Phantasy Star Online II

[Zerias]

Eesh, Sega PR is hard to get a hold of.

Anyways, for those interested, Phantasy Star Online 2 is supposed to go live tomorrow in Japan. As far as I can tell the client appears to be downloadable, and perhaps playable, if you are not in Japan: https://plus.google.com/u/0/11725520...ts/3E4WWfHXyK1

I guess I'll find out tomorrow if PSO2 lives up to the Dreamcast Original. Although in all fairness the only version I ever took online was the GCN version.

I'm going to assume that a localized/translated version of PSO2 will likely be worked on now that the main development has reportedly wrapped and the game is going into /Launch mode. Hopefully this means we will see an official targeted US release date from Sega American in a short order.

* * *

Anyways, I did have some questions that I would like to see answered. PSO2 is scheduled for a Playstation Vita launch in Japan. That release interests me for a couple of reasons. For starters the Vita is known to use a /Linux kernel, with an underlying OS reportedly based on Android/Linux for ARM processors. I am curious if the Vita support also means that there will be a native Android/Linux or Chromium/Linux PSO2 client for x86/ARM processors.

If Sega is working on an Android+Chromium/Linux native client for PSO2, it would be nice to see support extended to GNU+X11/Linux.

Sega might even find it worth their time to work with Valve software and have PSO2 for GNU+X11/Linux ready to go for the GNU+X11/Linux launch of Steam later this year.

* * *

For now I'll just settle for trying to grab a Chain Sawd and inflecting massive damage tomorrow.

[Clesarie]

Its ok it still imho doesnt hold a flag on pso at all. I've been playing in every test there was except the first alpha.

Whats funny is by time the closed beta got around fans had already fan hacked and translated 90% of the game for free. Sega seems t of gotten butt hurt about this and changed the text encryption method.

If they dont release a US version after making is vastly harder for fans to do so it would be a ultimate flap in the face. Lately segas love hated its fans though

Also the cell phone version of the game is for iOS at the moment only. Im sure it they will do android and then like always a windows phone port a year later cause they're lazy .

Or maybe something stupid like PSO2 exclusively for this phone.

Btw pso wont ever be on linux it uses gameguard which goes aganist the general use policies of linux.

[Zerias]

Clesarie: /Linux systems can run protected DRM content. There are no such things as "general use policies of /Linux" that prohibit running or accessing quote/unquote "protected content." If anybody told you there were, they would be, oh yeah, WRONG.

e.g. Desura is already up on /Linux and supports a Digital-Rights-Removed operating environment.

Valve Software's Steam is coming to /Linux and supports a Digital-Rights-Removed operating environment.

Punkbuster is on /Linux and supports a Digital-Rights-Removed operating environment: http://www.evenbalance.com/index.php?page=dl-bf2.php


On paper swapping out GameGuard for Valve's Steam shouldn't be too big of a development issue, and would give Sega what they want (Digital-Rights-Removed operating environment) while also making distribution of the game much easier on a platform Sega is unfamiliar with.

A larger technical hurdle would be converting the apparent DirectX Shaders used on Windows to OpenGL shaders. This is based on apparent calls to the AMD DirectX driver as indicated by Process Explorer. However Sega is going to have do that work anyways to get PSO2 up and running on Vita, so why they just did not program PSOJ in OpenGL to begin with and save themselves a metric ton of work is just beyond me.

Also: Android =/= Cell Phone. Yes, Android is used on Cell Phones, but the operating system is also designed for tablets and other low-level simple-interface platforms. Developers are going to have to wrap their heads around the idea that, yes, they can push games to the Android/Linux platform that *REQUIRE* the use of a Bluetooth gamepad or keyboard+mouse. Not every Android application has to absolutely have touch-screen-only support.

I am not concerned, nor do I care about, a cell phone version or touch-screen-only version of PSO2.

[Zerias]

Replying to myself. How tacky.

Anyways, to anybody from Sega reading the thread: http://zerias.blogspot.com/2012/07/d...-regained.html

[voltz]

For US translation, I can only think of the whole "Black Paper" chop-a-thon which cut about 1/3 of the PSO story. Nothing would surprise me if the big wigs decided they want to pull this hat trick again.

[Black_Diamond]

Just a heads up. The PC version is confirmed for US/EU release

http://www.pso-world.com/news/02455-...ease-pso2-2013

[voltz]

That brightens my day a little.

[Clesarie]

Unless they confirm the US/EU playing on the same servers as the Japanese its still of no use to me. I dont wanna always be behind in content and eventually have the version of the game im playing be shut down before the Japanese release ends too.

[Zerias]

http://www.gamenikkiinexile.com/g3/f...ason.php?id=22

and my feature on this game is up and published.