Some worries I have about Pso2.

[Scyris]

I am kinda worried about the US release of pso2, especally how we tend to destroy our own versions of games.

1. Will Sega actually be smart this time and have proper security for accounts and stuff? I remember the psu massive account hackings and such that went on that ultimatly killed the US pc/ps2 version dead (GG asshats who did this and shut down the game, I hope your happy).

2. Class Balance, so far sega has pretty much failed miserably at balancing classes properly, in PSO, forces and hunters were kinda worthless and it was all about the rangers, in PSU rangers and forces sucked, and melee owned. I am worried if they are going to finally balance the classes properly this time around. Even in the portable psu/o games, there was still massive class balance issues, with techers usually still getting the shaft.

3. I wonder how easly it will be to make a private server of pso2, for the US version when invariably the US versions population will hack the game to the point they shut it down.

4. Any idea if its gonna be f2p or subscription? I think overall it'd prob be best if it was f2p, due to the fact they tend to make more money in the long run and if their security is good against hacking and such, the game can have a long life.

5. FOCast.. ermm.. ok thats all I can say on that heh.

6. The SYnth system.. I hope the game has drops like PSO did, but you can still synth stuff if you wish. I hated the synth system in psu because it was no fun getting a rare that was a synth board only for it to fail like every single time. The synth system IMO is partly what killed psu. It just was no fun having to craft stuff all the time with the huge fail rates they had, and if it was a melee weapon well, even if it worked most of the time the elemental percent was so low that the weapon was weaker than a high ele % B/A-rank weapon.

7. Will they be bringing back the lolibots? I used to love taking my PM into combat, or rather will they have the single player team system where you invite npc's to join you??

[Dinosaur]

I'll answer a few of these.


1. Will Sega actually be smart this time and have proper security for accounts and stuff? I remember the psu massive account hackings and such that went on that ultimatly killed the US pc/ps2 version dead (GG asshats who did this and shut down the game, I hope your happy).

I'm fairly certain that they will be using Gameguard.


2. Class Balance, so far sega has pretty much failed miserably at balancing classes properly, in PSO, forces and hunters were kinda worthless and it was all about the rangers, in PSU rangers and forces sucked, and melee owned. I am worried if they are going to finally balance the classes properly this time around. Even in the portable psu/o games, there was still massive class balance issues, with techers usually still getting the shaft.

Honestly, at the moment, all of the classes look very strong.


4. Any idea if its gonna be f2p or subscription? I think overall it'd prob be best if it was f2p, due to the fact they tend to make more money in the long run and if their security is good against hacking and such, the game can have a long life.

I think we are all expecting P2P with the first month free. On the contraty, we are all WISHING it to be F2P. Could be very possible since that's just the trend these days.


5. FOCast.. ermm.. ok thats all I can say on that heh.

FOcast looks so sick. In fact, I plan on playing FOcast/caseal. Spells into gunshots into melee combos into more spells sounds like a blast.


6. The SYnth system.. I hope the game has drops like PSO did, but you can still synth stuff if you wish. I hated the synth system in psu because it was no fun getting a rare that was a synth board only for it to fail like every single time. The synth system IMO is partly what killed psu. It just was no fun having to craft stuff all the time with the huge fail rates they had, and if it was a melee weapon well, even if it worked most of the time the elemental percent was so low that the weapon was weaker than a high ele % B/A-rank weapon.

The drop system has returned. Check it out.

http://bumped.org/psublog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/game_item.png



7. Will they be bringing back the lolibots? I used to love taking my PM into combat, or rather will they have the single player team system where you invite npc's to join you??

Nothing has been confirmed/unconfirmed, but NPCs in your party has been a reoccurring element in the online series.

[kyuuketsuki]

I think we are all expecting P2P with the first month free. On the contraty, we are all WISHING it to be F2P. Could be very possible since that's just the trend these days.
Disregarding your incorrect use of the phrase "on the contrary", who is "we" when you say we're all wishing it to be F2P? I certainly don't wish that.

[Scejntjynahl]

I am kinda worried about the US release of pso2, especally how we tend to destroy our own versions of games.



6. The SYnth system.. I hope the game has drops like PSO did, but you can still synth stuff if you wish. I hated the synth system in psu because it was no fun getting a rare that was a synth board only for it to fail like every single time. The synth system IMO is partly what killed psu. It just was no fun having to craft stuff all the time with the huge fail rates they had, and if it was a melee weapon well, even if it worked most of the time the elemental percent was so low that the weapon was weaker than a high ele % B/A-rank weapon.



This has an easy solution. Make it experience based. For example, the more synths you make you gain a level in that. To the point that you can master synthing. This way by the time you do find your "rare" synth board you wont have such a high fail rate (or it be completely random like it seemed to be on psu). Thus adding another element to the game, much like how we had Mag farmers back in the day.

[Randomness]

This has an easy solution. Make it experience based. For example, the more synths you make you gain a level in that. To the point that you can master synthing. This way by the time you do find your "rare" synth board you wont have such a high fail rate (or it be completely random like it seemed to be on psu). Thus adding another element to the game, much like how we had Mag farmers back in the day.

Or we could just go Monster Hunter on it and have no failure rates. Any failure rate is going to add frustration, and what you propose would take even LONGER than PSU did to get your failure rate down.

The OP is borderline trolling here. At the very least, he demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of computer security, about balance in PSO (FOs were godly all around in lower difficulties and still a godsend for heals/support in ult, HUs were far from useless, especially HUcasts) and PSU (Again, FO support. Also, balance shifted due to new techs at a couple points, release Dambarta was superior to any hunter for most mobs).

Continuing along... item 3 is pointless, he's begging SEGA to make it easy to do private servers, thus reducing the game's security, thus leading to circumstances encouraging the use of private servers... it's ill-thought out and utterly inane.

Item four is silly. No reasoning is presented, he's taking his personal opinion as fact... it's stupid.

Five? Practically flamebait. Multiple people rolled FOcast in PSU just because they could.

Six... see my first paragraph. It's a stupid idea, he's begging SEGA to replace a flawed system with another system that doesn't address the core issue and adds significant grinding to the game.

Seven: I don't even get the point of this. PMs and NPCs were functionally identical in combat in PSU - meatshields, some of which could cast a decent Resta, making them the only ones that mattered!

[Scyris]

Last I checked gameguard is pretty much useless vs anything in terms of hacks, its not hard to code a hack to bypass gameguard entirely, most actually do this. Hell half the games that use gameguard or more than half, you can even use cheat engine to make yer own hacks and gameguard does nothing to stop it. Problem with GG is it has to be specifically coded to stop that hack, insted it should lock the memory so that nothing can interfear with it, kinda like x-trap does.


Or we could just go Monster Hunter on it and have no failure rates. Any failure rate is going to add frustration, and what you propose would take even LONGER than PSU did to get your failure rate down.

The OP is borderline trolling here. At the very least, he demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of computer security, about balance in PSO (FOs were godly all around in lower difficulties and still a godsend for heals/support in ult, HUs were far from useless, especially HUcasts) and PSU (Again, FO support. Also, balance shifted due to new techs at a couple points, release Dambarta was superior to any hunter for most mobs).

Continuing along... item 3 is pointless, he's begging SEGA to make it easy to do private servers, thus reducing the game's security, thus leading to circumstances encouraging the use of private servers... it's ill-thought out and utterly inane.

Item four is silly. No reasoning is presented, he's taking his personal opinion as fact... it's stupid.

Five? Practically flamebait. Multiple people rolled FOcast in PSU just because they could.

Six... see my first paragraph. It's a stupid idea, he's begging SEGA to replace a flawed system with another system that doesn't address the core issue and adds significant grinding to the game.

Seven: I don't even get the point of this. PMs and NPCs were functionally identical in combat in PSU - meatshields, some of which could cast a decent Resta, making them the only ones that mattered!

Umm what else did PSO have besides grinding for items and exp? Nothing I can see and I currently play Pso-bb myself. PSU was bascally the same thing, just add in the frustration of synth boards that like to fail even when u have 98% chance, or as people said in psu, assume all synth chances are 50/50 unless it says 100%. FOcast could work lore wise if you wanted to assume there is a human brain inside the cast somewhere like in ghost in the shell. Makoto is 98% robot, just her brain is in a steel container in her head. All the rest of her was mechanical.

What I meant by what i said was based on the pso lore (Not psu) Casts cannot use techs. because they have no organic elements, and that was supposed to be a part of it somehow.. Unless I got this wrong but thats how I always understood it.

About part 4, look at ddo, it was a near dead subscribtion titles, they go f2p and now they making more profit than when it was subscription based. It also has a much larger community, than it ever used to.

[Fenn777]

A complete lack of understanding, sure, but I'd hardly say he's trolling. He has what, 11 posts? He just expressed his opinion, which you explained has logical flaws. No need to get upset.

[Anon_Fire]

@Scyris: Need I remind you that PSO2 is intended to be the successor to Phantasy Star Online.

[Scejntjynahl]

Or we could just go Monster Hunter on it and have no failure rates. Any failure rate is going to add frustration, and what you propose would take even LONGER than PSU did to get your failure rate down.

!

We could do that. Just make some the items/materials be rare. I do like the Monster Hunter approach actually. I remember the countless hours grinding for a single Elder Blood to drop/carve.

As to the time frame been too long? Come on, if you are truly from PSO taking a LONG time to even find a worthwhile rare was the norm. In some cases, some of us NEVER found some rares legitimately. I was only suggesting if we did adopt the synth process making it experienced based would give us something else to do instead of iddling and merely chatting.

[Masterflower]

Seven: I don't even get the point of this. PMs and NPCs were functionally identical in combat in PSU - meatshields, some of which could cast a decent Resta, making them the only ones that mattered!

This is true. This is why I want Infinity's Support Character A.I. They are sooo damn awesome that it's not even funny.

[Zorafim]

1. Will Sega actually be smart this time and have proper security for accounts and stuff?

Not enough info, but my guess is "no".


2. Class Balance

Class balance is one of the most difficult things to do in a game. I want you to tell me of one game that gave you a gameplay desision, and tell me that it doesn't matter which path you chose. So, class balance is still going to be bad. But chances are, since they have more experience by now, it won't be as bad as before.


3. I wonder how easly it will be to make a private server of pso2, for the US version when invariably the US versions population will hack the game to the point they shut it down.

If things are done right, it should be impossible to make a private server, and there will be no need to. Considering this, it's in Sega's best interest to make sure this DOESN'T happen.
However, people become better at programming as technology gets better. Give it 5 years, and I'm sure fans will have a private server if they want one.


4. Any idea if its gonna be f2p or subscription? I think overall it'd prob be best if it was f2p, due to the fact they tend to make more money in the long run and if their security is good against hacking and such, the game can have a long life.

Why is this a worry? It's just a detail. f2p probably will be best, but that doesn't really have much impact on the game as a whole.


5. FOCast.. ermm.. ok thats all I can say on that heh.

Glad you agree that it's a great idea.


What I meant by what i said was based on the pso lore (Not psu) Casts cannot use techs. because they have no organic elements, and that was supposed to be a part of it somehow.. Unless I got this wrong but thats how I always understood it.

Oh, you said more on that. Well then, techs are generally defined as a reaction created by performing certain actions. Anyone can perform these actions, meaning anyone can be a force. There is no real lore reason for androids not being able to cast techs, besides not knowing how to (not being advanced enough).


6. The SYnth system.. I hope the game has drops like PSO did, but you can still synth stuff if you wish. I hated the synth system in psu because it was no fun getting a rare that was a synth board only for it to fail like every single time. The synth system IMO is partly what killed psu. It just was no fun having to craft stuff all the time with the huge fail rates they had, and if it was a melee weapon well, even if it worked most of the time the elemental percent was so low that the weapon was weaker than a high ele % B/A-rank weapon.

Again worrying about details. The synth system doesn't suck because of basic details that can easily be changed. But regardless, I believe they're going back to a drop system, since PSU was pretty much the only game to do synthing anyway.


7. Will they be bringing back the lolibots? I used to love taking my PM into combat, or rather will they have the single player team system where you invite npc's to join you??

lolibots are uncomfirmed, and highly unlikely. PMs were replacements for mags, and mags are being reintroduced. It might be true that mags can be made similar to PMs, but it might be strange to see a little girl float behind your character.


Don't worry so much on details. PSO2 is going to be its own game. Don't compare it to PSO or PSU, or any offshoots. Take it as its own game, and enjoy it for what it is.

[Cayenne]

From Sakai, dude in charge of making the game:
"PSO2 is not a sequel but rather the legitimate successor to PSO."

Translation: whole new game that's inspired by PSO and PSU.

Read up all on what's already out, stop thinking ahead, and worry about something else until more info is released

[NoiseHERO]

@Scyris: Need I remind you that PSO2 is intended to be the successor to Phantasy Star Online.

They already confirmed they weren't trying to build a "loltruesequeltopso2" PSO2 is it's own game in the PS series.

edit: oh wow there was a page 2, either I got super ninja posted or I didn't see the second page.

[Scyris]

Meh either way Pso2 is a for sure buy for me ^^. I still play pso-bb on the ******** server since the US server no longer exists anymore. Hope I don't get in trouble for mentioning that. I'm sick of all these wow clones like swtor, and most mmo's that have come out since wow's release. Pso2 will be a welcome change for me. I plan to pre-order when I can.

[NoiseHERO]

And I swear they said synthing will be improved... Which would mean it's confirmed to still be in the game.

I don't remember if they stopped talking about it all together though.

[Scyris]

Would be nice if the drop system was like phantasy star portable 2, I've gotten some 56% element weapons from drops, and they drop alot.

[Serephim]

If this game was any good, it will have a weapon system that is nothing like PSP2

[Zorafim]

I'm seriously hoping they get rid of the percentage drops. It was just a huge pain in PSU. Working hard for the newest, shiniest drop only to get a weapon that's inferior to the common items everyone already has was not fun. Not to mention having to switch weapons depending on the enemy, meaning you don't have the space to switch weapons depending on the situation.
I just want a single target weapon, aoe, and ranged. I don't want single, aoe, and ranged for every element. Juggling 3-5 weapons is fine, and rather fun once you get good at it. Juggling 18-30 is not.

Getting weapons based on achievements was fun though. Beat story mode? Aquire angel wings. Do a ton of damage in one hit? Aquire axe. Collect 80% of the knuckle types? Aquire new knuckle.
Mind you, that one weapon which requires you getting every achievement in the game was kinda rediculous, considering one of them requires you to do 50 (250?) local-area games (when I don't know anyone who even has a PSP).

[Anon_Fire]

Would be nice if the drop system was like phantasy star portable 2, I've gotten some 56% element weapons from drops, and they drop alot.

Actually it is like PSP2/Infinity.

"Item drops are decided on a character-by-character basis."
"Each character can get different drops."

[zombiemoshpit84]

you do know that these %s were in pso also right? native, altered beast, machine, dark, and hit. unless you were on ep1 it was the same deal just with an inferior palette. i agree 6 elements is too meny to juggle but 4 should be just fine by me. maybe they should make a system were you add %s somehow AFTER you find the item to avoid being trolled by low%s on hard to come by gear. i like the idea of both of us owning the same sword but mine burns and yours freezes so maybe we need an extend code type of deal for s.e. my point is i want my gear to be different from yours but not inferior. i agree title rewards are great. i cant think of a single reason not to have em.

[Macman]

Except the %s in PSO were pure bonuses. You can't go "Oh this weapon has attributes in Native, so you will do fuck-all for damage against Dark enemies."
There's also the fact you performed fine without them most of the time.

[Zorafim]

If I'm not mistaken, a double cannon with no percentages will outperform most double sabers (basic), regardless of percentages. So there's at least that.

I'm not against the concept of elements, don't get me wrong. I like having a sword made of pure light, and I like freezing enemies at a low chance. PSU just handled it wrong, and PSO wasn't really exciting. It's when it feels like the percentages are a necesity, rather than a neat bonus, that things get out of hand.

[Kent]

Percentages in Phantasy Star games have a history of being ridiculously unbalanced and poorly-implemented. PSOv1/2 had percentages be a boost to total attack power (meaning that 50% A.Beast made your attacks hit A.Beasts for 150% of your total attack power), and PSU was just a rushed, unbalanced mess.

As of Episodes I & II though, the formula got a bit more sensible - the percentage boost only applied to the attack power of the weapon itself versus that type of enemy. So if you have 100 ATP base, your weapon adds 50 and it has 50% Native on it, your effective ATP would be 175 vs. Native and 150 vs. everything else, whereas the v1 formula would instead put your effective ATP at 225.

At low levels, the v1 bonuses worked well, but as the numbers go up at high levels, things quickly explode out of control. The Episodes I & II formula keeps things much smaller and more manageable. Personally, I wouldn't allow percentages to go past 50% (which is probably still a bit too high, I think - maybe 32% at most) except as perhaps a fixed attribute that fits into a rare weapon's theme.

Or maybe if they bring back tekkers and unidentified normal weapon drops, a high-percent (but lower base value) property for a weapon might be possible...

[RLbitClassica]

5. FOCast.. ermm.. ok thats all I can say on that heh.

I don't kow how I feel about that. They should leave techniques to the squishies in my opinion. Casts summoning lightning from the sky and shooting ice out of their hands just doesn't seem natural.

[Zorafim]

It's just one game where that was a thing! One game! They cast spells in PS3, they had spell-like skills in PS4, and they could cast spells again in PSU! They just did something different in PSO, that's it!

And if it really irks you that casts can shoot lightning and ice, just remember Megaman. He's been shooting bad guys with ice and thunder for more than 20 years, and he's only been a non-robot once.

[RLbitClassica]

I still think It's a bad idea, but SEGA has made their decision already.

Robots should shoot jets of flame from their wrists and lightning out of their eyeballs!

[NoiseHERO]

This is chrono trigger's faults.

TECHs still aren't magic though.

[RLbitClassica]

I know, i know. They aren't TECHnically magic(pun intended) but it still doesn't seem like a robot should be able to conjure elements out of thin air.

[NoiseHERO]

Well if they're using technology to make techs..

and robots are technology...

Should be no different than a human with a calculator doing math, and a computer doing math.

Which means CASTs should be taken out of the game because they're OP.

NB4takenseriously.

[Cayenne]

Reason why people are subjective about CASTs being able to use techs is because in PSO it was impossible for robots to use Techs and only flesh (or something with a soul) can, but out of nowhere CASTs are now able to use Techs in PSO2. No explanation, just BAM! Techs for all.

There was some form of reality in PSO with who can use magic and having a soul gave you an upper hand over the bots, we get it.

Again, not a sequel but a different rendition of PSO. Accept the game for what it has become and embrace the new changes otherwise you're gonna make yourself go insane.

[NoiseHERO]

I thought CASTs got souls after the PSU generation. Even though these ones are said to be actual bots again or something somewhere a long time ago (lies!)

But this isn't PSO these are new rohbits!

[Xenobia]

A cast can use laser based lightning magic which is in need of a insane amount of energy in order to be destructive. So it can only be held by a massive metal body able to move endless amount of pounds and able to cool down a constinuously overheating laser generator. To some extrend they need to shut down the magic a while in order to cool down the system.

Ok. reality obviously isnt PSO... they do as they feel like. But finally, the complexity we all dream of doesnt exist, nowadays all games are made in a way, so even the most stupid knownothing can know all of it. Its called "userfriendly gameplay"; although, nobody said that the payment need to be any userfriendly.

[RLbitClassica]

Again, not a sequel but a different rendition of PSO. Accept the game for what it has become and embrace the new changes otherwise you're gonna make yourself go insane.

Why does everyone want to say this? This IS a sequel!!! PSU was a different rendition of PSO *rolls eyes*. This has in big letters: P--S--O--2!!! I'm not saying changes shouldn't take place, I'm just sick of everyone using the "not a sequel to PSO" card in discussions about differences in PSO and PSO2.

just saiyan

[Macman]

This has in big letters: P--S--O--2!!! I'm not saying changes shouldn't take place, I'm just sick of everyone using the "not a sequel to PSO" card in discussions about differences in PSO and PSO2.Too bad someone hasn't read Sakai's recent statement. It'll be fun anyway, chill out.

[RLbitClassica]

Too bad someone hasn't read Sakai's recent statement. It'll be fun anyway, chill out.

I'm guessing I'm missing something here? If this is NOT a sequel to PSO then they need to change the fucking name of the game because that would be rubbish.

[Macman]

If I remember right, it's "a successor to PSO, NOT a direct sequel."

[RLbitClassica]

If I remember right, it's "a successor to PSO, NOT a direct sequel."

ಠ_ಠ ok.....

[RemiusTA]

I thought CASTs got souls after the PSU generation. Even though these ones are said to be actual bots again or something somewhere a long time ago (lies!)

But this isn't PSO these are new rohbits!


PSU completely strayed away from the whole magic = soul requirement thing and fell back completely on their jesus reactor technology which powers everything they do and also allows them to do magic stuff which oddly to me contradicts the whole "Holy Light" idea.

There's absolutely no reason why Casts in PSU SHOULDNT have been completely OP. They're not organic and thus more durable than humans, they're computers and thus probably compute information far faster, and they're probably powered by photon reactors (the same shit your weapons are made of) and thus should be far stronger and able to cast far more powerful techniques.


At least they should be. I dont know how they justified their seemingly perpetual energy supplies.

[Anon_Fire]

If I remember right, it's "a successor to PSO, NOT a direct sequel."

That's exactly what Sakai said.

[zombiemoshpit84]

i think a super advanced robot shooting elements from its hands makes more sense then a normal human in a clown suit doing so. imo if any race should be banned from tekking its humans leaving the fire balls and such to the elves and the robot people

[NoiseHERO]

We humans made all those losers and this technology though.

[Xenobia]

Only till a certain point. And then at the point where robots did exceed our intellect the robots took over the development of themself and humans stayed out of it.

[NoiseHERO]

yeah in psu's racist themed setting maybe! everything else we're god.

HUMANS RULE!

[RemiusTA]

im sure it'd have been an equal battle between Humans and Casts in PSU.

Why? Because their fleets apparently had planet busting capabilities -- if it came down to war, they'd probably just wipe eachother out. Kind of exactly how the superpowers work in real life. Nobody wants to jump stupid because then everybody gets glassed.

[Garnet_Moon]

You know what made PSU so great? The synthing mini game. Watching that little bar do its thing with that beeping sound was great. +1, then a +2, then a +3, then a +.... ohh, it broke! The weapon is destroyed!

Then they had to perform a casuality on it and make it so items weren't destroyed.

That said, I hope they keep synthing around, to a certain degree. Ripping a shield and sword off a Delsaber or Delnadian is one thing, weaponizing them is another thing and should be done by an expert after you save his Master from some aliens, tell his wife to shut up, or buy out the monomates at a local shop so he can continue his weight loss program without their temptation. It better not have ANYTHING to do with Blackhounds, Blackpapers, Scythes, Caves, dark rooms, or stupid-looking elves with silly balloon hats and platforms.

[Mike]

You know what made PSU so great? The synthing mini game. Watching that little bar do its thing with that beeping sound was great. +1, then a +2, then a +3, then a +.... ohh, it broke! The weapon is destroyed!
That would be grinding and you just watch and waited to see if it blew up or not. No minigame there.

[RemiusTA]

he had to have been joking mike



edit: just downloaded the demo for Saints Row 3 on my PS3......I see hair physics and a BULGE SLIDER (and an option to literally go completely naked)

edit: and clothing physics, and crossdressing, and scars, a fat/muscle/skinny slider that actually works, an Age slider that actually works, and very decent representation of the different races

edit: this seems to have just as much depth as PSO2's character creator except with triple the polygons, a bigger emphasis on and more physics applications. Uh oh. The only thing it doesn't do is let you create people of ridiculous proportions.


Final edit: This shit is fuckin cool. It's literally a demo specifically for the character creator. It's animated very nice, the models are well done, the features are cool...very cool stuff. I wouldn't compare it to PSO2 directly because this game isn't Anime, but it's very, very fun. Fun as hell, and very very detailed. Im probably going to buy this game just because of how fun the character creator is xD

IF YOU JUST DID THAT FOR PSO2 SEGA THEN THOSE GUYS WOULDNT BE PLAYING AROUND IN YOUR CLIENT. Same way the PS3 never would have gotten hacked had they just kept Linux support.

[Garnet_Moon]

BULGE SLIDER
Please god, bulge sliders in PSO2.

[Scyris]

Please god, bulge sliders in PSO2.

Dear lord I hope not, I don't wanna see any morbidly obese lolis with huge racks in my pso2. its just disturbing.

[Scejntjynahl]

What concerns me is if they allow for body hair on male characters. Combine that with Speedos and that would definately make me gouge out my optical sensors. Just no.

[Zyrusticae]

Dear lord I hope not, I don't wanna see any morbidly obese lolis with huge racks in my pso2. its just disturbing.
LOL. Too late, dude. They're already here.

We have overall build sliders, and individual sliders for individual body parts. It'll be entirely trivial to create such a character in PSO2.

Expect to see things like, oh, say, this:
[SPOILER-BOX]http://www.akirathedon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/liefeldanatomy.jpg
[/SPOILER-BOX]

edit: this seems to have just as much depth as PSO2's character creator except with triple the polygons, a bigger emphasis on and more physics applications. Uh oh. The only thing it doesn't do is let you create people of ridiculous proportions.

I will note that the build restrictions are actually pretty fuckin' huge. You can't change height at all, and muscle definition is intrinsically tied to your character's mass, which really isn't how it should work. You can't make a skinny character with well-defined muscles, for example, which is the archetypical runner's build. No guys with steroid gut, either. And so on.

That being said, I, too, am greatly impressed by the Saint's Row The Third character creation, especially for a game with much less emphasis on the multiplayer component. Depending on how good the core gameplay is, I may be putting some good time into it...

[AzureBlaze]

Yes they do have body hair for male chars.
I think it was memorable because someone said "It looks just like that goofy spray can paint in MSPaint" and then...it kinda did. Maybe they'll fix it along with the eyebrow color thing?

Anyway if you're in need of (funnyness) and ANOTHER cool charcreate thing here is this video

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/character-creation-trailer/723519

for the Soul Calibur one. Yeah it gets more stuff like overlapping clothing patterns and horns you can put anywhere...but since it's a fighting game there's way less content (ie no billions of weps and zillions of other guys to render) so I guess they can get more xtreme in their charcreate options gizmo. However, they do notably LACK a body slider. Individual parts slider only? Somewhat unsure. Stick around for the trick/gag ending!

Still though, I really dig the pattern thing. And size-able tattoos.
I hope the PSO2 people are paying attention to things like the St. Row & this.

[RemiusTA]

Dear lord I hope not, I don't wanna see any morbidly obese lolis with huge racks in my pso2. its just disturbing.


HAHA those were in PSU, not going anywhere bro

[Dragwind]

Dear lord I hope not, I don't wanna see any morbidly obese lolis with huge racks in my pso2. its just disturbing.

Expect this on a much more exaggerated level than PSU had :wacko:

[Rotek]

Can someone help me by telling me where or how to register so i will be able to play the next Closed/Open beta of PSO2 please?

[NoiseHERO]

Can someone help me by telling me where or how to register so i will be able to play the next Closed/Open beta of PSO2 please?

To get in the alpha test you got a code, for either playing the Japanese PSO: Blue Burst, or I forgot about the other way. I think you had to buy a certain amount of cash or a certain kind of account in JP PSU or something.

There's going to be a second alpha test next year or something, I'm assuming they'll think of some new way to let people in, or re-use the last people. Or use the same way they let PSU players in (That way I said I forgot in the last body of text.)

Open and Closed beta's probably won't be for a while, since they postponed the game. I think before they postponed it they said it would be a little bit after Tokyo Game Show. But yeah I dunno about OBT and CBT.

[kyuuketsuki]

What concerns me is if they allow for body hair on male characters. Combine that with Speedos and that would definately make me gouge out my optical sensors. Just no.
Soo... you're one of those people for whom guys must be waxed metrosexuals or it's "ewww"?

[Mike]

There's going to be a second alpha test next year or something, I'm assuming they'll think of some new way to let people in, or re-use the last people. Or use the same way they let PSU players in (That way I said I forgot in the last body of text.)
They'll be using all the previous alpha testers and we should be hearing something for new testers sometime in December or January.

[Rotek]

They'll be using all the previous alpha testers and we should be hearing something for new testers sometime in December or January.

Do you think the game will come out for the US before christmas? xD

[Mike]

Do you think the game will come out for the US before christmas? xD
If you're talking about Christmas 2012, maybe.

[Scejntjynahl]

Soo... you're one of those people for whom guys must be waxed metrosexuals or it's "ewww"?

No. I don't care for girlified male characters either. But I don't need to see huge gut belly with so much hair on the body that would put to shame the Amason rain forest.

[kyuuketsuki]

No. I don't care for girlified male characters either. But I don't need to see huge gut belly with so much hair on the body that would put to shame the Amason rain forest.
That would be hilarious. But if there's body hair, I'm sure (well, I hope) that's it's not going to be a dichotomy between totally hairless and Austin Powers status.

[NoiseHERO]

Why do people dislike freedom so much. D:

[Zyrusticae]

Why do people dislike freedom so much. D:
Because they can't handle it, clearly. :wink:

[RemiusTA]

Well you have those who like the tropish anime crap, and then those who like the non-tropish anime crap, and then those who dont really care.

Anyone who doesn't like both dislikes freedom.

[Selphea]

You forgot the people who like fat midgets with afros and derp eyes wearing speedos

[Zorafim]

I've said this before, I'll say it again. Additional customization is always a good thing.

[NoiseHERO]

Everyone should not care, so that not just PSO2, but the world can move on to be awesome.

[Zorafim]

The world and PSO2 don't give a damn about us. The only people who'd benefit are the people who aren't stuck at school for the next three hours.

[MegaZoneXE]

I dont see why FOCast is some kinda of ulitmate taboo, Sinows been casting Resta and Rafoie back in PSO. PSU didnt need to explain why they could use TECHs ( if you what things explain in detail go play Final fantasy.)

i think what Sakai was saying was PSO2 is not a sequel( or direct sequel) to "Phantasy Star" the stories that took place in all 3 episodes, but a sequel to "Online"

[RemiusTA]

I was never gung-ho for Focast because they didn't cast techniques in PSO. Thats it.

I was expecting this game to put some actual thought into diversifying the cast, because there was absolutely no diversity in the universe series. But i guess i was wrong. Unless there's some diversity in the Skill Trees of the specific race/class combos then it'll be no different.


More classes doesn't = a better game, it just means they're saturated with more shit to balance. I'd have been very happy if Casts were unable to cast techniques, but instead able to use some other ability that the fleshies would never have access to. But since they haven't revealed everything, i guess it doesn't matter at this point.






It's called PSO2 because PSO was the most highly held entry in the Phantasy Star MMO series. And also probably because nobody on this planet aside from the Japanese would take another game like infinity seriously. It's the same main concept behind AotI and Infinity -- they keep running back to PSO's content pool because it's the only game that actually stuck. It's also the main concept behind Sonic 4 that sega released a while ago. They could have easily called it "Sonic the Hedgehog : Nostalgia" or some dumb shit, but they chose the name "Sonic 4" because Sonic the hedgehog 1 2 and 3 were so god damn good. Of course, it was nowhere close to as artful as the older games, but they got their point across.


Im mainly expecting PSO2 to allude to PSO alot. The main goal IS to make the game like PSO. That doesn't mean they're going to copy PSO, though -- they're just going to look at what made it a good game. I can already tell they're probably focusing on the wrong aspects of what made PSO addictive, but i'd never jump to conclusions this early.


But i'm still very eager to see what they changed during the next testing period, just to see if they're getting the point or not.

[Dinosaur]

I think the stat race differences are enough to warrant different styles of gameplay accordingly.

For example, I noticed a large 150 HP difference between a level 20 HUnewearl vs a level 20 HUcast. You should also remember that you will not be able to fully finish the whole skill page from a class. Thus, as a HUcast, you will probably be more inclined to get Guard and Taunt skills to tank vs a HUnewearl who will have less HP to do so.

They also DID say that there was going to be a sub-class system and that it simply isn't in Alpha(not the kind of thing an Alpha test is for).

[Jonth]

I think the stat race differences are enough to warrant different styles of gameplay accordingly. .

Agree to disagree I guess. In an idea world where stats are properly balanced, the most diversity stat race differences could give you is the difference of playing either a more defensive/tankish character or a more offensive/DPS character. In a more realistic world, you might get something like PSU (honestly, I liked PSU, but I've never played PSO) where defense doesn't mean much of anything, and therefore you are hindering yourself by going with the more defense oriented race (hence why it was a bad idea to be a cast techer... except acrotecher).

I mean... That is really all that I can think of. Please provide me with another example if you can think of one, but as I see it, proper stat balancing among races just means sliding that bar between more defense or offense oriented. So, with that one variable, you have got the difference of playing either a character that has to jump around a lot to live but can do more damage, or a character that can stand there and take the damage but takes longer to kill something.

I'm not particularly opposed to either play style, but I think there should be more variety. Such as casts not being able to use techs but having traps, and fleshies having it vice-versa... Not too important to me how they do it, so long as that variety is there. That was the main thing I disliked about PSU (again, one of the few who liked it), there wasn't any real variety. At least not any that you could get without handicapping yourself.

[darklinkwarrior]

Bah Dont destroy a good thing ,to many people try to change and ruin old school titles. Hunters worthless in pso? lol i liked rangers the least and i had lvl 120s-170somethings.change gets ya the helper comapions in psu instead of mags XD

[Jonth]

Bah Dont destroy a good thing ,to many people try to change and ruin old school titles. Hunters worthless in pso? lol i liked rangers the least and i had lvl 120s-170somethings.change gets ya the helper comapions in psu instead of mags XD

Not sure if you are referring to my post or not, but if so, what I am actually talking about would be more akin to undoing the changes that PSU made to PSO. In addition, this is not PSO, so it is not the same as changing an old school title thereby ruining it. A new game is a new game. If you don't make at least some changes, you might as well be playing the same game you were... Actually, if absolutely no changes are made, you are playing the exact same game you were...

Believe me, I appreciate the classics; favorite game of all time is Final Fantasy 6. But if there wasn't a change from 6 to 7 (whether that be from the story, gameplay, graphics, or something) what is the point in playing 7.

[RLbitClassica]

I'm still sticking to my guns about PSO2 being an over all flashy looking game. Based on what I've seen in gameplay footage, It looks like SEGA is more focused on making you oooooh and aaaaah over the fancy attacks and photon arts than on making a "PSOesque" sequel "successor". The art style is definetely PSO in nature, but gameplay looks very fast-paced and over-the-top(which isn't neccessarily a good thing or a bad thing), but it is nothing like PSO at all. I think PSO was fun because it was addicting in nature. You partner up with your buddies, mindlessly slaying monsters in search of that one rare weapon. It didn't need to be gaudy or flashy.

I also agree with remius about the Focasts. I think that creating this class really defeats the point of casts in general. They are physically powerful beings that have good ATP and ATA but cannot cast spells. I really liked the trade-off and more importantly, the variety among classes/races because of that.

[RemiusTA]

Yeah. People want "freedom" when creating a character and class, but the whole idea is overrated to me. I don't care much for being able to class crossdress, or equip any weapon you want, because i dont gain anything from it. I actually get a happy feeling from being able to look at someone and tell what they are. But most importantly, i like the diversity, because while they're using stuff i can't use, im also using stuff they can't as well.

when everyone can do anything, nothing is unique about anybody. Thats where PSP2 stood for me, and i really hated it. The only diversity between you and your party members are what the luck roulette dropped for them on their last run.


If they rely on stats alone to balance this game again, and then put all of the battle depth into the photon arts like in PSP2...then this game won't last much longer than PSU did.



It looks like SEGA is more focused on making you oooooh and aaaaah over the fancy attacks and photon arts than on making a "PSOesque" sequel "successor". The art style is definetely PSO in nature, but gameplay looks very fast-paced and over-the-top(which isn't neccessarily a good thing or a bad thing), but it is nothing like PSO at all.Alot of people don't realize that PSO's pacing and more down-to-earth combat is one of the reasons it was such an addictive game. [SPOILER-BOX]

The best and easiest comparison i can put on PSU vs PSO's combat pacing is Kingdom Hearts 1 vs Kingdom Hearts 2. In KH1, Sora's only flashy combos are special moves (that take alot of MP to use), and while his aerial attacks are powerful he still stays grounded for the most part. Kingdom Hearts 2 shows up, add tons of moves that do multiple hits in one button press, aerial moves that can literally keep him in the air forever, and dozens and dozens of limit/reaction attacks that all do over-the-top shit at the press of a button. As a result? Nobody could deny that KH2 was definitely much more fun as a sequel...at the START. But by the time you get towards the end of the game, the same complaint keeps popping up -- it's mashy, too easy, ect ect ect. Yet you technically spammed the same moves in KH1 all the time and nobody gives it the same complaint. The endgame bosses were all jokes, and people basically say "mash X+Triangle to win" the whole game.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

I think that the easier it is for the player to pull of ridiculous "AMAZINGGGGG" shit, the less of an impact it will have on you, and the harder it is to top it. Dangerous enemies in PSO were more menacing because the large ones actually felt large. They felt large because the players actually felt small. Big Damage in PSO was more attractive because on average, the numbers don't go very high.However in PSU, larger monsters are usually the easiest to kill, and they're usually quite easy to knock over because of the nature of photon arts. And speaking of Photon Arts....instead of you pressing a button and doing a special attack, you press a button and do a literal combo. As a result they have to constantly get stupider and stupider each game, until we end up at Infinity with those retarded Charge Shot II attacks.


anyway...yeah, slower doesn't describe PSO as a whole, and PSO's gameplay wasn't necessarily slow, but it was definitely more grounded than PSU's combat, which was generally just filled with stuff getting blown away.

[RLbitClassica]

And PSU lasted something around a microsecond, I believe.

[RemiusTA]

PSU lasted a moment for me, but it got extremely repetitive the moment i realized that I wasn't equipping weapons for their strengths/weaknesses, but for how OP their Photon Arts were. During the lower levels this wasn't as much of a deal, but around the time you gain access to the OP ones, they COMPLETELY overshadow everything else.


Not to mention, the moment i started maining my force instead of my hunter, i started to realize just how ridiculous PSU's balancing was. Or rather, the fact that there really was none. Technics in PSU were absolute shit, and the only thing they've done to fix them is add endgame limit break techniques that simply increase their damage / add wonky extra hitboxes to them. They were slow, terribly underpowered, barely flinched enemies, the status effects were not worth the sacrifices (i.e. Rabarta casting slow as old people just because it can freeze)....i could go on for days. It was just obvious that unlike PSO, Forces honestly didn't have a place in PSU's combat system. At all.

PSP2 made it worse by making the SAME MISTAKE -- trying to squeeze force gameplay into the same system they used for Hunters, without actually changing anything. And it LITERALLY did not work at all, as forces were completely useless. How do they fix it in PSP2? lol, speed them up, basically give them unlimited casting ability, increase their damage, add new spells that juggle for you. Basically, make them work like Photon Arts.





PSO2 features technique charging and subpallete technique binding...but they're still using PP (stupidest idea for a magician class ever IMO), and while Rangers have their own TPS Over the Shoulder style for shooting FIREARMS, i don't see any specialized system for casting magic. Shouldn't Forces have some kind of top-down camera style that allows them to choose an area to cast remote spells (like Rafoie, or Zonde)?

No, it'll probably use the same wonky auto-targetting that PSP2/PSU used (which was terribly inferior to PSO's autotargeting system), and since Forces are still tied to PP usage, they'll have to resort to melee in tight situations in order to restore PP. (but if they were to gain some kind of PP Charging/meditation skill, i think that would effectively make it much more interesting.)

[NoiseHERO]

Yeah. People want "freedom" when creating a character and class, but the whole idea is overrated to me. I don't care much for being able to class crossdress, or equip any weapon you want, because i dont gain anything from it. I actually get a happy feeling from being able to look at someone and tell what they are. But most importantly, i like the diversity, because while they're using stuff i can't use, im also using stuff they can't as well.

when everyone can do anything, nothing is unique about anybody. Thats where PSP2 stood for me, and i really hated it. The only diversity between you and your party members are what the luck roulette dropped for them on their last run.


If they rely on stats alone to balance this game again, and then put all of the battle depth into the photon arts like in PSP2...then this game won't last much longer than PSU did.
Alot of people don't realize that PSO's pacing and more down-to-earth combat is one of the reasons it was such an addictive game. [SPOILER-BOX]

The best and easiest comparison i can put on PSU vs PSO's combat pacing is Kingdom Hearts 1 vs Kingdom Hearts 2. In KH1, Sora's only flashy combos are special moves (that take alot of MP to use), and while his aerial attacks are powerful he still stays grounded for the most part. Kingdom Hearts 2 shows up, add tons of moves that do multiple hits in one button press, aerial moves that can literally keep him in the air forever, and dozens and dozens of limit/reaction attacks that all do over-the-top shit at the press of a button. As a result? Nobody could deny that KH2 was definitely much more fun as a sequel...at the START. But by the time you get towards the end of the game, the same complaint keeps popping up -- it's mashy, too easy, ect ect ect. Yet you technically spammed the same moves in KH1 all the time and nobody gives it the same complaint. The endgame bosses were all jokes, and people basically say "mash X+Triangle to win" the whole game.
[/SPOILER-BOX]

I think that the easier it is for the player to pull of ridiculous "AMAZINGGGGG" shit, the less of an impact it will have on you, and the harder it is to top it. Dangerous enemies in PSO were more menacing because the large ones actually felt large. They felt large because the players actually felt small. Big Damage in PSO was more attractive because on average, the numbers don't go very high.However in PSU, larger monsters are usually the easiest to kill, and they're usually quite easy to knock over because of the nature of photon arts. And speaking of Photon Arts....instead of you pressing a button and doing a special attack, you press a button and do a literal combo. As a result they have to constantly get stupider and stupider each game, until we end up at Infinity with those retarded Charge Shot II attacks.


anyway...yeah, slower doesn't describe PSO as a whole, and PSO's gameplay wasn't necessarily slow, but it was definitely more grounded than PSU's combat, which was generally just filled with stuff getting blown away.

Everyone only ends up the same because people suck!

And if anything that's why I hated PSP2's class system, it just let you do the same thing no matter what class you were playing. PSU's had some balance issues but personally I thought it felt more solid, where as PSP2 it's like there WERE NOT CLASSES.

I'll still never ever understand that "I need to see your over sized arms to know you're a warrior, and your frail body wrapped in a purple wedding dress to know you're a mage to know what classes you are" thing. The weapons are sheaved on your characters in the lobby's now anyway. PSU's character creation advances were pretty much 1/3rd of the reason I bought the game. I'm really picky with games when it comes to my character's appearance because I've developed some sort of unhealthy attachment to the original characters I write about or something I dunno.

Some developers will force their imagination on you, even though it's supposed to be your own adventure in an online game. So it just feels like you're playing a shitty rpg game about some douche whose not important but you could change the color of his hair so you don't have to look like the guy next to you(Not really.) It's that important! I guess this game's character creation is fine for now... who cares I don't give a fuckI'mtiredofhatingonthesemediocrelookingoutfits I'm sure they'll add more.

But yeah you know you mah boi, remius and I'ma let you finish because this meme was never funny- But I gotta have my green spikey haired prepubescent 14 year old blue eye'd hero voice acted by a Japanese woman if he spoke Japanese But otherwise a 30 year old man in english generic shounen sci-fi action hero who saves the world with karate.



As for classes and gameplay...

Technically we don't fully know the direction of the Class system or the Photon Art system. (Even though I hate the excuse "We don't know yet so I'M RIGHT" I really don't know where they're goin' with this...) Other than the 3 base classes and photon arts coming in parts like the Tales Of Game's skills. We haven't even seen more than a handful of skills in action. If anything in terms of actual gameplay I'm more worried about our weapon choices. Even PSO fans are gonna have to complain too if we still only have like 7 weapons.

It's safe to say the biggest reason we're all skeptical about this game is because they're only showing us like 1/4th of what's only half finished, thinking that doesn't make me feel any better though.

[RemiusTA]

I don't think they should resort to PSO-styled restrictions on clothing, but i do think that at LEAST the armors should have had stats put to them.


I mean hell, the reason i hate western MMOs is because i frequently hate the ugly ass outfits they force your classes to wear. Maybe I dont want a mage that looks like an old catholic pervert. It's probably just the hate for PSP2's terrible outfits coming back to haunt me.



Im not too concerned about the weapons -- wired lance looks cool, and i like the idea for Gunslash. At the very least, the weapons are looking unique again. (with the function switching/grabbing/ect) What bothers me now is how much this game looks like PSP2. (gunslash being multitarget with launch capability, shit like that.) And NO, not because i want it to look more like PSO. It bothers me because PSP2 wasn't fun for me for very long because the game was too one-sided. Watching videos of people go "SLASH SLASH SPINNYWHEEL SLASH SLASH SPINNYWHEEL SLASH SLASH SPINNYWHEEL" just made me think alot of everything i hated about PSP2. Seeing PP also made me facepalm, because i know it's still going to allow me to easily spam shit. Seeing Perfect Guard also made me facepalm because i know im going to be invincible by endgame. Seeing rangers blast bitches like they were playing Halo (except with LESS risks for gunfire spam then halo itself, wtf) was cool at first and then got odd as i realized i'd also be an invincible ranger as well.



Of course they're going to fix alot of this. But still.



TBH though i looked at the Dragon Battle a while ago and was put to rest about the direction of the game. But then i looked and again noticed the girl playing the game was almost a drawdistance away and was still blasting away at the dragon....

[NoiseHERO]

I still say ranger is going to be the most overpowered class. Playing a ranger must be like playing a game of pong against someone with no limbs.

[RLbitClassica]

Not neccessarily true. PSZ managed to turn Rangers into a nearly worthless class. Even free-aiming wouldn't fix that.

[Macman]

Not neccessarily true. PSZ managed to turn Rangers into a nearly worthless class.Oh god, tell me about it. EVERYTHING RESISTS BULLETS.

[Scejntjynahl]

Oh god, tell me about it. EVERYTHING RESISTS BULLETS.

Honestly, Ive notice this to primarely happen when the ranger is situated in a spot where the enemy cant reach you. Like a chasm in the way and you neatly trap the monsters on the other sides so you can take cheap shots at them. That is when I noticed the resist to bullets come to play. I hardly noticed my bullets been resisted at all when the enemy is near my vicinity at striking distance. I find this to bring some balance to the game forcing the Rangers to get into the fray rather than sit back from a safe distance. But I suppose this all boils down to personal preference really. If you are one of many that believe rangers should be exclusively handled like snipers and never near the real danger, then yes PSO0 did weaken the Ranger.

[Zorafim]

More classes doesn't = a better game, it just means they're saturated with more shit to balance.

Reminds me of WoW. They've got ten, soon to be eleven classes in the game. Each class can specialize in three different rolls. The end result is that the company has to make sure that each of the 30 specs perform their roll as well as any other spec with that roll, along with balancing the additional things that spec brings besides their roll. Also, making each spec able to hold their own in PvP.
The end result is that a ton of resources are spent on keeping things balanced. Each patch also brings balance updates, and they patch relatively frequently. If Sega had to handle a fraction of that, there will be trouble. So much better to leave each class specialized, and just balance around that.
Forces able to burst a ton of damage in a small amount of time, but do low maintained damage. Hunters doing above average damage when they get in close, but have to worry about defending themselves and closing gaps. Rangers having the lowest burst damage, but being able to maintain damage through anything. If each class has their nitch, nobody will feel out of place.



I'd have been very happy if Casts were unable to cast techniques, but instead able to use some other ability that the fleshies would never have access to.

Give them their skills back from PSIV. A charged AoE heal, a blast of plasma, an AoE laser beam, a group shield... Wait, these are starting to sound like spells. Never mind.


Yeah. People want "freedom" when creating a character and class, but the whole idea is overrated to me.

And for the other side of the argument: http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b77/Zorafin/Champions%20junk/
This is a game that's pretty much based on character customization. Now notice, the game looks pretty terrible, even after I upgrade my graphics. It's really difficult to make a good looking character. But good god, look at how many different types of characters I can make! I can even recreate just about any character I want to without much of a problem.
Right, the point. The game's all about customization, while almost everything else from the game suffers. But it's still a major enough draw to warrant playing the game for several months. Heck, I think half my time was spent creating characters, it was that fun.
Make any conclusion you want, I just wanted to show of my sharktibear.


i started to realize just how ridiculous PSU's balancing was. Or rather, the fact that there really was none.

I started the game off as a hunter. I thought, alright, this is kinda fun. Simple attacks for maintained damage, PAs for burst. Then, PA spamming became a thing.
Eventually, I decided to try other classes. Ranger was alright, but it didn't last before I dropped it 1/6th through leveling my PAs enough to be competitive. And with force, I couldn't do anything. lv1 spells can't hit anything, and didn't do any damage. Thinking it was a FOcaseal problem, I switched to newman. Same problem, only now I played it long enough to get bored.


Maybe I dont want a mage that looks like an old catholic pervert.

I'm catholic ; ;


Seeing Perfect Guard also made me facepalm because i know im going to be invincible by endgame

See though, if it's a skill based system, shouldn't you be invincible? If you're a skilled melee fighter, you should be able to avoid attacks without being far away from your enemy. I think perfect block imitates this quite well.
They use this system in other games, don't they? Soul Calibur stuns your enemy if you block their attacks right. Kingdom Hearts does the same thing. Why's it so bad in PSO?


...

Good lord, what happened to my post? I just wanted to catch up with the thread, and I created this monstrosity? And why are all my points directed to Remius? He can't be the only person saying interesting things!

[Macman]

Blahblahblah shooting over gaps...That's not what I mean, the entire game feels like everything has a halfguard to bullets, save for 2 beginning areas of the game.

[Zyrusticae]

And for the other side of the argument: http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b77/Zorafin/Champions%20junk/
This is a game that's pretty much based on character customization. Now notice, the game looks pretty terrible, even after I upgrade my graphics. It's really difficult to make a good looking character. But good god, look at how many different types of characters I can make! I can even recreate just about any character I want to without much of a problem.
Right, the point. The game's all about customization, while almost everything else from the game suffers. But it's still a major enough draw to warrant playing the game for several months. Heck, I think half my time was spent creating characters, it was that fun.
Make any conclusion you want, I just wanted to show of my sharktibear.
Yep.

Champs Online is the only game that lets me make a naked furry pettanko gun-toting catgirl (http://img713.imageshack.us/img713/9640/screenshot2009081910074.jpg). And I love it just for that reason. (Though it helps that the combat is actually pretty fun, too.) Just being able to make such purely off-the-wall characters that are explicitly a product of your mind and ONLY your mind is huge added value, and can make up for a lot of setbacks.

Aion, same thing. Though the game is riddled with incredibly frustrating RNG elements that won't be removed because the western publisher has severely limited powers, the connection I feel with my characters has been able to keep me tied to the game for a long, long time (though admittedly, a LOT of it has to do with my legion and the RPers).

Even if PSO2 is riddled with issues (and let's be honest - it probably will be, at least at launch), with such great character customization, I won't even care because I'll be looking too awesome. Big plus if the core gameplay is actually fun this time around (as opposed to the spammy nature of PSU).