Borderlands The Handsome Collection - Cross Save Request

Borderlands 2 BL2 General Discussion
#1

If any of you haven’t been in the know on Gearbox’s latest Borderlands contribution to the fans, you should give Borderlands The Handsome Collection a good look. Many of you who won’t overreact about the first game not being included would probably be excited by the time you finished watching the video. Admittedly, I would have liked the first game to be bundled as well since mine broke a few years back, but that’s beside the point. This is about the Handsome Collection; a specific element about it. The cross save feature.

While the overwhelming load of content and new features is explosive enough to make you want to slap your mama, the console family restriction on cross saves being imported to next-gen (current enough for me now) consoles bummed me out. I know without a doubt I’m not the only person that switched “families” with this current generation of consoles. And I’m willing to bet I’m not the only person that doesn’t want to have the other console. In my case, I switched from the Xbox 360 to the PS4. Note: This isn’t a thread to debate which console is better and worse, so if you’re inclined to start bringing that up, I don’t want to hear it. I made my decision and I stand by it.

But the thing I am having a hard time accepting is the fact that only people that have stuck with the same console family will be able to import their previous gen saves to their new consoles. Borderlands has, without a doubt, become my favorite game franchise of all time, and furthermore, has been my best investment when considering gaming entertainment purposes. Now I don’t know exactly what software technicalities go into limiting cross saves to the corresponding descendents of consoles, but I don’t want to be left out of that immense aspect of the Handsome Collection. For many people, that is the selling point of the upcoming release. It could very well be for me, but in the direction I’m not in favor of.

I love the fact that Gearbox is throwing two full Borderlands games with every bit of extra content there was or will be for them into one package by the time BTHC launches, but I don’t want to have to restart on my characters, gear, progress, achievements, and what have you. I can’t think of many examples of games that weren’t restricted to the same console family when bringing cross saves into the picture, but some of you may be able to add to that list. Dragon Age, though a far cry from Borderlands in my opinion, wasn’t like this. I have heard Guild Wars was the same. I don’t know what kind of differences there are, but the way I see it, more fans are going to be pleased if the limitation on console family cross saves with this port for Borderlands to PS4/XB1 is lifted.

TL;DR: So essentially, this is a request for the cross save restriction on console families to be removed from Borderlands The Handsome Collection. I sincerely believe it will be the most effective and beneficial change to make this upcoming title all the more worth it for both the developers and the fans. Voice your legitimate and competent concerns, agreements, and comments to this subject for Gearbox to see. Thank you for reading.

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#2

While I also request this, I also realize that it is probably impossible to do. I think there is probably some sort of coding or programming wall they hit or maybe even some sort of proprietary restrictions. I mean Bungie also said they were not able to provide cross platform saves for Destiny and while I do not think that Gearbox is any better or worse than Bungie, they probably took the time to look into it and deemed it too much work or flat out impossible in some reasonable time frame.

I am a huge Borderlands fan since BL1 on the x360 but playing everything again and again on the PS4 seems rather tedious. I guess we will see whether it will be worth my time and money, especially since there is so much more out there to play.

H

#3

You and I are in the same boat, but don’t you find it unfortunate, both for Gearbox and 2K as well as us as gamers, that we won’t be receiving our fill because of the fact that we would have to start from scratch? We’re not getting our entertainment, and the companies are getting less money to use as a resource for more creative, future works to satisfy our curiosities. With the way things are now, a large demographic of gamers could very well not even purchase this Borderlands port for the singular fact that they wouldn’t have their saves crossed over. That impacts our beloved Gearbox and 2K as well.

Other companies have done this. The two that I know of are Bioware with Dragon Age and Digital Extremes with Warframe. Apparently others have done this, like Blizzard with Diablo III. It’s not impossible. It’s just a matter of whether or not Gearbox and 2K want to take this leap. It’s simple in my mind. More satisfied consumers means more money. Both sides win tremendously in this scenario, but with the Handsome Collection as is, a lot of gamers aren’t winning, and the companies aren’t coming out as high as they could be.

Personally, Borderlands has proven to be the best gaming investment of mine yet, and I would enjoy playing my favorite game on my new console, with new friends to play with as well. The content included is huge, and any Borderlands fan would want to have every bite they can take out of it. Yet so much of the sale comes down to that cross save restriction. For me, there aren’t many games out there right now that will offer me the same kind of enjoyment that Borderlands does. I could find much more entertainment with this port than most new launches or releases to come. I only find it a worthwhile venture for the developers and publishers to pursue this option for every fan possible. Again, the more satisfied customers you have, the more willing they are to buy your product out of mutual loyalty between the two parties.

#4

It was possible with diablo 3. But the save was uploaded to blizzards servers. Maybe that’s why they were able to do it.

#5

I don’t know all of the specifics, but I would imagine some kind of cloud built into their servers allows it. This site alone shows how Gearbox is pushing for SHIFT to be relied on more online. I doubt it would be impossible for that kind of conversion software to be implemented into SHIFT. Progress could be gathered, saved, and stored within their own servers, like Blizzard did with Diablo III. From there, it comes down to Xbox data X = Playstation data Y and convert for use on any console. I’m sure it’s more complicated than that, but every item within the game has some kind of code that represents it. A different code for a different console has to exist, but they represent the same item and thus are equivalents of each other. I don’t know for sure. All I do know is I want this port, but the idea of restarting is really discouraging for me.

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#6

Agreed and good ideas all. I hope they are listening.

H

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#7

I put a gross amount of time in bl1 and bl2, but never played pre-sequel because I sold my 360 to help buy an xbone. I will buy this and happily level all characters again. If the first one isn’t re-released I might buy a 360 again just to have them all to play.

#8

I played the first one far more than I ever did the second, unfortunately. Not that I didn’t enjoy the first one, but I just wish I played the second one more. And not that I can’t, but just saying. I haven’t played TPS either, so I’m not so much concerned about my “progress” with that title. But accumulating some of the things again isn’t appealing in my opinion. I applaud you for being one who would play it all over from scratch, but you’re not going to have to worry about starting over. With your saves being within the same console family, they’ll cross over and you’ll just pick up where you left off.

I do miss the first one though. Mine got busted. Can’t exactly remember how, but it was a GOTY edition. Fortunately, the DLC disc is fine, if I remember correctly. It’s just the game disc that’s messed up.

#9

I sold my 360 to help pay for my xbone. My saves were on that consoles hard drive.

#10

At this point, that hypothesis is inconclusive. It’s possible you might not need the hard drive to transfer the save. I guess more information will be released closer to launch.

#11

… but if the hard drive is not needed wouldn’t that mean you should be able to transfer 360 saves to a ps4?

I’m almost wondering if it will be a possibility months after the handsome collection is released.

#12

I can’t say. Apparently at this time, Gearbox can’t either, which is why I’m still holding hopes that this restriction will be lifted. In this thread, http://forums.gearboxsoftware.com/showthread.php?t=406933, a staff member has mentioned, albeit shortly, that they will release more information on transferring saves from last-gen consoles to next-gen consoles. That’s why I say it’s inconclusive. The way I see it, if you needed the old hard drive, they would have simply said that. So by extension, I can’t help but wonder if the save transfering process is somewhat more complicated. Perhaps, requiring some kind of cloud service. And if it requires some kind of cloud service, then it makes no sense to leave those Borderlands gamers who switched console families out of a steal in the Handsome Collection.

I’ve made that request as well, but it’s not being received well. Some people say it’ll have “PR repercussions”, but I don’t see it. Simply put, there shouldn’t be a restriction on transferring saves from one console family to the other.

#13

If it’s simply pr reasons ill refuse to ever spend a cent on the game. Anyone know why it was set up the same way with destiny?

#14

I would love to purchase the Handsome Collection. That purchase is well worth the price, but the restriction on cross saves kills the deal for so many avid Borderlands fans that switched to a different console family. Need we say it? All of those potential customers will either not buy the HC, or they will buy it and dread every minute they have to replay. Ultimately, it equates to this: The Handsome Collection will not be as successful as it could be, nor as much as Gearbox hopes to proceed to make a port for Borderlands 1.

Six or seven months ago, I would have cared about Destiny enough to try to figure that out, but that game fell disappointingly far for a project that has a $500 million budget. I’ve sent Gearbox a message detailing the conjectural comparison between Destiny and Borderlands. It goes like this: Bungie stepped into the wrong arena. The only thing Gearbox needs to get in their heads is that it is their arena, and they can’t let some intrusive joke of an attempt at making a “beefed up Borderlands” intimidate them and shy them away from making the epic title that we all know Borderlands 3 can be. But that’s a different subject. In closing, after I finish my Destiny fanfic I’m going to be completely done with Destiny entirely. With that being said, I haven’t even played the game outside of the alpha and beta tests.

And I have little care for Destiny anymore. As it drew closer to launch, I began to realize how incomplete the game was and how much potential was wasted. So long story short, I have no idea how Bungie set up their new game’s failures after launch. Never bothered looking into it in depth.

#15

Only reason I wondered why Destiny was set up that way is because I would bet they both are set up that way for the same reason.

#16

Mind you, I’m not speaking offensively here, but I’m not sure what you mean by the way they’re similarly set up. Because I’ve been hearing so much about how you can’t convert Playstation data to Xbox data and Xbox to Playstation, I decided to give it a look of my own. Sure enough, that mindset is pretty popular for the online public. Some person really liked the “beef vs. chicken difference” argument, but that’s such a ridiculous way to describe the relationship between gaming platforms.

Two titles I know of for sure that allow cross saves across different platforms are Warframe and Diablo III. “Take your PC save and transfer it to PS4” for example. Two different platforms. Two different coding patterns for the data, yet the information must obviously be converted in order to call the save transfers successful. It’s no different than converting video or audio file types with the appropriate software. This whole requirement for Borderlands saves to be on the same console family with the HC doesn’t make any sense. It’s not impossible, and it’s a smart move for Gearbox to make.

#17

The simplest solution would be to link characters and Badass rank to your shift account seeing as how that is cross platform.

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#18

I too would like to see it unbound from the console family as I’ve got a level 52 Assassin on 360 with some awesome gear. But I can also understand why it might not be possible. I remember trying to switch 360 saves to ps3 back on blands 1 and it was glitchy at best. But I would really like it if people who have the PC version could transfer those saves to either console. It seems like it should be possible since I could add the bonus items from poker night 2 on my pc to the saves on my 360.

Ultimately though it won’t matter. Even if I have to start from scratch I’ll love every second of it.

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#19

Same with FF14. PS3, PS4, and PC can all access the same stuff.

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#20

I have this same thread in the old forums, and have addressed that the Shift account should be utilized in such a fashion. It’s a cloud of its own and should be taken advantage of in this way at the very least; a mediating service that transfers content from one platform to another. I would like to see it as well.

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