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Posts with tag square-enix

Square/Enix's Concerto Gate moves into closed beta

Filed under: Betas, Fantasy, Free-to-play, Concerto Gate

The folks at Gamescampus sent along word that Concerto Gate, the latest MMO from Square/Enix, is now moving into a Beta test period. It's going to be a short one, running just from today through the 14th of the month. We've previously discussed the game on the site, checking out an extensive preview and the game's first (CG) trailer.

The announcement touts the game's "terra generating" system, which will morph and deform the worldscape based on player actvities. If you're interested in participating in the Beta test, head in the direction of FileFront, which will be playing host to the client.


And the winning Mog Bonanza numbers are...

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Contests, Events, in-game, Consoles


That's right Vana'diel adventurers, the numbers you've been waiting for are finally here! The mogs, under the strict supervision of Square-Enix, have drawn the winning numbers for the first ever Mog Bonanza lottery in Final Fantasy XI!

If you want to check the numbers, just log in and check out the message of the day that will appear for your server. If you miss it for some reason, you can always type in /smes into the control panel to see it again. It's important to check your marbles though, because you can only redeem your prizes until August 1st. If you have a winning marble, simply take it to your nearest Bonanza Moogle at a city port (Port Bastok, Port San d'Oria, Port Windurst) or the Chocobo Circuit and they'll redeem your marble for your prize!

The good gentlemen over at Pet Food Alpha have put together exactly how many winners there have been for your viewing pleasure. Over 837,000 marbles have won the rank 5 prize, Miratete's Memoirs, alone! That's a lot of marbles, kupo!

[Thanks, Fusionx!]

Anti-Aliased: Keep crying, sportsmanship is dead

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Anti-Aliased


One harsh world PvP battle later, your corpse lies on the ground as your opponent stands triumphant over you. Both of you put up one good battle, as even your opponent is down to barely any hit points -- the kind of battle where a few randomly generated misses turned the tide of the engagement. Yet, what do you get for your efforts against this opponent? Do you get a /salute, or a /kneel? Maybe even the honor of a /bow? No, of course not, you get the /spit and an orcish teabag in your face just so the 12-year-old on the other side of the keyboard can get his daily jollies.

Of course, that's not counting the 7 more times he's going to camp your corpse just so you can't progress for the next 3 hours. And it's also not counting the ninja looters, the belligerent kids in battlegrounds who take orders from no one, and the lying little brats who spew language fit for a factory worker but cry to their parents the second you try to enforce some authority.

We have many ways of quantifying these behaviors; things like "If you can't stand PvP then go to a carebear (normal) server," "If you don't like it being done to you then do it to someone else," or "Get better gear, n00b." We all know what's going on here, and it's none of the above. Let's just say it aloud and come clean about it: Sportsmanship is dead, and it's been dead for a long time.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: Keep crying, sportsmanship is dead

Final Fantasy XI anti-RMT squad drops the banhammer

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Business models

Every few months Square/Enix lets loose a report from the anti-RMT squad they have on the Final Fantasy XI staff. These individuals are purposed with one goal: to keep the paths and streets of Vana'diel clear of monster-farming TOS-breaking gil-sellers. It's a thankless job, and even here on the site we've had people complain that it's not working. Still the reports come out, and still we see the company release word that they've dropped the banhammer on another few hundreds of individuals. It's a never-ending race, with the rats always one step ahead of the cat.

The most recent report seems to indicate their previous actions against farmers who focused on fishing have been somewhat successful. The also make mention of some anti-farming techniques implimented in the May update, with further techniques added in this most recent June update. Between these two they're hopeful named monster hunting will continue to decrease. They've also released some numbers on recent bannings, trying to give us a sense of how active the team has been. Movement enhancers look to be the most-affected group, with 400 cheaters kicked in the first month of June alone.

Final Fantasy XI players blast through new content to find ...?

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Patches, Endgame

The beginning of the month saw the folks at Square/Enix dropping a huge update onto the players of Final Fantasy XI. The June update has been months in the making, heavily anticipated by players at every level. For endgame players, one particularly appreciated addition to the game was the new Zeni Notorious Monsters system. Notorious Monsters in FFXI are what many players think of as 'nameds' in other games; they're common-model critters given interesting names and buffed up stats. There's an entire culture in Vana'diel around hunting these creatures, especially at higher level, so the ZNM system was a care package to the high-end players from the developers.

Pet Food Alpha describes the process of working through these new monsters. There are 31 in all, each at a specific tier of content. The tiers have to be climbed in order to reach the most dangerous creatures, with a single fifth-tier monster called Pandemonium Warden being the ultimate goal. A collaboration of linkshells (guilds) worked day and night all month to reach the point where they could take on this beast ... only to have a low level 'test goblin' spawn in place of the monsterous ZNM finale. The developers are on the case.

For more on this new system, check out the hugely informative Blue Gartr discussion thread on the subject or check below the cut to watch a 1st tier ZNM fight with the creature Ob.

Continue reading Final Fantasy XI players blast through new content to find ...?

Final Fantasy XI's Celestial Nights celebrates faithfulness

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Events, in-game

Final Fantasy XI is well known by its players for providing unique holiday offerings. From the Taru-heavy celebrations of the Starlight Celebration to the Moogle-hunting antics of the Starbreeze holiday, Square/Enix has done a great job of taking real-life special events and tweaking them into Vana'diel-specific jubiliations.

June 27th marks the beginning of the Celestial Nights event, a sort of summer celebration of togetherness. In past years it's been marked as probably one of the most unique in-game events in any MMO because of one very out-of-game requirement. In order to succeed at the event, players have to write poetry. Real poetry, not clicking on an object and watching for a 'write poetry' cooldown. FFXIclopedia might just be able to answer some pressing questions about the event, with some lore text to lay on you as well.

Celestial Nights will be ongoing through July 8th, and you can talk to the Moogles in Northern San d'Oria (D-8), Bastok Markets (G-8), and Windurst Waters (F-5) for details on how to participate.

The Digital Continuum: Square Enix's next MMO

Filed under: Final Fantasy XI, Opinion, The Digital Continuum


This recent interview with the Final Fantasy XI team by James "Milkman' Mielky of 1up.com internet fame got me thinking about the next MMO to come from the Square Enix camp. There isn't much meat on them bones as far as the next project goes, but the interview does get the team to talk just a little bit about it. It seems as though one thing is clear: Their newest MMO won't be too similar to Final Fantasy XI. While the developer says that they've learned through mistakes and player response with their original game, it seems that they really want to try something different.

I'd be decidedly surprised if Square Enix didn't make a new MMO somehow based in the Final Fantasy universe considering the popularity of the franchise. It's very possible that when FFXI producer Hiromichi Tanaka said, "-we're not going to make something that'll be exactly like FFXI" He merely meant that mechanically speaking the new game would be very different. Which quite honestly should be a given considering the somewhat esoteric and now archaic control/menu system featured in their first game. Also, it would be nice to play a Final Fantasy MMO that wasn't so harsh on players who died -- losing experience is a deal-breaker for many players these days.

Continue reading The Digital Continuum: Square Enix's next MMO

Concerto Gate's publisher previews Square/Enix's new MMO

Filed under: Fantasy, New titles, Previews, Free-to-play, Concerto Gate


Square Enix just recently released their first trailer for the in-development MMO Concerto Gate. The game is slated as a sequel to the highly successful Crossgate title they've run in Asia for the last seven years. 1up's Jeff Green had the chance to sit with the folks at OnNet USA, the US publisher of this title, to discuss what the general style of gameplay will be like.

In a word, it is unique. Players will find themselves adopting one very specific role within the game world, acting as an adventurer, crafter, or "special class". There will be 15 different classes, but each of them is incredibly niche. If, for example, you've always wanted to explore the world of lumberjacking online - you will now have your chance. It's a free-to-play title to boot, bringing a sometimes-maligned business model into sharp focus. Read through to 1up's article for full details on this decidedly unusual gameworld.

First trailer for Square/Enix's new MMO Concerto Gate unveiled

Filed under: Fantasy, Video, New titles, Concerto Gate

Almost since the start of the new century, Square/Enix has offered the highly popular Crossgate MMO to fans in China, Japan, and other parts of East Asia. The service closed in Japan late last year, in anticipation of a new title. Concerto Gate (Japanese site) is that title, and the first trailer for the wacky anime-inspired virtual world just recently hit US shores.

Unfortunately the trailer shows almost nothing about what the actual game will be like, but we can make some guesses by looking at Concerto's successor, Crossgate. That game features fantasy gameplay in the vein of Dragon Quest and similar JRPGs, but also features a Pokemon-like creature system. One class in the game specializes in catching, taming, and training these (undoubtedly adorable) creatures. Whether full of cute bunnies or not, we'll be sure to keep you appraised as more details about the title become available. Check out the trailer below the cut.

Thanks, Joystiq!

Continue reading First trailer for Square/Enix's new MMO Concerto Gate unveiled

New Final Fantasy XI update drops big changes into Vana'diel

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Patches

The much-anticipated June update to Final Fantasy XI is finally here! It dropped live onto servers just yesterday, and the official FFXI site is now offering a detailed guide to every little patch note. If you've been following along on Massively you probably already know about some of the highlights. Additions like the new Legendary Weapons, tweaks to Einherjar, and perhaps even new varieties of Chocobo are all in the offing.

The extensive patch notes are available on the official site, and cover all of these subjects ... along with much, much more. This is a huge refresh for the game and includes numerous tweaks to quality of life components. We'll be sure to keep you appraised as player reaction to the changes starts to become apparent.

In the meantime, have you had a chance to check out the changes? Any thoughts?

The Digital Continuum: Omega solo solution

Filed under: Game mechanics, Opinion, The Digital Continuum, Champions Online


There was a time in my MMO playing when I would spend hours looking for a group in games like Final Fantasy XI. No television was watched and no handheld gaming devices were manipulated during those prolonged waiting periods. I just sat there chatting with whomever I could in-game. Today, I don't think I could see myself doing this even with the aid of a Nintendo DS or a PSP with which to chip away the hours. Hell, I probably couldn't even do this with one of my favorite shows like Lucky Louie or Flight of the Concords.

This is why it warms my heart to know that Champions Online will contain not only solo content across every level, but some kind of secret endgame feature called the Omega System. My first reaction upon this revelation was simply, "Wow" I certainly hope that with a title like "The Omega System" Cryptic has a compelling endgame feature planned that will amaze everyone or at the very least please everyone.

Continue reading The Digital Continuum: Omega solo solution

Anti-Aliased: There's other people there too, ya know.

Filed under: Culture, Opinion, Anti-Aliased


I'll be blunt -- I hate grouping. Nothing pains me more than grouping up with four of the "internet's finest" and going into a dungeon to kill some monsters. 95% of the time, it seems I'm doomed to find 4chan (NSFW) rejects or screaming 10-year-old kids (NSFW). Of course, these are the parties that take an hour and a half to assemble and only last two rooms into the dungeon. Someone inevitably screws up and gets six mobs on them, and then they instantly turn around and blame the priest for "not being able to heal properly". Of course they don't actually say "not being able to heal properly"; it comes out more like "u suck n00b priest".

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: There's other people there too, ya know.

Square/Enix's anti-RMT task force reports in

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Business models

Once again the crack team at Square/Enix dedicated to hunting down and eradicating the gold farmer has reported in. Final Fantasy XI has a particularly troublesome RMT problem, making communication to the playerbase on the issue critical. Recent reports have focused on strong initiatives with targeted crackdowns and mass bannings.

This latest post to the official FFXI site is really more of a status update, keeping players abreast of the most recent areas of concern. For example, the ever-present problem of hacked accounts and stolen items has been on the task force's mind for some time now. Thanks to recent changes, re-obtaining items should be a much faster process. As for particular activities, they're keeping a close watch on fish farming, the abusive hunting of Notorious Monsters, and "enhanced character movement" exploits; ie: speedhacking. The update also takes note of a few questions that have been directed to the team of late; full details are available on the site.

FFXI goes boxless

Filed under: Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI, Business models, News items

Square/Enix has taken another step towards the all-digital age, with their decision to go boxless with Final Fantasy XI sales. Downloads of the title and its expansions are now offered through Direct2Drive, already well-known for bringing a number of PC titles to gamers, eliminating trips to the store to pick up installation discs. Or dealing with rainchecks.

Whether the download is actually faster than driving to the local GameStop is debatable, but that's beside the point. Digital distribution of Final Fantasy XI puts the title in the club with EVE Online as well as the many Sony Online Entertainment titles which are distributed without boxes, and on demand. Direct2Drive is offering Final Fantasy XI and the expansions at $19.95 each; game manuals are available for download as well.

Via 1UP

World of Warcraft
Anti-Aliased: Crime and punishment in MMOs

Filed under: Age of Conan, EVE Online, Face of Mankind, Culture, Opinion, Anti-Aliased

You're grinding in World of Warcraft's Stranglethorn Vale (voted most ganktastic by our friends at WoW Insider) when a level 70 druid finds it hilarious to moonfire your lowbie buttocks and camp your corpse for the next eight hours. You're grinding in Lineage II when suddenly someone completely rips you apart with Demon Sword Zariche, and the proceeds to do it over and over again. Face of Mankind players saw the days of other players killing player character police officers "just because it was fun and easy". Final Fantasy XI players dealt with the controversy of monster player killing, known as an MPK. Diablo had the problem of people raising you, killing you, raising you, killing you, raising you, killing you, raising you, killing you... I think you got the point.

Griefing is a problem in MMOs -- a very big problem. As more users enter our wonderful worlds of fantasy and intrigue, more and more of them think it's hilarious to make others suffer and waste time. So why is this phenomenon occuring, and what can developers do about it?

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: Crime and punishment in MMOs

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