A Look at Final Fantasy XVs Latest 1 05 Update and Booster Pack Mini Review
Final Fantasy XV is a gift that keeps on giving and is really doing its best to keep everyone playing, whether its those who purchased it or those who bought the Season Pass holders like myself. This is a smart move considering the time between each of the upcoming character Episode DLCs and is a good way to stop the open world becoming stale and keep those still totally addicted like myself from becoming less addicted or worse, not playing at all. Normally I wouldnt write anything about an update to a game, but the 1.05 update added some really significant updates, such as timed quests and a higher level cap. On top of that, Season Pass holders also got the Booster Pack+ a day after the update so as a happy Final Fantasy XV fan, I wanted to give my thoughts on each new feature added to the game because some of them are pretty cool.
(Feel free to watch the video version!) Update 1.05
The new update to Final Fantasy XV adds some significant features and is available freely to anyone who owns the game. An exciting thing for those who own a PS4 Pro is probably the new Lite Mode that has a maximum of 60FPS and probably looks absolutely stunning. I dont own a PS4 Pro so I cant comment on this much, but it gives me a reason to be a little more jealous of everyone who does.
Also something I cant comment on much is the raised level cap as my characters are only just at level 80 as I write this (note: as I edit this, Ive hit level 100 woo!), but Im pretty excited for this. Usually levels are capped at level 99 in Final Fantasy games, but Final Fantasy XV players can enjoy getting up to level 120, which is a really cool change. I recently maxed out my characters skills and have missed having a goal to work towards, so its nice to know I can enjoy seeing my EXP go up for awhile. Also Im keen to have some totally OP characters for when I go verse a certain boss for a certain gold trophy and an curious to see if it will affect my enjoyment of XV. I do wonder if level cap increases will be a trend with future Final Fantasy XV updates, but even if its a one-off, its pretty damn cool.
The thing that had me most keen for the 1.05 update is the addition of Timed Quests. Ive written about how Im totally addicted to running around in Final Fantasy XVs world and Timed Quests are a great way to keep this interesting. The first one is pretty rewarding, with the current fun and challenging cactaur quest giving 10,000 EXP, 333 AP and 150,000 Gil upon first completion, plus cactaurs being 1000 EXP each anyway add up to a fantastic way to reach that new Level 120. This update is guaranteed to keep me checking back for those awesome rewards and I cant wait for more quests and hunts.
The last few updates are minor updates, but nonetheless help enrich the player experience in Final Fantasy XV. In case you were getting sick of hearing the Chocobo theme (is that possible?) while riding Chocobos, you can finally listen to the Audio Player while riding and if you wanted to listen to two tracks from NieR�s gorgeous soundtrack, you can do that now too. Prompto can also store 50 more photos (200 in total), which is nice since I havent been able to save new photos for awhile. The new update also takes out the Moogle Chocobo Carnival, which I�d already used to help me get my Fishing Skill to full and done pretty much everything in. The Chocobo music player and photo capacity probably shouldve been in XV already and are kind of insignificant at this point, but Ill take them and enjoy them anyway. All of these additions make a pretty solid upgrade to the base experience of XV and have already given me more reasons to keep playing.
Booster Pack+
The exclusive to Season Pass holders Booster Pack+ is a small little pack of items to mostly make fishing a little easier. The lack of a �wow� item in this pack is probably due to the delay of the Magitek Exosuit that is getting a redesign due to similarities to the Power Rangers� suits and was supposed to offer invisibility and a boost in fishing skills for a limited time. But the items are a nice little token for those with the season pass regardless. The Dragon Drain Rod and Avior Reel will be helpful for those upping their fishing skill; I dont overly care for these since mine is at max and I only really fished for new recipes and trophies. What I am enjoying is the Ragnarok sword, which packs a punch in battle and mostly just looks cool when warping due to it spitting a bunch of pink electrical looking stuff everywhere. It isnt however stronger than the Blood Sword I was using, so I may retire it soon, making the Booster Pack+ of little use to me.
Being honest, the Booster Pack+ is a tad lacklustre and is absolutely not worth getting the Season Pass for. But its an alright bonus for those like myself who have it already for the story episodes and if I ever decide to complete Noct�s fishing collection, Im sure Ill be at least a little happy I have it.
The real standout of these two additions to Final Fantasy XV is the free 1.05 update, but both it and the Booster Pack+ add nice little touches to enhance the current Final Fantasy XV. I enjoyed driving to the latest timed-quest while listening to music from NieR, and will be eagerly waiting for future timed-quests. Final Fantasy XV has been lucky to be getting so much support so far and I hope the addition of timed-quests among the other additions is a nod towards Final Fantasy XV getting support between each of its story episodes.
You can pick up Final Fantasy XV for Playstation 4 and Xbox One at Play-Asia.com
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What did you think of the Update and Booster Pack+? Are you still playing Final Fantasy XV? (I sure am...but I may need to take a break for NieR Automata :|) Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook, Youtube or Instagram and lets talk!
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A Buyers Guide to Intel Cherry Trail Mini PC Sticks
With the recent multitude of Cherry Trail mini PC sticks appearing in the market place I take a look at what is on offer and what to consider when buying one.
Currently advertised: (click on links for further details)
Intel Compute Stick STK1AW32SC
ZOTAC ZBOX PI221
MeLE Star Cloud PCG02 Plus
MOREFINE M1s
PiPO X1S
ASUS VivoStick PC (TS10)
ECS PS02
Meegopad T07 Pro
Dosupara Diginnos Stick DG-STK2S
Mouse MS-CH01F
Newly advertised: (click on links for further details)
Measy T8C
NEXBOX T5
Vensmile i8
Dosupara Diginnos Stick DG-STK2S
Presale: (Not on manufacturers website)
Meegopad T08
Also (and maybe of interest) there are some devices on a crowd-funding platform that may or may not materialise because at least one recent crowd-funding stick has ended seemingly as a fraud and two other crowd-funding sticks are very overdue.
A Comparison Of Key Features (with differentiators):
(click to enlarge)
Buying Tips:
A key factor that should be considered before purchasing a device is the level and quality of support from both the manufacturer and the seller of the product. Reputable companies have dedicated pages on their websites for support and include download sections where all the latest firmware and software can be accessed. Typically the absence of such support means the device will probably not have much longevity in the market and software issues will not get fixed. The cost, turnaround time and likelihood for a RMA should be considered in the event that the device is or becomes faulty. Quality control on the cheaper clone devices can be much poorer resulting in more frequent device failures. Some manufacturers insist on repairing faulty devices and then returning the same device rather than providing an immediate replacement. Devices first have to be returning to the reseller often using slower shipping methods to avoid import taxes before they are sent to the manufacture for fault inspection and analysis. Customers typically have to pay return shipping costs and replacement devices if offered may then be subject to additional import duties and taxes which in turn may be influenced by changing exchange rates. The resulting costs often exceed the price of alternative devices with better localized support.
Community support is very important as unfortunately so many times issues are specific to a particular model and not to the broader range of devices with the same SOC. This can range from simply wanting to know what software works best with a device or whether a certain peripheral is supported by the device to the availability of alternative OS or drivers. Dont expect something that works on one device will work on all devices. Whilst a lot of devices appear to be simply re-badging and/or cloning of other devices often subtle changes are introduced and these changes are not necessarily features. Disappointingly manufacturers prioritise providing samples to people who write glowing reviews of their products but are decidedly reluctant to provide samples for development. Developers also rely on donations to purchase devices and frugal communities result in limited device support.
With the advent of Intel mini PCs and the option of running Windows OS the issue of licensing should be considered. Arguably this is only a concern for only some manufactures and resellers however not all devices with Windows pre-installed are able to be activated. Besides devices with Genuine Windows licenses there are products sold with trial licenses, cracked licenses and OEM licenses that are not applicable to the product being sold, for example with some 4GB RAM devices.
Finally some specifications are not always accurate. Adverts can carry conflicting specifications due to the habit of reusing those from other products and incorrectly editing them. Checking the written specification for a product against the manufacturer website is sometimes not enough to clarify what the device actually is as these details can be incorrect or not updated. Pictures of a device sometimes show ports that contradict the written specification. For new models often the pictures on websites are rendered images or artistic impressions of what the device might look like. As these are created prior to the product being released sometimes hardware changes are not reflected as the images are not updated. Manufacturers may change the components during the life-cycle of a product which may result in software support issues. Independent product reviews are sometimes based on pre-release devices that occasionally change slightly prior to commercial production resulting in even the most reliable websites to sometimes including incorrect information.
I recommend undertaking a small amount of research prior to purchasing a product using a set of personal criteria based on the above points together with your individual needs. The result is that the apparent prolific market of mini PCs soon whittles down to just a couple of choices for most and for some, caveat emptor.
