Effect

I really hope animation is better in this series. Things were horrible in Armada, the worse had to be near the end when one of the kids were sitting on a chair and you could see others on it as well. For the one, and the camera was centered on him, there was no chair at all. He was just floating in the air for a good minute. How in the hell does something like happen. Also I got tired of having different characters talking for other characters. There was a scene, one of many, where RedAlert was talking but Demolisher was on screen and was moving his mouth the entire time as if he were talking. Horrible, just horrible.

The furthest I got in EQ was a lv14 Death knight (or whatever they were called). Thats when I tried to fight something that would've otherwise been a piece of cake... and I got killed after I didn't hit it a single time, tried to run and the thing would still hit me. Thats when I realize that EQ wasn't entertainment.... it was a torture. And you can run from mobs in FFXI. There are plenty of other characters in the area you are in. Call for help... and start running. It works 90% of the time. Either run to a zone.... or run to a place you know theres plenty of ppl. Though... it wasn't nearly as bad as SWG. Now that was a mess of a game. Just remembered. The less health you have the slower you become, so if you had tried to fight the creature and ran to late you wouldn't have been able to get away. Oh, its Shadow Knight which I think is one of the harder classes in the game but also one of the most powerful and coolest later on due to all the Shadow Knight only weapons and items armor once you reach the mid level to high levels(25/30 to 65 I think). I always found it hard to max weapon skills melee characters since you have to make sure both 1hs and 2hs were kept up starting from level one. If you found yourself using a 2hs for the first time near that level 14, you'll constantly miss even when fighting a very easy mob, that that are gray to you since that is around the level where you start to notice that things below your level require a partner or a group of people to kill safely. Grouping helped build up those skills greatly since you had others doing damage. I guess it works the same way in FFXI since my skills went up pretty fast grouping since we were taking on the tougher mobs. Though I still feel like a waste of space as a monk even with my skills high/max for my level. I do 0 damage on IT or VT mobs or in the low single diget numbers and miss like nobodies business. I thought it was just me but others from reading FFXIonline.com seem to have the same problem. People have suggested taking a subjob like warrior when playing a monk since it suppose to help a lot. Not sure how true that is but seems to make sense.

Congrats Yohsho

True a horse or wolf form(my fave) or have someone case Spirit of the Wolf or get a Shaman to create some potion versions for you. Anyway you can get away from battle in Everquest. Some places easier then others. For some reason, jumping while you were running allow you to increase your distance a bit. This is because for melee class you needed to be right on top of a mob in order to do damage, and they you. Things were balance this way. Even at the beginning levels you could run away to zone or run to a guard. I haven't gotten a chance to play much of Asheron's Call. I can't seem to find a copy of Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty or Asheron's Call 2. That should chance since Turbine bought the rights for it back from Mircosoft and they plan on running everything once everything is transfered over. In fact both games will be getting expansion packs. More information is going to be released soon, at least that is what the director/producer/ and owners are saying on the site. Though I was able to run away at the lower levels easily enough, either to a town or portal to someplace. I don't know, maybe its just that after playing so many mmorpg one just comes to expect certain basic things that have made so many mmorpg games good. Even though its console based its still attempting to run along side the other games. Its not like there is a excuse for certain things being the way they are. You take the dos and don'ts from the other games into consideration. That does suck that monster stay the same. I've noticed that a little between snippers, crabs, and even the quads I've run across. This is true of other games but there are little differences between the mobs. A change in weapons. A change in color would go a long way to making things seem different though. That really wouldn't be hard since you aren't designing a new creature, just changing the skin color and most things are one solid color anyway.

That is a problem. The time it takes for you to enter battle mode to attack something or to get out of fighting in order to run away is far to long. You can easily get yourself killed that way, especially if you don't see the mob. Say it takes you by surprise. By the time you enter battle mode and trun to face the mob, its had a chance to get a good 5 hits in on you and if you don't have cure magic you toast, forget about running since they stay with you, not like you have a chance of pulling away from it while running, its at your back most of the time unless you can find a hill to run down to pick up a little bit of speed. They stay with you no matter how far you run in the zone. Would be nice if they gave up after a minute or a certain distance. Took me around 10 hours to download the update and everything. I didn't sleep that night(couldn't if I wanted to), my connection cut out twice so it would have taken longer for me i I had just let it run and went to sleep.

IMO.... EQ and AC had much slower controls then FFXI. As a matter of fact.... EQ has the slowest controls I have ever seen! And I have played PS3... which is the slowest moving game to date. At least they made the zones interesting. SWG had a whole lot of nothing anywhere you looked. EQ had really bland zone, same for AC. Oh well.... we still have Worlds of Warcraft coming... so I guess theres still hope. I don't mean to say I'm not enjoying the game cause I am. I'm just trying to figure out which one suits me, which seems to be my monk since its the most advance. Going trough lvls 7 to 11 seems to be a real pain and slow, especially as a casters since melee's do better soloing then grouped. As for the controls I don't mind using the keyboard, it really was a pain in the very beginning. While all other mmorpgs controls differ in ways they were right on the money when it came to the balance between mouse and keyboard control. True FFXI is a port of a PS2 game, it looks clear that they didn't try to put to much work in the PC version. I can understand why people complain about the controls and it seems that it is a problem since it isn't just a few people that have trouble with it, from what I've seen in game and from the people I've grouped and talked to. Even though I enjoy the game itself, the controls do take a good part of that enjoyment away since I do find it troublesome. The feel of FFXI does appear slow, then again that just could be the way things appear due to the way things are setup. I don't really think EQ zones were that bland. Pretty interesting in their own, especially once you headed to the other lands and even the moon. From what I've seen of screenshots and seen ingame the two games aren't that much different in terms of being interesting. Though FFXI zones are much larger. That's both a good and a bad thing. Good in that there is more to explore, bad in that it takes a long time to cross among other things. World of Warcraft does look good as well but Ultima X: Odyssey is what I'm really looking forward to. . As for the PC thing. With a PC version of a game, one would think they would reconfigure controls to more PC like. That is pretty much a given with any game when its ported from PC to Console or console to PC. People would expect things to be better especially since there are other PC mmorpgs that they could have looked at for ideas or setups they could have copied from.

I do have to agree that the controls and interface are bad. The controls are slow when compare with all the other mmorpg. While I give Square a lot of credit for being original in its setup of things, several things do turn me off. I'm still giving it till the end of the month. In fact the whole thing has made me miss Everquest of all things, was thinking of going back to this before I picked up FFXI. I just wish the battle system in FFXI move quicker that and they had rethought some of the zones. In the Bastok area and even in the Valkrum Dunes I found myself using my shades at one point due to it being hard to see with the white sand during the day. I knew there was some catch for being able to see just fine during the night. You pay for it during the day depending on the zone.

That's what I've always wondered. Sure dropping some armor might allow it to go faster but for the most part it still has to have the same equipment of a standard VF-1. I'm talking during normal construction of a fighter, then include the parts needed for it to transform. Speed wouldn't be that much greater if armor was dropped, after all its still the same fighter. Now I would be more incline to agree that a completely new design would much, much faster so it could evade radar but not something of the same design with just less armor. Goes against a little thing call logic doesn't it?

Wildcats and Stormwatch are somethings I'd like to check out but I don't know much about them other then reading a few people mentioning they was pretty good.What are they about? Though I'm not much of a comic fan outside of TPB of Transformers and maybe Batman. I don't even think these stoies appeal to RT fans judging by the sales numbers which have been on the constant fall since #1 of the first series was released. If anything I'd say hardcore fans are the ones getting these or completist anyway. I don't expect much from the comics anyway. In the beginning they said they would make the comics in such a way that they will appeal to non-fans to bring them into the fandom. That was a lie since the comics are in no way shape or forum aimed at non-fans, well maybe the first series but nothing after that. So if that is the case they should have taken this as the time to fill in gaps or cover more important parts of the story that couldn't be done with animation. Instead we get stories fill with events that just about everyone could have guess and come up with if they took all of 5mins to think. Love and War is a great example of this, which turned out to be a bad summary of Max and Miriya in the Macross Saga part of Robotech. Lancer is another thing that could have just been left to the imagination of fans. He comes in with a wave to retake Earth, fleet is destroyed and he crashes. He meets the girl named Carla and falls in love. He disguses himself as a woman to fool the Invid and not be turned in by the people of Earth, he then becomes a singer named Yellow Dancer and meets up with Scott and crew. Are the exact details of this need? No. There really isn't much to tell since it brings nothing new to the story nor does it have any groundbreaking effect on the character. That is all from the flashbacks in the actually animation. There is more shown as well detail wise. So why in the world do we need a comic to tell the story when the animation does a fine job of it, the same went for the story in Love and War. The animation did a much better job of telling the same story. Waste of paper. I do wish someone could scan these comics though. I haven't bought one since #2 of Love and War. I'd just like to see what else is being done but don't want to waste my money on these things.

Doesn't really sound that interesting. If anything from the previews the artwork seems to be worse then the last two series. At least to me. The anime look they are trying for just doesn't look good and they really should have stuck with the previous art style. Again with the two story issues. Tommy in chat several times has all but gone out and said that he knows that having two stories decrease the quality of both, more so the main story. Pretty much has said that this is the only way these "bonus" stories will ever be released is by including them with others. Honestly these things would not sell on their own. So what we get is an extra story that is weak and HG knows this, a story that takes away space from the main story thus decreasing its quality and lessing the chances of it being good or worthwhile all. All of which that seem to be Macross based that do nothing to further the Robotech timeline since they all take place in the past and seem to serve nothing more then to provide character development for characters have have long died or no longer seen on screen. Character development which is done far better in the actually TV show. A waste of paper in my opinion. Maybe I if stopped questioning things my interest in Robotech wouldn't have lessened greatly over the past year and I would be such a big Macross fan now. Or maybe I'm judging to harshly and to soon based on the first issue?

This is very true of casters to cast spells on themselves just so the level goes up or to play songs all the time when they aren't doing anything. I've been known to do that in other games, even cast low level offensive spells on myself if there is a line that I don't use that much. Sucks to get a powerful spell but have it miss or have the spell fizzle. That was true in Everquest where most fights due to the spells being so powerful that a wizard or mage would use one or two spells per mob and sit out the rest of the fight cause of the amount of hate generate from the damage. I can understand that with healers as well since all they do is heal so they have to work on their enhancing line or even vs. Undead spell lines if they have it. Since I've started grouping as a monk my evasion and guard skills aren't going up the way they used to when I soloed. Since I'm not tanking the mob. I'm going to be screwed if I happen to draw aggro from the mob during fights since I'm going to take every single hit. Habits like this carry over from other games. That and sometimes people are so bored while they are waiting for a spot in a group to open up. Waiting an hour or so leaves very little to do.

True PC gaming isn't as big there as it is in the US. Heres hoping once the worldwide PS2 version launches there will an upgrade to the PC interface. Also I agree the mouse pointer really needs to be fixed.

While it is a little annoying its also much easier and less frustrating to do that. Its the entire setup of the menus for FFXI. To do a search and to attempt to get past the language problem just takes way to much time. That's really my only problem with the game. For the PC versions they should have taken the time to come up with a much better interface, hell there are several other games out there they could have looked at when making a good interface. Several things look the same yet are differnt. Swords for example. There are three different swords of different levels I've run across that all look the same once you equip them. It isn't a game where you can tell what something is just by looking. Also it saves the other player time from having to open their inventory to check or stop from what they are doing just to say yes or no. Also can't the notice that you are being inspected be turn off with chat filters. I don't even care anymore when people inspec me. It used to bother me, especially in other games but here not so much do to know how much easier it is to do to check someone's level and jobs. Instead of doing a search, sorting through the list, checking the small print with the names and levels. Trying to make sure you aren't reading line and going into the one above or below it by mistake. Presentation is bad in this area.

It very well could be my level or just that I don't care for the humor of some people. The rude people do leave a lasting impression which could be the problem while most people are indifferent for the most part. Things do get better the further the higher in level I get, especially when I leave people with the noob comments behind or out still looking for a group while I'm leveling. The more I'm out in the wild the better things actually are and the nicer people are which is good. Anyway question. I was looking at Mission 6 for those in Bastok. The one where you have to travel the different kingdoms. At the Windhurst part it says(the guide I found) says you have to fight a dragon. Now is this a small dragon in that you can solo if at a certain level or would a party be needed? I've soloed the missions up to this one so I wondering if I could continue that. Granted I won't be attempting to finish the mission and get rank 3 for a while but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Warriors that don't provoke or taunt are the worst in my opinion. That's what they are there for, to take the beating and keep the attention of the monster. They have the most HP, and usually the most powerul armor and weapons. White mages are there to heal but can't if they are getting hit. It really is a simple situation that from game to game some people can't seem to understand and then complain when the healer dies. Oh the white mage that pulled has been blacklisted. I don't find things like that funny at all. Especially when I asked who was pulling and said there should be only one puller. I knew things were going to be bad when I join the group when I realized its leader and the one white mage were ones that were giving smartass comments when I was asking a question in town. Honestly I've never meet so many rude people in a game till FFXI. Have meet a few good people though in passing. I really hope its just the christmas rush and nothing more. It would suck if this was a normal thing.

I'm Rank 2 myself but I'm low in level so I wouldn't be able to help. I do have a new dislike, almost hatred for the Wadi zone. That steam for lows down my computer and makes the graphics all choppy. Its not a weather effect so it can't e turned off. I also can't stand white mages that pull. Also most got us killed tonight thinking it was cute. I excused myself from the group and logged off before I said something I was going to regret because of that. I think I'll go back to my monk tomorrow. I really want to get a character up to 30 so I can try for the Paladin, Dark Knight, Samurai and Summoner jobs. Anyway SWG's player-based economy was horrible in my opinion. For a while it was good when you first started out. Just went to a terminal and bought what you could afford. Then I learned that there was a limit to what you could set your price and then traveled to houses and saw some of the insane prices. In order to afford those weapons I would need to go to the more dangerous planets or areas. But in order to stay alive in those areas I need the weapon. But to get the weapon I need the money. Endless circle. The only way around it was to grind missions for cash was so boring that I actually fell asleep doing it a few times. Anyone ever get warped in the game? I was taking a shuttle one time and when it was over I actually ended up in the middle of a PvP area instead of the shuttle port. Hmm like Sony fashion there was no help when I sent a petition so I just died after an hour in order to get back instead of the run. Yep a game I won't play again.

White mage is the next job I want to try out. I've always been afraid to play healing classes though, I hate to be responsible for keeping everyone alive. To much pressure in my opinion, especially when you get hit with a lag spike.

True, someone just needs to let the man make a movie just to get it out of his system. I'm quite sure it will be pretty good but enough is enough when it comes to the games. At least things are entertaining in his game unlike drawn out and somewhat boring Xenosaga. Anyway I'm actually looking forward to Snake Eater. Though I wonder what the twist will be. The whole who Snake really is in this game is to easy to figure out so there has to be something else.

Alright Abombz . The monk thing was going kinda slow so I switched over a black mage for a while. Making some good progress(still below 10), honestly I should have started with this class from the start since all I've played in other games were casters and took them to high levels. So these I know how to play, in and out of groups.

Now that is something I didn't think about it. Its possible it could be him or someone else. Honestly I'm glad FF7:AC is being released. FF7 while a really good game, I didn't care so much for the ending since it didn't have the closure that other endings had, at least from what I remember.

I've gotten an exp chain only once. That was when I was using my 2hour monk attack, belew through two even conned rock eaters with it. The exp chain made the exp from the second kill 120 instead of the normal 100 I would have gotten for it. I would have gotten another one I think i someone hadn't taken the the other rock eater that had appeared right next to me since I still had a few seconds left on the ability.

Got the messages from both of you and sent my own. hehe that is a bad message to have.

Alright that shoudl do it. It wasn't public, I though I had the box checked but it wasn't. Silly me

Hmm strange. Maybe it is possible to double up on the names. My email on there is effect@pol.com if that helps. I saw the Evil group as well. Kinda scared me the first time since I was resting on a slope and they came right over me, down the hill.

I was able to get on, my playonline id is Effect and my characters name is Tyberion.