SquareEnix explains why FFXIII is PS3 exclusive - DVD9 not enough

[Sis]

So nobody wants to talk about the game being 80% done and might use the motion tech in the PS3 controller?

Sounds like to me this game could be 2007 bound.

80% of the scenarios are done--that's probably storyboarding or just scripts. The engine is also "almost done". Content is by far the hardest/longest part, as far as I know.

Also: I'm betting that the motion tech is limited to use in a mini-game or two.

 

[kyleb]

Sorry bud, but your definitive statement stands on it's own, no rephrasing required:
" you can't rightly break a game like that down to mulitple disks"

Try again.

You could try quoteing my whole sentence instead of destroying the context by removing the first half of it; but you really don't have any interest in understanding what I've said here, do you?

 

[RobertR1]

For a company that has had no issues of releasing their game on multiple discs, all of a sudden does.....funny!

 

[kyleb]

Yeah funny that such developers might actually be interesting building on a platform that won't necesitate them dividing their game up into multiple disks. It's not like those clowns have any tallent so I doubt they will manage to come up with anything impressive anyway.

 

[Nesh]

For a company that has had no issues of releasing their game on multiple discs, all of a sudden does.....funny!

Funny?
Because they didnt have any other choice in the PS1 days? What did you expect? Make a DVD work on a PS1?
And its not like any of the new PS2 FFs needed more than one DVD. Also they dont have to worry about anything like how each disk will affect the other or restrict some ideas or what has to be present in each disk.

 

[rounin]

Of course, we don't want FF to go beyond being linear. If its linear, it'll fit on multiple discs just fine. Down with bigger games. Down with better looking games. Say no to the possible progression of FF from linear to non-linear gameplay. What we had 6 years ago is "good enough". We don't want that to happen because its good enough for the next few years and by then its next-next gen.

 

[kyleb]

Dude, that is nothing. When I was a kid everyone had to walk 40 miles to school, in the snow, barefoot, uphill, both ways...

 

[archie4oz]

For a company that has had no issues of releasing their game on multiple discs, all of a sudden does.....funny!

In my experience (and this still holds case when talking to old co-workers), Square-Enix is always more than happy to have what some would call unnecessarily large storage options. Anyhow, it's amusing to hear the same shit about DVD's being plenty big enough that I heard about CDs (or GD-ROM) vs. DVD storage (or going waaaaay back to the DOS days of nobody needing more than 640K of RAM).

 

[mckmas8808]

In my experience (and this still holds case when talking to old co-workers), Square-Enix is always more than happy to have what some would call unnecessarily large storage options. Anyhow, it's amusing to hear the same shit about DVD's being plenty big enough that I heard about CDs (or GD-ROM) vs. DVD storage (or going waaaaay back to the DOS days of nobody needing more than 640K of RAM).

No kidding. I still don't see why people say DVDs are more than plenty. There games on the X360 that are 6 GBs and that's within the first year. New compression techniques could have knocked that game down to 5 GBs, but that's still sort of close to the limit of 7 or someting GBs.

Not having that restriction is only a good thing.

 

[Nesh]

No kidding. I still don't see why people say DVDs are more than plenty. There games on the X360 that are 6 GBs and that's within the first year. New compression techniques could have knocked that game down to 5 GBs, but that's still sort of close to the limit of 7 or someting GBs.

Not having that restriction is only a good thing.

Besides who would want 2,3 or more disks for every game they buy?

 

[Npl]

Of course, we don't want FF to go beyond being linear. If its linear, it'll fit on multiple discs just fine. Down with bigger games. Down with better looking games. Say no to the possible progression of FF from linear to non-linear gameplay. What we had 6 years ago is "good enough". We don't want that to happen because its good enough for the next few years and by then its next-next gen.

Of course we dont want linear games, linear is inheritly evil. We all want RPGs where you can go wherever you want, do the same thing you do everywhere else and get some random assignments inbetween. Actually like you just could go out and try to catch the bird flu in your sparetime, life wouldnt be the same without that option.
And scrap that primitive equipment. Its not a real RPG if you dont have to question for each armor if its light enough to wear so you dont get agility penalties (well, just drop it in your backback together with the remaining 100kg of crap), if the weapons have any sideeffects, and if every equipment fits your pink tutu.
And while we are at it, true nonlinear games, regardless of genre should include a fishing simulator.

Back on topic, multiple discs are a hassle, but I doubt it qualifies as technical restriction.
On the other side we have a very bad PAL-Version of FFX (borders on top/bottom and running slower), a 60Hz Mode wouldve been a pleasure. Appearently Square decided not to include a 60Hz Mode because the CGI-Movies would then stutter - and there was no space to fit Pal AND Ntsc Versions on the Disc. I hope atleast such excuses wont be possible now...

 

[kyleb]

Back on topic, multiple discs are a hassle, but I doubt it qualifies as technical restriction.

That surely just becuase you haven't thought it though very far. How do you think Oblivion would have worked on mini-DVDs?

 

[LunchBox]

Multiple discs for rpg's are acceptable nowadays - could have just as easily been gone that route. I think there are other reasons aside from technical that drive the exclusivity of this game.

the HD-CG part of the game would take up a lot more than the actual DATA...

 

[Nesh]

Of course we dont want linear games, linear is inheritly evil. We all want RPGs where you can go wherever you want, do the same thing you do everywhere else and get some random assignments inbetween. Actually like you just could go out and try to catch the bird flu in your sparetime, life wouldnt be the same without that option.
And scrap that primitive equipment. Its not a real RPG if you dont have to question for each armor if its light enough to wear so you dont get agility penalties (well, just drop it in your backback together with the remaining 100kg of crap), if the weapons have any sideeffects, and if every equipment fits your pink tutu.
And while we are at it, true nonlinear games, regardless of genre should include a fishing simulator.

Back on topic, multiple discs are a hassle, but I doubt it qualifies as technical restriction.
On the other side we have a very bad PAL-Version of FFX (borders on top/bottom and running slower), a 60Hz Mode wouldve been a pleasure. Appearently Square decided not to include a 60Hz Mode because the CGI-Movies would then stutter - and there was no space to fit Pal AND Ntsc Versions on the Disc. I hope atleast such excuses wont be possible now...

His point is you can put linear AND non linear elements on BR, but you cant on multible limited storage disks. You are restricted to linear

 

[Npl]

That surely just becuase you haven't thought it though very far. How do you think Oblivion would have worked on mini-DVDs?

I played RPGs from Floppys back in the Amiga-Days (10 Disks, swapping them before each fight, extreme example). Sure it wouldnt be the same.

His point is you can put linear AND non linear elements on BR, but you cant on multible limited storage disks. You are restricted to linear

Swap discs crossing borders?
But I have to admit that I misunderstood his post

 

[PARANOiA]

If it came on multiple discs, it might be hated more than FFVII was. Good thing they made the right choice

Seriously though, why bother with CGI in this game, when the graphics look so damn good? Save costs and do it in-engine, whilst adding to the immersiveness of the game.

Personally I think the "technical" reasons listed here are fluff, when in reality, it's pure marketing, but hey everyone does it.

 

[London Geezer]

Seriously though, why bother with CGI in this game, when the graphics look so damn good?

Cause their CGI will look SO much better

I agree, KH2 cutscenes were all realtime except for the intro and the end (i think? it was a long game, my memory might be a bit off) and it was great.

 

[LunchBox]

Cause their CGI will look SO much better

In total agreement!!!!!

If they can one up the quality of FF7:Advent Children...

*drools*


Edit!
I just love that movie...

Even my friend's Japanese cousin(deaf) understood the movie because he can read the character's lips...

without the need of subtitles...

 

[Arwin]

If it came on multiple discs, it might be hated more than FFVII was. Good thing they made the right choice

Seriously though, why bother with CGI in this game, when the graphics look so damn good? Save costs and do it in-engine, whilst adding to the immersiveness of the game.

Personally I think the "technical" reasons listed here are fluff, when in reality, it's pure marketing, but hey everyone does it.

What they can do is have a high detail level for the in game scenes which they however keep at a low polycount by restricting the environment, depth of view and so on. Then, when tonnes of stuff happens on screen, they can use CGI to render events that take millions of polygons more. This way you can mix both CGI and in-game to a good extent, without getting too large a difference between the two.

Incidentally, when I looked at MGS: Ops for the PSP and noticed that they are again cutting way down on the animations in-between because there's not enough space on the 1.8Gb to store those kinds of animations, I start to realise that these take up a lot of space also, which also explains why the MGS games on the PS2 and even the Subsistence one on Xbox are some of the largest games out there. The in-game, game-engine based animations still use up a lot of data.

 

[rabidrabbit]

I wouldn't be surprised if doing better quality and more detailed prerendered fmv would even be chaper than trying to fight the limits of a game-engine , or at least not that much more expensive or time-consuming.
Rendering time of course would be longer, but then again it's much machine time, not "man years" as when tweaking the "in-engine" cutscenes.
Just my guesses, don't take these as facts or even an opinion or anything that was meant to offend.