Phantasy Star Online?

[Erasul]

I'm having trouble deciding if it's worth the trouble of switching from AOL to a new ISP and buying the modem adaptor and everything. Does anyone here play it, if so, I need somebody to play with if I do get everything set up. Also, what's a good alternative to AOL? I'm getting kind of sick of it constantly kicking me off.

[AlexMax]

What is a good alternative ISP?

Anything other than AOL. Except for anything that requires you to go through anything but just plain old Dial Up Networking to connect.

And if you are serious about playing PSO, I highly suggest you import a keyboard peripheral from japan. It's almost a necesssity.

[Erasul]

I was looking at those keyboard/controller hybrids and I really don't want to spend that much ($90-$130). I know AOL sucks ass and that basically everything except CompuServe is better than AOL...but I have no idea which ISP to switch to. I'm looking for something in the $10 a month range.

[War Lord]

You get what you pay for, and 10 dollars a month won't get shit
IMO Earthlink is a great ISP, and was my ISP up until I got Broadband.

[Blonde799]

IMHO, Earthlink isn't a good ISP for PSO, internet maybe, but that's it. I suggest going broadband if at all possible(dial up sux for games like this). I used to play PSO for dreamcast, but it just turned into hackerland, and it wasn't worth playing anymore.:(

[War Lord]

Earthlink was fine for Half-Life(TFC, CS, Etc)

[Cloral]

If you want a good connection (i.e. broadband), you're going to have to spend $30 or more. But the $10 or so above AOL is definately worth it.

My current internet connection is the university, which is free. :D
It sucks for playing games though, because they clamp various ports (fileshares also don't work too well). This means that I keep dropping connections in THPS3. And even when I stay connected, there is a significant lag with regards to slapping, which makes CTF very difficult.

[Blonde799]

Not to mention that PSO can actually spawn "lag monsters", With that, and the fear of a player that just joined, killing everyone in his party without a second thought, you have one fucked up online experience.:D

[Erasul]

Well, broadband isn't exactly available here. If it was I still wouldn't be able to afford it. I've read numerous reviews that say there's basically no difference playing with 56k or broadband with PSO. I don' t know, I'll just check out a few ISPs and see what's available.

[KingArthur]

Originally posted by Blonde799
Not to mention that PSO can actually spawn "lag monsters", With that, and the fear of a player that just joined, killing everyone in his party without a second thought, you have one fucked up online experience.:D

There isnt any PKing, so that isnt a problem =)

[Maverick_Zero]

Yeah, I'd say Earthlink, I had that before broadband, never had any problems with it.

[Mak-X]

When Sega.net's ISP service ended, I think they gave their customer's Earthlink. That's the internet service I would go with. If I didn't have AOL, I'd probably be playing Phantasy Star Online (family pays for ISP). It's something for me to think about. Anything I switch to will cost about $22, and I can't afford Cable yet ($50 a month). There's also the $9 a month charge for Phantasy Star Online. goddamn AOL and its special software needed.

I've heard that you don't need broadband to play Phantasy Star Online, its not that kind of game. The Dreamcast version didn't officially support broadband.

[Blonde799]

Originally posted by KingArthur
There isnt any PKing, so that isnt a problem =)
There was in the dreamcast version, and once a gamecube and xbox cheat device becomes available, they'll suffer too.:)

[Erasul]

I'm all set up and I've been in a few lobbies but haven't actually played yet. Temporarily I'm using some set up that somebody figured out. It's free and unlimited hours so until I get my new ISP this will be fine. Anybody here want to play, if so, when, where?

[Mak-X]

hmm... I have AOL but I'm unable to use it on my Gamecube because its special. But I wonder, if I got a ethernet card put on my computer, could I share internet access from my PC once I connect to AOL through dial up, and then connect my Gamecube with the broadband adapter? I think I'd need to get a ethernet card for a cable modem in the future if it ever happens.

[Blonde799]

I would play with you if I could, but I can't, but I'll give you one piece of advice. Challenge mode is easier when you play with less than 3 members, cuz some people grab items without considering other people's status, plus they act like n00bs, and screw up the whole goddamn mission. If you can, hone your skills offline, and get one person to play with you. You can then help each other, and you have a better chance at getting items.

[Erasul]

I just got done playing online with somebody for the first time. I found them on GameFAQs and we met up. He gave me a few items and stuff like that. So far it's alright. I'm not sure how long I'll subscribe.

[Blonde799]

PSO is a fantastic online experience, and took many, many hours of my social life. Then the bad news came when PSO v2 was delayed 3 times. Then, I've come to find out that the big delay was to make the US version cheat guarded! Even then, all people had to do was buy Xploders, or CBs(code breakers) to cheat. A lot of time wasted on something rather improving the game.

I suggest you get in all your PSO time now, because soon...........well, two words: hacker invasion.:nerd:

Those are the simple reasons why I stopped pursuing PSO.:(