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So far, Rockstar is living up to its latest set of promises regarding GTA Online. Last week, the publisher announced that a new update would arrive within the next few days to clear out some of the remaining technical issues with the epic multiplayer mode. This would prepare the way for the delayed arrival of the "stimulus package" – a free $500,000 of in-game cash for all players who toiled through the mode's shaky early days.
Well, a new update – numbered 1.05 – is now available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions. The main problem it fixes is the occasional disappearance of personal vehicles and vehicle modifications, which was apparently down to a "cloud save failure". Those who have spent many thousands adding new engines and expensive paint spray treatments to their cars will be relieved.
The development team has also added measures to prevent users from losing their progress during cloud outages. Cash balances will also be protected when network problems occur, and users should no longer face the reportedly rare occurrence of losing their vehicles or mods when exiting GTA Online during network issues.
These are problems that plenty more developers will face as we head into an era of increased cloud usage, both for storing game saves and for hosting persistent game environments. Last week, Bungie Software's Eric Osborne talked to IGN about the challenges facing ambitious massively multiplayer shooter Destiny. He told the site:
"From our perspective as a developer, it's hard to fault GTA Online for caving under something like 10 million players trying to hit servers at the same time. With that said, we have a rich history of supporting big audiences online, hitting high concurrency levels. Even then, we're not going to rest on our laurels and rely on our past history."
Rockstar has also stated that the stimulus package should arrive "in the next couple of days". But don't expect everyone's gift to arrive at once – as the Rockstar update states, "The stimulus will go out over the course of a full day once it's initiated so don't be alarmed if people on your friends list receive it before or later than you do."
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