Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

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Aleron Ives
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#11 » Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:03 pm

MobiusX wrote:What's with all the different versions? v1, v2, Episode 1&2 on other platforms, Blue whatever on PC... Plus the different homebrew servers. Can someon give me a newbie breakdown? How does this game work, exactly?

PSO has tons of versions, because Sega didn't have enough time to develop it. Version 1 is basically a beta released as a retail game, presumably because Sega didn't want to break its promise of releasing PSO in 2000. Version 2 is a more complete edition of the original game. It doesn't really change any gameplay mechanics but adds a new difficulty, two new modes, and tons of new items... most of which are unobtainable, due to stupidly high drop rates.

Episode I & II is a refinement of the original game that adds three new classes, four new areas (two of which are rehashes), four new bosses (two of which are rehashes), and a bunch of new items. It also significantly rebalances the gameplay and adds many new mechanics meant to correct the imbalances in version 2... and creates many new imbalances in the process. It also has dramatically improved drop rates, so you have a wide variety of items to use and to hunt.

Blue Burst is a small expansion most likely created so that Sega could a) reclaim a little more cash from its investment into PSO's development, and b) allow Sega to test a server-sided game model before releasing PSU. It has two new areas and one new boss, as well as a bunch of fanservice items that largely break the balance reforms made in Episode I & II.

MobiusX wrote:And what is the best way to experience it today?

That's a hugely subjective matter. The only thing pretty much everybody agrees on is that V1 is the worst way to play, because V2 has everything it has and much more. If community size is your biggest concern, then there's no doubt that BB is the best way to go, because most PSO players use BB now and have for over a decade. Whether the style of that community fits your tastes is another matter, though. Many of us prefer the nicer, if smaller, communities that cling to the earlier releases.

Generally speaking, most of the remaining V2 players are DC enthusiasts who just like playing DC games online and have no particular affinity for V2 itself beyond the fact that it's a DC game. As such, none of them play competitively or are particularly concerned with mastering the game's mechanics. GC players are much more results-oriented, partially because Episode II demands it, and partially because the wider variety of equipment choices gives you many options for dealing with any situation.
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MobiusX
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#12 » Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:43 pm

itsthinkingstill wrote:Yeah you can use your same character to go to any server like sylverant or schthack. Its just the way of connecting might be different


Perfect, thanks!

BlueCrab wrote:Awesome info


This is everything I was wondering, thank you! Super helpful. And yeah, I meant Blue Burst on the PC side, but it's kind of a long shot I'll get that hooked. :)

Aleron Ives wrote:Generally speaking, most of the remaining V2 players are DC enthusiasts who just like playing DC games online and have no particular affinity for V2 itself beyond the fact that it's a DC game. As such, none of them play competitively or are particularly concerned with mastering the game's mechanics.


Okay, I get it now! What a mess of versions. But I think this quote is exactly what I'm looking for, so can't wait to jump in!

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mistamontiel
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#13 » Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:36 pm

You're not going to like the harsh character loadings , even on your own alone !

Give the patcher boot disc with the GD a whirl then check out the torrent download here ! Much more optimized .cdi it is definitely a burn that outdoes the authentic !

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The-Amazing-Mr_V
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#14 » Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:25 am

mistamontiel wrote:You're not going to like the harsh character loadings , even on your own alone !

Give the patcher boot disc with the GD a whirl then check out the torrent download here ! Much more optimized .cdi it is definitely a burn that outdoes the authentic !


I agree. The optimized version with the patch is the way to go. Loading is so much faster!

MobiusX
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#15 » Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:00 pm

The-Amazing-Mr_V wrote:
mistamontiel wrote:You're not going to like the harsh character loadings , even on your own alone !

Give the patcher boot disc with the GD a whirl then check out the torrent download here ! Much more optimized .cdi it is definitely a burn that outdoes the authentic !


I agree. The optimized version with the patch is the way to go. Loading is so much faster!


I have no idea what these posts mean!

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HuntrRose
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#16 » Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:21 pm

MobiusX wrote:
I have no idea what these posts mean!


its talking about an optimized "backup" that loads faster and better than the retail disc.. only available via bit torrent..

in addition to being optimized for loading it also includes the patcher required to play the game online..

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HuntrRose
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#17 » Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:22 pm

i wish it was on isozone in addition to the torrent...

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Aleron Ives
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#18 » Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:31 pm

My CDI does not include BlueCrab's boot disc. I pre-patched the disc so that a patching program is not needed when you launch the game. ;)
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HuntrRose
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#19 » Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:36 pm

put it on isozone..

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Bob Dobbs
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Re: Educate me on Phantasy Star Online

Post#20 » Wed Aug 02, 2017 8:26 pm

I second that motion, Huntr! ...although I use the PALv2 GD-ROM and my son uses the NTSC/U GD-ROM (with Blue Crab's patcher disc).

Btw...yes, I know it was not a vote, but it would be nice if it were up there so the torrent would not become the only way.
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