Final Fantasy XV [XO, PS4, PC]

[vspectra]

XV developers have answered some fan questions.

Q: How will the difficulty modes compare in terms of XP gain, enemy states, damage, and A.I.?

A: Lead Game Designer Takizawa Masashi: “The equivalent to difficulty level settings in Final Fantasy XV is a system where you can switch between different battle modes. By having this ability to switch modes, we want to make it so that both players who like action oriented, technical gameplay and also those who want to fight at a slower, more relaxed pace can all enjoy the combat in their own style. This switching system is a key part of the gameplay that we decided to introduce based on the feedback we received from the Episode Duscae demo. We will go into more detail about the system closer to the game’s launch so stay tuned for more information.”


Q: Will large buildings have multiple warp points to allow Noctis to scale and explore rooftops?

A: Lead Level Designer Terada Takefumi: “Why of course they will!

“The warp ability that lets you teleport instantly to high up locations is a vital part of Final Fantasy XV’s battle system. The ability to use multiple warp points in a strategic manner is especially prevalent in the game’s large scale battles over urban terrain. It is not just the buildings though, and we have also created exciting aerial battles with flying foes and gigantic boss enemies, so watch out for those.”


Q: How much of the big cities like Altissia/Insomnia will we be able to explore?

A: Planner Ishikawa Tomonori: “I can tell everyone a little about Altissia at this time.

“Altissia has many and varied locations, such as multiple cafes, ship-bourne market places and parks etc. The city is of a considerable scale, to the extent that even the developers sometimes get lost there!

"The player is free to take a leisurely walk around the complex maze of streets, or ride the gondola to see the sights and there is also added enjoyment to be had looking for restaurants to visit!"

“You are bound to encounter some unique characters when exploring the city streets.
“So we have created lots of different things to enjoy in Altissia and hope everyone is looking forward to visiting!”

http://gematsu.com/2016/01/final-fa...-warp-points-battle-modes#2iOlLqwvOV8ED6v0.99

 

[TEEDA]

Latest screens. And next ATR will be on the 30th

Latest scans give more news
_player will face the big sized Magitek
_some ennemies will be able to pin you down and attack you on the ground
_infiltration based gameplay is part of the game.
_Magic will have impact on the battlefield and on your allies : if you use fire it will spread on the ground and could potentially damage your allies

Final Fantasy XV @FFXVEN
The Jan #FFXVATR will be streaming this week!
NA: Jan 30 at 20:00PST
EU: Jan 31 at 04:00GMT

IQ and draw distance seems quite meh....Hope they' ve been able to achieve 1080p. witha good framerate.

 

[ultragpu]

New screens don't look too promising, sparse open plain, low draw distance and those mountains look laughable. Indoor scene fair much better but still nothing special, I reckon they'd better off using UE4 at this stage.

 

[Globalisateur]

New screens don't look too promising, sparse open plain, low draw distance and those mountains look laughable. Indoor scene fair much better but still nothing special, I reckon they'd better off using UE4 at this stage.

Those screenshots look alright (for a console open world game). They have improved the AF indeed on some areas, (not that it was that hard coming from trilinear). And the game still looks like it's running at a native res.

The mountains are not laughable, what is laughable is their stubbornness to constantly keep DOF activated on the backgrounds, even if they have maybe reduced the DOF compared to some previous build. When you look at those mountains, you laugh indeed because of their ridiculous blurriness making them appear low res, also this will artificially increase the aliasing. I noticed the same on Uncharted trilogy. Backgrounds are uselessly blurred and aliased because of DOF, which is stupid because the assets from those background objects are highly detailed with remastered textures and the low res DOF is stupidly creating aliasing on them, while making the assets appear low res.

 

[TEEDA]

Well I' m okay with that quality if the scale of the game is huge. I' d be more concerned about a terrible chopy framerate. Can't wait for the next ATR in 2 days. And hope they will show more of the discussed 2 gameplay battle system.
I also hope there won't be too much invisible walls during traversial of moutains, landscapes. Agreed DOF used incorrectly is painful to the eyes.
Also wonder how much of CG we will see in this new episode.

 

[Cjail]

We might not like the way they use DOF but it's an artistical/technical choice.

 

[Nesh]

Its like the game had a huge downgrade

 

[London Geezer]

#downgradeOMGpanic

 

[L. Scofield]

New screens don't look too promising, sparse open plain, low draw distance and those mountains look laughable. Indoor scene fair much better but still nothing special, I reckon they'd better off using UE4 at this stage.

No, they wouldn't. The FFVII remake gameplay footage wasn't open world and ran at 15fps.

 

[I.S.T.]

and that gameplay footage is like... a fucking alpha dude. Don't judge it performance wise. It might have even been a target render.

 

[L. Scofield]

Gameplay and content are alpha, not the engine

 

[TEEDA]

Tabata said that all the assets created on PC are ported to consoles. that pretty much everything shown is kinda unstable. All the videos they showed are from august - september at 50%60 %.
it's on another stage now and it's improving.

-sea waves physic affecting Noctis moves
-F2F ( face to face camera ) close up camera
- revamped link system
- improved cross link system
- ennemies pinning down Noctis , doing damages.
- aerial combat
- new phantom warp attack
- parry link system
- magic affecting environment and allies
-stealth mechanic
- Ignis can throw warp points to ennemies so Noctis can jump to them.
-Prompto can use Flare
- Gladio can use heavy damage attack
- Female dragon character from versus XIII early trailer is back and called Aranae Highwind
-game will be released worldwide on EU, NA, JP and ASIA market.


Official screenshots
http://abload.de/img/ffxv2jxseh.jpg
http://abload.de/img/ffxv303sxl.jpg

Progress Report 2.0

some gifs i made
https://media.giphy.com/media/l0NwJErD5wdUdUGt2/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/l0NwuO7Yjkdto4Odi/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7ZeNw7eEFxy5Y7Ru/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7ZePFJf5xpQIsEKs/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7ZezaaP7aaf8MXHa/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/26tncKIffhNArOh9K/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/l2JInoToZSc1F3qSI/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/d2W7D3WVeIidfKSs/giphy.gif

Battle & Stealth Gameplay

more gifs
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7ZesKV8fddAwHKi4/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7ZeyufUNdtp0qlk4/giphy.gif
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https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7ZeHb627vOdl7Nw4/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/l0NwR6L3SFbMjH8s0/giphy.gif

next big event in march

 

[vspectra]

As expected, those screens were just showing an old build and WIP environments.
Just look at the shadow rendering compared to the new footage of the same environment.

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/10186620160125_214430_1_big.jpg

https://media.giphy.com/media/26tnePCOvC3tFyyAw/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/26tndz7HAuYNdg6nC/giphy.gif

 

[TEEDA]

I don't really like the new hud at all. Look really too bland IMO. I hope they will try to make it more appealing. Also we need to see more summons. battle looks less chaotic comapred to Duscae demo.
He said Attack, Defend, Jump and Warp will be on the face buttons. More buttons will unlock as we progress. Wonder if they will succed on putting the game on one blu ray only lol.
And loving the new revamped battle system. Stealth looks kinda nice too. Nice camera on the action. the group command looks cool too. Hopefully thry will target release date for the end of the year and we ll have a new playable demo somewhere before or after E3 ?

 

[I.S.T.]

Gameplay and content are alpha, not the engine

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd?

You can quite quickly mock up a proto that won't run nearly as well as the final product in any game development or general software development, even if you're using a "kit" like an engine is.

also, a protip: engines usually get at least some customization done in the process of making a game, and even in cases where that does not happen, using it doesn't mean you're using it well at first.

For example, the developer Zeboyd Games is working on their latest game, Cosmic Star Heroine. It's getting a PS Vita port, and I've been following the twitter of the main programmer since around the time the port's development began. The initial performance was awful, and load times were abysmal. They've done little to no engine modification(Using Unity) and yet they've managed to increase frame rate by a factor of 2-3X and cut load times down massively since they got it actually functioning on the Vita.

How did this occur? They weren't using the engine right at first. They had blunt forced it on the PC and PS4 ports due to the much, much higher amounts of RAM/CPU(It's a 2D sprite RPG, so GPU isn't really a concern), and when the PS Vita came a-callin', they wound up learning a lot about what the engine needs for really fast speeds and what the PS Vita can take/needs as well.

So, FF7 REDO(I hope someone gets this) performing at 15 frames is entirely expected for a game that's only been in development for seven fuckin' months. Maybe 9 if we're lucky.

 

[vspectra]

 

[Clukos]

That boss fight scene looks really good. Will def watch that reveal with kinda funny

 

[ultragpu]

As expected, those screens were just showing an old build and WIP environments.
Just look at the shadow rendering compared to the new footage of the same environment.

http://www.gamekyo.com/Webmasters/Images/10186620160125_214430_1_big.jpg

https://media.giphy.com/media/26tnePCOvC3tFyyAw/giphy.gif
https://media.giphy.com/media/26tndz7HAuYNdg6nC/giphy.gif

Yes, in motion it looks much better and overall more impressive. I see a lot of shadow casting light sources which is pretty demanding in an open world game. Magic spells look fantastic as ever and the fighting style is crazy good. Just hope they could iron out the outdoor area a bit more, maybe tone the DOF down a notch.

 

[ultragpu]

That's more like it! There's something about mixing rain, fire, explosions, reflection and cool character models together super nextgen every time that's present in a game.

 

[TEEDA]

. More details from Dualshockers

The build shown today from the Progress Report video is actually pretty old. The footage is dated between August and September.
The frog at the end is the effect of the Toad spell that can be cast on the player by an enemy.
Fire set to the environment will hurt both friends and foes.
The Fire spell isn’t like the classic fireball that affects a single enemy like in previous Final Fantasy games, but it affects an area from the beginning.
Flames will spread naturally and ignite flammable items, like grass and wooden buildings. The game actually distinguishes between flammable items and those that can’t catch fire.
If it’s raining, flames will not spread and the fire will be doused quickly.
After a while, the signs of scorching are removed by a “strange force.” In Final Fantasy XV magic derives from the elements, and after a while that power returns to the planet.
There are other magic elements besides fire, but it isn’t a huge amount, to give each its own specific identity. There will also be Blizzard and Lightning. Blizzard will be showcased first.
Thunder will be more powerful when it rains due to the interaction between electricity and water. Blizzard will freeze water and slow down enemies.
Elemental magic is present in various locations around the world. It’s a kind of energy that the player gathers and is stored like an item in inventory. You can equip it instead of a weapon in battle.
There’s another kind of magic on top of elemental magic, and that’s ring magic, that can be used only by the bearer of the royal ring of Lucis. While elemental magic will be available from the beginning, ring magic will be available only after reaching a certain point in the story.
The Kingdom of Lucis and the Niflheim Empire have different sources of military might. Lucis draws power from the magic of the Crystal. For instance, they can use it to create barriers to block invasions. Niflheim bases its power on technology and mechanical weapons.
Niflheim has a large number of mechanized troops and magitek weaponry.
Car culture and mechanization spread from Niflheim to Lucis, but the people from Lucis then further developed in their own way according to their culture.
In the gallery below we can see the government structure of Niflheim.
At the top of Niflheim is the ruthless supremacist Emperor Iedolas. At the beginning of the game he’s actually semi-retired from politics, and the empire is run by the Chancellor, Adryn.
Adryn is a slightly “humorous” character who is at the center of the power of the empire. He’s very shrewd and plays an important part in the story.
Verstael is the man who developed the technology behind the Magitek infantry.
General Glauca leads the army, which includes the magitek infantry, which in turn is formed by former models and combat prototypes. The officers are all human, while all the simple troops are magitek. The older models are normally used outside of actual battle.
The female character introduced today is named Aranea Highwind and she’s in command of Niflheim’s 87th Airborne Unit, which is “kind of a mercenary unit.” She’s human and due to her ability in aerial combat, the army started to refer to her as “the Dragoon.”
The camera has been improved a lot since Episode Duscae. It’s better at anticipating the movement of the player. It’s automated as much as possible so that the player won’t need to move it manually as much as it was necessary before.
The UI is still being worked on, but many changes have been done following feedback from Episode Duscae.
Now the system allows for better control, and the buttom configuration has also been changed from the demo.
In the demo many features were unlocked by default, but in the actual game, they will be unlocked gradually.
The “fourth combo” system has been introduced. The player gives an order to one of Noctis’ buddies, the camera zooms on him, as he executes his action, then it zooms back to Noctis. Those moves are tied to the growth system of the characters.
Ignis can create warp points that Noctis can use, including on enemies. Prompto can use flares, and those will influence enemies afraid of light. Gladio can use powerful area attacks.
Magic has large effects on the environment. You can also cause explosions if you set fire to the right items, like oil.
Luminous isn’t very different from other engines like Unreal Engine 4 in lighting. What makes Final Fantasy XV look different is lighting design and post-process effects.
Now the team is using LOD on shadows, so now they’re much better implemented, and more can be displayed. Since there are multiple lights in the environment, multiple shadows have to be cast by each object. That’s what makes the game look so realistic.
Fog looks different depending on brightness, atmosphere and environment.
What we saw today is very close to complete. The assets are being transfered and optimized from PC to console, so things are a bit unstable now.
Basically everything can be reproduced on console, but some element requires further optimization to improve performance, and that’s a challenging task.
The team is well into the process of transferring the game on consoles now. The process has started a while back, when the game was in pre-beta.
Tabata-san thinks that we’re not too far from when the game will be printed on masters.
There will be plenty of infiltration missions, but they won’t be based completely on stealth. You’ll be able to take over enemy artillery and cause a lot of explosions. There will be elements of the environment that will be will be destructible.
The player will be able to actually capture Niflheim bases during the game, and that’s a different activity to enjoy the game on top of the main story.
Tabata-san thinks that the team finally managed to create the battle system they originally envisioned.
The tech demo coming before the game’s release is not focused on combat, but it will be dedicated to let players get acquainted with the world. Combat will still be included.

http://www.dualshockers.com/2016/01...-on-magic-niflheim-empire-combat-new-artwork/