Another Illuminus developer Q&A session

[EspioKaos]

Another Q&A (http://www.g-heaven.net/pso/topics/071227c.html) with Satoshi Sakai and Yuya Kimura was published in this week's issue of Dengeki PlayStation.

Higher ranking mission difficulties
At some point following the close of Maximum Attack G, S2-rank free missions and S-rank party missions are planned to be released.
Certain Episode 1 missions may be rebalanced in the future to tone down the difficulty.
AotI mission drop rates will be adjusted, though it's not stated if they will go up or down.
Trade missions
There currently are no plans to add new trade missions.
New trade mission items will be added, however.
Guardians' Boost Road
The next GBR will begin in early 2008. It will be based around drop rate boosts on Moatoob.
To better cater to the larger population of Illuminus players, AotI missions will be included in future GBRs. (Currently, 95% of Japan's PSU population are logging in through the expansion, while only 5% still play the original PSU.)
Players have expressed interest in adding the bonus of PA EXP boost for GBR, but this has not been confirmed as something that will be added.
SonicTeam plan on keeping GBR going at a regular pace from now on.
Miscellaneous discussion
Before Fighmaster, Gunmaster and Masterforce are released, type level caps will be raised to LV20.
New PM types will be added in 2008, probably around March.

[Leahcim]

I'm sorry if this deserves a facepalm for what I'm about to ask but...
Has anything specific to the Master Classes been announced as of yet? (Weapons, PA caps, stats)

I used the search function on this site, but it turned in the direction of nothing helpful -.-

[EspioKaos]

Nothing has been announced officially aside from their names and that they'll be out soon, however their descriptions were found in the game data. Their requirements, weapon proficiencies and PA caps are currently unknown.

EDIT: Whee, forum lag! Took 15 minutes to go through and then it ended up posting the same message five times. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: EspioKaos on 2007-12-27 07:47 ]</font>

[lostinseganet]

umm what is GBR...>_<
I should know right. (^_^)

[EspioKaos]

Guardians Boost Road. It's a special mini-event type thing where certain missions are given various bonuses by earning points. Points were earned by completing these missions, and the more points you accumulated, the better your drop rates for those missions became. The first (and currently only) GBR was held during November and with it five Parum missions were tagged as GBR missions.

[Telina]

So the first boost road was for Parum and lasted a month no? The non-JP servers should be getting it within the next update or two right?

Very nice and informatice Espio. Thank you for beinging this to light

[Umberger]

On 2007-12-27 07:05, EspioKaos wrote:
Players have expressed interest in adding the bonus of PA EXP boost for GBR, but this has not been confirmed as something that will be added.



This would make me so unbelievably happy...if it was on the Rozenom area, every -techer would max their TECHNICS in like...a week. XD

[Telina]

Continuing from what you said Umberger, If the future Skill PA's level like Absolute dance, i think EVERYONE will be quite happy for this feature lol. It seems like forces and rangers would benefit right now, but if we've learned anything since launch, its that sega's anything but predictable http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_razz.gif

[zandra117]

I thought that the whole point of GBR was to give players a reason to play the less popular missions, to spread out the population and make certain places look less like ghost towns. Oh well...

[Indica]

On 2007-12-27 07:05, EspioKaos wrote:
AotI mission drop rates will be adjusted, though it's not stated if they will go up or down.




They are definatly going to chop the money drops even if you have more people in a party.

[ryvius]

Certain Episode 1 missions may be rebalanced in the future to tone down the difficulty.

lol?

[Angelo]

On 2007-12-27 09:21, Telina wrote:
So the first boost road was for Parum and lasted a month no? The non-JP servers should be getting it within the next update or two right?



I really doubt us non-jp players will be getting anything like that.

[Reipard]

At some point following the close of Maximum Attack G, S2-rank free missions and S-rank party missions are planned to be released.

w00t ^_^.


Certain Episode 1 missions may be rebalanced in the future to tone down the difficulty.

I don't think that's really necessary; I think the rewards need more rebalancing, but I wonder what they have in mind at any rate.

Can't wait for morei nfo on the mastertypes when it closes in there.

[Akaimizu]

They also mentioned certain Episode 1 missions, not all Episode 1 missions. I think they're talking about certain missions which aren't balanced correctly in their difficulty.

Ones in which it swoops up and down in waves but without regular difficulty progression. The change is likely to make the increase of monster ferocity as progressive during those lower levels where you're forced to unlock playable levels in order.

[-Tidus_415-]

On 2007-12-27 07:05, EspioKaos wrote:
AotI mission drop rates will be adjusted, though it's not stated if they will go up or down

I hope they make rare things actually RARE so they can be worth something.

[chibiLegolas]

Great news to hear! It's always good to know that the developers are still working to make PSU evolve. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Thanks for the translation EspioKaos!

[EspioKaos]

On 2007-12-27 11:19, Angelo wrote:

On 2007-12-27 09:21, Telina wrote:
So the first boost road was for Parum and lasted a month no? The non-JP servers should be getting it within the next update or two right?

I really doubt us non-jp players will be getting anything like that.

I'm sorry, but... http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif
That's what people said about Firebreak. And the Platinum Cup. I honestly don't see any reason why we wouldn't get this at some point.

[JAFO22000]

So, when do we get the Thanks Festa?!?!? Before this or after this?

[EspioKaos]

If we go by the Japanese update schedule, the Thanks Festa came before GBR. I can't seem to shake the feeling that this "special surprise" or whatever we're supposed to be getting "very soon" due to the recent rollback is the Thanks Festa. It would make sense to me as the Japanese got it three weeks before Illuminus came out to lead directly into the release. Perhaps they have plans to give us a similar event to lead into the European launch of the expansion?



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: EspioKaos on 2007-12-27 12:34 ]</font>

[Angelo]

On 2007-12-27 12:20, EspioKaos wrote:

On 2007-12-27 11:19, Angelo wrote:

On 2007-12-27 09:21, Telina wrote:
So the first boost road was for Parum and lasted a month no? The non-JP servers should be getting it within the next update or two right?

I really doubt us non-jp players will be getting anything like that.

I'm sorry, but... http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif
That's what people said about Firebreak. And the Platinum Cup. I honestly don't see any reason why we wouldn't get this at some point.



Ah, I wasn't around for those events. I just rescently renewed my account and I'm having a blast.

I just always get this feeling though that PSU will be neglected and have a short-lifespan on the non-JP side since we have so few subscribers.

[ShadowDragon28]

A US/EU server vers. of Thanks Festa with some special rewards would be nice.
I really hope we get Max Attk-G on the US servers by no later than March...

[Dragwind]

This sure sounds like a grand idea. I'm all for it, this GBR thing.

[DraginHikari]

On 2007-12-27 11:45, -Tidus_415- wrote:

On 2007-12-27 07:05, EspioKaos wrote:
AotI mission drop rates will be adjusted, though it's not stated if they will go up or down

I hope they make rare things actually RARE so they can be worth something.



There still penetly that is hard to find.

[biggabertha]

Such a big fuss over the European launch? Hooray!

Looks good for the updates though, I wonder which missions will be changed... Also, I'm quite interested to know wether or not everything the JApanese get that we'll get. It's sure nice of them to give us such good things afterall.

[HaydenX]

On 2007-12-27 12:25, EspioKaos wrote:
If we go by the Japanese update schedule, the Thanks Festa came before GBR. I can't seem to shake the feeling that this "special surprise" or whatever we're supposed to be getting "very soon" due to the recent rollback is the Thanks Festa. It would make sense to me as the Japanese got it three weeks before Illuminus came out to lead directly into the release. Perhaps they have plans to give us a similar event to lead into the European launch of the expansion?



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: EspioKaos on 2007-12-27 12:34 ]</font>


My bet on this stuff is that GBR and Festa will be combined into one event for a month or two. That, imho, is the "special surprise."

[Golto]

GBR just seems so minor its not an abosultely *must* give to our servers. Same goes with Thank Festa. It was a minor 'new content(if anything was actually new)' event. MAG is the only *must* bring over here thing with all the new items.

[Xaeris]

Certain Episode 1 missions may be rebalanced in the future to tone down the difficulty.

Thank goodness. Having to keep this darned pulse of mine going while playing was so bothersome.

On a brighter note, it's good to hear we'll finally be seeing some S2s of AoI missions. Wonder what the boxes will contain.

[Soukosa]

On 2007-12-27 11:15, ryvius wrote:

Certain Episode 1 missions may be rebalanced in the future to tone down the difficulty.
lol?

Indeed. More like toned up in difficulty and better mission rewards. So that you know, maybe the non-5% that still play the original version (if they even are actual players and not extra accounts, dead accounts, etc) have a reason to actually play them other than it's something different from the same Illuminus missions that have been spammed over and over.



On 2007-12-27 12:25, EspioKaos wrote:
If we go by the Japanese update schedule, the Thanks Festa came before GBRrelease of Illuminus.

Fixed. Don't hold your breath on ever getting that.

[Rashiid]

On 2007-12-27 11:45, -Tidus_415- wrote:

On 2007-12-27 07:05, EspioKaos wrote:
AotI mission drop rates will be adjusted, though it's not stated if they will go up or down

I hope they make rare things actually RARE so they can be worth something.



Yes. Make me play this game again! >=]

[EspioKaos]

On 2007-12-27 16:33, Soukosa wrote:

On 2007-12-27 12:25, EspioKaos wrote:
If we go by the Japanese update schedule, the Thanks Festa came before GBRrelease of Illuminus.

Fixed. Don't hold your breath on ever getting that.

Thanks for fixing what wasn't broken!

The point I was trying to make in that post was that I wouldn't be surprised if SonicTeam are holding the Thanks Festa off until a bit before the European release of the expansion. It could lead into the European's late January release similar to how it led into the Japanese release. Do I know this for a fact? Of course not. I'm only speculating. Besides, there's nothing wrong with a little optimism every now and then.

[VanHalen]

I like it so far http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif. Except the difficulty toning down http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif.

Either way thanks for the info Espio.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VanHalen on 2007-12-27 18:51 ]</font>

[Aviendha]

On 2007-12-27 18:51, VanHalen wrote:
I like it so far http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif. Except the difficulty toning down http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif.

Either way thanks for the info Espio.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VanHalen on 2007-12-27 18:51 ]</font>

Difficulty down is bad, but its on the old missions that nobody plays because their drops are too rare, so I don't think its really a problem. Now, if they lower the difficulty on AoI missions...I'll start using off-element weapons to give the monsters more of a chance.

[VanHalen]

On 2007-12-27 18:56, Aviendha wrote:

On 2007-12-27 18:51, VanHalen wrote:
I like it so far http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif. Except the difficulty toning down http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif.

Either way thanks for the info Espio.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: VanHalen on 2007-12-27 18:51 ]</font>

Difficulty down is bad, but its on the old missions that nobody plays because their drops are too rare, so I don't think its really a problem. Now, if they lower the difficulty on AoI missions...I'll start using off-element weapons to give the monsters more of a chance.



I'd use light on light monsters to give them a chance as well. As for the non AoI missions I still play them drop rate or not. I still can't find any rare weapons or boards on the AoI missions with their increased ones XD.

[Lyrise]

On 2007-12-27 09:23, Umberger wrote:

On 2007-12-27 07:05, EspioKaos wrote:
Players have expressed interest in adding the bonus of PA EXP boost for GBR, but this has not been confirmed as something that will be added.



This would make me so unbelievably happy...if it was on the Rozenom area, every -techer would max their TECHNICS in like...a week. XD



Not going to happen. GBR isn't a system where you are just given your bonus like other events; you have to earn it. The max boost one player can ever get depends on the was ST sets up the GBR, and does stack with other players INSIDE the mission.

For example, the first GBR, a solo player could get +50% drop rate. ST set it up so that each of the 6 ranks yield 10% each, exception being rank 1, which is 0. 6 Players INSIDE the map would yield up to 300%; 1 player inside and 5 players outside would only yield max 50% because there's only 1 active player.

The rating you have depends on the lowest Boost Point count of all the missions (If you have a score total of 136/136/136/136/0, your score is still 0, since 0 is the lowest boostpoint count). To get to +50%, you had to run 18 laps of the set road on S2 - That's 90 mission runs; 5 points for each S2 clear higher than a B grade while getting a C gets you no points.

[Aviendha]

On 2007-12-27 21:55, Lyrise wrote:

On 2007-12-27 09:23, Umberger wrote:

On 2007-12-27 07:05, EspioKaos wrote:
Players have expressed interest in adding the bonus of PA EXP boost for GBR, but this has not been confirmed as something that will be added.



This would make me so unbelievably happy...if it was on the Rozenom area, every -techer would max their TECHNICS in like...a week. XD



Not going to happen. GBR isn't a system where you are just given your bonus like other events; you have to earn it. The max boost one player can ever get depends on the was ST sets up the GBR, and does stack with other players INSIDE the mission.

For example, the first GBR, a solo player could get +50% drop rate. ST set it up so that each of the 6 ranks yield 10% each, exception being rank 1, which is 0. 6 Players INSIDE the map would yield up to 300%; 1 player inside and 5 players outside would only yield max 50% because there's only 1 active player.

The rating you have depends on the lowest Boost Point count of all the missions (If you have a score total of 136/136/136/136/0, your score is still 0, since 0 is the lowest boostpoint count). To get to +50%, you had to run 18 laps of the set road on S2 - That's 90 mission runs; 5 points for each S2 clear higher than a B grade while getting a C gets you no points.

:0 I guess if I had nothing better to do one day I could maybe do that...but keeping 6 people together for 90 runs would be completely impossible. Maybe 2 people would be doable if you have a real good friend...