I've never seen them claim that the Xbox Live Gold fee would cover all online games at no additional cost. The cable analogy works here, because this is a game that has added costs involved to it, and also has an existing subscriber base that the current game will hook into. Not to mention that the monthly fee is higher than the current Xbox Gold subscription fee, so integrating that into everyone's Live Gold account would make for a much higher subscription for everyone. I mean, this is the company that made you pay for Live, then made you pay for additions that you could download off of live (new maps, characters, etc.). If you look at FFXI as being a game with constant updates, that'll maybe justify the cost for you.

Back to the topic at hand: who's signing up for the Beta, and anyone interested in a linkshell? I'm thinking of picking up this issue to try it out again. The problem is, how long is the beta? I'm sure we won't be able to keep our characters when the actual game comes out, and it takes some time to get to a point (level 10 or so in a profession) where things get more fun.

fyi,

silver members can participate in the beta for free too!



fyi2 This fricking beta took me literally 2-3 hours to INSTALL! it puts the whole game on your harddrive. I went from 11gb to 6gb of space left. And if you ever want to delete it off your drive be sure to keep your beta disc. It's the only way to run the remove playonline/FFXI beta off of it. Unless you decide to reformat your harddrive via dashboard.


fyi3: from brief playing of the beta. No one online talks to you so it's quite lonely. Could be due to the fact that there's not enough players yet. (or people with no keyboards attached) Be careful wandering outside of towns cause the beasts like killing you. It looks like a HIGH DEFINITION PS2 game. ie. visually it's ok. 3 years ago I would of been impressed. You can't use your Mic yet in game. You can use it with your guide button for private chats. Keyboard is almost necessary to communicate. Like All MMORPG's you have to invest ALOT of time. I've played about 2 hours and accomplished NOTHING.

Hmm... I'm not even sure I have 5 gigs of space on my HD, and I'm also not sure I want to consume all that space over the long haul if I buy this game. Ah well. I'm surprised nobody's talking, even out of politeness. You won't have to group until around levels 8-10, IIRC, so I guarantee people will get keyboards by then. You just can't do anything on your own after that point.

I wouldn't think the graphics would be improved all that much, since isn't the actual game going to take place in the same servers as the PS2 and PC version?

Again, any interest in a DVDTalk linkshell? Maybe if we all pick the same starting city?

I'm up for that if anyone else starts in San d'Oria.

I'm just about finished installing it now.

Will be creating a character and picking a home town shortly.

I think I'll go with a Mithra, Red Mage in Windurst hometown.

I'm going to see if I can find a copy of the demo somewhere today, I'd definitely be up for running into some of you fellas on there. Tag is below add me for any 360 game

Okay, how in hell do I delete this thing off of my hard drive? It's not coming up in any category. There must be some way to delete it, but I can't figure it out.

Apparently you have to use the disc it came on.

It has an uninstall feature or something?

Aye.

Found it. Thanks!

Does anyone know what you're supposed to DO? At this point all I've done is run around the forest looking for the rare rabbit that hasn't already been claimed by someone else. Oh and I delivered some stuff to a place and got some points. But ugh, what do you DO?

lol, you just summed up every MMORPG in existence

Kill things. Get to level 10. Go join a party. Kill some more things as a group.

Repeat for 65 levels.

Oh, crystals are valuable. Do not sell them to NPC vendors. Although, if this is a closed beta (i.e. everyone is new) I'm not sure who you'd sell them to.

I played for a couple of hours and that's was about my experiance too. I enjoy RPGs but have never played an on-line version before. Glad to see I wasn't missing anything.

Is there only one server for this beta? I just picked up the OXM disc today and will load this tonight. Too bad I do not have a wireless USB keyboard.

Only one server that I know of. Which makes me wonder how the economy is shaping up.

Yeah everyone on the 360 beta is on the Hydra server. The economy is coming along there aren't many crafters (high level or otherwise) so crystals are cheap. Stuff seems to be leveling out a little though. Playonline had this to say about the 360 beta...

The Xbox 360 Beta

In addition to the February version update content being implemented across all platforms, Xbox 360 Beta users will be receiving a specific Xbox 360-related update.
-The user interface will be increased in scale by approximately 20% to compensate for small characters on some HDTV displays. Standard TV displays will not be affected.

-It will now be possible to enter numbers from the numeric keypad when using a USB keyboard. This change will not affect game controls that already utilize the numeric keypad.

The Hydra world is the stage for the Xbox 360 Beta and is currently home to many thousands of players from Japan, North America, and Europe. With the number of simultaneous logins exceeding the public worlds, the strong North American and European presence can be seen in the peak login time that begins in Japan's morning and stretches into the afternoon.

As was previously announced, the sale and official commencement of service for the Xbox 360 version of FINAL FANTASY XI will coincide with the release date of the upcoming expansion disc, Treasures of Aht Urhgan. All three expansion discs-Rise of the Zilart, Chains of Promathia, and Treasures of Aht Urhgan-will be included in the release version of FINAL FANTASY XI for the Xbox 360.

As the date for official service looms nearer, the development team is looking into the possibility of transferring character data to the public servers for all players currently enjoying the Xbox 360 Beta. As the beta testing continues, however, technical issues may arise that could prevent such a transfer. We will be sure to bring you updates on this matter as soon as they are available.

We would like to remind players that it is possible to make an Xbox 360 Beta character using an existing PlayOnline account for Windows or the PlayStation 2. A FINAL FANTASY XI character made with a PlayOnline Beta account for the Xbox 360 cannot be transferred to an existing account on a different platform.

FINAL FANTASY XI Development Team (02/02/2006)

Okay after playing for a few hours, I have to say I am SO thankful I did not pay for this. I have played several MMORPGs and this is the worst. It has the hardest interface and I have not discovered how you are suppose to improve your character's stats/skills. All other games have either a screen or a defined teacher/school/guild. If this has either I am missing them. I will play this some more, it is running til April, but I doubt I touch this in a month, and I will skip paying $60 and $12/monthly for this.

I can't see how people on the PC play this over the other great MMORPGs available.

I'm glad to hear that not all MMORPGs are like this. I've only ever played the Everquest Beta for PS2 and the FFXI beta. I recalled liking Everquest but then when I installed FFXI I was extremely upset with the game. I'm not a gamer who has to have their hand held and taught every little thing but I was upset that FFXI just threw you into the world.

My friend has played so much of this beta since I gave him the demo. He's pretty well convinced that he too can same himself the cost of the game when it comes out since he's become bored with the demo.

It's funny since FFXI is one of the more popular MMORPGs around. I haven't played it myself but a lot of people seem to like it. I've read that one of the better aspects is the way they bring you into the world and the game story, which in most other MMORPGs seems like an afterthought. Anyway I think FFXI will still do alright on 360 if only because they will eventually bring out expansion packs that require PC or 360.

How do you get a 2nd job?

Can you improve your stats/skills? How?

You have to complete a quest to unlock your subjob, which can't be accessed until level 18. If you do most of your partying in Valkurm Dunes, you can collect the items as you level. You need a damselfly worm, a crab apron, and a magicked skull. Then as soon as you hit 18 you go turn these items in to a guy in Selbina.

As far as skills, they will naturally go up as you level. Try and keep them capped. You will have to work at this. Stats are only increased with items.

I quit the game four months ago and I still remember this crap...