Sonic Unleashed PS3 freezing issues

[Allan20]

I'm sorry if I'm in the wrong place for this, but I'm new here and I'm not used to everything yet!

My question is this- I have the PS3 version of Sonic Unleashed that I bought used a couple of months ago, and I had it freeze on me three times- once during the first Werehog level of the game while fighting a lot of enemies, the second during the Egg Beetle boss fight, and the third while grinding on a rail in the hub world for Spagonia (not the Rooftop Run level). It only froze three times, and the game worked fine besides those 3 freezes and a number of frame-rate drops (which I know are normal, especially in the PS3 version), and I was able to beat the game without any other issues, but I was just wondering if the freezes are/were normal, as they only happened during high speed sections or with a lot of enemies on screen, and they only happened after frame rate drops! My PS3 does not have issues with any other games and while I bought the game used, it looks like brand new and it doesn't have any scratches or marks on it that would cause those issues of any kind. I also do not have any of the DLC- I bought one pack but never installed it or anything like that. Since I'm not the biggest tech-saavy person, I get confused whenever issues like this happen and most places that I try to find assistance on (YouTube comments, help sections like this, etc) use big words or anything that I don't completely understand! If someone could help me with this without using any super complex words or terms, that would be great! Thanks! 

[Badnik Mechanic]

What model/type of PS3 is it? 

[Mr Loopone]

It's normal for a game to crash on the PS3 or any console, even PC games tend to crash. There are some hunches why but I don't think your used disc as anything to do with this. As you said, there are no scratches and I've known brand new games to freeze. I'll try to make it as simple as I can and using examples:

The PS3 is a console that it is hard to program, one of the hardest to program like the Saturn so developers would have a harder time to make a game. It is different than other consoles and often they have to rely on Sony for support. Games especially ones like push the console such as Sonic Unleashed or The Last of Us or something open world like the Assassin's Creed or the GTA series are complex so chances of any problems that a game suffers from is quite high and unpredictable. Like someone could have played a game with no serious issues while someone else might have crashes or lots of glitches on the same console. For me, I haven't had any freezes with Sonic Unleashed.

While many developers use an engine such as the Unreal Engine that itself is known to have problems on the PS3, Sonic Unleashed uses a custom engine that also has a complex lighting system. Said lighting system was state of the art and only more recently other games have been using something similar to it. That's one of the reasons why Sonic Unleashed still looks great today. So Sega as far as I know did things a bit differently than other developers but more on the line with other Japanese developers as each game is differently programmed but may recycle code and often did. As far as I know, no one yet as disassembled (that's getting the code, it's not exactly the same as the developers but just enough to know what the game is going through) the game so I don't know if there's some bad programming in the game causing the freezes.

The crashing during the werehog scene sounds a lot like a memory leak though. A memory leak is caused by poorly written code using more memory than it should be. Since the PS3 doesn't have as much memory and has a different memory set up than the 360 eventually the game just crashes since its memory is full. It might also be out of memory due to lots of enemies. Then again it doesn't explain the Dynasty Warriors series that is known for having a lot of enemies on screen and that doesn't have problems. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a good example on the PS3 regarding this memory leak problem.

There is one question though. Have you applied the patch for the game? There is one for the game that might help with a couple of issues.

It could actually be the console itself, sometimes games might be more problematic on an early or a later model of a console as sometimes they change something. Earlier PS3s are more likely to overheat than later models and sometimes have issues with later games. Again knowing which model it is may help.

[Allan20]

Mayor D

It's a PS3 Super Slim

King Koopone

 

It updated when I first started it up.

If that's the patch then I did install it!

1 minute ago, Allan20 said:

Mayor D

It's a PS3 Super Slim

King Koopone

It's a PS3 Super Slim.

It updated when I first started it up.

If that's the patch then I did install it!

 

2 minutes ago, Allan20 said:

Mayor D

It's a PS3 Super Slim

King Koopone

 

It updated when I first started it up.

If that's the patch then I did install it!

 

Sorry, I'm not sure how to reply to you both separately! As I said, I'm not very tech-saavy! Lol

[Allan20]

9 hours ago, King Koopone said:

It's normal for a game to crash on the PS3 or any console, even PC games tend to crash. There are some hunches why but I don't think your used disc as anything to do with this. As you said, there are no scratches and I've known brand new games to freeze. I'll try to make it as simple as I can and using examples:

The PS3 is a console that it is hard to program, one of the hardest to program like the Saturn so developers would have a harder time to make a game. It is different than other consoles and often they have to rely on Sony for support. Games especially ones like push the console such as Sonic Unleashed or The Last of Us or something open world like the Assassin's Creed or the GTA series are complex so chances of any problems that a game suffers from is quite high and unpredictable. Like someone could have played a game with no serious issues while someone else might have crashes or lots of glitches on the same console. For me, I haven't had any freezes with Sonic Unleashed.

While many developers use an engine such as the Unreal Engine that itself is known to have problems on the PS3, Sonic Unleashed uses a custom engine that also has a complex lighting system. Said lighting system was state of the art and only more recently other games have been using something similar to it. That's one of the reasons why Sonic Unleashed still looks great today. So Sega as far as I know did things a bit differently than other developers but more on the line with other Japanese developers as each game is differently programmed but may recycle code and often did. As far as I know, no one yet as disassembled (that's getting the code, it's not exactly the same as the developers but just enough to know what the game is going through) the game so I don't know if there's some bad programming in the game causing the freezes.

The crashing during the werehog scene sounds a lot like a memory leak though. A memory leak is caused by poorly written code using more memory than it should be. Since the PS3 doesn't have as much memory and has a different memory set up than the 360 eventually the game just crashes since its memory is full. It might also be out of memory due to lots of enemies. Then again it doesn't explain the Dynasty Warriors series that is known for having a lot of enemies on screen and that doesn't have problems. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is a good example on the PS3 regarding this memory leak problem.

There is one question though. Have you applied the patch for the game? There is one for the game that might help with a couple of issues.

It could actually be the console itself, sometimes games might be more problematic on an early or a later model of a console as sometimes they change something. Earlier PS3s are more likely to overheat than later models and sometimes have issues with later games. Again knowing which model it is may help.

That is very informative! Thanks a lot! Is the "memory leak" you mentioned a normal thing for PS3s? I'm thinking it may have been a memory leak due to the amount of enemies on the screen, as that's the reason why it froze in the first werehog section!

[Toa Axis]

8 hours ago, Allan20 said:

That is very informative! Thanks a lot! Is the "memory leak" you mentioned a normal thing for PS3s? I'm thinking it may have been a memory leak due to the amount of enemies on the screen, as that's the reason why it froze in the first werehog section!

Memory leaks can happen on any machine, so long as some error in the code is causing the program to use more memory than it should be using. 

That sort of thing is entirely dependent on the developer.

[Lady Soniko]

Honestly I find the PS3 version of Unleashed to be the most glitchy/unstable version of the game of the 2 HD releases, having played it on 360 first before picking up a copy on PS3 much later, I often would find the slowdown and screen tearing much worse on PS3, and I think the most substantial glitch I've ever encountered was falling through the stage on Rooftop Run Day, and game freezes. So honestly I think it's just the PS3 version of the game.

[NegaMix]

Having been given the PS3 version by a friend recently, I've definitely noticed the difference, like how it can't seem to decide whether to play at 60fps or 20. I'm dreading the point where I get to Adabat...

[Haalyle]

There is a game breaking glitch only on 360 that isn't on PS3, so I tend to think PS3 is less glitchy than the 360 version.
Even then, I haven't had any freezes on my PS3 version.

[Allan20]

10 hours ago, Toa Axis said:

6 hours ago, Lady Soniko said:

Honestly I find the PS3 version of Unleashed to be the most glitchy/unstable version of the game of the 2 HD releases, having played it on 360 first before picking up a copy on PS3 much later, I often would find the slowdown and screen tearing much worse on PS3, and I think the most substantial glitch I've ever encountered was falling through the stage on Rooftop Run Day, and game freezes. So honestly I think it's just the PS3 version of the game.

Lady Soniko- Which instances did the PS3 version freeze on you?

6 hours ago, Lady Soniko said:

Honestly I find the PS3 version of Unleashed to be the most glitchy/unstable version of the game of the 2 HD releases, having played it on 360 first before picking up a copy on PS3 much later, I often would find the slowdown and screen tearing much worse on PS3, and I think the most substantial glitch I've ever encountered was falling through the stage on Rooftop Run Day, and game freezes. So honestly I think it's just the PS3 version of the game.

Memory leaks can happen on any machine, so long as some error in the code is causing the program to use more memory than it should be using. 

That sort of thing is entirely dependent on the developer.

Thank you for letting me know! Good to know it's somewhat of a normal thing!

[Menace2Society]

Been awhile since I last played the PS3 version of Unleashed, but I don't remember having any freezes during my playthrough of it back then, so I don't think it's supposed to be normal with the PS3 version. Probably just a memory leak like King Koopone said.

[Mad Convoy]

Freezes were definitely not normal for my experience on Unleashed PS3. The biggest issues I noticed in my experience is that the game would lag a lot in the Werehog games-- if I didn't take preventative action (e.g. luring already-loaded stragglers to their doom ahead of time to reduce the strain on the game for dealing with many enemies at once, taking out problematic enemies before they can cause problems, etc.) or simply got unlucky, it could sometimes get to RoL levels of bad. The most predictable trigger would be if too many enemies were loading at once or spawning while too many enemies were on-screen until I defeated them all. It would also lag when an enemies spawned more than one or two other enemies, so I knew that I would be screwed if I let Big Mother succeed in spawning more enemies (the Fright Master could also cause problems from time to time, but he only spawns one or two enemies at a time when most of the enemies on screen have been defeated, so he was usually fine, and Egg Pawns could make matters worse by calling over other Egg Pawns to the same area which sometimes causes problems as well). And it lagged whenever Sonic caught fire, yet the damage Sonic took from the fire did not have any lag, so I quickly learned to hate the Fire Master (as well as the Cure Master, who likes to heal the Fire Masters), and that its optimal to lure him near water ASAP before launching an attack. I seldom had any issues with the day stages as Sonic can't catch fire in them and there is rarely enough enemies onscreen to trigger the lag anyway, though the more detail heavy environments will lag a bit when I boost (While Adabat's detailed hub caused issues, Adabat's actual levels did not cause the most problems for me-- Shamar's did. It probably has something to do with the sheer scale of Shamar not to mention that Shamar's levels seems to have the most branching paths... and level gimmicks like QTEs... and Fire Masters everywhere...)

And yeah, it was every bit as annoying as it sounds-- again, while the day stages were mostly smooth, the Werehog stages could get to RoL levels in some sections if I, the player, didn't take matters into my own hands to prevent the lag or work through it. Don't get me wrong, I still found enjoyment from the game, and I know that most people didn't have those issues (hence why I don't hold them against the Werehog stages or compel everybody to hate the Fire Masters), but it sucks that I essentially have to take it upon myself to rectify the developer's mistakes. Especially when the Wii version has had zero issues with that in my experience.

(It also tends to manifest in weird ways. Eggmanland causes almost no problems despite the fact that per expectations, its huge and has tons of enemies coming at you at once. Empire City's Werehog stages also don't tend to get the problem as badly, if at all, as the other stages-- perhaps that's why I hold the unpopular opinion of actually liking its Werehog stages. Bosses that spawn enemies are also fine for the most part for some reason.)

All I can say is that you can find solutions. If it is indeed a memory issue, you might want to keep an eye out for individual enemies near the outside of a likely battle area, as there are some that you can lure out of the area without stepping on a trigger that initiates a battle, and these can be defeated ahead of time. This reduces the strain of loading the enemies for battle a lot, and you'll get better at doing it as you start to get to know the levels and where the game locks you into a fight. I also recall being able to temporarily stop enemies from spawning or healing other enemies if you damage them enough, which is generally a good thing to take advantage of even if you don't have issues with lag. Also, avoid bringing outside items and boxes into battle areas if you can-- in my experience, they don't cause problems on their own but rather worsen the effect of lag caused by enemies, plus the game will usually provide all the items and boxes you need in the battle area no problem and you can usually go back for the items after the battle anyway. Know your shortcuts too-- they often have less enemies and stuff to load, and you get a better time to boot.

Though luckily, you seem to be having a lot less problems that I have, so you might not have to resort to these sorts of things, but its something to keep in mind if the problem starts to become recurring.

[Star01]

thanks for info, you helped me with your questions

[Allan20]

On ‎2016‎-‎11‎-‎11 at 7:23 PM, Mad Convoy said:

Freezes were definitely not normal for my experience on Unleashed PS3. The biggest issues I noticed in my experience is that the game would lag a lot in the Werehog games-- if I didn't take preventative action (e.g. luring already-loaded stragglers to their doom ahead of time to reduce the strain on the game for dealing with many enemies at once, taking out problematic enemies before they can cause problems, etc.) or simply got unlucky, it could sometimes get to RoL levels of bad. The most predictable trigger would be if too many enemies were loading at once or spawning while too many enemies were on-screen until I defeated them all. It would also lag when an enemies spawned more than one or two other enemies, so I knew that I would be screwed if I let Big Mother succeed in spawning more enemies (the Fright Master could also cause problems from time to time, but he only spawns one or two enemies at a time when most of the enemies on screen have been defeated, so he was usually fine, and Egg Pawns could make matters worse by calling over other Egg Pawns to the same area which sometimes causes problems as well). And it lagged whenever Sonic caught fire, yet the damage Sonic took from the fire did not have any lag, so I quickly learned to hate the Fire Master (as well as the Cure Master, who likes to heal the Fire Masters), and that its optimal to lure him near water ASAP before launching an attack. I seldom had any issues with the day stages as Sonic can't catch fire in them and there is rarely enough enemies onscreen to trigger the lag anyway, though the more detail heavy environments will lag a bit when I boost (While Adabat's detailed hub caused issues, Adabat's actual levels did not cause the most problems for me-- Shamar's did. It probably has something to do with the sheer scale of Shamar not to mention that Shamar's levels seems to have the most branching paths... and level gimmicks like QTEs... and Fire Masters everywhere...)

And yeah, it was every bit as annoying as it sounds-- again, while the day stages were mostly smooth, the Werehog stages could get to RoL levels in some sections if I, the player, didn't take matters into my own hands to prevent the lag or work through it. Don't get me wrong, I still found enjoyment from the game, and I know that most people didn't have those issues (hence why I don't hold them against the Werehog stages or compel everybody to hate the Fire Masters), but it sucks that I essentially have to take it upon myself to rectify the developer's mistakes. Especially when the Wii version has had zero issues with that in my experience.

(It also tends to manifest in weird ways. Eggmanland causes almost no problems despite the fact that per expectations, its huge and has tons of enemies coming at you at once. Empire City's Werehog stages also don't tend to get the problem as badly, if at all, as the other stages-- perhaps that's why I hold the unpopular opinion of actually liking its Werehog stages. Bosses that spawn enemies are also fine for the most part for some reason.)

All I can say is that you can find solutions. If it is indeed a memory issue, you might want to keep an eye out for individual enemies near the outside of a likely battle area, as there are some that you can lure out of the area without stepping on a trigger that initiates a battle, and these can be defeated ahead of time. This reduces the strain of loading the enemies for battle a lot, and you'll get better at doing it as you start to get to know the levels and where the game locks you into a fight. I also recall being able to temporarily stop enemies from spawning or healing other enemies if you damage them enough, which is generally a good thing to take advantage of even if you don't have issues with lag. Also, avoid bringing outside items and boxes into battle areas if you can-- in my experience, they don't cause problems on their own but rather worsen the effect of lag caused by enemies, plus the game will usually provide all the items and boxes you need in the battle area no problem and you can usually go back for the items after the battle anyway. Know your shortcuts too-- they often have less enemies and stuff to load, and you get a better time to boot.

Though luckily, you seem to be having a lot less problems that I have, so you might not have to resort to these sorts of things, but its something to keep in mind if the problem starts to become recurring.

I had lots of slowdown in the Eggman Land stage, but luckily, no freezes during those either of the sections! I was worried it would happen, as the slowdown had caused freezes before, but thank goodness none happened! I would have been VERY angry if it had frozen and I had to re-do the entire over-an-hour long Eggman Land stage!

[Allan20]

So, I was able to beat the game fine a short time after I made a post here, but I still have some questions on the matter. First off, I've seen LPs (Let's plays) of the PS3 version of Sonic Unleashed and they've seemed to have any lags or freezes of any kind, which made me realize that my issue may have been caused by me having a lot of downloaded games from the PSN, so maybe my memory was too full and started freezing as a result, if that can happen. Can it? Secondly, I remembers someone mentioning that The Last of Us can cause a lot of issues similarly to Sonic Unleashed since it's hard on the PS3, but I played that before I got Sonic Unleashed and didn't have any problems with that, which made me think that maybe it's because Sonic Unleashed is an older PS3 game, and The Last of Us is a newer title! I have other Sonic games on the PS3 (06 and Generations) that don't cause me many issues except for the occasional slowdown, and not counting Sonic 06's numerous issues, it's more of a Generations thing, but even then, I've never had freezes with Generations! Even 06 ran better than Unleashed did, which is why my last question is- does Unleashed have issues due to the Hedgehog engine? Since 06 and Generations don't use the Hedgehog Engine to my knowledge, that's the only other logical explanation for that! Any info would be appreciated! Sorry in advance for reviving this old thread, but I still don't know my way around this fully, since I've only gone on this help forum twice, plus once on another forum for other PS3 games that aren't Sonic related!

[FriendBot]

When Unleashed was released, I think it was obvious that the Hedgehog Engine wasn't properly optimized yet on the PS3/X360 so there was a good amount of technical issues back then, especially the slowdown which were really apparent during Jungle Joyride Day. But by the time Gens came around, Sonic Team had a better idea on the Hedgehog Engine and here we are.

scrappinganeardecadeoldengineforabetteronelmao