There’s been a lot of chat recently about user levels having been deleted or moderated from the LittleBigPlanet servers. Well, according to Sam over at the LittleBigPlanet Workshop, less than 200 levels have been moderated, making up less than 0.5% of all the levels published. He tells us that the majority of these were because they contained obscenities, fair enough, and the rest for copyright reasons. He says, by way of an example: “Oasis is the name both of a band and of a soft drink (at least in Europe), however any level using the title ‘Oasis’ would be absolutely fine right now unless it included music by Oasis the band, or the likeness of the drinks bottle.”
There’s been a lot of talk recently about the moderation, and Sam is confident that a lot of this is “exaggeration”. “No level is moderated unless it has been reported using the Good Grief tool,” he says, “at which point it will only be blocked from online play if it is in violation of the EULA. Secondly, even if a level is moderated you will still be able to access it offline on your moon, and make changes if you know where the problem was, before republishing.”
“Finally, if your level is moderated you will receive a message informing you that it has happened - if you don’t receive a message, it hasn’t been moderated. Try searching for your PSN ID to find all the levels you’ve published. There is work to be done on improving the communication of why levels have been moderated, and this is underway, however this is not as widespread as you may have been led to believe, and it does not affect levels you have locally.”
What are your thoughts on this? Have you had a level moderated or deleted without notice, and what was the content that you think caused this? We’d like to hear from you, either in the comments below or via lbp@thesixthaxis.com.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
He is mistaken. One of the levels I made with the Beta was moderated and it contained no copyright infringement and no obscenities.
I’m not really bothered that I lost the level because it was crap but the truth is that at least one level was removed without any reason. I would rather they just admitted that there have been mistakes, apologised and we can all move on.
If they got past this issue they might be a bit quicker to patch the server issues and the freezing bugs that are making what should have been an industry-changing game into a series of minor irritations that, once again, make the PS3 look stupid.
GamerRiley Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
Is that the reason they got rid of it though Cb……..because it was crap.
They’ve got to show this title in the best possible way and getting rid of a few shit levels may have been the way to do it. Sorry mate. By the way my level is still there;)
colossalblue Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Cheeky git.
Well, if they’d deleted it because it was crap I could live with that but they are implying that I infringed copyright or published obscene material which is not true. I just want to be sure that we’re getting the truth.
Oh, and one of my levels stayed up too so I can’t be that bad!
GamerRiley Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Sorry cc & cb, had to be done.
Diver68 Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 6:05 am
cb - maybe it was ‘moderated’ cos some dude reported it?
[quote] “No level is moderated unless it has been reported using the Good Grief tool,”
So basically - what I read out of this is:
• Block your mate’s / enemy’s levels by reporting them.
Accidentally press the wrong button or two and the level gets filed away for moderation…… Oops!
November 12th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
He is mistaken or lying my level also contained zero ip infringement and no obscenities, and my level disappeared
Hopefully he’s mistaken…. but the enormous amount of posts across various websites also say there was no infringement
Is creating copyrighted music in the game forbidden?
Because one of Alex Evans from MM favourite level is No Surprises
MM also used/allowed use of copyright infringing levels to promote the game across the internet before everyone handed over their money and brought it
GamerRiley Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
cc, see comment above.
cc_star Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Yeah good one… I can retract that name check you know
I openly admit mine was utter rubbish, but it was mine, and I created it, and then shared it, like advertised.
PLAY.CREATE.SHARE.DELETED
TheDeathAvenger Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 11:02 pm
It’s not got quite the same ring to it. Still, it might catch on.
November 12th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
I’m just reporting the statements as per the PR guy on the forum. I’m well aware that a few of us feel differently to what he’s saying…
colossalblue Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
I know and I would be careful about implying dishonesty here, I think it’s possible that there is just some sort of bug that they don’t know about. Seems like if only 0.5% have been moderated then there must be hundreds of thousands of levels out there already.
cc_star Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
This stuff surrounding this game is really getting on my f’ing nerves
The game is a great big beacon of hope for the PS3, hopefully something that can reach out beyond Sony’s core user base.
Whilst I think the game is amazing and well worthy of the ‘10/10 unmissable’ score given in the review it really is groundbreaking, but and it’s a big BUT everything which goes on around the periphery is total bllshite
The game obviously wasn’t ready for release day, despite an expansive and relatively open beta, the subsequent 2 week delay was probably put to good use trying to bring the servers up to standard (something they are still unable to do)
The deleting levels issue is big, far bigger than this PR release suggests, and this is just one of numerous problems experienced by thousands of paying customers who are that disappointed with various parts of the game that they are posting on websites all round the world.
If anyone wants to live in a lovely bubble and take PR releases as gospel thats up to them. But there is a problem and one that is not being admitted to.
Faced with these obvious problems a press release is created which doesn’t even acknowledge there may be a problem.
Teething problems is a phrase that has been bandied about, but given the time in development, unparalleled support from Sony, an almost completely open beta, a delay which provided an opportunity to nail those final few bugs, the phrase doesn’t wash with me.
If this was anything other than a video game there would be huge queues of people trying to get their money back.
Saying all that, I love playing the game, I love seeing what others have created (when I can connect to the servers)
But to bury your head in the sand with a press release, when you have the opportunity to acknowledge a problem is just wrong
November 12th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I bet my Brothers in Arms level has been moderated for using a game name and having soilders cut in half with blood everywhere…
fredrikpedersen Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Its just three common English words put together in a specific way. Why would they moderate it?
cc_star Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Having a title which involves an IP is reportedly one of the reasons that levels are being pulled.
Who actually is doing this grief reporting?
I can’t imagine any gamer reporting anything.
nofi Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Oh come on, unless you’re being sarcastic. You remember the whole reason the damned game was delayed, right?
cc_star Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Yeah, because it wasn’t ready for release
Then some BGM issue came up which although instantly patched a delay was preferable.
Given the occasional problems still around in the game now, I believe those 2 weeks delay were a godsend to the playability of the game
RocketSOL Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
there probably wont be any reason for some of them. when my mate plays fifa online on his xbox and loses, he gives the player that beat him negative feedback. its probably a similar case with these LBP levels, they find it too hard so they report it. pathetic really.
yogh_wayne Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
But I hope that still a real life person reviews these levels and decides whether it’s really justified. Otherwise they could rename the ‘grief report’ button to ‘delete level’.
colossalblue Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
that makes your mate an arsehole doesn’t it?
RocketSOL Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
when i say mate, i really mean “someone who is always around”. but yes, you are correct. im gunna give you 5 stars for this.
colossalblue Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
I grief reported a level (the first time I ever have on anything)that was called 9/11 simulator because it was a box with loads of body parts and blocks falling around outside you and explosions.
I found it offensive that they would depict the body parts of people who died in that tragedy. I’m not against telling jokes about it in the right setting, I’m all for an offensive jokes about pretty much anything but I think you can go too far and if it’s not even funny then why bother?
November 12th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
So if it’s true that they’ve only “moderated” a few levels, then there’s a giant bug deleting the levels as if they were moderated. They will need to sort this out ASAP, cause it’s killing LittleBigPlanet.
Also I’ve read that those moderated levels were not accessible offline on the My Moon page anymore. How was that for your deleted levels Cb and cc_star?
nofi Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
It’s the same bug that eats your socks when you wash them.
yogh_wayne Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I hate that one
GamerRiley Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
I beat my wife up, I thought it was her. Now I feel bad.
colossalblue Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I thought I had the monopoly on inappropriate humour here, nice work.
Michael Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
You are just inappropriate.
cc_star Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
My level disappeared from My Moon (?)
Oh, and for now moderated = deleted. Even from My Moon
hannes_truce Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I’ve read elsewhere that it just gets deleted from online but not my moon but it wont let you republish even if you change the level, the name etc.
either way sucks balls
colossalblue Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Mine was created using the beta so neither of the two levels I made on the beta were on My Moon when I installed the full game. The first time I connected to the PSN while in game I got the moderated message (just says “your level ‘levelnamehere’ has been moderated” and nothing else). I had to go to the Cool Levels section and copy my other one back onto My Moon to be able to edit it again but the one that was moderated is deleted and wasn’t on My Moon in the full game so is lost forever.
November 12th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Anyone who had the beta and created a level will find that their level is no longer on their moon. As you say Cb you have to find it in the levels in cyberspace and copy it to your moon. I understand this to be correct, tell me if I’m wrong.
colossalblue Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
That was my experience. Once it’s copied back to your “My Moon” it is completely editable again.
November 12th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
We’re making the news again.
http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News-230305.aspx
colossalblue Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
That was posted by Nofi.
gazo69 Says:
November 12th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
Yeah he is nofilter on there, right?
November 12th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
It makes you not want to spend hours creating a level, for fear they might take it away, for some bullshit excuse.
November 12th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
What about all other games which feature user creation/mods… nearly all user content are tributes to other games etc…
Just look at all the Halo levels on FarCry2 etc… Why are LBP customers being treated with an iron fist, whereas users of FC2 and other games getting away with it, when the same Playstation Network EULA applies
yogh_wayne Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Furthermore those tribute levels are just fan projects and should be appreciated by the developers of the original games.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:49 am
With regards to the SCEE press release:
0.5% of 84,000 is 420
There are more than 420 complaints on one website alone, so something isn’t right somewhere, however the statement does bring clarity to the situation and hopefully moving forward these early problems aren’t repeated, and they can get on with fixing lag issues.
I was playing with a mate last night, off-peak time and both of us have 20mb broadband, and it was unplayable.
The press release doesn’t explain my comments yesterday
“What about all other games which feature user creation/mods… nearly all user content are tributes to other games etc…
Just look at all the Halo levels on FarCry2 etc… Why are LBP customers being treated with an iron fist, whereas users of FC2 and other games getting away with it, when the same Playstation Network EULA applies”
colossalblue Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
I would suggest that because FC2 and others are multi platform they aren’t being watched as closely as LBP. It would also be in the interests of Sony’s competitors to disrupt this title as much as possible.
With regards to the SCEE statement: It’s a lovely statement, hopefully it allows them to draw a line under the issue and move on with fixing the other bits of the game that are broken (server lag and unresponsive controls) but think about it, they are not only lying to us, they are calling us all liars in the process and that’s not acceptable. I gave them the benifit of the doubt yesterday, I said maybe they were mistaken and then today they’ve issued a press release to tell everyone that I am lying about the content of my level. That is out of order. Come on Sony, the truth will set you free.
cc_star Says:
November 13th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
Agree, but the EULA for the Playstation Network is the same for all titles.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Nice banner for the article, tho it came a bit late.