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[badcrumble]

I hope there's a diverse set of towns and environments in this game. I really wouldn't like a "Cacoon is a Hub, Pulse Overworld" setup (which is how it feels in FFXII). More of "Cacoon is Midgar of which you are banished, Pulse Overworld with different locales".

Cocoon is pretty clearly much, much bigger than Midgar.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

Cocoon is pretty clearly much, much bigger than Midgar.

Coccon is a world unto itself isn't it?

 

[Deleted member 20920]

I hope there's a diverse set of towns and environments in this game. I really wouldn't like a "Cacoon is a Hub, Pulse Overworld" setup (which is how it feels in FFXII). More of "Cacoon is Midgar of which you are banished, Pulse Overworld with different locales".

Cocoon is really more than a hub I think. And more than midgar. I think an interview with Edge or some other magazine a few months back mentioned that 60% of the story takes place in Cocoon. It's really one world with many locations rather than just a town. Then Pulse has most of the sidequests.

 

[dramatis]

There's areas in Coccon where we have combat. There's also ruins and areas of nature on Cocoon, so it's not just a hub.

Still, with the distinction between Pulse and Cocoon, and if Pulse is to function like a hunt area, I wonder how long the story is going to be.

 

[xenorevlis]

There's areas in Coccon where we have combat. There's also ruins and areas of nature on Cocoon, so it's not just a hub.

Still, with the distinction between Pulse and Cocoon, and if Pulse is to function like a hunt area, I wonder how long the story is going to be.

We've seen some crazy environments with unspecified locations in the FFXIII world, so I'm assuming they are going back to the 3D FF roots that started with FF7 and setting a huge mega city with tons of areas, as well as dungeons, towns, etc. elsewhere in Pulse. Thats the vibe I've gotten from it day one.

 

[Crash Station]

Like I said before, it really does sound like Grand Pulse is designed to be like FFXII, while Cocoon is designed to be like FFVII/VIII/X. It should be really interesting to see the contrast, and to see if the actual concept and design is executed as well as it sounds.

Sounds like the best of both worlds to me. And I didn't think I could get any more hyped.

 

[Deleted member 20920]

Coccon is a world unto itself isn't it?

Yup. I suspect we might not even get to explore the whole of Pulse. And that Cocoon will be bigger, space wise or number of locations wise.

We've seen some crazy environments with unspecified locations in the FFXIII world, so I'm assuming they are going back to the 3D FF roots that started with FF7 and setting a huge mega city with tons of areas, as well as dungeons, towns, etc. elsewhere in Pulse. Thats the vibe I've gotten from it day one.

Other than that huge plain with hills and large monsters, and the recently revealed mountain with ruins(can't remember tha name), all other locations were on Cocoon.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

Sounds like the best of both worlds to me. And I didn't think I could get any more hyped.

You get pretty excited, it wouldn't surprise me!

 

[jett]

Like I said before, it really does sound like Grand Pulse is designed to be like FFXII, while Cocoon is designed to be like FFVII/VIII/X. It should be really interesting to see the contrast, and to see if the actual concept and design is executed as well as it sounds.

If it really turns out to be that way, my hype for this game would increase.

But...my god those characters.
...my god that writing.
...my god that grass


Will be hard.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

XIII seems to be to VII - XII, what IX was to I - VI.

 

[duckroll]

We've seen some crazy environments with unspecified locations in the FFXIII world

We have? I thought so far pretty much every area we've seen has been identified. They're pretty much all places on Cocoon. With the exception of the footages or screens which clearly show the characters on a vast overworld with Cocoon visible in the sky. Those are Pulse areas.

 

[xenorevlis]

Well then, maybe I haven't been spending enough time staring at the videos and pictures and info, but from the Japanese scans and clips I've seen I thought there were new forests, open world, and water areas along with those mountain ranges. I'm not talking about the bio-dome-esque places within Cocoon, but who knows, I might be wrong. It's just my iterpretation of what my eyes have seen

 

[duckroll]

Wow there are clean scans of all 4 pages from V Jump now. Game looks AMAZING! OMmgggggggggggggg! Less than a month away now!!!!!!

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

Wow there are clean scans of all 4 pages from V Jump now. Game looks AMAZING! OMmgggggggggggggg! Less than a month away now!!!!!!

The monster designs, especially in the third scan, are amazing.

 

[duckroll]

Looks like you get titles from completing missions too. Not sure if they actually do anything or if they're just decorative.

 

[-TRN-]

Wow there are clean scans of all 4 pages from V Jump now. Game looks AMAZING! OMmgggggggggggggg! Less than a month away now!!!!!!

I wonder whats that on the second picture from the top on the page showing the ruins. Some kind of weird robot or something?

 

[kyo_daikun]

Looks like you get titles from completing missions too. Not sure if they actually do anything or if they're just decorative.

Maybe like that moogles clan thing from ffxii? Getting more titles gets you items or something.

 

[duckroll]

I wonder whats that on the second picture from the top on the page showing the ruins. Some kind of weird robot or something?

I think it's just a weird new monster. There isn't much more information. But the text talking about Gran Pulse in general seems to indicate that the overworld is a huge hub of sorts, leading into various other areas (like the mountain range, and the ruins), all of which are filled with more "mysterious monsters". I don't think we've seen a single actual story related scene on Gran Pulse at all so far. Hopefully it just means they're keeping things under wraps, because it would be weird if there's really no plot at all on Gran Pulse, and it's just there for optional stuff.

 

[Die Squirrel Die]

I could see them making something like 90% of Gran Pulse optional sidequest stuff. It'd be an interesting way to convey the danger and wildness of it if it was a really high level area for the most part. But surely at some point you'll have to go there to discover the secret of the fal'Cie.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

I think there's a good chance we'll see some story related GranPulse scenes in a few days in the new trailer

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

I don't think we've seen a single actual story related scene on Gran Pulse at all so far. Hopefully it just means they're keeping things under wraps, because it would be weird if there's really no plot at all on Gran Pulse, and it's just there for optional stuff.

Hmmm.

This is troubling.

 

[-TRN-]

I think it's just a weird new monster. There isn't much more information. But the text talking about Gran Pulse in general seems to indicate that the overworld is a huge hub of sorts, leading into various other areas (like the mountain range, and the ruins), all of which are filled with more "mysterious monsters". I don't think we've seen a single actual story related scene on Gran Pulse at all so far. Hopefully it just means they're keeping things under wraps, because it would be weird if there's really no plot at all on Gran Pulse, and it's just there for optional stuff.

Hmm. But those scenes on the end of the TGS demo where the group takes off in some airship and the one inside the train with all the exiled people etc look like they have some connection with Pulse, at least I thought they were being exiled to Pulse and not to somewhere in Cocoon.

 

[duckroll]

Hmm. But those scenes on the end of the TGS demo where the group takes off in some airship and the one inside the train with all the exiled people etc look like they have some connection with Pulse, at least I thought they were being exiled to Pulse and not to somewhere in Cocoon.

Yeah but those are scenes starting IN Cocoon. I wouldn't really consider it a major part of the story at all if they break out of Cocoon, crash land on Pulse in some random place, and then spend 5 hours having to find their way back into Cocoon while exploring ruins and stuff with no real story, except lots of monsters, fights and bosses with no link to the overall story. It would just be a diversion and a sidetrack, not a story event.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

Yeah but those are scenes starting IN Cocoon. I wouldn't really consider it a major part of the story at all if they break out of Cocoon, crash land on Pulse in some random place, and then spend 5 hours having to find their way back into Cocoon while exploring ruins and stuff with no real story, except lots of monsters, fights and bosses with no link to the overall story. It would just be a diversion and a sidetrack, not a story event.

I thought there was, in some way, a connection between Cocoon and Pulse, something The Holy Government was suppressing. There has to be a reason they are condoning the import of the prisoners into Cocoon.

 

[duckroll]

There has to be a reason they are condoning the import of the prisoners into Cocoon.

I knew it. There's much more than meets the eye to the US casting on FFXIII. This explains why they picked Australian VA for Vanille and Fang! :lol

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Looks like you get titles from completing missions too. Not sure if they actually do anything or if they're just decorative.

Can't wait for the hotspring scene where Vanille laments not being as busty as Fang and receives the ironing board title.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

So do we know where Vanille and Fang are from? I'm assuming they're from the same place considering their name/clothes and accents

 

[duckroll]

So do we know where Vanille and Fang are from? I'm assuming they're from the same place considering their name/clothes and accents

Pretty sure they're native to Gran Pulse.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Pretty sure they're native to Gran Pulse.

In that case i'm certain a good portion of the story will take place there, not just a passing through scenario like you suggested

 

[badcrumble]

They probably just want to avoid a lot of spoilers. It seems like the world in this case is very very heavily defined by its mythos - moreso than FFX even - and so it'd be difficult to avoid spoilers. I strongly suspect that this may be the case in FF Versus XIII and Agito as well, even if their mythos differs in many ways.

 

[TheChillyAcademic]

I knew it. There's much more than meets the eye to the US casting on FFXIII. This explains why they picked Australian VA for Vanille and Fang! :lol

:lol

 

[Zilch]

I'm really excited about the possibilities that Gran Pulse presents. I was honestly expecting a disappointing FFX-like world map full of narrow paths and automated camera angles.

 

[APZonerunner]

I knew it. There's much more than meets the eye to the US casting on FFXIII. This explains why they picked Australian VA for Vanille and Fang! :lol

So do we know where Vanille and Fang are from? I'm assuming they're from the same place considering their name/clothes and accents

As I've said before, my friend on the localization team says they're (potential real spoilers on who these guys are)

Spoiler

both from Pulse, and both "from hundreds of years ago". Not sure if this means they're really old or if they've been catapulted forward in time or put into stasis by the fal'Cie... but "from hundreds of years ago" was what I've been told with no other context. Also, they're supposedly the only Aussie accents in the game, or at least in the main, major cast. Maybe a few unimportant NPCs will also speak with an Aussie twang.

Specific numbers mentioned for the hundreds of years ago was 500 years, iirc.

I suppose from this you could infer that they're the only living/surviving/present day Pulse residents that aren't originally from Cocoon - the only 'Ancients' (to coin an FF7 term) left - and perhaps said ancients all spoke with that accent.

Now humming city of ancients theme from FF7 in my head. :lol

Take this as you will. I myself don't know anything precise, so I can only regurgitate the little I've been told and ask for clarification here and there. As said previously in this thread, the person in question is not an FF fan and so could care less and has forgotten a lot of it.

 

[Fimbulvetr]

Speaking of accents, can anybody identify the one on Hope's dad from the TGS trailer?

 

[Sword Familiar]

XIII seems to be to VII - XII, what IX was to I - VI.

I-VI: "You mean nothing to us."

IX: "Aaahw "

XIII seems to have a little of everything though.

 

[BlazingDarkness]

As I've said before, my friend on the localization team says they're (potential real spoilers on who these guys are)

Spoiler

both from Pulse, and both "from hundreds of years ago". Not sure if this means they're really old or if they've been catapulted forward in time or put into stasis by the fal'Cie... but "from hundreds of years ago" was what I've been told with no other context. Also, they're supposedly the only Aussie accents in the game, or at least in the main, major cast. Maybe a few unimportant NPCs will also speak with an Aussie twang.

Specific numbers mentioned for the hundreds of years ago was 500 years, iirc.

I suppose from this you could infer that they're the only living/surviving/present day Pulse residents that aren't originally from Cocoon - the only 'Ancients' (to coin an FF7 term) left - and perhaps said ancients all spoke with that accent.

Now humming city of ancients theme from FF7 in my head. :lol

Take this as you will. I myself don't know anything precise, so I can only regurgitate the little I've been told and ask for clarification here and there. As said previously in this thread, the person in question is not an FF fan and so could care less and has forgotten a lot of it.

sheeeittt shouldn't have read that :lol
interesting though! makes sense with Vanille having all this mystery surrounding her

 

[Kaako]

Jump scans look pretty nice.

 

[Somnia]

So I just thought I'd say I've noticed reserves starting to go up finally for this title now that a Date is set. Nothing major yet, but I figure it will pick up big time in Feb.


Also semi OT, but I figured you'd all like this if you haven't seen it yet. I really hope I get this cover

 

[BlazingDarkness]

love that cover

 

[jiggle]

are they releasing artbook with this?
is nomura really so uninterested with this game that he didn't even bother doing fully rendered artworks, for the few characters he designed, that's worth showing? XD

 

[BlazingDarkness]

i saw some nomura sketches of lightning and snow somewhere, in one of the jp mags i think

 

[jiggle]

the chicken scratch one that didn't even look like his styles? :X




edit: nvm found the one u're talking about, with Snow and Lighting. Not painted, but still awesome. He drew them the same style as what he used in FFX, hawt. Want to see more ><

 

[BlazingDarkness]

no idea

 

[Deleted member 20920]

Finally found the magazine. It was from OPM Aug 09, the pink cover with Lightning posing strangely and having disproportioned legs.

The exact quote about Cocoon and Pulse regarding time spent:

How much of the game takes place on Cocoon and how much of it will take place on Pulse?

Spoiler

It's entirely up to the player. If someone wants to go through the story and get to the ending right away, they'll probably spend the bulk of their time on Cocoon. But if they want to get into all the battles, collect all items, and work on leveling up, they'll probably spend a good portion of time on Pulse, too.

 

[lorddarkflare]

Finally found the magazine. It was from OPM Aug 09, the pink cover with Lightning posing strangely and having disproportioned legs.

The exact quote about Cocoon and Pulse regarding time spent:

How much of the game takes place on Cocoon and how much of it will take place on Pulse?

Spoiler

It's entirely up to the player. If someone wants to go through the story and get to the ending right away, they'll probably spend the bulk of their time on Cocoon. But if they want to get into all the battles, collect all items, and work on leveling up, they'll probably spend a good portion of time on Pulse, too.

That is interesting.

It is as if they made two games, one for people like me the other for the more traditional fans.

This could be good.

 

[Crash Station]

Finally found the magazine. It was from OPM Aug 09, the pink cover with Lightning posing strangely and having disproportioned legs.

The exact quote about Cocoon and Pulse regarding time spent:

How much of the game takes place on Cocoon and how much of it will take place on Pulse?

Spoiler

It's entirely up to the player. If someone wants to go through the story and get to the ending right away, they'll probably spend the bulk of their time on Cocoon. But if they want to get into all the battles, collect all items, and work on leveling up, they'll probably spend a good portion of time on Pulse, too.

Interesting. I'm hoping doing all the stuff in Pulse won't leave the party overleveled.

 

[badcrumble]

Interesting. I'm hoping doing all the stuff in Pulse won't leave the party overleveled.

Remember that there's (essentially) a story-progress-based level cap to make sure that this can't possibly happen. You can keep building up Crystarium points, it seems - you just can't spend them past a certain point until you "unlock" more nodes to fill in by making progress in the story. It sounds like the multitude of things to do on Pulse is precisely the reason for that.

Getting way more hyped the more we hear about the leveling system, weapon upgrade system, and Pulse.

 

[duckroll]

The Crystarium system won't stop anyone from getting way more powerful because while you might not have access to higher level abilities or stat boosts, you will still be able to get tons of rare items and materials, and make stronger weapons. This should give players an edge in the game regardless of "level", especially if it is their intention to break down the various growth "paths" in the entire game into different sub-systems, instead of relying on a character level.

 

[hateradio]

Finally found the magazine. It was from OPM Aug 09, the pink cover with Lightning posing strangely and having disproportioned legs.

The exact quote about Cocoon and Pulse regarding time spent:

How much of the game takes place on Cocoon and how much of it will take place on Pulse?

Spoiler

It's entirely up to the player. If someone wants to go through the story and get to the ending right away, they'll probably spend the bulk of their time on Cocoon. But if they want to get into all the battles, collect all items, and work on leveling up, they'll probably spend a good portion of time on Pulse, too.

So, it's like X2?

Spoiler

I cut right to the end on that one...

 

[badcrumble]

The Crystarium system won't stop anyone from getting way more powerful because while you might not have access to higher level abilities or stat boosts, you will still be able to get tons of rare items and materials, and make stronger weapons. This should give players an edge in the game regardless of "level", especially if it is their intention to break down the various growth "paths" in the entire game into different sub-systems, instead of relying on a character level.

Well, maybe, maybe not. Getting rarer items/materials will require story progress in Cocoon, and character progression in Pulse, and since those two things are linked, if the game handles things properly it could make it very difficult to grind your weapon very far beyond where you're supposed to be at a given point in the game. Of course going to Pulse for sidequests will have a significant set of advantages - it just seems to me that it won't be possible to grind your way up to the equivalent of double what your level is supposed to be.