I know this is trivial...

[InsaneMonkey]

but, is it going to be like PSO where you make a game and then other people can join? one of the things i enjoyed most about playing online was having someone join my game. or is this going to be like Guild Wars, where you make your party first and then head out? thank you!

[OdinTyler]

From what we know, it will be similar to PSO's Create A Party system. However, you should be aware of some noteable differences:

1. PSU's party size is now 6, not 4. Yes, its a good thing. Whether with up to 5 more friends or friends with evolved PMs by their side, the magnification of party size shows how grand the game expects to be.

2. Lobbies are now part of a huge, multi-floored city where in essence, youre in a giant mall, that can support way more ppl than before. Current info shows that this main area takes place in the Guardians Colony, located in orbit.

3. There are now 3 planets to explore, not just 1. As stated, there is a huge city of sorts in the GC. Its also possible there will be at least one city on each planet. If so, there can be expected to be other hookup points like the GC. If not, its ok. The GC stands to fulfill many player needs.

[Sir_Laguna]

That's tough to say. I've been wondering the same thing, though. I gather from what I've read (and this is just hypothesizing) that since there's transportation between planets via terminals in towns, and there can be about 100 people in a town (or "lobby") at once, that you can gather party members and then head out into the wilderness. Otherwise, I think we'd see far more desolate towns in the online mode than what we've been shown so far. That's what I'm hoping, though.

[OdinTyler]

The city (or cities) will be anything but desolate. The fact that theres multiple floors to one establishment alone shows that ppl will run into each other alot. This, if only, just bumping into each other, exploring the vastness of one city. After all is said & done, a group is formed, ppl will see, or rather FEEL how much more spacious the fields are. Everything just has a larger field to it & the city is just the beginning.

[InsaneMonkey]

how many people do you think are going to be playing? i remember there were a lot of people way back when on PSODCv1, but do you think that a lot of them have lost interest due to whats happened to the GC, XBOX and PC versions?

[Blitzkommando]

The number of people really depends.

Firstly, how many people are veterans from PSO and are interrested in coming back for something new and fresh? I think that will be the primary group playing the games, but hey, if it gets good publicity (something that PSOGC, PSOX and PSOBB seriously lacked compared to other MMORPGs) it could be the opposite.

Secondly, because it is also on PC it is going to be competing with a far greater number of other MMORPGs, most notably Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, Everquest, and Final Fantasy XI. PSOGC and PSOX had the advantage of being the only MMORPGs for those systems. Now it is in competition, which can be good and bad depending on how things play out.

Thirdly, and likely most importantly, is how well implemented cheat protection will be. That is one of the reasons the PSO series hit a peak user base about a year after introduction and then a steady decline from there. With no cheat protection, or very little as it was, many users felt the need to leave for a more secure environment. PSOBB was a step in the right direction, but still since it was not a new protection mode it had already been broken and the people behind such actions had a pretty good idea on how to bypass any moves made for protection. If Sega can implement a safer, more secure environment we could easily see a far greater influx of players than was ever seen on PSO. I'm not saying that people won't tough it out, but, it is more likely for the veterans who are 'used to this activity' to stick it out than for newer people coming from other, more secure, games.

[ANIMEniac]

personaly i would like it to be like PSO more than guildwars. i can just imagin if it is like GW and u r 2/3 to the boss and ur friend cets online and cant join u with out u going back to the city.

[Sinue_v2]

Wouldn't that be what Telepipes are for? You know there going to be making a comeback.. but not much has been said about them yet. My guess is that they'd be a way for quick transport of players to and from towns, so that you can join a friend's game even if he's on the other side of the world-map.

Since there are dungeons accessable from the world-map as well, it would be nice to see Escapipes make a comeback as well, though this time transporting you back to the dungeon entrance rather than out of combat (which would be unweildy since it's not random battles anymore).

[InsaneMonkey]

On 2005-11-30 23:40, Sinue_v2 wrote:
Wouldn't that be what Telepipes are for? You know there going to be making a comeback.. but not much has been said about them yet. My guess is that they'd be a way for quick transport of players to and from towns, so that you can join a friend's game even if he's on the other side of the world-map.

Since there are dungeons accessable from the world-map as well, it would be nice to see Escapipes make a comeback as well, though this time transporting you back to the dungeon entrance rather than out of combat (which would be unweildy since it's not random battles anymore).



I haven't really kept up to date, but I am trying to catch up with it all. Are the battles still like PSO where you move from room to room killing enemies?

[F-o-x]

Yeah it is pretty much going to be like that, but think much more wide open spaces. I have seen videos of dungeons with many rooms where we will probably be running around like we were in PSO, but I have also seen grassy areas that are much more wide open, not really separated by any type of boundary.

[InsaneMonkey]

You bring good news. I am glad to hear that it still works like PSO did in a way. Sorry for asking so many questions, but there will be something like Pioneer 2 again right?

[OdinTyler]

You cant really call them rooms, in the sense of PSO's rooms. The fields are more widespread, thats true. The ruins area (the 2nd area they had for the demo) was a much larger 'room' than we're accustomed to than in PSO. Imagine a much larger, better lit Ruins from Ep1 with more depth & detail & on a grander scale than the Seabed from Ep2. The ruins part was definitely more challenging. The field had Ethan & a few others, where in the ruins it was just you & the good doctor. Challenging, because you get hit with a midboss at one point who decides to bring along his gang. Fun stuff! http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif

[Sinue_v2]

The best correlation I can make for PSU's "Rooms" are to compair them to FFXI. FFXI also has "rooms", or Zones as they're often called. Each zone consists of several different monster types which roam about on their own paths for you to engage in at your choosing (or to accidentally draw aggro from). The environment isn't completely free-roaming - as environmental hazards hinder your progress to certain areas, just as PSU will be using. Also, there's only a few specific "exit" points to each zone in FFXI. Some of these exit points lead to dungeons, some lead to other zones - similar to PSU.

However, PSU will differ from FFXI in that you will actually have boss fights between certain areas. Whereas in FFXI, you could travel from Bastok to Jeuno at lvl 1 if you're careful enough - in PSU you may have dragons and other beasts which keep lower-level players out of areas they're not supposed to be in yet. However, this most likely won't restrict players from visiting all the cities - which can be accessed from the Guardian Colony via Space Transport.

[F-o-x]

On 2005-12-01 05:25, InsaneMonkey wrote:
Sorry for asking so many questions, but there will be something like Pioneer 2 again right?


To answer this directly yes there will be something like P2. Like the others have stated in previous posts there will not only be one, but several cities (I believe there will be one on each world plus the Guardian Colony, plus any we don't know about yet. Please correct me if I'm wrong) for us to hook up, hang around and buy stuff in.

[DeathMachine]

I wonder if ST will get rid of the door trick for dungeons? It will suck to be chased three or four rooms, by an Uber-powerful monster you can't defeat alone, before you're killed.