March 2009 Archives

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: The Crystal Bearers

• Posted on
• March 31, 2009 10:37 AM
• in
• On the Record

It seems like only yesterday we were dispelling rumors of the cancellation of FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: The Crystal Bearers. Now it's time to make good on those previous assurances and offer you a morsel a bit more filling.

The Crystal Bearers' global gateway is now live at www.crystalbearers.com. It may be a mere morsel at the moment, but keep checking back! It will soon be a veritable feast.

Second Round of Points Available

• Posted on
• March 24, 2009 2:12 PM
• in
• On the Record

Happy one week renewal anniversary! Have we got something nice for you? You bet! Not one, not two, but three new games today!

Ok, technically, two are the same game, but for the purpose of earning MEMBERS Points, you can count them separately this time.

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: Echoes of Time for both Nintendo DS and Wii are now on sale. The multiplayer madness picks up where Ring of Fates left off and kicks it up a notch. You can now play with your friends across both systems over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. If you're looking for a few more friends to play with, why don't you check out Crystal Chroniclers? They're a Group of FFCC fanatics, and I bet more than a few of them are eager to exchange Friend Codes.

Also out today is the PC version of The Last Remnant. It features some improvements from the Xbox 360 release. From the press release:

It seems like everyone's got some new and improved features to show off nowadays.

DQV Liquid Metal Slime Diary VII

• Posted on
• March 20, 2009 5:12 PM
• in
• Memberland

My Page Comments Issue Resolved

• Posted on
• March 18, 2009 6:47 PM
• in
• Memberland

Dear Members:

Thank you for your patience. The issue regarding My Page comments and messages to the development teams has been resolved. Unfortunately, to eliminate the bug we were forced to clear everyone's comment box. However, everything should now operate as intended, so feel free to leave a message as you see fit.

You may now go back to calling us cute pet names when you enter a contest without worrying that your friends might see it.

Privacy Warning: My Page Comments

• Posted on
• March 18, 2009 3:19 PM
• in
• Memberland

Dear Members:

We've uncovered a system problem of which we'd like you to be aware.

Throughout the site we have some sections where you may send messages to the MEMBERS staff and our development teams. The messages are intended to be delivered privately, straight from you to us. However, a bug in the system is causing these messages you submit to be reproduced in the comment box on your My Page.

We are working to correct this as quickly as possible, but in the meantime, we ask that all members check their My Page and remove any information from the comment box that they do not wish to share.

* To access your My Page, click on the "My Page" link in the Member Status window in the top right of the MEMBERS site.

* Your comment box appears beneath your avatar on the left side of your My Page. To update your comment box message, change the text as you wish, and click the Edit Comment button below the box.

During this time, we will temporarily close the sweepstakes entry forms to prevent any further information from being reproduced unintentionally.

We apologize for the inconvenience and beg your patience while we try to fix the service. Thank you for your understanding.

VALKYRIE PROFILE: Covenant of the Plume On Sale Now

• Posted on
• March 17, 2009 7:06 PM
• in
• On the Record

Just when we thought we had enough punch and party hats to cover our festivities, here comes VALKYRIE PROFILE: Covenant of the Plume and all her friends. And guess what they're bringing to the party.

Point Cards.

That's right. Along with the MEMBERS relaunch, we now have the first title you can register to your account. And wouldn't you know it? It looks like it's worth just enough Points to push you into the Bronze Tier. Amazing how that works out.

Check Out Everything the New MEMBERS has to Offer!

• Posted on
• March 17, 2009 1:00 AM
• in
• Memberland

Welcome to the new and improved SQUARE ENIX MEMBERS! We've been toiling away to build a more immersive experience for our dear members, and here it is. Feeling a bit befuddled by all the newfangledness? Worry not and walk with us on a tour of Memberland.

If this is your first time to SQUARE ENIX MEMBERS, welcome! Take a moment to register. To do so is free, and only registered members have complete access to everything the service has to offer. We've conveniently placed a New User Registration Start button at the top of every page, so click it whenever you're ready. We'll wait right here for you.

All logged in? Great, now you're caught up with our veteran users. Here's where we start pointing out the fun things in the tour. So that box in the top-right where you first sign up and log in, that's what we call the Member Status window. Let us point out the four main features of the Member Status window.

(1) Right now it looks like a creepy ghost, but that's how you look to everyone else on MEMBERS until you create your Avatar. Once you've created an Avatar, a more flattering portrait will appear here.

(2) In the center part here, we display your Level, along with a handful of handy links.

(3) Down at the bottom is a quick-link for registering games and earning Points. We'll discuss this in more detail later in the tour.

(4) Finally we have your Current Tier, a representation of the number of Points you've earned this year. We'll get back to this one later, too.

But first, let's get your Avatar taken care of! That ghost portrait doesn't look good on anyone. To get to the Avatar page, click on or hover over FAN ZONE in the main menu, and then click on AVATAR in the sub-menu that appears below.

Once you're in the Avatar top page, click on Basic Avatar Settings to begin the creation process. The Basic Avatar Settings is where you'll choose the distinguishing characteristics of your Avatar, such as gender, face type and hairstyle. You're free to choose from all of the options available, but be aware that once you finalize your Basic Avatar Settings, they are set for life. No resets!

Once you've built an Avatar to your liking, you'll be presented with a confirmation screen. If you're happy with the Avatar, click the Create button and you're done! If you're not happy with it, by all means, click Back instead and change some of the settings. We can't stress enough how important it is that you're satisfied, because we really don't want to get emails from you in the future begging us to let you change the settings when we already told you that one chance is all you get.

I think that Avatar turned out pretty nicely. Choose Create and let's make our way to the Item Shop. This is the part of the tour where you grab your souvenirs. And we've got a little special something for all you early adopters. Any item with the orange "Limited" icon next to it is available for a limited time only.

Select "Try it on" to see how an item will look on your Avatar in the preview window at the top left. Select "Get it" to add an item to your shopping cart. You can equip eleven different types of items to your Avatar at once, including actions, special effects and scenery.

Once you've added everything you want to your shopping cart, select View Shopping Cart to buy everything you've selected. Don't worry, it's all free. We just say "Buy" to keep with the whole Item Shop motif. All the equipment you've bought will be moved to your Closet. You can change your equipment at any time, so you might think of your Closet as a list of favorite items you often change.

As you change your equipment, you can also manipulate your Avatar within its preview window. Click the small arrow on the right side of the preview window to expand the scenery. Click on the magnifying glass to bring up a slider that moves your Avatar closer or further from you. Click on the play/pause button to grant your Avatar the joys of motion. If your Avatar is moving, you can also click and drag within the preview window to rotate your Avatar. Position it however you like, and click on the small arrow on the right to return the preview window to its usual, compact size.

Now that your Avatar is all set, all that's left to do is to release it into the wild. Tap the little camera icon to take a snapshot. If you're happy with it, select Yes to save the image. Your snapshot will be added to the LATEST SNAPSHOT section of the Avatar top page, and a short time later, your portrait will appear in your Member Status window.

Now it's time to introduce yourself to everyone else in Memberland. Click on your portrait in your Member Status window to be taken to your My Page. On your My Page you can keep a journal; send messages to friends; set up lists of games you're playing, games you own and games you hope to get soon; and keep track of Groups to which you belong. Think of it as sort of your own little Official Site nestled within the Square Enix universe.

Here's a rundown of each of the My Page features that appear in the My Page navigation menu.

Top - All of your community information at a glance.
Journal - Update your Journal and manage your Comments.
Message - Send and receive messages with other Members. The Inbox link in your Member Status window also directs to this page.
Groups - A lists all Groups to which you belong.
Footprint - A list of Members who have visited your My Page.
Collection - List Square Enix games you own, are playing currently or hope to acquire.
Links - Share links to your favorite websites with other Members.
Settings - Manage the settings of your My Page.

You have a broad set of options for how much information you share with other on your My Page. You may choose to share your information with Friends only, Friends and their Friends only, all registered Members, the whole world or even no one at all.

Moving on to the last major attraction of the Fan Zone, we have Groups. If you've ever wanted to set up your own private message board for you and your friends, now you can. You may create and lead up to three Groups at one time, and you may join as many Groups as you wish. The Group Search feature will help you narrow down your focus to find the Group that's the right match for you.

We're coming close to the end of our tour, but we've saved the best for last. Have you ever wished you had something more to show for your collection of Square Enix games other than a lack of shelf space and more save files than you can manage? From today on, every new Square Enix game that comes in a box will contain a Point Card. On each card is a unique, 16-digit serial code. Remember feature (3) from the Member Status window? Click on the link that says "REGISTER YOUR GAME AND EARN POINTS" to bring up a cute mini-form, enter your serial code and click SUBMIT.

Once you've claimed your Points, your Point total will be reflected in your Member Status window. If you accumulate enough Points, your Level and Tier may also increase.

Your Level is a running total of all the Points you've accumulated in your MEMBERS life. It doesn't have much in the way of functionality, but it's a neat way to show off how big of a Square Enix fan you are, since your Level will be proudly displayed on your My Page.

Your Tier is the one to really keep your eye on. In addition to the Regular Member Tier that everyone starts with, there are four additional Tiers above that: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Ultimate. As you collect Points and move up in Tier, you'll become eligible for some swanky presents we'll pass out from time to time. Members belonging to higher Tiers will get the cooler goods.

There is one more layer of complexity we should share with you: Tiers are a reflection of the number of Points you've accumulated during a one year period beginning April 1st and concluding March 31st of each year. At the end of each one-year period, everyone ranked Bronze or above will be returned to the beginning of the Bronze Tier.

Think of it as a kind of competition to show how active of a Member you are. If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty of Tiers, you can take a look at the FAQ in the Help Center.

Well, that concludes our tour of the new MEMBERS features. We hope you enjoy everything MEMBERS has to offer and we'll see you around for a long time to come!

FFXI Vana'diel Collection 2008 on Sale

• Posted on
• March 12, 2009 3:42 PM
• in
• On the Record

For all you folks who entered the FFXI sweepstakes and said you haven't played the game yet but would be interested in playing in the future, now's your chance! FINAL FANTASY XI Vana'diel Collection 2008 is on sale for only $14.99 at EB Games and GameStop until May 6. Vana'diel Collection 2008 includes the original game plus all four expansions currently available, and the first 30 days of service for all new players is free.

Even if you're a current or former player who's not up to date with the latest expansions, this is the best deal to catch up on all the adventuring you've been missing out on.

DQV Liquid Metal Slime Diary, Liquid Free or Diary Hard

• Posted on
• March 10, 2009 6:13 PM
• in
• Memberland

It seems that among a small subset of members, interest in LMSD Blog updates is wearing thin. However, since PunkSlime will beat me up if I don't continue to regale you with her exploits, we are just gonna have to deal.

Hmm... Today's entry has something to do with child labor and poison needles. Is this really ok? MEMBERS is supposed to be a family friendly site, I thought.

DQV Liquid Metal Slime Diary, Part the Third

• Posted on
• March 6, 2009 6:55 PM
• in
• Memberland

We're keeping the pacing hot!

Now presenting the third installment of PunkSlime's Liquid Metal Slime Diary, wherein our protagonist leaves a knocked up and immobile wife behind for the abyss of hopelessness!

DQV Liquid Metal Slime Diary, Part II

• Posted on
• March 5, 2009 6:23 PM
• in
• Memberland

Now presenting the second entry of the Liquid Metal Slime Diary, wherein PunkSlime gets married, hits the slots and meets a liquid metal slime.

DQV Liquid Metal Slime Diary

• Posted on
• March 4, 2009 7:48 PM
• in
• Memberland

"Insane" is the best word to describe one MEMBERS staffer's quest to recruit a liquid metal slime in DRAGON QUEST V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. Actually, it's probably the best word to describe the MEMBERS staff in general, but if you want more empirical evidence, read PunkSlime's Liquid Metal Slime Diary for details.

FFXI Contest Deadline Extended

• Posted on
• March 2, 2009 5:23 PM
• in
• Memberland

We've gotten such a positive response to our FINAL FANTASY XI Sweepstakes that we've decided to extend the contest deadline from March 3 all the way until April 15. If you were planning on waiting until the last minute in hopes of winning a no-prize, you're just going to have to tough it out for another six weeks. Winners will be announced sometime around April 22.

We think we've gathered together some pretty neat prizes, so we want to make sure all FFXI fans will have a chance to enter. If you know anyone who might be interested but isn't a member yet, be sure to pass the word along.