LORDBLUEROUGE'S PROFILE

author=Darken
I'm really just pushing through this game at this point. I wouldn't say I'm enjoying myself entirely but I'm 33ish hours in and I'm feeling to motivation to put another FF game to bed. Honestly I'm looking forward to FF13-2? Just to see what they do with what sounds like a polar opposite structure. At the same time I wonder about booting up FF12 and seeing how it contrasts with FF13. Since apparently 12 was made by a separate team that did vagrant story / FF9 and FF13 is more the Kingdom Hearts / FF10 team.

I wanted to ask. How did you beat 13? I got around to the same part you're at and just sort of gave up at the next dungeon, so I was wondering how you were able to beat it so quickly. Maybe FF13 is worth another look.

I don't know how many peeps played FF11 back in the day. I think only Corf and few peeps on RMN did. The reason why I'm mentioning this is because FF12 feels a lot like a better version of what FF11 was?

FF11 is a bit like Everquest but with Final Fantasy stuff in it? But the reality is that, it's more like a regular Final Fantasy game, but made much longer and more difficult cause it forced you to rely on other online players to advance through the game, to take on the more difficult missions/quests, that you'd normally be able to do by yourself, in a regular FF game.

I didn't have a lot of free time back then to play it, so for me, back in the day, What FFXI boiled down to was, asking level 75s for help in difficult areas or "friends" coercing you to rush through the game, so you could catch up to where they're at - I'm sure others had a very different experience, but the online social element was kind of toxic and not very enjoyable for me.

But over the years, once online traffic dwindled and squareenix started adding story relevant co-op NPC players you could acquire to accommodate these changes, I could start to see why FF11 was so enjoyable:

FF11 is like other Final Fantasy games, but there's no overworld. So it takes a really long time to complete quests/missions, because your literally walking through these very scenic and breath taking destinations. The levels in FF11 are so large, that just traveling through sections of these areas, feels like real life orienteering, except you have to take into account, enemy placements, where and when to rest and when to strike so you're not suddenly overwhelmed by crowds of monsters or overpowering enemies - it feels exhilarating just figuring out how to get from point A to B, with a group of 6, while at the same time, remembering you can only take down 1 or 2 monsters.

Certain situations like, how do I clear this area of 5 monsters so I can get into the hidden door behind them, without overwhelming the party, becomes immediately apparently and incredibly challenging and makes you look at the Final Fantasy series in a new and unique way - When you didn't have to deal with the problems that come with online players, this was Final Fantasy 11's greatest strength.

Back when the PS2 servers were shutting down, I remember spending like 3 hours, journeying through a maze like cave and getting lost, just trying to complete one mission. I eventually reached my destination; it was this statue where you get one of your crystals for Rise of Zilart, but it was on a sandy beach, overlooking the ocean and it suddenly started to rain and the sun was shining at the same time - It was just a really cool experience, after having gone through such a difficult section - and even if you're following a written walkthrough, you're still going to get lost, but that real world, open world element to it, is kind of want made FF11 so enjoyable.

From what I understand, they decommissioned the PS2 servers in 2016 because, the PS2 SDK they were creating FF11 content on, couldn't keep up, it was literally breaking down. So in order to circumvent this; squareenix made FF11 free for PC players; but you still need a $11.00 subscription to play online. At that point however, a lot of the old content like some great cutscenes and spell effects became unplayable on PS2 so whenever it crashed on the PS2 version, I'd switch it the PC and play pass that part and switch back to the PS2 in order to continue playing.

I haven't gotten that far in it yet, but FF12 takes away the online dependent stuff, but it feels like a more fleshed out offline experience, that feels lived in. Until someone, somehow, brings back the FF11 servers for PS2, I think FF12 is a great way to experience something somewhat similar.

EDIT: FF11 had some really cool virtual vistas tho

Subscribed ❤️

The trailer looks cool, you should add it to the front page when you get the chance.
I also really like the character movements, which is really hard to do and extremely time consuming.
But I love seeing stuff like this, because it really shows your technical prowess in 2K3.

Great Work. Looking forward to more with this.

author=Darken
even i didn't expect RE4 to get a 90+. Makes up for the negatives I suppose. I'm thinking of picking up the Suicide Squad but that is such a potential bomb. It's core Rocksteady so the game should be good? But im wondering if the looter shooter elements will leave a bad taste in reviewers mouths. The public opinion just seems so sour, and Gotham Knights and Avengers hasn't been known to crack through making super hero themed looters viable. I'm waiting on other stuff to have confirmed dates before I start securing more picks.

As someone whose probably gonna take 5th this year, I 100% agree with this XD. It's just way too dicey, especially when like...
...does anyone remember Gothan City Imposters? from 2012? That game came and went and at best got like a 65/100.
By the time I got my hands on the demo, the multiplayer traffic was already pretty dead 3 weeks in.

It's really hard to tell how well this thing is going to turn out, especially when they just announced they were pulling the plug on
multiverse till 2024 - there's just way too many things stacked against it right now; that it might just be safer to save those remaining slots
for guaranteed winners, that might come out later this year.

...But the year is already so good! That's what made counterpicks so hard this year!
like after hogwarts I was stressing out, over which ones can i pick that's going to do the least amount of damage.
it's like a bomb field this year! there's so many good games coming out! lol!

author=Gourd_Clae
It's good to know it's not too bad! Maybe I will grab some things from the wayback... My first thought was about the scripts in older engines that might disappear (specifically vx ace) although I know a lot are saved by Nessy

...Yeah, that gut feeling you have, when you realize that thing might not be around forever? - Probably grab those scripts asap, cause that's usually when they disappear. I'm just speaking from experience here.

Like, I'm going to be honest with ya, I came from an artschool, in that artschool, we may have had different teachers, but the classes were the same, the material was the same, the books we studied from were the same. There may have been slight changes over the years to the curriculum and how to apply those techniques to a more modern job market, but because the school was built in the 60s, there was always this genuine sense of security, that as long there was a need and a desire to learn, there would always be a place, where we could learn and grow and study these techniques from - we don't have that here for rpgmaker, at least, not in English yet - we're doing that work right now, but creating a place like that is very very different and much more susceptible to change, when it's on the internet.

I foolishly thought, back in 2007 that these things were the same, that as long as it was on the internet, it would be around forever, that's clearly not been the case here - When I was really getting into rpgmaker and jumping between RRR, GamingW, Gamingrgrounzero and rpgmaker.net, I never imagined there would ever be a time where those sites would no longer exist; So if you feel like you should grab them, definitely grab them, even just for your own sake.

EDIT: ...What I'm trying to say here is, don't rely too much on other people to back these things up for you. if it's something specific, that you're looking for and it's something you're genuinely interested in, take some agency in it, back these things up while you still have the opportunity, so that it's not just one person, trying to preserve, remember and contribute, but so that everyone can continue to preserve and contribute.

Because, once you have a personal investment in these tools that your using and something changes 5 or 10 years down the road, you're probably going to be the one passing this information onto someone whose looking for it too.

Extremely talented. looking forward to more with this ♥.