So! With the (relative) conclusion of the first day with the emergency maintenance, what does everyone think so far?
I'd like to say that I had a great time and have renewed interest in the MMO world but I was only able to play beta phase 4 for a short amount of time. But with my limited experience, I'll try to summarize what I liked and didn't as far as today.
I really enjoyed having all of the customizable options when creating my character. I know it may seem like standard practice now days for any game like this to have highly customizable characters but to even go to the extent of having custom voices for emotes was amazing. I compare it to 11 where I was only able to choose a hairstyle and a race! >_> I'd say they've come a long way.
The same goes for their UI. I was expecting a clunky interface that was plagued with bugs due to wanting to do too many things at once: serve the console community while still keeping the PC community happy. As a PC gamer who is very picky about UIs, I'd say they did a great job and I can only see some minor annoyances.
I really enjoy the atmosphere. It feels like a great cross between WoW's quest system, Ragnarok's (RO2 especially) interface and 'cute' character design, XI's world design which incorporates many elements of FFXII as well, and so many other games that seem to have influenced this one. When Yoshida said he was a hardcore MMO fan, I wasn't so sure but after seeing something like a coordinate system on my map, I was positive. I haven't played WoW in a year but I'm fairly certain they still do not have such a thing! :P
The music reminds me a lot of FFXII during the daytime..at least in Ul'dah. The nighttime reminds me of music you'd find in XI. It's very sleepy and surreal. To me, this isn't necessarily a good thing. I feel that music is something XI was strong in and when they began to orchestrate everything (as in XII), quality and originality went out the window. Since I've only experienced a little bit of this area, I'll hold my judgement!
Now if I were to complain, it would probably be about the combat system. I feel it's a little...clunky in comparison to something like GW2 or WoW. Still clinging to the system where you engage the target and then attack attack after a short duration rather than flowing from one action to the next. Again, it may work for this since they seem intent on single encounters instead of pulling multiple monsters at once.
I can't speak for other servers, but I did enjoy the atmosphere on Midgard. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. I've missed this type of atmosphere.
Speaking of the questing system above, I am glad that they have expanded on it (since XI) but have not diminished their ability to deliver great dialogue and writing. They've always been great in the writing department and it shows.
I'd speak about the server situation but it seems like a no brainer to me. A massive amount of people are playing. Of course they're going to experience these issues and there really wasn't a way to plan around this due to not being able to stress test servers extensively in beta. I got a few ways in my personal story quest (dutyfinder, is it?) and had a great time.
I may have missed an area. The point, though, was to say that I actually had a great time today. I figure we have enough posts about negative aspects.
How were your experiences? What did you do? :) Did you have fun?