(Yeah, that headline was kinda childish, but you have no idea how hard I giggled after I came up with it. Besides, aren't the "Final Fantasy is for girls and guys who look like girls" jokes getting kinda stale? Testicle humor to the rescue!)
According to this article at Siliconera, tomorrow marks the release of an update for Final Fantasy XI which is slated to include fan-favorite chocobo racing. Squenix revealed its plan to implement the mini game during 2006 and since that time has been surveying players of its game as to what they would like included. While the survey results have not been revealed, one could easily assume that there will be birds, they will race, and maybe (if we're lucky), you'll have the option of euthanizing any birds who "mysteriously" fall and break a leg, wing, or delicious, crunchy breast piece.
Hit the jump for a full rundown on what has been revealed.
- What is Chocobo Racing?
The newly added racetracks are the perfect place to test out and show off your very own chocobo’s skills. These automated races will require you to piece together a picture-perfect plan based on variables such as chocobo condition and the weather, using options consisting of orders given to your jockey and items to be utilized on the track. But that’s not all. Performing well in these races will earn you gil or VCS-mint chocobucks, which can be used to purchase items or services that will assist you in breeding.
- How to Participate
First, you must be raising an adult chocobo or have one out to pasture and possess its VCS registration card. Next, you must visit one of the CRA’s (Chocobo Racing Association) branches located in San d’Oria, Bastok, and Windurst, and register your chocobo to race.
- What are Chocobucks?
Chocobucks are a special type of currency for use at CRA-sanctioned establishments. Chocobucks can be earned by winning special races and can be exchanged for items and services used in chocobo breeding. Chocobucks are also required to participate in certain official races.
- Types of Races
The following are the two types of races available at this time:
Official Race
By successfully completing the objectives of these "mission-style" races, more challenging races will be unlocked. Can you clear them all?
Free Run
Free runs are "practice" races that may be run at any time (for a small gil fee). By placing in these races, you will receive chocobucks that can be used to purchase items or participate in higher-level official races. Use these practice races to hone your skills and save up funds.
That's all well and good, but until they add a submarine-piloting mini-game or stab a beautiful girl through the chest thus causing her to die permanently despite the omnipresent resurrection spells, items and prophecies one finds in these games, FFXI will continue to play second fiddle to my favorite member of the series: Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon!
Contest:
11:04 PM on 03.28.2007
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[img]http://www.siliconera.com/news/0703/ffxicr03.jpg[img]
ill get all the chocobo i need on the ds next week
Also, Cocks master saved me! thnx niero...
Seriously... FF11 should just pull the plug, theres nothing new and to achieve something consumes more hours that u spend sleeping + working combined.
MMORPG's are like a watered down version of a regular RPG, where the massive scale is only due to large expanses with less content per square foot, less impressive graphics, and player characters with unimpressive animations and action.
On the other hand, the thing that REALLY kills FFXI, at least for me, is that it is pure grinding. It takes a LOT of time to gain experience, alot of time to make money, alot of time to just plain travel from one location to another. Ironically, if they had simply added different skins for each monster type (a la FFXII) rather than making me fight the exact same Crawler at level 40 as I did at level 5, they could have hooked me for a bit longer. Anyway, thanks alot! I came here to post a link, not a rant...
Chocobo Racing Video
Theres much more to do in WoW than any normal RPG, even if the "content per square foot" doesn't match up.
The graphics aren't totally subpar, but obviously they aren't going to be as good as next-gen consoles. First of all, its been out a few years. Secondly, if they had the most impressive graphics, it would do two things. Use up a lot more resources, company side and end-user side. The other would be much worse for the company. Limit the amount of people who would have the option to play it.
This goes for the player avatars as well. Having a screen with anywhere from dozens to hundreds(its happens on some more populated servers, especially in Outland) of players in an area at once would drain pretty much any computers resources pretty fast.
MMORPGs have to keep things limited to what the average computer user has, instead of keeping it pushing the limits of current technology.
The biggest difference(that makes the two nothing alike, really, and almost ridiculous to compare) is the fact that the gaming experience isn't the same every time as a big part of it depends on other people. In a normal RPG, it depends solely on the cleverness of the programmers, and they aren't always all that clever.
other MMO's such as WoW didn't appeal that way, hard strag battles to win fights that needed co-op of many members to ally everyone needed to do a special task in order for a good success.
Hard battles you may ask? well, if you guys played FF11, did you beat Absolute Virtue? if not, then were not worthy lol. that kind of toughness.