14 DAY TRIAL // In the console war, every producer, be it Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony, is desperately trying to lure in customers by offering great deals for their consoles and, most importantly, new features that they can experience when they start them up.
As such, online interactivity has been a pretty decisive factor for a lot of people who wanted to buy a console. While the Xbox 360 has the Live service, which is extremely powerful and allows almost anyone to interact freely, albeit for a small charge, Sony has been trying to make its presence felt on the online console scene.
Subsequently, it launched Home, a new system that allows any PlayStation 3 user to interact with friends in a virtual world, mocked by Microsoft as a Second Life for gamers. Although still in beta, the service is doing pretty good, especially in terms of money for both Sony and its partners, which have teamed up with the Japanese console maker to sell their virtual items on it.
For those of you who haven't started Home, the service has now received its 1.10 patch from Sony. The update aims to solve a lot of problems and introduce some new features that players have been asking from the company. From the increased speed with which Home loads up the world and the users in it, to the option to block both voice and normal chat, a lot of things have been added. Here are the most important ones, as found on Kotaku:
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New features
-We have added a new "Remove Player" function that allows the creator to remove people from a Game Launching session. This is complemented by the Block Player function, accessible via the Safe Screen, which can be used to stop people from rejoining.
Changes and Improvements
-The speed of the initial log-on process has been improved and a progress bar has been added to provide you with more information about what is happening. -Items that you have already purchased will now be loaded when you first log-in, reducing the loading time when you enter stores in the Mall. -Other players' avatars will now load faster when you enter a space. -Download priorities have been changed so that certain graphics and images (like thumbnail images and World Map chips) will download more quickly. -The inventory system (that stores Home Reward items) has been reworked and made more robust. We have also implemented additional safeguards to help ensure that you cannot inadvertently lose any of your items. -The Chat log window will now always be displayed on top of any other on-screen graphics, except when zoomed in to a video or poster. When zoomed in, the chat window will no longer display.
Bug fixes
-Furniture in Personal Spaces will no longer occasionally vanish when you leave lights or lamps turned on. -Single-seat chairs and sofas can no longer be occupied by more than one person at a time. -The "Refresh Club Menus" option in the Menu Pad should now work as intended. -Dates will now be displayed on Clubhouse bulletin board messages. -Your screen will no longer freeze if you leave a game session with the game disc ejected. -Item names and prices will now display correctly in the Mall. -You will no longer be able to make a phone call to players who have deactivated voice chat. -You should now be able to use two-seater sofas properly.
It definitely seems that Sony is backing up Home 100 percent. Hopefully we'll get to see the product reach its final stage of development and not be in open beta anymore. You'd better access Home right now so that the 1.10 patch can be applied.