Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Onigiri Online (Part Zero)

I can't quite remember but...I think it was around August last year (2013) that I happen to come across a short video clip of some upcoming mmorpg, Onigiri Online.

However, due to it still being in Alpha then, there was nothing I could do but to bookmark it and wait for Open Beta.

Ever so often though, whilst I was still occupied with the coverage of some other games, I kept coming back to check upon its status...hoping that it will become available once I've finished my present one.

First it was Scarlet Blade, then went Path of Exile, Need For Speed World and finally...even GhostX Ultimate was "cleared". From my queue list that is. (Yes, I do keep a backlog of games I wish to blog about and systematically tackle them one by one.)

Anyway, it was by the time I started doing Ghost Recon Online, that I decided that I was done waiting and so proceeded to try out the Japanese version instead, since it was already in open beta.

That being said though, I can't really say that it was an easy feat trying to play a game that's in a foreign language. But it ain't gonna stop me I guess...

Onigiri Online - Register AccountOnigiri Online - Client Download
Using a bit of some common sense plus Google Translate, I somehow managed to get an account set up and proceeded to downloading the client.

Downloading Game Client
Onigiri Online
As far as downloading the client goes, the installation file is pretty small. Only about 56 mb or so. However, that is just the "pre-setup" to get things started with the main download.

Upon finishing the installation, you will need to start the game and get to the log-in screen like as shown above. This will initiate the downloading process and you will start to see a red "Download Progress Bar" (in percentage) at the bottom left corner. Upon this bar reaching 100%, this would mean that you've completely downloaded the entire game client...which at the time of this article is about 3.34 gigs.

But I will have to warn you that you will be in for some endless repetition of the game's intro song though. As you will need to keep the game open, at this log-in screen, in order for you to download the client.

Although you can still alt-tab out to continue with some other stuff while you wait, like surfing the Internet, it will not save you from the song though...as it will keep playing nonetheless. Unless you turn your speakers off.

(One thing to note about this downloading process is that the game downloads the client one file at a time into your game folder, under a folder named "pkg". Whichever file it is downloading at that time will have a .download appended to the end of its file name.

If you ever need to stop the download and continue another time, please do check out how large the currently downloading file is. The reason being that, once stopped, you will need to re-download that file all over again from scratch regardless of its progress. Thus if its a large one, then you should perhaps consider finishing that file first before you quit.

The same logic applies for when a new patch occurs.)

Warnings
Now that you know, roughly, how to create an account and install the game to get things started, I guess its proper for me to give you some warnings ahead.

  • Be sure to only try out the Japanese version knowing/expecting it to be hard and understanding that your being adventurous here. It will be one heck of a "torture" in trying to figure out how things work and what to do to complete those quests your given.

    If you can't accept that, then its probably better to wait for the English version.
  • Playing this game "alone" can be very trying. Especially when soloing the dungeon instances that are around your character's level. So if possible, do try to get a few friends to play along with you. It will make things that much more fun and less tedious.

    Furthermore, it will be even harder to try and find others (from within the game) to help you...since you can't speak their language.

Well...despite the warnings, I will try to help explain as much as possible (over the next few articles) about the mechanics of the game that I've discovered. To help smoothen your "initiation ceremony".


Next: Onigiri Online (Part One)