XPost: alt.games.phantasy-star   
   From: kendrick@nospam.io   
      
   In article <1160940828.064943.79710@e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com>,   
   Jordan  wrote:   
   >Kendrick Kerwin Chua wrote:   
   >> Crossposting to AG.PS for discussion of Phantasy Star Universe...   
   >   
   >Here's what I posted to Segas PSU board:   
       
   >It's like Sega took the complaints about PSO (too small, not enough   
   >places to go) and over-worked the solutions to them. If anything parts   
   >of PSU feel un-neccessarily complicated.   
      
   I agree, but I also like some of the complications. I can tell that   
   they're completely optional (in that you don't have to do more than was   
   necessary in PSO to enjoy the game) but there's enough asset and resource   
   management to make traditional MMO players feel warm and fuzzy. I shall   
   now defend this viewpoint...   
      
   >I haven't got the hang of Synthesis yet, either through my personal   
   >assistant in the room or at the shop, but so far this is another area   
   >that just seems way more complicated than it needs to be. Ditto for   
   >weapons upgrades. Do we really need different "brands" of weapons? Some   
   >that can be upgraded in one location but not in another?   
      
   I actually dig the synthesis, as it makes the idea of combat field object   
   collection more logical. No, it makes no sense to find a completely   
   functional magic wand in the belly of a tiny, atomic penguin. It does make   
   sense to find a resin or a bone or something that one would use to make   
   that wand. I've been able to manufacture a couple of small sabers and a   
   pretty bitching Force rod.   
      
   >Sega should consider adding a tutorial on both Synthesis and Weapon   
   >Upgrading.   
      
   I'm sure that these are in the works, or might be covered in the manual.   
      
   >By merging the old PSO lobbies with the ship area Sega managed to give   
   >us huge, expansive areas for the avatars to play around in, but it also   
   >takes forever to get from one location to another.   
      
   What I do is I use the red diamond teleporters to go back to my personal   
   room, and then use the Guardian transport from there to get to whatever   
   floor of Clyez I need to be in. It's worth noting that areas of Clyez and   
   Neudaiz won't appear on the transport list until you've walked through   
   them at least once. Also, because this is an Xbox Live demo the lobbies   
   are full of insensitive, profane teenagers who appear determined to   
   advertise their ignorance and their lack of spelling ability with every   
   chat transmission. :/   
      
   >The mechanics of the game take a lot of getting used to. I'm not sure I   
   >like the whole palatte idea yet, it again seems way more complicated   
   >than it needs to be. But it makes more sense after you get through the   
   >tutorial (when I tried to figure it out on my own I was hopeless.   
   >Fortunately the tutorial stopped crashing for me and I was able to get   
   >through it the 3rd time through.)   
      
   Isn't the palette the same as the weapon select mechanism from the   
   Gamecube version? What with techniques being tied to weapons instead of   
   being inherent Force abilities, I can't imagine having to call up the item   
   menu to switch equipment every time. Also, I discovered my problem with   
   the tutorial crashing was specific to some badly cached files.   
      
   >Over-all, despite the criticisms above, I am enjoying the game and am   
   >looking forward to it coming out later this month. I am willing to   
   >endure the complexity for a decent gaming experience. Hopefully the   
   >single player campaign will shed some light on the more opaque parts of   
   >online (Synthesis, Weapon upgrades).   
      
   I'm liking it much more too, but I'm worried about the longevity of the   
   game. I'm sure that Xbox Live allows for a better mechanism by which   
   patches and new content can be distributed. On the other hand, I know for   
   sure that the PS2 version will be more widely distributed and received. If   
   the same Guardian license works on both, I may just buy a copy of each.   
      
   -KKC, who just burned a bag of popcorn.   
   --   
   --From the top ten reasons to end war in the Middle East:  | kendrick @   
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