1169 Disruptive.

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Today was a little disastrous. There was an update to the 3DS firmware a day or so ago. It installed fine, but the eshop was apparently down because of Nintendo trying to combine the 3DS and WiiU services. Part of this included linking, or creating a matching account on your 3DS that could work for both systems. I don’t have a WiiU, but I might someday, so I went ahead and did it. There was no problem. Everything seemed fine.

This afternoon I passed by a Nintendo Zone location and stopped to see if there was anything I could download for my Animal Crossing town. Before I did that I checked the zone, even though it’s always stupid, and then went to the eshop from there. Then, for reasons unknown, the 3DS downloaded 3 things. Not games, just placeholders for apps I had deleted. Strangely however once they loaded all my downloaded games disappeared. That’s actually not uncommon, so I wasn’t worried. I deleted the weird things then restarted my 3DS. No games. I took out the sd card and tried again. No games.

Now things were scary.

I was on my way home anyway so I just left my 3DS off. Once I arrived I looked around the support site to see if there was a fix listed anyplace. As is typical with user based support forums there was nothing useful there. Just a bunch of fans telling people with problems that everything was fine, or offering up useless advice. I had already begun to accept the reality of what was happening, but I called the support line just to be sure.

When I got through it sounded like a warzone in the background. A harried sounding lady took my information, was stumped by my problem, and transferred me to another lady. They were playing the overworld music from Occarina Of Time on the hold. The new lady was only slightly less confused by my problem. She was trying to figure out if I had transferred the system or bought it used someplace. After a full explanation of what happened her supervisor was called in. I never actually heard this person, but they said my account still existed and it was connected to my 3DS serial number, so I could redownload my games for no charge. Which is fine, except the save files associated with those games are kind of important. Before I hung up I asked if my data was at all salvageable. After a long pause the lady said “We’re not sure.” in a way that clearly indicated they were, in fact, sure, and my files were lost. She then told me to have a nice day in a way that expressed her knowledge that I would not.

So that was that. Mario Kart fully unlocked with the golden wheels (Which I hated doing), Fire Emblem with a perfect team waiting to unlock the last 4 secret character, Pokémon Y with my modest team of monsters, and My day of release Animal Crossing town, which I visited every day, had tons of gems, house upgrades, and items that can’t be replaced, gone.

I copied the SD Card just in case, but it’s pretty much pointless. I tried my old SD card and it can’t read my game files either. The saves are no longer recognized as being from my account and are therefore locked off permanently, if not fully deleted. I tried to replace key files, but it doesn’t work. Basically, by buying my games from the eshop I got dicked over by Nintendo’s DRM. If I’d just bought a physical copy of these games, or kept one in the case of Mario Kart, this would all be a non issue. I only have myself to blame for wanting the convenience of not having to carry a box of games with me everyplace.

I was basically done with Fire Emblem, so that’s fine. I would have liked to have been able to go back to my game, but I did see the best ending already. I wasn’t very far in Pokémon, although I really liked my special Chimchar. I don’t know if you can still get them anymore. I liked his speed power though… Mario Kart is a hassle to recover, but I like racing, so it’s not so bad. I can do the regular stuff when I’m stuck places. Losing my Animal Crossing town though… that hurt. I couldn’t bear to let any of my villagers move away and then they were just gone.

I haven’t had such a heartbreaking data loss since I lost my entire pokemon collection back in the Ruby/Sapphire days. Pokémon from a couple of generations, ALL OF THEM. Each one specially named…

I recognize that this is kind of dumb, but don’t get all high and mighty with me. Everyone goes through this with something at some time. You get invested in these silly things and it’s traumatic to lose the work.

Anyway, the Ten wants me to watch bedtime TV with her, so I’m going to go do that… While I slowly rebuild my crumbled empire. T^T

61 Comments

Curse your sexual charisma Thomas. :D

Its a curse and a blessing… A blursing if you will.

Damn that really must’ve sucked to have your data gone like that. It happened to me before and from there I always checked the forums to ask if its safe to update anything before I actually do it. I would pretty pissed to lose my Ace Attorney game. I haven’t even started it yet.

“It’s a curse and a blessing… A blursing if you will.”

I will — I certainly will. You are the master of the portmanteau word — I was working on blurse or cessing (eww).

Wow, that sucks about your 3DS problems. Though on the pokemon front, you should be able to get Torchic again, the event runs until January 15th. I think that’s what you meant instead of Chimchar. It really sucks to hear all that though, especially Animal Crossing, a game that they make you work for days to get your shit together is now gone.

Also, Thomas is taking all this rather well, though I figure talkin’ with his gal made him see everything clearly… Again.

That is actually a truly horrifying tale of save data woes. You have my condolences, man.

I had just been considering downloading a couple of games from the eshop for the first time (either PokemonX/Y, because everyone’s been raving about it, or Mario, because I’m in the rare mood of torturing myself with my poor jump timing abilities). Now I’ll probably just continue getting physical copies, just to be safe.

I had 3 of my pokemon games stolen (I eventually got them back but the kid had deleted all my saves) with hundreds of hours on them. I played through them again only to have all 3 of them just vanish, never to be seen again.

I wonder what went wrong in your process to cause that glitch, I avoid digital copies whenever possible so it wouldn’t have been a huge deal to me but I created a new account without issue. It seems like there should be some way to transfer the save files over but its not surprising that nobody knows how yet.

Oh my God… that’s really terrible about the saved data. I really hope they miraculously retain the info somewhere but…

Geeze man, I’m really sorry.

Hey need some answers here.

I get lost easily when reading comics/books, because I can’t use my empathetic abilities to see what the ink is thinking.

What just happened here? I get that he’s saying he’s apologizing for today, but what’s this “done wrong by you, but just for today”? I didn’t see anything about Dawn dating this guy earlier, why has he done Thomas wrong?

During Thomas’s explanation to Carol, he explained that he thought Dawn might have been involved with someone while they were still dating. Specifically this guy.

See this is why I asked questions. I miss stuff like this-

When I read that the first time, I took it for general paranoia on Thomas’s part. I didn’t think plot point.

I forget there are almost always secret meanings behind things.

So, anyway, wow this guy. They do kinda look alike, in the face. Like Thomas but more mellow. I can understand him being a surrogate for Dawn, who seemed to want a more straight-laced, go-get-em Thomas.

As far as the “for today” comment, I think this speaks that El Dudenebre (why do I never remember the names?) is not necessarily apologizing for marrying Dawn, but is apologizing for how it played out during the course of the day today.

My condolences as well, I hope a way to recover your saves comes into light soon. I once lost my red SP with ruby version in it on my way out of school. As soon as I got home and couldn’t find it I was hysterical (I was a freshman in high school @ the time) I had my mom drive me back to look around the parking lot and when it was certain i wouldn’t find it i cried the rest of the night and was depressed for days. I tried making a reward poster, but no luck. I also lost Diamond version in my senior year. Best of luck to you getting your save. I still have that raltz for you.

Well damn. Now I’m afraid to link my Wii U and 3DS accounts together. Granted I have the cartridge versions of Pokémon and Fire Emblem, but I do have a few download only games that I don’t want to lose.

As gamers, our save data is the only real record of the countless hours we spend on our hobby. I mean, there are achievements, but those aren’t quite the same thing.

With the data gone, there is no record of what we’ve done, no ability to enjoy the digital collections we’ve accumulated. That time is just lost. It feels empty and sad.

You have my sympathies.

You have expressed into words what I have been trying to explain for almost a decade. Hat’s off to you sir/madame.

Indeed, our legacy is really only expressed by save data. (And occasionally videos, watching that one-off time of awesome.)

Which just makes cheating for that data all the dumber, since you didn’t actually do anything. Doing it all yourself though…
…my condolences on your data, Crave. Must hurt like losing a friend or family member.

There’s nothing so crushing as losing save files. It’s especially bad on RPGs, but once upon a time, I made the mistake of thinking that Steam uninstalls don’t delete save files – I was wrong. When Mass Effect 3 came out, I found out I had lost my Shepard and the records of him saving the universe.

I know there are programs that let me create a save, but it’s just not the same, is it?

Steam doesn’t delete game saves. When Steam uninstalls a game, it basically runs the game uninstaller, so whether your saves are retained or deleted depends on what the installer does. Some offer you the choice, some don’t and some unfortunately do.

It surprises me not at all that EA’s installers would default to shitty behaviour.

And THAT is why I’m not touching my Nintendo systems until Nintendo get their shit together with regards online functionality.

If it’s your save games or Miiverse, well… Nintendo should have known where a player priorities are gonna be. GAMES. FIRST.

Ooof! I am SO sorry to hear about your save data being lost. I JUST got a 3DS earlier this week. I made that account thing earlier today, but I don’t have a Wii U. I don’t do digital copies of games either. I got Animal Crossing on a whim and I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I’ve never played any of the Animal Crossing games, so it’s been an adventure.

I ended up restarting after the first few days because I found out that the appearance of your character is determined at the beginning of the game and isn’t able to be changed later. Sooo, I went online, found the answers I wanted and restarted. A little annoyed that the little progress I’d made is gone and I kind of miss a couple of my old villagers, but one of them showed up again (my least favorite, but c’est la vie), which was a shock, since there’s like, 300+ possibilities. I’m tempted to restart again just for another batch, hopefully completely fresh.

When you get around to playing again, if you want to add me, my friend code number thingie (I’ve never played a game that has the online stuff so integral to game play) is 4527-8799-5492. I am really looking forward to getting further in the game and really having some fun with it. :)

If I can help out with anything when/if you decide to restart, let me know. :D

There’s a feature for backing up your saves from digital games onto the SD card…definitely going to use that after hearing about what happened with you….

Well, in my case it didn’t matter. Even backed up the saves were untethered from my account so I couldn’t ever make it think they were mine.

Really simple really, I changed from 2GB card to 8 some time ago and I just needed copy all the file, doesn’t matter if the games is renown loaded, anyway, since my field of expertise is data recovery it wouldn’t really matter if I backed them up or not as I could just recovered them, that is BEFORE placing new files onto it and most likely overwritten the deleted files xD

I let the update run and linked it to my id and it didn’t seem to disrupt anything…now I’m really curious as to what specifically caused your system to bug out…

It might not do you any good, but I thought I would share this. I saw my orange light flash, and I think I was getting out of game. I was looking at you on my friends list as you changed from Nintendo Zone to the eShop.

I could probably find out about when this was on my end. At the end of the day, I really don’t know if this information will do you any good.

His disruptive good looks…? ‘:/

Ladies? Verdict?

ummmm . . . welll . . . I thought about Castle who has a gag about being Ruggedly Handsome which made me think of Nathan who is of course disruptive with his good looks . . . so yeah, it was disruptive ;)

Damn Crave. That is a little heart breaking. People who are not gamers and have never had data loss might make light, but not I.

Sorry man.

I think the worst part is that the saves aren’t “lost”. Sounds like Crave still has the files, but they aren’t connected to his new ID so can’t be loaded…

shit like this is why i pirate game boy games via usb-connectible cartridge instead of buying original game paks (which need a working battery to keep the save data. a BATTERY.).

My deepest condolences for your data loss Crave. I think I can say that every gamer has been there, and we know of your pain.

On a brighter note, I personally am finding this whole arc to be an excellent work. You’ve mentioned several times that this hasn’t been the readers’ favorite arc, but I have to say I’m not in agreement with that. With so much character development and backstory stuffed into it, I have to say it’s probably my favorite arc thus far, and if not then its still very close to it. There’s a lot of depth that’s shining through and I’m personally quite fond of depth.

I, at least, am in hopes that more of this is on the way. You do great work Crave.

Honestly, I didn’t see that coming. I thought the guy was going to open a can o’ whoop-ass on someone. I guess he’s an okay dude after all — better than can be said of his missus.

I was going to suggest that it seemed like he was from Texas, and this is the way all nondescript Texan wusses look. (Disclaimer: I was a Marine once. There was a time in my life where everyone I met was a wuss. It’s a stereotype, and I don’t actually think it applies to anyone.)

It was after midnight, though, so I thought better of it. I can’t help but think I should think better of this one. It’s not even close to midnight yet, so what can go wrong?

@Crave—

I’m not a gamer, but I’ve suffered plenty of hard drive crashes and I understand your dismay. I lost hundreds of once-in-a-lifetime photographs, so I’m the last guy who’d tell you, “Oh, it’s just a game. Get over it and grow up.” It’s a piece of your life.

I also hate it when the help desk is helpless — even my own team at work. Sony is the worst — I gave up on trying to straighten out issues with my Reader talking to their idiots in India, and bought a Nook. The one problem I had with the Nook, I took it to a Barnes and Noble and the old-buzzard-with-a-beard techie had me up and flying in minutes.

I can empathize crave. When that happens to me, I tend to completely lose it.

My account for world of Warcraft got hacked when i went on a break from them, and when i returned, my Level 56 Holy priest (no easy task with no friends to help, mind you) was nowhere to be found.

I had bouts of foaming at the mouth, nervous pacing, and a repititious, Beethoven like symphony of the word “Crap”.

Then I switched to Rift.

I’m really sorry to hear about you having a bad day. I never got to play the new Fire Emblem, but it looked quite fun. I have been playing a ton of the new Pokemon titles, and have started breeding a few of my favorite ones for fun. I happen to have one of the fire/fighting starters with the speed boost ability to spare, if you want one to start over with! His name is Possifeu, and he is from France.
(My wife says she wants to help with Animal Crossing too, she plays it constantly)
0044-3760-4516 is my friend code, you can e-mail me yours or whatever if you’d like to trade.

3909-7997-3526 is my friend code. I’ll add anyone who adds me pretty much.

Hey, feel free to add me. I pretty much just keep most of my Halloween stuff in a room in the museum titled “Holiday Crap”. I don’t go in that room much so at the very least I can toss you back over a set of the Creepy pumpkin furniture. Only got a few of the Creepy stuff though. And hey, at least you only missed out on a few of the good ones. The Harvest set looked stupid as hell in my opinion.

0946-2333-2822

Crave,

I talked to one of my friends who’s had a few run-ins with Nintendo over Pokemon data stuff. She says to put in an email to their support staff. They have a ticket system on Pokemon.com. She’s had previous problems and all she had to do was explain the problem… it takes a couple weeks, sometimes, but they did make right what they screwed up, and without further prompting on her part.

Don’t give up on your hard-won data! Get them working on it for you. It doesn’t look like your problem is too widespread, so they should have the staff onhand to work on it. If it’s just a DRM thing, they might be able to mod that part so you can access it again.

Hey, Crave. I have my gates open right now. I know it disconnected you earlier, but you can raid anything in my town you can reach, and request anything on my board, and I’ll get it to you later.

I don’t mind assisting you with new fossils, either. I have several stockpiled in my house in anticipation for making models once they’re complete, so they will go some way in helping you complete your museum again.

I added you, and I’m pretty sure my gate is open. I can’t offer you much yet, but let me know if I can help with anything. Also, my boyfriend (who doesn’t read the comic, but is an avid gamer and I managed to convince him to make a house in my town) offers his condolences as well.

“Anytime save data is lost, regardless of the game, it SUCKS,” he goes.

Just in case you didn’t want to go searching through comments to find my previous one, my FC is 4527-8799-5492.

One time my boyfriend’s mother ripped a copy of Harvest Moon from the Super NES without turning it off first. The ensuing panic saw me banned from their house for 6 months.
All those cowa and chickens… gone… just gone. : (

For a second, I read that as you were kicked out by your mom for six months. I was like, “Woah, hard-core parents to kick you out over a video game.”

Ah, the infamous feature of all North American console systems.
The complete lack of a cartridge lock interlock for the power switch.
Turns out it was a US Corporate marketing decision to help boost sales of replacement cartridges and consoles. You may already know that SONY, SEGA and the rest are evil corporations but they don’t hold a sputtering birthday candle to the evil that is a US distributor.

The SNES did have one, but they started producing cartridges that defeated it for some reason.

I never understood why. Is this what you are talking about?

The second SNES didn’t have to lock slot, but the first one was so weak they may as well have not bothered. A solid yank was all it took to defeat it. Then they started making paks that slid past the lock.

I know well the feeling of lost save files. A long while back, Sony sent out a certain demo disk for the PS2 to their Playstation Underground mailing list. Among the many titles on the disk was a demo for Viewtiful Joe 2. This demo had a rather catastrophic bug… if you had a memory card in the machine, it would be formatted.
I lost every save, for every game in my library, across two memory cards.
I wasn’t the only one to lose save files, however. Sony had to issue a formal recall on those demo disks. Mail it back, and they would send you a free game from a list of PS2 titles. Interestingly, they had for some reason sent me two copies of that accursed disk…

Anyway, the Ten wants me to watch bedtime TV with her, so I’m going to go do that… While I slowly rebuild my crumbled empire. T^T

The ten who?

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