A returning warrior? (Old PSO Player thinking of coming back

[Crystal_Shard]

Hope I'm posting in the right forum. XD

It's been a while since I logged on to my account, and it's been even longer since I last told myself I'd upgrade my PC and finally buy the PC version of PSU, but finally I'm more or less ready to return back to the PSO/PSU fold. ^_^

It'll be still a while before I actually do start playing again, but there's a few things I do want to clarify before I even go out to buy the boxset, mostly to do with payment issues and computer security matters.

1. I need a US credit card or similar to purchase any form of Hunter License.

When asking my local shopowner about PSU, he mentioned that foreign credit cards (for example, SE Asia) are a no-no for Sega's US online shop. It didn't seem very likely, but just in case, how true is that?

2. Gameguard is still the DRM of choice for Sega.

As far as I know, this is still the DRM of choice that Sega uses to protect their game. I installed the Blue Burst client back when I wasn't so IT savvy about gameguard, but now I'm much more wary. Is there any suggested reading/discussion forums talking about its effect on PCs, and what are the side effects on my PC's general performance, security and well being?

3. Still being hacked to the gills?

As an old vet of PSO, I remember hearing all the tales of hacking and was fortunate enough never to encounter any of the really serious corruption hacks in the game. How is the general situation as of now? Has there been any cases of computer's being hacked through the game?

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I think that's about it for now. If there's too many issues to deal with for the PC version, I might just get the 360 version and leave it at that, but I'm not too sure about the 360 community vs that of the PC yet.

[GoldenFalcon]

Well, hacking has essentially died out, and my computer works fine with GameGuard. Although, it is important to note that the 360 server has about 4 times as many players as the PC/PS2 server. From what I've heard from 360 players, and from personal experience, PC/PS2 players are more prone to helping new/returning players.

[chaoskila]

people in 360 servers are D00ch35 people you cant really trust unless you guys are realy close "internet friends" or you know the person in real life

i think people in the ps2/pc servers are in general Better people.saints if you will

[Nodoka]

People on the 360 are about 50/50 all the people so far that i have played with have been nice and help full. And people have only ever tried to scam me twice ^,^ But if do go 360 let me now ill try my best to help you out i"am a lvl 122

[Crystal_Shard]

Haven't seen anyone mention about the credit card issue I mentioned... can I assume that the problem does not exist? ^_^

Good to hear that hacking seems to be less a problem now than it used to be. I suppose Sega wised up that PSU was bringing in money after all.

As for Gameguard, I'm quite nitpicky over what goes into my machine as I've recently upgraded to a better computer rig. Since I use it for other games, my own personal work and various other purposes, I'm very adverse to introducing any unknown factor into my PC. I just spent a weekend tweaking and installing all my software and it's currently filled to the brim with all the open source security software I can stuff into it. I really don't want to screw up some settings at this point.

Hell, if I have to install a fresh copy of XP (Or maybe even Vista) on a spare hard disk just to play DRM laden games, I might actually consider doing that than install Gameguard on my current setup! XD

Not having too many people to play with on the 360 doesn't bother me that much - I used to solo most of the time in PSO - but not being able to look for old friends from PSO will be quite an annoyance I must say. It's the only reason I haven't already bought PSU on the 360 yet. I haven't discounted that option yet, but it's like the last resort I'll try.

@ GoldenFalcon:
There are 4 times as many people on the 360 than on the PC/PS2? I suppose that's due to the simpler setup and the (arguably) larger gaming userbase in the 360 crowd.

@ chaoskila:
Just an aside, but I'm a bit curious what game that CG in your sig is from. XD

@ Nodoka:
Thanks for the offer. I'll be sure to PM you if I do end up on the 360 version and need some help. XD I see you're a Negima fan as well?

[DEM_CIG]

Not sure about the credit card issue, cant help u there since I use my checking card.

[Tink]

I have access to both the PC version as well as the 360 version and I can't be happier with the PC version. If it helps, there was a recent article on Kotaku about how the Xbox 360 community is one of the harshest communities in the gaming world. With that said, PSU can be essentially free for them. Meaning, anyone with Gold can hop on the free to play version and start flashing ( o )( o ) in your face and you wouldn't even know it. Since the PC version is strict P2P, you get the serious players, players who have played for months and years.

As for GameGuard, I've played at least 5 games in my life that use GameGuard and have never had a problem. As far as all of us are up to date on, there is virtually no hacking going on; Sega is catching them faster than they can make an impact of anything. Everything in the market in PSU is -legit-.

Can't help you with the credit card stuff; I use a US debit card to pay for my license. But, hope this helped! =)

[Yuneiko]

If you do join the PC/PS2 servers, I'll be happy to help you out. I can't really say anything about the credit card stuff, since I live in the US and all, so I'm not entirely sure. However, if you do join PSU, be sure to get the expansion for the game. For PC/PS2, just buy the expansion, skip the original game since it is not required. For the 360, I believe you need the original disk and need to buy and download the expansion off the marketplace.

As for gameguard, I have quite a number of games that require the use of this broken "protection" but have yet to have any problems with it. It is true the PC/PS2 servers lack a lot of population, which can be attributed to many things that happened in the past and whatnot. Many of the things I think that caused many people to leave the game I think are fixed for the most part now, but I will admit it will be difficult to find parties for lower levels. The game suffers from hot spots, much like how PSO had TTF i believe. However, if you do join the PC/Ps2 servers, I'm always willing to head to anywhere my friends wish to go, so don't feel afraid to hit an unpopular mission.

[Gunslinger-08]

Can't you get away with using a Visa gift card for the Guardian's License? I don't know myself, since it's not been an issue for me.

[Afroyarou]

Well, Playsega is the worst billing service ever. It accepts only Visa and Master Card (but not some regional version like Visa Electron, they don't work), but i don't know about pre-paid cards. I use debit Master Card and never had any issues, but i know some ppl who had troubles with Visa. Hope this info helps.

[Ryudo]

On 2008-04-21 08:29, Gunslinger-08 wrote:
Can't you get away with using a Visa gift card for the Guardian's License? I don't know myself, since it's not been an issue for me.



yes you can use visa gift cards, I personally use these

[jobber]

how many of these topics has been posted in the past month?

[chaoskila]

@ chaoskila:
Just an aside, but I'm a bit curious what game that CG in your sig is from. XD


its from an anime called _summer if that answers your question?

[Ahkaskar]

By your post count it looks like you've been around here a while, but I thought I'd point out to be certain, you'll want to get AotI if your primary concern is online and you're playing on the PC. For 360, you buy PSU then get a $20 AotI download that lacks some certain things, like the AotI offline.

I think it's safe to say that most people probably won't know about an issue with foreign credit cards, too. But it sounds like there's a way around it even if there is an issue.

As for GameGuard, it's not really that bad. I don't know what the issue was with Blue Burst, but GameGuard very rarely is the cause for any issues. My computer's had far more problems with McAfee antivirus than GG...

[McLaughlin]

On 2008-04-21 01:10, Crystal_Shard wrote:
Haven't seen anyone mention about the credit card issue I mentioned... can I assume that the problem does not exist? ^_^



You can assume everyone's going to ignore it to bash eachother's population.

As long as you aren't trying to play the Japanese game with you credit card, I assume you'll be alright, but that may not be the case. I'm a little confused on you situation. >_>

As an addendum, 360 Demo players don't have access to the retail servers. I'm sure this isn't going to accomplish anything by saying it, but I figured I'd throw that out there because a few people are trying to recruit you.

My advice would be to get your credit card question sorted out, and then pick the platform you have friends on. Ignore everyone else.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Obsidian_Knight on 2008-04-21 15:43 ]</font>

[Complex_Jao]

one thing about the 360 is we have a demo...that can be a good thing and a bad thing...Good thing is that people get a chance to try b4 they buy...Bad thing is we get alot of little kids that think fart sounds are funny and jerks that dont care about the game because they want a game to be 1337 at

[Crystal_Shard]

@Obsidian Knight:

Heh, of all the questions I had, the one of the credit card issue was actually the most important. XD I can find a way to deal with Gameguard, but I can hardly play if Playsega rejects my card after I've bought the boxset.

And nope, not the Japanese version. Although I had fun on the Japanese version of PSO Ep 1&2, I've already realised I can't do the same on PSU. I've already played through the PS2 ver. of PSU and went through the instructions. Tis a real pity they decided not to share PSU servers and allow foreign billing this time around.

As for potential recruiters, the point is moot, because I'm pre-disposed towards the PC/PS2 ver if I can deal with GG and the CC issues. 360 may only be a stopgap, or if I have absolutely no way of using my preferred version of PSU.

@Ahkaskar:

I've actually been playing since DC ver 1. XD Didn't come onto the PSOWorld till the GC version though. AoTL is the reason I'm mulling over the eternal "To join or not to join?" question again.

@Chaoskila:

Indeed that does help. XD I just found the wiki page. Seems to be a Visual novel by a company called Hook which I am aware of. Many thanks.

@Yuneiko:

One of the issues is that I use Filezilla, although occasionally, and it's one of the programs that have been known to have issues with Game Guard. I also make use of other open source software, and various Japanese games, which may have issues in future.


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For the record, I use a debit Mastercard. I had no issues paying for my Hunter's License for the Japanese version of GC PSO and later Ep 1, 2 & 3. Had to skip Blue Burst due to my lack of a good PC and only played through offline PSU on the PS2.

At worst, I'll ask friends of mine in the US/Canada to help me out, but I'd like to handle it directly myself rather than have to rely on someone. The gift Visa card sounds like a possible workaround.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Crystal_Shard on 2008-04-21 18:13 ]</font>