107 replies to this topic

[Nate River]

So..............


If I get addicted to this while it is free and then they start charging like the original PSO did...are you guys going to fund my habit?


You know you want to.


I'll try this weekend to check it out, but I don't know if I have time or if my computer is up to the challenge.

[Smiter]

So..............


If I get addicted to this while it is free and then they start charging like the original PSO did...are you guys going to fund my habit?


You know you want to.


I'll try this weekend to check it out, but I don't know if I have time or if my computer is up to the challenge.

XD

PSO2 will stay free, there is no download fee, and no subscription is required. The game is funded by a "cash shop" that will sell vanity items and extra character slots (your first character slot is free and you can reuse it as many times as you like). You can play and beat the entire game without spending a penny.

There IS a subscription option available for around 1500 Yen a month, but that just gives you your own room to decorate and the ability to trade items or sell them in your own shop for meseta. That won't happen until the game goes into final release, so rooms/trading/shops are free for now.

If your computer can match the minimum requirements, you'll be fine. There are even people with older PCs who have been able to play on minimum settings. It's not as pretty, but it works.

[JoHamSandwich]

AGH.

I want to play but I can't right now.

Hopefully this weekend..!!

[Smiter]

AGH.

I want to play but I can't right now.

Hopefully this weekend..!!

Get patching your PC as soon as you can, then it'll be ready for the weekend. If you already played in the Pre-Open Beta (or patched for it), you only need to download a 7MB patch. Otherwise, it'll be a 3GB patch.

I guess I have a little time to dither on which character to play as. XD I just have a gut feeling that there'll be a lack of Forces among us, plus it'd be cool to play as one. But I also want to play as a Hunter and Ranger... arrgh. I know that any character can play as all three classes, but I'm trying to make one with good stats to match. If only they could let us have a second slot, then I'd have a Hunter/Ranger Cast and a Force Newman and be done with it.

UPDATE: For now, I've created Kurama on Ship 10, which is the English overflow server. There have been reports of lag on the first five ships due to huge demand, and Ship 2 won't be accepting any new registrations for the rest of the night at least. Let me know what ship you choose, guys, so we can try to make sure we pick the same one!

[JoHamSandwich]

Patching at the moment.

Smiter, can you link the english patch?I forgot where it's at. XD

[Smiter]

Patching at the moment.

Smiter, can you link the english patch?I forgot where it's at. XD

Cool.

Sorry, they're still working on the English patch! Last I heard, Sega had made the files more secure, which is good news against cheating, but does of course slow down the translation process.

Make your character on Ship 10 if you can, it's got a healthy English community on there (Block 20) and some people have even moved there from Ship 2. Sega did some maintenance which should ease the character congestion, so you should be OK with creating one on Ship 10. *If* you get an error message telling you it's suspended, you can always try again in a minute or two.

Hope to see you online soon! I'll try adding PSO2 to Steam tonight so we can see each other when we're playing.

[Smiter]

Just in case anyone was thinking of logging in then, PSO2 will be down all day Thursday for special maintenance.

[Smiter]

It's getting lonely being the only H&E member on PSO2.

Anyway, big updates are promised for PSO2 this month! There might be slight delays because Sega have been busy fixing the lag issues on the servers (they seem fine now), but two new areas are promised:

Frozen Tundra - set on the snowy mountains you can see on the forest planet.

Underground Tunnels (or Mines) - set on the desert planet and crammed full of mechs to destroy! This is PSO2's equivalent of PSO's Mines, and there is an enemy called "シグノビート (Signobeat)" - possibly an updated version of the classic Sinow Beats.

Those updates will be released the day the game officially marks the end of its open beta, and becomes the final retail version. Hopefully, we will hear news on an English client soon!

[GoNeKr@zY]

i need an english patch it all looks alien to me atm.....
and i didnt even know you were playing this week :/
8 days since u logged in on steam D=

[Smiter]

i need an english patch it all looks alien to me atm.....
and i didnt even know you were playing this week :/
8 days since u logged in on steam D=

Only a little bit yesterday, remember the connection problems I mentioned to you last time we played BF3? They bit hard last Sunday and there were times I couldn't even connect for 5 minutes. D: I could still connect to post, but online gaming was a definite no as I was getting randomly cut off all the time.

I spent the week working on the problem with my ISP, and it all seems to be sorted out now, thankfully. Unfortunately, I've got to work tonight. At least there's a silver lining - because I've been putting in a lot of work this week, I'll be able to have a long weekend next week! So I'll be back on Steam Thursday night at the latest.

I'm really sorry I've been away for all this time, it's just been a mad week with work and connection problems.

About the english patch, it looks like there may not be one for a long while, as the PSO2 file encryption is very strong. :/ At least it means the game is well protected against cheating ATM. But I can help teach you the few things you need to know, once you know the important stuff, it's very easy to play the game. The English community is great too, there are always people who are willing to answer your questions, and even go through missions with you to help clear the quests you need to do.

Of course, you don't have to play the game now if you're really uncomfortable without an English patch. Sega's Phantasy Star community managers have been busy winding people up with hints of a big announcement related to PSO2 soon, and there's the possibility of an English PSO2 launching in September after the PSU servers go offline.

[GoNeKr@zY]

well. considering its my last weekend before i fly to canada we have to make it a legendary one
and i guess i'll wait till either an official or unofficial basic english translation comes out. i get lost pretty
easily with the menu's as they currently stand :/

[Smiter]

well. considering its my last weekend before i fly to canada we have to make it a legendary one
and i guess i'll wait till either an official or unofficial basic english translation comes out. i get lost pretty
easily with the menu's as they currently stand :/

Lol, I'll try my best to help with that legendary weekend. XD

That's OK, I understand. I do get a bit lost with the menus from time to time, such as when people want to exchange guild cards. If we do get an official English PSO2, it will most likely have its own servers, and I plan to start all over again on there - it would be a new experience seeing the story in English. I'd also be able to bring my field experience from JP PSO2 to help you guys cruise through the first couple of worlds.

Of course, if we do actually end up using the same servers as JP PSO2, that'll be awesome.

UPDATE:

Phantasy Star Online 2 will now officially launch in Japan on Wednesday the 4th of July! In order to prepare for the launch, the servers will go offline early tomorrow (or late tonight if you're from the US), and a patch will be released to allow everyone to update to the launch version of PSO2.

Details of PSO2 JP Launch and what's included at PSUBlog.

The US Phantasy Star Twitter has been silent for a few days, but they were counting off the US entries of the Phantasy Star series, one by one. A lot of people are hoping that the last entry will be "Phantasy Star Online 2"! If I'm right, they only have to count Phantasy Star Portable 2, which was the last US/EU Phantasy Star release (PSP2i was never released outside of Japan), then it could be PSO2. Would be nice if they tweeted "PSO2, now in English!" on the day of the Japanese launch.

[Smiter]

Sorry for the delay, but there has been plenty of PSO2 news!

All the news is thanks to Ricardo's hard work at PSUBlog.

Phantasy Star Online 2 Japan 2012 Road Map --Click here to view--

Early Summer:
Mid July: Large Mechanical Battleship’s Awakening (Big Varder - the battleship boss of Mines)
New Field: Subterranean Tunnels (mines)
New Boss: Tranmizer and Big Varder
New Drop Items
New Client Orders
New Interrupt events

Summer:
Summer! Festival! Scratch
New Costumes, Hairstyles, Accessories, Voices, and Lobby Actions
Summer:
Mid Scale Update: Soaring Crystal Dragon
New Field, New Enemy, New Boss
New Interrupt Events
New Emergency Quest.
New Story Quest
New Fashion
Event Lobby

Fall:
Large Scale Update!
3 New Classes
5 New Weapon Categories
New Photon Arts and Technics
Very Hard Mode
Level Cap 50!
Rare Enemies and Rare Bosses added!
New Interrupt Event, and New Emergency Quest
New Story Quest.

Mid Fall:
New Field
New Enemies
New Boss
New Story Quest
New System Update
Fashion Update
Event Lobby

Winter:
Smart Phone Version Release
Gigantic Boss Added
New Field
New System Update
Fashion Update
Event Lobby

Next Spring:
PlayStation Vita version Release (Will have its own alpha/beta tests)

So we have plenty of exciting new levels, enemies, bosses and weapons to look forward to this year.

PSO2 Mines Level Preview. You fight a freaking robot battleship at the end. PSO2's versions of the Sinow Beats and the Canadines/Cananes also make their debut.

There will also be a Summer Festival later this month, where you can collect yukatas for your character and fight unique enemies in August.1

Unfortunately, there is still no news of an English PSO2 yet. One of Sega's community mods, Edward, had promised to post more hints this week, but has been silent. Hopefully, we'll hear something next week.

[Smiter]

Well, we finally got the announcement!

Sega USA have now announced that Phantasy Star Online 2 will be released for North America and Europe in...

Spring 2013.

PSO2.com will go live later today with teaser stuff. Here's the press release they sent to PSO World:

SEGA ANNOUNCES THE WESTERN RELEASE OF PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2 SEGA’s Epic Free-to-Play Multiplayer Action RPG Coming to North America and Europe in Early 2013

SAN FRANCISCO & LONDON – July 9th, 2012 – SEGA® of America, Inc. and SEGA® Europe Ltd today announced that free-to-play multiplayer action RPG Phantasy Star Online 2 will be coming to North America and Europe in 2013. For a first look at this new entry in the legendary Phantasy Star series, check out the official Phantasy Star Online 2 teaser site at www.pso2.com.

“Phantasy Star Online was a revolutionary game when it was released, and we want to make sure that its successor in the series is every bit as ambitious,” said Chris Olson, Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA of America. “We look forward to introducing Phantasy Star Online 2’s unique, easy-to-access multiplayer action to the rest of the world next year!”

“The number one thing we want to provide players in Phantasy Star Online 2 is an adventure that changes every time they log in. Just as great table-top RPG experiences revolve around imaginative and unexpected encounters, we want players to consistently be surprised as they explore dungeons and undertake quests,” added Satoshi Sakai, Phantasy Star Online 2 Producer at SEGA of Japan.

Over ten years have passed since the release of the boundary-breaking Dreamcast hit, Phantasy Star Online, and SEGA is poised to continue the Phantasy Star series’ multiplayer legacy on PCs worldwide with Phantasy Star Online 2. In the Year 238, the New Era of Light, players will join a new band of Arcs in the fight against mysterious D-Arkers, embarking on another epic adventure of infinite possibilities!

Phantasy Star Online 2’s features include:
Deep sci-fi fantasy universe filled with lush landscapes, extraordinary creatures, and epic adventures
Revolutionary real-time combat and third-person action with devastating combos and counters to master
Flexible, class-based leveling system that lets players define their own play-style with distinctive melee, ranged, and magic weapon types
Randomized dungeon maps and unexpected mid-quest encounters that ensure each quest is different for each player
Deep character creation system with a nearly limitless number of potential appearances
Three degrees of humanity to experience across three unique races: the versatile Humans, spiritually-powered Newmen, and artificial CAST
For more information about Phantasy Star Online 2, visit the official site at www.pso2.com.

For more news, follow SEGA on Twitter @SEGA (http://twitter.com/phantasystar) or “like” us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/sega.pso2).

Article: http://www.pso-world...lease-pso2-2013

*sighs* At least PSO2 is on its way to North America and Europe, and it will be fully translated, and it will remain free-to-play.

But it's such a long wait... Quite a few PSO2 players are thinking that they may not even bother to transfer to the English version, as their JP characters will be quite high level by then, and they're not keen on starting all over again. There's also worries that the English version will lag far behind the Japanese version in terms of releasing new content. But, hopefully, Sega can at least quickly bring it up to date after release.

I'll most likely transfer to the English version, since I know you guys are all waiting for that, and it'd be great to party up.

[JoHamSandwich]

2013!?!

That's a bit far off, but I don't mind. Gives me time to buy a proper desktop to be able to play this haha.

[Smiter]

Yeah, that's true. Just make sure that you find one with a nice balance between CPU and graphics card, and you'll be good to go.

2013 isn't too far off when you think about it, as we're already over halfway through 2012. I suppose that it just feels disappointing as we were all hoping for a fairly quick release later this year (Autumn/Winter), since there is already a language switch option in the Japanese version. But I guess that Sega wants to go the full hog with English voice actors? Now that I think about it, there seems to be quite a lot of spoken dialogue in PSO2.

It'd be awesome if we had an English open beta to ease the wait, but I guess that's too much to hope for. XD; I've been playing through PSO2 JP at my own pace, and only just got to the desert planet on Normal. I'll be taking it easy for the rest of the year, so I can still satisfy my need for PSO2 and not get burnt out before we all team up.

[JoHamSandwich]

wait... the JP version has a language switch? Is there an english option? :O

[Smiter]

Yeah, there's a a language switch under the 2nd tab in the options of the game launcher, but you can only select Japanese at the moment. The English client will probably use it to allow players to switch to German/Spanish/French when those languages are available.

About content for the English client, Edward (the PSO community manager at Sega US) has gone on record to say that Sega know that they failed massively with trying to keep PSU updated - mainly due to when PSU JP switched to F2P with Guardians Cash and they were unable to do that with the Xbox360 version. They really want to put things right with PSO2, and say that the free-to-play model will actually place more importance on getting regular content updates out there. After all, no new content = players not spending money on that new content!

Since the focus of PSO2 is PC-only, there shouldn't be any messy dealings with Microsoft or Sony's networks, and that should make things as easy as possible for Sega to localise and update the game quickly. That means that if the English PSO2 starts lagging behind the Japanese version by months/years, it's 100% their own fault. Hopefully, Sega really mean what they say and they will be giving us lots of PSO2 goodness over the life of the game.

[Smiter]

Just letting you guys know that Kotaku wrote up a couple of articles about PSO2.

Video of Kotaku playing PSO2

Phantasy Star Online 2 is Fun, Frantic, and Free-to-Play - A good summary of PSO2, and I pretty much agree with his views.

I've been quiet about the PSO2 updates since I'm the only guy playing it here, plus I thought it'd be best to leave all the new stuff for when the English version comes out in about half a year.

*fires up PSO2 for a quick game in Hard Mode*

[Smiter]

Just a video showing my Hunter in a Cross Burst on Hard Mode City (HD 720p).



A Lv 22 Hunter surrounded by Lv 34 Darkers, with lots of explosions. Oh yes.

If you look up at the minimap, all those yellow triangles are enemies, the grey dots are other players, and the red dot is the other member in my party. It's pretty busy!

A note: The Cross Burst normally lasts for 1-2 minutes. We kept it going for at least NINE MINUTES. Needless to say, we got a lot of loot at the end. XD I found my first ever 9 star rares (both armour pieces) and an 8 star rare Force weapon.