Phantasy Star Universe discussion thread
 

First of all... for those of you thinking PSU will only be another boring PSO game Sega slapped together for a quick buck watch this new trailer that was recently posted on www.pso-world.com

It shows off a whole bunch of the online game content and I must say that I am amazed by this. This game could serve as a nice break away from FFXI and WoW, which most of you have been playing for the past few years. I mean, look at all this new stuff you can do. Lobbies are now big cities. The old 1...2..3! attack system has been replaced with a bunch of cool looking weapon combos that fling enemies all over the screen. You and a group of your friends can take control of a big tank or ride on vehicles in different environments. There are new races to choose from with their own special abilities. Deep character customization. You get your own apartment which you can set up however you like and invite friends into. I am honestly impressed with what Sega has worked on the past 3 years.

The only sad thing is this game doesn't really seem to be getting much hype except from the PSO fans. I guess Sega of America should take part of the blame since they do little to promote the game. It could also be because people lost interest in it after all the delays it's been through. I'm just hoping enough of you GFFers here pick it up this fall so we can all go hunting together because it looks very fun. :3

I'd hate to admit it, but I've never played a Phantasy Star game. I know Lady Miyomi is a heug fan of this series, and yet have never sent her any messages about it. I was keeping track of Phantasy Star Trilogy and hoped that it would be my first experience, which from what gamespy states, it's basically a "redone iteration" of Phantasy Star: Generation 1, Phantasy Star II, and Phantasy IV: End of the Millennium into one package. I'm not too sure if I'm ready to take on the online experience since this will be my first MMORPG, so I'll just sit on the sidelines until I can see how the price and details work out.

::Sends PM to Miyomi::

Heh. PSO was actually my very first online experience. I liked it because Sonic Team made everything easy for even the first time online RPG players. I still prefer the guild card system to the buddy list systems most online RPGs use today. Instead of sending whispers to other players you could share guild cards with each other and send out little mails. You never had to memorize a bunch of silly / commands either since everything was nicely laid out in a menu. Leveling up in a party was fun too because instead of setting up a camp and fighting in the same spot you could run through a whole dungeon, destroy all the enemies, and then take out the boss. And the boss fights were very cool.

PSO wasn't really considered an MMORPG either. Probably due to the fact everything was instanced once you joined a team. The good thing about this is there's no one else to steal your kills and you could focus on working with your team.

well I did own the original PSO on dreamcast which I did really enjoy...for 2 days, because the name of the game say it all, phantasy star online truly shine online and at that time I didn,t have a broadband connexion so I was stuck with offline mode. Well the game was pretty fun and I did love the design (I still like it but less then before) but really the 1 2 3 gameplay thing was the worst thing sega could have put in the game and that,s was stop me from playing...the only thing that got me to continue was the dagger weapon which look more like a 6 hit combo and was more fun...

so to return to the subject, I was a little worried about this title and I really didn,t pay any attention to hit, but I watch some of the recent video and yes i'm really impress by the new look of the phantasy star MMORPG

I love the new graphic style, well new, I'm not sure but I think they return to the phantasy star rpg on genesis graphic style (at least for the character I think) and I do really like it better.

for the gameplay I,m really glad that they change the 123 and go beyond that with new combo system that really look fun! I like the tank transport^^
we don,t see much but I really hope they will give us a really good magic system, because in PSO I don't know for me a mage wasn't really good and even more boring to play.

really I'm impress by all those improvement and i'll probably get this too, I may wait for a free trial first though. Now we will have to see how Sega will manage this game, like how they will manage "botting" or "game money selling" and all those kind of thing that can make an MMORPG not very enjoyable to play...

In regards to PSU, I think the big thing that will be determining me getting involved is the whole issue of monthly subscription fees. I understand it's expensive for the gaming companies to run the hardware/servers/tech/whatnot, yet I just prefer to be the type to sit down and play whenever I want without having to try to cram in as much play time to get my months payment worth. So far the only online game I've played for PS2 is Metal Gear Solid Subsistance, mainly because it's free, so far.
So as of yet, is there any news of subscription fees, which I'd highly presume considering the type of game- online RPG, and fan base?

::Turns Korean::

I loooooved PSO on Xbox Live. If it weren't for that damned Hunter's License thing, I'd definitely still be playing.

I've been looking forward to PSU for a long time. That video got me even more excited for it. The combat looks a lot more fun than the slow, somewhat boring combat from PSO. I just hope you can turn off the little anime style portrait boxes that seem to show up whenever someone talks. It looks like it would get in the way in the heat of battle.

I can't wait for this game to come out! I've been playing Version 1 to death. :(

The only part I don't like about what I saw on the Japanese preview site is the fact that there's actual characters you have to choose. It's more fun making a character and naming them.

Well, you do get your money's worth just buying it since it contains a 1-player 40 hour RPG with real characters that develop to the point where you can actually care for them. It's loaded with fully voiced cutscenes and plays differently from the online portion. And of course you don't have to pay any fee for that part. I have no idea if it would be worth playing through as a solo game, though. You might want to hear opinions on it first if you bought it just for the 1-player Story.

PSOBB cost about 9 bucks a month I think. I'm hoping the cost doesn't go over 13 dollars a month myself since Sega is known for abandoning us US players while giving Japanese players all sorts of new content.

There is a new game+ mode that allows you to create your own avatar to play offline with, just like the classic PSO. I think you have to beat the 1-player Story mode to unlock it.

I liked it better when it could create your character off the bat. I've seen lots of pictures of PSU and it looks ten times better. Do you know if they'll be a PC version as well? I wasn't able to find that out.

Yes. PS2 and PC versions are confirmed to be linked. So all PS2 and PC owners can play together. You can also use your online account to access your characters from either version of the game.

There will also be an XBOX 360 version, though I heard they'll be split onto their own server, which of course would cut them off from everyone else. =(

Yeah. I'd also like the game to be dupe free for at least a year when I actually get bored of it. Hopefully Sega will patch these things this time around. >_>

Will they have the same lobby system going on as it was with version 1?

well I think they are making it for PC, PS2 and Xbox360

and miyomi I don't understand what you're saying, because when I look at the video you do can create your character and not just pick one and name it...

I prefer character creation than having to pick from preset characters. But since Miles said it will be in there after you unlock it, everything's fine. :)

No. Everyone is in towns with everyone else.

If any of you want to see actual gameplay and not trailers, here's some footage from the beta. Also, I took a lot of screenshots. Lastly, I extracted all the music hidden in the data files for the beta which were encoded in .adx format, and transcoded them into Ogg Vorbis files which you can download here.

I barely scratched the surface in what PSU's going to have as far as content goes, and a lot of those cool looking attacks that you see in the trailers weren't accessible in the beta, and it already was better than PSO. The AI in the game wasn't brilliant, but it was a step up from PSO, and when I got up in the mid 20s with my level, the A-rank missions were pretty rough.

Thanks a lot for the links. I remember someone ripped the music somewhere else. Was that you as well?

I'll be getting this, but I'm gonna need a new computer first. Playing with GFF and my old Blue Burst buddies is gonna rock. ^_^

wow the game is so beautiful!!! really I like the design and all! where you on PC or ps2 for this beta?

I realy like the new gameplay, but I did see some lag issu (the video when you're in a team, the other character movement are very "lagy")

and I like the little cut-scen for the plane between planet ^^ (well i have t see it,s a rip-off the game Freelancer but meh I don't care XD)

I really like the animation, all is pretty smooth, the emote video really show that.

but will there be ani magic in this game? in all video I see a lot of fighting but I don't remember seeing any mage class, not that it will bother me, it's just a MMORPG without any healing spell or ability seem weird...

but really not I can't wait for the US release ; ; btw is there an official date?

Preordered my copy today. I wasn't a huge fan of PSO but for minor reasons - camera angle issues, wanting slightly more developed combat system. I'm thinking this will be a nice change of things compared to WoW or FFXI.

For those of you who were curious about character creation, you can sample some of the character creation here: http://psu-chara.com/create/

The one thing I also really like is the ability to change your class which is good for indecisive people like me.

Also, there will be Expert Classes although there is limited information about them so far. You can find out some basics here: http://www.psupedia.org/index.php?title=Expert_Classes

The official confirmed release date is set for October 24th. Unfortunately right around the same time .hack//GU and FFXII will be coming out making it an expensive month for people who like RPG's.

And last thing that I noticed on a really positive note, European Servers and American Servers will be linked.

If any of you decide you want to get into this, send me a PM and we can see about trying to get on the same World.

Oh hey. I forgot about this thread. Might as well post my journal bit here.

For the first ever I imported a Japanese version of an online game. Most would think this is hard since most online games require teamwork and teamwork is hard when you can't really speak the same language as your teammates. Well, luckily about 50 other people from PSOW decides to import as well and we all split into groups of 6 to play the game online.

First of all, I must say this game is a refreshing change from slower paced online games like FF11 or World of Warcraft. It doesn't take long to find a group at all, and there's no pulling of enemies or anything. Game flow consists of logging on, checking partner cards or finding people who want to do the same mission as you, buying stuff, and then starting a mission and moving from room to room juggling enemies around in the air. I find this a lot more enjoyable than waiting hours to find a group and finding a single camping spot the fight a single enemy over and over again. And just like in PSO, the boss fights return and are as spectacular as ever.

Screenshots are in spoiler tag:



Overall this game is probably 10 times better than PSO was. And I have to say those who never liked PSO should still give this game a chance since they'll probably like it. The US version launches the end of next month.

You can see the English website here: http://www.phantasystaruniverse.com

I reserved my copy today as well. Though, depending on my financial situation, I may have to wait a while before taking it online. Too bad I can't make a character and beef him up offline in the meantime like I could with PSO.

Has it been confirmed that the 360 players won't be able to play with everyone else? I reserved my copy for 360, but if that's true I may have to switch to PS2.

Yes. It was confirmed by an official Sega employee himself. This is why I am strongly suggesting that everyone pass the half-assed XBOX port and stick with the ps2/PC version.

Count me in for the PC version on day 1!

However I heard that the 360 version won't have a monthly fee.

Any credibility to that claim, or what?

I mean, it's a trade-off either way.

I've also heard about the 360 not requiring a monthly fee, just an XBL Gold account.

Until I can figure out how to connect the 360 online at school, however, it doesn't matter much for me.

http://www.xboxic.com/news/1578

Stick to the PC version. =o

This game > all MMORPGs. True story.

I'll probably be snagging the PC version of this as well when it comes around stateside. I've gotten sick and tired of Warcraft anyway, and I haven't had a good Phantasy Star fill for what seems to be ages. I've beaten all four of the original games, and was hoping for the remakes to come out, but oh well.

This is pretty much as good as Phantasy Star 5 to me with an additional multiplayer function, so I'll take it all the same.

This game looks pretty hot. How much is the monthly fee? I just might get the PC version, since my PS2 has no internet capabilities.

I've been waiting for a new PSO game since Dreamcast died, which makes that what, 5 years? I'll be there on the PC and PS2 version.

So many games come out at the end of the year. VP: Silmeria, FFXII, PSU, WoW: Burning Crusade, .hack//GU, Rogue Galaxy.. I'm going to be miserable because I won't have enough time to play them all. ><

Looks like I'm switching my reservation. Should've gone with my first instinct and not let the clerk talk me into the 360 version. lol

Any word on the official price of the monthly fee? I really want to take it online and start playing with everyone as soon as possible, but I'm borderline destitute here. I shouldn't even be buying this game right now. :ashamed:

Well if the PSU monthly fee is less than what the XBL Gold account is, it'd make more sense to get the PS2 or PC version. I'm curious as to the required specs for the game to run on the PC.

I'll be playing online, but I wanna see if my PC can even run it on something a little better than low.

How much is the monthly fee anyway? I'm going to try and get my hands on this game as soon as it comes out.

It's about 15 bucks or something.

I'm very excited for it, but I doubt I'll be able to play it online-- I don't have any of the stuff for my PS2, I don't have Live, and my PC can only passably play games at the lowest settings.

The Sega of America Phantasy Star Universe page was updated recently with revised minimum PC specifications. The revisions include guidelines for how much hard drive space you will need (3 GB) and video graphics cards. Here are the updated specifications.

* Operating System: Windows 2000 (SP4 or later)/Windows XP (SP2 or later)
* Processor: Pentium 4 1.6 GHz or higher
* RAM: 256 MB (minimum)
* Video Card: higher than Geforce4 series / ATI RADEON 8500
* Hard Drive Space: 3 GB (minimum), 10 GB (recommended)
* Connectivity: Broadband (recommended)
* Control Options: Keyboard or Gamepad

http://www.pso-world.com/article.php?sid=1523


And here is a link to a little character creation try-out demo someone made. The character creation mode is simply amazing. I can't wait. Note some of the clothes are clothes you can only buy in stores, not starting stuff.

http://psu-chara.com/create/

I could of sworn my friend said it's only 8 dollars a month, at least in japan it is.

From PSO-World:

More than likely, there will be a fee. It'll probably be around $10 more or less.

this Phantasy Star really seem good, I'll probably try it out on PC

I just hope that the all the problem that happen with the JP release will not happen in the NA release (after 2 weeks they had to shutdown all they server, and start again in beta because there was too much problem...that mean that all character was reset too...)

Cool. With those PC specs, I've more than enough capability to run the game at medium or higher settings. There goes another reason to buy a 360 -- I'd rather get this for PC. :D

Those who buy the 360 version will have to pay the monthly fee on top of what they've already paid for their XBL subscription, so if anything the 360 version should be avoided at all costs unless you absolutely hate playing on the PC.

Besides, who wants to hear 10 year olds begging for rares or meseta over voice chat?

Wait, I thought it was confirmed that 360 users would only have to pay for XBL? Isn't that how FFXI works? Or is it the other way around -- don't need to subscribe to XBL Gold, but you have to pay SE's fee?

PSU has already been confirmed to require an additional monthly fee on top of the XBL subscription. Also, 360 players will be sectioned off by themselves on a separate server while the PS2/PC players will have their own servers.

Miles posted a link regarding the monthly fee earlier in the thread, but I'll repost the link here for you: http://www.xboxic.com/news/1578

Pour one on the curb. Rogue Galaxy is delayed until 2007.

Oh snap I just realized something. Getting two versions of this game would be pointless if it doesn't use server-side saving. Based on the history of PSO games, none of them used server-side except Blue Burst. Thats why the game is so easy to hack, I heard PSU beta has been hacked already. I think I'll get it for PS2 and play it online, then download the PC version just for the hell of it. For me, playing on a console is much more convenient since I have a TV Tuner.

That majorly sucks. I was practically depressed when I found out. But then, when you consider the background of Level-5 and how awesome their games have been. This delay will only make the game better, of that I'm entirely confident.

Ah, well sucks to the owner of the 360 version of PSU then. It's cool that, even if they're going to charge $15 a month for the US servers, it's not like the game will sit there and rot, what with it having a decent single-player mode.

This is sounding more and more like the perfect merger between an offline and online RPG. Diablo got good at it, but the single player was basically a waste, really. At least I thought so. But PSU seems to have it down pat, if they can just correct those server issues in Japan.

This is right. The MMO games on the 360 require you to have XBL Silver only, and that's free. You have to pay regular MMO fee though.

I like how this isn't surprising though. Considering the MMO Subscription and XBL are completely seperate services, having two completely seperate fees sorta makes sense.

Vonage phone service and your internet both use modems and might even go out the same bloody cable box. You still pay two fees though! Same dealio here.

I went and switched my reservation today and some asshat tried to dissuade me, feeding me that shit about only needing a Live subscription and that there was no monthly fee. Said he read it from "reliable sources." I made him look like such the moron when I told him about the official Sega announcement. It was kinda funny. :D

You're missing the rest of the equation, there. The PSU Beta client was floating around on the internet and the old PSO hackers were able to get access to character creation with it, and that's it. It means very little.

PSU uses server-side saving. Even combat is handled server-side instead of client-side like it was on all versions of PSO. They ran into the standard early online game launch issues, but they're all being resolved.

They even bodly stated that it is impossible to cheat in PSU. We're all PSO vets though, so you know how that usually turns out. I'll hope for the best though. If it's as good as it's hyped up to be I can finally leave the hell in the box that was FFXI.

If everything is being done server side, then there shouldn't be anywhere near the amount of hacking/exploiting that was done in past incarnations. I've been playing the offline mode on PC for a bit. One question, where is the tattoo shops for beast transformations?

Q1: So in terms of the online play, is this one an actual MMORPG or does it play more like the classic PSO?

Q2: With that out of the way, how's the offline mode? Worth checking out or total throwaway?

It looks like it plays like the original PSO, but with a vastly improved battle system.

Online play: it's got PSO's core mechanics, but the combat is fleshed out a lot more. Things are faster paced, and all the tweaks and adjustments make for a really solid online action RPG. Juggling enemies in the air may seem like a simple improvement, but it really adds some character to the game, and makes PSO seem so pathetically boring in comparison. It's definitely not a MMORPG though, as everything is instanced for 6-man teams, though large amounts of people can be seen in towns.

Offline: It's very JRPG in its presentation, with tons of voice acting and cutscenes. The story and characters are pretty stereotypical, and so it's best to go in expecting everything to be fairly straight-forward, with little to no complexity behind the plot. If you go in with that mindset, you'll enjoy it. After all, Skies of Arcadia wasn't complex in any way, shape, or form, and it was one of the best RPGs made to date.

Damn, that's a lot of people :D Awesome. Digging the sittage, too.

Parn (or anyone that's played the JP version): question about the Beast rage dealy form: Do they pretty much all look the same aside from color? Or do they follow the same sliders designated for proportion? That is, will an extremely tiny Beast suddenly turn into this huge buff glowy thing?

I recognize some of the people in that screenshot lol.

I had to pass on PSU as I wanted to understand the storyline and items unlike PSO:BB where I had a better idea of the mechanics and basics without the need of someone to translate for me.

This is excellent to hear. I'm very pleased about the enemy juggling and improved action flow.
Well, that's fine I guess. Seems like about what I expected from a revamped PSO.
I approve.
Yes. Yes it was.

In case anyone is wondering, the soundtrack is very awesome. The music shares some elements from the PSO games, and so far, I have yet to hear one song that I didn't like. Time to hunt down a full soundtrack!

So did y'all import this or is there a trail somewhere I can hit up? It sounds freaking awesome.

Um, I'm waiting for the english version. And I'm dling the OST now (not the promo CD).

Where can the OST be found? I have the promo CD and I was pretty impressed with that. Also, I can't wait until the english version comes out!

I've never played anything related to Phantasy Star in my life. I couldn't name an event, character, or anything else to save my life.

However, as someone who is still fairly new to MMORPGs (started with FFXI on the PS2), I've been keeping an eye on this game for a while. It seems to feature more customization over your character over FFXI, plus the action-oriented gameplay would be a nice change from FFXI's auto-battle system.

I'm also hoping that starting a Party and investigating some deep dungeon will be a much speedier process than the typical 2-3 hour wait in FFXI.

The only thing I'm leary about is the online fee. Since I'm already paying $15 for FFXI, I'm not sure I can squeeze this game into my budget. Also, I can't for the life of me understand why there's a 360 version and not a PS3 one.

1. Everything in Phantasy Star Universe is fast-paced, aside from perhaps leveling progression, which doesn't feel much like a grind because combat is very involving and active. There is no waiting. Finding a group to play with is simple, because level gaps don't matter. You find someone to play with, and then you play. Experience is awarded based on who killed a monster... those who helped damage it get 2/3 of the experience value. That's another thing... in MMORPGs, players swarm a single monster that's usually half the size of a single character and fight it for a minute or two... in this game, you're fighting groups of monsters and constantly roaming. There's no downtime to speak of.

2. There's not a PlayStation 3 version because the PlayStation 3 isn't even out yet.

Whats the level cap on this one?

Now, I'm definately going to voutch for Miles on this. Him and I were lames on PSO and we played a lot. Nearly everyday searching for this and leveling for that. Even though I haven't played PSU, I can say it'll be an amazing experience. I've played every version of PSO, and they were pretty much the same (some added weapons, missions, leveling areas, quests in each different version)....but I still had plenty of fun.

My first online experience was RagnarokOnline (alpha), sadly. But once I touched PSO on DC...I couldn't put it down. After I sampled it, I bought DC solely for the purpose of PSO.

I already reserved my copy of PSU, and it's fully paid off besides 10 cents. =x I hand them a dime, and PSU is mine! I'm dead excited and I'm gonna join Miles being lame agian.

Hmm.. I don't know how I can put my excitement into text form, but I've never been more excited for a game in my life. It makes me sad to think that I won't have the money to go online on launch day, but god damn, just thinking about playing it for the first time makes me cream myself. PSO was my favorite game ever. I've never had so much fun with one game. I've been playing it since early 2001 and I still play Blue Burst from time to time. It's just impossible for me to get tired of it.

So far the level cap has been set to 50. I think they plan on increasing as soon as they unlock more game content since we're still lacking access to multiple areas and another whole planet.

I'll probably get right in on launch day, gonna go head out to preorder the PC version either today or tomorrow so I can start early for sure. I do have some questions though..

I've played all four of the original PS games, but never played any of the PSO releases. About how much of the active PS lore would I find in a online PS title, and furthermore, how steep is the learning curve to getting into PSU if you're starting from scratch?

'Lore'? The PSO and PSU storylines are entirely separate from the original PS storylines. There may be subtle references to the originals here and there, but only as jokes or something.

The learning Curve is nothing too big. The game is actually quite simple. The changes made here from the original are huge, but at the same time similar enough to be able to pick up quite fast.

If you like shooting stuff up, be a Ranger
If you like casting nuke spells, be a Force
If you like up close and personal combat, be a Hunter

I hear one new thing is the advance classes. You can sorta be a hybrid of some classes after playing for a while. The combat system is also as simple as it gets, yet it's one of the best for any online RPG out there. It also kills off the feeling of grinding, by making you go through stages instead of grind in this spot, and kill this enemy untill you hit level X then move here, rinse repeat. The boss fights are absolutly amazing too! So yeah.... Simple, but fun!

"Lore" in the Phantasy Star universe being like the Algol System, the Mother Brain concept, Palma/Parma, Dezolis/Desoris, and Motavia/Motabia as existing planets, the races/class types, and the like. Like are there any rough references to people like Alis from PS1 or Rune/Lutz from PS4, and such. If monster types are directly pulled from the old games, etc etc.

I like the sound of things thus far, sounds real nice when compared to other MMOs these days. I must ask though, there is no raid or die concept in this game, is there?

If by that you mean any sort of PVP then no. The game focuses on teamwork. We had a pretty good team on the Japanese version and did multiple dragon runs in such short time. Tons of EXP, meseta and job EXP from that. xD

I mean like the whole "You must spend every waking moment in a raid in order to progress" type mentality. PVP doesn't bother me that much as long as it isn't griefer style PVP, but I'm beyond tired of the letters "D" "K" and "P" rearing their ugly selves into every MMO.

I'm not sure if I understand what you mean. :3 If you're asking if you need a group in order make any progress in the game at all then the answer is nope. Sometimes it's better to solo on lower ranked missions if none of your friends are on because then all the items and meseta that is dropped goes to you opposed to getting split between 6 people. It's a very good way to make money. Meanwhile playing in a party is the fastest way to get EXP since a large party allows you to rip through each set of enemies in much faster time.

Unlike FF11 though, it is incredibly easy to find a party. If none of your friends are on it's easy to select an open game from a list and join on their progress. Of course you don't get the full rewards for joining a mission that's in progress already, but you'll most likely repeat or move onto another mission right after anyway. And seriously, I love how level makes little difference in this game. You can have a level 30 player join a mission full of level 5 people and still get the same EXP as long as the 30 isn't killing everything in one hit.

Not knowing what I mean at this point is a blessing for you, because it means you probably haven't pulled your hair out playing EQ or World of Warcraft yet. But in those games, the only way you're ever able to see any end-game content or any big time equipment pieces is by raiding. Non-stop raiding. 25-72 (WOW minimum to EverQuest maximum) people all together doing the same encounters week in and week out. Repetitively dull and boring getting 1-3 pieces of a gear a MONTH except to those who have a great deal of friends to talk to in those raid parties. I mean things like that.

So everything is designed around six person parties? Can parties can any bigger than that or is that the max?

6, Im pretty sure that's the max.

However I am unsure of how guilds will work. In PSO:BB I have like 40 people in my guild/team.

I think it would be best to not even think about this game in terms of MMO definitions. It isn't an MMO, doesn't aspire to be one, nor will anything really make sense if you think of it in terms of one.

Yeah, there's levels. Yeah, there's equipment. Each "mission" or "adventure area" , if it is designed in the same way as PSO, has a dynamic population. That is to say, the ammount of enemies that pop and attack you differs depending on how many people you bring to the field. Going solo? You'll be able to handle it. Packing a full 6pack? (and no it can't get larger) It'll get more hecktic, but you can do it working together.

A lot of the gameplay revolves around the fact that you can solo any one mob yourself, but with a group there's a whole megaton of them and you might get overwhelmed if you try to take it on yourself. There's no dedicated "healer" or "tank" class: everything is focused on damage. A Ranger shoots from a distance, a Hunter fights melee, and a Force casts spells/'techniques'. -- So that is to say, everyone does generally the same thing but approaches it with a different set of 'weapons'.

It would probably be better to think about the game in terms of Diablo or Gauntlet.

Yeah the game works a lot like Diablo 2. You join a "room" or create one. Except of the simple layout for choosing a room though, we get a nice huge chat room area. Characters can run around and do sorta recreational stuff. Anyone know if there's a soccer lobby like in Episode I&II?

There's no lobby soccer in Phantasy Star Universe, at the moment anyways. I do know that there's supposed to be a dance club on the third floor of the Guardian's Colony, though it's currently locked out.

Will you be allowed to take screenshots like in FFXI? I always enjoyed that feature, and have a sizable album to prove it.

Also, are there towns with NPCs to visit? Or is it purely areas with monsters to fight?

You can take screenshots on the PC version. You cannot on the PlayStation 2 release.

All interaction is done in towns, and there are various NPCs scattered throughout. You exit towns at various locations to start missions/join missions in progress.

I suppose you would need the PS2 hard drive to save images. Too bad. What about friend lists, and messaging your friends?

Still waiting on the monthly fee. I have a job now, but I still need to budget certain things for now. Perhaps I'll take a 3 month break from FFXI to work my way up to PSU.

Also, not sure if this was mentioned yet, but is there a stats difference on the different races? What's the most popular race, and why?

Technically, you can take screenshots of any PC game. Just press Printscreen, and paste the image in paint or photoshop. If friend lists are the same as it was in PSO, then it's really quite simple, and one of the best systems around. In PSO you basically had something called a guild card. You can write a little mini biography on it, and you would send your card to whoever you want, and once he/she sends you his/hers, you would see his/her card in your list along with their little biography. One of the best features about this though, is the ability to teleport to the same lobby your friend is in using the card. Saves a lot of time.

Yes the stats are different based on races. They are ALSO dependent on your sex. Here's what I know so far (correct me if i'm wrong here):

Beasts are basically mainly the HUnters. (Close combat specialists) The males have more attack power, and accuracy, but females have more evade, and can use Magic. (although I hear basic hunters can't use magic) Even though the males have more accuracy, Beasts have bad accuracy in general. This of course doesn't matter if you use good tactics, and constantly try to get behind the enemy which = 100% accuracy.

Casts (Robots) are mainly RAngers. Some people say Rangers get the shaft in this game, but after a bit of work, you'll find that they are VERY good at what they do. RAngers are pretty simple. Run, and gun. If you play a RAnger, and do what you're supposed to be doing, you will VERY RARELY get hit. They also now have different kinds of "ammo" to put into guns that do different things. Enemies of course also have elemental weaknesses, so this is important. Ice ammo can freeze, Lightning ammo can paralyze, Fire ammo can set enemies on fire, etc.... Casts have the most accuracy, and evade of any race. They CANNOT use magic at all though.

Newmans are mainly FOrces. FOrces are your typical mages. The spells in this game though seem to be a lot more devastating than in the past PSO games. They can also heal, buff, and revive. Needless to say, FOrces are almost essential in any good party. While I don't know what Newman's highest stats are, i'm pretty sure it's Magic attack, and Magic Defense.

Humans are your all around race. They don't really excel at anything, but they don't really suck at anything either. I hear this game has advance hybrid classes, so the Humans shine the most there. Female Beasts can use magic too, but it's really gimped shitty magic. Useful for having a heal spell though. Dunno if they have any higher stats than all other classes though.

Now while I said certain races excel at certain jobs, you can still make a Beast RAnger, or a Newman HUnter. ( <----- sounds like a death wish) This just means that their stats make them better at certain classes than others. So the 3 basic classes are RAnger, FOrce, and HUnter. Hope this info helps...

According to pso-world, Casts can use magic... they just suck at it.

It would probably be absolutly useless then, because their MST (mind power) is less than 10.

MST is for defense against techs. Technique attack power is the driving force for technique damage. Cast forces would seem to be more support oriented, while newman forces are geared more for offense. Support techs seem to not really take technique attack power or MST into account, and so a hunter/force or ranger/force hybrid would work well for a cast.

We'll see in the long run... just don't discount cast forces entirely, especially since I've watched the dragon one-shot newman forces on many occasions.

I must say that I do not support the idea of letting Casts use magic. It pretty much makes no sense at all...

Monthly fee revealed.

$50 every 6 months doesn't sound too bad, but the deciding factor will be how long they'll let you sign off. Last time I checked, FFXI lets you stop your account up to 3 months, in which you have to renew it by that time or lose your character for good. How long do they let you sign off in PSU?

Those lucky bastards. I was about to jump out of my seat when it said 'open beta,' but its just for 360 users. The only person I know with a 360 had to mail his console in to get repairs yesturday, because it had some kind of defect in it.

Forever. You see, every other online game in existance* doesn't delete your character data in the hopes that someday, you might want to come back to the game, and not deleting your data helps make the decision that much easier. Square Enix on the other hand, decided they'd dictate how things will be run in the online gaming world and made stupid decisions with Final Fantasy XI, such as worldpasses, character deletion after 3 months, charging extra per character, and so forth.

* note that I have not played every online game in existance, but I've played a lot of the major ones, and none of them delete your character data after unsubscribing because doing so is stupid.

that's not true anymore, now it's up to 1 year before the delete your charaters and even that I think now they don't delete it anymore (well I'm not sure about that but I'm certain that now it's up to one year before they delete the charaters on that account, but some eprson said they add they account innactive for more than a year and still got they characters back when they re-activated)

That's good news on both counts. Not having to pay a fee for PSU every 3 months means I can take extended breaks per month without any worry (unless I pony up for the "6 months for 50 bucks").

But if that FFXI news is also true, it's also a load off my chest. Although I don't know how quick and painless it is to cancel/renew your account.

Well, with PSOBB Sega never deleted your characters. I'm sure it'll be the same for this game too. My PSOBB characters STILL exist and I haven't played in over a year.

The game is due this week, and I'm pretty interested in checking it out once it's available. A couple of things are keeping me from commiting to a full purchase though. I want to read some reviews first, and make sure that the servers will work. Aside from that, I have a few more questions.

1. Is the first month free?

2. I can't decide which race I'll be. I liked that one video where the female human was dual wielding a gun and sword. It sounds like each race is only suitable for one specific job (healer, melee, etc), but I want to try all the weapons out. That said, should I stick with human since it's the most balanced? Or are there other races that can handle the sword/gun combo as well?

3. How many characters are you allowed to create (at no extra charge)?

4. Which store has the cheapest price for this game?

5. I'm trying to think up a good name. What's the naming scheme for characters in the PS universe (for example, Mithras in FFXI have indian-sounding names)?

Not certain off-hand, I haven't heard anything mentioned about it though.

I believe any race can justifiably perform well at any class, especially with multiclassing later on... But essentially for strengths it's Human-Balanced, Newman-Force, Cast-Ranger, Beast-Hunter.

Four characters period all under the same account/monthlydealy, not expandable.

Toys R Us has a buy 2 get 1 free sale coming up soon, not sure if it's on yet. Other than that, unless the store has a coupon it's probably all the same :p

It's Phantasy Star... people make Cloud and Sephiroth clones and make stupid AOL numbernames like sUpErBiLlyBoB3024. On a serious note though, I don't think there is any naming scheme. Names aren't unique though, so go to town.

--

As a side note, we have a more recent thread in the Online Games forum... And another in the Xbox forums (for the 360 version.) Not sure which one we should use :p

Two of them were created by myself, the PSU fiend. I think the one in online gaming would be better. I created that thread to try and get more people from these forums involed so we can plan meets to exhcange cards and such.

As someone who's never played a Phantasy Star game before -- online or otherwise -- is this a good starter game to get into the PS universe? No pun intended, of course.

Here's what may be a doozy of a question -- ultimately, what's going to be more entertaining? This game as an MMO, or this game as a single-player RPG?

Well basically if you're gonna play this game, it's its own beast apart from the similarities to PSO. The "Phantasy Star" universe pretty much consists of its own blend of sci-fi and fantasy, meseta for currency, a few recurring enemies and races ala FF, and the tendancy to have at least one green cheerful planet. As well as a dark corrupting force, often times involving Dark Falz in some manner. In PSU's case, it's the SEED.

Online will be infinately more entertaining for me, simply because it's playing with people and there's a potential for a constantly expanding and changing world with new missions, seasonal events, special quests, etc. The offline RPG actually serves well as a more guided tutorial for diving into the game's world and such, while also providing a story that supposedly leads into the online game.

GAF posted a rumor saying that the first 14 days will be free, but who knows. It would make a big difference for me if the first month was free.

But is the performance difference really that noticable if you're using a job that is considered weak for your Race? Like I said before, I want to try everything at first, but I don't want to get rejected from PTs because I have this job for this race, which results in a crappy combination.

Four is quite acceptable. That would come in handy if I wanted to tinker around with the other races/jobs, though I don't know if I would even have the time if it takes as long as it does in FFXI just to level one character.

Well, this is the only currently available game I'm interested in purchasing (aside from FFXII next week), so it would be a waste of money to buy an additional game.

Well, I like to be creative with my names, so I'm trying to think up something sci-fi related that isn't just ripping off a popular character's name. If I was part of a Sonic-themed static group, though (like the one seen in PSU ads), then I'd get in on that (Tails, Sonic, Shadow, etc).

Tommorow I might try to snag this game at Gamestop, but I'd really like to read any early reviews or impressions beforehand. Really, the only thing holding me back is my budget, since I'm saving my dough for FFXII, the PS3, a PS3 game, and likely the Wii and Zelda afterwards.

EDIT: Seems there is a free trial of sorts, but you need to subscribe in advance.

-GAF

So basically, subscribing for the 30 days option gives you 15 free days, and the 180 days option gives you 45 extra days.

Not sure which is the better deal.

So 7 months for the price of 6 (approximately) or 1.5 for the price of 1.

I'm likely just going to do the 30 day sub. You save 20 bucks on the 180 day sub though.

And, really, ya should get out of the FFXI mentality for this game ;) Everything works out usually. I can't say from experience, but based on PSO it's totally chill compared to how stick-up-ass-ish people get in FFXI when it comes to job/race bs.

One thing that would help in deciding which race I should be is a webpage that lets me try out the different character combinations online. Someone showed me this page...

http://psu-chara.com/create/

but it doesn't give you all the options.

Do you know if they bill you before or after the 30/180 days run out? If it's after, then I'll probably go for the 180 day deal, since I wouldn't have to worry about it until early next year, plus I save $20.

Man, I got excited over those vehicles in the trailer. Sounds like they aren't available yet, though.

So is PSU released in your area?

Should be by tommorow.

I also forgot to ask about how chatting is done. I've noticed that the dialogue boxes are real small, like comic book style (or FFIX's dialogue boxes). Is there a limit to how much you can type? Can you only go up to a few words, or a paragraph full?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EolH40YbeU

Oh, man. :p

EDIT: By any chance, does anyone know how much Gamestop is currently offering for trading Star Ocean 3? Since I have no real interest in playing it, I might trade it in (but not before saving it on a HD) for a real sci-fi RPG.

They bill you before, and it's a one-time purchase. So you buy a new one after the old runs out.

There's a character creation app floating around on the web (in format of .torrent) though supposedly it's illegal (god knows why). It includes more options than in that URL including Cast creation. However, I noticed that there is actually a little bit less clothing options in the app.


I bought SO3 from Circuit City a year ago for $15 new, though it was Greatest Hits edition. I'm thinking you won't get more than that for a used copy, probably expect like $10 or so.

Clothing is something I can decide fairly quickly, so I can save that for later. Could you maybe give me the link of that torrent, or at least the name?

EDIT: Think I found it.

http://www.mininova.org/tor/417984

Well, my brother picked up the 360 version (because our PC's suck ass and we currently have no broadband connection), but now I'm thinking of getting the PC version so I can play online. If I wanted to play with my brother, would I have to get 2 copies, and 2 HL's? I really want to play this running in 60fps (non-360), but it feels like that'll never happen. Man, it looks so cool though.

If your bro is playing the 360 version, then it means you have to get another 360 and another copy of PSU 360 to play with him.

Players playing PC or PS2 get to play together.

why do we have 2 thread about PSU? I think we should close this one or keep this one maybe just for the story mode...

Good idea, this should be discussions for story mode. I've only finished chapter 2 of it so far. But so far, I like Karen, she rocks.

The online topic is at the Multiplayer section.

well with okami, VP2, TotA, FFXII, school and other thong I don't really have much time to do XD

so I guess the story mode will wait a little, I just played 1 or 2 hour in it, and the voice acting really hurt my ears and that what's keep me away from it XD and the fact that the game seem almost exactly like the online mode which I think it's better in online with other friends XD

The voice acting's kind of rough around the edges at first, but it does get better as you progress. I think the actors were getting more comfortable with their roles as things went along.

It's interesting to hear the pink power ranger's voice in the game. GOOOOOO KIMBERLY!