|OT| PSO2 - New Genesis | Phantasy Star Online 2-2

[ezodagrom]

Took a bunch of before vs after screenshots of the PSO2 graphics update:

Is the English patch updated yet?

The tweaker was updated with a manual english patch (it has to be manually enabled in the plugins section).

 

[SkyStarblaze]

Took a bunch of before vs after screenshots of the PSO2 graphics update:


The tweaker was updated with a manual english patch (it has to be manually enabled in the plugins section).

Got it now, thanks!

 

[texhnolyze]

Yeah, the more I see it the more it feels like a Reshade effect. Higher contrast, ambient light, sharpen, and that's it mostly.

 

[ezodagrom]

Yeah, the more I see it the more it feels like a Reshade effect. Higher contrast, ambient light, sharpen, and that's it mostly.

The biggest change is pretty much the lighting, and also they toned down the bloom alot.

One other change, one that is only noticeable in motion, there's no more shimmering with distant ground textures (but unfortunately there's still shimmering in plants and grass).

The main purpose about the engine update though is the compatibility between PSO2 and NGS, to be able to transfer between both with just a loading screen.

 

[ezodagrom]

Livestream with New Genesis news next week:

 

[Prodigy]

Been holding off playing till the update, will tune in for that.

 

[ezodagrom]

PSO2 NGS closed beta report (in JP).

『PSO2 ニュージェネシス』公式サイト｜SEGA

『PSO2 ニュージェネシス』国内最大級のオンラインRPGシリーズ最新作！シームレスなオープンフィールドを舞台に、自分だけのキャラクターで冒険にでかけよう！簡単操作の爽快なアクションでスピード感のある戦闘が基本プレイ無料で楽しめる。

new-gen.pso2.jp

Checking the report using deepl, most of the complaints about the NGS beta were the following (some may be incorrect due to using an automatic translation):

• Alot of hard drive space required, the dev team responded that it's possible to install only NGS without the base PSO2.
• Poor UI when it comes to storage and font size being too small, which they intent to adjust for the release version. They will also adjust the level up notifications for party members and the "back and forth" behaviour when it comes to the main menu for the 2nd beta.
• Most are happy with the battle system, but there's complaints about the cancellation timing for player attacks and overall the battle system is slower than the current PSO2, they intend to adjust the cancellation timing but the dev team feels that the current battle system speed is appropriate for the game's launch (the speed of the battle system in PSO2 was increased over the years, they intend for NGS to be slower than PSO2 Episode 6 but faster than Episode 1, for it to be accessible to both newcomers and veterans).
• Tasks (NGS client orders) had poor ratings due to not being very clear to understand, same for the guide for gathering, the dev team will adjust them to be easier to understand for the release version.
• Map had an overall positive rating, but the dev team will adjust the placement of gathering nodes based on player feedback.
• Trials are too easy when there's alot of players, the dev team will make adjustments so there's trials of varying difficulty levels.
• Complaints about bugs related to the urgent quest system and the voting system for them not being easy to understand, the team will do bug fixes for the 2nd beta and redesign the system for the release version?
• Complaints about the mag sonar range being too narrow and not having other actions, but the dev team believes that the current behaviour is appropriate for the release of the game.
• Complaints about not many enemies appearing in the "North Aerio" area, but that area is an exploration area where there's a varying number of goals (searching for specific enemies, searching for facilities such as instanced dungeons, gathering materials). The combat areas are the ones meant for battling enemies, while there was only one of those in the beta, there will be more combat areas in the release version.
• Complaints about urgent quests being too important in the current PSO2, the dev team assures the players that NGS is designed for exploration and combat areas to also be important, not just urgent quests, plus I think they say that scheduled urgent quests will only happen for special events (instead of being a regular thing like in the current PSO2)? Not sure about this last one.

Overall 80% of the players that filled the survey had a positive response about the game and that they would like to continue playing NGS.

 

[ezodagrom]

Final boss urgent quest releasing tomorrow in the EN version:

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site | SEGA

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site

pso2.com

 

[ezodagrom]

No date yet, but, NGS closed beta announced for the EN version:

 

[texhnolyze]

Huzzah, finally!

How does it work? Will it be a separate or through the same app? Need more details.

 

[ezodagrom]

Huzzah, finally!

How does it work? Will it be a separate or through the same app? Need more details.

No idea really. In the JP version it will be possible to have NGS without having the current PSO2 installed at least, but dunno how they'll handle that in the global versions.

On another note, there was a stream with NGS info, trailers highlights below:


19:20 - enemies trailer
24:35 - exploration area trailer (32 players areas)
48:25 - trailer for weapon types that haven't been shown yet (partisan, wired lances, launcher, twin daggers, double saber, talis)

 

[ezodagrom]

New livestream about PSO2 NGS next week:



Based on the description, seems like the main focus of the stream will be the story, the characters, and new character creation functionalities.
Also we may be getting a release date as well.

[UWSL]On this special program, Hiro Arai, the official navigator of "PSO2：NGS" will share updated information from "PSO2：NGS", including the story, characters, and further new functions of Character Creation through footage. In addition, the latest information on the launch time is also mentioned this time![/UWSL]

 

[ezodagrom]

Global NGS closed beta in 1 month, registrations will be in 1 week through the XBox Insider Hub (the beta is Windows 10 Store only).

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site | SEGA

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site

pso2.com

I'm guessing they picked the Win10 Store because they can use the insider hub to pick the participants, I'm not sure, but, Steam doesn't have any feature to handle invitations for limited closed betas, right?

 

[Gintaro]

I'm guessing they picked the Win10 Store because they can use the insider hub to pick the participants, I'm not sure, but, Steam doesn't have any feature to handle invitations for limited closed betas, right?

Steam Playtest should work well enough for closed beta though IMO

 

[ezodagrom]

Steam Playtest should work well enough for closed beta though IMO

Ah, didn't know that feature already existed, seems to be pretty recent and it's still in beta, so I guess other than the MS influence in the EN version, it still makes sense they would go with the insider hub, maybe...

 

[texhnolyze]

I'd love to participate in the beta, but I just can't justify the Winstore only requirement. I'm fully done with the store.

 

[ezodagrom]

PSO2 NGS announced for June (no exact date yet), simultaneous global and JP launch. They also mentioned that while there may be regional differences, future major updates will be also simultaneous between global and JP.



Also, in late May there's going to be a benchmark and character creation tool:

 

[texhnolyze]

Niiiice. Lemme post that in Era.

 

[ezodagrom]

NGS related achievements started showing up for PSO2 Steam (they're listed as "UNKNOWN" atm):

https://steamdb.info/app/1056640/history/?changeid=U:22743064

On another note, for those that have gotten in the beta, it'll be possible to start pre-loading the beta next monday (May 10th).

EDIT: Next tuesday is going to be the final ARKS Hour, and these streams usually happen in the day before a big update, so there's a good chance we may be getting the graphics update next wednesday.

 

[ezodagrom]

With the incoming release of NGS, there's going to be several changes to the base PSO2, mostly services that are currently manually updated ending or being replaced with automated systems:

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site | SEGA

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site

pso2.com

On the JP side, it was also announced that NGS is going to become the default download for the PS4 version, and the base PSO2 is going to be an optional DLC. I find it likely that the Steam version and other EN platforms will be the same as this.

On another note, an animated comic special about NGS was released on the official JP youtube channel, in it they briefly showed the map of the newer versions of NGS, it shows areas that were blacked out in the beta and also new dungeons in areas that were accessible in the beta (including a new unnanounced type of dungeon that is neither a cocoon or tower, the one marked in red in the map):

Next tuesday there's going to be the final prologue broadcast, where they will announce new areas that weren't available in the beta, more story characters, and a roadmap for after launch (which should include the release date). Though, they may have accidentally leaked that the release date may be June 9th. In the official website it says that some campaigns are ending when NGS releases, but when those campaigns started, the in-game notifications said that they were ending on June 9th (those notifications were updated to say when NGS releases a day later).

 

[ezodagrom]

PSO2 NGS character creator/benchmark tool is out now, for those that want to try it (standalone download):

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site | SEGA

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site

pso2.com

(Though the download button is not very visible, white text button in a light background).

No release date in the livestream, but there's a roadmap for the future. Not surprisingly, content updates are gonna be far, far slower than PSO2 EN:

 

[ezodagrom]

Release date for NGS is now confirmed, June 9th:

 

[texhnolyze]

Hell yeah, that's so soon!

I don't need to prepare anything with my current OG char, right? Though I might as well login before the 9th to check things out.

 

[Cordelia]

PSO2 NGS character creator/benchmark tool is out now, for those that want to try it (standalone download):

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site | SEGA

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site

pso2.com

(Though the download button is not very visible, white text button in a light background).

No release date in the livestream, but there's a roadmap for the future. Not surprisingly, content updates are gonna be far, far slower than PSO2 EN:

PSO2 and NGS have different updates?

 

[ezodagrom]

Hell yeah, that's so soon!

I don't need to prepare anything with my current OG char, right? Though I might as well login before the 9th to check things out.

Yeah, there's no need to prepare anything, though, you can use the character creator/benchmark tool to check out the new body/face models for the NGS launch, since there will be some incompatibilities between old and new.

Hairstyles - no incompatibilities.
Face cosmetics (eyes, makeup, ...) - new cosmetics only work in new faces, old cosmetics only work in old faces.
Outfits - new outfits only work in new body models, old outfits only work in old body models.
Face and body - no incompatibilities, new face models can be used in old body models and old faces can be used in new bodies.
Accessories - no incompatibilities.

Old models don't convert well into the new models though, so some tweaking will be needed if you want to use the new models.

PSO2 and NGS have different updates?

Seems like the graphics engine update is going to be the final update for PSO2, with the NGS release it doesn't look like PSO2 will be receiving any more updates. Previous systems that were manually updated are either being removed or replaced with automatic systems too (all urgent quests will be random, mission pass and fresh finds shop will end, seasonal lobbies will be automatic, ...).

 

[texhnolyze]

Cool, thanks! Installing the game right now, I heard there's a free SG login campaign too.

Also, here's a new trailer.

 

[Jawmuncher]

Can't wait to play the update. It looks more in line with something I'd enjoy.

 

[Cordelia]

I basically only played about 6 hours on EN server, should I just restart with NGS?

 

[texhnolyze]

I basically only played about 6 hours on EN server, should I just restart with NGS?

Yeah, you probably should. But you should check your currencies, if there's quite a good amount of premium money (like from event or such), you probably may want to continue with that character.

 

[ezodagrom]

I basically only played about 6 hours on EN server, should I just restart with NGS?

You start from scratch on NGS anyway, everyone starts from lvl 1 in NGS independently of their progress in PSO2, it's mostly just cosmetics that can carry from PSO2 into NGS, and equipment brought from PSO2 to NGS have limitations.

 

[Cordelia]

Yeah, you probably should. But you should check your currencies, if there's quite a good amount of premium money (like from event or such), you probably may want to continue with that character.

Just checked, there is nothing lol.

You start from scratch on NGS anyway, everyone starts from lvl 1 in NGS independently of their progress in PSO2, it's mostly just cosmetics that can carry from PSO2 into NGS, and equipment brought from PSO2 to NGS have limitations.

Huh so it's a separate game with different progression?

 

[ezodagrom]

Huh so it's a separate game with different progression?

Yep, PSO2 and NGS are pretty much separate games with different progression, to the point where it'll be possible to have only NGS installed without the current PSO2.
Both games share the same launcher and engine though, if both are installed it's possible to switch between them by just going through a loading screen (without closing the game or logging out).
Both also use the same characters, you'll use your current PSO2 characters on NGS, but the progression is separate.

How the games distribution will be handled hasn't been announced yet for the EN version, but it's likely that it'll be the same as the JP PS4 version, where the initial download is going to be changed to be NGS and the current PSO2 will become an optional DLC.

 

[texhnolyze]

General info. I'll update the OT with this later.

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site | SEGA

Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis Official Site

www.pso2.com

 

[texhnolyze]

OP is updated!

What's left is the title.

 

[SkyStarblaze]

OP is updated!

What's left is the title.

Phantasy Star Online 2 NGS [OT] Phantasy Star Online 2-2

 

[Cacher]

Not going to play NGS. I realized that GaaS is not my thing a few months ago. Gaming time is limited and I can't justify myself only playing one game for a long period of time, even though the game is probably very fun to play.

 

[texhnolyze]

Not going to play NGS. I realized that GaaS is not my thing a few months ago. Gaming time is limited and I can't justify myself only playing one game for a long period of time, even though the game is probably very fun to play.

For me, it's the opposite. I'm just done with these greedy publishers who keep screwing us with the regional pricing over the years. I'd rather play a few games that I can enjoy with as few money as possible than support them. There's also the thing about money hat and barebone (or straight up bad) PC ports. I'm not going to be a part of the problem by rewarding them with my money.

 

[Cacher]

For me, it's the opposite. I'm just done with these greedy publishers who keep screwing us with the regional pricing over the years. I'd rather play a few games that I can enjoy with as few money as possible than support them. There's also the thing about money hat and barebone (or straight up bad) PC ports. I'm not going to be a part of the problem by rewarding them with my money.

In that case I would just buy those games off key stores like cdkey. There are definitely some publishers out there that I can't support.

 

[SkyStarblaze]

Japan already gets to pre-load, I hope we too over the course of the day

 

[ezodagrom]

The update is live for the EN version (at least on Steam), and... unfortunately there's no option to get only NGS standalone, we can only get both PSO2 and NGS together (update is 35GB, and both games together are 96.5GB).

 

[texhnolyze]

Yup, it's updating now on Steam, 35GB. Let's go~!

 

[texhnolyze]

There's a bunch of launch campaign events.









They also just announced that maintenance is extended though.



Lastly, here's a good overview video of what to expect from NGS.

 

[Prodigy]

I'm excited to play this, will be the first time jumping into an mmo/f2p sort of game when it first releases. Feels like things can be discovered with other people.

 

[texhnolyze]

Servers are live 50k ccu on Steam already.

 

[Blu]

Is it still you make a character on one server and that's where your character is? I kind of want to make it on the same server but it's currently full.

 

[Ascheroth]

First impression is pretty good. Liking this quite a bit more than the original PSO 2. I guess mainly because it's not overwhelming you with five gajillion things at the beginning, lol.

My char:

 

[Prodigy]

Is it still you make a character on one server and that's where your character is? I kind of want to make it on the same server but it's currently full.

I believe you can make 3 characters with not paying. All three can be on one ship or spread out.

eg: if you play for 20hours on ship 4 then decide you want to go to ship 2, then you either start a new character or hand over the dough to transfer.

 

[texhnolyze]

Took too much time editing my character, and it's finally done. Just an updated version of my old CAST, Nu Gundam inspired.

As for the gameplay, it's mostly the same game and system, but I also noticed some new stuffs and changes. The aiming is the first thing that felt different. As a ranger, some of the bullets from your gun may miss if you or the target is moving, even with the lock-on system. The dodging system also gets an overhaul. You don't just simply roll like before, you can do a side step and counter too. I'm also still in awe that the game is open world now. So many places to explore and discover.

 

[Cordelia]

 

[Line]

So I didn't like at all the original tried New Genesis... and it's probably even worse? Visually it just looks like a downgrade with store bought assets slapped in an empty, un-interactive open world... but really the gameplay is the issue.

It has even less weight than the original which was already terrible, your character is far too fast and has no weight with dirt poor animations, then you get in combat and the animations are better... but still lock you in place for ages, while the nasty ass autotracking is still here. So it's the wotst of both worlds combined.

Man I don't think there's an action game that feels as bad as PSO2 in this subgenre... and it's not this parody of a pre-alpha MMO that will help.