Final Fantasy XV - General News Thread

[LeonBlade]

The hold O meme was tired the moment it started.

There was a moment during E3 where people misunderstood something in the options menu they showed (They saw three options for combat: Active, Wait and Default) where people were pointing to this option thinking it was a new game mode where you have to tap instead of hold O. They were celebrating like it was this great victory and showing video of people happily tapping away feeling like everything is great.

Only problem is, there is no "default" option. There's a button to reset that option to default. There is only Active and Wait, and the controls weren't changed. They just tapped away thinking everything is normal. They had no idea.

And it goes back further. As no one complained about the hold O thing back when Episode Duscae came out, either. Why? Because people mostly just didn't know that was already an option. The ONLY thing that has changed is in the Platinum Demo, they advertised that you can just hold the button instead. It's never changed, but all of a sudden people had a problem with it.

I talked to a bunch of rational people who complained about it, and they bring up some great-sounding points about it being more responsive to have the 1:1 controls, and I'm sympathetic to that notion. However, it's still a faulty argument in this sense, as the responsiveness of the controls isn't anything to do with the ability to hold O. It's just an alternative to rapid tapping.

This isn't that radical of a thing. I think we've all played the 3d Zelda games, right? In those, you tap tap tap and you perform automatic combos much in the same way. If you notice, it doesn't actually matter how fast you tap at a certain point. You can tappity tappity tappity all day but the combo performs exactly the same way. All SE did was add an optional way to do the same thing with less wear and tear, lol.

Fucking exactly on point with this entire post. XV's combat style also benefits from still using a hold -> release then tap strategy for executing certain types of abilities as well as using the left analog stick to perform different combo strings with certain weapon categories, as well as abilities that can be unlocked for different weapons like Tempest.

Regardless of holding the button or pressing it, you WILL need to let go of it at some point to perform more intricate moves in combat. As you mention, all this does is make it less prone to wear and tear, which is a serious problem with controllers. The X button on one of my controllers is actually less sensitive after being pressed so much, the membrane gave way a little and it takes more force to press it.

As you mention, considering there's no 1:1 input from your attacks to the actual combo animation, there's no real need to have to mash the button. I still mash the button because that's just my play style, plus it allows me to build a rhythm with my combo string where I know when to stop if I want to execute a different ability.

 

[Nova]

Still, why not at least have both (as in, keeping 1:1 inputs while offering holding the attack button)?

 

[LeonBlade]

Still, why not at least have both (as in, keeping 1:1 inputs while offering holding the attack button)?

Well, it adds a layer of complexity to the battle system, I couldn't tell you what their reasoning is.

 

[DrBretto]

Still, why not at least have both (as in, keeping 1:1 inputs while offering holding the attack button)?

They do have both. They've always had both. Always. Since ED. Beyond that zelda-esque combo system, which again, no one had a problem with for years, any more 1:1 wouldn't work.

The people asking for genuine 1:1 controls ate asking for an entirely different game. This isn't skyrim or Witcher or dark souls. And thank God. Those games bore the hell out of me.

 

[DrBretto]

Well, it adds a layer of complexity to the battle system, I couldn't tell you what their reasoning is.

I can.

It's the basis of the whole game. Flashy combo, buddy moves, etc. Vs standing there in the same pose, slashing with the same slashes.

It's supposed to look like this smooth teleporting ninja combat. Not like a wrpg with some random gladiators looking guy who knows how to slash a sword in two different angles.

 

[Bobjam]

Oh, boy, I'm glad you asked because there was some discussion about this yesterday and this is the only place on the internet where there are people who can comprehend my point.

People are looking at it with too fine a viewpoint. Not seeing the forest for the trees, as is the norm on the internet. Their marketing is dumb like a fox. Which is to say even when they bungle something, it's ending up in their favor. They are doing the one and only thing they need to do and that's keep the game in the forefront of people's minds. They are steadily releasing new things for everyone to talk about, and every time the fanbase freaks out over something (IE, every time something new is mentioned or even hinted at), then we are all doing EXACTLY what they want us to do.

The recent MS demo bungle being the best example of it. It's not that they did it bad on purpose, but all it did was keep the game relevant. That's been their strategy this whole time and it's a brilliant plan. Controversy just means people are talking about it, and people talking about it keeps people gobbling up every little thing they release. Doing it this way, and showing off a lot of behind the scenes unpolished stuff, sets them in position to just make one big kick-ass trailer a couple of weeks before release, with some polished gameplay, completely nullifying all the misses, and turning all of that momentum into sales.

They have us right where they want us. And always have.

I think I am with a lot of people on this particular forum when I say regardless of how they market this game, I am in and have been for a long long time. But what I am not going to be apologist about is their marketing as negative press is still negative press. It is still important that SE not get people too whiled up about it as their marketing is going to do them a lot of favours if they want to get to that 10 million number that was being thrown around by Tabata a while ago. I also don't think the XV marketing team are choosing to show inconsistent, unpolished, beta gameplay on purpose, I think that's because clearly that is all they have got to show at the moment! I just think by now we should have received another trailer akin to the 2013 E3 story trailer and the 2011 Jan event trailer and I don't think we have gotten that yet. I think the game will be fine but the marketing has done a lackluster job imo of bring in people who are on the fence about this game or those who are wanting to see what the game is about.

 

[DrBretto]

negative press is still negative press.

It seems like that should be true, but it is not. Attention is attention. There really is no such thing as bad press here. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but reading and understanding public perception is what I do for a living. I'm not being an "apologist", I'm offering a perspective that isn't imminently intuitive.

 

[AtSwimTwoBirds]

I think I am with a lot of people on this particular forum when I say regardless of how they market this game, I am in and have been for a long long time. But what I am not going to be apologist about is their marketing as negative press is still negative press. It is still important that SE not get people too whiled up about it as their marketing is going to do them a lot of favours if they want to get to that 10 million number that was being thrown around by Tabata a while ago. I also don't think the XV marketing team are choosing to show inconsistent, unpolished, beta gameplay on purpose, I think that's because clearly that is all they have got to show at the moment! I just think by now we should have received another trailer akin to the 2013 E3 story trailer and the 2011 Jan event trailer and I don't think we have gotten that yet. I think the game will be fine but the marketing has done a lackluster job imo of bring in people who are on the fence about this game or those who are wanting to see what the game is about.

There's some truth to this. E3 was a poor showing, not including the ATR stuff.

E3 had 21 million viewers on Twitch. That is substantial. However, this is the more 'hardcore' audience. The average person doesn't sit down and watch E3, or get involved with Twitch. Much of the Hardcore crowd will have already formed an opinion on this product. Although those on the fence could be turned off, as you said. I do think it was pretty apparent that the problem lay with Mat, at the Xbox show.

If they can get a strong television/youtube ad campaign in the weeks leading up to the event it will undo a lot of the bad marketing.

The best marketing is good review scores. Like it or not, if people see that IGN gives this thing a 9+ they will buy it.

 

[Bobjam]

It seems like that should be true, but it is not. Attention is attention. There really is no such thing as bad press here. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but reading and understanding public perception is what I do for a living. I'm not being an "apologist", I'm offering a perspective that isn't imminently intuitive.

I still think that regardless SE have much better ways of showing what they have to show. Why not for instance make that Titan demo a pre-recorded video with Tabata introducing it just by himself? I will concede that the attention the game is getting regardless is keeping the game in people's minds but doesn't mean that they can't do much much better in the ways they bring the game to us.

There's some truth to this. E3 was a poor showing, not including the ATR stuff.

E3 had 21 million viewers on Twitch. That is substantial. However, this is the more 'hardcore' audience. The average person doesn't sit down and watch E3, or get involved with Twitch. Much of the Hardcore crowd will have already formed an opinion on this product. Although those on the fence could be turned off, as you said. I do think it was pretty apparent that the problem lay with Mat, at the Xbox show.

If they can get a strong television/youtube ad campaign in the weeks leading up to the event it will undo a lot of the bad marketing.

The best marketing is good review scores. Like it or not, if people see that IGN gives this thing a 9+ they will buy it.

Of course review scores will, in the last moment, be a big reason why the more general audience might decide to buy it but SE can't determine that themselves (aside from making a kick-ass, reasonably bug free epic game). What they can determine now until that point is the way they show us what they have got. It's clear they are having to be very selective about what they show as they probably have a lot of unfinished stuff that at this point they would love to show off but can't. Here is an interesting comparison just for comparison sake:

Naughty Dog, when they show off their games at conventions and what not are showing off a feature complete, heavily optimised demo slice of a part of the final game when they show us something. They have clearly spent a lot of time (and money) to get a slice of the game to that point regardless of what the rest of the game looks like. This can therefore often mean that sometimes the rest of the game isn't going to be on par with that slice we saw in a gameplay trailer but it makes the game look hella good for it's few months of intense marketing. Now Naughty Dog games are exceptions I feel because generally that polished slice we see at E3's is actually representative of the game whilst other companies (*cough* Ubisoft *cough*) are great examples of showing off an over polished piece of gameplay that ends up being pretty distinct from what we finally get at release.

Now SE are taking the approach of literally taking what they are currently working on, with minimum extra polish and just showing us what they have so far. Now I am optimistic that because they are doing this, every time we see the game from now on in, it is going to look and run better and better but we shall have to see. Tabata saying recently that they 'might' have the final build playable and ready for TGS does make me worry a little but it will be interesting to see what the stuff at Gamescom looks like compared to E3.

 

[Nova]

There's some truth to this. E3 was a poor showing, not including the ATR stuff.

E3 had 21 million viewers on Twitch. That is substantial. However, this is the more 'hardcore' audience. The average person doesn't sit down and watch E3, or get involved with Twitch. Much of the Hardcore crowd will have already formed an opinion on this product. Although those on the fence could be turned off, as you said. I do think it was pretty apparent that the problem lay with Mat, at the Xbox show.

If they can get a strong television/youtube ad campaign in the weeks leading up to the event it will undo a lot of the bad marketing.

The best marketing is good review scores. Like it or not, if people see that IGN gives this thing a 9+ they will buy it.

I'm not saying their E3 presentation was flawless or anything, but calling it poor outright is kinda hyperbolic. Outside of the MS footage the rest of their presentation at Sony's onwards were good.

Didn't care for the ATRs however.

 

[AtSwimTwoBirds]

I'm not saying their E3 presentation was flawless or anything, but calling it poor outright is kinda hyperbolic. Outside of the MS footage the rest of their presentation at Sony's onwards were good.

Didn't care for the ATRs however.

I mantain that it was poor.
The Sony show suffered from an identity crisis, imo. The afrojack music was a misstep. The trailer was decent, but to people seeing FFXV for the first time - I'm not sure if it conveyed its themes, tone or scope. To finish on the VR footage was anti-climactic.

As I said the ATR (post-show live-streams) saved it. The Regalia Type-F and the Altissia footage were awesome.

It'd have been fine to just use the Reclaim Your Throne trailer again, imo. That was an outstanding trailer.

 

[Nova]

Agree to disagree then, but i stand by my current viewpoint otherwise.

Honestly one of the past times i felt where they really screwed the pooch with XV's marketing was (>_<) Gamescom.

 

[AtSwimTwoBirds]

Agree to disagree then, but i stand by my current viewpoint otherwise.

Honestly one of the past times i felt where they really screwed the pooch with XV's marketing was (>_<) Gamescom.

Yeah, it's still the worst. Although, the Malboro footage was nice.

Lol, remember they had to drop the 2016 RD because everyone was so disappointed.

 

[Lulcielid]

Lol, remember they had to drop the 2016 RD because everyone was so disappointed.

What was that?

 

[AtSwimTwoBirds]

What was that?

After the whole Dawn trailer and the dissapointment - Tabata 'leaked' that the game was coming in 2016. This was before he was officially supposed to.

In the lead-up to Gamescom they were saying things to the effect of: 'this is the beginning of us marketing the game' - everyone was expecting a release window.

 

[Tornak]

New concept art, from Novacrystallis' Twitter (and ultimately this one). I can't get enough of FF XV concept art, it's been great so far. Very interested in these two:

Assuming this is in the game (kinda reminds me of FF VIII), might this be Noctis' room? The black and white look fits his Palace enough for it to be so. Could this be part of the prologue? As in, after the FF II-style beginning, they let us live a little bit (less than an hour, for example) in the Palace to have a taste of Noctis' relationship with his family and friends there and his life as a Prince.

Also, really, really like how Noctis looks in the first one, much better than his ingame model. I guess I'll never get used to Nomura's designs when translated into real life-like visuals: those kinds of hairstyles (especially these with Noct), clothes and faces fit better in a more stylistic style: otherwise, I go from loving them to just liking or even hating them.

I'm also wondering if those clothes could be available in the game (they look like sport clothing or pajamas, so probably not).

 

[AtSwimTwoBirds]

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2016/07/02/9-delicious-dishes-from-final-fantasy-xv

Do ya smell what Stupeo is cooking?

Some of the dishes we'll be seeing in FFXV.

That's some fine cuisine...and now I'm really hungey.

 

[BladeRunner]

I hope it's pajamas. Noctis would be the first FF character to have one, as others always slept in their regular clothes (and never changed them which is kinda gross).

 

[llazy77]

Some of the new concept art makes me sad that were not going to be able to explore Insomnia. It looks so great.

 

[Lulcielid]

Some of the new concept art makes me sad that were not going to be able to explore Insomnia. It looks so great.

You still have Lucis.