PSU vs FFXI?

[Surei Uorushu]

Hmm...
-nibbles on a taco-

I was pondering if I should go to Phantasy Star Universe since my current MMO is lacking in capturing my attention.

I've played PSO and am currently hunting down a copy of it.

Though if I join PSU I have a feeling I'm gonna need to get a keyboard to play on my bro's Xbox360. -.-;

Can anyone inform me more on the common things needed for PSU, and if I should just stay on my current MMO(FFXI) than hop over to PSU even though I am a bigger fan of the PS series than the FF series.

[The HuBBs]

you don't need a keyboard if you play psu on the 360. it uses voice chat when in missions.

[BenoitRen]

XBox 360? Enjoy being closed off from all the other players.

[Surei Uorushu]

How would I be closed off from other players if I do play PSU on an Xbox 360?

I thought you just needed an Xbox Live account + paying the monthly fee.

[BenoitRen]

You won't be able to play with the people playing the PS2 and PC versions.

[thriwren]

People like me and a few others on the board. There is one one here I know for sure that they play on the 360.

[janejana]

You won't be able to play with the people playing the PS2 and PC versions.

360 version's active population is at least double the ps2/pc version's population, so being cut off isn't exactly a downside to the 360 also the jp/euro/us 360 players are all on the same server, while the us/euro ps2/pc version is seperate from jp ps2/pc.

not really a big difference between the two servers, though, aside from population. ps2/pc has had some hacking incidents, but on the flip side, glitch exploitation is far more widespread on the 360.

ANYWAY, to the TC:

you don't need a keyboard to play on the 360, but it is helpful to have one anyway. voice chat is only usable in parties and when you are in your or someone else's room, not in lobby areas. also note that the 'messenger kit' for the 360 (the mini-keyboard that you can attach to your controller) DOES NOT work with PSU. <_<

one thing to note about PSU is that it's a very casual mmo -- you don't have to spend a lot of time grinding to be able to do a lot of things available. class/race combinations are not that important either, in the sense that you can pick the worst combo possible and it won't be impossible to find a party to join (something i gather is not possible to do in FFXI).

i have a few friends who play both FFXI and PSU; if you don't mind paying for two mmo's a month, PSU does not require a huge time investment. (i have a friend who gets on PSU about once a week, and he still has two level 90+ characters, and the highest level requirement for anything is 85.)

if you have a Gold account for LIVE (the one you pay for), you can download the PSU demo to get a sense of what the game is like. the demo has no GM oversight at all, though, so there's a lot of porn scammers and phishers there =( there ARE people from the full version who sometimes make characters on the demo to find and help people genuinely interested in learning about the game, though i don't know when they're planning on doing this next. ^^;

also, while you need a Gold account for the demo, you don't for the full game. regardless of the account level you have for LIVE, though, you will need to pay 9.99/mo to play PSU online.

um, what else...oh! if you want to play the expansion (recommended), you need both the original PSU disc and will have do download the AOTI expansion from the LIVE marketplace -- there no standalone disc for AOTI that you can buy. it is not a particularly big download, but it won't fit onto a memory card -- you'll need to use a HDD.

i think that's it.

[Surei Uorushu]

Hmm... I think I might join the PS2/PC servers. (I really have a thing against the Xbox360 after my cousin's died an hour after I posted the original post.)

So, all I need for the PS2 is the orginal game and the expansion? ?-?; -confused on this part-
I don't need the PS2 HD.
If I have the new/revised PS2 that is 1/3rd the size of the original PS2 and disks I won't need anything but a ethernet cord/cable to log in correct?

[janejana]

oh noes, your cousin got Red Ring Rico'd! =0

yeah that's a problem with older 360s. at least they replace it for free <_<

for PS2, all you need is the AOTI expansion. you do not need the original PSU game, or the hard drive, as character data is saved client side.

BUT, from everything i have heard, i would strongly recommend getting the PC version if your computer can handle it...since the PS2 suffers from a lot of framerate issues. but if the PS2 is all you've got and you reeeeeeally don't want to use the 360, then obviously PS2 is better than not playing. ^^ (get a keyboard for it if you don't have one, tho -- afaik there is no voice chat for ps2 players.)

i play on the 360 so i don't know much else about the PC/PS2 servers, except for what friends who have migrated from one platform to another have told me. the only big difference between the two seems to be population; 360 has significantly more people playing right now. but i would think this only becomes an issue if you play during off-peak hours or do not know anybody beforehand to help you out. PSU's lobby/mission system does not really need a large population to work, imo, unless you really like playing in pick-up parties.

EDIT: you will also need a PlaySEGA account to play online:
https://billing.playsega.com/protected/securityCheck

and of course there are people here who can help you better than i can, if you are on the PC/PS2 servers. =)

[BenoitRen]

you do not need the original PSU game, or the hard drive, as character data is saved client side.

You must mean server-side.

[thriwren]

Hmm... I think I might join the PS2/PC servers. (I really have a thing against the Xbox360 after my cousin's died an hour after I posted the original post.)

So, all I need for the PS2 is the orginal game and the expansion? ?-?; -confused on this part-
I don't need the PS2 HD.
If I have the new/revised PS2 that is 1/3rd the size of the original PS2 and disks I won't need anything but a ethernet cord/cable to log in correct?

The slim PS2 has the Ethernet in it already. If you want to play the offline story from the original I would say get both but it is not nessasary, 360 is the only one where you need the original before the expansion.

Well, since it seems that you made a dission on which one hope to see you on the PC/PS2 servers

[Surei Uorushu]

oh noes, your cousin got Red Ring Rico'd! =0

yeah that's a problem with older 360s. at least they replace it for free <_<

Actually they only replace 360s with 3 or more red rings. Since he only got one they won't replace it. D8

~~~

And sweet I only need to buy the latest. =o~ Now time to beat my friends into joining in.

Can the PC use voice chat or is that only available to Xbox?
x.x;

[BenoitRen]

Only one red light? Then there's something less serious going on. He should check the manual.

There is no integrated voice chat on the PC. But you can have voice chat by using a separate program. The voice chat will only work with people connected to the same server, though, so it's not as efficient. I don't think this is a big loss, though. Most people you don't want to hear.

[Surei Uorushu]

He said that he is plotting on cheating Microsoft by sending it in saying that there are 3 red lights and getting a new one from them since that's what they usually send out instead of working on the broken thing.

Ah, I see...

So for the PC or the Xbox360 you need the original and the AOTI expansion, but for the PS2 you just need the AOTI expansion?

^^

Thank you guys for all of the help and I hope to see you on the PSU PC/PS2 server~

Edit: Ooh, I have a kitty thing under my name now. 8D

[janejana]

you do not need the original PSU game, or the hard drive, as character data is saved client side.

You must mean server-side.

lol yeah xD

-----

for your cousin...from what i've heard you usually can get 360s replaced if you just get them to send you the coffin (since they get a lot sent in, they usually just send you a new one because fixing it would take too long). so you probably can get one by...stretching the truth. and uh, while i wouldn't feel comfortable doing this myself, apparently wrapping up your console in a towel and leaving it has 'fixed' other people's xboxes. i don't know why intentionally overheating it would do that, though. <_<