Support NeoGAF

[JeffZero]

What I don't understand is that they are doing this to themselves. Of course remaking the entire game in a scale 3d environment would be insane.

I had just assumed they where going to make new high res 2d backgrounds and better models for each scale, re-render all the cutscenes and call it a day.

Because a full-fledged from-the-ground-up modernized remake is going to attract a larger market share.

"Enhanced ports" and "remasters" virtually never pull the weight that hardcore fans often expect they will. Even Ocarina of Time 3D failed to bring the 3DS out of its early-days rut.

 

[ChanMan]

The first part alone could probably take place in just Midgar.

 

[M°°nblade]

And you would be correct. The world map can never look like that. There is a great middle ground though were the style remains the same but the textures and such are really high quality, landscape has trees and grass rather than just scattered forrests etc. It would be great and eliminate the need to go back to the drawing board entirely.

Why would they need a world map though? It's a remake, not a remaster. They could go for travel camps for all I care.

 

[bud]

so... $60 each for three separate releases?

 

[damn that's nice]

This is coming to the Xbox one at some point as well right? So i wonder if we will get the first release before the second release, or if it would be later than that.

 

[DKHF]

FFVII R just confirmed to be using Unreal Engine 4 http://gematsu.com/2015/12/final-fantasy-vii-remake-runs-unreal-engine-4

Edit: Old news? hadn't seen it.

 

[Kyoufu]

This is coming to the Xbox one at some point as well right? So i wonder if we will get the first release before the second release, or if it would be later than that.

Don't hold your breath. lol

 

[Dreams-Visions]

FFVII R just confirmed to be using Unreal Engine 4 http://gematsu.com/2015/12/final-fantasy-vii-remake-runs-unreal-engine-4

Edit: Old news? hadn't seen it.

Good. Them trying to build their own fucking engines is a big part of why their output was awful last gen.

Don't hold your breath. lol

Far more likely than not. He absolutely can hold his breath. There's no reason to think otherwise.

 

[SkylineRKR]

FFVII R just confirmed to be using Unreal Engine 4 http://gematsu.com/2015/12/final-fantasy-vii-remake-runs-unreal-engine-4

Edit: Old news? hadn't seen it.

I think I've seen this before and its pretty much confirmation that Luminous is dead, if it wasn't already.

 

[Kyoufu]

Far more likely than not. He absolutely can hold his breath. There's no reason to think otherwise.

Square-Enix has announced numerous Japanese RPGs in the past year. NONE of which are headed to Xbox.

FFXV and KH3 were deals made back when Square-Enix thought Xbox would be more successful than it has been.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

Why would they need a world map though? It's a remake, not a remaster. They could go for travel camps for all I care.

Because one of the great things about the map was having places to find that you otherwise would not encounter. If there is no world map, then you cannot miss Yuffie's stuff right? The secret locations? mythril dude? and loads of others. Removing it from the game breaks a fair bit of what made it in the first place.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

Why would they need a world map though? It's a remake, not a remaster. They could go for travel camps for all I care.

stop saying this, its dumb

Because a world map creates a great sense of scale of a worldwide adventure while hiding things in crazy locations. The scale in FFVII is also pushed into the underground for the sub scenarios. Final fantasy's havent had that amazing sense of scale since 10 did away with the world map

 

[entremet]

so... $60 each for three separate releases?

If they're going for full games as separate releases, then yes, of course.

 

[Zukuu]

Because one of the great things about the map was having places to find that you otherwise would not encounter. If there is no world map, then you cannot miss Yuffie's stuff right? The secret locations? mythril dude? and loads of others. Removing it from the game breaks a fair bit of what made it in the first place.

There is no chance in hell Yuffie or Vincent are staying optional this time around. One of the few changes I don't really mind. That said, a world map is a must have. And I don't want a "open world" I want an actual world map ala Ni No Kuni.

 

[Crazyorloco]

I loved disc swapping, so this helps retain nostalgia.

Is Telltale making it

This thread is so good.

 

[raven777]

It means instead of concluding in one entry, multiple entries are being considered in development. Each entry will have its own unique story. As a gaming experience, each entry will have the volume of content equal to a full-sized game.

http://kotaku.com/sounds-like-the-final-fantasy-vii-remake-will-be-episod-1746564216

 

[Deckard Chapel]

I don't understand. You know you don't have to buy the parts separately right? You can buy the full package when it's completed instead, right?

Tell me you understand this concept.

Yes I get that - I'm just saying that I would rather wait and play them all together, rather than play the game 1 disc at a time as they release and have to wait excruciatingly long periods of time between the disc releases. If I have experienced even just the first disc of content - I will be frothing at the mouth for the next one and I don't want to have to wait to play it. If I am patient and wait to get them all at once, then that problem is alleviated.

Does that make sense?

 

[Mihos]

Why would they need a world map though? It's a remake, not a remaster. They could go for travel camps for all I care.

Man, FF7 without an airship, gold chocobo, little bronco... might as well remove Cid and Golden Saucer also

 

[Dreez]

I hope it's a situation where incomplete areas are just blocked off (like MMO style), versus Life is Strange style.... I would GREATLY appreciate being able to revisit old locales, picking up that materia or armor I might have missed...

 

[Arnie7]

l'll buy it. You'll buy it. We are all going to buy it in the end. Stop the faux outrage.

 

[damn that's nice]

Yes I get that - I'm just saying that I would rather wait and play them all together, rather than play the game 1 disc at a time as they release and have to wait excruciatingly long periods of time between the disc releases. If I have experienced even just the first disc of content - I will be frothing at the mouth for the next one and I don't want to have to wait to play it. If I am patient and wait to get them all at once, then that problem is alleviated.

Does that make sense?

I don't think you can say for sure yet that there will be a huge wait in-between releases. They could be released once a year too.

 

[Crazyorloco]

http://kotaku.com/sounds-like-the-final-fantasy-vii-remake-will-be-episod-1746564216

Maybe they mean as long as a Call of duty campaign. Hopefully they mean an RPG.

 

[papo]

Yes I get that - I'm just saying that I would rather wait and play them all together, rather than play the game 1 disc at a time as they release and have to wait excruciatingly long periods of time between the disc releases. If I have experienced even just the first disc of content - I will be frothing at the mouth for the next one and I don't want to have to wait to play it. If I am patient and wait to get them all at once, then that problem is alleviated.

Does that make sense?

Would you be ok to wait until 2020 for the whole package? It's not as if you would be spoiled since it is a remake.

stop saying this, its dumb

Because a world map creates a great sense of scale of a worldwide adventure while hiding things in crazy locations. The scale in FFVII is also pushed into the underground for the sub scenarios. Final fantasy's haven't had that amazing sense of scale since 10 did away with the world map

You said it. SE have not made a classic FF game since IX. The scale of thing they would need to do to make FFVII world in today's graphics would be enormous and probably the reason why they will go with smaller maps or regions or maybe even streamline the whole thing. A world map created a great sense of scale in the old game because even that world map was done in a scale, but the way they want to do the FF game nowadays would be practically impossible to do the full FFVII world map.

 

[Clockwork5]

You guys know they will cancel the last segment of the game just in time to disappoint everyone. Right?

 

[mdzapeer]

You guys know they will cancel the last segment of the game just in time to disappoint everyone. Right?

Thats my biggest fear to be honest...

 

[Deckard Chapel]

I don't think you can say for sure yet that there will be a huge wait in-between releases. They could be released once a year too.

Once a year is too long to wait! If it was once a month I would be fine with that - but this is Square Enix - it will probably be one every six months or so, making it so that the game will be complete by 2020.

 

[ShadowSoldier89]

You said it. SE have not made a classic FF game since IX. The scale of thing they would need to do to make FFVII world in today's graphics would be enormous and probably the reason why they will go with smaller maps or regions or maybe even streamline the whole thing. A world map created a great sense of scale in the old game because even that world map was done in a scale, but the way they want to do the FF game nowadays would be practically impossible to do the full FFVII world map.

its not impossible at all, all they ahve to do is scale it like they did back then. Look at RTS games for ideas

 

[SeanTSC]

l'll buy it. You'll buy it. We are all going to buy it in the end. Stop the faux outrage.

If they cut out the World Map due to this multi-part bullshit there's a very, very, very high chance that I will not pay them even a dime.

 

[RedSwirl]

I haven't played FF7, but did that game really have a monumental amount of content that hasn't been repeated since or something? I'm inclined to believe it was about as big as your average 30 or 40-hour JRPG. If that's true, there are plenty of modern console and PC RPGs out today with similar levels of explorable space and content, even if you take the world map system into account.

I have a feeling that almost any western AAA developer like BioWare or somebody could get it done in one game and maybe three years. It might not be the game you want, but from a sheer production standpoint they could probably get it done. I think this is more of a problem with Square Enix than the actual content of FF7.

 

[chozen]

This is what Nomura being busy until 2019 meant

 

[SeanTSC]

I haven't played FF7, but did that game really have a monumental amount of content that hasn't been repeated since or something? I'm inclined to believe it was about as big as your average 30 or 40-hour JRPG. If that's true, there are plenty of modern console and PC RPGs out today with similar levels of explorable space and content, even if you take the world map system into account.

I have a feeling that almost any western AAA developer like BioWare or somebody could get it done in one game and maybe three years. It might not be the game you want, but from a sheer production standpoint they could probably get it done. I think this is more of a problem with Square Enix than the actual content of FF7.

It's your average 35-40 hour JRPG with a bit of potentially grindy side-content added on to that. It is not a massive game.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

I don't think you can say for sure yet that there will be a huge wait in-between releases. They could be released once a year too.

I wish they wouldn't have advertised it until closer to it actually being completed.

I hate that this always happens - a game is announced that is like 10% complete and it's a 2-year+ wait until we get to play it. Just announce it when it about done so that we can play it like a month or so after the reveal.

[In a perfect world].

 

[addik]

IMO, I like the idea of them expanding the game world and making it more indepth and consequently therefore has to split this game into parts. It would be great to explore more of Midgar, as I always thought those parts were my favorite in FF7.

But, we already know the basic plot of FF7. Unless FF7:Re plans to deviate from the original plot, I can see waiting for the next parts a grueling experience. We already know what happens, so we might just lose interest at getting/playing the other parts. Others might just wait for the whole series to be finished rather than playing each part as it releases. If SE plans to charge per part, instead of selling the entire thing as a single season pass, then sales might falter (although, I think they'll take that into consideration).

Obviously, this point won't matter if the game releases in 2 parts, and maaaaybe if it releases in 3 parts (which I suspect it would)

 

[Ishida]

I am a lot more calm than I was yesterday. I was flipping out.

After the new info I recovered some of my optimism. Although I still don't like the idea of the episodes (Mainly because it will completely halt my progress of the game for an unspecified amount of time), and because this puts the overworld at risk.

But I will wait. I will try to be more positive, because that's the kind of person I am.

The episodic nature still worries me greatly, but I will wait and see. The idea of visiting a larger area of Midgar sounds pretty awesome.

I am calmed...

I am calmed...

I am...

 

[Mechanized]

I got an idea, cut back the fucking production values, cut the fucking bloat. This game now represents the disaster that is modern Square Enix. They don't have a goddamn clue.

 

[Arkeband]

l'll buy it. You'll buy it. We are all going to buy it in the end. Stop the faux outrage.

It went from day 1 collector's edition purchase to "maybe I'll wait until the Complete Collection re-release on the PS5...", to be perfectly honest.

At the very least, I see myself waiting for reviews.

 

[Spyder_Monkey]

Keep this in mind, the development team probably hasn't fully figured out how to split the game yet.

 

[gaming_noob]

I would not have minded just remake of the 2D backdrops with current gen character models.

 

[Deckard Chapel]

Although I still don't like the idea of the episodes (Mainly because it will completely halt my progress of the game for an unspecified amount of time), and because this puts the overworld at risk.

My sentiments exactly.

I want the full experience from the word go and I detest the concept of waiting for future "episodes" to release. We all know Square Enix and waiting is something they make us frequently do and it usually is for a LONG time. I don't want that from this game - I want to play all of it as soon as I possibly can.

 

[crazyrabbits]

Let's be real here, graphics like the ones we've seen in the gameplay demo, applied to every single unique locale seen in FF7, adjusted to include multiple view points (free camera, which mean more asset creation still) and probably a bit more freedom of movement (what before was a 2 roads crossing, will likely be something more now, because again, the gameplay isn't using fixed cameras, and it'd be weird to have such a level design).

You take all these elements into consideration, consider how much time (and money) big, AAA games like GTA or Witcher take to make (5+ years if you're fast and efficient) and then do a reality check.

People expecting them to recreate all of FF7, with those graphics, and in a timely manner, were being nothing short of delusional.

On one hand, I agree with this completely. It's very difficult to do asset creation for an RPG at the level of fidelity people are expecting these days without cutting corners or resorting to reusing content. Play a game like Mass Effect 3 with the FOV zoomed right out and you'll see what an ugly, janky mess it turns into when you even bother to look slightly outside the linear scope the developers laid out.

On the other, I think it's fair to say that a lot of people would have been fine with some compromises being made if it meant a single, complete game. Then again, this is S-E we're talking about. They have a reputation for being incredibly slow, unwieldy and coasting off a few good ideas stretched to the absolute breaking point (see the XIII trilogy).

The reason why I'm so pissed is because they dropped this news in a half-hearted way via press release on a Sunday, and have done little to quell the fires. I'd much rather have seen them come out with a statement to the effect of "Modern AAA development realities have made us realize that the best way to match the scope and content of the original game is to remake it and release it in installments with expanded content and an unmatched level of polish, at a level comparable to our other AAA releases including FFXV and (whatever other game they want to plug)."

Saying "it's a data issue" is about as big a bullshit lie as Eidos constantly trying to defend Hitman's episodic nature by parroting "It's a world of assassination!" over and over again.

 

[papo]

its not impossible at all, all they have to do is scale it like they did back then. Look at RTS games for ideas

That's true and would be the best thing they could do. Remake the same exact scaled overworld just with the new graphics. Make it look pretty, but still the same scaled overworld map and just have the actual towns of regions of interest be remodeled with full detail. But they haven't done that since FFIX. They have gone with choosing 'stages' on a map or just doing smaller regions. For example FFXV looks to have big open world regions.

That would be impossible if they try to recreate the whole FFVII world like that.

It's one of the reason I always thought they should have done this remake a long time before. To learn how to do a classic FF game in the newer gens without overreaching. They could do it exactly like Ni No Kuni did which is how older FF games did, but they want full 3D environments it seems.

On one hand, I agree with this completely. It's very difficult to do asset creation for an RPG at the level of fidelity people are expecting these days without cutting corners or resorting to reusing content. Play a game like Mass Effect 3 with the FOV zoomed right out and you'll see what an ugly, janky mess it turns into when you even bother to look slightly outside the linear scope the developers laid out.

On the other, I think it's fair to say that a lot of people would have been fine with some compromises being made if it meant a single, complete game. Then again, this is S-E we're talking about. They have a reputation for being incredibly slow, unwieldy and coasting off a few good ideas stretched to the absolute breaking point (see the XIII trilogy).

The reason why I'm so pissed is because they dropped this news in a half-hearted way via press release on a Sunday, and have done little to quell the fires. I'd much rather have seen them come out with a statement to the effect of "Modern AAA development realities have made us realize that the best way to match the scope and content of the original game is to remake it and release it in installments with expanded content and an unmatched level of polish, at a level comparable to our other AAA releases including FFXV and (whatever other game they want to plug)."

Saying "it's a data issue" is about as big a bullshit lie as Eidos constantly trying to defend Hitman's episodic nature by parroting "It's a world of assassination!" over and over again.

I think, like I said above, the compromise they should have made is they shoul dhave gone with the scaled overworld like in the older game, but just make it look prettier. That's just not how SE does things anymore, not since IX.

Even then it was delusional of everyone to expect everything else to be a 1 on 1 remake and not take 10 years. We have to be realistic here it's not really their fault or bad PR if the issue is so clear if you would really think about it.

 

[damn that's nice]

I wish they wouldn't have advertised it until closer to it actually being completed.

I hate that this always happens - a game is announced that is like 10% complete and it's a 2-year+ wait until we get to play it. Just announce it when it about done so that we can play it like a month or so after the reveal.

[In a perfect world].

Be patient my son.

 

[Ishida]

My sentiments exactly.

I want the full experience from the word go and I detest the concept of waiting for future "episodes" to release. We all know Square Enix and waiting is something they make us frequently do and it usually is for a LONG time. I don't want that from this game - I want to play all of it as soon as I possibly can.

I mean, perhaps Square is right. Perhaps it is true that the scope of the game would not allow for a complete release in a single package. But the whole idea of reaching an important part of the game and being greeted by a "to be continued screen" really disturbs me.

But as I said, I will wait to see more info. Perhaps my progress will be halted, but maybe they can make up by creating larger, richer, more expanded areas like Midgar, perhaps a way bigger Kalm, perhaps exploring more of Junon, etc.

Lets see....

 

[Vexidus]

At first this news bothered me as a huge fan of FF7. But then I thought about it and decided that it's fine. Let's face it, many of us don't have the time anymore for RPGs like this. Modern games take adult lives into consideration and respect the player's time.

If they manage to capture the soul and nostalgia of the original with the atmosphere, dialogue, music etc. in a streamlined and digestible package, that sounds great to me! I'm even okay with things getting cut in favour of getting the really polished highlights.

 

[kitchenmotors]

I got an idea, cut back the fucking production values, cut the fucking bloat. This game now represents the disaster that is modern Square Enix. They don't have a goddamn clue.

Exactly. Over bloating this game is not what should be done.

I fully expect this to turn into a disaster. Really disappointed in how everything is panning out. I just want high res 2D pre-rendered backdrops if it means keeping the majority of the game intact.

 

[nycgamer4ever]

This is so stupid. SE done goofed.

 

[Arkeband]

Think about this then.

Every game is going to need its own climax/final battle.

Will Episodes 1 and 2 (or more) have anything comparable to One Winged Angel...?

 

[M°°nblade]

Because one of the great things about the map was having places to find that you otherwise would not encounter. If there is no world map, then you cannot miss Yuffie's stuff right? The secret locations? mythril dude? and loads of others. Removing it from the game breaks a fair bit of what made it in the first place.

It's 2015. You don't need world maps to find hidden stuff anymore when the whole world is 3D.

stop saying this, its dumb

Because a world map creates a great sense of scale of a worldwide adventure while hiding things in crazy locations. The scale in FFVII is also pushed into the underground for the sub scenarios. Final fantasy's havent had that amazing sense of scale since 10 did away with the world map

It's 2015. You don't need world maps to get a great sense of scale of a world wide adventure anymore when the whole world is 3D.

 

[R0ckman]

Are towns all they are having trouble with? I don't believe there this is as big of an issue as they claim. Does every house need to be enterable? Do the towns need to be 1:1 to the originals? This is their chance to redesign them if anything? It's not suppose to be the same damn game!

I'm playing through the game again and a lot of sections in Midgar are filler nonsense. As kids it just made it feel a bit more dense, based on perception. Do we need to control Cloud on the train? Do we need a very large detailed escape from the church section? That can be an active scene with some choice prompts at certain parts if we need to have affinity gaining points still in. Junk like that surely can be condensed.

 

[Paradoxmoose]

After being disappointed by the change from turn based combat and seeing people gloat that they were happy with the change and that those who liked the old gameplay should get over it and/or just play the old game- part of me is happy to see so many of those same people upset today over the game being episodic.