News

We've upgraded some more parts of the page so you guys can have better data and more access to it. Here's a brief list.

• Added a link to i90's expert version of FF6. CoN created a small-download patch.
• There's a new CoN poll on the main site, too. It's not terribly exciting, but knowing what screen resolution you use is helpful to me in designing new features.
• We modified the maps sections. You now have a bigger map to use, and the locations with no shops are greyed out so you don't bother clicking them. You also get a pretty map that matches each site skin, and for FF4, the stores correctly display the difference between FF4PSX and FF2US stores. These changes apply to Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI.
• There's a big one that we're proud of, too. For the Final Fantasy VI section, we've developed an extensive crossreferencing ability that not only will show you all the places you can find each weapon, armor, relic, etc. in the game, it also links you directly to the enemy or location from which you get it. It uses the CoN-exclusive "W technology" to put more information at your fingertips than any other FF site. We plan to slowly roll these features out to every game we cover. To see an example, take a visit to the Final Fantasy VI weapons page.

Hope you enjoy the new stuff.

Through the last few days, we've made several changes and additions to the site that you might not notice right away. So, to make it easier, I've put together a list of what we've done:

• There is a new CoNPoll on the main site, dealing with FF12.
• We've added a new affiliate, Square Sound, who specializes in music from Square games.
• Added two tools to edit DexDrive-format savegames for FFT.
• Added four tools to edit FF6 ROMs.
• Added a selector in your forum controls so you can display your gender in your profile.
• Added twenty-four new fanarts from Kobayashi, Narratorway, and Kame.
• Finally disabled signature images in the forums (OK, so only the staff will cheer about that).

Hope you enjoy all the new stuff!

Alexa.com, one of the largest monitors of traffic and relational links online, has a really sorry set of data for CoN. I'd like for you all to help us out a bit by writing some reviews for the site. I know a lot of you like the site a lot, and a short review might help us garner some more new traffic.

If you're interested, it's easy. Just visit the review section for the site and submit! Your submissions will go up in a week or so.

Please post here to let us know you've done it, thanks!

Games Are Fun have released some news that has the potential to annoy, if you are anything like me. Luckily, they wrapped it in some fairly interesting new screenshots and art from Final Fantasy XII. The highlights of the screenshots, to me anyway, are seeing the airship and chocobo shots, all of which are beautifully rendered (even though the chocobo has gotten a bit creepy-looking).

What's the bad news? Well, if you are a diehard Final Fantasy Tactics fan like I am, you may be saddened to learn that FFXII is set in Ivalice. Yes, Ivalice, as referenced in both FFT and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. According to the GAF article, the Ivalice is the one from FFTA, which based on my limited FFTA play seems to be very different than the one in which Ramza lived. However, if this turns out to be incorrect and Squenix plans to use FFT's Ivalice, it could be disasterous to the legend of FF Tactics. In this writer's humble opinion, of course.

Here's hoping for the best.

Japanese gaming news site Quiter has some of the first Final Fantasy XII art and screenshots I've yet seen. We appear to have good renders of the male and female leads, some early screenshots, and a cluttered scan of the logo.

If you can't hack navigating through the pics in Japanese (it shouldn't be hard), an English-language mirror is available at RPGFan..

I'm filling in for the news staff at the moment, most of whom are having intermittent troubles getting to the site as described in my news post of a few days back. That said, here's my commentary: unless they stop using Tetsuya Nomura as the lead character designer, they're going to turn a lot of people off. Aren't we all getting just a bit sick of seeing the same character designs since FF7? Thank goodness Amano came in to do FF9 and 11.

In the past few days, we have had problems with some people accessing the site. When trying to use the site, the cavesofnarshe.com domain will load improperly or not at all.

If this happens to you between Tuesday and Thursday, please email me (rangers51 at cavesofnarshe.com) and describe exactly what happens when you try to access the site. Also include your ISP if you know it. FuitadNet staff and I are researching what is causing the problem and how we can work around it.

This is happening with all sites on our server, so don't worry that CoN is broken. Thanks for your help.