More on the Vita version of PSO2 [Archive]

Mike

Mar 12, 2012, 07:43 AM

The official blog (http://ameblo.jp/sega-psblog/entry-11190604962.html) was updated tonight with a bit more on the Vita version of PSO2. In particular, it addresses some of the worries people have been having about the game being on a portable system. The development team is well aware of the PC-PS2 problems and has also been thinking and performing tests about how best to go about making PSO2 on the Vita since the possiblity came up. They also decided that Vita was the best platform to alleviate all of the mistakes of the PC-PS2 mess. The development team has some statements regarding the bigger fears.

The possiblilty of a lack of updates on the Vita
According to the blog, it will be possible for updates, balances and additions to the game. It doesn't go in to any more detail though.

It may be easier to cheat with a Vita
In the past, Sega concentrated on a friendly, easy-to-play experience for the Phantasy Star series and that hampered their ability to deal with cheaters. I assume this means saving player-side. However, with PSO2 being an online-only title, all data will be protected server-side and share the same security as the PC version.

On 3G connections
It will be possible to play PSO2 over both a wireless internet connection and 3G network. But since normal party play will prove to be difficult data-wise playing over a 3G connection, something different will happen when connecting via 3G. What is not made clear though.

PC & Vita sychronized play
It is currently planned to allow both PC players and Vita players to play together. However, there is a test in the works to see how well this works. Depending on the results, PC and Vita players may be seperated.

Finally, this week will also see the results of the requests and opinions users sent in during the second alpha and how they will work in to the next test. More details on the next test will be announced this week too!

Mag-X

Mar 12, 2012, 07:57 AM

Depending on the results, PC and Vita players may be separated.

Great! Just like PSU! >:|

Dinosaur

Mar 12, 2012, 08:00 AM

I just hope the PC release and PC updates aren't held back by the Vita version.

NoiseHERO

Mar 12, 2012, 08:37 AM

I hope their testing that'll decided whether the servers are seperated or not works out. Even though I won't be getting the Vita version.

Otherwise yeah, now everyone who didn't read, and didn't know anything about the way Vita even worked can chill.

D-Gold

Mar 12, 2012, 08:46 AM

I hope we don't have split servers but I wont mind it if not having it makes gameplay more smoother.

Randomness

Mar 12, 2012, 09:14 AM

I just hope the PC release and PC updates aren't held back by the Vita version.

I don't recall Sony having the silly certification requirements Microsoft has.

Cayenne

Mar 12, 2012, 09:18 AM

This report should clear ALL your heads now and stop your paranoia as well.

SEGA is making sure the same mistakes that ruined PSU are not being made here and are testing their work before moving forward with anymore plans that they promise to bring to the table.

If you don't believe SEGA still doesn't know what they're doing with PSO2 then I'm sorry, you'll be on here everyday making useless post doubting them until it's release.

Have some faith.

Mag-X

Mar 12, 2012, 09:19 AM

NoiseHERO

Mar 12, 2012, 09:37 AM

Soul Guardian

Mar 12, 2012, 09:42 AM

Those of you who are OK with split servers must not have played the PC version of PSU. Even on a Saturday night it was a ghost town because most people were playing on the Xbox 360. Phantasy Star just doesn't have a large enough community to support two or more separate versions of the game.

Wait, wait....so you're actually telling me you honestly believe that there would be more people playing this on the Vita than the PC? Seriously? Unless the Vita sells extremely well in the US, or there are THAT many people who have such old, shitty computers they can't meet the system requirements for PC, I find that thought extremely unlikely.

But go ahead and keep being a negative nancy if it makes you feel better.

r00tabaga

Mar 12, 2012, 10:51 AM

Well look at it this way, I think I'd prefer the convenience of jumping on with my friends if I had the Vita version.

But the Vita version still won't be out till like 2014 the english version who knows... So everyone that wants to play PSO2 is probably already playing it on PC by then.

And if the character data is still shared, then at least you're still not far from home. Which is funny I say that with the concept in mind. @_@

2013 for Vita not 2014......US version prolly in '14 though. If everything is online and stored on servers, AND assuming there will be PMs running around, this should be as close to legit/hack free as we can get, right? I'm pumped.

Mag-X

Mar 12, 2012, 10:58 AM

Wait, wait....so you're actually telling me you honestly believe that there would be more people playing this on the Vita than the PC? Seriously? Unless the Vita sells extremely well in the US, or there are THAT many people who have such old, shitty computers they can't meet the system requirements for PC, I find that thought extremely unlikely.

But go ahead and keep being a negative nancy if it makes you feel better.

No. I don't think the majority of people will get the Vita version, but I think a significant portion will (especially on the Japanese servers where I intend to play.) I think splitting up the community in any way is a bad idea.

NoiseHERO

Mar 12, 2012, 11:03 AM

2013 for Vita not 2014......US version prolly in '14 though. If everything is online and stored on servers, AND assuming there will be PMs running around, this should be as close to legit/hack free as we can get, right? I'm pumped.

OH OH that's actually right I keep saying 2014 for some reason...

But yeah earliest would be like the first quarter of 2013 I'd bet, which I still think is a long ass time to wait for this version over the PC one.

To even planning wise it still seems more directed at the convenience of having both, than just playing only the Vita version.

Cayenne

Mar 12, 2012, 11:13 AM

No. I don't think the majority of people will get the Vita version, but I think a significant portion will (especially on the Japanese servers where I intend to play.) I think splitting up the community in any way is a bad idea.

SEGA isn't splitting up anyone, they're giving us an optional and more affordable way to play the same game with the same community.

I'm starting to believe no one wants PSO2 to be on Vita because, well, just because.

Mag-X

Mar 12, 2012, 11:24 AM

SEGA isn't splitting up anyone, they're giving us an optional and more affordable way to play the same game with the same community.

I'm starting to believe no one wants PSO2 to be on Vita because, well, just because.

It says that they may separate Vita users if they can't get the game to work properly on 3G. This is what I don't want.

If we can all play together and the PC version doesn't get neutered in order to keep parity with the Vita version (or any other unannounced version), I'm fine with it.

OldCoot

Mar 12, 2012, 12:03 PM

Those of you who are OK with split servers must not have played the PC version of PSU. Even on a Saturday night it was a ghost town because most people were playing on the Xbox 360. Phantasy Star just doesn't have a large enough community to support two or more separate versions of the game.

It sounds like you are talking about the US PSU PC because there is still plenty of players on the PC JP side.

I wonder though if there will be enough interest in this game on the Vita later (2013 at least) to justify a seperation?

Personally I would like to see a seperation after what I saw with how the 360 version was handled. But, PS Vita and PC stuff do not have to go though Live certification. The technology is there so I guess whatever is possible and helps with more sales.

Totori

Mar 12, 2012, 12:20 PM

Yeah, I'm 100% positive there will be demand for the VITA version, as SEGA has shown before that before they finished working on the game the first order of business was to make it work WITH the PC, not be seperated.

The VITA is just another option for PSO2, nothing bad is going to happen from this. 3G is just horrible and personally I know SEGA isn't going to get that to work, because no one is going want to pay for 3G and then the SEGA fee also.

The only option left is going use WiFi, I can bet.

Mag-X

Mar 12, 2012, 12:35 PM

It sounds like you are talking about the US PSU PC because there is still plenty of players on the PC JP side.

I played both. The US PC version was deserted in favor of the Xbox 360. The JP version is great because no one owns a 360, and they shut down the PS2 version. I think there will be a lot of demand for the Vita version in Japan though since portable gaming is very popular and PCs are far less common.

NoiseHERO

Mar 12, 2012, 12:37 PM

I wanna goto japan and be one of those guys that camp out in internet cafe's for 3 weeks straight grinding on an mmo until I die because no one came to check on the customers.

But PSO2.

Corey Blue

Mar 12, 2012, 12:43 PM

Well if there is any split,any type of split at all,fuck em.I preorderd TERA and if they give me shit,I'll give em the boot.I got SWTOR on my pc,gonna see how 1.2 is and if thats shit,givivng them the boot.TO easy,only one game is worth my money and im weaving through them right now.TSW is next.

NoiseHERO

Mar 12, 2012, 12:58 PM

Just to add, or I've probably already said it before and everyone ignored the possibility anyway. Just because you can't play with your friends on the Vita version doesn't mean it won't still share character data...

It could just work like an alternate server to level your character, and the data would be mirrored over to the PC server in some way. So you still wouldn't be missing out, taking advantage of the portable concept. Though I still think it would ruin HALF the point of getting this on the Vita.

Though this is just me guessing, they only said you couldn't play with PC users, they didn't say your characters couldn't carry over.

Cayenne

Mar 12, 2012, 01:05 PM

It says that they may separate Vita users if they can't get the game to work properly on 3G. This is what I don't want.

SEGA said 3G might not work (I'm pretty sure it won't) but wifi is another story.

Let's just wait until SEGA says wifi also won't work, then you can showers me with "I told you so". They'll make it work, be positive.

r00tabaga

Mar 12, 2012, 01:30 PM

I want both versions to be synched or else I will just buy the Vita version. I like the convenience of owning and playing both though.

landman

Mar 12, 2012, 02:28 PM

One thing they have confirmed in the announcement: you can play with your characters in both versions.

So in the worst of the cases, Vita users and PC users won't be able to play on the same mission, but they will still provably share servers, specially the player shop system which is what, in most of the cases, will make you notice other players exist (outside of your friends in the game)

kyuuketsuki

Mar 12, 2012, 02:55 PM

SEGA said 3G might not work (I'm pretty sure it won't) but wifi is another story.
No, they said playing over 3G will have some other option besides actually playing in a party, although there are no details beyond that. They said they are testing to see how cross-platform play between the Vita and PC versions work, and that would be with the Vita on WiFi. If it doesn't work well (which I believe there is a good chance it won't, but who knows), then they will not allow cross-platform parties, although they will still be on the same servers and possibly use the same character data (although if the platforms are separated I can see some issues with sharing character data).

I have to agree with Mag-X that if the communities are separated then that's already a net negative impact of the Vita version. An online-only game needs a large, active community. Splitting up the PSO2 community, which is not going to be huge to begin with, between two different platforms, is a bad thing.

Let's just wait until SEGA says wifi also won't work, then you can showers me with "I told you so". They'll make it work, be positive.
Yeah, it's cool if you "just have faith", but you can't honestly expect that "argument" to fly with other people.

SELENNA

Mar 12, 2012, 03:45 PM

A lot of people won't buy it because it's online-only. That's a huge flaw right there. At least give us an offline mode, make it like open / closed Battle Net with Diablo II.

r00tabaga

Mar 12, 2012, 04:22 PM

A lot of people won't buy it because it's online-only. That's a huge flaw right there. At least give us an offline mode, make it like open / closed Battle Net with Diablo II.

Are you a hacker?

moorebounce

Mar 12, 2012, 05:06 PM

I just skimmed a few post and all I have to say about the 3G connectivity is one word "Dreamcast". PSO, NFL and NBA2K1 all ran well on a 56K connection. So I'm sure Sega can swing it with 3G. I'm sure you'll have to make sure you're in a good spot or not in a moving vehicle and I'm sure you won't have any issues. Believe me if they can do American Football and Basketball over a 56K connection the Vita should be able to do PSO2 in it's sleep.

Also they should have an offline mode at least on the Vita. Thy must feel very good about their 3G connectivity on the Vita.

Cayenne

Mar 12, 2012, 05:11 PM

No, they said playing over 3G will have some other option besides actually playing in a party

And where does it say there will be no party mode on 3G?

It says normal party play on 3G could be difficult data-wise, not removed. That could mean they could try to make an optimal 3G party mode that won't use lots of data since you only get so little like an iPhone. The amount of data used through a regular party scenario via 3G could end your monthly limited 2GB in a day or so with constant play.

Anon_Fire

Mar 12, 2012, 05:23 PM

A lot of people won't buy it because it's online-only. That's a huge flaw right there. At least give us an offline mode, make it like open / closed Battle Net with Diablo II.

Thats just a dumb excuse. Do you really want a repeat of the bad times of your PSODC days?

JC10001

Mar 12, 2012, 05:31 PM

Even if the PSV and PC players can't play with each other... that doesn't necessarily mean they are on different servers. It could mean that Vita players can only play with other Vita players and PC players can only play with PC players but the characters themselves are stored on a single server. They have already said that the data will be shared across both versions. The separation could be like the different "Universes" in PSU. There could be a Vita universe, a PC universe, etc.

The 3G gameplay could be limited to things like solo-missions (where you don't need to communicate w/ other players) and or shop and my room functions.

Cayenne

Mar 12, 2012, 05:39 PM

Did SEGA say anything about being able to hangout at the lobby with both PC and Vita players regardless of party play or is that one detail that's still officially unknown?

Totori

Mar 12, 2012, 06:49 PM

Did SEGA say anything about being able to hangout at the lobby with both PC and Vita players regardless of party play or is that one detail that's still officially unknown?

They never said any of this, the VITA version is being worked on to MAKE SURE they can get play on both versions. It's in very early development, so that video of it moving slow shouldn't be what to base the game off of.

SEGA has said Cross-play between the two versions can happen, but the VITA version is just coming out a bit later. It's pretty annoying to see everyone keep talking about the same question. It's already been answered.

Mag-X

Mar 12, 2012, 06:53 PM

I just skimmed a few post and all I have to say about the 3G connectivity is one word "Dreamcast". PSO, NFL and NBA2K1 all ran well on a 56K connection.

I don't know about the other games, but much more of PSO was handled client side. Modern games handle as much as possible server side to protect against cheating. Also, the problem isn't really an issue of speed as it is latency.

Randomness

Mar 12, 2012, 07:02 PM

It says that they may separate Vita users if they can't get the game to work properly on 3G. This is what I don't want.

If we can all play together and the PC version doesn't get neutered in order to keep parity with the Vita version (or any other unannounced version), I'm fine with it.

If you can't get it to work on 3G, make people use wifi for it. Even here in the US, there's hotspots all over.

Xaton

Mar 12, 2012, 07:16 PM

hopefully offline that has seperate charactors like universe story mode charactor. then you hav emulti mode charactor seperate from it. [aka online charactor thats stored on the server] while your offline ch aractor is fuly seperate evne if its just doing small missions to unlock missions like in universes multimode. like can play online unlock missions for offline mode but connecting with vita being free online no month fee but only certin misions for offline will unlock when unlocking them online.

PrinceBrightstar

Mar 12, 2012, 07:36 PM

Those answers have addressed most of my concerns. There's just one left that I need to bring up because it WILL come up, version specific content. I am not looking forward to that at all, especially if the content is considered canon to the game. Those of us around for PSO Episode I&II will remember that there were two versions of that game available, one for the Gamecube and one for the Xbox.

The Xbox verison had voice chat support but was limited by Microsoft's policies for updating the server. This ended up leaving the server in eternal Christmas until the servers were taken down. However the server did last longer than the Gamecube servers.

The Gamecube version however had access to Blue Star Memories, a Gamecube specific mission which was the prequel to Episode III C.A.R.D Revolution. That game was a Gamecube exclusive which allowed players of both versions to meet in lobbies. The Gamecube also had a plus version of Episode I&II which added the tower quests as playable offline.

I for one am not looking to purchase a Vita for some time until either a price drop or version 2 of the hardware comes out and my personal policy is satisfied. I don't want to purchase the same game again.

Now granted if it's made free to download and the accounts don't use seperate payments to play or is free to play, that's a different story, but I won't run out to get a Vita just for this game. I have a policy of not purchasing hardware until there are at least 5 software titles I want. I still don't even have a 3DS because of this policy because I'm not interested in portable versions of Ocarina of Time and Starfox 64 when my original N64 is still alive and kicking fine.

•Col•

Mar 12, 2012, 09:53 PM

Glad they're looking into some of this stuff...

If Vita isn't going to impede anything, then yeah whatever cool... If it were to impede the PC version in ANY way though, get that crap outta here. :l

Normally I'm against segregated servers... But in this case I feel the opposite.

Cayenne

Mar 13, 2012, 03:12 AM

They never said any of this, the VITA version is being worked on to MAKE SURE they can get play on both versions. It's in very early development, so that video of it moving slow shouldn't be what to base the game off of.

SEGA has said Cross-play between the two versions can happen, but the VITA version is just coming out a bit later. It's pretty annoying to see everyone keep talking about the same question. It's already been answered.

Thank you for your wikipedia-like answer that had nothing to do with the question I asked.

aslan_blue

Mar 13, 2012, 07:22 AM

I'm very glad to hear this news.I already bought a VITA,So I'm really looking forward to it!

aslan_blue

Mar 13, 2012, 07:27 AM

I'm very glad to hear this news.I already bought a VITA,So I'm really looking forward to it!

Calibur

Mar 14, 2012, 01:08 AM

My guess is that on 3g you will be able to browse player rooms and shops.

Jinketsu

Mar 14, 2012, 07:10 AM

Now granted if it's made free to download and the accounts don't use seperate payments to play or is free to play, that's a different story, but I won't run out to get a Vita just for this game. I have a policy of not purchasing hardware until there are at least 5 software titles I want. I still don't even have a 3DS because of this policy because I'm not interested in portable versions of Ocarina of Time and Starfox 64 when my original N64 is still alive and kicking fine.

The difference there is that PSO2 and PSO2V will (supposedly) be the same game experience. OoT and SF64 for the 3DS are remastered with better graphics. OoT even has the Master Quest, which is far different and much more difficult than the Master Quest disc for Gamecube. SF64 has a remastered soundtrack and voice acting as well. Both games were re-envisioned really well.

It was well worth the money spent to me, anyway.