Sooo SE actually wants to know the numbers of PS2 users eh?

[Gilraen]

Before I figured out how to install FFXI in Wine I did play it in Windows (I run a dual boot system just to use those programs and games I can't run in Wine or Ubuntu, a population I can count on one hand) and it had all the same nuances that I described in my previous post so, from my experience, it's not OS-centric but rather an issue in the game itself.

Though, personally, I do find the PS2 version looks better and runs smoother. It's a shame that it is becoming ever more difficult to use with each version update (the July update broke alot of NPCs on the PS2 client, which is what prompted the move of the outpost warp NPCs, as well as many cutscenes though some cutscenes have been broken for far longer). I freely acknowledge all that but I will not stop playing on the PS2 version, it's just better I think.

[Dragoy]

Though, personally, I do find the PS2 version looks better and runs smoother.

Would you elaborate on that?

Especially what do you mean by 'smoother'?
As in just the frame-rate seems higher, or are there some jerky issues you are experiencing otherwise?

Since Final Fantasy XI was never released for the PS2 here, I have not witnessed it first hand so it's a bit difficult to imagine how it could be better. ^^;

[Arcon]

Since Final Fantasy XI was never released for the PS2 here, I have not witnessed it first hand so it's a bit difficult to imagine how it could be better. ^^;

It can't, he's making it up. FFXI on the PS2 is the same as the PC version on almost the lowest settings. And these glitches he mentions only exist for him, if he isn't lying it's probably due to outdated graphics card drivers.

[Dragoy]

Yeah I can imagine it with the settings and all, but I was wondering about the 'smoother' part particularly as it could possibly be explained in a way or another.

[Gilraen]

I play with a controller and I've noticed a half-second delay on the PC version (in Wine and in Windows) that doesn't exist in the PS2 version. Could just be a driver problem but it is disconcerting enough to make my use of the PC version sparing. Further, it's tricky playing without a controller (can't take the controller everywhere while my computer, a laptop, has no such problem).

On top of all that, people seem to forget that FFXI was originally designed with the PS2 in mind, the PC version was a port to capitalize on the growing PC market as PCs started to get more and more affordable. It's sad how people 'conveniently' forget that little fact.

[Mirage]

Maybe that's sad, but do you know what's funny? How you think that actually means anything. FFXI was never intended to be a console-only game, even if the PS2 version came first.

[FrankReynolds]

I play with a controller and I've noticed a half-second delay on the PC version (in Wine and in Windows) that doesn't exist in the PS2 version. Could just be a driver problem but it is disconcerting enough to make my use of the PC version sparing. Further, it's tricky playing without a controller (can't take the controller everywhere while my computer, a laptop, has no such problem).

On top of all that, people seem to forget that FFXI was originally designed with the PS2 in mind, the PC version was a port to capitalize on the growing PC market as PCs started to get more and more affordable. It's sad how people 'conveniently' forget that little fact.

You are blaming a computer for user error.

[Volkai]

It's dirt-cheap to upgrade from a PS2 to any other platform this game supports.

No, it is not. Because you need a hard drive unit to run it on X360 you're looking at greater than USD$250, more likely $300, to get that going. For a PC you'll probably be spending as much or more unless you have enough technical proficiency to put together your own computer from parts. That is not dirt cheap. If you think it is, then you probably need to re-evaluate your sense of scale.

To be clear, USD$250 is the equivalent of roughly USD$12.95 x 20 or paying for one year and eight months of FFXI with one character slot. Are you willing to pay one-and-two-thirds-years worth of FFXI just to switch to another platform for the sole purpase of playing the exact same game? I doubt it. Don't bring up all the other things you can do with a PC or X360, as they are irrelevant to the topic at hand.

This is not a new concept. How many of us "upgraded" from a NES to a SNES(SNES to 64, 64 to Gamecube, Gamecube to Wii, etc) to get the new Mario, Zelda, Metroid, or even FF titles? How many went from PS1 to PS2 in the first place? Times change, platforms upgrade, it's how it is. Been like this since the late 70's-early 80's.

Better question, how many of us "upgraded" from an NES to an SNES to continue playing Super Mario Brothers 3 or Zelda II: The Adventure of Link or FINAL FANTASY (I)? The answer is NOBODY. You upgraded to buy NEW (and presumably better) GAMES, not to keep playing the games you already owned.

To clarify:
NES - Super Mario Brothers 3, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, FINAL FANTASY.
SNES - Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Metroid 3: Super Metroid, FINAL FANTASY III (actually VI)

Your analogy fits if you want to talk about going from FINAL FANTASY XI: Online to FINAL FANTASY XIV: Online. For FFXI alone, it does not match.

[Dragoy]

I play with a controller and I've noticed a half-second delay on the PC version (in Wine and in Windows) that doesn't exist in the PS2 version. Could just be a driver problem but it is disconcerting enough to make my use of the PC version sparing.

I personally prefer the keyboard actually (probably mainly because I multi-task a lot while playing, and a game-pad can only do so much heh), but I have tried and sometimes use a PS2-controller via an adapter, and I have not experienced such an issue under neither windoze nor Linux, so there should indeed be something funky there for you.

I completely agree that such a delay would most certainly be a grand annoyance.

[FrankReynolds]

I personally prefer the keyboard actually (probably mainly because I multi-task a lot while playing, and a game-pad can only do so much heh), but I have tried and sometimes use a PS2-controller via an adapter, and I have not experienced such an issue under neither windoze nor Linux, so there should indeed be something funky there for you.

I completely agree that such a delay would most certainly be a grand annoyance.

I play with a 360 controller, and a Logitech, and I have never had issues with delay or heard of this problem until now.