Final Fantasy XVI - General News Thread

[Leonhart]

Hi guys, long time no see!

I'm a bit late for the discussion but I don't believe the most talked topic is... Graphics?
Just to put this aside, I think these gifs already prove the graphics are actually better than FFXV and FFVII Remake:

Gifs about gameplay mechanics of Final Fantasy XVI.

Really... Look how clean the graphics and animations are... How the scenario around the characters are full of details and well modeled. I think you forgot how FFXV really looked. Just compare the trees around the gif and these ones:

I think the question is the COMPLETELY different art style and some people think it's worse. I'm really sad about how most people received the game and are telling it's a downgrade compared to the last games... Just because the art style reminds them Final Fantasy XIV.

Come on, lets look at some Final Fantasy VII Remake screenshots too:

Aside from the good looking characters, there are low poly things EVERYWHERE in Final Fantasy VII Remake... (and don't forget about the "fake sky" with a stretched image)

Just to finish, I'm really glad they had the guts to reveal the game itself (gameplay, cutscenes and all) and not just a CGI. I think the game will look better close to the release but now we have a good picture of how the game really is.

 

[NikoZ]

Hi guys, long time no see!

I'm a bit late for the discussion but I don't believe the most talked topic is... Graphics?
Just to put this aside, I think these gifs already prove the graphics are actually better than FFXV and FFVII Remake:



Really... Look how clean the graphics and animations are... How the scenario around the characters are full of details and well modeled. I think you forgot how FFXV really looked. Just compare the trees around the gif and these ones:

I think the question is the COMPLETELY different art style and some people think it's worse. I'm really sad about how most people received the game and are telling it's a downgrade compared to the last games... Just because the art style reminds them Final Fantasy XIV.

Come on, lets look at some Final Fantasy VII Remake screenshots too:

Aside from the good looking characters, there are low poly things EVERYWHERE in Final Fantasy VII Remake... (and don't forget about the "fake sky" with a stretched image)

Just to finish, I'm really glad they had the guts to reveal the game itself (gameplay, cutscenes and all) and not just a CGI. I think the game will look better close to the release but now we have a good picture of how the game really is.

Ummm...that's a screenshot from Episode Duscae, thus literally proving nothing. BUT I am on of those who think that XVI looked great in the trailer

 

[Ikkin]

Ummm...that's a screenshot from Episode Duscae, thus literally proving nothing. BUT I am on of those who think that XVI looked great in the trailer

Using a screenshot from Episode Duscae absolutely proves something. Unfortunately, it proves the exact opposite of what it's intended to prove -- namely, that comparing FFXV itself wouldn't conduce to the desired result.

(Using Comrades since it has the most comparable trees... but the character creator holds up shockingly well in a competition with a bespoke next-gen hero model!)

 

[Somber]

Episode Duscae was nice but they downgraded the graphics in the final iteration.

Comrades was nice idea but it's absolutely dead. Turns out the fans don't really care about the graphics that holds up!

 

[NikoZ]

Episode Duscae was nice but they downgraded the graphics in the final iteration.

Comrades was nice idea but it's absolutely dead. Turns out the fans don't really care about the graphics that holds up!

The only thing that looks worse in the final version of the game, was the water and a particle effect or two...everything else was objectively improved and upgraded, though?

 

[Somber]

The only thing that looks worse in the final version of the game, was the water and a particle effect or two...everything else was objectively improved and upgraded, though?

Not everything. Water and reflection got downgraded. And the final build lost some color tone, lighting and got too bright and almost bluish compared the Duscae build. I've attached some videos which have evidences of the case.

Graphics weren't an issue. But issues spawned due to the focus on graphics and cross media promotion.

 

[Nova]

Turns out the fans don't really care about the graphics that holds up!

Aside from at one point when the previous master build was shown off at Gamescom.

Graphics weren't an issue. But issues spawned due to the focus on graphics and cross media promotion.

I'm certain we could also add the game's turbulent development history/deadline among other things as a key contributer to various shortcomings tbf.

 

[Ikkin]

Not everything. Water and reflection got downgraded. And the final build lost some color tone, lighting and got too bright and almost bluish compared the Duscae build. I've attached some videos which have evidences of the case.

This video doesn't back you up on color tone or lighting -- in fact, DF sounds pretty confident that those aspects are artistic rather than technical choices, and they prefer the "more realistic" look in the final game!

I do think you have a case about water and reflections, but those aspects can't counter the massive improvements in all other areas.

 

[Cloud_CR]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1309139780681244677

 

[Noctis_Caelum]

Using a screenshot from Episode Duscae absolutely proves something. Unfortunately, it proves the exact opposite of what it's intended to prove -- namely, that comparing FFXV itself wouldn't conduce to the desired result.

(Using Comrades since it has the most comparable trees... but the character creator holds up shockingly well in a competition with a bespoke next-gen hero model!)

Man everytime i see this it impressives me how next-gen does the hair look.
But yeah for me gameplay is way more important than graphics.
And XIV does proofs this that it's also working with this strategy and hope XVI goes the same way.

 

[Storm]

I think we already reached a point where graphics are satisfying enough even when devs are not aiming for maximum output.

 

[Ikkin]

I think we already reached a point where graphics are satisfying enough even when devs are not aiming for maximum output.

I think this is true to the extent that AA games like Kena and Stray can be ridiculously gorgeous... but having reached that point doesn't mean that all games that are released will achieve graphics that are satisfying enough, and I don't think FFXVI in particular has cleared that bar.

 

[LogicalFal'cie]

Someone pointed out how similar Shiva looks to the Elezen race from XIV and I tried recreating her in XIV's character creator. (Best I could do with only default options available.)

 

[Jenova]

Interesting scoop from Schreier. I think that a 2021-2022 release for Final Fantasy XVI makes sense considering we won't be seeing Final Fantasy VII Part 2 for awhile yet. Not until 2022-2023 maybe. We'll see how efficient the development environment for Playstation 5 is in the coming months and how willing developers are willing to move on from the Playstation 4. While Project Aitha seems to be a tentpole release for Square-Enix it's no Final Fantasy holdover. It also doesn't have a proper name so I also do not think we will see that game on store shelves for awhile yet. Leaving only Final Fantasy XVI as the next major release.

 

[CloudBuster]

Interesting scoop from Schreier. I think that a 2021-2022 release for Final Fantasy XVI makes sense considering we won't be seeing Final Fantasy VII Part 2 for awhile yet. Not until 2022-2023 maybe. We'll see how efficient the development environment for Playstation 5 is in the coming months and how willing developers are willing to move on from the Playstation 4. While Project Aitha seems to be a tentpole release for Square-Enix it's no Final Fantasy holdover. It also doesn't have a proper name so I also do not think we will see that game on store shelves for awhile yet. Leaving only Final Fantasy XVI as the next major release.

An alternating schedule like that would make sense as it helps with filling the void between the Remake entries so they can work without rushing while making sure the FF hype doesn't die in the general public by having the series go dormant for too long. FF right now is the most relevant it's ever been since the PS2 era so they gotta strike while the iron is still hot.

 

[Storm]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1310010012329271296

This is going to be very interesting if true. As of now, it's provisional.

 

[FFChocobo18]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1310186847260168194

https://twitter.com/statuses/1310187719625072640

 

[SonOfEtro]

https://www.siliconera.com/final-fa...t-trailer-teaser-website-coming-late-october/
Full of direct quotes. I like that they didn't go the usual route SQEX's become notorious for of a CGI trailer and logo teaser, despite the backlash over unpolished graphics.

Yoko Taro: “So today, we have the TWO of Yosuke Saito and Yoko Taro for a 14 (FF14) program, so that means you have the numbers 2 plus 14 to make 16!”

Yosuke Saito: “16?! No way, 16?”

Yoko Taro: “We’re changing today’s program for a special!”

Naoki Yoshida: “Hold on, hold on!”

Yosuke Saito: “I heard there’s a new trailer.”

Naoki Yoshida: “No, there isn’t!”

Yoko Taro: “And gameplay.”

Naoki Yoshida: “No, no, no, please wait. This program is about 14, but we indeed announced Final Fantasy 16. However, I want to wait until 2021 to release more info so that we can focus on its development, or so I thought, but I’m getting this ‘What the hell are you doing?’ vibe here from Yoko Taro here [laughs]. Anyway, it doesn’t even have a teaser website right now, but we’ll have one sometime around the end of October. I’m thinking about launching the teaser site and releasing a bit of info surrounding the characters and world. Then after that, I want to focus on development.”

Yosuke Saito: “That’s unforgivable.”

Naoki Yoshida: “What do you mean, unforgivable? [laughs]. But we did put some work into it. How do I put it, for this trailer, I wanted to avoid going with something incredibly rendered then showing the logo, like bam. I wanted to show in-game material moving in real-time as much as possible. However, we were running a bit tight on time, and we hardly did any optimizing or fine-tuning, so it was a little problematic. Especially these days since we tend to compare with other recent releases. However, if we went with a rendered trailer… then it’s like ‘I’ll see you guys in 2035!’. I’ve actually seen those comments coming from America [laughs]. For now, I wanted to show something moving (in-real time). I mean, this trailer didn’t show any of the game’s selling points, so we’ll have something the next time after giving it some more work.”

 

[Nova]

Nice, actually quite pleased with the way the way they've handled communication so far.

 

[Jenova]

I have to say the intentional choice of using real-time footage over CGI is winning me over somewhat. Granted, this is something Square-Enix has been decidedly doing in their marketing for mainline games since the Remake. None of the trailers were prerendered CGI done by Visual Works IIRC. Actually, the marketing and communication in general has been improving slowly since Realm Reborn.