January of 2001 was both the worse and best month of all time.
On January 29th, Phantasy Star Online, Sonic Team's magnum opus of online gaming, was released for the Dreamcast. One of the best Online games EVER, in my opinion, it did things alot of people never thought possible on a console, and more importantly over dial-up.
For the uninitiated, think a more advanced sci-fi gauntlet or a slightly dumbed down diablo.
Wikipedia entry follows:
Phantasy Star Online (PSO) is an online RPG title, originally released for Dreamcast in 2000. A bugfix/upgrade edition, entitled Phantasy Star Online ver.2, was released for the Dreamcast the following year. This version was also later ported to Microsoft Windows, but only released in Asia.
Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II was later released for Nintendo GameCube and Xbox in 2002, featuring a whole new Episode II alongside with the original Episode I. Consequently, Phantasy Star Online Episode III C.A.R.D. Revolution was released for Nintendo GameCube in 2003, including a sole new Episode III with a changed gameplay formula, in the form of a card game. And in turn, Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst, a port of the Xbox version, was released for Microsoft Windows in 2004 through digital distribution, featuring both Episode I and Episode II, and adding a new Episode IV, NPCs, quests, team system and server-side saving system.
The Phantasy Star Online titles are a sub-series of Sega's Phantasy Star series of games that began in 1987. With the exception of Episode III, the PSO games themselves are simple hack and slash type role-playing games where the player slays monsters, levels up, buys new equipment, etc. The online Phantasy Stars differ from the previous games of the series by offering a real-time – rather than turn-based – approach to combat, seamlessly integrating this with exploration and plot developments.
And then, two years later, SEGA decides to throw in the towel of hardware development.
Sigh.
But, Phantasy Star Online is still awesome. While all the servers for the original game(s) have been shut down officially, we now have homebrew servers.
Enter SCHTHACK, the homebrew private servers set up for the game. It can be played with all the original versions, which the exception of Episode III on the Gamecube and the Xbox releases.
For Dreamcast players, if you have the broadband adapter, all you have to do is change a few DNS numbers to tell the game to connect elsewhere, or if you have Dial-Up a couple of codes via a codebreaker disc works.
For the Gamecube, tweaks also need to be made to the connectivity settings.
But for most, the easiest thing to do is just download the PC version free of charge. I'd love to play on my Dreamcast, personally, but the lack of Broadband Adapter prevents me from doing so.
You can download the PC version of PSO: Blue Burst from the SCHTHACK website here. which includes Episode 1, 2, and 4, and works perfectly on any modern computer.
So, who wants to discuss PSO?
Posts
I think the OP should include that you should only trade with people you know if you wish to be 100% legit, since SCHTHACK mods have long since stopped enforcing anti-cheating rules.
When I get everything set up, I'll definitely play with you.
If you guys want to start this up again I'm down.
PSN: super_emu
Xbox360 Gamertag: Emuchop
edit: nevermind, looks like the quick start shortcut it creates goes to the wrong thing.
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
That excuse isn't going to fly around here. No offense, but I'm pretty sure this thread is going to get locked.
(now you know)
Did you try 'wang'?
EDIT: Lork appears from nowhere and blocks the dunk; area goes home with ego bruised and beaten.
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
so many summer hours wasted on the Gamecube version of this back in high school
Wii: 5024 6786 2934 2806 | Steam/XBL: Arcibi | FFXI: Arcibi / Bahamut
Anyone who wants to play, it's probably a good idea to use the main server. We tried a game on Don't Panic but the lag was just awful. It was fine with 2 people on the main one though.
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer
Note: Don't do this. It makes the game incredibly boring.
Six hours later, I sufficiently hate myself to stop trying.
Hopefully he can get the PC version downloaded/going on his slow connection...
My guild card # is 22672891 (is that how this works?).
I was running round on Schooner only to have a ton of Level 100+ dudes ask me if I had Excalibur, and then leave when I said no...
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
There's a do-it-yourself homebrew gamecube PSO server out there, with PSO DC and BB support being worked on. One really smart college kid is developing it in his spare time. I wish someone would do the same for Monster Hunter 1, but I'm guessing no one has comparable records of all their network traffic to work from.
Also, there's always offline-multiplayer on Xbox and Gamecube.
PSN: theIceBurner, IceBurnerEU, IceBurner-JP | X-Link Kai: TheIceBurner
Dragon's Dogma: 192 Warrior Linty | 80 Strider Alicia | 32 Mage Terra
You want a gamepad. It's better.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
When I go to extract it.
You don't need to install the japanese item patch if you're installing the game fresh from this site, the top link on the downloads page already has it rolled in.
Said patch is only if you have a retail copy of Blue Burst you need to upgrade.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Thats incredible
Oh man.
Had such fun with the GCN version. My Human Sniper (I forget the class name, but I gave him a rifle and he had high enough accuracy to never miss with charged shots, so he's a sniper) still lives on my memory card. Gotta recreate him I think.
So, I download the full install, then the windowed client, but do I need anything else?
All you really need to do is download the "full install with the patch rolled in" file and register on the site.
That's it, really.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
Woo, fun times!
RaMar (Ranger/Marksman)? I can't remember the class names either. :P
Yet another free game in mah PC, eatin' mah time.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
dream a little dream or you could live a little dream
sleep forever if you wish to be a dreamer