Which Game Platform?

I was so content with my good old PS2, but it is time to move on.
I need some suggestions on which type of platform to get to play FFXI SoA, as I will have to force my PS2 into retirement.
When it comes to game platforms, I'm really behind the times. FYI, I play FFXI exclusively. Seriously, nothing else.

So, Xbox or PC?

Here is what I know or would like to have for each platform.

Xbox: Does the "Red Circle of Death" still exist on the new models? This issue, if still present, would really test my patience. Also, I hate the controller. Is there a PS type controller available for the XBox? Only good thing I see about Xbox is that the Xbox is a console game.

PC: Can this be played on a Laptop? If so, I would suspect that you can link it to a HD TV. What would be the advantages to playing on a PC? And don't mention graphics, as I don't really care about graphics, I just want the game to work good, just like on my 9 year old PS2. Can I also get a PS2 type controller for the PC (laptop). I would think a laptop would be good, because I could possibly play on the laptop itself or link it to a HDTV.

Your suggestions will help me decide.

Thanks.

inb4 windower!

But ffxi is totally laptoppable, and with a laptop, ffxi becomes portable, you do have the option to take advantage of windower and ■■■■■■■■■ if you so choose. You can also play with a controller, AND have the option for keyboard macros which are (in my opinion) much easier than controller. Plus - you may already have a computer - and if you do, you can test it out, see how it feels, and only risk $9 or whatever.

On the other hand, cost. :\

Just go pc and never look back and yes it can be played on a laptop even a shitty one.

Thanks this will help. I will check what are the requirements for the game to play on the PC, and compare it with the laptop my wife has, and will try it on it. Then is this works well, I will get my wife a new laptop, and take her old one. This way, she will be happy to have a new laptop and let me be with FFXI (which she hates hates hates)

If she's happy, your happy.
Quote from Jeff Foxworthy "If she ain't happy, you ain't happy. And if she ain't happy for too long, you ain't gonna be happy with half your stuff".

PC for all your windower needs (plugins etc.) It will change your FFXI experience and make you wonder why you haven't been playing on one this whole time.

You could use keyboard for macros as well on ps2, should be able to do the same on Xbox no? But yeh I would say go with PC over Xbox since it has other benefits, if you don't already have an Xbox I assume theres not much other games you want from it, and most Xbox games you can get for pc anyways. My old laptop could run XI fine and it didn't have much going for it, couldn't neverwinter nights 2 for example so you should be able to run it on anything recent.

You can get one of these adapters for your PC to use your playstation computer.

Amazon $6
I suppose you can get a logitech controller but I went through about four in two years... at $25~35 a pop, it got a bit aggravating. Now I just use my PS1 controller(memories!) and hasn't broken in the three years I've been using it!

If you have an xbox already one of these may be a good investment it can be used to play ffxi on your laptop and as a spare xbox controller.

The PC is so much more a superior option to the consoles. With Windows 7/8 a XBox 360 wired or wireless controller becomes a plug and play addition, although the left and right trigger aren't supported. Logitech controllers work but I've broken 2 of them in the past, they don't hold up well to rough treatment when used with my laptop.

I currently play on a 15" retina display macbook pro via bootcamping Windows 7 and a wired XBox 360 controller and play when things are slow at work. An expensive option but to each his own...

And depending on how well you know Windows, it's possible to really tweak the game to make the graphics appear better.

I bought one of those before :( never worked for me

Happy wife, happy life...

I just bought a 360 controller for pc... arrived today so i'll let ya know... It was around $35...

Thanks everyone.

This should make my transition from PS2 to another platform (PC seems the best choice) much easier.

BUMP,

I am going for a Laptop to play this game in time for the new expansion.

Now I need some additional information, this time on Internet speed.
Lately I've notice that my internet has been slowing down. Cause? Unsure. I'm looking to maybe replace the router and/or modem, and also maybe upgrade my internet service.

For internet service, what should I be looking for? Download speed? Upload speed? Other factors?

What would be the best without going overboard on cost?

Thanks.

I cant help you on cost but now a days try get something that is at least 10mb down obviously the higher the better and at least 1mb up and you should be good on most parts. Cable is generally better than dsl so go with that if possible too.But that should be your minimum.I dont know how speeds vs prices are over there,but here I'm paying 60 euro a month for 100mb/12mb cable,which I'm extremely happy with because it works out faster than advertized because I'm so close to the local exchange.Until summer 2012,the best you could get in ireland was 12mb/684kb dsl for 65 a month

Thanks.
I'm on Cable at the momemt. And I will take a look at a package here for $52 CDN, which provides 25mb download and 2mb upload.

Thanks again for the input.

Last I heard they eliminated the RRoD by changing the lights to green. This is not a joke although quite funny. Also the Xbox 720 rumors are more frequently seen lately. No idea about controller availability.

I play XI on a laptop while on the road. Its about 4 - 5 years old and has an HDMI port to plug into a HDTV. Many styles of controller are available for the PC.

I would suggest Newegg's outlet / refurbished shop, its where mine came from. Look for something with a video card or chip by Nvida or AMD. There have been reports of problems with the Intel integrated vid adapters even though they have more than enough graphics horsepower to handle XI.

If you suspect you might someday play another game you will need something better than any random named vid chip. If you will play only through a TV you can get away with a smaller screen size.

Fairly sure internet speed inst a major factor, sure some people still play on dial up?

At least that's what I remember form a thread, somewhere...

I'm playing it on a laptop now. And it can also run FFXIV too :)

Personally I wouldn't play on xbox, the amount of crashes friends have is ridiculous. If you are going for a laptop, note that SoA is not compatible with win XP. Go for win 7.

Some of the new HD GFX cards cause a lot problems, especially when you run through HDMI and/or play about with resolutions too much. I think this is purely down the age of the game and that GFX manufacturers have simply stopped developing their drivers for old tech.

Internet speed isn't very important for FFXI, with it being so old the required data transfer rates are pretty low. Anything 2Mbps+ download is more than adequate.

Thanks for the additional input. I think the reason for my recent connection lag is the age of the modem and router, 2 separate units. They were installed by the cable company back in 2005. I think they might be getting tired and need replacing. And I will mostly play of the TV via HDMI.

Unless SoA doesn't stand for Seekers of Adoulin, where was this stated as fact?

Someone in the thread here http://www.ffxiah.com/forum/topic/35208/dev-seekers-of-adoulin-jan-30/19/ (Page 19) stated that customer support confirmed that Seekers of Adoulin is NOT compatible with Windows XP. It's more likely that it will run on XP, but that SE won't support it.

I believe that M$ offically stop supporting XP in 2014, so I can't say I blame SE. XP is so 2001, welcome to 2013.

Btw I was just recommending a decent speed and likely decent value internet connection in general,like the guys above had said,its WAY more than XI requires,I have a bandwidth monitor and the most I've ever hit that I can recall was 26k up and 52kb down during XI.It was mostly always 12-16kb down and 12kb up

So last night I went to my internet provider's store to replace my modem. I walk in, and ask if I can upgrade my modem to the one they advertise on their website. He asks me if I have the old one with me, and I say yes, and I pull it out of my bag. This is what he says when he sees it...

Oh...Wow...I haven't seen one of those in quite a while.

He looked in his system, and apparently this modem was install in December 2003. He also told me I already had the 25mb download and the 2mb upload, the problem was that my old modem was able to handle it.
So I installed the new modem/router, and FFXI has never been faster for me.

Now I just need to replace the PS2 by a laptop and I'm all set.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Bump

so i now have the laptop, i have the game downloaded, i got the blue usb/ps2 controller adapter.

problem now is that the controller is not responding.

i am using win7 and when i go to control panel and devices the system says that the controller is working properly. however in ffxi, nothing happens. is there somewhere ingame, playonline maybe, that i need to tell it that i want to use this device.

please help. thanks.

You need to go into the FFXiPadConfig to setup your controller.

thanks.

where do i find this?

Did you buy through steam?

I dont know where "FFXiPadConfig" is,or even ever heard of it. But if you go into your start menu and POL folder and FFXI Config you'll find controller options in there

edit: I read it as FFXI iPad Config,my bad

i bought the game on the square enix website
the controller adater is the one mentioned in this thread.