FFLink
There is.
+1,380|6918|Devon, England
Starts 1st of September:

In preparation for the official release of FINAL FANTASY XIV on September 30,
2010 and the early release on September 22, we will be starting an open beta
test to help put the finishing touches on the game. We ask that all users who
can participate in the open beta test apply from the following website.

1.Access the following URL.
http://entry.ffxiv.com/
* The page will become accessible starting at 2:00 on Sep. 1, 2010.

2.Log in with your Square Enix account and have a registration code issued.
* Depending on the access status, we may temporarily suspend the issuance of
registration code. If you cannot have registration code issued, we ask that you
please wait a little while before trying again.

3.Register the registration code you received by e-mail on the Square Enix
Account Management System.
Click "Select Service" from "Services and Options" on the left menu. Select
"FINAL FANTASY XIV" from the services available and then "Add a service
account." Enter the registration code you've been issued and proceed to the end
of registration.

The Square Enix Account Management System: https://secure.square-enix.com/account/


As stated above, Open Beta Test requires a dedicated registration code and the
login to Beta Test Site will become unavailable starting at 7:00 on Aug. 31,
2010 (GMT).
* Once the registration code is registered, you will be able to log in to Beta
Test Site once again.


- Transferring your Character Name from the Open Beta Test to the Commercial
Release
As long as the World you choose in the commercial release is the same as the
World you chose in the open beta test, you will be able to transfer your
character name. If you choose a different World for the commercial release, your
character name will not be transferrable. For details, please refer to the beta
test site.

- To PlayStation 3 Version Applicants:
This test phase will deal only with the Windows version of the software. Details
regarding the test schedule for the PlayStation 3 version will be released by
e-mail at a later date. If possible, we still ask and encourage you to take part
in the testing on a Windows PC.

- Note:
・The open beta test is being conducted on the Windows version of the game only.
・Latest news and notifications will be periodically posted on the forums of the
tester site.
・The game to be tested is under development, and may differ from the commercial
release.
・Please direct all inquiries regarding FINAL FANTASY XIV to the Square Enix
Support Center ( http://support.eu.square-enix.com/ffxiv/ ).

----------------------------------------------------------------------
FINAL FANTASY XIV Official Site
http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/

SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.
FINAL FANTASY XIV Beta Test Operations Department
Not sure if anyone's interested, but after playing the Alpha (the horrors) and then the Beta (vast improvement), I've seen this game to have potential. It's a bit different to most MMO's, and as per usual with every new SE 'Final Fantasy' title, they're stepping further away from Final Fantasy traditions, but it's still a good game.

It's a shame it's basically replacing Final Fantasy XI, because that was such a great MMO.

Edit:

FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test Postponed

FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test, which is scheduled to begin at 02:00 (GMT) on Sept. 1, 2010, will be postponed due to a confirmation of critical bugs. New schedule will be released at a later date.

Along with the postponement of FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test, the issuing of registration code for FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test will be postponed as well. With the download of client software's installer, it will be suspended at 02:00 (GMT) on Sept. 1, 2010.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.


Edit: Sorted, starts tomorrow at 2:00AM GMT - http://entry.ffxiv.com/eu/index.html

Last edited by FFLink (2010-09-01 05:35:29)

Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
in what universe was FFXI a 'good mmo"?

i look forward to seeing what this has to offer... but hopefully not so much endless group-grinding
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
FFLink
There is.
+1,380|6918|Devon, England

Uzique wrote:

in what universe was FFXI a 'good mmo"?

i look forward to seeing what this has to offer... but hopefully not so much endless group-grinding
In the universe where you're not in geek-love with WoW.

FFXI was different to WoW, that's why you think it wasn't good. You couldn't play through the game as a loner. Not to say you're a loner, but FFXI made it impossible to solo past the first 15 levels, from the start of someone playing. This caused slow gameplay at times and real time and effort needed in order to advance in the game, not just mindless grinding.

Luckily for the players, this weeded out most of the idiots and people who I hear populate WoW left, right and centre.

XIV seems a lot more lenient with this, offering a decent 'loner' playthrough, but added benefits and rewards for those who play as a team. The crafting system seems quite refined and much more complex to FFXI's, and the story is also a lot more engaging (but there's no voice, and everyone speaks (Therefore types) like a pirate.).

Visuals are great, though, as with any other Final Fantasy game. Check the benchmark to go through the intro video: http://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/media/benchmark/na/

I will play this and continue with it, depending on what The Old Republic is like and other friend's choices.
Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
holy jesus batman, that's a lot of assumptions.

who said i was in love with WoW, and only WoW- as far as MMO games go?

i have played pretty much every single major MMO hardcore for 3-4 months, minimum...

FFXI was very korean-ish and grind-based; a lack of content with a LOT of treadmill
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
FFLink
There is.
+1,380|6918|Devon, England
Lack of content..?

Korean-ish?



It was made by the Japanese, for one thing, with hardly any competitive gameplay (between players).  It also had a shit-tonne of content in all sorts of forms. Just because you couldn't get it all easily, doesn't mean it didn't have it.

And if you've only played it for 3-4 months, then you clearly haven't played it recently. It's a much bigger game since release
Aries_37
arrivederci frog
+368|6803|London
Square enix are just disappointing nowadays, haven't been impressed with any of their releases for a while now.
Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698

FFLink wrote:

Lack of content..?

Korean-ish?



It was made by the Japanese, for one thing, with hardly any competitive gameplay (between players).  It also had a shit-tonne of content in all sorts of forms. Just because you couldn't get it all easily, doesn't mean it didn't have it.

And if you've only played it for 3-4 months, then you clearly haven't played it recently. It's a much bigger game since release
seeing as you clearly aren't very experienced at MMO's terms and common parlance, let me clear this up for you (although i must say it's ironic you call me a fanboy and now i feel the need to correct your defense of FF games in very basic matters): "korean" is a synonym for 'grind-a-lot'. it doesn't matter where the actual game is from, you just simply say something is "korean" if it involves hours of mindless grinding with no real skill or player-based decision making. the term comes from the huge number of MMO clones that are developed in asia and generally played by korean communities-- you know the sort, free to download, free to play, each level takes about 2 months of grinding the same mob. cf. silkroad online, kal online, etc. games ive played a lot and can look back on and know i wasted my damned time.

secondly, my complaint about FF certainly had nothing to do with me "not being able to access" content because it was 'difficult'. i thrive on the hardcore, elite and exclusive aspects of an MMO. if FF's 'limited' content/experience was anything to do with skill, dedication or general 'hardcore', then believe me i'd still be playing it today. it's not. it's just a dodgy game-design; the treadmill system isn't very well worked out, the gradient hits a brick-wall of difficulty/gap and then you have to all of a sudden play with people 24/7. i know MMO's are meant to be social and truly 'massive', but there's something severely disabling about ONLY being able to progress your character past 'x' point by partying up. sometimes, just sometimes, you want to be asocial in MMO's and spite everyone else by doing something yourself. FF didn't offer that element, which is very important to longevity, imo.

pardon my skepticism but i have seen SO many titles in SO many franchises developed by SO many reputable game teams fail in recent years. i have purchased literally every single MMO that has been released post-WoW and have been disappointed with all of them for a myriad number of reasons; unfortunately and sadly enough, none of those reasons have been "because the game is not WoW". all of the games have, to be blunt, failed miserably on their own terms. i could give you a fucking indexed list of all the MMO games to be released in recent-years and their fatal flaws and serious errors, but i'm sure you'll laugh it down... because i'm the WoW fanboy and you're the ardent defender of all that is good and proper with FFXI(V)
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
TimmmmaaaaH
Damn, I... had something for this
+725|6667|Brisbane, Australia

shut up uzique wow is bad god
https://bf3s.com/sigs/5e6a35c97adb20771c7b713312c0307c23a7a36a.png
Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
oh yah... and it has warped my objective review of every other MMO, ever .
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
FFLink
There is.
+1,380|6918|Devon, England
As always, you bore me and prove my point even more.

Let's leave this 'e-argument'.
Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
prove your point about what? i just substantiated and explained what you obviously deemed 'ludicrous'.

there's nothing ludicrous or laugh-worthy in my critique of the previous (and, assumedly the next, too) Final Fantasy MMO
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
FFLink
There is.
+1,380|6918|Devon, England
Starts tomorrow at 2:00AM GMT - http://entry.ffxiv.com/eu/index.html

Get your keys then
Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
this game is just as awful as i predicted it to be.

there are so many things dreadfully wrong about it... i just don't even know where to start.

lets just say that right now it makes age of conan look good.
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
FFLink
There is.
+1,380|6918|Devon, England
List away.

I'm enjoying it, minus the obvious beta drawbacks.
Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
asides from the fact that the open beta feels like phase v0.1 of the closed beta, i.e. it is VERY alarming to think that this game will be full retail and launched worldwide in < 1 month, considering the state that it is in- here is some of the faults that me and my MMO buddy have found. we have played literally every single MMO to be released in the last 5 years hardcore-- if there's a 'hardcore' to be found-- and subsequently have wasted literally hundreds of £'s and hours on shit games. here's why FFXIV, in my opinion, will be a shitfest worthy of joining AOC, WAR and LOTR:O at the bottom of the MMO heap:

- performance. holy HELL. this runs like shit on my computer. she's pretty old, though. my friend, however? i7, 6Gb DDR3 and a DX11 ATI card and the game runs like absolute shit. the framerate when rendering certain animations/effects and in certain zones (i.e. the first hub) goes to SHIT. that is really not good for a beta test. when it goes to full public, the lag and hardware stress will increase 10x. that's a hard 'issue' to fix over anything short of an engine overhaul. the engine in this game is shit and feels worse than the first FF MMO.

- korean style grind shit. as i said in my first post before i had already played it-- it's exactly the same as its predecessor. THERE IS NOTHING TO DO IN THIS GAME. i made 2 characters and before level 10 (Archer/Physical) i was bored shitless on BOTH of them. i asked around in-game and asked my friend: "What the hell am i missing?" - i felt surely i was totally noobing it and missing half the game's content. but, no. it's just not there. you do the pitiful amount of unoriginal, uninspiring, boring quests that they offer you... then you have to grind for the rest of your level. as for entertaining diversions/distractions and side-quests, side-stories, character development, little activities to further your playing in other areas... they simply do not exist. let me tell you another game that involves a few quests per level and then hours of grinding: Silkroad Online. it's free. it's korean. go play it.

- nothing innovating or interesting whatsoever - building on my 'korean free MMO' comment above: this game has nothing going for it. im not exaggerating. NOTHING. it's a standard, cookie-cutter, free-to-play MMO in terms of content and gameplay. the only actual incentive to pay out the ass and waste epic amounts of time on this game is if you're an absolute Final Fantasy geek-- and even then, it's barely related to the original intellectual property at all! the quests, the character archetypes, the zones and general feel of 'gameplay'... it's all been done before, hundreds of times. what makes it even worse and more damning for FFXIV is that it doesn't even do this tired, old formula well. a lot of mobs were bugging when i was attacking them - maybe due to beta, but still, only a month to fix a list longer than the american constitution - half the quests were mind-bogglingly fucked and the character classes themselves just felt insipid and completely uninteresting.

- UI/intuition - this is a major part of every MMO. this is essentially the interface with which you engage with, interact with, and understand the game world. the UI in FFXIV is like a clone of all successful MMO's previous UI's, only with a nice icing-layer on top of FFXI-flavour AWFUL. the UI is clunky, slow to respond, looks like shit, and feels like shit. my mouse feels like it's moving through fudge to do the most basic operations. switching weapons and changing character gear feels laborious and poorly thought out. engaging with NPC's for quests, or text, feels like a fucking chore. seriously. the dialogue arrows intuitively would suggest you have to click them to advance character dialogue... instead, you have to hit enter (which took me a while to figure out, as there's no in-game help whatsoever in ANY area). it feels like the UI was designed with the logic of a console controller in mind. and, for a PC-intensive genre, that's very bad.

tl;dr: if you have an i9 system with 12gb of DDR3 RAM, 2x 480GTX in SLI and a lot of time/money to waste on what is essentially an unoriginal remake of a free korean MMO, that will then charge you monthly for the pleasure of their Final Fantasy themed asian grind... this game is great. if you want a PC MMORPG that delivers and actually offers a genuine alternative title to the current 2 polar-oligopolies of the MMO market (WoW and EVE respectively) then i'd wait for, erm... oh, err... i'll keep you posted when a game dev pulls their thumb out. im searching for this holy grail just as eagerly as you are.

Last edited by Uzique (2010-09-05 14:16:05)

libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
FFLink
There is.
+1,380|6918|Devon, England

Uzique wrote:

asides from the fact that the open beta feels like phase v0.1 of the closed beta, i.e. it is VERY alarming to think that this game will be full retail and launched worldwide in < 1 month, considering the state that it is in- here is some of the faults that me and my MMO buddy have found. we have played literally every single MMO to be released in the last 5 years hardcore-- if there's a 'hardcore' to be found-- and subsequently have wasted literally hundreds of £'s and hours on shit games. here's why FFXIV, in my opinion, will be a shitfest worthy of joining AOC, WAR and LOTR:O at the bottom of the MMO heap:

- performance. holy HELL. this runs like shit on my computer. she's pretty old, though. my friend, however? i7, 6Gb DDR3 and a DX11 ATI card and the game runs like absolute shit. the framerate when rendering certain animations/effects and in certain zones (i.e. the first hub) goes to SHIT. that is really not good for a beta test. when it goes to full public, the lag and hardware stress will increase 10x. that's a hard 'issue' to fix over anything short of an engine overhaul. the engine in this game is shit and feels worse than the first FF MMO.
Wrong. There's an issue with Ambient Occlusion, at the moment. Your issue might be that, turn it off if it's on. Go through the graphic settings and tune accordingly. It's a very high-spec game.  Read up a bit before hand. Also, as it's a beta, a lot of the lag is due to the current servers, which will be different come release. The game has high system requirements, yeah, but I have a pretty shitty PC in comparison and it still runs playable.

Uzique wrote:

- korean style grind shit. as i said in my first post before i had already played it-- it's exactly the same as its predecessor. THERE IS NOTHING TO DO IN THIS GAME. i made 2 characters and before level 10 (Archer/Physical) i was bored shitless on BOTH of them. i asked around in-game and asked my friend: "What the hell am i missing?" - i felt surely i was totally noobing it and missing half the game's content. but, no. it's just not there. you do the pitiful amount of unoriginal, uninspiring, boring quests that they offer you... then you have to grind for the rest of your level. as for entertaining diversions/distractions and side-quests, side-stories, character development, little activities to further your playing in other areas... they simply do not exist. let me tell you another game that involves a few quests per level and then hours of grinding: Silkroad Online. it's free. it's korean. go play it.
Again, misguided and silly Uzique - it's a beta. They have said many times that quests (apart from the start of the main story quest) haven't been included in the beta. You're meant to be testing this game, not grinding to level. Maybe you should read up on what beta testing means... Here's a clue: It's not the same as a demo.

Uzique wrote:

- nothing innovating or interesting whatsoever - building on my 'korean free MMO' comment above: this game has nothing going for it. im not exaggerating. NOTHING. it's a standard, cookie-cutter, free-to-play MMO in terms of content and gameplay. the only actual incentive to pay out the ass and waste epic amounts of time on this game is if you're an absolute Final Fantasy geek-- and even then, it's barely related to the original intellectual property at all! the quests, the character archetypes, the zones and general feel of 'gameplay'... it's all been done before, hundreds of times. what makes it even worse and more damning for FFXIV is that it doesn't even do this tired, old formula well. a lot of mobs were bugging when i was attacking them - maybe due to beta, but still, only a month to fix a list longer than the american constitution - half the quests were mind-bogglingly fucked and the character classes themselves just felt insipid and completely uninteresting.
How can you comment on the quests when only the bare basics of the main story is included..? You seem to think that time constraints are an issue. I've been in testing for this game since Alpha, and I can assure you that they make changes pretty damn fast. The game was a lot more unstable and looked impossible for them to fix when it was at that point, with only 2-3 months left til release, and they've improved it a lot, with reasonings and requests for information on current problems.

The idea behind FFXIV is a story-driven MMO for FF fans, with many casual elements (read: Leves) that don't require hours and hours of grinding. If you don't believe in the story, check this pre-release trailer for clips of what's to come:



Uzique wrote:

UI/intuition - this is a major part of every MMO. this is essentially the interface with which you engage with, interact with, and understand the game world. the UI in FFXIV is like a clone of all successful MMO's previous UI's, only with a nice icing-layer on top of FFXI-flavour AWFUL. the UI is clunky, slow to respond, looks like shit, and feels like shit. my mouse feels like it's moving through fudge to do the most basic operations. switching weapons and changing character gear feels laborious and poorly thought out. engaging with NPC's for quests, or text, feels like a fucking chore. seriously. the dialogue arrows intuitively would suggest you have to click them to advance character dialogue... instead, you have to hit enter (which took me a while to figure out, as there's no in-game help whatsoever in ANY area). it feels like the UI was designed with the logic of a console controller in mind. and, for a PC-intensive genre, that's very bad.
I agree on the UI, and as it's being released for the PS3, as well, the UI does seem to be designed with a controller option in mind. The mouse is laggy because they haven't implemented a hardware-mouse yet, which (hopefully) will be in for release. There is an instruction guide, but as always with you, you don't read. The game manual's on the dev website. But yeah, the menu can be horribly slow when you're in a populated place and it's pretty annoying, but hey, beta.

Uzique wrote:

tl;dr: if you have an i9 system with 12gb of DDR3 RAM, 2x 480GTX in SLI and a lot of time/money to waste on what is essentially an unoriginal remake of a free korean MMO, that will then charge you monthly for the pleasure of their Final Fantasy themed asian grind... this game is great. if you want a PC MMORPG that delivers and actually offers a genuine alternative title to the current 2 polar-oligopolies of the MMO market (WoW and EVE respectively) then i'd wait for, erm... oh, err... i'll keep you posted when a game dev pulls their thumb out. im searching for this holy grail just as eagerly as you are.
*sigh*

Last edited by FFLink (2010-09-05 17:43:38)

Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
i'll bump this thread in 1 month when the game reviews are out... and then in 3 months to see what the community is like-- that's the true measure of an MMO's success. not a niche of 250 players on one global server. im fed up with it and have given up already... ive seen many more (free game) betas... and ive sucked up the marketing hype-shite from enough MMO dev-teams to know that their 'it'll be fixed' and 'patches are coming' stuff is absolute nonsense. if all the big flaws aren't fixed by release, it'll flop. there are simply too many other decent-average alternatives in the market right now.
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
FFLink
There is.
+1,380|6918|Devon, England
I'll see you in a month, then.
Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
. i like your confidence... ive had it and been there many times myself. "THIS GAME IS GONNA BE A TOTAL WOW KILLER!" - "finally, a decent new MMO!" remember AION Online? that game sucked up like HALF of WoW's asian population because the chinese government banned the server-provider for WoW-Asia... thus putting tons of MMO addict out of their daily fix. Aion had a better start-up than ANY other recent MMO because of an outside-influence... a lucky break, if you will. where is it today? dead game. content sucked, UI sucked, the rest was copycat and grinding. the community knows when there's a good game and when there's... not.
libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/
Uzique
dasein.
+2,865|6698
so where is this game now? oh. silly uzique.

the game has shipped 630,000 copies worldwide as of November 4, 2010. The game has been met with notably negative reception.[11]
The initial 30-day free trial was extended, first for two months and later indefinitely, in order to allow players to experience the new development team's updates before committing to the game.
sounds like it's a major fail just like... every other mmo that tries to contend.

Last edited by Uzique (2011-05-19 17:24:58)

libertarian benefit collector - anti-academic super-intellectual. http://mixlr.com/the-little-phrase/

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