Phantasy Star Online 2 Announcement!

[Malachite]

No, you just pulled a bunch of almost random, barely plausible thoughts and strung them together poorly is all.

[DuRaL]

just because they didn't show gameplay-videos/screenshots/concept art doesn't mean there is none, right?

[Ogni-XR21]

I think they have been working for some time now, at least I hope so. Since there is so much stuff that can go wrong building an online game it would be stupid to tease this if they just started development.

[Kent]

just because they didn't show gameplay-videos/screenshots/concept art doesn't mean there is none, right?

Right. There's a lot of assets and documentation that go into designing a game that never see the light of day as far as the public is concerned.

As far as we should be concerned, this teaser was just an announcement that they're working on the game, nothing further - except for maybe all that Japanese text that appears in the background at some point. However, it's worth noting that the actual design document (the document that details how everything is supposed to work and be put together) is generally completed by the designer(s) before the rest of the game's assets start being constructed, or at the very latest, after the prototype stage.

It's really up in the air as far as we're concerned though - they may have greenlit the project a week before TGS, or they may have been working on it for a year or so already. The teaser they released doesn't necessarily hint at either of them being true.

[Getintothegame]

just because they didn't show gameplay-videos/screenshots/concept art doesn't mean there is none, right?

Absolutely. I'll admit that I am surprised that none were even hinted at. Remember the teaser for PSU? It was almost creepy... but one could extract the images from the Flash video.

I really do like this more, although it really is a heck of a teaser. I'll go with the poster above me and guess that we really won't see much until after Infinity is released.

Oh, and my goodness Kent. Good to see you again.

[cbwing0]

As many of you may know, PSO2 was announced just before the CE launch of Final Fantasy XIV. I had preordered the Collector's Edition of FF XIV, but hearing about PSO2 totally killed my enthusiasm for FF. I consider that a small price to pay for getting a sequel to my favorite game of all time!

I was inspired to pick up the original PSO (which btw, is still superior to FF XIV in terms of gameplay and interface after all of these years) and PS Zero again. I also ordered PSP2 and PSU. In short, I am really looking forward to PSO2.

After PS Ep. 3 and PSU, I was worried that Sega had lost its way after PSO. I thought that they may have just been lucky with the original, and didn't really know what made the game so good. PS Zero gives me hope that Sega will get things right with PSO2.

If Sega does charge a monthly fee, then they should justify the expense with more content available on release, and regular updates with new free content for subscribers in between expansions.

A few final thoughts (keep in mind here, that I only played PSU for a grand total of about 45 minutes back when it was first released for the PS2, and can't speak to the strengths/weaknesses of that game):

1. Section IDs - I wouldn't mind seeing section IDs in PSO2; however, if section IDs once again determine rare item drops, then I would like to see some guidance in the character creation process for players to know which section IDs favor certain classes. For example, let's say that you are creating a Hunter. As part of the character creation process, Sega should let players choose a section ID, and recommend the best section IDs for Hunters as part of the interface. This way, newcomers to the series won't have to scour items charts to determine which section ID is best for them.

2. Combat - I like the PAs and evasive maneuvers from PS Zero. They add needed depth to the combat, and I would like to see them in PSO2.

3. MAGs - Bring them back, please.

4. Rare items - Allow rare items to be found from drops and enemy parts. Don't force players to participate in some BS crafting system to get them.

5. Decide if the game will be a true MMO, or follow the format of the original.

[Allison_W]

On #5, there, cbwing0: format of the original. No question.

As for PSZ's PAs... you know, something along the lines of PSZ's PAs might actually be more appropriate than the PSU-series PAs. I don't think that PAs should be strictly attached to the weapon; I think such skills should be part of the player and not the equipment. I'm not convinced they shouldn't level. I'm not sure that they should have to be charged up to be activated, though that's probably just an aspect of PSZ's simplified combat system. But the thing about PSZ's PAs is that they didn't completely replace normal attacks, or make normal attacks something you only do to get a chain or recover PP; they supplemented them, and while many of them weren't that great and would have to be radically rebalanced to make them all useful, I think that's the basis on which they should be used in PSO2: as something to use in addition to regular attacks, not just completely replacing them.

Also, I think the mini-crafting systems that showed up in PSO--not so much PSU's synthing system--should make a return and perhaps be a little better-fleshed-out. You know what I'm talking about. Getting enemy parts made into weapons that you can then upgrade. Adding special abilities to S-rank weapons earned from Challenge Mode. Combining certain rare weapons and items to make new rare weapons. Mag-raising. That kind of thing.

[Akaimizu]

That sounds like good ideas. They revisited that kind of crafting aspect in Phantasy Star Zero. (Monster Parts, that is).

In PSP2, it's basically gems, photon drop/crystals, and other things, which are technically the same kind of thing, except you're trading for the stuff. The main difference is the relation, having monster parts related to the actual weapon. Something Monster Hunter decided to do for the entire series instead of where it was a small number of things in PSO.

[doubleEXP]

I have to say, last night I gave PSP2 another chance (since the first I played it it just didn't jive for me). It is very different from what I'm used to in PSO, at least in a some ways, but I also notice that a lot of the superficial resemblances to PSU (which I didn't like when I played it) are just that: superficial. The actual gameplay in PSP2 is, I have to admit, very very good!

Now I am starting to better understand why many of you are hoping for at least some of PSP2's advancements to be considered and included when they make PSO2.

In fact, in PSP2 I think I have finally found "the next PSO" to play that I'll really like.

[Mitz]

That release date isn't set in stone by the way. Developers push their releases back all the time and seeing as Sonic Team can do whatever they please with release dates as far as Sega is concerned, I really hope that they'll decide to finish the release instead of pushing it.
Now I'm convinced that there will be a monthly fee, no question in my mind. Back in the old days, there was no reason to doubt their need for that fee but in today's world we should expect something in return from it. Sega shouldn't take their games' core for granted. If the combat system for example, isn't to your liking, then change it in a future patch. Tweak weapons and gameplay. Don't just sit there with the "We'll get it right next time" mentality.