (minus Uncharted 2 which I redeemed a code for them)

[POEman553]

I managed to get all the DLC for Uncharted 2 and 3 for free years before the shutdown, but didn't start on the online seriously for Uncharted 2 until last year. Something told me in my head, "You need to do this soon."  I did The Last Of Us in 2014 (probably one of the more stressful yet short mp grinds), but I wasn't quite sure what I was in for with Uncharted 2. I knew it would be long and managed to get it done in 2 months last year.

 

I started work on Uncharted 3 but thought, "there's no way I'm going to get the 100% on this." I did several hours of the Chateau treasure hunt method because someone I boosted with suggested I do that. I had gotten quite a bit of the pieces for the treasure sets but even then wasn't sure.

Fast forward to the date of the shutdown announcement. I thought, "oh crap, now I got to finish Uncharted 3." I get started with it seriously on here and found several boost groups on here and discord. Met up with some legendary players that helped me on the hardest trophies I've ever gotten (if you boosted Uncharted 3, you may know their names, but out of respect to them, I won't mention them here).

 

I managed to get Uncharted 3 at 100% TWO MONTHS before the shutdown date. I worked on it every day and even late at night for a work day.

 

Uncharted 2 and 3, Killzone 2 and 3 (and Killzone 3 Multiplayer), Warhawk, Twisted Metal and Resistance 2 are some of my proudest gaming moments to get the 100%/Platinums for them.

[Ghanupher]

15 minutes ago, POEman553 said:

I managed to get all the DLC for Uncharted 2 and 3 for free years before the shutdown, but didn't start on the online seriously for Uncharted 2 until last year. Something told me in my head, "You need to do this soon."  I did The Last Of Us in 2014 (probably one of the more stressful yet short mp grinds), but I wasn't quite sure what I was in for with Uncharted 2. I knew it would be long and managed to get it done in 2 months last year.

 

I started work on Uncharted 3 but thought, "there's no way I'm going to get the 100% on this." I did several hours of the Chateau treasure hunt method because someone I boosted with suggested I do that. I had gotten quite a bit of the pieces for the treasure sets but even then wasn't sure.

Fast forward to the date of the shutdown announcement. I thought, "oh crap, now I got to finish Uncharted 3." I get started with it seriously on here and found several boost groups on here and discord. Met up with some legendary players that helped me on the hardest trophies I've ever gotten (if you boosted Uncharted 3, you may know their names, but out of respect to them, I won't mention them here).

 

I managed to get Uncharted 3 at 100% TWO MONTHS before the shutdown date. I worked on it every day and even late at night for a work day.

 

Uncharted 2 and 3, Killzone 2 and 3 (and Killzone 3 Multiplayer), Warhawk, Twisted Metal and Resistance 2 are some of my proudest gaming moments to get the 100%/Platinums for them.

Nice! So you got all the trophies you were after! And met some great people down the road while you were at it.

 

Wish I had bought Resistance 2/3 when they were on their prime. Resistance 2 multiplayer was a blast from what I've heard.

 

Warhawk, on the other hand, I have it but was chicken out of boosting it because of the hackers that would really mess your progress up.

[BlackSquirrell1]

In the last weeks, hours of the online servers I met quite a few people from all over the world.  Made some good friends that I hope to meet again on other games.

 

The UC2 servers were frustrating, maddening and took forever to get a group set up because one person always was kicked off.  But we kept at it and made some progress.

 

The UC3 servers were much better with a another group of players, and we had a blast trying to get as many of the trophies knocked out.

 

The best part of the experience is the majority of players made sure everyone had a chance of getting the trophy they needed.

 

Thank you to all the Discord players that made this a fun grind!

[Ghanupher]

56 minutes ago, BlackSquirrell1 said:

In the last weeks, hours of the online servers I met quite a few people from all over the world.  Made some good friends that I hope to meet again on other games.

 

The UC2 servers were frustrating, maddening and took forever to get a group set up because one person always was kicked off.  But we kept at it and made some progress.

 

The UC3 servers were much better with a another group of players, and we had a blast trying to get as many of the trophies knocked out.

 

The best part of the experience is the majority of players made sure everyone had a chance of getting the trophy they needed.

 

Thank you to all the Discord players that made this a fun grind!

Yes. I think the people involved in the boosting made it special somehow. Maybe because we shared much more time than the common "boosting session" that would last a week or two max.

[BlackSquirrell1]

Just now, Ghanupher said:

Yes. I think the people involved in the boosting made it special somehow. Maybe because we shared much more time than the common "boosting session" that would last a week or two max.

I agree.  I will have to say even with the unstable servers, people I met were patient and we just dealt with it. 

[Helyx]

36 minutes ago, BlackSquirrell1 said:

I will have to say even with the unstable servers, people I met were patient and we just dealt with it. 

 

Indeed. You don't make it through something as dauntingly traumatic as a forced multiplayer grind without making deep connections with people going through the same situation. Some of my best friends on PSN are from Fear 2, Resistance 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company.

[BlackSquirrell1]

1 minute ago, dj_helyx said:

 

Indeed. You don't make it through something as dauntingly traumatic as a forced multiplayer grind without making deep connections with people going through the same situation. Some of my best friends on PSN are from Fear 2, Resistance 2 and Battlefield: Bad Company.

Agree.  Some of the players on the UC servers were people I enjoyed playing with on the GTAV grind.  So happy that there are boosting sessions on this site to meet players so that we can connect again on Discord.

[Seraphim_Rez]

7 hours ago, Ghanupher said:

 

Yes. Sad news about GameSpay servers back in the day. Would love to do games like Bulletstorm or Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

I've heard there is a way to boost the former, but the later seems unplatinumable by now.

 

You can still play multiplayer on Splinter Cell Blacklist. The issue is the daily/weekly challenges which just disappeared with no warning sometime last year so two trophies are unattainable.

 

I actually just got the game a month or two ago new for only $7 on eBay. I still plan on playing it and getting as many of the trophies as I can even if I can't plat it.

[Ghanupher]

17 minutes ago, Seraphim_Rez said:

 

You can still play multiplayer on Splinter Cell Blacklist. The issue is the daily/weekly challenges which just disappeared with no warning sometime last year so two trophies are unattainable.

 

I actually just got the game a month or two ago new for only $7 on eBay. I still plan on playing it and getting as many of the trophies as I can even if I can't plat it.

Yes, I was referring to that particular set of trophies in the game. I even check from time to time the thread about the guy that almost single-handedly tries to reach out for anyone in Ubisoft so they bring back the daily challenges.

But maybe yes, I should forgo to play that kind of games or accept to play them knowing that I'll never see the platinum trophy (nor the 100% trophy mark)

[StewartBros]

8 hours ago, Ghanupher said:

 

Yes. Sad news about GameSpay servers back in the day. Would love to do games like Bulletstorm or Splinter Cell: Blacklist.

I've heard there is a way to boost the former, but the later seems unplatinumable by now.

 

 

You could always pick up Bulletstorm on PS4

I have it on my shelf, and I really should start on the MP soon. I had more than enough time to finish it on PS3, but I didn't do it - and if I had done it, I would now have the platinum.... ?

 

Bulletstorm was a lot of fun, and would be great to experience again.  Wonder if I can get 3 stars on all those Echoes maps again...

[Ghanupher]

17 minutes ago, StewartBros said:

 

You could always pick up Bulletstorm on PS4

I have it on my shelf, and I really should start on the MP soon. I had more than enough time to finish it on PS3, but I didn't do it - and if I had done it, I would now have the platinum....

 

Bulletstorm was a lot of fun, and would be great to experience again.  Wonder if I can get 3 stars on all those Echoes maps again...

Guess I'm missing the PS4 then ?

Edited September 8, 2019 by Ghanupher