PS3-TF2: PlayStation 3 Team Fortress 2 Community

Please visit and sign aat08's petition to get EA and Valve to fix The Orange Box on the PS3.

Electronic Arts, We Demand Equal Rights!

He's documented the myriad of issues the plague us PS3 owners of TOB, many of which have already been addressed via patches for both the PC and 360 versions!

Original by DoubleJ_2 and discussion thread can be found in this topic.

If you are:

1. Trying to connect to TF2 and are stuck at the "Connecting to EA Online" screen
2. Have tried opening ports and still unable to connect
3. Have tried other workarounds that didn't work (such as signing in after you start the game)
4. If you made a new PSN ID, with no friends (a virgin account), it will connect and work without problems.

Then this is for you.

The skinny: Basically, EA made some mistakes when they ported this game to the PS3. One of their apparent flubs was messing up a value in the code relating to the PSN friends list.

The Bottom (Dollar!) Line: If you have more than 31 friends in your PSN friends list (not including yourself), the servers cannot resolve this, and you will not be able to connect to TF2. Your game will just sit at the "Connecting to EA" screen and you'll be forced to hard restart.

How do I fix this? Very simple. You need to trim your friends list to 31 people, MAX.

I don't have more than 31 friends, and I still can't connect. What do I do now? I don't know. You are one of the unlucky few who continue to have issues with the EA servers, regardless of port forwarding and trying other shortcuts. Your best shot is trying to get ahold of EA (easier said than done) and working with them to resolve your issues.

This isn't a fix! Yes, we realize this. But it's a workaround, and it seems to have worked in 99% of the cases where people (including me) had the game working one day, and it broke the next. I know it is not optimal, but we think that this is a better alternative to not playing the game and missing out of the awesomeness that is TF2.

Update 3/23: Post-Patch Issues

So...You've downloaded the patch, but now you can't connect. Sounds like you've got the same issue as Bones. Apparently, the patch only upped the number of friends you can have, not fixing the problem entirely.

What do I do? According to Bones, 44 is now the magic number. If you still can't connect to TF2, and your friends list is more than 44, trim your list.

For more information: Follow this link.

Original by DoubleJ_2 and discussion thread can be found in this topic.

Word dude, weren't you the guy from the other connection problems thread? Yep, that's me.

What's this thread about? Since even before the patch, there have been some issues with USB microphones and The Orange Box for the Playstation 3. For some reason, mics will occasionally stop functioning (at various times, in game or even when you first jump onto a server) in spite of being properly set up before you load the game.

How do I tell if my mic is not working, or whether people just aren't responding/don't have mics? If your mic is malfunctioning, there will be NO MICROPHONE ICON when you hold down the voice button. This should indicate right away that there is a problem. If you DO get the icon (comes up in the bottom right hand corner of the screen above your ammo/clip info), then it may be that you're in a game with folks without the benefit of being wired for sound.

Furthermore, a more sure-fire way to tell is to log off of your server and head to the TF2 menu, where you can check the VOICE configuration under OPTIONS. If there is a malfunction, your device will be greyed out, and your voice will not be picked up on the meter. NOTE: You cannot access the VOICE configuration menu while you're on a server.

How do I fix this problem? The problem is solved relatively quickly, and seems to be permanent for the duration of the time you have the PS3 turned on.

STEP 1: Determine that your USB mic is malfunctioning according to the abovementioned conditions.

STEP 2: Preferably, you can quit the server you're in and head back to the TF2 menu, but alternatively, try switching to spectator, or, as Dr. Peter Venkman would say ala Ghostbusters II, find a "nice shady spot."

STEP 3: Remove the USB cable from the USB port on your PS3.

STEP 4: Wait a few seconds, and then re-insert the mic's USB cable into the USB port on your PS3.

STEP 5 (optional): To confirm this is working, go into the Options > Voice config section, and you'll be able to see that your device is working. You may, for assurance, want to click on your device, and ensure that it is no longer greyed out. Once you do this, your voice should register on the meter.

How long will this last? As far as I can tell, it will last until you quit out of The Orange Box. You may need to lather, rinse, and repeat as necessary.

Does this work for Bluetooth microphones? I have no idea. I only have a USB microphone.

Does this work for ALL USB microphones compatible with the PS3? As far as I can tell, from the other people I've spoken with.

Special thanks goes to: Bones00 and onew1ng for bringing this to my attention, and ExMakina and Khmer209 for confirming that it works.

How can I help? Keep this FAQ's thread bumped.

Update 3/30: After playing some nice games with BottomDollar and Bones tonight, I got an unexplainable mic glitch when I tried to join a new server (Hydro). My mic totally quit on me, and the unplug/replug method did NOT work for some reason. I quit the game, and even on the XMB, the PS3 would not acknowledge my mic (in fact the system seemed to be choking on it whenever I'd try to go into the accessory menu).

I ended up having to turn off the console and turn it on again to get it to work. Don't know what EA did, but apparently there is something causing new issues with the mics in the wake of the patch.

If this happens to you at the level it did to me this evening, remember you'll need to turn off your console. That seems to be the worst case scenario though, previously the unplug/replug method worked.