Support NeoGAF

[kiryogi]

Courtesy of PSOWorld and my old semi-clan, apocalyptic tribe.

Well, this is as official as it gets folks and heh it's a download purchase.


http://www.sega.com/games/game_temp.php?game=psobb

I might return to PSO with this, tho to note I still miss CARD a lot. I had a lot of great times with it

 

[Bog]

I'll play it if players drop their equipped weapon and money when they die.

 

[kiryogi]

I'll play it if players drop their equipped weapon and money when they die.

??!?

Looter?! OMG DON DAVIS KEEPS THE PEACE.

 

[The Faceless Master]

looting was a part of the fun and a valid playstyle!

i didn't do it, but a couple of my good friend did, and it was hilarious to play in games with them and random strangers

 

[Bog]

??!?

Looter?! OMG DON DAVIS KEEPS THE PEACE.

Wow. You and I are now friends.

 

[Ramirez]

It figures Bog would be into that stupid shit.

Is this coming to just NGC/Xbox or just PC?

 

[BenT]

God help me, I'll buy it again. Bummer that it's download-only, though.

"Also, new morphing technology allows you to customize your character's face, hairstyle, clothing, and body size." Hmm, is that really new? Body morph was always available.

 

[saelz8]

Im gonna have to try this game out when its released. Whens release date? Website says spring 2005, anything more specific?

 

[Brandon F]

Looter?! OMG DON DAVIS KEEPS THE PEACE.

:lol Oh man do I miss PSO.

 

[Teknopathetic]

OPA OPA IS A CORPSE LOOTER.

BASKY EATS IT.

 

[Nightbreeze]

I'll be getting back into pso for sure with this.

 

[MoxManiac]

Do you have to pay for the download? Or is it just the fee you have to play?

 

[Wario64]

Haha, corpse looting...good times

PSO was such a great game

 

[Bog]

It figures Bog would be into that stupid shit.

Having fun online? Yeah, in other words, the opposite of Madden.

 

[Mrbob]

I'm halfway interested in this. Is there a free trial to try?

 

[kiryogi]

Do you have to pay for the download? Or is it just the fee you have to play?

Not sure, but for the japanese version, you download it and then purchase a serial for about 30$ to unlock it. I imagine thats without server fees....

 

[M3wThr33]

Yay! A return to the only mpog I've ever played! And in English! I will definetly pay to play it.

 

[Mrbob]

Yay! A return to the only mpog I've ever played! And in English! I will definetly pay to play it.

Yeah PSO is pretty fun game. Too much cheating though ruined the fun. With stuff stored on the server side now I'm interested again because it'll cut cheating down big time.

This official website kind of sucks, though.

 

[Ramirez]

:lol

Thanks for letting us know though Boggy!

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

so how much is this suppossed to be?

If its more than 20 , i cant see myself getting into it when theres...you know...


WOW

 

[aoi tsuki]

i fully intended to try the game out again if Sega offered a free month trial, but after running through the screenshots, i'm not even going to bother. There's some nice changes here, but it looks to be too much of the same. Again.

Changes according to PSO World:

# Remappable keyboard buttons for action palette on your lower screen (extended, you can map techniques and actions to keys 1-0)
# Server side saving to preserve character data
# Game masters to establish order to communities
# Staff characters
# Is an X-Box port
# Control improvement involving keyboard and mouse
# Native high resolution mode
# Better textures
# Existing characters will look better (same existing 12 classes, no new additions)
# Higher polygon count
# New NPC's introducing new adventures (not on Gamecube or X-Box)
# New team system will let you register teams with the server and be known by that team which will enable you to create mini communities. Once you have a team made, you have your own real time chat channel that runs independently of what ship/game you are in.
# A completely new map and new set of monsters.

Edit: The above taken from http://www.planetdreamcast.com/psoworld/psopc.php, which got their info from the Japanese version of PSO BB.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

If they would instead....make a MMO out of it for PC....

With all the great music and more....Much Huger areas of course ( being that it would be an MMO )

Update the graphics a bit....

add a bunch more shit...make everything server side like a normal MMO....

add a shitload more content...

Update the gamplay and make it more deep....like the combos more deep....and add alot more class specific attacks/spells...

make it pvp by race....and then balance it.....

then Id honestly probably drop WoW for it.

^^^ will never happen of course.

so....< back to wow >

 

[aoi tsuki]

Was it ever possible to combo a technique with a physical attack? Goofy casting animation aside, i always though that'd be pretty cool, but as a hunter my techniques weren't that fast until i got to near level 100, and they still weren't fast enough to combo.

 

[DECK'ARD]

It figures Bog would be into that stupid shit.

Is this coming to just NGC/Xbox or just PC?

Console versions don't look likely. The main benefit (server-side saving) would be a bit pointless as Xbox/GC have already been hacked to pieces, and not many people would upgrade if they had to lose all their items. Not this long after the game's release anyway.

Phantasy Star Universe looks like the next slice of console action. EGM better have lots of new PSU info in the next issue, I'm beginning to get that PSO-withdrawl feeling again.

 

[DECK'ARD]

^^^ will never happen of course.

so....< back to wow >

That is roughly what I expect PSU to be actually - PSO with more MMORPG overtones.

And the comment in EGM about them not wanting to give away too much about online play implies a big change. Going more MMORPG would be the most obvious change.

 

[Mejilan]

I'll pick this up. Is this Ep IV, then?

 

[Scott]

I'll pick this up. Is this Ep IV, then?

Episode IV is an expansion pack for Blue Burst.

I don't think it's known whether or not Episode IV is included here, but I'm thinking it'll be a seperate release down the line. It would be nice if I was wrong, though.

 

[Mejilan]

Bah. So PSO BB is just essentially PSO EpI&II++?

 

[Scott]

Bah. So PSO BB is just essentially PSO EpI&II++?

Yup, aoi tsuki listed the changes above:

# Remappable keyboard buttons for action palette on your lower screen (extended, you can map techniques and actions to keys 1-0)
# Server side saving to preserve character data
# Game masters to establish order to communities
# Staff characters
# Is an X-Box port
# Control improvement involving keyboard and mouse
# Native high resolution mode
# Better textures
# Existing characters will look better (same existing 12 classes, no new additions)
# Higher polygon count
# New NPC's introducing new adventures (not on Gamecube or X-Box)
# New team system will let you register teams with the server and be known by that team which will enable you to create mini communities. Once you have a team made, you have your own real time chat channel that runs independently of what ship/game you are in.
# A completely new map and new set of monsters.

 

[Mejilan]

*sighs* 'Stupid' and 'Sega' are like synonyms these days.

Well, I suppose if we're lucky, the US version of PSO BB will include Ep IV by default.

I just don't really get how they could rerelease a game (on a new platform) with a tiny bit of new content and then create an expansion to that exclusive rerelease with quite a bit more content than the rerelease itself.

 

[aoi tsuki]

*sighs* 'Stupid' and 'Sega' are like synonyms these days.

Well, I suppose if we're lucky, the US version of PSO BB will include Ep IV by default.

I just don't really get how they could rerelease a game (on a new platform) with a tiny bit of new content and then create an expansion to that exclusive rerelease with quite a bit more content than the rerelease itself.

Well, to be fair, i think they're better off saving major changes in gameplay for a new game. i'd like to see a max of at least eight players per level, but they'd need to enlarge the stages or else it'd be way too easy to run through a stage. They could add more enemies, but the fighting would get even more repetitive with the limited gameplay. Adding another class means playtesting until it's perfect, and so on.

i think there's only so much they can add to the game, which fundamentally hasn't changed since the first PSO appeared on DC, roughly five years ago. Putting it on PC is essentually the last step for the series, or at least the current iterations.

 

[Mejilan]

'Cept that PSO BB Ep IV is already out in Japan. So what's the big deal about bringing it out here?

And it does feature that lovely PSIII remix...

 

[Rorschach]

Not sure, but for the japanese version, you download it and then purchase a serial for about 30$ to unlock it. I imagine thats without server fees....

So there will be fees, eh? No sale. :|

 

[aoi tsuki]

'Cept that PSO BB Ep IV is already out in Japan. So what's the big deal about bringing it out here?

And it does feature that lovely PSIII remix...

Sorry, been out of the PSO loop. It's pretty cheesy on Sega's part. i'll pass until they seriously overhaul the gameplay.

 

[ManaByte]

So there will be fees, eh? No sale. :|

Yes. It isn't even a MMORPG. It's Sci-Fi Diablo in 3D.

 

[Teknopathetic]

What the hell, where have you guys been? 2002?

 

[aoi tsuki]

What the hell, where have you guys been? 2002?

Episode III being a possible exception, there hasn't been anything worthwhile in the PSO world since about then.

 

[Alex]

Is Episode IV totally fuckin' rehashed like Episode II? Or is it like a Baseball game now, or some other far-fetched shit that has nothing to do with the series like Episode III?

Hey, wait. Isn't Blue Burst the one with online character storage that people managed to hack to shit and back regardless?

 

[Teknopathetic]

I'm mainly talking about the fact that there are fees, etc.

 

[Companion Cube]

Episode IV is an expansion pack for Blue Burst.

I don't think it's known whether or not Episode IV is included here, but I'm thinking it'll be a seperate release down the line. It would be nice if I was wrong, though.

Combine both into a single GC game for release sometime this year, kthnx.

 

[Foobar]

OK, finally a version of PSO that fixes everything, validates the monthly fee and makes it more playable.

Too bad its YEARS too late and PC Exclusive. Really, Sega, fuck you.

 

[callous]

Some facts:

1: The Ep. I & II parts are free to download in the Japanese version. Only Episode IV costs money.

2: Of course there are bloody monthly fees. I can't believe there are people moaning about monthly fees. They're not making this game available to you out of the goodness of their hearts. Christ.

3: Yes, it's been hacked, but it's extremely limited and since everything is server side, Sega can patch things up very quickly.

4: Ep. IV is new areas, enemies and items. Just like Ep. II was.

 

[callous]

Was it ever possible to combo a technique with a physical attack? Goofy casting animation aside, i always though that'd be pretty cool, but as a hunter my techniques weren't that fast until i got to near level 100, and they still weren't fast enough to combo.

I don't know how you managed to go all the way to level 100 without knowing as a fact that you cannot combo techniques ... but you cannot Speed has got nothing to do with it.

 

[BuddyC]

Yea, I'm all over this. I am unable to resist the power of Phantasy Star Online.

 

[Foobar]

"Of course there are bloody monthly fees. I can't believe there are people moaning about monthly fees. They're not making this game available to you out of the goodness of their hearts. Christ."

Thing is, this series didn't deserve the monthly fee back when they instated it. For the $9.99 players got slim to no new content whatsoever. This is how it was for four years. Also, you could play all the levels offline for FREE sans the Xbox Live version. What content did Sega ever create that warranted such a fee, especially when they we're doing jack about security?

Now I can understand the monthly fee, seeing as there is actual server upkeep with the character saves and GM support to consider, still, the very least they could have done is offer Xbox and GameCube version these upgrades, seeing as that's what OUR $9.99 a month went to.

PSO to PC users.
A Shenmue MMO.
Sonic with guns.
Shining Force, not a turn-based strategy game

Hot damn, Sega's just on a roll, aren't they?

 

[BuddyC]

"Of course there are bloody monthly fees. I can't believe there are people moaning about monthly fees. They're not making this game available to you out of the goodness of their hearts. Christ."

Thing is, this series didn't deserve the monthly fee back when they instated it. For the $9.99 players got slim to no new content whatsoever. This is how it was for four years. Also, you could play all the levels offline for FREE sans the Xbox Live version. What content did Sega ever create that warranted such a fee, especially when they we're doing jack about security?

Now I can understand the monthly fee, seeing as there is actual server upkeep with the character saves and GM support to consider, still, the very least they could have done is offer Xbox and GameCube version these upgrades, seeing as that's what OUR $9.99 a month went to.

PSO to PC users.
A Shenmue MMO.
Sonic with guns.
Shining Force, not a turn-based strategy game

Hot damn, Sega's just on a roll, aren't they?

When you're Sega, you don't argue with profit. Considering some of their more recent business decisions, it's equivalent to kicking a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[Lindsay]

I'd like to give this a go since a bunch of my Ep.I&II friends will be leaving that for this but I'm not a PC gamer. I'm sure there's probably a GC-PC controller cord or something like that but even with that I got no clue wether or not my PC could even run this thing. -_-;

 

[Rorschach]

2: Of course there are bloody monthly fees. I can't believe there are people moaning about monthly fees. They're not making this game available to you out of the goodness of their hearts. Christ.

It's arguable that they could run this thing without fees, but I can understand some fees. The thing is that it's 10 dollars a month. That's insane for what they're offering here.