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  1. #1

    Default Questions and concerns

    Hello, this is my introductory post and I am a veteran of the original Phantasy Star Online (as well as having acquaintance with the original series) and with PSO2 on the way--something I personally thought would never happen, I would like to address certain possibilities and elements of gameplay which consist of speculations based upon the PSO2 trailer.

    I'll try and break down my own personal questions and concerns into categories of discussion. For reference purposes, I will post the HQ link to the trailer

    Weapons:

    Unlike previous Phantasy Star games, weaponry appeared to literally appear out of nowhere at all. Now they are visibly on your character.

    Concerns with this: Only one type of weapon for the two showcased classes appeared on each character--a sword and a rifle. Does this mean that characters will be reduced to one weapon on their person at any given time? Or do weapons take up 'slots' on your character which allow you, carry more types of weaponry?

    If that's the case, it would appear to me that 'swords' and 'rifles' take up a 'back' slot, with the possibilities of sabers, handguns or daggers (provided they'll appear in the game) taking up either leg sheath/holster slots?

    Question: Does this mean that certain weapon types consume different slots? Meaning shotguns (if they appear) possibly taking up a back slot, meaning that you'll have to make the decision as to whether or not you want a shotgun or a rifle in that particular slot. This leads me to believe that partisans and swords will equally be a decision made judged by whether or not the player prefers which ever type of weapon.

    Another possibility is that in the event there is a 'slot' system, will the slots be gained with level ups? (starting off with one slot, reaching certain levels increase the weapon loadout)

    Concerns with weaponry: SEGA have used realistic designs on their guns before in PSO (Yasminkov, particularly) and through my extensive firearms knowledge, it would appear that the tan colored rifle used in the trailer (which is equipped with a grenade launcher) is designed in lieu of the H&K XM8--will more realistic/traditional designs be introduced to PSO2 a la Yasminkov series? The Photon XM8 appears at 2:03.

    Functional grenade launchers are present in PSO2, will hand grenades also make the cut as PP consuming attacks exclusive to rangers, much like a Photon Art?

    Please remember that these are speculatory musings, but judging by the trailer swords may be the mainstead weapon for hunter class--they seem balanced enough in terms of strength and speed to have fully replaced Sabers in their entirety--this could mean that hunters are being oriented more into a crowd control front line class; balancing and therefore negating the usage of firearms by hunters in the original PSO, heavily, in my opinion, defeating the very purpose of having a hunter.

    With that being said, firearms should remain an exclusive to rangers so that roles by each class can properly be played, instead of some dullard hunter toting Charge Vulcans +9 and essentially 'stealing' a ranger's combative role as being the long range support. The same can be said for the Holy Ray as well as handguns being a weapon usable by all classes. Also, will grenade launchers be a standard or a weapon attachment? This could mean Rangers will have weapon customisation, adding optical sights to increase ATA or needing particular grenade launchers to an appropriate model of the rifle being used. Rifles were also shown being fired in a variety of forms, including three-round burst and charge--will rifles also have a 'spread' option to supplement the role of a shotgun?


    MAGs:

    Concerns with MAGs: A lot of people want them back, but they're ripe for abuse and therefore balancing. They haven't yet been shown, but I personally would like to see these come back. In the event they do return and simply weren't showcased in the trailer (people, remember this is a sequel to PSO and core concepts cannot be abandoned) how should they function? Personally, I believe they should solely serve as an inventory/defensive device which increases DFP and can perhaps provide small services such as healing the player, buffing them, or neutralising debuffs/status ailments. Summoning gigantic creatures is a bit outlandish for a mechanical device, and increasing your accuracy and strength? How? What are your thoughts?


    Classes: to avoid controversal arguements, I'm not going to regard Beasts at all. This includes the Motavian Beasts--this is PSO2 and so I am going to speculate options that are already available to us: those pertaining from the original PSO.


    The concept artwork featured in the trailer showcases three classes: Hunters, Rangers and Forces. In regards to race, it's difficult to tell what exactly will be what judging by what was shown in the trailer in terms of the artwork and the actual gameplay. Amy, the ranger in the trailer appears to be a Numan Ranger--does this mean that Female and male Numan Rangers will be adapting the previous role of PSO's RAmarl, a dual Force and Ranger class? At 1:01 of the trailer, there appears to be what I can only guess is a RAmarl. Will this mean that the RAmarl will have more traits of a traditional human character PS class and simply have balanced overall stats but with more emphasis on dexterity and strength?

    PSO was previously dominated by HUcasts and RAmarls--how will PSO2 be balanced out to allow more variety online without breaking popular classes with an expansion pack? (Does Episode 4 ring any bells?)


    Will CASTs be able to use magic? What will CASTs be affected by as a result of their augmented strength, defense and dexterity? Will Forces flourish on PSO2 or be disregarded for easier to play classes such as the Ranger of Hunter?

    Let's hope CASTs using magic is abandoned; the very idea is a bit silly--and with that being said, will CASTs have any particular abilities besides being immune to paralysis and poison? The ability to see traps without the usage of Trap Vision was of little help when it came down to playing Episode 2 and being trapped in an electrical floor pod which were entirely invisible regardless.


    Character customisation:

    Concerns: Will there be any? Sega have gone back to the original 'framework' uniforms for each class, but how will they be alterable to give each particular character their own flare online? Previously, MAGs and whichever rare weapons you had were one of the main ways to differentiate your character from another's online if you had the same class. Will it all be judged by color palettes and stable outfits, or will the player character be able to purchase different styles of the same uniform and color them to their whim with a palette?

    The goofy, anime sexualisation of PSU is part of what ruined the atmosphere of the title and made it look more like a Japanese cartoon ridden with sexual innuendo than an actual struggle for survival against the SEED invasion. That being said, will outfits like bikinis, banana hammocks and spa towels be a method of customisation in PSO2?


    To wrap this up, I'm going to state what I would like to see in PSO2: No classless/everybody weapons such as the Crazy Tune, Holy Ray, S-Beats Blade.

    No akimbo mixing (Saber in one hand, mechgun in the other), weapon types exclusive to class (guns of all types exclusive to Rangers, bladed/melee weapons of all type exclusive to hunters), a job for MAGs which will not allow them to be broken for which ever race/character they're equipped to, limitation of the type of weapon and amount of weapons you can use at any given moment and finally, a purpose to every class.

    If gender plays no part in statistics and race and class are the only factors, a Human Ranger and Newman Ranger should have more than just appearance and statistics to set them apart--their gameplay roles should be different to assist the team in a way that each one of them would be unable to otherwise provide if they aren't the opposing class. Likewise, CAST rangers should follow suit with abilities that will seperate them from the other two forms of ranger (maybe the addition of explosives such as landmines or grenades) so that the other classes simply aren't excess dead weight in the game's population.


    I would also like to note that it has been widely speculated that PSO2 will have multiple planets. I personally would not like to see this because one planet should have enough terrain differences to not have a need to include more planets to meet any sort of quota. Earth has many different types of terrain such as deserts, marshlands, tropics and ancient civilisations--an entirely new planet should not be needed just to express a different form of terrain in the environment.


    Alright, so that is all. I have been lurking PSO-World for years now and I think it's about time I finally contributed and involved myself in the community, providing the community accepts me. Apologies for the length of this post.

    Well, that's my first post. What are your questions and concerns and what do you think of what I had to say? Most importantly, what do *you*, the Hunters of PSO-World have to say about PSO2 and the aforementioned subject matter?

  2. #2
    [゚д゚] < ナカソネティーチャー Mike's Avatar
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    Pre-alpha video ≠ final version. Stay put and wait for more information.

  3. #3

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bayi View Post
    Character customisation:

    Concerns: Will there be any? Sega have gone back to the original 'framework' uniforms for each class, but how will they be alterable to give each particular character their own flare online? Previously, MAGs and whichever rare weapons you had were one of the main ways to differentiate your character from another's online if you had the same class. Will it all be judged by color palettes and stable outfits, or will the player character be able to purchase different styles of the same uniform and color them to their whim with a palette?

    The goofy, anime sexualisation of PSU is part of what ruined the atmosphere of the title and made it look more like a Japanese cartoon ridden with sexual innuendo than an actual struggle for survival against the SEED invasion. That being said, will outfits like bikinis, banana hammocks and spa towels be a method of customisation in PSO2?
    I just read somewhere a few days ago that SEGA said that yes, there will be in-depth character customization in PSO2.

    As for the "sexual" clothing options, who cares? If those kinds of outfits are in the game, and you have a problem with them, don't wear them. Don't try and tell other people that those types of "frivolous" clothes shouldn't be in the game, period, just because you don't like them. Simple as that.
    Last edited by BIG OLAF; May 15, 2011 at 03:42 AM. Reason: weird typo; added info.

  4. #4
    Obnoxious Little Frog Malachite's Avatar
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    Honestly, there are no real answers to any of your questions here. Right now, most things are purely speculative.

    About swords and sabers though; even though we see swords being used very quickly now, I don't think that means they'll remove sabers completely. I just think they'll be much faster now, much like they were in the original PSO when compared to their sword counter parts. It's just the game itself seems to be much more fast pace now.

    @ Olaf. Where did you read that, about the character customization confirmation?

  5. #5

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    So much speculation....... @_@

    EDIT: Also, Olaf is right about the customization stuff. It's in the new post from Sakai on the PSO2 blog.

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Malachite View Post
    @ Olaf. Where did you read that, about the character customization confirmation?
    This entry in Ricardo's Phantasy Star blog.

    I'll quote the excerpt from the article for easier access:

    And within the promo movie, new costumes were drawn in PSO’s likeness. We aimed at having a new setting coexisting with some PSO nostalgia. Now certainly there will be character creation. All the characters you saw in the screenshots were made in Character Creation. Because recent online games have you create characters even to the finest detail, we are working hard here too.

  7. #7
    Vulcan Taint Pincher moorebounce's Avatar
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    We still don't know a lot of stuff about PSO2 at this point and Sega wants it that way to try and build up interest. So stuff you didn't see in the video doesn't mean it's not gonna be in the game. So I wouldn't start the crying just yet.
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  8. #8

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    You bring up some interesting ideas, some have been said already and some haven't. But yeah, it's still in the speculation phase for us since they haven't really been too forthcoming with the info on this game. Personally, I'm still in the wait and see mode, since trying to discuss content in a game we know next to nothing about tends to get under some peoples skin.

    I will say this OP, I like your idea concerning the weapon slot system. Very interesting concept, and wouldn't mind seeing something like this in the game. (At least it would be different) And if done well, could create some cool weapon combination ideas (I.E. having a pistol on one leg slot and mech in the other ect.)
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  9. #9

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    Well, based on this blog post [c/o Olaf, Ricardo, and Sakai] my 'concerns' move closer to confirmation. I think it's probably still worth keeping an eye on, but I suspect this info puts PSO2 near "no thanks" territory.

    Appreciate the heads-up, though.
    Tax the fucking churches.

  10. #10
    Forum Otaku Sord's Avatar
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    Most speculation here is OK. I don't necessarily agree with all of it, I happen to like the shift to more open ended roles for characters (though yes, cast techers are silly,) but I can certainly respect someone wanting to shift back to a more rigid class system because they like traditional class representation.

    I really doubt we're getting rigid slot systems though, if you watch the video the running speed of the characters changes when their weapons are docked on their back. It could very well be that's just the docking position for sprint, and no actual weapon switches are being made on screen. And as you said, PSO and PSU both sort of have weapons appearing from nowhere, they've both let us carry several weapons at a time, so I doubt they'll drop the system of carrying half a dozen weapons onto the battlefield with you.

    Also, just 'cause they're showing swords here hardly means they'll be a main staple of hunters. First off, game wasn't even in alpha release when this was made, probably not a whole lot of weapons even ready. Furthermore, lets say you're going to announce a brand new MMO, what sounds like more of an eye-grabber to the common masses, a guy fighting a single enemy one-on-one with a saber or taking on whole rush-down mobs with a big beefy sword? Hell, for all we know there are multiple different forms of Hunters and this could be a single crowd-control type tank class as opposed to a high damage DPS hunter that focuses on single enemies for more damage. Furthermore if you look at the Lv in the HUD in the lifebar, it never seems to go very high into double digits. Early game balance doesn't always equal late game balance, just because you get early access to swords doesn't mean sabers won't wind up being better later or something.

    One thing I didn't get about your post though was under concerns you have the guns being more realistic. But you don't really say anything negative about it, instead you sound quite knowledgeable about it, so is that an actual concern and you want more sci-fi guns or was that just bad sentence placement? I like the idea of having ranger guns customizable, don't care so much for the idea of slots in general for weps, but slots on guns for enhancements sounds pretty neat, would make for good ranger only features and give a bit more to do with a class that was otherwise lacking.

    Quote Originally Posted by Bayi View Post
    The goofy, anime sexualisation of PSU is part of what ruined the atmosphere of the title and made it look more like a Japanese cartoon ridden with sexual innuendo than an actual struggle for survival against the SEED invasion. That being said, will outfits like bikinis, banana hammocks and spa towels be a method of customisation in PSO2?
    Yeah, and HUnewearls looking like hookers and RAcaseals having schoolgirl-esque plated skirts totally weren't sexualized for the time, and the artwork and character models had hardly any anime generalization.

    Admittedly, yes, PSU did take it farther, but seriously, it's not like every person and their grandmother was running missions in swimsuits 24/7. You honestly think swimsuits and bikini's would cease to exist just 'cause lolspace? Hell, the only reason PSO didn't wind up with them at some point was probably because all we got for our models was texture swaps. Several MMOs have them crop up as spring/summer event items. I'm an old school PSO fan but honestly the people that complain about this just sound like whiners when they do it. It's a very minor detail in the swamp of bad support and game mechanic issues that are far more worth complaining and worrying about in Sega's past, and those mechanics actually, you know, effect the gameplay.

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