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

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Spatula

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::

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.

Originally Posted by Lady Miyomi

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.

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.

How ya doing, buddy?

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. =(

Originally Posted by Inhert

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...

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. >_>

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

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:

Spoiler:

And this is a video of us attemping to beat the dragon minutes before the servers were going down (video was not down by me, though I'm in the party) we failed to collect our rewards by 10 seconds. ;_;

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.ph...@sbcglobal.net

And this is us running the temple stage and defeating the boss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwPSwQhwToY

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 was speaking idiomatically.

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.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by JazzFlight

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.

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

Stick to the PC version. =o

FELIPE NO

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

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by Guest

Whats the level cap on this one?

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

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

There's nowhere I can't reach.

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.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by SOLDIER

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?

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.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

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.

I was speaking idiomatically.