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[SomTervo]

Flagged up by Warriorr

Tweet from the official Mirror's Edge account.

Hyperlink to the map here.

It looks absolutely. Bloody. Massive. [Edit: High chance they're being really disingenuous and only a fraction of that map is playable.] The beta was fantastic, and it felt pretty dang big. Based on this map, it looks like the beta was probably 1/10th of the game. Maybe less.

Then somebody asked is exactly what I was thinking:

Yes, DICE. Yes, I am.

Points of interest: They only say the whole city will be 'explorable'. Suggesting all you can do is explore. It could be that story content only covers a smaller portion and there's a lot of empty city. This is fine IMO – players can come up with race routes, and they're pretty fun, so in theory there we'll have unlimited races across a huge space.

On top of that, if they've built way more city than necessary, then perhaps the game will get a robust update model (*please be free, please be free*) adding more and more races/story content across the city. Basically it looks ripe for the DLC'ing.
------------------------------

Text version for those on mobile:

Explore Glass. The district of Anchor is first up in the interactive 3D map: http://bit.ly/1TpVcPH

Unsure if Map works on mobile.

Then the sub-tweet:

Q: 'Is the whole area playable?'

A: 'The whole city will be explorable. Today we've only shown you the Anchor district, but more will follow.'

So this isn't even the whole thing.

 

[lucebuce12]

Holy Shit.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Bruh

Serious GOTY contender for me already based on the Beta. Loved what was on there and cannot wait to run around the rooftops with Spotify <3

"In the coming weeks" makes me think there might be another delay though lmao

 

[Whompa02]

I'm so excited that it appears, to me, that the devs could make the game they wanted to make.

 

[Aztechnology]

Free running hypeeeeee

 

[Xdrive05]

Any idea what "the whole city is explorable" means? As in, does every building have a parkour path to the top, and is there a free run mode where you can just go anywhere a'la a GTA style sandbox?

 

[Madchad]

The whole city will be playable.

After spending £60 on the season pass/DLC.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Any idea what "the whole city is explorable" means? As in, does every building have a parkour path to the top, and is there a free run mode where you can just go anywhere a'la a GTA style sandbox?

Don't know if you've been following but Catalyst is open world. So you can literally go where you want.

The whole city will be playable.

After spending £60 on the season pass/DLC.

They haven't mentioned DLC at all though.

 

[SomTervo]

Any idea what "the whole city is explorable" means? As in, does every building have a parkour path to the top, and is there a free run mode where you can just go anywhere a'la a GTA style sandbox?

Mused on that. Curious about it myself.

Even if it's just a 'run about' simulator for most of the city, I'll be happy as larry. The beta's map was wonderful to just explore and enjoy without an objective.

edit: just noticed that peninsula that extends out to the east of default view, too...

Goddamn this thing is massive

 

[Madchad]

Don't know if you've been following but Catalyst is open world. So you can literally go where you want.

They haven't mentioned DLC at all though.

You are kidding yourself if you think DICE who are under the EA umbrella will not DLC the shit out of this like everything else.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

You are kidding yourself if you think DICE who are under the EA umbrella will not DLC the shit out of this like everything else.

The game is out in less than a month and there is nary a peep about a season pass. EA are only projecting this to sell a few million anyway. Maybe they're waiting til post launch to decide on DLC.

 

[Spring Drive]

I hope it isn't lifeless as are so many open world games with a huge map

 

[Comfort Jones]

We're not still getting hyped on map size alone in open world games are we?

Based off what I saw I'm not convinced they can fit all of that or even most of it with meaningful content. Expecting a lot of repetitive side missions so you can get exp to get those unlocks.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

WAT. I thought people were acting like the Beta was a large chunk of the game??

 

[deoee]

Wait so this will be open world?

If so:

Spoiler

All interest lost

 

[Garrett Hawke]

Wait so this will be open world?

If so:

Spoiler

All interest lost

It shouldn't lose your interest because the beta showed that it works in the game's favour. You're no longer shepherded down specific one time paths, you can pick a destination and then choose how you get there. This is really important in the time trials, where using Faith's abilities and actually THINKING about your route can shave off tens of seconds.

The beta also showed that they still have interiors for specific missions, just like the first game. So to write it off because of the open world is silly.

 

[Jimmyfenix]

We're not still getting hyped on map size alone in open world games are we?

Based off what I saw I'm not convinced they can fit all of that or even most of it with meaningful content. Expecting a lot of repetitive side missions so you can get exp to get those unlocks.

Yeah I'm expecting an ubisoft style of open world which isn't a good thing

 

[red731]

Wait so this will be open world?

If so:

Spoiler

All interest lost

Known for ages.
Sorry

 

[UnluckyKate]

Did will release 3 years in 12 months :
Battlefront
Mirrors edge
Bf1

Crazy

 

[deoee]

It shouldn't lose your interest because the beta showed that it works in the game's favour. You're no longer shepherded down specific one time paths, you can pick a destination and then choose how you get there. This is really important in the time trials, where using Faith's abilities and actually THINKING about your route can shave off tens of seconds.

The beta also showed that they still have interiors for specific missions, just like the first game. So to write it off because of the open world is silly.

I really didn't know this will be open world.

I'm really sceptical about those ones because they tend to fill the world with useless shit to do and sometimes you need to advance to certain points to continue the story (Hi Xenoblade Chronicles X).

But if you say they try to keep their "roots" and just basically made missions more open - well that could be interesting to see.

 

[dex3108]

Just to be clear that 3D map is whole ME Catalyst map. Everything around Zephyr Transit Hub is Anchor district. That is how i understood it. But map is large and that is really cool.

 

[SomTervo]

We're not still getting hyped on map size alone in open world games are we?

Based off what I saw I'm not convinced they can fit all of that or even most of it with meaningful content. Expecting a lot of repetitive side missions so you can get exp to get those unlocks.

Based off what I've playedI'm fairly convinced they can.

1. Players can generate/share their own custom race routes, and they're surprisingly fun. In theory this means a near-unlimited amount of content - and not meaningless collectibles, but hand-crafted challenges.

2. The beta was excellent and definitely felt constricting in terms of map soze.

Have a read of the Eurogamer preview. They talk about how the map was sparse - but in a good way. It kept you focused on the act of movement.

This is a game where high-speed movement and flow is a fun exercise in itself, so the less barriers there are on your gameplay/movement, the better.

3. U til The Witcher 3, Dying Light and AC Syndicate last year, I didn't think it was worth getting hyped about map size again. But those games changed all that for me. Developers are really hitting it out of the park with open worlds these days.

 

[Keasar]

I think people get their hopes up if they think that this entire city will be explorable.

Edit:

This is probably what you can run around in, the rest is just background fluff.

I'll be happy if proven wrong though.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

I really didn't know this will be open world.

I'm really sceptical about those ones because they tend to fill the world with useless shit to do and sometimes you need to advance to certain points to continue the story (Hi Xenoblade Chronicles X).

But if you say they try to keep their "roots" and just basically made missions more open - well that could be interesting to see.

I was really sceptical too but after the beta I stopped being so. It was so wonderful to just be let loose with Faith's abilities, and having to actually think about your route was really fun. By the end of the beta I had started to memorise bridges across the larger gaps and routes that would take me places quickly etc. I genuinely felt like I was learning the map rather than just content tourism like so many open world games where you just see a new area once to climb the tower and then never go back.

 

[EatChildren]

The beta sold me, even if I strongly disagree with some of their direction. The open world fit the design, and I think there's a lot of potential for the social networking features to essentially permit for unlimited time trials.

 

[Warriorr]

I'm still sceptical about the real part of the city we'll be able to access.

In the last few months they talked a lot about the three main districts of the game (Anchor, Downtown of the beta and The View). They are the ones marked on the map and the ones that appeared on the making-of videos:

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/525x350q90/r/924/8gF2Pt.jpg

I don't wan't to become too excited because I'm quite sure we'll only be able to go on the marked area.

 

[spineduke]

Is it fair to assume that the game will be Origin exclusive?

 

[SomTervo]

Yeah I'm expecting an ubisoft style of open world which isn't a good thing

Wait so this will be open world?

If so:

Spoiler

All interest lost

Have a read of the last Eurogamer preview. They put it really well.

Basically, the map is pretty sparse, and collectibles are there to give you little challenges - explore this alley, scale this thing, make this dangerous leap.

It works really, really well and doesn't feel Ubisoftey at al.

Frankly the core gameplay is so great it avoids that trap anyway.

The beta was brilliant and clearly had a smidgen of content. I'm a huge ME1 fan, too.

I'm still sceptical about the real part of the city we'll be able to access.

In the last few months they talked a lot about the three main districts of the game (Anchor, Downtown of the beta and The View). They are the ones marked on the map and the ones that appeared on the making-of videos:

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/525x350q90/r/924/8gF2Pt.jpg

I don't wan't to become too excited because I'm quite sure we'll only be able to go on the marked area.

That's the thing, though, they say that entire online map will be explorable. Right there in the OP. It's the first thing i checked (to prevent my hype from exploding).

What "explorable" means is the next question, but at the very least we can presume it's accessible.

 

[derExperte]

Is it fair to assume that the game will be Origin exclusive?

All EA games are.

 

[NippleViking]

I'm still sceptical about the real part of the city we'll be able to access.

In the last few months they talked a lot about the three main districts of the game (Anchor, Downtown of the beta and The View). They are the ones marked on the map and the ones that appeared on the making-of videos:

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/525x350q90/r/924/8gF2Pt.jpg

I don't wan't to become too excited because I'm quite sure we'll only be able to go on the marked area.

It's EA + Dice, so always best to be cynical.

That s&#822;a&#822;i&#822;d&#822; written, the interactive map currently available is absurdly large. There must be several thousand of rooftops, and that's just one district.

 

[Heroman]

This game probably shouldn't be open world.

 

[Garrett Hawke]

This game probably shouldn't be open world.

Pretty much every preview disagrees with you. This is one game that appears to have really benefited from it.

 

[SomTervo]

This game probably shouldn't be open world.

The first thing i thought when i played Mirror's Edge 1 was "this should be open world".

Last month I played Catalyst's beta and my first thought was "open world was the right decision".

 

[Shaanyboi]

shiiiiiiiiiiiiit

O_O

 

[Diprosalic]

things like that do nothing for me.
show me that you can fill even 1% of this with interesting content.

 

[dr_rus]

Wait so this will be open world?

If so:

Spoiler

All interest lost

It was announced as an open world game. And yeah, I fear that this will be the main reason it will suck.

 

[Warriorr]

From the Facebook page:

is it all playable though, cuz in the beta it wasnt

Mirror's Edge In the released game, it will all be accessible and you can roam freely through it.

Can you actually explore all of this? Holy cow...

Mirror's Edge More than what is marked today. We'll show you more in the following weeks.

Damn. I really want to believe them but don't want to get too excited about it.

 

[sonicmj1]

The beta area is that slice of districts from Concord Plaza through Triumvirate Drive.

I don't know how many of the city's rooftops we'll actually be able to access, but it'd be awesome if we can reach as much of the city as that map implies.

 

[Nugg]

I feel like the marketing for Catalyst has been a game of telling people who love open world games that this is one, while at the same time hiding that fact from the others

 

[Shaanyboi]

things like that do nothing for me.
show me that you can fill even 1% of this with interesting content.

If it's fun to run around and explore, that'll be interesting enough for me. Traversal is the main point, and as long as it isn't boring to do so, I'm happy.

 

[SomTervo]

things like that do nothing for me.
show me that you can fill even 1% of this with interesting content.

Again, read Eurogamer's recent written preview.

They make a point of the fact that there isn't much content (quest/mission wise) in the map, and that this works in the game's favour.

The point of the game is parkour and exploration. Giving us a huge sandbox for that is absolutely ideal.

To boot, the game allows you to make your own race routes and share them with others. So the best players will try and find really difficult routes across the city and then share them online so everyone can take part. In theory there will be interesting content everywhere within weeks.

It was announced as an open world game. And yeah, I fear that this will be the main reason it will suck.

The beta was fantastic and the open world design really shone for Mirror's Edge's core gameplay.

 

[krang]

I fear that the art style and the fact that it's limited to rooftop exploration means that there'll be a distinct lack of variety in the environments when the map is so big.

 

[KORNdoggy]

i assume its only the points of interest marked on the interactive map? so like, 8 zones or whatever) and not the entire landmass? you know, like how there is visible modeled city in a game like the division that you can't actually explore (legitimately anyway)

if it's literally ALL of that, edge to edge, then i'm impressed.

 

[dr_rus]

The beta was fantastic and the open world design really shone for Mirror's Edge's core gameplay.

I've read a lot of completely opposite impressions here on GAF as well.

 

[SomTervo]

i assume its only the points of interest marked on the interactive map? so like, 8 zones or whatever) and not the entire landmass? you know, like how there is visible modeled city in a game like the division that you can't actually explore (legitimately anyway)

if it's literally ALL of that, edge to edge, then i'm impressed.

It is, according to DICE's official tweets.

They verbatim have said 'you can explore the entire map' and by 'map' they're referring to that whole digital view you can look at through your browser. The URL for it is even /map

I've read a lot of completely opposite impressions here on GAF as well.

One user (Jett I think?) experienced poor PC performance and wrote the whole game off because of it (even though it was a nowhere near complete beta build) and raved like this for pages and pages. I was on PS4 and the performance was fantastic (although I'll probably buy on PC).

Quite a lot of die-hard ME1 purists didn't enjoy it, admittedly. I think that's because of the slightly streamlined mobility controls (arguably less precise) and the fact that it doesn't have ME1's tunnel-vision focus on race-times.

But IMO ME1 only had that focus because the levels were so (often frustratingly) limited and small-scale. The fact that they gated you every 15-20 minutes with cutscenes or level-ends was infuriating, to me.

ME2 literally plays just like ME1 but with better controls and a very well designed open world (subtracting irritating things like lots of cutscenes and guns). The fact that you finish a mission and just keep running is a deal-maker alone, unlike in ME1 where you finish a mission then sit and wait for the next one to start. Even people's fears re the skill tree were alleviated when you unlock the 2/3 crucial skills within literally 25 minutes of gameplay. It's worth having a read of that beta impressions thread.

 

[KORNdoggy]

It is, according to DICE's official tweets.

They verbatim have said 'you can explore the entire map' and by 'map' they're referring to that whole digital view you can look at through your browser. The URL for it is even /map

yes, but it's also clearly pooled withing the center of the city, the guy above made this image which explains what i mean:

 

[SomTervo]

yes, but it's also clearly pooled withing the center of the city, the guy above made this image which explains what i mean:

Their first tweet (top of the page) says 'First up on the interactive map is the Anchor district'. This suggests that the writing on the map only shows the Anchor district's locations/points of interest.

Judging by how clearly they've said 'the whole map is explorable' I think it's safe to assume that this map only shows icons/text for one region (Anchor), but that the 'whole map is explorable', as they've said.

Remember that 'explorable' doesn't mean 'complete' or 'full of content'. It just means you can expore it. (Which is fine by me.)

Edit: also, the red line on that map doesn't really logically add up. The Beta's map showed a fair amount of city on all 4 sides of the Zephyr Transit Hub. On the red demarced area above, the 'Development Zone' region is cut off by the red line. We know for a fact that the explorable area progresses past that red line (to the left/bottom-left of the image).

 

[family_guy]

Personally Dying Light got tiresome to play until I got the grappling hook. Don't really want a big map if I'm running everywhere

 

[SomTervo]

Personally Dying Light got tiresome to play until I got the grappling hook. Don't really want a big map if I'm running everywhere

There is a grappling hook thing in this

Called the MagLev or something

 

[Liamc723]

Do we know how many other districts there are besides this one?

Because this is looking like a big map, I'm so excited for this game!