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The (Comprehensive) Scalebound Breakdown

V

Valkerionseven

Member
Mostly only want details on the dragon at this point. How does its appearance change and what not. From a skill tree, equips, feeding it, beating enemies a certain way ect. Can I get a dragon that spews lightning, or one that exclusively does fire attacks and so forth.
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
Valkerionseven said:
Mostly only want details on the dragon at this point. How does its appearance change and what not. From a skill tree, equips, feeding it, beating enemies a certain way ect. Can I get a dragon that spews lightning, or one that exclusively does fire attacks and so forth.
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Don't know about the rest but the bolded is a yes.

You customize the skin patterns and color, the horns, the dragon type, armor, attack properties, and probably even more. Drew is quite customizable as well.
 
M

Mr. Smiley

Member
We see the dragon shoot out ice so yeah, you can customize that part and I hope there's more.

Did we get any new footage focusing on character and dragon customization? I wanted to see more of that.
 
L

lazyproblems

Member
Crayon said:
Are we unanimously Against the main character?
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He doesn't bother me that much. I think he'll turn out fine, and I'm at least interested to see more.

As an aside, I do agree that wasn't the best E3 gameplay they could've shown this year, but hopefully we get to see more of the world or some other stuff at gamescom or TGS. I like a lot of the stuff we've seen and heard so far, and Kamiya is great, so I'm looking forward to seeing more.
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
Mr. Smiley said:
We see the dragon shoot out ice so yeah, you can customize that part and I hope there's more.

Did we get any new footage focusing on character and dragon customization? I wanted to see more of that.
Click to expand...

Nope, just small pieces really.

You can see heavily customized versions of Drew and Thuban as the other players in the E3 demo, and with the official website screenshots I posted on the previous page is good shot of a custom Drew with rainbow hair and a blue shirt.
 
D

dude

dude
Crayon said:
Are we unanimously Against the main character?
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Nope. I hate him, but the good kind of hate. I much rather have an obnoxious try hard than another "cool guy with duster" character.
I don't get why people are against him so much at all. Embrace your inner douche.
 
C

_Clash_

Member
That 3sec gif walking into the village brings more hype than the E3 showing this year.

MS must have a pretty rigid idea about marketing this. Hope it improves and the game deserves it.

I want a Kamiya classic.
 
M

Mdk7

Member
Nice OP, it was very interesting to read.
Just a minor detail you might want to add there, regarding the concept phase of the game: at first, Scalebound was intended to be a Wii game built around motion controls, and apart from the girl as a main character it featured dinosaurs instead of dragons.

"When they first started, the idea was for a Wii game and we wanted to use a Wii remote to do the orders for the dinosaurs," Kamiya explained. "You were in control of the dinosaurs, you were ordering the dinosaurs around, and they'd do cool things. Then after we made Bayonetta, we started the prototype. The first thing that I made a change to was making it a dragon game.
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Source is here, in case.
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
Mdk7 said:
Nice OP, it was very interesting to read.
Just a minor detail you might want to add there, regarding the concept phase of the game: at first, Scalebound was intended to be a Wii game built around motion controls, and apart from the girl as a main character it featured dinosaurs instead of dragons.



Source is here, in case.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing this, I'll add it to the OP.
 
S

Strootman

Member
Zeta Oni said:
So, one of the things a lot of people have been asking for in terms of gameplay footage was a look at some of the deeper RPG aspects, such as the open world and NPC's. Well earlier today I was looking at some of the various videos of the game on youtube, and I came across this small trailer for the game on a random youtube channel with about 300 views. At first i figured it was nothing more than some random footage from the Gamescom demonstration, but the Japanese translation at the bottom and opening credits, as well as the terrible quality lead me to believe it might be off-screen footage from the Xbox Tokyo fanfest that happened back in September of last year.

Anyway, I made a gif of the related footage to show, hopefully it does a bit to show off the scale of the game:

Scaleboundtown.gif
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Bro, this is from the scalebound RPG elements video that apparently no one has seen...

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fHFFK3BXuBo

I think we should make a new thread about this video so that people would watch it.
 
T

TreIII

Member
Crayon said:
Are we unanimously Against the main character?
Click to expand...

At the moment, I really don't like him.

I mean, in comparison to the likes of Dante, Joe, Bayo and the main Wonderful Ones, there's just nothing about this guy's personality that I like, so far from what I've seen. And for a game of this sort where customization seems to be king, it's just interesting that they didn't go for a full MonHun-like character creator and perhaps made the Dragon more of a "character", instead.

But instead of writing Drew off entirely, I'm willing to wait and see if there's just more there that we haven't seen yet.
 
SenjutsuSage

SenjutsuSage

Banned
What an awesome thread this is. There's a number of small details that do make this game sound pretty exciting, which is why they have to trust gamers to be able to appreciate the broader game by showing us better, more in depth demos. And if people really pay attention, it's the full fledged dragon form of the main character that will bring that more crazy and intense kind of combat gameplay that people expect from a Kamiya title. It likely won't go nearly as far, but the player pulled off a pretty stylish mid-air sword combo on the mantis enemy.
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
SenjutsuSage said:
What an awesome thread this is. There's a number of small details that do make this game sound pretty exciting, which is why they have to trust gamers to be able to appreciate the broader game by showing us better, more in depth demos. And if people really pay attention, it's the full fledged dragon form of the main character that will bring that more crazy and intense kind of combat gameplay that people expect from a Kamiya title. It likely won't go nearly as far, but the player pulled off a pretty stylish mid-air sword combo on the mantis enemy.
Click to expand...

And what's nice is, this being a RPG, you can spec your character around staying in that mode and enhancing the aspects of it you use most.

It's all about the options.
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
Kamiya did another interview about Scalebound yesterday, this time discussing some of the inspirations for the game, as well as some clarification about how co op will work. Below I have some choice quotes, but feel free to read the full thing here.

GamesBeat: We’ve seen a lot of games built around dragons — some successful, like Panzer Dragoon or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Others, like Lair, bombed. Did you look at any particular past games for inspiration?

Kamiya: More than games like those, we were inspired by classic games like Hydlide III or Sorcerian, the Dragon Slayer series, Dragon Quest. The dragons in those games were super compelling, but what pushed me was, can you take how those dragons made you feel and use modern technology to bring that to life in an interesting new way, as opposed to the way they were back in the day?

GamesBeat: How does Scalebound’s cooperative multiplayer work? Can players just join in while you’re playing alone, or is co-op a separate experience from the start?

Kamiya: Co-op isn’t a mode in Scalebound. We wanted to make a game that you could play however you wanted to play it. Scalebound has a story, a campaign you can play, and if you want to play through that by yourself you can, but you can also match up with your friends and play through it together. Co-op is integral to the experience in that way — it is campaign co-op — but we want the game to be something where you can decide how you want to play.
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Z

Zeta Oni

Member
Been a bit of a dry spell when it comes to Scalebound information, and without knowing if the game will be making an appearance at Gamescom this year, it might be quite a while until we start getting some new information.

However, we did recently get a look at some of the technology behind the game, in the form of IKinema, a procedural animation software that is being used in several high profile games. Microsoft recently struck a master license agreement with IKinema and intends on using it with several of their studios, including Reagent Games and their current project; Crackdown 3.

Some relevant quotes below:

In conjunction with publishing partner Microsoft Studios, PlatinumGames is using IKinema’s RunTime full-body IK technology to deliver superior real-time character animation during game play. RunTime will bring to life the towering dragons that are the focus of Scalebound, while seamlessly integrating with Epic’s Unreal Engine 4 game engine.

IKinema founder and CEO Alexandre Pechev said: “IKinema's skill is to bring procedural animation to games by adapting characters and creatures to the game world while maintaining every subtle detail in the original asset as created by the artist. This gives a high degree of realism and believability. We are absolutely delighted to bring our RunTime technology to Scalebound and to move next generation animation ideas into reality."
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"IKinema’s animation tools are helping us bring the dragon and creatures of Scalebound to life,” said Jean Pierre Kellams, PlatinumGames Creative Producer. “The tools integration with Unreal Engine 4 has allowed us to quickly bring a heightened sense of reality to the epic battles in the game.”
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Original article
IKinema official website

If your interested, I recommend watching the video listed under "learn more" in order to better understand how the software is being used for Scalebound.
 
H

Hexer06

Member
I'll take that April 28th release date. I just wanna play this game! However, I would rather them take their time and flesh it out, than play it sooner and it be a mess. :D
 
S

SOR5

Member
8 months till Scalebound

Neo will be out
NX will be out
And we'll be so close to seeing what Scorpio is like

Going to be a very different industry in such a short span of time

Hexer06 said:
I'll take that April 28th release date. I just wanna play this game! However, I would rather them take their time and flesh it out, than play it sooner and it be a mess. :D
Click to expand...

Your avatar might be revived by then as well :)
 
A

ALLseeingEYE

Member
Scalebound is going to be the next Dragon's Dogma, calling it now.

No idea why this game just gets glossed over, when it seems to have so many awesome things:

- Open-world
- RPG elements
- 4-player co-op
- Riding and fighting with giant fucking dragons
- Giant bosses
- Solid action-based combat

Nevermind that it's made by Hideki Kamiya and Platinum games, and seems to have a large budget, awesome tech, and gorgeous visuals. I honestly feel that, just like Dragon's Dogma, players just don't quite 'get' what is special about this game yet. I hope it turns out great, and I have a lot of confidence it will. I also hope people change their tune and check it out if it does turn out amazing like it very well could.
 
H

Hypron

Member
ALLseeingEYE said:
Scalebound is going to be the next Dragon's Dogma, calling it now.

No idea why this game just gets glossed over, when it seems to have so many awesome things:

- Open-world
- RPG elements
- 4-player co-op
- Riding and fighting with giant fucking dragons
- Giant bosses
- Solid action-based combat

Nevermind that it's made by Hideki Kamiya and Platinum games, and seems to have a large budget, awesome tech, and gorgeous visuals. I honestly feel that, just like Dragon's Dogma, players just don't quite 'get' what is special about this game yet. I hope it turns out great, and I have a lot of confidence it will. I also hope people change their tune and check it out if it does turn out amazing like it very well could.
Click to expand...

It gets glossed over because it didn't get a single good demo yet. The combat doesn't look very good from what they've shown so far. They really need to release some better gameplay to really sell people on the game.
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
ALLseeingEYE said:
Scalebound is going to be the next Dragon's Dogma, calling it now.

No idea why this game just gets glossed over, when it seems to have so many awesome things:

- Open-world
- RPG elements
- 4-player co-op
- Riding and fighting with giant fucking dragons
- Giant bosses
- Solid action-based combat

Nevermind that it's made by Hideki Kamiya and Platinum games, and seems to have a large budget, awesome tech, and gorgeous visuals. I honestly feel that, just like Dragon's Dogma, players just don't quite 'get' what is special about this game yet. I hope it turns out great, and I have a lot of confidence it will. I also hope people change their tune and check it out if it does turn out amazing like it very well could.
Click to expand...

The reasons you listed are exactly what makes me so excited for this game. People are sleeping on it now, but I have a feeling that's gonna change.

Inaba was recently interviewed saying that he thinks Scalebound will preview better with a much longer gameplay slice because of all the different things the game has to offer, so hopefully we start seeing much longer gameplay demonstrations that show people this isn't just some everyday RPG.
 
S

SOR5

Member
Zeta Oni said:
The reasons you listed are exactly what makes me so excited for this game. People are sleeping on it now, but I have a feeling that's gonna change.

Inaba was recently interviewed saying that he thinks Scalebound will preview better with a much longer gameplay slice because of all the different things the game has to offer, so hopefully we start seeing much longer gameplay demonstrations that show people this isn't just some everyday RPG.
Click to expand...

If the reviews are good, it makes people happy and its worthy of success, all the rest will fall into place.
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
SOR5 said:
If the reviews are good, it makes people happy and its worthy of success, all the rest will fall into place.
Click to expand...

I would agree, but if that was the case we would have Blue Dragon 2 and Lost Odyssey 2 at this point. :/

But one can hope.
 
M

Masterspeed

Member
I feel bad for the fact I completely forgot this game existed, but considering the very little footage I feel justified by that.

We need some more trailers and info on this game. Maybe some story would help too.
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
I'm hoping the release schedule for the MS early 2017 line up is spaced much better than what we have had this year.

Should hopefully look something like:

Halo Wars 2 - Winter/Early 2017
Scalebound - Spring 2017
Sea of Thieves - Summer 2017
Crackdown 3 - Fall 2017

That should keep the drought to a minimum without getting into what has yet to be announced and Scorpio shenanigans.

Scalebound needs to drop right in a period where there's not a lot of competition, so I'm hoping the release date sticks.

There's also the chance they could use Scalebound as the "face" of Scorpio and push its release back to winter 2017, but I think Crackdown 3 would be the better game for that.
 
S

SOR5

Member
Zeta Oni said:
I would agree, but if that was the case we would have Blue Dragon 2 and Lost Odyssey 2 at this point. :/

But one can hope.
Click to expand...

The thing, the drastic thing about those titles is that they came out right before the dark Kinect times, where the only japanese games that really got attention from MS were Final Fantasy and Metal Gear (and some good shmups)

Its a new age now, Recore might be getting a sequel in the works, RECORE, if they think its worth it, everythings got a chance!
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
SOR5 said:
The thing, the drastic thing about those titles is that they came out right before the dark Kinect times, where the only japanese games that really got attention from MS were Final Fantasy and Metal Gear (and some good shmups)

Its a new age now, Recore might be getting a sequel in the works, RECORE, if they think its worth it, everythings got a chance!
Click to expand...

True, that's a good point.

I'm just a bit cynical, cause it seems most games of this genre I love playing end up never getting proper sequels.

Dragon's Dogma? Got a f2p mmo spin off that's not even available here in the states.

Kingdoms of Amalur? 38 Studios is gone and that entire world will never be heard from again, unless the state of Rhode Island decides to start developing.

Then you have all the great franchises MS has let slip quietly into silence, and I'm just hoping we aren't watching another in the making. Not that they had anything to do with DD and KoA, but I'm wary regardless.
 
H

Hexer06

Member
SOR5 said:
Your avatar might be revived by then as well :)
Click to expand...

Ugh, don't fill my brain with dreams that will be crushed :p. I hope it does come out soon though, I've been waiting years for a remake or sequel!

OT: I really hope they show more of the RPG aspects and stuff. That Japanese trailer would be something that everyone needs to see, just one that is a lot longer. :D
 
Z

Zeta Oni

Member
Some new Scalebound news is up, turns out there was some new information from gamescom, and its some interesting info.

Essentially, they finally go much more into detail on how exactly we will be controlling our partner dragons:

At Gamescom 2016, Kamiya and creative producer J.P. Kellams showed a pre-recorded video that detailed Dragon Links and customization. Drew and Thuban are connected, Kellams said, and therefore share a life force that Drew can use to his advantage in battle. Once linked, the game swaps out its over-the-shoulder view for a first-person perspective from Drew as he directs Thuban.

"While they are physically two different beings, when you go into Dragon Link their minds are merging into one," Kamiya said via translator. "You're controlling Thuban through Drew's perspective and using his powerful attacks and moves. At that point, Drew is going to be defenseless."

“Drew does his best to stay alive”

While Thuban grapples with terrifying foes, Drew does his best to stay alive; he's still vulnerable while controlling Thuban and can be taken out with a heavy hand from an enemy. Swapping between the two seems to be effortless, however, or at least a quick change. This is essentially the game's combo system, where players switch between the two to deliver attacks in harmony.
Click to expand...

Full article is here:
http://www.polygon.com/2016/8/17/12...you-to-control-your-dragon-directly-in-battle

Extremely excited to hear this, and if anyone wants to make a new thread with this info, feel free.
 
MisterR

MisterR

Member
B

Bits N Pieces

Member
Yeah Xbox Wire just tweeted out an article by JP talking about it.

http://news.xbox.com/2016/08/17/cus...ebound/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Since introducing Scalebound to the world, we’ve focused on showing Drew and Thuban together. At gamescom this year, we wanted to dive deeper into dragons. Specifically, how you’ll be able to customize Thuban and what it means to work together with him in combat. Creative Director Hideki Kamiya (@PG_kamiya) and I have had a great time explaining it to people here in Germany.

Dragon DNA is the system that covers all of the customization you can do in Scalebound: It is comprised of three different tools – morphing, parts and armor – that allow each player to build a truly unique partner in the world of Draconis.

We’ve already shown off our three core dragon types to choose from, including the Rex, Tank and Wyvern, but the possibilities are much grander with morphing. These types are connected in an evolutionary circle and by using gems at a dragon shrine, players will be able to seamlessly blend both their physical and visual attributes, whether it’s the strength of the Tank or the swiftness of the Wyvern. You can even make our personal favorite – fat Rex. He’s a blend of a Tank and a Rex that is a bit slower than a normal Rex, but can also take and deal more damage.

Next up is dragon parts. These are permanent buffs (you are changing the dragon’s DNA, after all) that alter the physical appearance and boost the elemental characteristics of Thuban. Appearing in Berzerker Mode, which is like Dragon Form for Dragons (worst name ever™), you can imagine these parts as organic and animalistic extensions of Thuban’s body. These cover offensive buffs, while armor covers defensive.

Unlike morphing or parts, armor is made by human hands. Players will buy armor using currency that is earned by defeating enemies, completing quests or finding in game, mixing and matching to boost Thuban’s defenses. Armor can also be destroyed in battle, so it must be maintained during the game.

Once you’ve set up Thuban to match your play style, how does this resonate in combat? That’s where Dragon Link comes in. We’re debuting Dragon Link as a way to directly control Thuban through Drew’s point of view, making your dragon a playable character. Using a button press, you’ll be able to switch in and out of the mode to exploit enemy weaknesses and create openings for Drew.

This collaboration with Thuban translates into the stylish-action that so many fans of PlatinumGames have come to know and love. High-level play really opens up when you take control of Thuban and use him to complement Drew; however, when Drew is using Dragon Link, he is defenseless, so you have to be really smart about where and when you use this critical technique. It also creates a fun metagame in multiplayer where you cover each other as you use your different dragon’s unique abilities in Dragon Link.

It’s best to think of Drew and Thuban as two keys in Scalebound. It’s all about deciding which one to use to open a single lock and progress through the journey. Today, we shared details on how Dragon DNA and Dragon Link make this possible and can’t wait to reveal even more in the future.
Click to expand...

Is this new news? I didn't think you could play as your dragon?
 
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