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Block Spotify Free Ads in Windows with EZBlocker

Updated on October 10, 2015 4:30 pm

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

EZBlocker options: Mute Only Spotify, Block Banner Ads

If you’re using Windows and listening to music through Spotify Free then you might be interested in EZBlocker, a small piece of software that auto mutes ads and blocks banner ads. EZBlocker stays open the entire time Spotify is open constantly reading its state to see if you are listening to songs or if it’s serving you ads and proceeding accordingly. It can mute audio ads using Windows’ Volume Mixer, block banner ads from showing up in the user interface and sometimes block all audio ads all together.

EZBlocker functions similar to how Chrome or Firefox extensions can block ads in your web browser so in a way you could think of it as a 3rd party extension for Spotify. For the more technical EZBlocker analyzes the Spotify API being sent to your computer and “uses non-intrusive methods to read the Spotify client to extract song information” and block or mute ads using that information. The official documentation goes on to say: “Because EZBlocker does not modify the Spotify client in any way, it is less buggy compared to other ad blockers.”

It was developed by a university student using .NET and the language C Sharp (C#) which is all created by Microsoft so naturally it works with Windows using .NET Framework 3.5 which comes standard with Windows 10. I tested using Windows 10 but in the comment section of the project page users have reported it works on Windows 7 so I’d guess it works fine with Windows 8/8.1 as well.

Download and run EZBlocker

You’re going to want to download the latest version 1.5.1.4 (March 14, 2015) at the time of writing this from the project page: https://www.ericzhang.me/projects/spotify-ad-blocker-ezblocker/. No install is required you just simply run EZBlocker.exe and it will launch EZBlocker and Spotify automatically. Check to activate options: “Mute Only Spotify” and “Block Banner Ads” and you might need to restart for it all to take effect.

EZBlocker needs to always be open for it to work so I recommend adding having it start when Windows first boots up. Then can be done very simply by copying EZBlocker.exe to the Startup folder located at C:\Users\(User-Name)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup where (User-Name) is your own Windows user name. Now when you restart Windows EZBlocker should launch automatically along with Spotify!

If you want know exactly what EZBlocker is up to you can even review the source doe because this is an open-source project hosted on GitHub. Allowing others to review code your is always a good sign the creator is being up front and legitimate about their intentions. I tested using an older version of Spotify: 1.0.12.161.g64b0797c and updated to the latest Windows 64-bit version: 1.0.14.214.g4dfabc51 but the developer says EZBlocker should work with with any 1.0.X version of Spotify.

Spotify with EZBlocker running on Windows 10

Posted in Spotify, Windows 10 Tagged with: .NET, C#, EZBlocker, GitHub, Microsoft, OSS, Spotify, Windows, Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1

i7-6700K available at Newegg as combo only

Updated on September 22, 2015 7:41 pm

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

Intel Core i7 6700K available at Newegg as combo only: “This item can only be purchased with a combo”

I wrote about the availability of Intel’s Core i7-6700K in the United Stats recently and noted it was not available at any of the major US computer parts retailers. Today, Newegg does have it in stock with one catch: you must buy it as bundle. If you try to add an i7-6700K to your cart you get an error: “Sorry, this gift item is part of a promotional special and cannot be manually added to your cart” with bundles listed below it.

If you’re building a brand new desktop computer and need to pick all the parts then these bundles may not be so bad but if you’ve just been looking to buy an Intel Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz alone then you’ve out of luck. Some bundles come with a motherboard, memory, and of course the Skylake Core i7-6700K but most are just motherboards and the i7 CPU.

Here are the combos from cheapest to most expensive, all of them come with the i7-6700K:

GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 (rev. 1.0)	$559^.98
ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII RANGER	$579.98
GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming GT (rev. 1.0)	$639.98
ASUS ROG MAXIMUS VIII RANGER G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000)	$699.99
GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming 7 (rev. 1.0) CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000)	$699.99
MSI Z170A GAMING M7 CORSAIR Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 (PC4 24000)	$712.99
GIGABYTE GA-Z170X-Gaming G1 (rev. 1.0)	$839.98
SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5″ 2 TB SATA III 3-D Vertical SSD	$1,089.98
SAMSUNG 850 PRO 2.5″ 2 TB SATA III 3-D Vertical SSD	$1,289.98
AMD FirePro W9100 100-505725 16GB Workstation Video Card	$3,329.98

Intel i7 6700K available Newegg as combo only

Newegg Intel Core i7 6700K Combos

Posted in Hardware, Intel, Processors Tagged with: AMD, ASUS, Corsair, GIGABYTE, i7-6700K, Intel, MSI, Newegg, Samsung

HuK & MC Archon win StarCraft II Red Bull Battle Grounds

Updated on September 20, 2015 3:27 pm

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

HuK & MC get interviewed after winning Red Bull Battle Grounds

HuK & MC being interviewed after winning Red Bull Battle Grounds in Washington, D.C

The first pro gaming tournament for StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void just ended with the win of team HuK & MC playing as Protoss Archon who received $15,000 in prize money. The tournament took place in Washington, D.C. and had a prize pool of $30,000 according to Liquipedia. This was the first major tournament for Archon mode and Legacy of the Void.

Archon mode is a new multiplayer mode coming in the last expansion for StarCraft II named Legacy of the Void. Current beta players have been able to preview this new game mode as well as the pros for this tournament. Players share a base and have the ability to build and control units along with everything else in the normal multiplayer game.

New units, new balance, new Archon mode

HuK & MC successfully deployed the new Protoss unit Adept to overwhelm and conquer the Terran Bomber & MMA who won silver and $8,000. Representing the Zerg race, viOLet & MaSa received 3rd place and $4,000. 4th place went to DongRaeGu (DRG) & TRUE winning $3,000. No doubt new units and this new multiplayer mode, Archon mode, has introduced new dynamics to the game. There have been team based StarCraft II tournaments but only for regular one versus one games (1v1) but nothing like this where two players play another two players sharing a base and race.

New units like the Adept are part of the new balance concerning the multiplayer game of StarCraft II which is played professionally across North America as well as Europe and Asia in tournaments just like Red Bull Battle Grounds. Blizzard has been releasing patches to address balancing issues and tweak the new multiplayer modes of StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void which will be the final chapter in the StarCraft II trilogy. Just two days ago Blizzard posted an update: “Balance Update — September 17, 2015” which made changes to Chrono boost, Disruptors, Photon Overcharge, Calldown, Cyclone, Liberators, Creep, Overlord transport, Roach burrow, and Spawn Larva.

Congratulations HuK & MC!

Posted in Games, Legacy of the Void, StarCraft II Tagged with: Blizzard, Pro Gaming, Red Bull Battle Grounds, StarCraft II

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void brings team-based Archon mode

Updated on September 19, 2015 7:17 pm

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

StarCraft II Legacy of the Void logo

StarCraft II beta players have the option to try out a new team-based mode named after the infamous Protoss unit: Archon mode. StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void officially launches November 10th but the beta is in full swing. In Archon mode two players share a base and have the ability to build and control units along with everything else one would do in the normal multiplayer. Generally, one player builds the economy (macro) while the other attacks and positions offensive units (micro). Team coordination is a must else you might forget an important tech upgrade or start stepping on your partners toes.

Archon Mode – Two Player Single Base Contro;

Shared bases is nothing new in the StarCraft world though. In 1998 Blizzard released a similar feature in StarCraft: Brood War called Team Melee. The big difference between the two is Archon mode only allows the team to pick one race versus the old Team Melee that allowed mixed race teams. Other than that it’s basically the same idea of starting off with a single base and sharing everything including resources, food and of course the buildings and units.

New Starcraft II multiplayer units & Allied Commanders

Besides Archon mode, Legacy of the Void also brings another new mode called Allied Commanders which is described as “Objective Based Co-Op” and of course new units for the multiplayer game like it’s previous expansions StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm. The new expansion is Protoss specific since the other two races had their own expansions/base games devoted to them.

New multiplayer units for Protoss are Adept & Disruptor, for Terran Cyclone & Liberator, and for Zerg Ravager & Lurker! That’s right the classic StarCraft: Brood War unit that burrows and splashes spikes on ground units is going to be back.

StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void new multiplayer units

Posted in Games, Legacy of the Void, StarCraft II Tagged with: Battle.net, Blizzard, StarCraft II

Intel’s Skylake Core i7-6700K availability still low in the US

Updated on March 8, 2016 6:58 pm

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

Intel Core i7-6700K Skylake packaging box design

Intel Core i7-6700K packaging box design

August 5th was the official launch of Intel’s new 6th Generation processors codename Skylake. Two new chips were released: the Intel Core i5-6600K 6M Skylake Quad-Core 3.5 GHz and the Intel Core i7-6700K 8M Skylake Quad-Core 4.0 GHz but at the time of writing this, 44 days since launch, you can only buy the i5-6600K easily from online retailers in the United States while the i7-6700K remains out of stock. Across the pond, it’s widely available in European online retailers and is being sold by 3rd party merchants for a tidy profit riding the wave of uncertainty that has cloaked the Skylake i7 launch.

Over the last week I’ve tracked the i7-6700K across major US computer parts retailers: Amazon, Newegg, NCIXUS, TigerDirect and the it’s been Out of Stock for all of them consistently. Using Google Shopping I did find some lesser-known retailers who offer to ship to the United States but for way more than the MSRP. Picking the seller with the highest rating, Play-Asia, they charge $419.99 with $14.90 shipping coming out to a total price of $434.89. Intel’s MSRP for the i7-6700K is $350 so that’s a difference of $84.89 which is roughly a 24% markup.

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Update March 8th 2016 – The Skylake Core i7-6700K has been in stock steadily for the last few months so this article is dated and for archival purposes only. Considering buying one at the link to left!

Intel Skylake i7 6700K Availability is mostly Out of Stocki n the US

Intel i7 6700K Availability is mostly Out of Stock in the United States

Europe has plenty Skylake Core i7-6700K

Europe on the other hand has plenty Core i7-6700K in stock. PCPartPicker’s UK site has 8 online retailers to choose from ranging from £284.99 – £349.99 though some do not deliver to the US. The current currency conversion from £284.99 is about $442.80 USD at the time of writing this, which is only slightly more than Play-Asia’s price.

Intel i7 6700K Availability Europe PCPartPicker in stock

The other processor released, Intel Core i5-6600K, is widely available in the US and can be bought at this very moment from Newegg for $249.99 and TigerDirect for $239.99 much closer to the MSRP of $225. Obviously, availability is having a big impact on the price of the i7-6700K causing 3rd party merchants to take advantage of the scarcity. It’s been 44 days since the launch of Skylake so speculation has run rampant about what’s going on with Intel’s Skylake i7 chips. The /r/intel subreddit has been vocal in their criticism of Intel since launch, the latest post “Is 6700k ever going to be in NA?” lSherlockl asks:

I have a rapidly dying desktop on my hands and everything for its replacement except the CPU that released over a month ago and somehow still is not available in america but every other country.

Comments follow discussing the situation, here are some:

Intel should at least let us know that it will be available in NA in two or three months later instead of being silent about it or just saying Soon™, some of us, would completely understand and slow down the hype train, or maybe hold off on buying the rest of the components. – HJTh3Best

NCIX in Canada has slowly begun receiving / shipping theirs out. They won’t be “in stock” for a while though at this rate. Lots of preorders – r3animate

20% is slight? Thats a huge markup on a $350 chip. Honestly at this point people are likely better off waiting for Broadwell-e or zen. By the time Skylake is actually available the’ll be out. – LocalDiscNTFS

For tracking prices I used NowInStock.net which is a great tool if you are buying computer parts.

Posted in Hardware, Intel, Processors Tagged with: Amazon, i5-6600K, i7-6700K, Intel, NCIXUS, Newegg, Skylake, TigerDirect

Cities: Skylines a community driven city-building game

Updated on September 18, 2015 3:18 pm

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

Cities: Skylines logo

It’s been six months since the March 10th launch of the city-building game Cities: Skylines and it’s been purchased by roughly 1.5 million people on Steam according to steamspy with 216,929 having played in the last two weeks. I’ve created some amazing towns with the help of community added assets and modifications. Since Cities: Skylines released an impressive 56,549 items of user created mods, buildings, vehicles, save games and everything in between have been uploaded to the game’s Steam Workshop, a place to share and subscribe to others’ original content. Colossal Order, developers of Cities: Skylines, have also released patches to fix bugs and tweak functionality and in a week will launch the first sequel to the game Cities Skylines: After Dark.

Despite it’s very epic sounding name, Colossal Order is a modest Finnish based game studio that has a small team of 18 dedicated to the development of Cities: Skylines according to an interview with CEO Mariina Hallikainen over at Wolf’s Gaming Blog posted on May 11, 2015 and the team was even smaller in early development. With that in mind the last six months have been extremely busy for this fledgling city-building game especially when review after review compared it to the SimCity franchise that has the backing of giant Electronic Arts. Besides both games being city-builders they could not be more far apart in terms of community relations and support of mods.

Fundamentally, Colossal Order could not be more different than Electronic Arts both in size and approach. Colossal Order has fully embraced the modding community and encourages people to add their own customized buildings, cars, buses, etc. through their in-game asset editor. The asset editor and map editor are both baked into the game directly so you can create all the original objects and maps you desire! They also integrated Steam Workshop support natively which facilitates uploads and downloads of this custom content to make it super easy to publish or subscribe to custom assets and mods. Besides user created content, since it’s release official patches have fixed bugs and extended functionality of the game. Colossal Order is a company who actively listens to it’s community and responds back.

Cities: Skylines After Dark list of free content features patch September 24th 2015

The last big patch released on July 1st, 1.1.1b, added underground pedestrian tunnels along with auto save, 30 new growables buildings and more. Before that patch 1.1.0 added train tunnels. You’ve always been able to build roads and highways underground but adding trains and pedestrian paths really opened up new possibilities for city designs and planning. The sequel, Cities Skylines: After Dark will also release many new features for free under a patch if users choose not to pay next week. The developers actually created an infographic that details all the freebies in the patch and posted it to the /r/CitiesSkylines/ subreddit the other day:

List of the free content features
Coming with the Patch on September 24th 2015
New Day and Night Cycle
Shoreline Now Raises Land Value
70 Free Zoned Buildings
Reworked Crime System
“Police now capture criminals.”
More Crime During Nighttime
Updated Economy Functionality
Styles For Modding
Modders can now define their own buildings sets, such “European buildings” or “medieval”

The other big difference with Colossal Order is price, the retail release of Cities: Skylines was $29.99 which is more than most indie Greenlight games but much less than the $59.99 Electronic Arts sold SimCity for through it’s Origin service at release. Besides the free patch with the items listed above there will be even more new stuff added in the sequel which will set you back only $14.99. It’s published by Paradox so if you want more information about it check out there site at: https://www.paradoxplaza.com/cities-skylines-after-dark.

Cities:Skyline Steam Workshop mods, buildings, assets, vehicles, saved games

Cities: Skylines Steam Workshop mods, buildings, assets, vehicles, saved games

Posted in Cities: Skylines, Games, Steam Tagged with: Cities Skylines: After Dark, Cities: Skylines, city-building, Colossal Order, Electronic Arts, SimCity, Steam Workshop

Fixing WordPress Sitemap.xml Error on Line at Column

Updated on November 19, 2018 6:04 pm

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

WordPress sitemap.xml: This page contains the following errors: error on line 3 at column 6: XML declaration allowed only at the start of the document

Working on a WordPress site I kept seeing this error on my sitemap.xml “This page contains the following errors: error on line 3 at column 6: XML declaration allowed only at the start of the document” which basically messed up the sitemap producing invalid XML. I was using a plugin to generate the sitemap, Google XML Sitemaps, so at first I thought that might be the issue so I tested another one, Better WordPress Google XML Sitemaps, but it was also messed up with the same error.

I’ve been working on a number of WordPress sites using this same plugin without seeing this error so I pulled up some working sitemaps along with the broken version. A quick comparison of the source code for each sitemap.xml and I immediately noticed the culprit at the top of the broken sitemap there where two blank blank lines aka white space at the very top. We know this is the issue because the error specifially mentions line 3 which is the first line after the white space ends. Check out my screenshot of the XML source:

WordPress sitemap.xml white space at top

Fixing the WordPress white space issue above XML

A search of the Google and I quickly found multiple posts discussing the issue. It’s not just the sitemap that is messed up but all of the XML generated by WordPress like RSS feeds. Most recommend activating a different theme (like Twenty Fifteen or any that come by default) and disable plugins to try to find what is creating the white space. Honestly, that might work for some but I was using the same base theme and plugin on a different site with the sitemap.xml working so I did not want to waste time with that.

Most forum discussions lead to a 2010 blog post: WordPress Remove Blank Line From RSS Feed – wordpress error on line 2 at column 6: XML declaration allowed only at the start of the document. I recommend reading this post to learn more about this issue because it’s well written and informative but it’s not very up to date so I had to modify the directions a bit to get it working on modern WordPress.

Basically you need to download a small PHP script/file called wejnswpwhitespacefix.php and include that in your WordPress. The original post includes the script at the top of the index.php file but that did not actually work for me on WordPress version 4.2.5 so that original method may not work anymore for latest versions. Plus, adding it to index.php is not the best place because that gets updated for new version of WordPress so you would have to make the change each time you update the core. Some people had also commented down that page that the index.php method was not working for 4.0 so I recommend using the alternate version below.

Include the script wejnswpwhitespacefix.php into your theme’s functions.php

I added the file wejnswpwhitespacefix.php to my theme folder and then included it using my theme’s functions.php file. Every WordPress theme should have this file with code already in it most likely so all you need to do is add this one line at the very top of the file functions.php right under the <?php tag:

<?php
include("wejnswpwhitespacefix.php");
//the rest of the functions.php like before below, the original code already in it

Save that and you’re done! Make sure the wejnswpwhitespacefix.php and your functions.php are in the same folder else you will need to change the path to that file. Now hitting refresh the sitemap.xml works along with RSS feeds and any other XML WordPress generates! Here is a screenshot of the valid XML from this very site sans the white space at top like it should be.

WordPress sitemap.xml valid not white space

WordPress sitemap.xml valid wihout white space http://3.128.157.198/sitemap.xml

Posted in Code, Issues, PHP, WordPress Tagged with: PHP, WordPress

Watch US Open Tennis on WatchESPN without commercials

Updated on September 11, 2015 5:04 pm

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

The US Open Tennis Championships is an exciting time if you’re a tennis fan like myself. It’s been a week since it started and there has already has been so much upset and and close matches you don’t want to miss a single second of it. Using WatchESPN you can pick between multiple matches to watch along with some other special Internet only feeds that don’t cut to commercial like the regular ESPN coverage does.

WatchESPN app Featured US Open Fire TV

First off you need to have the WatchESPN app downloaded and activated; it’s a simple process that I outlined the steps to in my last post. In prior years the US Open had it’s own free steaming through their website but not anymore. Now, the website only uses ESPN and you’ve got to login through your service provider.

If you are familiar with the WatchESPN app here is the simple run-down: To watch without commercials always select the match that has the players name’s only and ESPN 3 logo! The ESPN feed that has commercials uses a generic name like “Primetime at the US Open” and will have the ESPN/ESPN 2 logo.

If you are new to the WatchESPN app then open up the app on your device. I’ve been using my Fire TV to watch so all my screenshots will be coming from there but it should look similar across the platforms. To the left is the main menu with buttons: Featured, Sports, Channel, and Settings. Featured is open by default so if you see the US Open icon you can navigate to it straight away and select it. By far this is the fastest way to view US Open matches but you could also go to Sports then Tennis or Channel and find coverage on ESPN / ESPN 2 / ESPN 3.

If you use Featured > US Open a square pops up with the label Tennis at the top and all the matches bellow it. If go through Sports > Tennis it load the matches to the right side. Either way you are in the right spot, now which steam should you select?

WatchESPN FireTV US Open (5) S. Wawrink vs. (15) K. Anderson (Louis Armstrong Stadium) (Quarterfinals)

You’ll notice most matches say the name of the athletes playing. In my screenshot I see “(5) S. Wawrink vs. (15) K. Anderson (Louis Armstrong Stadium) (Quarterfinals)”. Also the “US Open Chase Review Multicam (Quarterfinals)” and later matches. At the very bottom of the list is “Primetime at The US Open (Men’s Quarterfinals)”.

To watch without commercials always select the match that has the players name’s only! The ESPN feed with commercials uses the generic Primetime at The US Open name.

Using the Sports > Tennis makes it even easier because it shows the logo of the station it’s on. All the player matches have ESPN3 logos while the generic name has the ESPN2. Or use Channel > ESPN 3 to only see the individual match feeds (this option will show you non-tennis games as well).

WatchESPN FireTV Sports > Tennis view of US Open matches

ESPN 3 match feeds show everything including the players sitting down munching on bananas to crowd shots and distance New York skylines. You really get to see more of the process of tennis on these continuous feeds. Occasionally you’ll hear some sound checks or off the cuff banter between broadcasters but that just adds to the charm in my opinion.

Chase Review Multicam

If you want to watch multiple matches at once you can use the “US Open Chase Review Multicam” steam. At times it will just show one match but with multiple views like on both players and the normal court (so 3 different video boxes) but in earlier rounds it would show multiple matches and go between them.

Posted in Apps, Fire TV, WatchESPN Tagged with: Fire TV, WatchESPN

Install & Activate WatchESPN for Fire TV

Updated on November 14, 2018 6:44 pm

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — 12 Comments ↓

If you’ve got access to a cable or satellite subscription chances are you’ve got the ability to activate the WatchESPN app and start watching live sports. It’s simple to activate the service and start watching live sports from Fire TV! Besides cable and satellite, you can also use some online streaming service to activate. First, download the WatchESPN app. Second, use the login information from your service provider to login.

WatchESPN icon Fire TV home screen

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You can install the app a few different ways. By using voice search on the remote and saying “ESPN” or through the Amazon website for the WatchESPN for Fire TV app located here or by clicking the WatchESPN Icon box to the left. It’s always free to download the app but you will have to activate after installation. The WatchESPN app will download and install creating an icon on your Home screen under Recent. Launch the WatchESPN app and the user interface will load up showing you different live games but they will all be locked until you activate.

Activate WatchESPN on Fire TV

The activation prompt should pop up if you try to select anything stating “Watch Live TV” and “Before you can view live ESPN events and shows, we will need to verify that you are a customer…” and then it gives you the steps to activate WatchESPN along with your activation code:

Step 1

Go to your computer or mobile device.

Step 2

Visit http://es.pn/firetv or http://www.espn.com/watch/activate?device=firetv

Step 3

Enter your activation code: VAV4** (your activation code will be completely different than mine)

Step 4

When complete, your program will begin playing momentarily.

Once you go to the ESPN link it redirects to https://espn.go.com/watchespn/activate?device=firetv and this is the page you select your service provider (cable or satellite subscription) and enter your activation code. Once you fill in those details click Continue and that’s it! Your Fire TV will automatically update and be activated. It will redirect to the game you wanted to watch or you can select your sport of preference and start watching!

WatchESPN Fire TV Activation screen Step 3 shows the activation code starting with “VAV4” (your activation code will be completely different but in the same spot)

Posted in Apps, Fire TV, Guide, WatchESPN Tagged with: Fire TV, WatchESPN

MGS V: The Phantom Pain server problems & connection issues

Updated on September 18, 2015 3:32 pm

Posted on September 3, 2015 by Andrew Hlinsky — No Comments ↓

Like most game launches the new Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain had it’s share of launch day issues connecting to the game server. Compounding this issue is the fact the game auto connects to the servers when first launched even though you just want to play single player. Actually you have to play single player because Online mode has not launched for any platforms yet! Considering how much of port to the PC this was it’s not surprising to see the problems. Here are the errors I saw launch day:

Metal Gear Solid V - Server Problem (Follow up) We are currently experencing server connection issues, so the following temporary measures have been taken to rememedy the problem.

Metal Gear Solid V – Server Problem (Follow up) We are currently experiencing server connection issues, so the following temporary measures have been taken to remedy the problem.

Metal Gear Solid V – Server Problem. Encountering difficulties connecting to online at this time.

Here are the other non-error messages that appear next under Online Information:

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Finally Launches! A new patch was released on September 1st. 2015.

Metal Gear Solid V - Daily Login Bonuses no avaible. Simply start the game in online mode once per day to recieve the following rewards!

Metal Gear Solid V – Daily Login Bonuses no available. Simply start the game in online mode once per day to recieve the following rewards!

Regular maintenance schedule.

Downloadable content has been added. Mother Base Staff can now join your unit.

Posted in Issues, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Tagged with: Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain