<a href='http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/doc ... obbpre.htm '; target='_new'> Watch Impress </a>have posted 24 pictures and some impressions of PSO Blue Burst. The impressions don't translate too well, but here is a selection of some of the pictures:
<img border=0 src="http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/doc ... 1/bb01.gif" />
^The new title screen
<img border=0 src="http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/doc ... 1/bb21.gif" />
^An artist's sketch of a new area
<img border=0 src="http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/doc ... 1/bb03.gif" /> <img border=0 src="http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/doc ... 1/bb04.gif" /> <img border=0 src="http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/doc ... 1/bb05.gif" />
^Notice the bar at the bottom of the screen? It can be used to set 10 short cuts to favourite moves, which can be easily accessed through the keyboard's number keys.
PSO Blue Burst - Pictures and Art work
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Green Gibbon!
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BlazeHedgehog
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As someone who downloaded the Blue Burst Beta and has played a little bit of it, it's alright. As a port, it's much, much sturdier than PSOv2 for the PC ever was (PSOv2PC only runs at a max of 20fps for me. PSOBB runs 30fps constantly and rarely does it ever choke up unless they're doing some kind of crazy water distortion effect).
As a game, it's basically Episode 1 & 2 with some minor additions - as you may know, the whole game is online. There are no real offline modes -- this is because your character data, rather than being stored on your PC, is stored server-side, online. This was done to cut down on hacking and item duping, but from what I hear there's already several PSOBB hacks out. (well, I think so, anyway. I heard there was a Walk through walls hack and I figure there's more beyond that)
When you start a game you are, of course, asked the usual stuff -- but there are changes/additions to the game modes. Namely, the first (regular) option is a "Story Mode" of sorts. There is also a new "Quest Mode".
Story Mode basically has you talking to the new NPC girl (Momoka) in Episode 1 and Nol in Episode 2, and from them, you go on missions for the government as part of the investigation of what happened to Pioneer 1. It adds some depth to the game's storyline, but at the same time, it also makes it take a really long time to do anything; as it's by these Government Missions that you unlock new areas to explore. Each area (Forest, Caves, Etc.) gets about three missions each. The first one has you fight to the beginning of the second portion of the area, the second one has you almost fight up to the Boss, and the third one has you fight the boss itself. This means that before you can progress to the next area you must first go through the current area a minimum of three times. For a level like The Caves, this is extrordinarily tedious.
Quest Mode is about as close as you're going to get to Offline in PSOBB - you must still start it via the Lobby, but when you do, nobody can join your game (or even see that it exists, I think). It's from here you can use the Hunters Guild (normally inaccessible in Story Mode, from what I've seen, but I only tried it once when I was still doing Forest Missions, so it might've opened up since I moved on to Caves).
Besides that, there is a new quick-tray, using the number buttons on your keyboard (0-9). You can bind spells and items to these number keys much like you can to gamepad buttons, except, obviously, there's alot more when you use the keyboard. Additionally, there is apparently a new team system in which, much like adding someone to your guild, you can add someone to your "team" and your team gets an entirely seperate chat channel outside of the main PSO chatting system (allowing you to chat with your team and chat with the people you are playing with seperately, across different games). Although I don't speak a word of Japanese, so I haven't the foggiest how to use it.
'Sides that, it's alright. What's terrible is the fact that if you play with someone who hasn't gotten up to the story missions you have, you have to replay the old ones with them. (For instance, let's say you're playing with someone who hasn't beaten Story Mission 1-1, and you've beaten 2-2; you have to go back and beat 1-1, either that or he leaves the game so you can go on to 2-3) - What's great, though, is if someone is at the same Story Mission you are, they can join even if you're in the middle of the quest.
So far, the new level hasn't been added to the Beta, although I'm kind of hoping it does before the Beta ends (which I hear is June 7th)
Additionally, if you go to psobb.jp they have even more concept art, including 3D renders of the new stage.
I also have images up of my PSOBB adventures, if anybody wants to take a look. It's probably nothing you haven't seen, but, whatever.
As a game, it's basically Episode 1 & 2 with some minor additions - as you may know, the whole game is online. There are no real offline modes -- this is because your character data, rather than being stored on your PC, is stored server-side, online. This was done to cut down on hacking and item duping, but from what I hear there's already several PSOBB hacks out. (well, I think so, anyway. I heard there was a Walk through walls hack and I figure there's more beyond that)
When you start a game you are, of course, asked the usual stuff -- but there are changes/additions to the game modes. Namely, the first (regular) option is a "Story Mode" of sorts. There is also a new "Quest Mode".
Story Mode basically has you talking to the new NPC girl (Momoka) in Episode 1 and Nol in Episode 2, and from them, you go on missions for the government as part of the investigation of what happened to Pioneer 1. It adds some depth to the game's storyline, but at the same time, it also makes it take a really long time to do anything; as it's by these Government Missions that you unlock new areas to explore. Each area (Forest, Caves, Etc.) gets about three missions each. The first one has you fight to the beginning of the second portion of the area, the second one has you almost fight up to the Boss, and the third one has you fight the boss itself. This means that before you can progress to the next area you must first go through the current area a minimum of three times. For a level like The Caves, this is extrordinarily tedious.
Quest Mode is about as close as you're going to get to Offline in PSOBB - you must still start it via the Lobby, but when you do, nobody can join your game (or even see that it exists, I think). It's from here you can use the Hunters Guild (normally inaccessible in Story Mode, from what I've seen, but I only tried it once when I was still doing Forest Missions, so it might've opened up since I moved on to Caves).
Besides that, there is a new quick-tray, using the number buttons on your keyboard (0-9). You can bind spells and items to these number keys much like you can to gamepad buttons, except, obviously, there's alot more when you use the keyboard. Additionally, there is apparently a new team system in which, much like adding someone to your guild, you can add someone to your "team" and your team gets an entirely seperate chat channel outside of the main PSO chatting system (allowing you to chat with your team and chat with the people you are playing with seperately, across different games). Although I don't speak a word of Japanese, so I haven't the foggiest how to use it.
'Sides that, it's alright. What's terrible is the fact that if you play with someone who hasn't gotten up to the story missions you have, you have to replay the old ones with them. (For instance, let's say you're playing with someone who hasn't beaten Story Mission 1-1, and you've beaten 2-2; you have to go back and beat 1-1, either that or he leaves the game so you can go on to 2-3) - What's great, though, is if someone is at the same Story Mission you are, they can join even if you're in the middle of the quest.
So far, the new level hasn't been added to the Beta, although I'm kind of hoping it does before the Beta ends (which I hear is June 7th)
Additionally, if you go to psobb.jp they have even more concept art, including 3D renders of the new stage.
I also have images up of my PSOBB adventures, if anybody wants to take a look. It's probably nothing you haven't seen, but, whatever.
