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Final Fantasy XV tech demo presentation by Tabata (Demo gameplay details added)

Verendus

Banned
Also some other notes. May as well put this out there.

- Car drives using triggers for accelerate/brake. So you can drive and rotate the camera at the same time to look at everything around you. Not final. Car was taken off-road although I didn't go far with it as this was near the end of my experience. Car reacted well to the off-road terrain, looked good. Handling is okay, like any other non-racing game. Nothing special. Of note, I controlled the car, but Noctis was not in the driver's seat. Likely just a demo thing, or Glasses is a determined driver from birth.

- Two new areas seen. Pictures that are similar in style:

y6Rkon8.jpg

Sticking point of first area was the atmosphere; the broken road surrounded with desolation. Area had rainfall which added to it all.


Second area was just rocks, hills, and red/brown surroundings. Nothing particularly special here as it was empty. Just looked really nice.

- World is quite expansive, and they've said there are many more areas with a big scale like the ones I've now seen. No details on how they're connecting these areas with towns and dungeons, or how the car would work in terms of entering and exiting these areas.

- Towns are of an impressive scale. Don't even understand what this really means.

- Game is designed to provide choice of approach, to an extent. Huge areas for those who want to spend time exploring, but will allow those who want complete the story to focus and go through at a quicker pace. Idea is best of both worlds for the different types of players.

- Mentioned that players will have access to world at beginning.

- Various set pieces in the game that are interactive, in some cases environmentally, and they want to provide big memorable moments that Final Fantasy was known for. Set pieces in boss battles and outside of them. Almost sounds like there will be some SOTC moment (or moments) in this game with scaling some big monster/boss.
Just a general note on one thing. When it was mentioned that players will access to the world at the beginning, I assumed this meant we'll get access to it near the beginning. Since then, my imagination has gone to other places.

It would be pretty cool if we just started in the world. You're on the road and introduced to some massive vista whilst Noctis is in the backseat of a car, and you then take control of the car and drive to town. You get access to driving, and see the world. Then in town, the focused opening begins and you're back into the world soon after. Maybe you can start fighting before you reach the town. This is all my imagination though.
 

DZ_b_EZ

Member
Star Citizen was my most hyped game but FFXV has become my #1 now. If they moving in to a beta phase at the beginning of spring its only safe to assume a late 2015 release.

I can't wait.
 

TnK

Member
If I want really deliberate, precise and challenging mechanics BloodBorne is for that (and its coming way sooner too :p)

But I still hope a really unique system comes out of FFXV and it looks like it will.

I am happy the game is trying to find its own identity instead of straight up copying KH.

It shouldn't really copy KH, because it is an FF title after all. At the same time, I also think that the game shouldn't play itself. That takes away part of the joy from playing a video game.
The game should present some form of challenge after all.
 

Myths

Member
We should also wonder what made them change the UI. There's a bigger focus on what the party is doing now, versus how many actions Noctis had available before, in addition to the vague info we have about party combos and stuff like that.

What it seems to me, is that Tabata is trying to fit in (or expand an already existing) form of party control system, in an attempt to make FFXV offer a party-driven experience much like the FF games of the past did it, instead of going the KH route where the player only cares about the controlled character while the AI is left "doing something random at the background".

Party status had always been emphasized in older interviews - I see the log as an explicit and discrete expression of their actions instead of portraits in the 2011 trailer - a vague sign of letting us know how they're faring out of sight.

As a side note, I hope there will be a "Jump" command in place of attack if/when a Lance is used for Noctis with manually controllable descent. Think Kain from Dissidia 012..
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
This was posted in the other thread, a full translation of the demo: http://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantas...nslation_for_ffxv_segment_during_ff_type0_hd/

Thx. I wonder what he means with this:

B: I see. I have to ask, is there going to be a boss fight in the demo?
A: Boss fights? Umm... There are no boss fights but the demo is going to have something even better than a boss fight.
B: Woah, is it alright for you to tell us what it is?
A: Sorry, I can't tell you what it is right now but I think it's going to be something that will thoroughly surprise all the FF fans out there.
 

Falk

that puzzling face
This isn't the best thing to hear. But then I'm kind of impressed if they managed to change a battle system that quickly, since I remember the demo being only 8 or 9 months before the actual game. Maybe a year is plenty of time then for changing and finalising things.

Think he meant expanded upon, the demo's BS was extremely basic. Then came in the whole paradigm shift, summons, etc.

I mean, there are things you can add/iterate upon in 9 months. On the other hand I have a hard time believing summons as they were weren't planned that way from the start. They're too integrated into the story, including CGI (Snow to the rescue cutscene for example) and voiceover for the summon battles where you acquire them, for them to have been added in on a dime.
 

Verendus

Banned
This was posted in the other thread, a full translation of the demo: http://www.reddit.com/r/FinalFantas...nslation_for_ffxv_segment_during_ff_type0_hd/
Great link. Nice detail there.

Most importantly:
Yes, it's the early parts of the story. It's going to be following immediately after the opening where you are able to control the characters.
This is pretty much confirmation we're starting in the world then. Unless the opening isn't just CG and has more going on in it.

Ah... In the trailer, Ignis was driving the car. You can take control of the car but if you like, you can leave the driving to Ignis and he will do it automatically.
Born to drive. Shame you don't take direct control of the car. Does this mean none of these party members are going to die, or be separated, or will Noctis always have a designated driver at hand?

Also sounds like automatic driving will be like quick travel from that link. That's not a bad idea.
 

Koozek

Member
Also some other notes. May as well put this out there.


Just a general note on one thing. When it was mentioned that players will access to the world at the beginning, I assumed this meant we'll get access to it near the beginning. Since then, my imagination has gone to other places.

- Car drives using triggers for accelerate/brake. So you can drive and rotate the camera at the same time to look at everything around you. Not final. Car was taken off-road although I didn't go far with it as this was near the end of my experience. Car reacted well to the off-road terrain, looked good. Handling is okay, like any other non-racing game. Nothing special. Of note, I controlled the car, but Noctis was not in the driver's seat. Likely just a demo thing, or Glasses is a determined driver from birth.

- Two new areas seen. Pictures that are similar in style:

Sticking point of first area was the atmosphere; the broken road surrounded with desolation. Area had rainfall which added to it all.

Second area was just rocks, hills, and red/brown surroundings. Nothing particularly special here as it was empty. Just looked really nice.

- World is quite expansive, and they've said there are many more areas with a big scale like the ones I've now seen. No details on how they're connecting these areas with towns and dungeons, or how the car would work in terms of entering and exiting these areas.

- Towns are of an impressive scale. Don't even understand what this really means.

- Game is designed to provide choice of approach, to an extent. Huge areas for those who want to spend time exploring, but will allow those who want complete the story to focus and go through at a quicker pace. Idea is best of both worlds for the different types of players.

- Mentioned that players will have access to world at beginning.

- Various set pieces in the game that are interactive, in some cases environmentally, and they want to provide big memorable moments that Final Fantasy was known for. Set pieces in boss battles and outside of them. Almost sounds like there will be some SOTC moment (or moments) in this game with scaling some big monster/boss.

It would be pretty cool if we just started in the world. You're on the road and introduced to some massive vista whilst Noctis is in the backseat of a car, and you then take control of the car and drive to town. You get access to driving, and see the world. Then in town, the focused opening begins and you're back into the world soon after. Maybe you can start fighting before you reach the town. This is all my imagination though.

Awesome infos. Thank you, dude! I'm always happy to see you in a thread :D
So, have you played the demo yourself or just seen a video?
 

HeelPower

Member
So you can't just switch to other party members and drive as them ?

Can you even explore with the other guys other than Noctis ?

Also what about NPCs ?

A big problem in FFXIII was lack of any meaningful NPCs,is that important in the game ? Are they related to sidequests or world design ?
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
This is pretty much confirmation we're starting in the world then. Unless the opening isn't just CG and has more going on in it.

Story-wise I think it's safe to assume the party is going to the Crown City for the meeting, they'll end up there in the evening (like the old FMV with Noctis sleeping, perhaps now with the original driver replaced by his friends), meet Stella at night for the event, then betrayal happens and the true Prologue starts (mostly 2011 trailer stuff, Stella vs Noctis on the streets of the City, Dragoon attack ect. - if everything is still there of course).
 
B: It's because it's an open world, isn't it?
A: Well, walking definitely takes a lot of time. However if you want to, there will be situations where the players are able to ride on chocobos.
B: Wow, that's a pretty interesting piece of info you've just shared.
A: However if you think it's impossible to go on with the chocobo, there are other vehicles for you to ride on.
The answer was in relation to the demo so I wonder if he meant there will be a chocobo and more vehicles in the demo.

If the final game has other vehicles, I can't wait to ride on the Cloud bike :p
 

Falk

that puzzling face
Realtime control over other vehicles and an airship is exciting to think about.

Realtime control over other vehicles and the ability to select who you want to drive

PROMPTO PULL UP PROMPTO WHAT ARE YOU DOING PROMPTO YOU'RE GOING TO HIT THAT GUY OH GODDDDDDDDDDD
 

benzy

Member
B: I see. There's a lot more that we want to know. Is the demo going to be on a disc?
A: We will have a download code for the demo with every copy of FF Type-0 HD so the demo is going to be available around the same time that it is being sold.

Tabata wants to release the demo on the same day as type-0, but it seems if not then it'll be close to that release date. Or here's hoping.

Verendus do you know if they're trying to get at least the PS4 version out at 1080p/30fps?

Yeah, really hoping they're aiming for 1080p.
 

Stark

Banned
I mean, there are things you can add/iterate upon in 9 months. On the other hand I have a hard time believing summons as they were weren't planned that way from the start. They're too integrated into the story, including CGI (Snow to the rescue cutscene for example) and voiceover for the summon battles where you acquire them, for them to have been added in on a dime.

I agree. Specifically, the gameplay portion of it felt really tacked on.
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
But FF had that since forever already. It was XIII that really stepped away from all things FF tradition.

? X, XI and XII didn't have any. Well except chocobos, but those were also in XIII (and airships/teleports obviously don't count).
 

DJIzana

Member
FFXV will sell fucking stupid due to its development history alone. It will feel like buying something almost mystical, even though it's just a game that took really long to make.

Pretty much the way I feel. Video is almost a 3 million views. Given the HUGE development costs of budget these days, I rather enjoy what I am personally looking forward to playing. It's been a VERY long time since I've had such a solid year of game announcements from both Nintendo AND Sony.
 

duckroll

Member
I'm very interested in knowing what towns and cities in the game will really be like. Also in terms of how lively and interactive they feel, especially if there's going to be a day/night cycle and they're aiming for a "realistic" feeling world. Aiming for something like FFXII's cities but in a modern context would be a great way to do it, but I'm not really sure if they're capable of that sort of thing anymore. I just hope it's not some lifeless backdrop which serves as a "town" area but has very little interactivity and lots of fenced off areas. That would be disappointing.
 

Perfo

Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
Pretty much the way I feel. Video is almost a 3 million views. Given the HUGE development costs of budget these days, I rather enjoy what I am personally looking forward to playing. It's been a VERY long time since I've had such a solid year of game announcements from both Nintendo AND Sony.

if anything they're really tailoring the game closer to western tastes. They could do with less animu characters, but the open world free-roam together with the action battle system and darker tone will sell this game much more easilly than XIII. I just hope open world doesn't end up being what all open worlds are about: fetch quests.
 

Vashetti

Banned
Totally agreed. That's also my concern about the game from everything we've seen. If they keep changing the core battle mechanics around, it really does seem they're having issues finding a balance in the design where it actually plays well and is "fun" so to speak. Hopefully they get it worked out because I doubt they have much more time at this point.

Would you say then, that a (rough) release date has been established internally, and that they're now under pressure trying to get the game out the door?
 

HeelPower

Member
I'm very interested in knowing what towns and cities in the game will really be like. Also in terms of how lively and interactive they feel, especially if there's going to be a day/night cycle and they're aiming for a "realistic" feeling world. Aiming for something like FFXII's cities but in a modern context would be a great way to do it, but I'm not really sure if they're capable of that sort of thing anymore. I just hope it's not some lifeless backdrop which serves as a "town" area but has very little interactivity and lots of fenced off areas. That would be disappointing.

Yeah..I have questions(gonna quote myself) about this too.

Verendus please answer if you can.

HeelPower said:
So you can't just switch to other party members and drive as them ?

Can you even explore with the other guys other than Noctis ?

Also what about NPCs ?

A big problem in FFXIII was lack of any meaningful NPCs,is that important in the game ? Are they related to sidequests or world design ?
 

HeelPower

Member
PROMPTO PULL UP PROMPTO WHAT ARE YOU DOING PROMPTO YOU'RE GOING TO HIT THAT GUY OH GODDDDDDDDDDD

YES PLEASEEE LET ME DRIVE WITH ANYONE I WANT

But FF had that since forever already. It was XIII that really stepped away from all things FF tradition.

To be fair, Neither X nor XII had drivable stuff outside of chocobos :/

But X had swimming (which should be in XV too) and both X and XII had towns with lively NPCs.

I hope they seriously take care of towns and their residents.Make it lively and interactive.
 
1. No magic targeting indicator anymore from the looks of it. Has this been replaced by automatic lock-on, or is it not present because they're changing how it looks or something? I don't know.

I might be misinterpreting this but there's definitely a magic targeting indicator in this demo:

Honestly I believe they are working on the combat system a lot. The FFXIII's demo was completely different from the final product.

...it wasn't, actually.
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII_Demo#Gameplay
 
B: I see. I have to ask, is there going to be a boss fight in the demo?
A: Boss fights? Umm... There are no boss fights but the demo is going to have something even better than a boss fight.
B: Woah, is it alright for you to tell us what it is?
A: Sorry, I can't tell you what it is right now but I think it's going to be something that will thoroughly surprise all the FF fans out there.
FF XVI teaser trailer to be hidden in FF XV demo.

Directed by Motomu Toriyama. Starring Lighting
 

HeelPower

Member
FF XVI teaser trailer to be hidden in FF XV demo.

Don't want no XVI teaser.

That would just make it painful to another 7 years for,especially if the concept is an attractive one.

Please SE.Forget XVI until a year or so before release.Unless you are sure its a real thing don't show it.
 

HeelPower

Member
One of the things I like the most is that they are revisiting very classic original monster designs.

I really hope this is a major thing for the game.
 

Verendus

Banned
I might be misinterpreting this but there's definitely a magic targeting indicator in this demo:




...it wasn't, actually.
http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII_Demo#Gameplay
You're right. Nice catch. That's definitely the magic targeting. It just looks slightly different.

This is what I was referring to in the notes. I basically skipped forward to the behemoth. I couldn't see it with the behemoth so obviously assumed wrong. But this is it. If you look closely, you see him also switching the target manually before he hits the goblin. The lock-on goes to the behemoth, and then switches to the goblin.

Think holding L2, then flick the R3 button to change targets.
 

Verendus

Banned
Verendus do you know if they're trying to get at least the PS4 version out at 1080p/30fps?
Sorry Kagari, I honestly don't know this. It'd have to be though, I would have thought. I don't think we've had a game yet on PS4 that isn't 1080p, and I see no reason why they couldn't achieve it.
 

Kagari

Crystal Bearer
Sorry Kagari, I honestly don't know this. It'd have to be though, I would have thought. I don't think we've had a game yet on PS4 that isn't 1080p, and I see no reason why they couldn't achieve it.

Well, Battlefield 4 and Watch Dogs...
And the new trailer didn't look like it was full resolution so I was curious.
 
D

Deleted member 80556

Unconfirmed Member
Sorry Kagari, I honestly don't know this. It'd have to be though, I would have thought. I don't think we've had a game yet on PS4 that isn't 1080p, and I see no reason why they couldn't achieve it.

And they've still got a bit more of a year (if they're targeting Holiday 2015 for Japan) to get to that point. I also suppose that they've got more staff now considering they're showing stuff.

Thanks for the posts, Verendus!
 

TheTux

Member
This isn't the best thing to hear. But then I'm kind of impressed if they managed to change a battle system that quickly, since I remember the demo being only 8 or 9 months before the actual game. Maybe a year is plenty of time then for changing and finalising things.
Yeah well I'd probably prefer them to have some solid idea and then "just" spend months on polishing but I guess that's not so easy.

Story-wise I think it's safe to assume the party is going to the Crown City for the meeting, they'll end up there in the evening (like the old FMV with Noctis sleeping, perhaps now with the original driver replaced by his friends), meet Stella at night for the event, then betrayal happens and the true Prologue starts (mostly 2011 trailer stuff, Stella vs Noctis on the streets of the City, Dragoon attack ect. - if everything is still there of course).
Stella's roles may have changed during all these years. I hope they haven't scrapped the scenes where the meet and the one where they fight (the one in the Shinjuku road).

Thx. I wonder what he means with this:
A release date maybe? I guess I'll get hyped anyway.
 

Vashetti

Banned
Sorry Kagari, I honestly don't know this. It'd have to be though, I would have thought. I don't think we've had a game yet on PS4 that isn't 1080p, and I see no reason why they couldn't achieve it.

Watch_Dogs
Battlefield 4
Killzone Shadowfall MP
Wolfenstein: The New Order (dynamic res, can drop to around 1760x1080)

Maybe more. AC Unity is rumoured to be sub-1080p
 

TheTux

Member
Well, Battlefield 4 and Watch Dogs...
And the new trailer didn't look like it was full resolution so I was curious.

Honestly I don't care if it won't be 1080p. I liked the graphics in the E3 2013 trailer and I like them even more now, I would play the game as it is. I'd rather have a steady 30+ fps. Really don't want to play something like FFXIII-2's Academia or LR again.

Oh, and I also think you shouldn't really use Battlefield 4 and Watch Dogs as examples, haven't played them but I heard that they had tons of bugs. I really don't want to get a game buggy like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idA9BEA4Hxs
 
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