Final Fantasy XI released today (1 Viewer)

[James_Kiang]

Kong - Thanks for the info. I have played FFT but it was quite some time ago. Loved that game btw. From what my nephew has told me you can switch to any number of jobs, but he isn't always the most accurate source of info.

Romier - Thanks for the passes. I'm going to try to install tonight and use one of those. I am a little torn since Kong will be on a different server (in all likelihood) and my nephew probably is as well (though he's not usually someone I get a lot out of gaming with). What did you end up starting as?

Are the cat and dog races limited to just those jobs? If so, Elvaan is looking more and more likely. I hear if you start in the town of the race you pick you get a stat ring. Is that true? Does that work for the dog and cat races?

 

[Romier S]

What did you end up starting as?

Elvaan Warrior on one server and Hume Black Mage on another.

 

[James_Kiang]

Doh, Elvaan Warrior is looking like my choice as well...

 

[Kong Chang]

I'll probably have a character on your server as well. I still need a world pass from a friend to get onto the Faery server anyways.

I'm thinking of going Monk/Warrior for ultimate tanking Hahahahaha.

I'm so pathetic.

 

[Kong Chang]

James,

Found a job/subjob guide. This may help you out on which path to follow

http://db.gamefaqs.com/computer/dosw...asy_xi_job.txt

 

[Kong Chang]

Romier:

I tried inputting those numbers into the world, and most are expired, the last one is incorrect.

I'm at a lost :frowning:


Kong

 

[Romier S]

Try these:

3180338405
1860965964
9784355631
1957078613
4506233016
3271116204
2446697575
1857369248
7785326076

 

[James_Kiang]

None of those passes worked for me :frowning:. I hope we can get this done soon. I had to delete my uber level 2 character .

Initial impressions of the game: After 15 minutes I thought I would probably drop it. I played a little more this morning and it's growing on me. I agree with Romier - the interface is just not very good. I guess I got too used to SWG as far as controls go.

Would like to get on with someone I know. The guy I was partied with this morning was just not my type of player.

 

[Kong Chang]

Okay, I am on the Unicorn server, where most of the players from "Multiplayer Strategies" are.

A cost for a world pass is 1200 gils. Ugh. That's hard to make but I'm gonna try for it.

I'll try to get a Unicorn world pass. OR, you can do what I do, James. Hehehe, create & delete characters until you get onto the server you want.

Btw, my character's name is "Baissier". I'm a huge gralk warrior going for a combo warrior/monk. Currently, level 5 and working on my way to level 6.

I too almost gave up on the game last night until I finally figured out the interface and got used to the bad pixelized game atmosphere. Too bad you can't choose the resolution you want it in. :frowning: Because it's so pixelized, it's driving me bonkers.

 

[Romier S]

Do this (a bit more info on creation and delation Kong mentioned above):

Go through creating your character, when your done and it asks you to link that character to a handle hit esc, that will take you back to the opening screen.

Click on select character and it will show what world your character is part of. If you want a different world, delete the character and recreate until you find the one you want. I was able to create two more characters on Fenrir easily doing this.

If you want on Fenrir or want to join me please feel free to do that and see if it works for you. If you want on Unicorn thats fine either way. I may try to create a character on Unicorn with my second slot (which Im currently not using). I would buy you a world pass but its going to be a bit before I can, I only have about 600 gil and I need 1300 to buy one.

I cant reiterate how utterly ridiculous it is not being able to specify the server you want to play on. I can understand Square Enixs' thought process behind it. It helps prevent the server overcrowding you saw in Galaxies on Starsider and such but at that same time its non-conducive to what an MMO is all about. To get together with your friends.:frowning:

I too almost gave up on the game last night until I finally figured out the interface and got used to the bad pixelized game atmosphere. Too bad you can't choose the resolution you want it in

You most defintely can! Go into your start menu, then programs, then playonline and into the final fantasy XI folder. You'll see the FFXI config menu. You can select the resolution right there.

There are two settings, display resolution and background texture resolution. Set the background textures to 1024X1024 (sharper textures) and whatever you want for the screen resolution. Leave mip-mapping off as it is currently not working. Put a check in bump mapping under the effects menu and select "smooth" for the grass and tree animation if youv got a powerful rig (mind you most of these settings are for a more powerful rig). If not leave it at normal.

If you want to rid yourself of the grainy look you mentioned. Go into your graphics card menu and set anistropic filtering to 16X (or 8X depending on card). This will completely rid you of the grainy look (at least if your running an ATI card like I am). Textures will be much cleaner. The performance hit is negligable and you probably wont even notice it.

Also go into the config menu and then set your gamme higher. I set all three to the halfway point which really helps the sometimes drab look. Hope that helps Kong!

 

[Kong Chang]

Romier,

You're a god send!!! I can't believe I was playing this game for 12-14 hours with a 515x515 resolution!!! Ugh, it was so pixelated and everything. I had to readjust my eyes to get used to it. I changed everything and my god, what a difference some config makes!!! Plus I also turned on my GeForce 3 anistropic to 8x (max). Still, everything to uncompressed and normal bumpmapping and something else I had to turn down, it's slower in framerate, but I don't care. The game looks so good now. I was wondering how anyone can like something that looked so ugly. Duh....I'm so stupid (with a capital "S").

Anyway...whew...

So, on Unicorn, got myself to level 8 now. I can buy a worldpass. It will eat up 60% of my gils now, but I don't care. I will buy it tomorrow, and send each of you a world pass and the other 3 I will post with my friends. Hopefully they'll come online. My char's name is Baissier, btw.

Oh, btw, I'm not at the level to have a subjob yet, but normally when do we get subjobs? I'm opting for monk to have a powerful tanker. *hehehehehe*

I'm also finally learning the tricks of the trade of abusing quests...and repeating them ad nauseum to make a lot of money, as well as using the auction houses.

 

[Max Leung]

Y'know, I still haven't seen a post that says the game is unconditionally fun...does that mean the game isn't fun then? If not, please explain how fun it is!

I have a friend who is trying to play it...first impressions are very unfavorable so far. The manual is awful, the user interface is terrible, and text scrolls off too fast in the chat window WITHOUT a chat history bar which renders some quests impossible to complete (for example, if a person is in combat near a quest NPC, the quest data will scroll off because of the combat messages! ARrrgh!).

If there is a solution to any of the above problems, please let me know!

 

[Kong Chang]

THere's a lot of rectification, which, thankfully, that's what I did. You have to fix a lot of stuff. I turned off all other people's combat messages. Your friend needs to go to config in the menu, and turn off all chat featurse that says "allies" or "other people" in the chat stuff.

In terms of looking at past of what is said, you can expand your "say" window by pressing the "+" on your number keypad, which expands to the number of lines you had set your chat/say window to in the menu section.

You also want to tell your friend to change "keyboard" to compact size, so you can use the WASD and IJKL feature of the keyboard for movement and looking respectively.

To bring up the "menu", just press the "-" on the keypad. Keep pressing "esc" to get rid of all menus.

You can also use the mouse for a lof of these features. Right button mouse works like "esc" and cancels out of the menus and screen interface. Left button of mouse is for chat menu or action menu. Scroll button, when pushed, opens up the regular menu.

I also joined up with Multiplayerstrategies.Com for a lot of my solutions. Found a auto-attack macro, which is very helpful. Which btw, did you know we can have up to 200 macros? Just by pressing "Ctrl" & "Shift" key together, you can cycle through the different macro key layouts (kinda like the macro layouts in SWG).

Most of the stuff in the manual is horrible...I agree. However, I use the short-hand commands that they provide which is very helpful. PLUS, having other people help you is also good too.

Playing 10+ hours yesterday, I really got the hang of the game. It's quite easy really.

And yes, it's unconditionally fun. I couldn't stop playing it yesterday. :frowning:

Max, if your friend is having problems, feel free to ask me questions. I finally got the hang of the game.

Remember, I'm on the Unicorn Server, starting in the city of Bartok/Bastok. Fun fun fun

I need a white mage, a black mage, a ranger and a thief in my party...maybe another fighter and/or monk or two wouldn't hurt either. I'm gonna try to save money for linkshells too

 

[Romier S]

and text scrolls off too fast in the chat window WITHOUT a chat history bar which renders some quests impossible to complete

Nonsense. You get a quest menu with lists every quest you've gotten with details on who gave the quest and what you need to do to complete it.(though unfortunately Ive found the quests dont auto update when they are multi-legged).

Also if your on a compact keyboard setting you can hit "f" and then "Enter" on the keyboard which will give you a full size view of the chat window and history.

Its a fun game, but fairly run of the mill for an MMO thus far for me. You party, you gather friends and kill bigger monsters etc.. etc.. etc.. repeat ad nauseum. If you dig MMO's and this kind of MMO (which thus far I think its decent) you'll enjoy it. The final fantasy settings helps a great deal and is handled very well.

If your looking for something different in the genre, youve looked in the wrong place.

 

[Max Leung]

Thanks for the info.

Still disappointed that there isn't a large scrollback buffer for text though. Sure, you can check the quest menu, but that doesn't help when you're talking to people and everything scrolls off. That is, unless you guys found a way to enable a 500 line history? I really hope such a feature exists. Such a thing is also indispensible when reporting bugs and other problems to GMs.

But remember, I'm not playing the game! Coming from Asheron's Call, FFXI sure seems primitive, graphics aside! The bidding system looks workable at least. Unfortunately, so far, not many sociable people online. That's something I really miss from Asheron's Call...people are so friendly and sociable there and the chat system is done so well, and I've made many friends. It seems other MMOGs don't stress the social aspects as much. Either that, or Asheron's Call has cornered the market and that is where all the sociable people gather...

But either way, I don't have time to play...but I do have time for Max Payne 2: Dead Man Walking.

That's too bad that FFXI doesn't really add anything to the MMO arena. But then again it could be worse...it's not like Anarchy Online a few years ago so that is a plus! And good to know that you're having fun Romier.

 

[Kong Chang]

Welp, I bought a world pass for "Unicorn" server. It only lasts ONE week (it will end PST Sunday 7PM, November 9). So, if you want to join in the fun on Unicorn server, please ask me and I'll PM you the world pass number

Don't wanna post it because I need some for my friends too .

1211 gils for a world pass ain't cheap, ya know ;P

 

[Kong Chang]

Don't expect anything from MMO's for awhile. All of the fantasy ones will end up being the same hack and slash feature. Even SWG ended up being the same way. Money is the root of all evil, and it's what makes every game a hack and slash game...unfortunately.

 

[Romier S]

It seems other MMOGs don't stress the social aspects as much. Either that, or Asheron's Call has cornered the market and that is where all the sociable people gather...

Now mind you Max, I'm not taking you to task here for this comment and I want to get that out of the way now. Im just using it to illustrate a point.

There are MMO's out there that surpass Asherons Call in social interactivity IMHO. The afformentioned Star Wars Galaxies REQUIRES it and puts it at the top of the gameplay totem pole. I could also argue that Dark Age of Camelot is also a bastion of social gathering as I played the game non-stop for almost 14 months. Of course for you Max, nothing has yet to even come remotely close to AC. Therein lies the problem. I like to call it MMO "leap frog"

No MMO will EVER compare to the first one that hooks you. Mind you not the first one you play, but the first one that hooks you. That is truly embedded on a mental level I think.

You spend the rest of your MMO time searching for a replacement. Searching for that one game that will sink its claws into you again and make you feel that great sensation of fighting monsters in a huge explorable 3D world. Of getting together with folks online and making new friends. Being immersed in an adventure that you just dont want to let go. You've tired of the one you love and you desperately want something to take its place but inevitably you've placed that first game on a pedestal so high, honestly nothing can touch it because you have so many wonderful memories and experiences with it. Hence each new MMO comes out and you give it a whirl and a few months later (usually 3-4) you quit and move on because the experience just doesn't compare. Though to get back to my original point MMO devs continue to shovel the same fighting engine, crafting systems (ie tedium) etc..etc.. because the player continues to long for more of what they once had.

Mind you I am utterly guilty of the same exact thing. My Shining god of an MMO is Dark Age of Camelot. It was the first that hooked me. The first game that got me to play for almost 14 months without a second thought. The first game I ran a 60 person guild in, roleplayed in, met a bunch of new people in and experienced for the first time what it was like to really explore a 3D world that was at my fingertips. I've been on the hunt ever since and in all honestly, nothing has compared (Its funny you mentioned Anarchy Online as its been the only game that has even remotely come close to DAOC for me, with Asherons Call 2 a close second.).

I'm sure some will completely dismiss what I say and some other MMO players who may read this will no doubt sit and think to themselves "Damn he may be right". Its really just what I've gathered in my time with this genre.

I dont see myself playing FFXI long. Its an MMO through and through and I don't fault Square-Enix for that. I'll get my 3-4 months in and move on (though who knows, I may get so into it at later levels that I just cant stop.)

My last bastions of hope are Horizons and World of Warcraft. Horizons looks interesting but I have vowed to myself that if WOW does not hold me I will give up the MMO genre for a very long time, if not for good. I just don't have the time or energy to continue "the search" so to speak. At least not these days.

Sorry for rumbling and if you've read this far your in danger of being an MMO whore.

 

[Max Leung]

lol Romier...I agree with you completely.

My friend is still hooked on DAOC...he spends more than 4 hours a night on that stupid game. And he's been at it for nearly two years!

Luck for him I got him temporarily hooked on Max Payne 2. Everybody needs a good shoot'em-up break from the MMO tedium.

I found that most people will not play an MMO until they are sure that all their online friends play too. It doesn't matter how bad the game mechanics are for some of these people. Guess that may explain why I found many of the newer MMORPGs deafening in their silence...everybody found their playmates, so there is no incentive to meet with strangers. There's hardly any spontaneous public chat anymore! Well, except when the devs start a world-shattering event...hehe those are fun.

Any idea if FFXI will introduce developer-run world-wide events? I remember the days of Bael-zharon on Asheron's Call, when the devs would role-play the heavy-hitting AC heroes. The Bael-zharon and Asheron duels were amazing...and the collateral damage was awesome! People being flung into the sky, falling to their deaths, people swearing allegiance to the evil one, people cheering and heckling the bigwig Asheron himself...all cool stuff!

Maybe it'll be a regular thing in WOW...but that's probably hoping too much.

 

[Kong Chang]

The problem with FFXI currently is you have two factions. The Japanese faction who have been playing FFXI for over 1.5 years via their PS2 consoles, and the new American faction who just got into it with their PC (and soon to be PS2, I hear). The other problem with socialization is that not every character you meet will be American and there's no American or Japan flag hanging over character's head. So, there's a language barrier already introduced since the U.S. is using the Japanese servers rather than having separate servers. Although there is an in-game translator by pressing the "tab" key while saying, it's hard to know who's Japanese and who's American just by the names themselves.

There's also a discrepency with economics too. It feels like the real world where for the Japanese players, everything is cheap, but for us Americans, everything is darn expensive. That's what happens when there's a time gap between releases between countries.