PSO GC Launch... A big mess?

[Agent_Reav]

I purchased PSO GC about 3 days ago and played it quite a bit offline with some friends of mine... But the joy faded as quickly as it appeared. The lackluster graphics in split screen mode (and even in 1p mode) turned me off almost immediately; The game is still plauged with pop-up, dropped textures, and lag. It's nearly impossible to find a BBA or 56k modem so I couldn't get online... This game was meant to be played online and yet Nintendo decided to release an extremely small amount of modems. I did get a chance to play it online at a friends house and was throughly unimpressed... It just felt like I was playing with lifeless "bots" not real people. Very little people have a Keyboard. The list goes on... Needless to say I returned the game today and picked up Metal Gear Solid: Substance. So how about you guys? What could have SEGA/Nintendo have done better?

[Kupi]

If pop-up and fog stay waaaay in the distance, then I don't really care. While I consider graphics important, I don't so much that it'll detract from the game if they've got some hiccups here and there. Lag wasn't too bad for me, so no problems there... and if you've played any quest with what can truly be considered a bot, you know that human players are leaps and bounds above those. They may not talk, but they definitely exhibit human qualities. I'm not denying that the faults are there, but remember that Sonic Team is made up of something like 17 team members, which tiny for such a huge game. And, lastly, if you came into PSO expecting the god of all games or, at least, the god of all games as compared to the Dreamcast version, you're setting yourself up from disappointment.

That is, however, the viewpoint of a newcomer. Just playing online is the greatest thing since sliced bread for me, so whether or not someone can chat the night away with me isn't that important... I almost like the inability to communicate needlessly; it keeps people focused. Besides, you can always ask someone for their email address or IM name if you really want to chat with them later.

[Vashin]

Needless to say I returned the game today and picked up Metal Gear Solid: Substance. So how about you guys? What could have SEGA/Nintendo have done better?



INFIDEL!!!!

episode 2's graphics are top notch obvisouly you only played through episode 1, i dont care what you say about split-screen lagging (only lags for me with 4 people) the game is great the only thing Nintendo messed up on hard was the BBA/56k's and no KB support.

[EDarkness]

I noticed that there are some graphical issues with Episode 1 graphics in the Forest. Some of the backgrounds still popup just like they did in the DC version. But as for the lag, I have yet to see any. Of course, I haven't played more than 3 people at a time, but in 3 player mode there wasn't any slowdown. My friends and I enjoy it alot.

I am wondering if your expectations for the game was too high. I mean, despite the fact that there is a new quest, the game is still a port of the DC version. If it was a game done from the ground up on the Cube, then I could see how you would be disgruntled. I guess to each his own. I have already put in over 50 hours into the game between my two characters and I haven't gotten online yet. So far, it has been worth every penny.


-EDarkness

[RavenTW]

I DOn'T FRIKKING CARE ABOUT LAG OR GRAPHICS! I'M LEVEL 50 IN ONE WEEK< AND NO ONE CAN TAKE THAT AWAY!!!

If your willing, like me, to overlook such stupid reasons for getting a game, then PSO is incredibly enjoyable. And the animations that the keyboard (I've seen somone who imported it) create are definately more fluid than the normal "walk, drop attack" animations. He waves his hand, does a dance, crap like that.

[Icelight]

Personally I was not disappointed at all...Lackluster graphics? Sorry, but I dont buy games for the graphics..and as such, I see no problem with PSO's gfx's...

As for 'plagued with popup'...the ONLY instance of pop-up I have noticed from 40 hours so far is in Forest 1, that is IT!

Overall, I knew what I was getting into with PSO, and I am satisfied ^_^

[Agent_Reav]

INFIDEL!!!!

episode 2's graphics are top notch obvisouly you only played through episode 1, i dont care what you say about split-screen lagging (only lags for me with 4 people) the game is great the only thing Nintendo messed up on hard was the BBA/56k's and no KB support.



I am not new to PSO in any way... I played PSO and PSO v2 to death on Dreamcast. Episode 2's graphics aren't exactly mind blowing either and in Split screen mode it looks absolutely horrendous. The main reason I returned it is the lackluster online experience due to a lack of keyboards and BBAs/56ks; Very few people are playing this game online and virtually everyone plays sans Keyboard... There's no point in owning Phantasy Star Online for Gamecube if it sux at the online component. I will still pick up PSO though as I love the series but I will be getting it for Xbox.

[merlin]

I agree.

With the capabilities of the GameCube hardware being what they are......the port is quite lackluster. The online experience is VERY much diminished.

As far as from a retail level......you're damned straight that they dropped the ball....as far as online accessories are concerned.

But did they TOTALLY drop the ball??

I have this feeling that Nintendo being who Nintendo are....big into offline multiplayer games in general....that Nintendo accomplished what Nintendo set out to do. There are far more people purchasing PSO now....because you don't have to have the internet, credit card to play any more. It's a HUGE drawing feature. The game IS a success. It all depends on what you wanted it for.

[MPLe]

I haven't played online but I have played lots of split screen. While it could be tons better, I'll have to admit that Nintendo did do a good job. From playing PSO ver 1 on Dreamcast to now Nintendo has done a lot. I can see if this is your first time playing PSO how it can be overwhelming, stupid, etc. (the list goes on), but once you've played old versions, you'll admit that this is much better. ^_^

[Agent_Reav]

On 2002-11-08 14:52, merlin wrote:
I agree.

With the capabilities of the GameCube hardware being what they are......the port is quite lackluster. The online experience is VERY much diminished.

As far as from a retail level......you're damned straight that they dropped the ball....as far as online accessories are concerned.

But did they TOTALLY drop the ball??

I have this feeling that Nintendo being who Nintendo are....big into offline multiplayer games in general....that Nintendo accomplished what Nintendo set out to do. There are far more people purchasing PSO now....because you don't have to have the internet, credit card to play any more. It's a HUGE drawing feature. The game IS a success. It all depends on what you wanted it for.



I don't know what part of the country you are in but over here in Florida we have shelves packed with the damn game... not moving one inch. When went to return my PSO the store clerk uttered "How many more of these am I gonna haveta take back?". I blame it on Vice City, Time Splitters 2, Suikoden 3... and other really good games hitting the market about the same time as PSO did. I really find it hard to believe someone could feel their $50 purchase was worthwhile to play this game offline. That's like me buying Unreal Tournament 2003 and never going online with it.

[Wewt]

It's PSO. I don't care if this game has SNES graphics, I'll still buy it.

I agree with you about the launch, though. I have the Japanese version, and I believe it's doing OK, apart from the obvious cheating. The US launch seems as if Nintendo did not care very much, seems like they're using this game to test the online market, and they're treating the testers like dirt.

[Shrevn]

yall forgeting the biggest problem of them all.... no kb.. *sigh* enough said

[Bluedeath]

Honestly who care if the graphics arent the greatest they could be , its friggin PSO the best game out there. Maybe couldve improved the graphics , but as far as im concirned they're fine

[faceless]

i find it funny that someone would return pso citing the graphics, then pick up solid slowdown, which looks worse than last year's ps2 game and is plagued with a framerate that drops to under 10fps in some areas

[DirewolfX]

People should have to take a primer in 3D graphics before they're allowed to make comments. Of course there are less details in split-screen mode. Of course it lags a bit. Having to render four different split-screens is almost the same as having to render four different games at once. You have to do almost everything for each one. In fact, about the only thing that is shared is the raw game data--who's doing what, attacking what, how much health/tp/etc, what switches have been thrown. It is also probably optimized to load only one copy of any given part of the world into memory at one time... but beyond that, it needs to generate each view separately, performing clipping, textures, vertexes, etc. for each one.

Split-screen quite possibly IS taxing the limits of the Gamecube. Simply because no graphics card is really optimized to handle four screens at once.

As for other graphics issues... I personally find the game breath-taking. Easily comparable to Morrowind or UT:2K3... so, in short, I don't see what your issue is.

And I also love the gameplay, and I have enough patience to wait for a keyboard (I have a BBA already, so I guess I'm kinda lucky there). I also never played the DC version extensively, so there's no 'been there, done that' feel to it.

[aarontxr]

I have but one thing to say to all the GC playing PSO fans out there, and that is, if you don't have the game your f'd, if you do then your in luck, because I have went to well over 7 stores and they all said the GC version of PSO is now DISCONTINUED. Meaning if you have a friend that is dying to get it, he won't get it. Trust me I found this out by looking for a release date for the XBOX version. But I am just giving the heads up! Also if you are planning on getting it for XBOX in the USA. I was told by one of Microsoft's Top Execs. that it probably will come out at the end of November or early December! Most likely December since I have heard no New News on PSO except for this and The added New Xtra Character!