Worth Trying again?

[Jinxxed0]

About 3 years ago, my and a friend both bought FF11, Before that, I had been excited about the game years before it came out, I was probably in middle school when i heard about, or maybe early high school. I even spent hours watching this live footage of beta thing that they had going (i had a crappy PC so there was so way i could play beta).

Anyway, the point is, I was super excited about the game, and when i could finally afford to start paying a monthly fee, I got it. Me and friend installed it, set everything up okay and started to play. After that day, we never played again. The controls were so horrible and akward that we both just couldnt take it. Not to mention there weren't any helpful people on at the time. We spent most of the time trying to change the controls. But from what I can remember, we only found two controller settings, both were equally wierd and seemed to be impossible for no reason. I think we manged to kill one worm before we just gave up and moved on, we probably didnt even kill it.

My question is, has this changed (i doubt since many people get along fine with the controls). But is there at least w a s d controls? I think more than anything, it was the menu that made everything weird, are there different settings and such?

The reason I'm getting into this now is because there doesnt seem to be many mmos out there with a sense of adventure, but everytime I think about or look at FF11, it screams adventures to me. I know all about how it can be grindy, and i prefer large groups/teams, but those controls and menu system... I'm hoping theres a way to change them, because using my hand for movement without using the mouse just feel really akward.

I might be asking for too much and i know its probably worth it for the game its self, but based on all this, is it worth it for me to try and deal with these controls?

 

[YoungUn]

I use the keyboard with no problems. It took a little getting used to, but was totally worth it. I really enjoy the game.
I know friends who have bought controllers for the game to use with the pc, and they love 'em.

 

[Diomedes Artega]

My question is, has this changed (i doubt since many people get along fine with the controls). But is there at least w a s d controls? I think more than anything, it was the menu that made everything weird, are there different settings and such?

You can use a PC-based controller and it works out fine. I used one that is similar in ergonomic style as the Sega Genesis controllers. It worked for me just fine aside from using the keyboard controls. I played on both PS2 and on comp.

 

[Banhammer]

Final Fantasy XI was really designed with the PS2 in mind, and it shows more in the interface than anywhere else. It's generally worth hooking up a gamepad, though as YoungUn said it's possible to play with the keyboard once you get used to it.

If you go with the gamepad option, though, there's a few choices. If you've got a PlayStation 2 lying around, there's plenty of USB adapters for its controllers -- the Stepmania dev team keeps a good list on their site.

Alternately, you can hook up an XBox 360 controller. If you're running Vista x64 and aren't comfortable with installing self-signed drivers you'll want to skip this option, since the default drivers are coded to treat the trigger buttons as an axis rather than just buttons. XBCD is good for the wired controller, or so I've been told; while these modified Japanese drivers are good for the wireless one. Again, if you're running Vista x64 and aren't comfortable with installing self-signed drivers, skip this option. (XP and Vista x32 should be fine.)

Lastly, you can get a normal PC gamepad. I haven't really gone looking for them in a while, so I'm kind of out of the loop there, but Logitech makes decent hardware and has fairly good customer support in my experience.

 

[Onewing]

I tried used a gamepad for the game, but actually prefer the keyboard. Yeah, I remember it taking a little while to get accustomed to. I would say, at least give it a full weekend.

It's funny though, I have to re-remember how to play every time I get on lately, since I only play like once a season. I was so excited to finally get paladin unlocked, but life just throws too many challenges at me. Sigh.

If you've got the time to play, then do yourself a favor and play! FFXI's got some sweet stuff, especially if you have a friend to travel the world with.

 

[kouper]

I love playing with my 360 controller more then anything. For some reason the keyboard controls seem odd to me, could be because I play wow and they are nowhere near the same... But the controller did take a little time to get used to. Love it now though.