TuskenRaider Posted June 30, 2010 Share Posted June 30, 2010 So I figured I'd start a new thread for this, since the other thread is sort of a mix. I'm curious who all here is going to give this a shot, and if we could set up a linkshell or something. But today they announced the official release date and the monthly fees. "Square Enix have just announced via press release, when Final Fantasy XIV will be hitting store shelves and, as they initially promised, it will be coming out in 2010. The actual date is the 30th of September, 2010 on PC, with the PS3 version of the game coming out on March 2011. This is great news for MMO fans and fans of Final Fantasy in general. Furthermore, the Beta phase for PC owners will begin in July 2010 and Square Enix have also announced that there will be a Collector's Edition of the game and this will actually be released a week earlier in Europe on the 22nd of September." And for pricing information: "In a press release, Square Enix finally revealed the pricing and subscription plans for the MMO. The PC's regular edition is set for a $49.99 while the collectors edition for $74.99. The most important bit though, is the subscription fees, which is a lovely $12.99 per month" Sounds pretty good to me all around. I know they were saying a 2010 release date, but I wasn't sold on it. But I'm glad to see that it is true and not a December 2010 date. So I'm psyched! And the monthly fee is pretty good too, about the same as it was for FFXI. Also, to round out this initial post, here are a couple of videos from Square. This one shows off the huge graphical improvements between the Alpha and the Beta versions of the game thus far. Looks like they are really putting their nose to the grindstone here. http://www.youtube.com/user/FINALFANTASYXIV#p/u/0/-99sSSS3eP4 This one is pretty cheesy, but it shows off what looks like a very robust character creation screen. Looks like 100 times more options than they had with FFXI, which is awesome.http://www.youtube.com/user/FINALFANTASYXIV#p/u/9/8Rp1Wryh93s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuskenRaider Posted June 30, 2010 Author Share Posted June 30, 2010 Also for those interested, here is an official benchmarking tool from Square to see how well your computer will handle the game. http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/media/benchmark/na/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuskenRaider Posted July 2, 2010 Author Share Posted July 2, 2010 More info today, they said that additional races are "very possible" down the road. Right now, they have basically the same races as in FFXI, but with different names. They said that they have developed extra races, but needed to put the manpower elsewhere, so somewhere down the road, if they can they will add in more races. So that's pretty cool. Also, about that benchmark, basically all it is, is a 7 minute cutscene from the game. So it might be worth checking it out on youtube for those interested. Also, in that cutscene, they had voice acting, which I didn't know that they were doing. It's unlikely that ALL of the lines will be spoken, like will be the case in Old Republic, but hopefully all the story cutscenes are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NumberSix Posted July 3, 2010 Share Posted July 3, 2010 My son and I don't do MMOs (I have only one reason, and he has his own laundry list of why-nots), but I look forward to lurking in this thread, being jealous of all the fun, and living vicariously through you active participants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonTucker Posted July 4, 2010 Share Posted July 4, 2010 Yeah, I haven't played an MMO since FFXI, and after that horrendous experience, I have no intention of getting back into it. I barely have enough time for offline gaming anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invisible Boy Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 Well, I'll be getting it for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macstorm Posted July 6, 2010 Share Posted July 6, 2010 I was interested, but the closer it gets the less I want this one... though I know I'll play... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuskenRaider Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 Sounds like they've been actively trying to get rid of the 'wait around 2 hours for a party' problem that FFXI had. Hopefully they succeed... I guess IB and I will be leveling up to awesomeness while all the rest of you are still trying to decide if you want to play or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Human Torch Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I won't be playing even though my interest is fairly deep. I will be playing DC Online however... well unless something with it blows hard and the masses all shun it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Macstorm Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Oh I know I'm gonna play, but I don't think I'm going to enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Human Torch Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 I hope your playing it to review it then, you know to at least get paid for not enjoying your downtime. TR: I just noticed that PSN now has Mega Man avatars... well an avatar. It's 49 cents USD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephi Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 I've been in Alpha since it started and I can't wait for Beta. I've also got the CE already paid off. I've got about 80 screenshots I can choose from to post and a few HD videos sitting quietly in my YouTube account hidden from public view. Anyone want me to post them? Also I'm still on FFXI ...ughhh. (Hello!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuskenRaider Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Wish I was in the Alpha OR the Beta... But yes, post screenshots and videos! I want to see more stuff then they themselves are releasing. What your impressions in comparison to FFXI? Do you like it better or worse? Which parts? etc. etc. And Torch, thats cool about the Mega Man Avatars, but I rarely even look at the PSN, let alone buy anything off of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephi Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 [split post due to amount of screenshots]I won't comment on a comparison just yet as the beta (which promises to have fixed alot of things from alpha) is playable tonight. But here are alot of screens and video. Keep in mind this is from the alpha version of the game. (continued in next post) (continued in next post) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephi Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephi Posted July 10, 2010 Share Posted July 10, 2010 Forgive the unrelated video titles, I wanted to make sure I couldn't be linked to my FFXIV videos. Everything was recorded at 1280x720 so view it at that resolution if you can. Cave Exploring (music from Chrono Cross as the dungeon didn't have any music; FFXI's dungeons also lacked music) I may get some more photos and video tonight during the first beta but usually with new content I like to take it all in before I record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuskenRaider Posted July 10, 2010 Author Share Posted July 10, 2010 Still watching the videos, but so far, even in this early Alpha tests, it looks absolutely beautiful! And I know how much they've improved upon this to the Beta, so I can only imagine. But it easily looks 10 times better than FFXI did. I'll be eager to see if the battle and what not follows suit. But from the official videos I saw, it looked like you had kind of an ATB gauge similar to that in FF13. Thanks very much for posting all of it though, as it's nice to see some footage and screenshots that aren't from square. And lolz at the youtube titles. When it gets released, we'll have to figure out as soon as we can which Server all of us Nightly people are going to join, if we all want to be in the same server. Will it be similar to the FFXI, where you could choose which one you want? I remember early in FFXI, it was just random and you had to get a orb or something to invite friends. lol Let's hope they learn from their mistakes... Also, am I to understand you get a first and last name to create? Kinda looks that way from videos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PACMAN729 Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Looks cool. I may check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephi Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Still watching the videos, but so far, even in this early Alpha tests, it looks absolutely beautiful! And I know how much they've improved upon this to the Beta, so I can only imagine. But it easily looks 10 times better than FFXI did. I'll be eager to see if the battle and what not follows suit. But from the official videos I saw, it looked like you had kind of an ATB gauge similar to that in FF13. Thanks very much for posting all of it though, as it's nice to see some footage and screenshots that aren't from square. And lolz at the youtube titles. When it gets released, we'll have to figure out as soon as we can which Server all of us Nightly people are going to join, if we all want to be in the same server. Will it be similar to the FFXI, where you could choose which one you want? I remember early in FFXI, it was just random and you had to get a orb or something to invite friends. lol Let's hope they learn from their mistakes... Also, am I to understand you get a first and last name to create? Kinda looks that way from videos. The beta was awesome! The revised battle system is much more fun than it was in the alpha and yes, it does resemble FF13's system (or even White Knight Chronicles), but much more now with this beta revision. The system is very engaging and decently fast-paced, to the point to where you almost feel like you're playing an action-RPG. (though I guess could be described of any MMOs...) The new character creator is stylized as hell and the graphics are also much improved and polished (UI and in-game renders). The benchmark put my score pretty low just over 2000, but the game runs very well and still looks beautiful at lowest settings. I'd still recommend buying a new video card if you scored a low number though. The only issue I had is when there were PCs on the screen or nearby, I'd get a weird stutter effect every 3-5 seconds. The revamping of the menu is really nice, too. As soon as you open the menu, your gil, experience points, guardian alignment and nameday are immediately viewable at the top left of the screen. In addition, when you have PCs targeted or are standing near an interactive point (such as an aetheryte crystal or an elevator), a small menu appears above the main menu listing for you to choose what to initiate. After that, regular choice menus appear on-screen in a typical fashion (as seen in alpha screens). So far, this revamped gameplay and UI are fantastically streamlined and it makes for a fast-paced MMO that doesn't focus on twitch-gaming. In other words, it is the evolution SE needed to create from FFXI. It feels fresh and new and not archaic. I was planning to record video and take screenshots using Fraps (I did that with the alpha), but while in-game, none of my bind keys would respond. I had to resort to prt_scrn and paste in Photoshop when I happened to exit the game. So I bring you all three screens. (yes these are the lowest settings, aside from a background resolution matching my overlay resolution) Currently for alpha and beta, server selection could not be made and was automated when you made your character. For alpha I was on Shadow Lord (of FFXI fame) and for beta I am on Sephiroth. I believe SE said that when the game is released, you can choose the server you want to be on, but don't quote me on that. If anything doesn't make sense, I apologize. After the beta, I played Aion with some friends for about 4 hours straight. Eight straight hours of MMOing makes my brain squishy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invisible Boy Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Looks great. September can't come fast enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuskenRaider Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 Looks pretty good, even at lowest settings. On the benchmark, I got about 3800 or so in the non-full screen test, and about 2600 in the full screen test, though I don't think I'll use fullscreen. Wonder how long it will take for the FFXIV version of Windower to hit the market. lol That's good news about the battle systems. I saw in a side-by-side video from square how much quicker the battle system was from Alpha to Beta, so hopefully they get all of that streamlined further. That was one of FFXI's problems, particularly when you are soloing early on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gamevet Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 Looks pretty good, even at lowest settings. On the benchmark, I got about 3800 or so in the non-full screen test, and about 2600 in the full screen test, though I don't think I'll use fullscreen. Wonder how long it will take for the FFXIV version of Windower to hit the market. lol That's good news about the battle systems. I saw in a side-by-side video from square how much quicker the battle system was from Alpha to Beta, so hopefully they get all of that streamlined further. That was one of FFXI's problems, particularly when you are soloing early on. When you say fullscreen, do you mean 1920 x 1080? I ran my PC at 1920 x 1080 and got a score of 2000 with 13,205 ms. I accidentally ran it at 1240 x 720 and got a rating of 2604 at 17726ms. My PC has a Pentium Dual-Core E6300 @2.8 GHz 8 Gigs of DDR2 RAM GeForce GTS 250 Overclocked What is your setup TuskenRaider? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuskenRaider Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 Right, that's what I mean. But that is also the resolution of my monitor, so it goes full screen for me at 1920x1080. I have a Q6660 Quad-Core processor @2.4GHz6 Gigs of DDR2 RAMAnd a Radeon HD 5770. I'm not sure what the loading times were on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephi Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 I've been hearing that some beta players are having issues with the HD5770, essentially it not running as best as it should be. It should be fixed within the week if SE is on top of it. Also, FFXIV can be windowed so no worries there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TuskenRaider Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 Well, hopefully they get it sorted out by launch day at least. I'm sure they will though. And that's good about the windowed mode, but I want all the sweet third party add ons like FFXI had. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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