ShoddyMender

Hello! I joined because of the happy face in the team description

Been a few years, glad to see everything up and running, just stopping by EDIT: this game is fun

Let's keep it to MYTHS of PSO, that one has been confirmed a few times lol

Before Ultima, my experience in PSO was on the Game Cube and limited to Offline mode with split screen multiplayer. Even though a lot of content was unavailable to my fellow Hunters and I, we happily we sank evenings and weekends into the game and had a blast transferring our characters back and fourth during sessions. Looking back, one thing that our inability to go online did provide us with was adding a great air of mystery and revere to the game. Online mode seemed a massive entity that we were ever "training" for to be part of, who knew what was waiting for us when we eventually got there? We spent hours and hours talking about and trying to unravel the secrets around special dropped items, game content and Easter eggs. The exhaustive conversations would always end in one of two ways; resigned sighs, shoulder shrugs and affirmations of "it must be something online" or renewed vigor, grit and a determined: "we must not be doing something right. we're close". For the most part the Online hypothesis was true, Phantasy Star Online was made with playing ONLINE in mind (go figure right?), but there were some things that remained unanswered and forgotten. Some schoolyard myths were so outlandish and so far beyond what Online mode could offer that I have to wonder where they came from and if anyone else has ever heard of the same. These are some of the PSO theories my friends and I had close to some 15 years ago, we're all in our mid 20's today. (Note: none of my friends nor I were internet savvy enough at the time to really research PSO stuff) ITT: Outlandish Myths of Phantasy Star Online. Pioneer I the Central Dome - Beyond the Door The theory was that there was a way into the Central Dome, be it through the damaged door topside or the one beneath. The central dome was believed to contain all the powerful materials, mags, weapons and armour that Pioneer I had brought with them to colonize the planet. Also thought to be contained in the Dome was a Pioneer II like “Hub” (vendors, principal, bank ect..) with portals to the new territory that Pioneer I was exploring at the time of the attack. This “Hub” was hypothesised to be deserted and damaged with only the portals remaining, or fully functioning and protected from the blast by a force field/walls. Hildebear Aboard Pioneer II The theory was that if a portal (telepipe or otherwise) were to be opened when around enemies that there was a chance they would be transported with you to Pioneer II. This was presumably why the guards were armed, according to one of our friends. After countless fruitless attempts, the theory was changed to being that only a special coloured Hildebear could be transported. Once it was aboard Pioneer II you would have access to your weapons in the time it took the Hildebear to be defeated. It was prophesized that this Hildebear held a special weapon of the same classification used to defeat it, or in the time that weapons were enabled on the ship you were meant to shoot one of the overhead moving vehicles and would get a random rare drop. The Hidden Choa In one of the offline single player Quests, “the fake in yellow” there is a secret Chao hidden in a waterfall in the Forest 1 area. The theory was that it could be attracted using the Branch of PakuPaku and it would accompany the player for reasons unknown.

Hey thanks, happy to be online. I’ve had more luck with the last few logins using a straight internet connection vs going through the VPN, though it still takes over a dozen attempts to establish a connection with the server. I haven’t been able to reliably reproduce the problem… leading me to believe it’s just my volatile internet speed/strength causing the hitches with logging in and occasionally booting me off.

Made it in, switched VPN location to Hong Kong and that seems to have done the trick! Happy hunting everyone

It's a negative for tonight, been trying for a few hours but just can't seem to find any luck. I'm going to give it another shot in the am.

Thanks for the reply, I'm wondering if it is as simple as it being peak hours? I'm going to try my phone as a hot spot and see if that makes any difference. Cross your fingers for me !

Ok Ultima, This is my first new thread and I wish it had some better content but I'm hoping to get some replies all the same. Here's whats up: I'm trying to login from China, my internet speed is around 20MB down and 1-2MB up speed. Two nights ago I did manage to get online, it took many many tries but I know it is possible. I generally use a VPN for internet use, when it's on the launcher of PSOBB races through the "Checking for updates" and gets me to the login screen wicked fast. Problem is when i get to the "Connecting to the server, please wait..." screen it gives me the "916" error saying the server is full. Even at times with 20 or so people online. When the VPN is off, it takes a very long time to get through the "Checking for updates" pop up and then it seems to get stuck on the "Connecting to server" page. I've tried turning off my wireless while on this page and it doesn't seem to register, this leads me to believe it is freezing up. Couple of Questions: How long does a typical connection take? is there a benchmark time where I should close it out and try again? Does anyone connect through a VPN? At the time of writing I have been waiting over 15 minutes on this page, any advice would be appreciated, thanks guys!

Speaking of lobbies, was there a time when the "Ball" game was popular in the upper levels? maybe in the heyday of the game? come to think of it, does anyone know/remember what the number of players was back in PSOBB's peak?

The experience & rare monster modifiers added to the game really speed things up. Entering the Forest areas on a first run through and leaving them cleared at over level 10 was a pleasant surprise

Ahh, I see that now, thank you Choko

Hello Everyone, Is Mumble still the best/most popular way to go about connecting on Ultima? or do most users have several voice clients and decide among themselves? thanks!

Hey Chuck, Thanks for the welcome. I logged into Ultima for the first time last night and immediately was greeted by a higher level player offering to show me the ropes! it was great! But it being my very first time online I didn't want to party up until I had gotten some bearings. I wound up poking around trying to figure out how to reach some familiar territory aboard Pioneer II but didn't understand how the Lobbies/Rooms work. Eventually I turned to the forums and did some searching for "Beginners Guides" and that's when I found what I thought was the answer to all my problems: Chuck's "The ultimate PSO newbguide". Haha, needless to say it wasn't quite what I expected but provided a good laugh! I wound up turning to youtube for the basics and all in all it was a happy first day for me on Ragol ending with a cleared Forest Area and a vanquished Dragon. @Lemon Was a good article for sure! @beezemanjones Thanks for the "New Player" tip

Hey Pr1merJT, Seems like PSO really resonated with some people, I can say it's the one GC game I buy when I see it. I have 3 copies in storage with their receipts tucked in their covers, the first copy being $19.00 or something crazy cheap back in 2003 and the most expensive was at a convention for over $150.00! Are you going to look into getting your GC onto the Ultima server?

@Angle @Aeroprism Thanks for the crash course, I'm coming from a place similar to Aeroprism where I've a few spent more than a few hours offline getting characters upwards of 100 but haven't been a day online. I'm sure It'll take a bit of getting used to with some of the slang and PB timing but it makes sense enough to me to show some courtesy to your fellow hunter... especially since we'll get none from the Ragol locals haha Shoddy Mender

Thanks for the warm reception, Like most of you guys I played episode I and II to death and even though I'm still happy to while away hours grinding on tried and true quests, I have to admit I'm excited for this new (to me) content. I might take you up on that training offer once I've got my feet wet (with Booma blood lol) and know what I'm doing behind a mouse + keyboard. The Shoddy Mender

Name: Steve Age: 26 Preferred contact method: Here's good Hobbies: I've got a thing for tinkering with old trucks and travel. I dig discovering new music, plucking strings on my banjo and staying up too late reading. I think the golden age of gaming, for me at least, will always be late night split screen on a CRT with some pals. PSO was a big part of that and i'm happy to have found this place. Picture: A little more about your self: Canadian currently living and working in China, just north of Shanghai.

Hey Webweaver, You and I are in the same boat. On a whim I did a google search for Phantasy Star Online thinking I'd revisit some of the cool fan made comics, but what I found instead was a link to an article on PC magazine describing the thriving PSO community. (here https://goo.gl/ZSKUz8) After reading it through I followed the bread crumb trail here to Ultima! That was 5 minutes ago, I've since registered for the forum and got my Guildcard and game account verified! Just like you I spent my youth along side some pals happily grinding through Boomas and pondering the great secrets of Pioneer I while collecting the mysterious Photon Drops (Never went online with my Gamecube). I'm excited to get online and explore the whole other side of the game, see you out there, The Shoddy Mender