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[DarkLordMalik]

Spoiler

Just two. And both have already been shown. Yeah, it broke my heart too...

On the bright side, there are multiple outposts that are like tiny version of the Towns. They usually have new hunts to discover, new food to eat, items to locate on map or side quests to give. So they are not simply a blimp on the map, they also carry some significance. We can also rest at the Inn/Motel and sometimes this results in bonus optional cutscenes.

Spoiler

Fuckin Deamons wont let me travel anywhere at night.

This issue will be rectified soon as you progress. You can also upgrade Regalia to avoid it but that is for a later high level quest.

 

[12BoM]

What? My game does not have frame pacing issues anywhere fucking close to that on the Pro HQ mode. Unless I'm blind to it but that is definitely something I'm sure I'd see

 

[Mike]

That's fair and I can agree on the VA bit--it's why I think FFX aged horrendously. I can't listen to the stilted performance from 2001.

Otherwise I like Noct, if only because I (somehow) have managed to trigger a bunch of dialogue between him and the other party members that play him up as kind of a soft spoken, sensitive kid who's being dragged around with his buddies. Admittedly, they could have done a much better job fleshing him out without optional dialogue coming up.

YMMV!

Wait, did we just have a polite, friendly conversation on a message board?

 

[Vinc]

What? My game does not have frame pacing issues anywhere fucking close to that on the Pro HQ mode. Unless I'm blind to it but that is definitely something I'm sure I'd see

Could you switch to light mode and see if you notice it getting worse somehow?

 

[SlasherJPC]

People worried about towns, shouldn't be, the outpost are like little towns and give that same feeling in a lot of ways.

 

[Mike]

For what it's worth, I am playing on a PlayStation Pro, in low settings, and I haven't seen any major framerate issues. So maybe people are just having glitches?

 

[zkorejo]

On the bright side, there are multiple outposts that are like tiny version of the Towns. They usually have new hunts to discover, new food to eat, items to locate on map or side quests to give. So they are not simply a blimp on the map, they also carry some significance. We can also rest at the Inn/Motel and sometimes this results in bonus optional cutscenes.

This issue will be rectified soon as you progress. You can also upgrade Regalia to avoid it but that is for a later high level quest.

Nice to know.. Another thing I wanted to ask.

Do we find loot on the world or only shops? Also, the treasures we collect, can I sell them all or will i need them for another purpose later on?

Sorry for the noob questions but I'm new to FF.

 

[Mifec]

Nice to know.. Another thing I wanted to ask.

Do we find loot on the world or only shops? Also, the treasures we collect, can I sell them all or will i need them for another purpose later on?

Sorry for the noob questions but I'm new to FF.

Spoiler

Chests and shiny spots on the ground on the world map. You can sell them.

 

[Sir Griffith]

Has it been confirmed or not if triple triad is in this game? Haven't been exposed too much to news with XV

 

[zkorejo]

Spoiler

Chests and shiny spots on the ground on the world map. You can sell them.

Good to know. Thanks!

 

[artsi]

Has it been confirmed or not if triple triad is in this game? Haven't been exposed too much to news with XV

No triple triad, that's just VIII and XIV.

 

[Tyaren]

For what it's worth, I am playing on a PlayStation Pro, in low settings, and I haven't seen any major framerate issues. So maybe people are just having glitches?

Hey, would you by chance right now have the time to make one or two comparison screens of the LQ and HQ Pro mode in the Duscae valley? (Similar to how it is done here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=225398728&postcount=1966)
I'd really like to see what upgrade the vegetation is seeing there. In the Leide (desert) area the upgrade was pretty visible and I wonder how a region with very dense vegetation fares.

 

[JeffZero]

No triple triad, that's just VIII and XIV.

Triple Triad is in XIV?!

 

[12BoM]

Could you switch to light mode and see if you notice it getting worse somehow?

Yeah when I boot it up later I'll give it a check.

But in that video it looked like the guy was playing in the "OPEN COMBAT" arena thats only available during the games install. So the issues could have had entirely to do with playing while installing the game?

 

[Fou-Lu]

Triple Triad is in XIV?!

Yes. Along with the Gold Saucer.

 

[Sir Griffith]

Triple Triad is in XIV?!

Yep, and it's great. Always think of resubbing just to play that lol

 

[JeffZero]

Yes. Along with the Gold Saucer.

Yep, and it's great. Always think of training just to play that lol

Goodness gracious. I'll see y'all there sometime next year.

 

[jimmypython]

got the game too.

I really like the wall of dev signatures.

 

[SlasherJPC]

Pro light:

Pro High:

Pro light:

Pro High:

 

[Ran rp]

got the game too.

I really like the wall of dev signatures.

tabata's signature looks like batman

baman, more specifically

 

[Primethius]

Pro light:

Pro High:

Pro light:

Pro High:

Are those shots with HDR? Cause god damn I've never seen the demo pop like that for me.

 

[Audioboxer]

Pro light:

-snip-

Those top pics look like some black crush may be going on.

 

[wmlk]

Those have to be HDR shots.

 

[Baleoce]

Just gonna do a big copy pasta of every "combat" keyword / relevant discussion regarding the combat system so far in this thread (from oldest to newest) for sake of some attempt at a compilation for those (like me) who are wondering about it. It'll also give a view of how it has been perceived over the course of the thread. Not linking to each individual post, and I'm trying to restrict it to people who've actually played the finished game, rather than basing impressions solely on the demos. Pure copy and paste job: (Disclaimer: I've no idea if any spoilers have slipped through this pasta net, although I deliberately didn't copy anything that was spoiler tagged in the original posts (other than one post), so please view at your own discretion)

- Combat is a mess. All you need to do is hold circle and occassionally press square to dodge or block to win enemy encounters. There's little to no skill required here.
- Camera is just plain bad, even after the day one patch. In tight spaces, you just won't be able to follow what's happening during combat.

Combat is becoming my favorite in the series the more I play and I've been playing these games since the SNES days.

I can't say I agree with the "hold button" down with the combat complaint. The demo proved that and I suspect when we get to play Normal mode, you'll be doing far less button holds.

As for combat, sure, you can probably get through many encounters by holding O, but that's not all there is in combat. There are plenty of tutorials on youtube right now, that explore surprisingly detailed movesets each weapon type has

You know how in Bloodborne you have all of that combat depth through the use of items, exploiting weaknesses down to damage type (like serrated or thrust), and also things like transformation attacks, rolling attacks, running attacks, charged attacks, backstep attacks and the list goes on?

Well, if someone said that Bloodborne's combat is just hitting R1 to attack and O to dodge, they wouldn't actually be wrong, as it is completely possible to go through the game with just that, but it's an oversimplification that sells the game short compared to what it offers.

Since you played the Platinum Demo, check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV-ANQvMkXg

If you want to put in the work, there's a lot more to it than just holding O.

And it's not just for flash either, most of the moves he's using in the video have a large amount of iframes, making them excellent ways of avoiding damage, especially since there are some attacks that can't be dodged by holding square. He's also great at managing his MP, which is fundamental in this game.

The combat is not like KH. At all.

I don't think that it's hold O to win and that's the only thing you can do to win any battle.

But it is a core mechanic in combat regarding basic/normal combos and it just doesn't feel satisfying and engaging as mashing the buttons and timing each "basic" attack right.

I tried mashing the buttons, but it just didn't work out for me.

I say that as a huge Judgment demo fan and I played that thing over 10 hours

To drag out the combat, at least from the demo, I'm assuming Easy Mode will let you hold down one button all day, but that's far from optimal and I still think you'll get merked. Attacking at the right times, evading, using the right weapons, limit breaking with your bros, and applying spells are going to make fights much, much easier than just attacking with one sword and hoping for the best (which won't come).

And, let's be honest, most of the previous FF games let you mash that Attack option and slay random encounters without much trouble, save for popping some Cura or status remover when things got rough. It was the boss fights that required a semblance of attention and having somewhat decent gear and equipment.

My only beef so far is the summons and magic. That shit should have been deeper than what it is.

I'm loving the combat with the monsters. They seem much more responsive than in games like Xenoblade X where they mostly just stand in place and attack. The monsters push you around, stalk you, follow your movement, it looks fun.

This is sort of the problem with the game. They went so deep into damage control over it not being "turn based" they utterly failed to convey the fact that combat has actual tools in it. This problem has existed since Duscae, which had a lot of stuff that final game has already, minus, obviously, air combat stuff, but nobody knew.

I'd chime in with wait mode impressions. Haven't tried it much but i did test it out for a while.

Wait mode is essentially the regular combat mode however it actually makes the game easier and kind of like turn-based as the game pauses in real time once we stop any inputs from controller during a combat situation. We can then select enemies or we can check out their health while the wait mode timer is running, then we can simply perform any of the action i.e warp strike, items usage or dodge.

So if there is a tough boss battle that require proper planning and management, then wait mode can make it easier. Once we start our inputs in wait mode, it works like regular combat so we can keep doing combos or dodge, if we need to pause the combat, we simply stop input and the combat gets paused while we can select the enemies health among other stuff. So if there is a boss fight which is tough, I do see the benefit of wait mode because we will be able to dodge our way out of boss' attacks.

-As others have noted, combat is still a hot mess. It's definitely been improved since the Duscae demo, but the camera and obtuse combo system can make it difficult to tell what's going on. Like most FFs, over-leveling tends to save the day.

combat is not just holding O but you can fight anything with holding O, some phases and strike-warping if you're playing on easy and rushing story missions. This is why I think game needs a hard difficulty for fans like me. IMO normal isn't enough. I didn't finish The Witcher 3 because after 40 hours mark I didn't see any challenges even on death march. But I can play Dark Souls or Bayonetta again and again and again. It's not a Witcher 3 situation again because at least boss fights and some hunts are quite hard (sometimes in a frustrating way) but for a game which wastes a lot of time in car drives and camps and stuff ( this is the reason I say don't overdo side stuff early on), winning most battles without real challenge decreases the experience for someone like me. But if the game was a bit more challenging in normal fights, You had to pay more attention to managing your stuff to craft spells, spending AP in Ascension and using the best weapon against an enemy according to result of wait mode, etc. I don't want to worry anyone though. I still prefer the deep, turn based FF XIII combat but FF XV has a great combat for a real time FF.

I loved the battle system. It's a different take on RPG battle systems, that values positioning and strategy, and combine it with action elements like timing and execution skills in a very engaging combat. I think many people will dislike it, due to the fact that it's not a 100% Action RPG, but looks like a one. I personally loved it, and enjoyed the high learning curve it needs to master it, regardless of how - sadly - easy the main story is.

Loved how every royal arm has it's different animations, attributes, and warp strikes. They add so much needed variety to the combat.

Magic crafting is an interesting system. There's a lot of options to craft, including stop, venom, heal, etc. Sadly, I don't the system works well with the fluid flow of the combat, but I found it to be a good battle starter against bosses.

- The combat: People are mistakenly leading other people to think that combat is mindless and its easy to win any battle. They are wrong. The combat is pretty good and has some great depth to it. Encounters get harder later in the game.

Combat seems promising and flashy

- I am enjoying the combat now, specifically in the open world. Noctis has got weapons that add a lot of variety to it.
I’m starting to feel the game now. The combat has got its hooks on me.

*** BEWARE RELATED VIDEOS AND YOUTUBE COMMENTS IF CLICKING LINK ***

Awful stream quality aside, regarding combat and how specific things can get, here is a stream of someone fighting

Spoiler

Griffon

shown at G-STAR Korea a few days back. It's from an official FFXV promotional event, no story, just that fight.

The player here obviously knows what he's doing, and is using daggers/javelin/thrown vs an aerial enemy. Also a good grasp on warping for bonus damage and knowing when/how to manage MP.

My first impressions about combat against the scorpions:

Dinamic seems a little messy, maybe I still have to get used it.

Wait mode it bother me that each time I look to an enemy the mode turn on. Can't activate when you want?

The So-So

Combat. Combat. Combat. There are times where I feel like I got the handle of it. And there are times where I just scramble to finish the fight. When you're doing good you feel like a badass, but when you're not it's just a chaos on screen. I definitely feel like it'll lean more to the good by the end though. However, anything that are just sponges won't be fun.

Not really sure where that one button combat come from anyway, try it like that and fights could take 10 minutes, when you can clear then in 2-3 minutes with basic knowledge of skills and passives you get from the AP grid thingy.

the battle system is quite deep, even on the judgement demo only.

turned the hud off

got a better feel for combat without the distracting elements

Gameplay wise the combat is a ton of fun. Still trying to get a handle on it, because these new enemies with long range weapons are really starting to fuck me up. Going to have to watch some videos, because while I can take them down fine, I know there must be a more efficient way to go about their encounters. Also, I'm just having a blast driving the car around the world completing bounty quests and upgrading my weapons. Some of the most fun I've had is going out and scavenging for materials and magic.

Loving the game so far, combat is awesome

Three hours in and still in the demo area at the beginning. The combat in this game is so much fun. It's even better on normal where enemies are more difficult and have more HP. To people that have said hold square to win that's not even possible especially when you have mobs of 6 or 7. You really have to use your partners to gain i-frames, warp, and defend.

The combat is just so good!

I'm just playing the demo area for the first time, did the hunt and it took me awhile. Seems pretty challenging. Combat is smooth and very different for plat demo. The link strikes come off naturally. I'm playing on normal so the whole attack to win sentiment doesn't hold up.

Combat

The combat is totally hold button to win. Not really, lol. I shrug my head whenever i hear someone say this comment regarding the combat in the game, because it isn't true. So let me go into detail on why? To begin, keeping the O button pressed results in a combo from the weapon in hand, right? But what makes it different here is that we can basically select any of the four weapons in real-time during the combo. Selecting a different weapon in the middle of a combo results in a different attack. There are a variety of weapons available for heavy, light and ranged attacks. Some are good for mid-air combat while others offer a swift but low power attack. Mixing and matching is essential if we want to keep a good combo going on. This might not be evident in the starting area, where the enemies are usually easy to fight, but as we progress further and accept the difficult hunts or encounter high level enemies during exploration, we have to utilize each and every aspect of the combat system in order to beat them.

The combat is a combination of warp strikes, phasing (defense), counter/parry and magic. Later in the game, we also get Armiger which is essentially Noctis in Berserk mode. In my case, I utilize both - hold button to attack - along with button presses to execute only a certain part of the combo before I switch weapons. I use a particular weapon to warp strike to enemy, switch to a light weapon to start a combo, then switch to a lance to start a mid-air combo. I switch back and forth between weapons and honestly I don't know if anyone is able to enjoy the system if all he is doing is mash the attack button with the same weapon. I also highly doubt he will be able to progress further in the game using this strategy.

I cannot understand how people can describe how amazing the weapon switching midcombo is when its very similar to a cut down version of DmC's combat.

Yes. Combat requires good positioning, switching between weapons , dodging, comboing with group and phase shifting smartly.

Combat

I really, really, really enjoy the combat in this game. It's probably my favorite combat system in the series to date. It is just really run once you get the hang of it. You have so many tactical options as Noctis and the AI for your buddies is surprisingly very competent. Mobs are plentiful (unlike the Judgement demo) and pressing square to win is really not an option. To be successful knowing when to defend is critical (and not just when the parry prompt appears either!). One thing I do dislike is there is no dedicated cure spell for Noctis (I have yet to find it if there is one) but Ignis does have a technique that remedies this issue to a degree. Magic is an interesting system that promotes a lot of trial and error in coming up with the best magic combinations. Overall I'm having a great time with the combat

The Bad

The controls are still tough to get used to especially during combat. Whoever thought jump and interacting should be the same button should get demoted. Or letting you open the map during combat cause you think you're locking on.

The Good

Combat is fun for me now. Got used it despite some control issues.

combat is super fun and keeps me on my toes. Game also has a very addicting feeling, one I never really got with prior FF games, not sure if it's a combination of being a fan of real time combat, exploration, or the hunts, but this game is hard to put down and it's constantly beckoning me to return to it.

I am about 8 or 9 hours in and I am halfway through chapter 3.

Combat feels fluid and fun - it's very satisfying to execute some of the very cool looking attacks and team link strikes. Music is on point in every area. Everything is just leaving me with a very positive impression and I want to make it clear that it's not the fan boy in me. I am genuinely really enjoying this game right now and every time I turn off the PS4 I can't wait to get back to it.

After playing the game for about 10 hours (Chapter 5) I will release my impression,

personally I enjoy the hunt quests in FF XV more the ones in The Witcher 3, for one reason, it's the combat system!!! the hunts with the crazy battle system make every single hunt quest an epic quest!

It teaches the combat system fine, especially for purposes of the story. If you want to fight higher leveled monsters at night, you'll probably have to learn the monsters animations (most important bit). But most of everything is fairly easy to learn in game with a bit of practice.

It's not a mess and it's not that easy. The biggest detractor is the camera. But once you get the hang of it can be really fun. It isn't the deepest combat system out there and it's not up there with Devil May Cry/Bayonetta. But for an open world game of this size it's only second behind Dragons Dogma for me, but at least in FFXV you're fighting a lot more interesting monsters.

Even when you're over level it takes a while to kill things. I was like lvl 24 doing a lvl 19 hunt and i almost got my ass handed to.

It's incredibly easy, I'm on the very last chapter and I have yet to see the Game Over screen, dying is only possible if you're not trying. There are a million different ways you can escape death in this game.

Been playing this now for 6 hrs.

the combat is a bit simplistic

4 hours in.. I dont understand if I like the combat or not. Sometimes its really satisfying and cool but sometimes it feels like too much is happening at once. I wish the parry was not mixed with dodge as a combo. I keep getting A+ at offense but C or D at Defense and stealth.

Sorry if this type of compiling is frowned upon, feel free to delete it if so. I just figured there are a lot of people who will be inquisitive of the combat without wanting to wade into story impressions etc. And sorry if anyone feels I've taken their quote and missed a key part of context, or if I've missed any key discussions on the topic. I literally just browsed by a keyword and tried to manually filter based on people who have actually played the retail game.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Pro light:

Pro High:

Pro light:

Pro High:

Different between the modes seem super obvious in this comparison to me.

 

[Tyaren]

Pro light:

Pro High:

Pro light:

Pro High:

Nice! Can you do some of Duscae by day (and maybe with HDR off?)

Especially the last image comparison looks a lot better in HQ mode. Bigger difference than in the demo.

 

[Ran rp]

 

[silva1991]

Love moments like this one. Truly a fantasy based on reality

P.S I cropped the GIF since the mission text was for main mission. Didn't notice it at first.

That's pretty cool.

 

[SlasherJPC]

Are those shots with HDR? Cause god damn I've never seen the demo pop like that for me.

Yes hdr enabled.

 

[Tyaren]

Thanks. The second image comparison Slasher posted is even bigger in difference than this comparison.

Yes hdr enabled.

Can you make a comparison in Duscae (maybe with HDR off?). You'd be the very first to do this.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Yes hdr enabled.

Is the frame pacing bothering you?

 

[benzy]

Yes hdr enabled.

Is that how the brightness / colors actually look on your TV? I'm wondering how close the HDR screenshot output is compared to seeing it on an HDR TV.

 

[SlasherJPC]

Nice! Can you do some of Duscae by day (and maybe with HDR off?)

Especially the last image comparison looks a lot better in HQ mode. Bigger difference than in the demo.

Won't be able to right now but perhaps later. Will be busy for a bit here in a little while.

 

[Primethius]

Yes hdr enabled.

Oh god, you just made me want a HDR TV so bad.

 

[Ran rp]

 

[BossDarkseid]

ShopTo moved to processing...come on Saturday...

 

[Tyaren]

That's almost a generational difference in textures. This reminds me of how cross gen games looked on PS3 and PS4.

Why are there red leaves in the HQ Pro version though...? o__O

 

[SlasherJPC]

Is the frame pacing bothering you?

No but it didn't bother me in Bloodborne either so I'm probably not the best to ask about it.

Also here is a video of the framerate when turning the camera in pro lite and high resolution. You all tell me which is which!

https://youtu.be/8PCwRZC2m0c

 

[InternHertz]

I have the Deluxe edition preordered since a long time ago on Amazon, and I should get the game by next week's end if they actually send it at the release date and not after like with WoFF.

But I saw one shop in Belgium is advertising they have it right now...so I'm torn now between driving there to get a copy or not to play it one week earlier...

My reason is telling me not to do it, but it would've been much easier to resist temptation if I didn't know I could get it right now

 

[bigmac996]

Anybody in Toronto get it yet? My local shop which usually gives stuff early hasn't called me yet. Just curious!

Itching to play this thing!!!

 

[NoctisVsStar]

First game over guess who killed me

Spoiler

MidgarZolom

 

[Condom]

Spoiler

Just two. And both have already been shown. Yeah, it broke my heart too...

Spoiler

fuck me then, one of the things I was anticipating for. I want HD towns

 

[Ran rp]

That's almost a generational difference in textures. This reminds me of how cross gen games looked on PS3 and PS4.

Why are there red leaves in the HQ Pro version though...? o__O

I think that's a car driving by.

 

[Tyaren]

Spoiler

fuck me then, one of the things I was anticipating for. I want HD towns

HD towns are too hard!

I think that's a car driving by.

Oh, yeah... I see it now, lol.

 

[AkirraKrylon]

Spoiler

fuck me then, one of the things I was anticipating for. I want HD towns

Thrre are a lot of outposts and random places to stop and talk to people/shop/etc.

 

[RPGCrazied]

I just don't understand why PS4 games never use any AF. Surely it can do 4x? Some of these shots for the PS4 version looks like its disabled entirely.

 

[Primethius]

Friends IG extermination progress:

He's level 35. Hasn't gotten past Judgment Demo yet.

 

[jorgeton]

My quick impressions: it's really good!

Gives me FFX vibes. I think it's the world building of it that reminds me of FFX. How everyone is living their mundane lives in this crazy fantasy world.

I'm just at chapter 2, but the combat so far been a lot of fun. It's honestly not very deep yet but most fights are quick, and warp striking just does not get old.

Story has been good so far, if a little sparse. But this approach makes sense in the context of what's going on. But I'm so glad I've watched kingsglaive and brotherhood, it makes every scene have more resonance.

Hard game to put down haha.

 

[Toth]

I like how alive the world feels. Cars are constantly going by, even on the dirt roads. People walk around the outposts naturally and you can listen in to their conversations. Wild creatures frolic or fight naturally. It's really well done.

 

[~Cross~]

Friends IG extermination progress:

He's level 35. Hasn't gotten past Judgment Demo yet.

Wait he has the retail and hasn't gotten past chapter one yet? If he isn't exploiting exp that makes it a fucking lot of time in that one area. Hinterlands + White orchards/ extreme edition.