I actually just started playing along with some friends of mine, 360 version. We all got the game when it came out, I got the 360 version, they got the PC version. I played the first chapter of Story mode and never got back to it. They started playing online and got to about level 20 and got really bored and quit.
After seeing this topic get bumped back up, it came back to mind, so I started looking into PSOworld and trying to find out what's been going on in PSU, started playing Story Mode again, started mentioning it to my friends. Got them to pick up copies of the 360 version the other day and so we've started messing around in the game, one's playing like crazy and already has a level 18 RAmar, my RAcaseal is 7 and my other friend's HUmar (soon to be FOmar) is like 10.
I think we're about to start screwing around as a party, see what we can do about leveling, I'm wanting to get to Fortegunner, but that's going to be a while I think. PSUpedia seems to be about the best source of information, PSOworld is really useless regarding basics, it was driving me crazy.
Anyway, that's enough rambling for now, time to get into figuring out the differences between old school PSO and PSU.
It doesn't take long at all to get fortegunner. You only need 10 with ranger, and a bunch of runs of virtually any AOI mission will net you good mission points.
When MAG starts here again in a couple weeks for its two week extension, pretty much stay in that totally while it's running. The amount of XP, meseta, mission points, and rewards is just grossly over anything else right now.
Until then all White Dragon is where the large percentage of the population hangs out; with handfulls of people dispersed elsewhere. They're usually running missions for specific drops though, and usually also with closed parties with people they know.
Really though, once you find a few folks to run with fairly regularly its all good. Most people actually don't enjoy running the same mission constantly and are happy to go elsewhere, they just have to be given the opportunity. It's just that, deciding between lobby hopping hoping you find a team for something is far less efficient than just going where the population is and running whatever the FOTM mission is. Get a few friends though, and see the world. There's a lot of pretty cool missions and bosses out there, you just have to find em. Some are HARD though. Theres a reason that Rattlesnake boards are 20+million meseta; the mission(s) they drop in have very difficult bosses and you need a good team to do them with any success.
Aaaaaanyway. I'm about to hop on here in an hour or so to play for a few hours tonight, on the 360.
Throw me a friend request I played with Kaseius, and realized that I like to game with people who aren't dicks, so I'm not sure his play style and mine will mesh.
Seriously though, had a blast last night, went through some missions I've never seen before, and just had fun making things go BOOM. Look forward to more of it tonight.
Aoi on
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spookymuffin( ° ʖ ° )Puyallup WA Registered Userregular
edited June 2008
Goozex says my game is in the mail, so I'll probably see you guys on in about a week or so, on the Xbox.
spookymuffin on
PSN: MegaSpooky // 3DS: 3797-6276-7138 Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
spookymuffin( ° ʖ ° )Puyallup WA Registered Userregular
edited June 2008
SON OF A BITCH.
I got the game, but stupid Xbox Live won't let me use my credit card to sign up for a subscription, because the billing address is APO. They still haven't fixed this? This has been an issue since the system's launch, and it's the reason why everyone I know has to buy point cards on eBay all the time.
I'm in negotiations with my US contact (mommy) to see if I can use her cc.
spookymuffin on
PSN: MegaSpooky // 3DS: 3797-6276-7138 Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
Little update on how things are going so far in PSU. My friends and I were going along pretty good, nearing about 40, when one friend got another of our friends into the game. So we started new characters to go along with his to try to get him up into a range to go with our 'mains'. So, progress of our mains has slowed down quite a bit, though I did get my Caseal to Fortegunner without too much trouble.
My lower character is a Newman whom I just got switched to Fortetecher. Forcing is fun, however in a party with 3 melee (two Beast Hunters turned Fortefighters and one Caseal Fighgunner), it was extremely hard to tag things early on. I ended up switching to Zoldeel to land AoE debuffs, and otherwise Reverser/Resta unless my Zondes are needed to help. That seems to be working out alright so far.
I do hate how Sega handled the Casino across multiple characters, it's god damn retarded. Ah well, it's certainly not my only complaint. I really wish Sonic Team could hire someone who knew how to design an actually usable interface.
Dranyth on
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spookymuffin( ° ʖ ° )Puyallup WA Registered Userregular
edited June 2008
Ok, I'm in here. I got a hunter at level 5.
spookymuffin on
PSN: MegaSpooky // 3DS: 3797-6276-7138 Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
Hmm... so now apparently there's some announcement that SoA is discussing possibly not bringing back the MAG event at all? It's already been delayed, seeing as it isn't happening in June. This is somewhat disappointing as I was rather looking forward to going through the old levels again.
My FTnewman is 30 or so, but we got our friend up high enough that we just started bringing him with our higher mains. My FGcaseal has hit 54, our party Force is 53, the other FG just hit 50 and our friend's lower character, a Fortefighter, is now 42 all as of tonight.
So we've started running Military Subway A, which goes just fine... except for Block 5 and the bullshit snipers with their Killer Shot-style bullets. Ugh, so unnecessary. Still a long mission, good Exp, not *too* hard until the end, and great mission points.
Just a little update, but still wandering around PSU some. And yes, having a player shop is astounding, wish I had realized it a bit earlier than I had.
I just picked this up and I'm actually looking for some assistance.
I logged literally hundreds of hours on PSO over several platforms, but I'm really new to PSU. I rolled up a CAST Hunter last night and screwed around for a couple of hours last night. He's level 5 now (still Hunter 1).
Basically, I'm looking for groups, advice, cast off weapons, whatever. I'm probably going to wind up Protranser if I can get over the shakes that I get when I put "CAST" and "Force" in the same sentence. I'll probably be making stops in Acrofighter and FighGunner on the way there.
Anybody up for a game? My tag is Batshido, and I'm usually on evenings EST.
I'd play again, but the 360 version is trash. The PC version runs better, and costs only $9 a month compared to $14 a month. And has a friendlier community.
Too bad the PC community is practically dead in comparison to the 360. I would also argue that the 360 version is much easier to navigate, because the menus are a complete pain in the ass with a keyboard.
The 360 version will even recognize a USB keyboard for chatting, so there's not even that difference. I don't really see why you'd go with the PC version (and I've tried both for several months).
I've been thinking of firing this up again. I'm wondering if my characters have been deleted, though. I'm not sure I'd want to grind back up from 1 and get all my S rank weapons and such again.
Too bad the PC community is practically dead in comparison to the 360. I would also argue that the 360 version is much easier to navigate, because the menus are a complete pain in the ass with a keyboard.
The 360 version will even recognize a USB keyboard for chatting, so there's not even that difference. I don't really see why you'd go with the PC version (and I've tried both for several months).
I've been thinking of firing this up again. I'm wondering if my characters have been deleted, though. I'm not sure I'd want to grind back up from 1 and get all my S rank weapons and such again.
I dunno it wasnt dead last time i played, had 2 full servers, bout the same as the 360 version. I have both versions and i had no issues with the menu system in the PC version at all. The 360 version i had tons of issues with, especially all the slowdowns and the unreasonably badly ported graphics. It was just badly ported to 360 is really my biggest issue with it. And the fact it costs more per month for no reason at all other than its on 360. I do like the voice chat though, other than when i get a little kid who likes to scream into the mic the entire mission and run around in circles.
There was really no obvious difference in graphics that I could see. Is your TV of lower quality of your monitor? The slowdown I will give you, but it's infrequent enough to not be an issue (and several times it has saved my bacon).
When I last left the PC servers it was a ghost town. 1 3/4ths full server MAYBE, and all the major forums were active mainly on the 360, so I switched over and found they had 2-3 completely full servers at just about all times, and there were a lot more open parties and people willing to hang out (whereas on the PC it seemed like it was all closed S ranks). If PC works better for you that's cool, but the extra money justifies the better experience I had on the 360.
There was really no obvious difference in graphics that I could see. Is your TV of lower quality of your monitor? The slowdown I will give you, but it's infrequent enough to not be an issue (and several times it has saved my bacon).
When I last left the PC servers it was a ghost town. 1 3/4ths full server MAYBE, and all the major forums were active mainly on the 360, so I switched over and found they had 2-3 completely full servers at just about all times, and there were a lot more open parties and people willing to hang out (whereas on the PC it seemed like it was all closed S ranks). If PC works better for you that's cool, but the extra money justifies the better experience I had on the 360.
Well one runs way faster than the other, and has anti aliasing from my vid card, as well as ran higher resolution on my monitor, so yeah there was a big difference. The 360 version has some pretty noticeable framerate problems when it really shouldn't. It's pretty much like FFXI on the PC vs the 360, similar issues. Though those have linked servers which is great. I have no idea why the 360 one does not, kind of annoys me since the PS2 and PC are linked.
Ok, first of all, the 360 version only costs $9.99 just like the PC/PS2.
Second, yes it's a port, as is the PC version; the game was designed for the PS2.
Third, having played both as a subscriber, first on PS2, for a short bit on PC before moving to the 360, I can say that the 360 version is far superior to the PS2 version, and while the PC version looks nicer because of a higher resolution, it doesn't play as smoothly as either the PS2 or the 360 and since it shares the PS2 community, that alone is reason to pass it by.
The 360 didn't deal with hacking and duping from day one like the PS2/PC did and the economy is far superior because of this. Also, during "down times" (i.e. no event going on) the population of the 360 version is steady while the PC/PS2 pops drop to virtually nothing.
Sure, the 360 version isn't as optimized as it should be, but the slowdown isn't as much as this guy makes it to be, except a couple select missions that can be completely avoided. It runs at a higher res than the PS2 version, widescreen and supports chat over Live, in addition to a keyboard if you so choose.
Again, having played all three for a significant amount of time, if you've got a 360 there's no reason to play it on the PC/PS2. Even with the better graphics on the PC come on...it's still PSU, and it's still a game designed from the ground up as a PS2 game. The graphics aren't anything to get excited about. Regardless the graphics aren't bad on the 360. Sure, you're not going to get some mind-blowing next gen experience, but it's rare the graphics are bad enough to distract you, and often you still run into areas that, previous gen or not, look great and are fun to run through.
EDIT: I still sub to the 360 version though I haven't played in awhile. US is about a year and a half behind JP as far as events/updates go for the most part so unless you're coming at the game fresh, there's not a whole lot to do outside the basic game missions. That's not to say it's not fun if you've got a good group or friends to play with, but yeah. Just something you should be aware of.
Ok, first of all, the 360 version only costs $9.99 just like the PC/PS2.
When you factor in the $7.99 for the Xbox Live Gold subscription, playing PSU on the bawks sets you back about $18 a month. Admittedly, unlike me you probably already have your gold sub for other things (e.g. the halos and TF2).
Ok, first of all, the 360 version only costs $9.99 just like the PC/PS2.
Second, yes it's a port, as is the PC version; the game was designed for the PS2.
Third, having played both as a subscriber, first on PS2, for a short bit on PC before moving to the 360, I can say that the 360 version is far superior to the PS2 version, and while the PC version looks nicer because of a higher resolution, it doesn't play as smoothly as either the PS2 or the 360 and since it shares the PS2 community, that alone is reason to pass it by.
The 360 didn't deal with hacking and duping from day one like the PS2/PC did and the economy is far superior because of this. Also, during "down times" (i.e. no event going on) the population of the 360 version is steady while the PC/PS2 pops drop to virtually nothing.
Sure, the 360 version isn't as optimized as it should be, but the slowdown isn't as much as this guy makes it to be, except a couple select missions that can be completely avoided. It runs at a higher res than the PS2 version, widescreen and supports chat over Live, in addition to a keyboard if you so choose.
Again, having played all three for a significant amount of time, if you've got a 360 there's no reason to play it on the PC/PS2. Even with the better graphics on the PC come on...it's still PSU, and it's still a game designed from the ground up as a PS2 game. The graphics aren't anything to get excited about. Regardless the graphics aren't bad on the 360. Sure, you're not going to get some mind-blowing next gen experience, but it's rare the graphics are bad enough to distract you, and often you still run into areas that, previous gen or not, look great and are fun to run through.
EDIT: I still sub to the 360 version though I haven't played in awhile. US is about a year and a half behind JP as far as events/updates go for the most part so unless you're coming at the game fresh, there's not a whole lot to do outside the basic game missions. That's not to say it's not fun if you've got a good group or friends to play with, but yeah. Just something you should be aware of.
$9.99? Want me to take a picture of mine on 360? It costs $14.99 here in Canada. But the PC one is $9.99. Also the PC one doesn't get the slowdowns the 360 one does, and the slowdowns are way more prevalent than "just a few missions" it's super noticeable at least it was to me (I have both versions.). I liked the community better on the PC as well, and having played both within the last 5 months the populations aren't really that different, both are pretty low. The PC one has one server basically full at all times, same as the 360 one.
On a positive note though both games cost nothing, i got the PC one and expansion for like $0.95 at liquidation world, and i got the 360 one for like $5 in a bargain bin. The expansion is a bit more though, 1600 ms superbucks or something like that on 360. I'd probly play it again if they ever decided to actually bring the NA servers up to date. As it is Sega seems to not care about NA at all and just sorta runs the servers and leaves it as is.
Honestly if Sega was smart they'd build a Phantasy Star from the ground up for PS3/360 and let it use the xbox live gold or something for sub and just make it more of a co-op game for you and whoever you want to play with, since that's basically what it is at heart. The cities are just hubs to gather parties. Or make it with one giant city that is tiered to avoid overcrowding. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if they did a proper sequel to PSO.
Ok, first of all, the 360 version only costs $9.99 just like the PC/PS2.
When you factor in the $7.99 for the Xbox Live Gold subscription, playing PSU on the bawks sets you back about $18 a month. Admittedly, unlike me you probably already have your gold sub for other things (e.g. the halos and TF2).
Apparently 360 version has the most people from here on it. So that one if you wanna play with people from here. Though i have no idea how many people are playing it at the moment.
Ok, first of all, the 360 version only costs $9.99 just like the PC/PS2.
Second, yes it's a port, as is the PC version; the game was designed for the PS2.
Third, having played both as a subscriber, first on PS2, for a short bit on PC before moving to the 360, I can say that the 360 version is far superior to the PS2 version, and while the PC version looks nicer because of a higher resolution, it doesn't play as smoothly as either the PS2 or the 360 and since it shares the PS2 community, that alone is reason to pass it by.
The 360 didn't deal with hacking and duping from day one like the PS2/PC did and the economy is far superior because of this. Also, during "down times" (i.e. no event going on) the population of the 360 version is steady while the PC/PS2 pops drop to virtually nothing.
Sure, the 360 version isn't as optimized as it should be, but the slowdown isn't as much as this guy makes it to be, except a couple select missions that can be completely avoided. It runs at a higher res than the PS2 version, widescreen and supports chat over Live, in addition to a keyboard if you so choose.
Again, having played all three for a significant amount of time, if you've got a 360 there's no reason to play it on the PC/PS2. Even with the better graphics on the PC come on...it's still PSU, and it's still a game designed from the ground up as a PS2 game. The graphics aren't anything to get excited about. Regardless the graphics aren't bad on the 360. Sure, you're not going to get some mind-blowing next gen experience, but it's rare the graphics are bad enough to distract you, and often you still run into areas that, previous gen or not, look great and are fun to run through.
EDIT: I still sub to the 360 version though I haven't played in awhile. US is about a year and a half behind JP as far as events/updates go for the most part so unless you're coming at the game fresh, there's not a whole lot to do outside the basic game missions. That's not to say it's not fun if you've got a good group or friends to play with, but yeah. Just something you should be aware of.
$9.99? Want me to take a picture of mine on 360? It costs $14.99 here in Canada. But the PC one is $9.99. Also the PC one doesn't get the slowdowns the 360 one does, and the slowdowns are way more prevalent than "just a few missions" it's super noticeable at least it was to me (I have both versions.). I liked the community better on the PC as well, and having played both within the last 5 months the populations aren't really that different, both are pretty low. The PC one has one server basically full at all times, same as the 360 one.
On a positive note though both games cost nothing, i got the PC one and expansion for like $0.95 at liquidation world, and i got the 360 one for like $5 in a bargain bin. The expansion is a bit more though, 1600 ms superbucks or something like that on 360. I'd probly play it again if they ever decided to actually bring the NA servers up to date. As it is Sega seems to not care about NA at all and just sorta runs the servers and leaves it as is.
Honestly if Sega was smart they'd build a Phantasy Star from the ground up for PS3/360 and let it use the xbox live gold or something for sub and just make it more of a co-op game for you and whoever you want to play with, since that's basically what it is at heart. The cities are just hubs to gather parties. Or make it with one giant city that is tiered to avoid overcrowding. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if they did a proper sequel to PSO.
I don't know why they charge more in CanadaLand but:
As far as population, I'm standing in Clyez as I post this and the first server is totally full and the second server is 4/5 full "stars" (nearly full). The rest are virtually empty but that's pretty much par for course except on weekends and the big in-game events.
There's currently a lightening event or whatnot going on but I haven't dorked around with it at all, but you can find out more at psupedia.info or psoworld.com.
As far as PA people playing, not that I know of. When I started on the 360 version last spring it was during the MAG event when pretty much every night 4-5 servers were full up, 6-7 on weekends, and even then I never saw any PA'ers online.
And regardless of what version you get, there's always going to be shitheads, fools that boot folks right before the bosses go down to hog loot, etc, but they're easily avoidable by blisting them when you come across them, or what I tend to do; make your own rooms so you're the boss. Folks get called out a lot on the psoworld.com forums if you want to beware of certain players, though overall people there are fairly negative about the game, but any online game forums are like that; I've also got a lot of useful info there too, so yeah... The official forums are surprisingly active, but don't expect too much info from sonicteam about updates and stuff.
I'd be happy to hook up with folks if we had some who wanted to play. Most of the special mission/events are limited to 4 man parties but generic missions throughout the world are typically 6 man affairs. The more people, the more fun. I've duo'd with Gilder a few times when I was on the PS2/PC, and there were a few folks I ran with regularly for awhile back last spring/summer but I haven't seen them on in ages; just people I met in-game.
EDIT: Also if we get some folks starting on the 360 version, while I don't have a ton of meseta, I have enough to lend ya'll enough to get some good starting gear/arts/techs, and open up your own shops to start making your own cash.
Yeah, I don't know why they're overpricing it like that.
In the past USD has been a good bit higher than CAD to warrant that but not like in...a lot of years.
Right now $9.99 USD = $12.50 CAD. So you're getting shafted.
EDIT: Oh, and a warning to 360 players. Should you set up an account on your 360; while it only takes a buttonclick to subscribe to PSU, in order to cancel your PSU account you have to call Microsoft and have them cancel it. There's no way to do it through Live. Yes, microsoft, not sega. You can't manage your 360 PSU account through playsega.com like you can for the PS2/PC versions.
It's bloody retarded, but that's how it goes.
Phone #'s for reference:
1-800-469-9269(U.S.).
425-635-7180 (International).
Well, I'll be on the 360 next week if anyone wants to post contact names or whatever this game uses. I've played offline on the PS2 so I pretty much know what I'm doing. I just don't want to do it alone.
Partner cards. They're linked to your live account, so that's nice, but you still need to meet up in-game and swap cards even if you're Live buddies. How they're linked is that if you pull up someones card in-game you can bring up their gamertag and send them a mail, invite them, add them, whatever. It's just convenient.
My Live name is in my sig.
I'd also really recommend picking up AoI off Live. It's download only for the 360 and it's only 800 points now. You can hardly find people doing pre-AoI missions anymore since the rewards are far better for the AoI missions.
Got in tonight. What a fucking nightmare. I REALLY hope there's some semi mature players on; this place is hell right now.
Anyway I'm, as always, Magic Pink if anyone wants to look me up. No microphone tho.
One of the reasons i liked the PC one better. Community may be smaller, but its way more tight knit and matured. I didn't run into any Xbox kiddies. On 360 thats the first thing that happened, joined a pug and the first thing the kid did was scream AHHHHHH AHHHHH AHHHHH repeatedly into his mic until i muted him. Another person tried to sell me her "naked pictures" for zenny too. It was probably a 12 year old boy though who was trying to trick retarded people. I mean one would think if you were on a game, that was on the internet, you'd generally figured how to do many things for free by that point.
Got in tonight. What a fucking nightmare. I REALLY hope there's some semi mature players on; this place is hell right now.
Anyway I'm, as always, Magic Pink if anyone wants to look me up. No microphone tho.
One of the reasons i liked the PC one better. Community may be smaller, but its way more tight knit and matured. I didn't run into any Xbox kiddies. On 360 thats the first thing that happened, joined a pug and the first thing the kid did was scream AHHHHHH AHHHHH AHHHHH repeatedly into his mic until i muted him. Another person tried to sell me her "naked pictures" for zenny too. It was probably a 12 year old boy though who was trying to trick retarded people. I mean one would think if you were on a game, that was on the internet, you'd generally figured how to do many things for free by that point.
I've run into the usual xbox kiddies, but I can't say I've had as many as some people do. The larger population is going to also have more idiots.
Honestly I can't say the PC/PS2 population was better; but the simple fact that you couldn't hear them made it so it was easier to ignore the retards. There were plenty of dipshits who had their text/face macros who constantly spammed them so you couldn't see a damn thing, in lobbies and in missions.
Personally I'll take the larger player pool as it's fairly easy to avoid the idiots; and even if they're just stupid people but play well, just mute em.
But to each their own though.
As far as differences between PSU and PSO, there are many, though there is a lot the same.
The AI of monsters are viturally identical: I.E. there is no AI except span and head directly for you.
Combat is a lot faster and while there is still the hit > hit > hit normal combo there are photon arts which are the fancy pants special attacks (there are no mags, and thus no MAG attacks, PM's replace them but they're not the same at all) that make combat more interesting. Instead of having a mana pool or whatever, each weapon has it's own set amount of PP which is used in using arts or techs, and slowly refill or can be refilled with photon chargers. This means that if you run out of PP on a weapon you can swap it out and have "full" PP again. Guns are handled the same way, except that every single shot uses PP and their "special" attacks are pretty much only elemental statuses added to the shot. This makes gunners (rangers) less a damage class and more of a support class. This isn't to say they can't do a lot of damage, particularly with certian weapons, but you'll never do anywhere near the damage a pure meleer and techer will, but the ability to add status effects from far away is so nice to have in a team (my main is ranged, 97).
It's a lot faster paced but depending on your perspective this is good and bad. I'll let you judge that for yourself.
As far as it being a loot generator, well that's a lot different than PSO. Instead of having runs where you're looking for red boxes constantly, gear doesn't really drop at all, outside of low level stuff. Everything "rare" is materials you have to create in your room. Also you have a room which you can decorate and set up a shop in. The shop, IMO is reason enough for the change to PSU and one of the primary things that makes PSU better than PSO (though deep in my heart im more fond of PSO because of my history with it).
There's a lot of other things different but I don't have the time to lay it out right now unfortunately. Maybe someone else can fill you in about PM's and the mission and job system.
They've already made 2 more for the PSP. And a non-PSU related PS0 for the DS.
I'm sure eventually we'll see a new PSO/U on nex-gen consoles.
I was on now and then even to a few weeks ago (to get the last achievement) for PSU on the 360 and it is still fairly populated but nothing like it used to be.
We'll see though.
There's a lot of competition in this market now where there wasn't at all in PSO and not to the same degree when PSU was launched (talking about MMO and/or instanced party type games) so Sega is gonna have to step up to get people to care anymore.
PSU put a lot of long-time PSO fans off. We'll see if they can fix that.
Makes sense. I tried to go back a month or two ago and it was completely dead. We're talking ghost town here.
Unfortunate because I actually enjoyed the game quite a bit when it first came out. Perhaps they will be making another one?
Yeah i tried to go back to it too and it was totally dead, i barely saw a single person. On the up side, this means that i know a certain place that will be putting up a private server after the english official ones go down. Just like they did with PSO.
It is unfortunate though...i enjoyed PSU a fair amount, but it just needed more attention to its content to warrant the monthly fee, and Sega was not even willing to keep it up to date with the JP version.
If they make a new one i'd love to see them go a more Guild Wars style, buy the game and no monthly fee, purchase expansions, ect. Also like to see them make it a true Next Gen game this time, instead of making it on the PS2 first and porting it to 360 and PC (Shitty ports too.) afterward. I think that was a really big mistake, was porting it from PS2 when there were already next gen consoles out.
Edit: It seems also on Jan 29th the servers will be free to play for anyone with a valid PSU account as long as it's not been banned. I wonder if that includes previous subs.
My understanding is that if you were a current subscriber when it rolls over it'll be free the remainder. I don't think that you can with an inactive account.
Though they might as well just let people at it; what difference does it make now. The number of people who would come back anyway is probably small enough that it wouldn't kill their servers or anything.
EDIT: Also yes, I'll just make the statement now that if the next non-portable console online Phantasy Star game is pay to play it will fail miserably.
If it's a full on MMO, which actually i could see being cool, sure, charge. But if it's the party based GW/Diablo style thing like it has been since PSO, people won't pay sub fees for that sort of game anymore.
See: Hellgate London.
EDIT EDIT: It was clarified on the official forums apparently that if you've ever had an active account you'll have access in the last 2 months of service for free.
Keep in mind that is just for the PS2/PC. The 360 version is still alive and they haven't announced anything regarding those servers.
Posts
After seeing this topic get bumped back up, it came back to mind, so I started looking into PSOworld and trying to find out what's been going on in PSU, started playing Story Mode again, started mentioning it to my friends. Got them to pick up copies of the 360 version the other day and so we've started messing around in the game, one's playing like crazy and already has a level 18 RAmar, my RAcaseal is 7 and my other friend's HUmar (soon to be FOmar) is like 10.
I think we're about to start screwing around as a party, see what we can do about leveling, I'm wanting to get to Fortegunner, but that's going to be a while I think. PSUpedia seems to be about the best source of information, PSOworld is really useless regarding basics, it was driving me crazy.
Anyway, that's enough rambling for now, time to get into figuring out the differences between old school PSO and PSU.
When MAG starts here again in a couple weeks for its two week extension, pretty much stay in that totally while it's running. The amount of XP, meseta, mission points, and rewards is just grossly over anything else right now.
Until then all White Dragon is where the large percentage of the population hangs out; with handfulls of people dispersed elsewhere. They're usually running missions for specific drops though, and usually also with closed parties with people they know.
Really though, once you find a few folks to run with fairly regularly its all good. Most people actually don't enjoy running the same mission constantly and are happy to go elsewhere, they just have to be given the opportunity. It's just that, deciding between lobby hopping hoping you find a team for something is far less efficient than just going where the population is and running whatever the FOTM mission is. Get a few friends though, and see the world. There's a lot of pretty cool missions and bosses out there, you just have to find em. Some are HARD though. Theres a reason that Rattlesnake boards are 20+million meseta; the mission(s) they drop in have very difficult bosses and you need a good team to do them with any success.
Aaaaaanyway. I'm about to hop on here in an hour or so to play for a few hours tonight, on the 360.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Seriously though, had a blast last night, went through some missions I've never seen before, and just had fun making things go BOOM. Look forward to more of it tonight.
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
The PS2 graphics and load times are terrible.
EDIT: Dur, probably because you don't want to pay for the subscription. :P
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
I got the game, but stupid Xbox Live won't let me use my credit card to sign up for a subscription, because the billing address is APO. They still haven't fixed this? This has been an issue since the system's launch, and it's the reason why everyone I know has to buy point cards on eBay all the time.
I'm in negotiations with my US contact (mommy) to see if I can use her cc.
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
My lower character is a Newman whom I just got switched to Fortetecher. Forcing is fun, however in a party with 3 melee (two Beast Hunters turned Fortefighters and one Caseal Fighgunner), it was extremely hard to tag things early on. I ended up switching to Zoldeel to land AoE debuffs, and otherwise Reverser/Resta unless my Zondes are needed to help. That seems to be working out alright so far.
I do hate how Sega handled the Casino across multiple characters, it's god damn retarded. Ah well, it's certainly not my only complaint. I really wish Sonic Team could hire someone who knew how to design an actually usable interface.
Wii U NNID: MegaSpooky
My FTnewman is 30 or so, but we got our friend up high enough that we just started bringing him with our higher mains. My FGcaseal has hit 54, our party Force is 53, the other FG just hit 50 and our friend's lower character, a Fortefighter, is now 42 all as of tonight.
So we've started running Military Subway A, which goes just fine... except for Block 5 and the bullshit snipers with their Killer Shot-style bullets. Ugh, so unnecessary. Still a long mission, good Exp, not *too* hard until the end, and great mission points.
Just a little update, but still wandering around PSU some. And yes, having a player shop is astounding, wish I had realized it a bit earlier than I had.
I logged literally hundreds of hours on PSO over several platforms, but I'm really new to PSU. I rolled up a CAST Hunter last night and screwed around for a couple of hours last night. He's level 5 now (still Hunter 1).
Basically, I'm looking for groups, advice, cast off weapons, whatever. I'm probably going to wind up Protranser if I can get over the shakes that I get when I put "CAST" and "Force" in the same sentence. I'll probably be making stops in Acrofighter and FighGunner on the way there.
Anybody up for a game? My tag is Batshido, and I'm usually on evenings EST.
They tried to bury us. They didn't know that we were seeds. 2018 Midterms. Get your shit together.
The 360 version will even recognize a USB keyboard for chatting, so there's not even that difference. I don't really see why you'd go with the PC version (and I've tried both for several months).
I've been thinking of firing this up again. I'm wondering if my characters have been deleted, though. I'm not sure I'd want to grind back up from 1 and get all my S rank weapons and such again.
Steam | XBL: Elazual | Last.fm
I dunno it wasnt dead last time i played, had 2 full servers, bout the same as the 360 version. I have both versions and i had no issues with the menu system in the PC version at all. The 360 version i had tons of issues with, especially all the slowdowns and the unreasonably badly ported graphics. It was just badly ported to 360 is really my biggest issue with it. And the fact it costs more per month for no reason at all other than its on 360. I do like the voice chat though, other than when i get a little kid who likes to scream into the mic the entire mission and run around in circles.
When I last left the PC servers it was a ghost town. 1 3/4ths full server MAYBE, and all the major forums were active mainly on the 360, so I switched over and found they had 2-3 completely full servers at just about all times, and there were a lot more open parties and people willing to hang out (whereas on the PC it seemed like it was all closed S ranks). If PC works better for you that's cool, but the extra money justifies the better experience I had on the 360.
Steam | XBL: Elazual | Last.fm
Well one runs way faster than the other, and has anti aliasing from my vid card, as well as ran higher resolution on my monitor, so yeah there was a big difference. The 360 version has some pretty noticeable framerate problems when it really shouldn't. It's pretty much like FFXI on the PC vs the 360, similar issues. Though those have linked servers which is great. I have no idea why the 360 one does not, kind of annoys me since the PS2 and PC are linked.
Second, yes it's a port, as is the PC version; the game was designed for the PS2.
Third, having played both as a subscriber, first on PS2, for a short bit on PC before moving to the 360, I can say that the 360 version is far superior to the PS2 version, and while the PC version looks nicer because of a higher resolution, it doesn't play as smoothly as either the PS2 or the 360 and since it shares the PS2 community, that alone is reason to pass it by.
The 360 didn't deal with hacking and duping from day one like the PS2/PC did and the economy is far superior because of this. Also, during "down times" (i.e. no event going on) the population of the 360 version is steady while the PC/PS2 pops drop to virtually nothing.
Sure, the 360 version isn't as optimized as it should be, but the slowdown isn't as much as this guy makes it to be, except a couple select missions that can be completely avoided. It runs at a higher res than the PS2 version, widescreen and supports chat over Live, in addition to a keyboard if you so choose.
Again, having played all three for a significant amount of time, if you've got a 360 there's no reason to play it on the PC/PS2. Even with the better graphics on the PC come on...it's still PSU, and it's still a game designed from the ground up as a PS2 game. The graphics aren't anything to get excited about. Regardless the graphics aren't bad on the 360. Sure, you're not going to get some mind-blowing next gen experience, but it's rare the graphics are bad enough to distract you, and often you still run into areas that, previous gen or not, look great and are fun to run through.
EDIT: I still sub to the 360 version though I haven't played in awhile. US is about a year and a half behind JP as far as events/updates go for the most part so unless you're coming at the game fresh, there's not a whole lot to do outside the basic game missions. That's not to say it's not fun if you've got a good group or friends to play with, but yeah. Just something you should be aware of.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
$9.99? Want me to take a picture of mine on 360? It costs $14.99 here in Canada. But the PC one is $9.99. Also the PC one doesn't get the slowdowns the 360 one does, and the slowdowns are way more prevalent than "just a few missions" it's super noticeable at least it was to me (I have both versions.). I liked the community better on the PC as well, and having played both within the last 5 months the populations aren't really that different, both are pretty low. The PC one has one server basically full at all times, same as the 360 one.
On a positive note though both games cost nothing, i got the PC one and expansion for like $0.95 at liquidation world, and i got the 360 one for like $5 in a bargain bin. The expansion is a bit more though, 1600 ms superbucks or something like that on 360. I'd probly play it again if they ever decided to actually bring the NA servers up to date. As it is Sega seems to not care about NA at all and just sorta runs the servers and leaves it as is.
Honestly if Sega was smart they'd build a Phantasy Star from the ground up for PS3/360 and let it use the xbox live gold or something for sub and just make it more of a co-op game for you and whoever you want to play with, since that's basically what it is at heart. The cities are just hubs to gather parties. Or make it with one giant city that is tiered to avoid overcrowding. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if they did a proper sequel to PSO.
You don't need a gold sub to play it online.
Really? Lucky I didn't play it on the Xbox 360 then eh?
I guess?...o_O I dont even know what you are getting at.
Jeeze you guys.
I don't know why they charge more in CanadaLand but:
But yes, outside the sub fee, the game is really cheap. You can get it new at best buy for $19.99 for the 360, cheaper at various other online retailers for new/used; if you want the PS2 version I have mine up on half.com listed under "Like New" for only $7.00, it's the cheapest at Like New. Yes, I'm totally whoring myself out here.
As far as population, I'm standing in Clyez as I post this and the first server is totally full and the second server is 4/5 full "stars" (nearly full). The rest are virtually empty but that's pretty much par for course except on weekends and the big in-game events.
There's currently a lightening event or whatnot going on but I haven't dorked around with it at all, but you can find out more at psupedia.info or psoworld.com.
As far as PA people playing, not that I know of. When I started on the 360 version last spring it was during the MAG event when pretty much every night 4-5 servers were full up, 6-7 on weekends, and even then I never saw any PA'ers online.
And regardless of what version you get, there's always going to be shitheads, fools that boot folks right before the bosses go down to hog loot, etc, but they're easily avoidable by blisting them when you come across them, or what I tend to do; make your own rooms so you're the boss. Folks get called out a lot on the psoworld.com forums if you want to beware of certain players, though overall people there are fairly negative about the game, but any online game forums are like that; I've also got a lot of useful info there too, so yeah... The official forums are surprisingly active, but don't expect too much info from sonicteam about updates and stuff.
I'd be happy to hook up with folks if we had some who wanted to play. Most of the special mission/events are limited to 4 man parties but generic missions throughout the world are typically 6 man affairs. The more people, the more fun. I've duo'd with Gilder a few times when I was on the PS2/PC, and there were a few folks I ran with regularly for awhile back last spring/summer but I haven't seen them on in ages; just people I met in-game.
EDIT: Also if we get some folks starting on the 360 version, while I don't have a ton of meseta, I have enough to lend ya'll enough to get some good starting gear/arts/techs, and open up your own shops to start making your own cash.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
In the past USD has been a good bit higher than CAD to warrant that but not like in...a lot of years.
Right now $9.99 USD = $12.50 CAD. So you're getting shafted.
EDIT: Oh, and a warning to 360 players. Should you set up an account on your 360; while it only takes a buttonclick to subscribe to PSU, in order to cancel your PSU account you have to call Microsoft and have them cancel it. There's no way to do it through Live. Yes, microsoft, not sega. You can't manage your 360 PSU account through playsega.com like you can for the PS2/PC versions.
It's bloody retarded, but that's how it goes.
Phone #'s for reference:
1-800-469-9269(U.S.).
425-635-7180 (International).
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
My Live name is in my sig.
I'd also really recommend picking up AoI off Live. It's download only for the 360 and it's only 800 points now. You can hardly find people doing pre-AoI missions anymore since the rewards are far better for the AoI missions.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Anyway I'm, as always, Magic Pink if anyone wants to look me up. No microphone tho.
One of the reasons i liked the PC one better. Community may be smaller, but its way more tight knit and matured. I didn't run into any Xbox kiddies. On 360 thats the first thing that happened, joined a pug and the first thing the kid did was scream AHHHHHH AHHHHH AHHHHH repeatedly into his mic until i muted him.
I've run into the usual xbox kiddies, but I can't say I've had as many as some people do. The larger population is going to also have more idiots.
Honestly I can't say the PC/PS2 population was better; but the simple fact that you couldn't hear them made it so it was easier to ignore the retards. There were plenty of dipshits who had their text/face macros who constantly spammed them so you couldn't see a damn thing, in lobbies and in missions.
Personally I'll take the larger player pool as it's fairly easy to avoid the idiots; and even if they're just stupid people but play well, just mute em.
But to each their own though.
As far as differences between PSU and PSO, there are many, though there is a lot the same.
The AI of monsters are viturally identical: I.E. there is no AI except span and head directly for you.
Combat is a lot faster and while there is still the hit > hit > hit normal combo there are photon arts which are the fancy pants special attacks (there are no mags, and thus no MAG attacks, PM's replace them but they're not the same at all) that make combat more interesting. Instead of having a mana pool or whatever, each weapon has it's own set amount of PP which is used in using arts or techs, and slowly refill or can be refilled with photon chargers. This means that if you run out of PP on a weapon you can swap it out and have "full" PP again. Guns are handled the same way, except that every single shot uses PP and their "special" attacks are pretty much only elemental statuses added to the shot. This makes gunners (rangers) less a damage class and more of a support class. This isn't to say they can't do a lot of damage, particularly with certian weapons, but you'll never do anywhere near the damage a pure meleer and techer will, but the ability to add status effects from far away is so nice to have in a team (my main is ranged, 97).
It's a lot faster paced but depending on your perspective this is good and bad. I'll let you judge that for yourself.
As far as it being a loot generator, well that's a lot different than PSO. Instead of having runs where you're looking for red boxes constantly, gear doesn't really drop at all, outside of low level stuff. Everything "rare" is materials you have to create in your room. Also you have a room which you can decorate and set up a shop in. The shop, IMO is reason enough for the change to PSU and one of the primary things that makes PSU better than PSO (though deep in my heart im more fond of PSO because of my history with it).
There's a lot of other things different but I don't have the time to lay it out right now unfortunately. Maybe someone else can fill you in about PM's and the mission and job system.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
The PS2/PC English servers will be shutting down March 31.
No word on the 360 servers, but I suspect they won't last much past the summer if that long.
AFAIK this is only the English servers not the JP ones.
Source
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Makes sense. I tried to go back a month or two ago and it was completely dead. We're talking ghost town here.
Unfortunate because I actually enjoyed the game quite a bit when it first came out. Perhaps they will be making another one?
Official PA Forums FFXIV:ARR Free Company <GHOST> gitl.enjin.com Join us on Sargatanas!
I'm sure eventually we'll see a new PSO/U on nex-gen consoles.
I was on now and then even to a few weeks ago (to get the last achievement) for PSU on the 360 and it is still fairly populated but nothing like it used to be.
We'll see though.
There's a lot of competition in this market now where there wasn't at all in PSO and not to the same degree when PSU was launched (talking about MMO and/or instanced party type games) so Sega is gonna have to step up to get people to care anymore.
PSU put a lot of long-time PSO fans off. We'll see if they can fix that.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand
Yeah i tried to go back to it too and it was totally dead, i barely saw a single person. On the up side, this means that i know a certain place that will be putting up a private server after the english official ones go down. Just like they did with PSO.
It is unfortunate though...i enjoyed PSU a fair amount, but it just needed more attention to its content to warrant the monthly fee, and Sega was not even willing to keep it up to date with the JP version.
If they make a new one i'd love to see them go a more Guild Wars style, buy the game and no monthly fee, purchase expansions, ect. Also like to see them make it a true Next Gen game this time, instead of making it on the PS2 first and porting it to 360 and PC (Shitty ports too.) afterward. I think that was a really big mistake, was porting it from PS2 when there were already next gen consoles out.
Edit: It seems also on Jan 29th the servers will be free to play for anyone with a valid PSU account as long as it's not been banned. I wonder if that includes previous subs.
Though they might as well just let people at it; what difference does it make now. The number of people who would come back anyway is probably small enough that it wouldn't kill their servers or anything.
EDIT: Also yes, I'll just make the statement now that if the next non-portable console online Phantasy Star game is pay to play it will fail miserably.
If it's a full on MMO, which actually i could see being cool, sure, charge. But if it's the party based GW/Diablo style thing like it has been since PSO, people won't pay sub fees for that sort of game anymore.
See: Hellgate London.
EDIT EDIT: It was clarified on the official forums apparently that if you've ever had an active account you'll have access in the last 2 months of service for free.
Keep in mind that is just for the PS2/PC. The 360 version is still alive and they haven't announced anything regarding those servers.
Origin: Galedrid - Nintendo: Galedrid/3222-6858-1045
Blizzard: Galedrid#1367 - FFXIV: Galedrid Kingshand