Final Fantasy XV - General News Thread

[Storm]

http://ffspain.com/2016/10/primeras-impresiones-final-fantasy-xv/

"FINAL FANTASY XV meets with perfection the function of any game system: it's incredibly fun."

"Each battle is unique and different."

"Best of all: It got a high-learning curve, Noctis is an extension of your hands and the game rewards the player with skill."

"FINAL FANTASY XV is offering an experience we never had before in the franchise, why that should be considered negative? We've all been impressed with the Versus XIII announcement trailer, with all the action. Guess what, it respects with perfection all the concept of that trailer. Try before judging it, the battle system is really addictive and spectacular.

"The constant changes in the narrative and in the gameplay created a lot of skepticism... but all the doubts vanished. Visually it's great, the battle system is fresh and fun, and the story is emotional. Will Square Enix reclaim the throne of RPGs? It won't be easy, but I assure you, reclaiming or not, FINAL FANTASY XV will mark the beginning of a new and prosper step in the FINAL FANTASY saga.

translated bits from spanish a bit rough tho, his only negative was the on-rails car, fine by me lol.

 

[TheOneWhoIsTornApart]

http://ffspain.com/2016/10/primeras-impresiones-final-fantasy-xv/

"FINAL FANTASY XV meets with perfection the function of any game system: it's incredibly fun."

"Each battle is unique and different."

"Best of all: It got a high-learning curve, Noctis is an extension of your hands and the game rewards the player with skill."

"FINAL FANTASY XV is offering an experience we never had before in the franchise, why that should be considered negative? We've all been impressed with the Versus XIII announcement trailer, with all the action. Guess what, it respects with perfection all the concept of that trailer. Try before judging it, the battle system is really addictive and spectacular.

"The constant changes in the narrative and in the gameplay created a lot of skepticism... but all the doubts vanished. Visually it's great, the battle system is fresh and fun, and the story is emotional. Will Square Enix reclaim the throne of RPGs? It won't be easy, but I assure you, reclaiming or not, FINAL FANTASY XV will mark the beginning of a new and prosper step in the FINAL FANTASY saga.

translated bits from spanish a bit rough tho, his only negative was the on-rails car, fine by me lol.

Well fuck me sideways that was just a wee bit hype inducing. What an amazing impression. I have a feeling this game is gonna have universal critical acclaim considering all the praise this game has been getting in all the previews as of late.

 

[Slaintimez]

I wish a knew spanish to read the whole article.

Also, anyone know where is gif from?

 

[Bionicle8563]

Btw did you guys notice with the Moogle thing, they screwed the FFXVEN followers over because they got too many followers in their downtime. So in the end instead of needing 145k followers (if they kept asking for 5k per prize) FFXVEN now need 150k followers. I mean I'm not too mad about it, I just wish they counted that 5k so that we would get more Moogle goodness more quickly (I want to see what that Moogle Movie is about )

 

[Nova]

http://ffspain.com/2016/10/primeras-impresiones-final-fantasy-xv/

"FINAL FANTASY XV meets with perfection the function of any game system: it's incredibly fun."

"Each battle is unique and different."

"Best of all: It got a high-learning curve, Noctis is an extension of your hands and the game rewards the player with skill."

"FINAL FANTASY XV is offering an experience we never had before in the franchise, why that should be considered negative? We've all been impressed with the Versus XIII announcement trailer, with all the action. Guess what, it respects with perfection all the concept of that trailer. Try before judging it, the battle system is really addictive and spectacular.

"The constant changes in the narrative and in the gameplay created a lot of skepticism... but all the doubts vanished. Visually it's great, the battle system is fresh and fun, and the story is emotional. Will Square Enix reclaim the throne of RPGs? It won't be easy, but I assure you, reclaiming or not, FINAL FANTASY XV will mark the beginning of a new and prosper step in the FINAL FANTASY saga.

translated bits from spanish a bit rough tho, his only negative was the on-rails car, fine by me lol.

GOTY-tier lol

 

[Storm]

Well fuck me sideways that was just a wee bit hype inducing. What an amazing impression. I have a feeling this game is gonna have universal critical acclaim considering all the praise this game has been getting in all the previews as of late.

glowing previews doestn't guarantee amazing scores (see FFXIII and other hyped games that ended up dissapointing), but yeah, they are a good sign nonetheless.

i think the fact the series is not high-estimated as before gives them a great opportunity to surprise.

 

[DrBretto]

glowing previews doestn't guarantee amazing scores (see FFXIII and other hyped games that ended up dissapointing), but yeah, they are a good sign nonetheless.

i think the fact the series is not high-estimated as before gives them a great opportunity to surprise.

That they're glowing, you're right, is totally not necessarily a good thing. Some people are more prone to showing enthusiasm and some of them can go into the range of hyperbole. But, that they're pretty universally impressed is a legitimate trend worth noting.

 

[Guitar (pseudo)God]

glowing previews doestn't guarantee amazing scores (see FFXIII and other hyped games that ended up dissapointing), but yeah, they are a good sign nonetheless.

i think the fact the series is not high-estimated as before gives them a great opportunity to surprise.

I think the fanbase and SE have done significant post-mortems against FFXIII. The fanbase is (justifiably) skeptical, and SE appears to realize the stakes of FFXV -- especially given the game's rather public development history.

The team is walking the fine line between ambition and realistic deliverables. With that in mind, I think it's quite telling that the previews and impressions we're getting are based off of extended and very public demonstrations of the game. Given how praiseworthy the press and fans have been, Tabata and team may just have pulled it off.

 

[15thCrystal]

I wish a knew spanish to read the whole article.

Also, anyone know where is gif from?

It's from one of their talks in Malaysia a long time ago where they showed how Lestallum has these typical Malaysian dishes and cultural inspirations.

 

[wmlk]

I've also been finding and reading middling previews. I think on enthusiast forums, there's a tendency to focus on the good more than the bad and spread word of it. More than anything, previews are a good way on getting a pulse on what's problematic in the game and what's good.

 

[DrBretto]

I've also been finding and reading middling previews. I think on enthusiast forums, there's a tendency to focus on the good more than the bad and spread word of it. More than anything, previews are a good way on getting a pulse on what's problematic in the game and what's good.

What internet are you on?

 

[Storm]

I've also been finding and reading middling previews. I think on enthusiast forums, there's a tendency to focus on the good more than the bad and spread word of it. More than anything, previews are a good way on getting a pulse on what's problematic in the game and what's good.

it's ok to post here if you see one.

 

[DrBretto]

I was going to mention that, too. I'm pretty sure I've seen every impression since the final build was shown and the only half-negative one looked to be written by someone who had never played a videogame before. And it wasn't even negative. It's was pretty much right in the middle.

I suppose not counting random people's twitter accounts (I'm sorry, but I've seen too many stupid people to take any stranger's hot takes seriously), but I generally assume most of those people subscribe to the same problematic philosophy wmlk mentioned in his last post. It's getting close to the point where that can be useful, but when you're talking about half-finished game, all that philosophy has done is lead to people focusing on the unfinished parts and calling out irrelevant things. It's a waste of time. Previews are for getting an idea of what they're trying to do. It necessarily means sifting through the rough stuff to see what they're getting at. Reviews are for digging into the nitty gritty. You're looking at a more finished product and that's where the little things are solid enough to matter.

Which is why, BTW, you can't take the happy previews all the way to the bank. It's great that they're almost universally positive. It means the game's floor is probably pretty high. It's likely a safe bet to at least be kinda fun for an average gamer. Especially in today's environment where people do tend to focus on the negative. But, once the reviews start rolling in, that's when you'll start seeing the real details that are worth criticizing.

 

[wmlk]

it's ok to post here if you see one.

Here's one that I felt had a lot of merit.

http://www.idigitaltimes.com/final-...392?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"...it feels like Final Fantasy XV ’s developers didn’t really trust that players would grok all the nuances of this battle system. For example, moments where you’re able to block and parry are marked by a gigantic button indicator on the screen, then a second gigantic button indicator. Press X for awesome block, press Y for awesome parry. You’ll never miss a block-and-parry moment, but it’s no thanks to any skill you’ve acquired with this system. And it’s not like there’s an option to turn off the training wheels."

I think this is my #1 problem with the combat. Just speaking from experience with Platinum Demo, even when there are very specific tells with the Iron Giant when it is about to attack, the huge button prompt appears telling me which buttons I need to press exactly. Ideally to me, everything would be like how the Hero's Shield works where you can block and parry based on telegraphing what the enemy is about to do yourself, maybe with some contextual parry animations that are unique to the enemy as well.

The problem right now is that it feels like a QTE, which might be one of the most offensive things in a fast-paced action game. In Duscae, at least there was the white quarter-circle indicator when an enemy was about to hit you with an attack which you can parry. It was mostly the same thing, but it wasn't telling you exactly which button to block with and people liked that.

And apparently you can't even turn this bit off? That's a bummer to me personally. I was under the impression you could turn this thing off. Imagine the number of times you're going to see this huge annoying prompt in the game...it'll get annoying very quickly and it won't stop being annoying for the whole 50 hours.

"Overall, Final Fantasy XV’s combat feels like it just might have the potential to be smooth and effortless… if you manage your camera angles, which are like the combat system’s second, hidden system. You have to manually swing your camera around to face the correct way or you’ll block thin air instead of your opponent. Even targeting won’t help you if the camera is pointed the wrong way. The camera is a huge issue, and wrangling it in between wrangling my weapons, spells, warp points, dodges, and teammates isn’t fun. I’m hoping that wonky camera gets refined -- or that you have options to toggle auto-camera -- before Final Fantasy XV ships."

We've seen this issue time and time again, and while there's definitely a problem with live streamers generally being unfamiliar with the game, it has happened so many times now that it's a mechanical flaw in the game that can't be ignored.

I'm busy, but there's more out there that I haven't bookmarked.

Again, I think previews are generally good at getting a pulse on the pros and cons of a game. I think by this point I know what's good and bad about the game going in. A one-hour preview session is generally not enough to tell you how someone will review a full game, especially one such as FFXV that relies so heavily on its story and adventure.

 

[DrBretto]

Here's one that I felt had a lot of merit.

http://www.idigitaltimes.com/final-...392?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

"...it feels like Final Fantasy XV ’s developers didn’t really trust that players would grok all the nuances of this battle system. For example, moments where you’re able to block and parry are marked by a gigantic button indicator on the screen, then a second gigantic button indicator. Press X for awesome block, press Y for awesome parry. You’ll never miss a block-and-parry moment, but it’s no thanks to any skill you’ve acquired with this system. And it’s not like there’s an option to turn off the training wheels."

I think this is my #1 problem with the combat. Just speaking from experience with Platinum Demo, even when there are very specific tells with the Iron Giant when it is about to attack, the huge button prompt appears telling me which buttons I need to press exactly. Ideally to me, everything would be like how the Hero's Shield works where you can block and parry based on telegraphing what the enemy is about to do yourself, maybe with some contextual parry animations that are unique to the enemy as well.

The problem right now is that it feels like a QTE, which might be one of the most offensive things in a fast-paced action game. In Duscae, at least there was the white quarter-circle indicator when an enemy was about to hit you with an attack which you can parry. It was mostly the same thing, but it wasn't telling you exactly which button to block with and people liked that.

And apparently you can't even turn this bit off? That's a bummer to me personally. I was under the impression you could turn this thing off. Imagine the number of times you're going to see this huge annoying prompt in the game...it'll get annoying very quickly.

"Overall, Final Fantasy XV’s combat feels like it just might have the potential to be smooth and effortless… if you manage your camera angles, which are like the combat system’s second, hidden system. You have to manually swing your camera around to face the correct way or you’ll block thin air instead of your opponent. Even targeting won’t help you if the camera is pointed the wrong way. The camera is a huge issue, and wrangling it in between wrangling my weapons, spells, warp points, dodges, and teammates isn’t fun. I’m hoping that wonky camera gets refined -- or that you have options to toggle auto-camera -- before Final Fantasy XV ships."

We've seen this issue time and time again, and while there's definitely a problem with live streamers generally being unfamiliar with the game, it has happened so many times now that it's a mechanical flaw in the game that can't be ignored.

I'm busy, but there's more out there that I haven't bookmarked.

That's not particularly negative, though. That's just someone who doesn't like button prompts writing almost entirely about how much he doesn't like button prompts. You know there are button prompts, so you'll already know if that's a problem for you. I'm not sure what this guy is bringing to the table.

Just as problematic as someone who's preview is all glowing and excited (this is why it's hard to take that most recent one too seriously, either, because there was a lot of hyperbolic language in there) is the preview where the writer found the one or two things they didn't like and that's all they focus on. Does that mean this poster loved everything else about the game, so this was all he or she was able to talk about? Or was this just so bad that they couldn't get over it?

Edit: Not sure I get what he's saying about the camera, either. I mean, we've all seen the wonky camera, but it sounds like he's complaining about having to move it at all. That seems weird. My guess is that take didn't get much play because there's not much content worthy of discussion there.

Is there any indication of which build he was on? Some of the improved camera work was only on the most recent builds, but some of the more recent events weren't using that build. Particularly indoors. Though, I'm not sure it'd matter here because the issue I've had with the camera is the crazy shakiness and spinning around all over, especially indoors, and that doesn't seem to be what he's talking about.

 

[Storm]

the camera is definitely a problem (mainly on closed areas), even in some overall positive previews they mentioned this.

in the eurogamer video it looked better tho.

edit: btw there's a new batch of previews coming this week apparently.

 

[DrBretto]

the camera is definitely a problem (mainly on closed areas), even in some overall positive previews they mentioned this.

The camera is definitely an issue, but I just re-read that camera part a couple of times, I still don't get what that dude's particular issue is with it. He's talking about needing the camera facing the right way to block attacks, but not only have I not seen that being an issue in practice, I kinda wish it *was* the way he's saying. I'm ok with having to look at the thing you're trying to block. But, I've seen plenty of people not looking but blocking at the right time and it worked just fine. I'm legitimately confused.

 

[wmlk]

That's not particularly negative, though. That's just someone who doesn't like button prompts writing entirely about how much he doesn't like button prompts. You know there are button prompts, so you'll already know if that's a problem for you. I'm not sure what this guy is bringing to the table.

Just as problematic as someone who's preview is all glowing and excited (this is why it's hard to take that most recent one too seriously, either, because there was a lot of hyperbolic language in there) is the preview where the writer found the one or two things they didn't like and that's all they focus on. Does that mean this poster loved everything else about the game, so this was all he or she was able to talk about? Or was this just so bad that they couldn't get over it?

Edit: Not sure I get what he's saying about the camera, either. I mean, we've all seen the wonky camera, but it sounds like he's complaining about having to move it at all. That seems weird. My guess is that take didn't get much play because there's not much content worthy of discussion there.

Is there any indication of which build he was on? Some of the improved camera work was only on the most recent builds, but some of the more recent events weren't using that build. Particularly indoors. Though, I'm not sure it'd matter here because the issue I've had with the camera is the crazy shakiness and spinning around all over, especially indoors, and that doesn't seem to be what he's talking about.

Regarding button prompts, right now it looks like a QTE and that's really annoying. As I said, functionally it was pretty much the same thing in Duscae, but cluttering UI + making it feel like a QTE can sour people's feelings on the combat. The preview that I linked gave this exact feeling. If it was less explicit like in Duscae, would the writer even point it out? Probably not. I don't recall anyone pointing this out for the Duscae demo, and it's been the opposite since Platinum Demo where people complain about it being a QTE.

 

[DrBretto]

Regarding button prompts, right now it looks like a QTE and that's really annoying. As I said, functionally it was pretty much the same thing in Duscae, but cluttering UI + making it feel like a QTE can sour people's feelings on the combat. The preview that I linked gave this exact feeling. If it was less explicit like in Duscae, would the writer even point it out? Probably not. I don't recall anyone pointing this out for the Duscae demo, and it's been the opposite since Platinum Demo where people complain about it being a QTE.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that you have to like button prompts. It's totally valid to not like them. I'm saying you've seen them for yourself already. What did he add to that discussion? You can already see for yourself whether that's taking up too much screen or is too slow or whatever. I still contend that that preview didn't gain much attention because it doesn't bring up any interesting points. People LOVE to hate this game. If it brought up anything interesting, it'd be all over GAF at least.

 

[Lulcielid]

Here's one that I felt had a lot of merit.

http://www.idigitaltimes.com/final-...392?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

I can probably give credit to the previewer about button promps showing for guarding and in "finishing moves". What I find questionable is the "holding button" issue, as combo attacks work both with tapping and holding, probably the tutorial is to blame as at no point in the demos the tutorial tells to the player that it´s possible (from I what I could see from youtube videos of the demo), holding or tapping makes no difference in combo flow, with both mechaniques the combo will flow/stop at the point where you stop tapping/holding and will begin again once you start tapping/holding the action button again.