Phantasy Star Universe

[Margalis]

Yeah, it's the Z icon thing, whatever button is mapped to that.

Names in game? I'm creating an online dude right now.

[Signe]

I'm Robo Signe but I don't think I'll play anymore.  It sucks.

[schild]

Found it. Son of a bitch. Tons of missions wasted.

So, my name is Zhou Yun on Xbox Live. When in Japan...

[Koyasha]

Names are not unique and there's no way to find someone by their name (that I know of) unless they have a shop open.  You must meet up with someone and exchange Partner Cards if you want to be able to find them.

[Kitsune]

Yeah, to the best of my knowledge the only way to reliably get someone online is to arrange a meet and swap partner cards with them.  But it should be easy enough to pick a time for everyone to meet on, say, Universe 8 next to the ramp on the first floor of the space station.  Just select one of those glowy orange diamonds floating at chest height from the floor to switch which universe you're in.

[Trippy]

Can you get a Rank S in the Story Mode trials?

To answer my question, yes you can, you need to score at least 1000 points.

[Dp13]

Hi there.   Was looking for info on PSU and came across this site.  Interesting place and people.   

I really like the pace of this game and but it's difficult to understand.  I'm looking for info on the Adv. Types like Wartecher, FiGunner, ect.    I know about that site PSUPedia but it's always bogged down or not responding to me.


Anyway I'm wondering if I take 10 levels of Ranger and become a Fortegunner, will I be able to level up in Hunter any and maybe change my job to FiGunner someday?   Or after 10 levels and chosing my 1st Advanced Job Type, am I stuck doing that forever?




About the comments before mine, I can definately see why people would think this games sucks...  just so happens it exactly what I was looking for.  It might be a love-it / hate-it game.

Thanks

13

[schild]

Not even sure the advanced classes are available in america yet.

[Dp13]

Not even sure the advanced classes are available in america yet.

Right, they aren't.    Just planning on what to be when they are.   Guess I'll take my chances. 

[geldonyetich]

Check out Kitsune's submission about the advanced classes on the previous page and you'll know about as much of them as the PSUWiki does.  Yeah, they're not available in America yet.  It'd be a month or two after release until they are.  It's just as well, it'd take a while to get level 10 in Hunter/Ranger/Force.  Those are mission levels, not character levels.

[raydeen]

I finally got online. I created a new PlaySega account and used the full zipcode (zip+4) in the address field and it worked. I have a Force named Pomm Pomm and a Hunter named Engel.

[img=http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/5528/psu20061030063545002gj0.th.jpg]

[Dp13]

What Universe are you all playing on?    I'd like to join in.

[raydeen]

I think I was on 7, but it seems like you can jump around like Guild Wars. At least that's how I understood it.

[Dp13]

You can jump around.  Thats why most people that play together pick one universe to meet up in.   Just wondering if you all had decided on a universe. 

It's difficult to find people in the game if you don't have their card. 

[Strazos]

I was sick of whatever music was looping in my Gamestop today, so I popped in the PSU soundtrack. Pretty good.

[Fabricated]

Okay, so I haven't taken an official poll yet. Who's playing the PC/PS2 versions and who's playing the 360 one? I'm on PS2/PC.

I also think I made a mistake by shoving a mess of synthesis boards into my bot, because I don't think you can remove them. I don't have any repeat boards in there, but I have like a dozen-something medicine and booster items I can't make since they all want at least one of these two kinds of berries that simply do not drop.

I also have a plan for a one-handed weapon called "Florescent Tube", which sounds funny enough to make but the one part I need to make it can simply not be found.

[Trippy]

I'm playing the PC version. And yeah there are gotchas like that syth board thing. There also appears to be a Photon Arts limit but no way of forgetting them (haven't quite bumped up against the limit yet so I don't know if it'll let you overwrite existing ones). This probably isn't a problem in the online mode since there are more PA type restrictions than in Story Mode (the main character can learn technics as a Hunter or Ranger) though of course for people who like to play all the types can still run into the limit.

[Kitsune]

Dp13, you can change jobs freely and as often as you like, there's just a fee involved with every change that increases with your level.  If you really wanted to you could max out every job, but that would be pretty insane.

Fabricated, hold on to that Flourescent Tube board, it's a rare drop and thus pretty valuable, you might want to fish around for a buyer.  From what I've heard, it makes a one-handed saber with unique appearance and sound, so you know people'll fall over themselves for it.

And I haven't tested this personally, but word is that you can freely overwrite synthesis boards and photon arts once you've hit your max.  So while you can't remove them, they won't prevent you from using new stuff.

[Margalis]

Don't boards have a max usage anyway? So worst case you can make X of that item to finish with the board.

I'm on PC. We should arrange some time/place to meet up sometime.

[Trippy]

Don't boards have a max usage anyway? So worst case you can make X of that item to finish with the board.

Yes but if you've filled your board slots with boards that require ultra rare parts you could be in trouble.

[Margalis]

Apparently you can overwrite them.

Here is a weird tidbit - tons of stuff is in the game but not available online yet. For example in offline mode you can apparently get all sorts of spells but in online mode only the first 2 tiers (Barta and Rabarta, Foie and Rafoie etc) are available. Japan already has access to the third planet and some more missions.

For anyone wondering, I haven't been able to find good spell descriptions anywhere so here goes:

Foie - Fire based, single target, high damage, can set guys on fire where they take damage over time.
Deega - Earth based, single target, highest damage, can silence guys. So basically best damage, crap effect.
Zonde - Lightening, can hit any number of targets in a line. About half damage of Foie. Extra effect is shock, which means enemies can move but not attack.
Barta - Ice based, can hit any number of targets in a line. Extra effect is ice, freezes enemy solid. I haven't used this one but damage is probably on par or lower than Zonde since effect is so good.

Rabarta - Area effect that will hit the nearest enemy or just explode at a certain range. It seems to me this can only hit a maximum of three enemies at a time, so it can actually hit fewer enemies than Barta or Zonde. (Although lining 4 guys up to nail them all is pretty hard with those unless you are playing solo) Takes 3x the PP of the normal Barta and does about same damage.

Other ra-spells - I don't have these yet. I'm hoping Razonde can hit flying guys, it looks like bolts of lightening that come down from the sky so maybe.

[raydeen]

PC - settled with Universe 6 this morning. Met some mighty fine people and rolled up a new toon to match with them: Klavier Engel. I had exited a Linear Line mission and saw a bunch sitting and talking. I walked over and found two other Engels, (Guitar) Engel and (Violin) Engel. I don't remember what the german words were but I figured this seemed like a neat pack to run with so I've spun up Klavier Engel as keys and drums are all I know and I didn't know the german word for drums.

[Trippy]

PSUPedia has a spell reference:

http://www.psupedia.org/index.php?title=TECHNICS

[Kitsune]

Yeah, the game's still missing big swaths of content.  An entire planet, missions, spells, items, classes that we don't have access to yet.  I dunno if this is according to some sort of plan to gradually roll out content to keep the game fresh, or if they just screwed up and didn't have the stuff ready for release.  The Japanese server has most of the things that the US server is missing, but even the Japanese don't have the buff spells yet, for example.  Sega has apparently said that the US server will be updated at the same pace as the Japan server was, so the new planet and advanced classes should be unlocked around the end of November.

[geldonyetich]

Just finished Chapter 10 of the single player campaign last night.  I'll probably have 11 and 12 finished by tonight, and there's only online play left.  Not sure what universe I'll be on yet, but I'm playing the PC version.

[Kitsune]

Universe doesn't matter, the game randomly sticks you in a universe every time you log on.  You can switch between them freely and quickly, so long as the one you want to go to isn't full.

But I have had a brainstorm, here is how we shall get together.  I've opened a store.  It's accessible from all universes at the same time.  I'm standing in it, behind the counter, so just come to the store and we can swap partner cards.  My character's name is Cyllix, just go to the black terminal on the desk next to your robot, select search for stores, search by name, and type that name in.  It'll take you straight to my room, no muss no fuss no messing around with universe numbers.  I'll stick around in the shop tonight, so unless it's crazy late or I'm eating dinner or somesuch, you'll find me in there.

[Edit: Oh, this is on the PC/PS2 server, incidentally.  Sorry Xboxers!]

[Edit 2: In case I'm AFK and don't respond when you enter, just make some noise with a shout command in your text like: @sWake up!]

[Margalis]

Cool I'll log on later to swap cards.

[Trippy]

Yea for rootkit technology!

I was downloading the latest Guild Wars stuff while playing PSU and GW stole focus from PSU which caused the PSU window to go black (presumably some sort of DirectX conflict). I tried to find the PSU process to kill it but it doesn't show up in the Task Window or Process Explorer. I'm presuming the nProtect stuff uses rootkit technology by hiding the PSU process from process display programs. Fortunately PSU still shows up under the application list so I was able to kill it that way.

Sony got in trouble for doing a similar thing with their music CD copy protection system. I'm assuming GameGuard only loads when you load the game, but of course that's hard to prove since it's stealthing itself -- it could be loading itself as a hidden program on startup.

Edit: fixed typos

Edit2: GameGuard may in fact be running at all times and apparently it doesn't deinstall itself when you uninstall the game, at least in the case of Maple Story, and may it decide to reboot your machine if it doesn't like you. I'm on chapter 9 of 12 of Story Mode so I plan on finishing it but I'll probably deinstall PSU and hopefully GameGuard when I'm done. Oh well, I guess I'll have time to play FF XII now. More discussion about GameGuard:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=136414

[geldonyetich]

Story Mode Game Clear!  About 26 hours of play.  Funny enough, at the end they have an auto clip of the main characters saying how everybody needs to play the network mode now.  I'm planning on giving it a spin tommorow.  I think the part I look forward to most of all is having the other members of the party played by actual players instead of dumb AI.  Who pulls the yoke in story mode is 95% you, 5% the other three AI played members.  That's about how often they get manuevered into a situation where they register it's time to attack attack.  For that reason I suspect network mode will be a lot easier than story mode, even with the tighter weapon limitations.

[Trippy]

I think the part I look forward to most of all is having the other members of the party played by actual players instead of dumb AI.  Who pulls the yoke in story mode is 95% you, 5% the other three AI played members.  That's about how often they get manuevered into a situation where they register it's time to attack attack.  For that reason I suspect network mode will be a lot easier than story mode, even with the tighter weapon limitations.

Yeah the party AI is painfully bad. I wanted to try the Ranger and Forces types but I gave up when I realized my party members would just stand there twiddling their thumbs if I only did ranged attacks.

[Margalis]

How do I call my jobber NPC in online mode? I do something with their partner card?

[Fabricated]

Yea for rootkit technology!

I was downloading the latest Guild Wars stuff while playing PSU and GW stole focus from PSU which caused the PSU window to go black (presumably some sort of DirectX conflict). I tried to find the PSU process to kill it but it doesn't show up in the Task Window or Process Explorer. I'm presuming the nProtect stuff uses rootkit technology by hiding the PSU process from process display programs. Fortunately PSU still shows up under the application list so I was able to kill it that way.

Sony got in trouble for doing a similar thing with their music CD copy protection system. I'm assuming GameGuard only loads when you load the game, but of course that's hard to prove since it's stealthing itself -- it could be loading itself as a hidden program on startup.

Edit: fixed typos

Edit2: GameGuard may in fact be running at all times and apparently it doesn't deinstall itself when you uninstall the game, at least in the case of Maple Story, and may it decide to reboot your machine if it doesn't like you. I'm on chapter 9 of 12 of Story Mode so I plan on finishing it but I'll probably deinstall PSU and hopefully GameGuard when I'm done. Oh well, I guess I'll have time to play FF XII now. More discussion about GameGuard:

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=136414

Bleh. I've seen gameguard used in umpteen million shitty Korean MMORPGS. It's annoying, but I don't particularly see anything malicious about it. Blizzard has a similar process embedded into WoW but it's not quite as obtrusive as gameguard. It still looks hard at your running processes and shitcans what it doesn't like if I recall.

I am annoyed to find that Gameguard requires that much of a pain in the ass to kill for good after you uninstall the game though.

Edit: I don't get how we haven't seen articles on MMORPGs and heavily online games being trojans/spyware myself considering the amount of anti-cheating software out there and the disreputable companies some studios/publishers outsource stuff to. It's not like any MMORPG client couldn't look at everything you type, look at your hardware, look at your running processes, or even snag a screenshot every once and a while on its own.

[Kitsune]

How do I call my jobber NPC in online mode? I do something with their partner card?

You have to be solo or the party leader, and you either go into the party screen and select create a party if you're alone, which gives you the opportunity to pick partner cards to invite, or you select invite a person if you're the party leader.  In either case you should be able to then select your NPC's card and they'll come.  But be wary, the NPCs are very, very stupid, and any deaths they receive count against the party's score for the mission.

And rootkits are bad, m'kay.  But in the war between the cheaters and the anti-cheaters, I'm willing to make that sacrifice as long as it hampers the cheaters and doesn't royally fuck over my computer.

[Hoax]

Are you people paying a monthly fee for this or is it free?

[tazelbain]

gw:nightfall, the story is much better, the AI fights well, no sub

Not that anyone cares.