Do you think PSO has changed?

[jaredchansen]

I know that Ephinea prides itself in a Vanilla+ approach, where they keep the game as close to the original as possible. But do you think the game has changed years later? Or is it just the same that you remember?

I know for me the game feels just the same, but different at the same time. Obviously, the mechanics don't feel different, but the environment has. I played almost exclusively offline on the GC for financial reasons (teenager, parents didn't want to pay), with occasional local multiplayer. However, with PSOBB being around other players is almost constant, and the community feel of playing with fellow Ephineans is much different than my few excursions online in the old GC days. Back then, there were good people, and also a lot of hackers.

 

[Harborer of Hope]

Or is it just the same that you remember?

Mew can sum that up in ONE Word dear....... "BETTER!"! <3

 

[Buzz]

Times have changed. You cannot bring back 2005.

 

[Yalyn]

Well, legitimacy debate is dead.

That's one thing at least.

 

[Skyefallen]

Same game, more content, less problems. Great server.

 

[Spuz]

Everything in life changes wth time for good or worse. However there will always be that same feel due to good ol nostalgia.

 

[Nightraven]

I'll be short 'n sweet about this.

It feels like the same game, but with a breath of fresh air that is the Online mode that makes it feel less nostalgic and more "this is what it was supposed to be".

BTW, I too am a cuber and have a single hacked 200. The rest of my characters would eventually end up maximum stats via the offline unit equipped without armor trick.

 

[Ade]

I feel that Ephinea PSOBB is the full realization of what PSO would have been if Sega had managed it correctly.

 

[TaoChaos]

I think the online element completely changed the game for me. I was a solo or split screen only GC player for over a decade, and I had no idea what the online component was like. So for me, this game was about grinding through the level progression: beat forest to get caves, caves to mines, mines to ruins, and then get some snacks and empty your bladder, because it's time to grind through caves and falz to unlock hard mode (rinse and repeat).
Starting on ephinea, I played solo for a bit because it was what I was familiar with, and after a quick forest run I went straight to the mines because I could, so the flow was thrown off. Then I got carried through TTF a few times and suddenly I was lvl 20 and went straight to hard mode. I wasn't "cheated" out any experience because I've done that "normal" progression an absurd amount of times on the Cube, but for new players coming in, the online component completely changes the game. I mean, I've been playing for almost a year here and I have never done a complete run through the caves or the ruins, because why would I want to? Now I'm actually getting to the point where I want to do something other than TTF, but I still can't force myself to do a real progression run because I'd rather just do the mines a few time to grind levels.
I almost wish you did have to do a real run through to unlock levels and difficulty modes, but at the same time, I'm very glad that I don't have to.

 

[Ade]

Yes. I agree it's best to have all areas unlocked considering 99% of players have done that. The difficulties are still locked behind their appropriate levels, which I agree with.

If someone wanted to progress through 1p Mode on the honor system (ie. not going to Caves until they clear Forest), they could still do that.

 

[TaoChaos]

Right, what I meant for, Ephinea changed PSO for me in the same way that any online PSO experience would have changed the game for me. Like when I first got here and asked for a good way to farm meseta, I think Spuz told me to do TTF through the dragon then recycle to sell the loot, and I was like "oooooh, yeah, of course, TTF, duh, thanks bro", then went off like "WTF is TTF????"
So again, I feel like I'm playing a very different game here, because my goal is almost never to "clear a level" or "get to the next difficulty level".

 

[RadDude]

I know that Ephinea prides itself in a Vanilla+ approach, where they keep the game as close to the original as possible. But do you think the game has changed years later? Or is it just the same that you remember?

I know for me the game feels just the same, but different at the same time. Obviously, the mechanics don't feel different, but the environment has. I played almost exclusively offline on the GC for financial reasons (teenager, parents didn't want to pay), with occasional local multiplayer. However, with PSOBB being around other players is almost constant, and the community feel of playing with fellow Ephineans is much different than my few excursions online in the old GC days. Back then, there were good people, and also a lot of hackers.

This is me too. Same situation! I got my bother and cousins into it and they would bring their Memory Card with and we would play all night! This feels the same and brand new at the same time. I love it!

 

[Nikki]

I don't think the games changed that much, so to speak. However because of private servers our expectations have changed immeasurably. I'll be honest, I like Ephinea a lot but I'm surprised a vanilla server has stayed as popular as this has, especially with the options available to players out there. It's good at least that people realize that broke stuff and high rates only go so far.

Community wise and environment its definitely changed. The games no longer new and most of us just do our regular hunts, chat, and gtfo. A good number of us know how the game goes now, so we've streamlined our approach towards efficiency.

 

[Spoon]

However, with PSOBB being around other players is almost constant, and the community feel of playing with fellow Ephineans is much different than my few excursions online in the old GC days.

I keep coming back to PSO because it's so easy to play it with other players. That's the point of an online game, right? People argue that this isn't a "true" MMO due to its Diablo-like party/game/room system, but I'd estimate that 99% of my actual played (not lobby AFK) time is with at least one other player in the room. That to me is the true measure of its success as an online multiplayer game.

I recently played a bit of FFXIV and my experience was exactly the opposite - 99% of my time was spent playing by myself, and that was actively trying to find other people in the world to play with. Sure, instanced dungeons are good fun, but I'll never remember the names of the players in those games, nor will I ever see them again once the party disbands.

I don't understand the appeal of the "open sandbox" MMO model. Most of those have turned to "dungeon finder" stuff anyway so people can form parties easier. PSO was doing it better in freaking 2000. Though the novelty of online gaming has worn off since then, it still does the fundamentals well: Keep players close and make it easy for them to play together.