Final Fantasy XV - General News Thread

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LeonBlade

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Oct 25, 2013
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I don't like too long games either, nowadays. 40h for the main story would have been perfect. Whoever wants more can do sidequests along the way. That way the main story won't be padded with filler.
What's 10 more hours that's somehow too much for you, lol? Also, who says that there's going to be filler? Sidequests are sidequests, if a movie lasts 30 minutes longer but is full of great content would you be complaining? No, of course not.
 

yeah_93

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Sep 27, 2013
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What's 10 more hours that's somehow too much for you, lol? Also, who says that there's going to be filler? Sidequests are sidequests, if a movie lasts 30 minutes longer but is full of great content would you be complaining? No, of course not.
To each their own, I guess. I really could have done without the final 10 hours of Xenoblade Chronicles or Tales of Xillia. It depends if they use that time well for the story.
 

LeonBlade

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To each their own, I guess. I really could have done without the final 10 hours of Xenoblade Chronicles or Tales of Xillia. It depends if they use that time well for the story.
It's adjusting an estimate in game time, not necessarily adding more content. Also, to what I bolded, that's the whole point. I said in my post "If a movie lasts 30 minutes longer but is full of great content would you be complaining?" My point is, if it's 10 more hours based on pure estimation adjustment alone, this means nothing has changed for the story at all, we really don't know how they're basing their estimations, as I know everyone will be spending way more than 50 hours on the game anyways, so what is 10 hours out of 100 or even more?
 

Momo

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Mar 24, 2016
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It's adjusting an estimate in game time, not necessarily adding more content. Also, to what I bolded, that's the whole point. I said in my post "If a movie lasts 30 minutes longer but is full of great content would you be complaining?" My point is, if it's 10 more hours based on pure estimation adjustment alone, this means nothing has changed for the story at all, we really don't know how they're basing their estimations, as I know everyone will be spending way more than 50 hours on the game anyways, so what is 10 hours out of 100 or even more?
Eh well that's kinda right but.... when you play a game you don't rush it to the final too quick, sometimes you grind or play around also there's more content than just the main thing, the 50 hours can turn into 60 - 70 depending on the player...or maybe not.
 

LeonBlade

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Eh well that's kinda right but.... when you play a game you don't rush it to the final too quick, sometimes you grind or play around also there's more content than just the main thing, the 50 hours can turn into 60 - 70 depending on the player...or maybe not.
No one will finish this game in 50 hours only, there's no way that someone will purely just play through the story content and never stop to enjoy anything in the game, the 50 hour estimate honestly is just that, an estimate. Most people will likely take at least another 10 hours or so at the very least. I plan on playing the game for a very long time, so honestly 10 hours difference means nothing to me at all, especially when this is just estimated hours.
 
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Momo

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The main story being 50 hours long to beat is not a bad thing, but it doesn't mean it's a good thing either. It depends whether the gameplay, world, quests and more are enjoyable to play through, even though there is such a thing for a video game being too long.

Take the information as it is and wait until you see more of the game. Thinking it deeply now is really a waste of your time.
We are chill with this I think, anyways I'm going to spend like 80 hahahaha
 
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dissasterrific

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• About Uncovered’s surprises: viewers wrote wild ideas. One person wrote “16” (FFXVI), lol. Tabata says he knows that this event will need to respond to the enthusiasm of the fans. He tells us to look forward to everything.
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Tabata says some pretty interesting things at the end but nothing too significant. One thing that caught my ear was his comment about achieving in other games things they couldn't do in XV.
This certainly caught a lot of my attention... I'm well aware that it might be too early (and off-topic with this thread lol) to even have proper discussions about it but the thought of the next mainline always overwhelms me.
 

Tornak

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I mean, it'd be lovely, but it'd be really weird having this game in a XV-centric event. XVI is E3/own event/PSX material. But yes, a proper discussion regarding this (what we might expect/want to see in terms of devs, artists, setting, gameplay...) is something I wouldn't say no to (in its own thread, sure).

Regarding the time thing, unless the game is awful or those 10 "extra" (you can't measure what's "extra" and what's not) hours are bad comparatively (pacing, areas, story, gameplay...), having a JRPG being 40 or 50 hours won't make a big difference, I think. I'm actually happy about that, as my confidence in this game has rise quite a lot since the last video. Let's see how it unfolds.

Can't believe we're only a few days away now! And not only the event thing is nice, but also the fact that the marketing campaign FINALLY starts the 31st. A shame that I won't be able to watch the event live (it's going to be late, late night here in Spain. Kinda used to that with the E3 Sony conferences, lol). I take it most of you will watch it live?

And GREAT job as always, Rin!
 

dissasterrific

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I mean, it'd be lovely, but it'd be really weird having this game in a XV-centric event. XVI is E3/own event/PSX material. But yes, a proper discussion regarding this (what we might expect/want to see in terms of devs, artists, setting, gameplay...) is something I wouldn't say no to (in its own thread, sure).

Regarding the time thing, unless the game is awful or those 10 "extra" (you can't measure what's "extra" and what's not) hours are bad comparatively (pacing, areas, story, gameplay...), having a JRPG being 40 or 50 hours won't make a big difference, I think. I'm actually happy about that, as my confidence in this game has rise quite a lot since the last video. Let's see how it unfolds.

Can't believe we're only a few days away now! And not only the event thing is nice, but also the fact that the marketing campaign FINALLY starts the 31st. A shame that I won't be able to watch the event live (it's going to be late, late night here in Spain. Kinda used to that with the E3 Sony conferences, lol). I take it most of you will watch it live?
It's definitely a period of time I mostly look forward to, as it would be the first time I'd be anticipating, as a fan, for a brand new mainline title.

I feel the same way in regards of the hours estimated for the main story's completion. There are numerous aspects that would contribute to how balanced the main story will feel and this difference only matters until we personally experience it.

It really is hitting me now too with the event just around the corner... I know how being cautious is always the first thing we should do but ever since FFVII Remake's reveal I've felt more confident in letting my excitement more loose. I'm in the same timezone as Spain but I will be taking naps to be well rested and ensure not to miss a second of it live.
 
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DrBretto

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I am realizing I'm a lot happier about the Airships than I thought I'd be. I'm an old fart compared to most of you, at 33. I grew up on the series from II-US (dumbed down IV) through today. I have not had the same trouble adjusting to the newer ones that some seem to have out there, but I have to admit, there was something special about that moment you unlock the airship in the old games. I really missed that. I totally and completely understand why they sort of disappeared for a while, what with the obvious technical limitations, but it really does add something with soul compared to a basic fast travel option. I'd much, much rather watch the scenery fly by instead of watching a loading screen. And I'd much rather discover things with my eyeballs than input coordinates or something to that effect.

With that an cactuars being my favorite thing ever, yesterday was good to me.
 
Oct 19, 2013
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What's 10 more hours that's somehow too much for you, lol? Also, who says that there's going to be filler? Sidequests are sidequests, if a movie lasts 30 minutes longer but is full of great content would you be complaining? No, of course not.
Yeah, 10h might not be a big issue, if done well. But I wouldn't want the main story to be 70h or so. Most FFs I played around 60-70h INCLUDING the sidequests I've done. The last long RPGs I finished were LR and Witcher 3 with around 80h.

You act as if many JRPG or long games in general don't have filler or backtracking fetch-quests during the main story. Rarely do I play a game where I don't feel like it could have done with 5-10h or so less. Even though I was really into TW3, I felt it should have ended a few hours earlier than it did. Left a bit of a sour taste in the last stretch. If I hear a game has "100h of content!!!" it feels more like a threat to me :D I had the most fun with short (< 5-10h) games in the last years. Give me a nice, focused 30-40h main story in a RPG with non-generic sidequests along the way which I probably will spend another 10-20h with and then we're at a nice 50-60h. Perfect for me. Who knows, though, maybe I'll enjoy FFXV so much that I'll spend even more, but I'm generally not even 100%-ing my most favorite games. I just can't spend hundreds of hours with the same game, especially not after I already beat it. Ironically, LR probably was the first time I NG+'d a JRPG in the last 10 years or so, because I enjoyed it that much, which I never would have expected.
 
Oct 19, 2013
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From Gaf's @DeSolos:
*not a translation of the blog just explanation of the tech demonstrated*
Basically they're using image based lighting, and a special implementation of image based lighting called sky lighting.

IBL uses each pixel of a source image(specifically a cubemap) to create complex lighting. In the case of standard IBL they are using real world photos for the lighting, and in the case of skylighting they are using an image generated by capturing the current state of the sky and using that as the source image.

IBL is a really good/cheap way to fake global illumination but comes with some annoying side effects. IBL does not take into consideration what lighting environment you are in so you need to ensure the source image used matches your lighting environment. The problem with that really comes in when you go from one specific lighting condition to another. The way FFXV solves this is by using post processing volumes(large invisible cubes that determine post processing settings of a specific area) to customize the lighting and post processing of a specific area.

For example, at the gas station in Duscae. When you walk under the overhang and approach the door of the gas station, you pass through several different post processing volumes to transition the lighting to interior lighting. You can test this by having a look at the sky and outside objects as you walk inside. You'll notice how the objects change their lighting condition as you walk in. This works quite well, but requires artist placed post processing volumes with their own settings.​
 

Rin

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Apr 11, 2015
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Official blog update for March 25, 2016: "Report of Taji's Infiltration of Unknown Development Floor Areas Part 4: Flow of Time in Tsumura's Lab Feature"

Quick summary:
• Taji talked with Tsumura, AKA "Tsumura Lab," the person in charge of XV's lighting. Also known as the person in charge of weather and sky. The pictures shown were taken at Tsumura's house; the first is a head mount display, the second is a reflectance measuring instrument.
• The blog post is about change of time in the XV world. The flow of time in XV's world is the same as the real world: there is a 24-hour period. In order to create these 24 hours, the sun, moon, morning, night, etc. are all necessary.
• First Taji talks about the simulation of the sun and blue skies in the game. The photo you see is a panorama taken of the capital (Tokyo). The information from the photo must be processed through Sky System (it does what it sounds like); just replicating the photo within the game leads to strange formations of light. On the left (captioned "IBL," or "image-based lighting," as DeSolos has already explained in Koozek's citation) is an image dropped into the game without filters or changes; on the right is an image tweaked using the Sky System.
• At first glance there seems to be no difference between the two images, but keep in mind that differences in light are present among morning, noon, and night. In XV, the difference in lighting between the sun and moon has been set to 10,000 times and up. In the real world, that difference goes up to 40,000. As in the real world, 1 second of light in XV is not the same as the next second. Exposures to light are regulated through the Sky System in order to represent light in an aesthetically pleasing fashion, including the 10,000+ difference that was just mentioned.

upload_2016-3-25_9-19-57.png
4:30 in the morning

upload_2016-3-25_9-20-15.png
5:10 in the morning

upload_2016-3-25_9-20-32.png
12:00 noon

upload_2016-3-25_9-20-40.png
18:50 in the evening

upload_2016-3-25_9-20-55.png
21:00 at night

Taji says that he "infiltrated" the development floor area that's preparing for Uncovered, but he says he doesn't know how all of the things on which he's previously reported will tie into the event itself.

As always, please look forward to Uncovered.
 

Rin

Reformed
Apr 11, 2015
330
330
This certainly caught a lot of my attention... I'm well aware that it might be too early (and off-topic with this thread lol) to even have proper discussions about it but the thought of the next mainline always overwhelms me.
Ah, sorry, there must be a misunderstanding. From the way I wrote it it definitely sounds like Tabata was hinting at XVI; he did just the opposite in the stream. After he saw "16" flash on the screen he laughed and said, "We can't release 16 before 15" or something like that. And then he talked about how Uncovered has to meet fans' expectations. I left this part out, my apologies!
 

Momo

Balamb Garden Freshman
Mar 24, 2016
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11
33
I am realizing I'm a lot happier about the Airships than I thought I'd be. I'm an old fart compared to most of you, at 33. I grew up on the series from II-US (dumbed down IV) through today. I have not had the same trouble adjusting to the newer ones that some seem to have out there, but I have to admit, there was something special about that moment you unlock the airship in the old games. I really missed that. I totally and completely understand why they sort of disappeared for a while, what with the obvious technical limitations, but it really does add something with soul compared to a basic fast travel option. I'd much, much rather watch the scenery fly by instead of watching a loading screen. And I'd much rather discover things with my eyeballs than input coordinates or something to that effect.

With that an cactuars being my favorite thing ever, yesterday was good to me.
Oh hell I get you man, I've always loved the airships and cactuars, and seeing them again in this game is wonderful, the ambient of the game is more realistic and I love than but they know how to keep the blance here and bring the same ff spirit, this is how a new FF should be, there are people who doesn't like the ARPG but come on, it's tabata! :D
 

DrBretto

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Mar 18, 2016
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I had never really paid much attention to any of the developers until I started following this one closely. With no bias going into it, I have to say I am really, really impressed with Tabata in general. I realize this game is largely Nomura's baby, but I think Nomura is an artist, not a director, and I think he needed to be reigned in a little bit anyway. I love Tabata just as the man in charge. I like how he handles the fans. I've agreed with every decision he's made, or at least taken credit for. His star is rising and he's made a huge bet with this game. I think this is a name that will be tossed around for a long time to come.