-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Final Fantasy XIII PC |OT| Lightning must not be forgotten
- Thread starter Yoshichan
- Start date
Ganon Dragmire
Member
The info you need to make it look better than the PS3 version is here: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=909620
Unfortunately, the pre-rendered cut-scenes do not look as good as the ones on PS3.
blinded by light 2gud even better when live
http://youtu.be/K0FZ44_XU2c
http://youtu.be/K0FZ44_XU2c
StoppedInTracks
Member
threelights
Member
I haven't been following the other thread
Did someone release a texture patch or is this just downsampled?
Did someone release a texture patch or is this just downsampled?
StoppedInTracks
Member
It seems super downsampled to me like from 4k at least. The detail in this game (and Demon's Souls) that is being lost to shitty 720p is just heartbreaking.
StoppedInTracks
Member
Vile Peaks is the worst area in the Trilogy. Yeah even worse than The Hanging Edge.
threelights
Member
Wow, that's pretty amazing then, even the snow looks great.
why isn't yoshi posting, he hyped it so much
Maybe he died and went to heaven D:
threelights
Member
why isn't yoshi posting, he hyped it so much
He played a lot when the game released, but now every time I go to play the game he is online, but AFK. I don't think I've talked to him ever since I started playing.
Even Yoshichan left us
, only the goddess is eternal.
why isn't yoshi posting, he hyped it so much
He's been extremely sick, hopefully he is feeling better.
Yeah, these Bresha shots are seriously blowing my mind. I'm surprised the FFXIII threads aren't just constant images of them.yes much better...
Bresha looks great on PS360 as well, but it was more damaged by the console's capabilities than just about anywhere else in the game. The alpha-to-coverage represents those wave edges as graininess at low resolutions, and even if it was filtered better, there's simply too much high-frequency detail for 720p to deal with.
But downsampled 1080p shots, damn.
The Hanging Edge has cool aesthetics too
Also, all exterior shots of the Vestige are awesome
Sammy Samusu
Member
This game is the pits, at this rate I'll never finish it.
I'm setting the game to easy and will avoid as many battles as possible.
I'm setting the game to easy and will avoid as many battles as possible.
Ganon Dragmire
Member
The Vile Peaks is one of my least favorite areas in FFXIII, but it has its moments.
(picture is not mine)
(picture is not mine)
why isn't yoshi posting, he hyped it so much
He's unwell as well as busy with RL stuff.
Oneironaut
Neo Member
It's easy to have your opinion colored by things you've read previously. I try to go into games as blindly as possible to avoid having my own experience effected by the opinions of others. I do the same thing with movies when possible too.
The middle chapters are where I stopped playing on my second playthrough. It's not so much that they're slow - really still breakneck compared to plenty of other RPGs - but that it's where I think a lot of the game's sag is. The formula doesn't change, the story dynamic doesn't change, you're always on the run. It's almost comical how Sazh goes on about how it'd be nice to take in the view but he can't. There could've easily been a game with the same story which didn't need so much repetition.
So if you want a story of that length, you probably can't have that kind of pacing, because that gets boring and predictable. I don't think I could name any decent games which follow the same ratio of length to variety. The only thing left are the combat dynamics, and those get boring too, not to mention that the system takes a while to open up. These are simple choices which don't make any design sense. They clash with each other, they go against the grain for no real benefit.
threelights
Member
I can understand dropping because of repetition, but the running part is like, the middle part on a lot of RPGs are the "oh, we gotta collect the crystals", "oh, we gotta find the Greater beings of elements" or whatever, this game is "run because everyone wants to kill you". It's a lot more straightforward, and I can understand people not liking it, but I appreciate it for being something different.
Again, the pacing is okay, they should have tried doing more different stuff though, idk, have them go to a city and then get drunk or something, vary it up a bit. It's disappointing the lack of variety, but the game doesn't really feel dragged on, especially with the constant change of scenario, some places I actually wanted to stay longer.
And the battle system really feels like they are teaching every single detail about it, before letting you do whatever you want, it's a little of a forced variety, but at least they do it in decent ways. I recently lost my save and had to do a lot over again, and I saw how places like the Vile Peaks have some really good design choices when you have Sazh and Vanille. And then when it opens up the difficulty also ramps up, because you can deal with it. In terms of battle system, I'd rather this, than having the same thing through the entire game and seeing only the damage numbers changing.
The sky is really nice in the vile peaks and I think Sazh and Vanille's part is nice looking and has a nice theme too.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
I don't think is rather "different" than "dumbed down", and I don't mean this in a bad way (or rather is bad and good at the same time), rather than they took all this JRPG elements and made them way more straightforward. Character progression? Just press one button and let the game do it's job!! no way to screw up!! You got killed? No problem!! keep playing just before the fight! Don't know where to go? Easy! just keep running forward and follow the marker! Cities? Why do you want that? no need to talk to a bunch of NPC's, we'll put NPC in you way and you don't even have to press a button to talk with them!! it's automatic!!
And there's this very slow way to introduce players to the battle system.
I feel that the game is designed with a very clear goal in mind: create a JRPG that's easy to play and enjoy, so the systems and gameplay dosn't get in the way too much so the player can just enjoy the presentation and the plot. The benefits are clear and so are the problems.
IMO the problem is there, the plot and the characters aren't that enjoyable so you get a quite anemic game in terms of content and deepness.
threelights
Member
But if that was the case, the game would be easy, which is not. Stuff like respawning right before a battle is to not stop casual players from playing the game. Yes, they need to make stuff casual, it's a mainline Final Fantasy, there's not a single numbered game that doesn't have an easy main story, if anything, XIII is the hardest.
The lack of gameplay variety and level design and the development hell for this game makes me think otherwise. The way I see it they chose to not compromise the story and instead cut off all the more "superficial" stuff, like talking to NPCs and using cities shops or whatever. Making branching paths for exploration is not that hard, the corridors are clearly intentional, because then they can make you go through battles the way they want you to, teaching you a bit of the battle system at a time, so it has a new thing to show even after 10+hours has passed.
The problem is that the "superficial" stuff was not superficial at all and is what most people were expecting, and showing the battle system a bit at a time takes away any kind of replay value from the game whatsoever, but doesn't make it bad. It's not holding back the battle system to avoid complications, it's more about using it to the maximum of their abilities so the game doesn't feel like the same thing for 20 hours.
As for the story, you can find examples in this very thread that will disagree with you, so yeah...
i played it on the ps3 and stopped cause it got so damn boring. i'm now playing it on pc and it still as boring as i remembered it but damn if the game isn't so nice looking. the durante mod is magical. i'll keep trucking along for the eye candy. hopefully i can finally finish the game.
Yoshichan
And they made him a Lord of Cinder. Not for virtue, but for might. Such is a lord, I suppose. But here I ask. Do we have a sodding chance?
Yeah, the people who answered in this thread already is 100% right... I got massive flu just as the game was launched; it was stuck in my body for a week and like three days. I couldn't do anything during this time, so when I recovered, I had (have) tons of shit to catch up with at college... didn't really expect to be 'gone' for so longwhy isn't yoshi posting, he hyped it so much
SandMan2233
Member
I'm really digging this game so-far. Chapter 9 as far as progress. Battle system is ace and the art direction is gorgeous. Plus, it's just a perfect game for screenshots. Here's one I took the other night:
Obviously shopped to some degree, but I thought it came out great. And while I wish Square-Enix would, you know, fix up the port job somehow, I can live with miracle-worker Durante's fix for now.
Obviously shopped to some degree, but I thought it came out great. And while I wish Square-Enix would, you know, fix up the port job somehow, I can live with miracle-worker Durante's fix for now.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
Wait until you reach 10 and the fifth ark....
Perfo
Thirteen flew over the cuckoo's nest
WTH ?
FF XIII has a DLC ?
i heard you can use cheat engine to play that level
http://steamcommunity.com/app/292120/discussions/0/613939294388711077/
The most surprising part is that they had an entire new boss available and they discarded the idea to use it in the main game (perhaps is was developed later as dlc) until FFXIII-2.
I
This looks so much like a magazine scan lol and it looks great too.
SandMan2233
Member
That was sort of the idea! All I did was add a little layer of digital noise, a little bit of zoom blur and played with some color, contrast and brightness. So thanks! I hope to get more as I continue through the game of the other members of the party (since I can't freely switch yet, heh).
Ganon Dragmire
Member
When you witness Light's "Oh Shit!" face, then prepare to get your ass destroyed.
and don't you dare change that difficulty setting. haha
and don't you dare change that difficulty setting. haha
When you witness Light's "Oh Shit!" face, then prepare to get your ass destroyed.
and don't you dare change that difficulty setting. haha
Barthandelus
in both encounters
That damn
Destrudo
attack him really hard with 3 ravagers while he's charging it, you should be able to weaken him two times in the same charge. Applying the debuff Imperil helps a lot.
Umm I thought Pulse was when this game was supposed to get good. I've enjoyed the game immensely up until now, but it's dumb when I can't fight any of these battles here that have the Behemoth King and it's killing all the interest I have in this game. It takes forever to build up their chain meter to stagger them and I'm already dead before I can even get it done.
Tizoc
Member
As I posted before, DO NOT do any upgrades til Chapter 11. I wrote a short guide on how to upgrade weapons, its linked in the first post. Don't bother upgrading equipment that boost health, etc. I never bothered with them myself
Upon arriving on Gran Pulse you have the following to do:
1- Complete Cie'th missions to get some good equipment and CP
2- Progress through the game normally
3- Grind at the behemoth near the cave entrance
#3 is what you should be doing for a few hours to get as much abilities and stats as possible.
XIII-2 hasn't even started yet...
Ganon Dragmire
Member
Change the Future.
Flachmatuch
Member
As I posted before, DO NOT do any upgrades til Chapter 11. I wrote a short guide on how to upgrade weapons, its linked in the first post. Don't bother upgrading equipment that boost health, etc. I never bothered with them myself
Upon arriving on Gran Pulse you have the following to do:
1- Complete Cie'th missions to get some good equipment and CP
2- Progress through the game normally
3- Grind at the behemoth near the cave entrance
#3 is what you should be doing for a few hours to get as much abilities and stats as possible.
Imo if you want to grind, it's best to get to the end of chapter 11 asap to get the level 9 crystarium and grind Adamantoises either on Pulse with Death, or, even better, the one in ch12 Eden near the end. Adamantoise gives you 40'000 CP and can drop Platinum Ingot (150'000 gil) and Trapezohedron. If you really want CP, do mission #55 (it is on top of the Oerba schoolhouse) for the Growth Egg, but even without that, you'll be able to max out your level 9 crystarium (including secondary roles) and get a few dozen Platinum Ingots in a few hours. You only really need one Trapezohedron and fully upgrade a weapon that gives back three (I like Belladonna Wand) when you dismantle it (fully upgrading it costs a bit less than 2 million gil iirc, ie. 12-13 platinum ingots). If you need CP to kill the ch11 end boss, just grind the factory cave thing with the robots and bombs as they're super easy and give loads of CP. Maybe do stone missions for fun and more importantly, for the teleport gates, but imo it's much better to upgrade your weapons before you start walking around on Pulse.
For grinding, definitely get two Collector's Catalogs and upgrade one to Conoisseur's Catalog (you should have both, as Collector's is the one that will help you get those Platinum Ingots). I don't think there're many items that are really necessary otherwise, except maybe Champion's Badge (for the TP recovery skill + the Gestalt synthesis), which you can find in Eden Siren's Plaza (iirc).
KojiKnight
Member
It's amazing how that game got both more coherent, but still incredibly convoluted. Still prefer it to 13.
Relaxed Muscle
Member
As I posted before, DO NOT do any upgrades til Chapter 11. I wrote a short guide on how to upgrade weapons, its linked in the first post. Don't bother upgrading equipment that boost health, etc. I never bothered with them myself
Upon arriving on Gran Pulse you have the following to do:
1- Complete Cie'th missions to get some good equipment and CP
2- Progress through the game normally
3- Grind at the behemoth near the cave entrance
#3 is what you should be doing for a few hours to get as much abilities and stats as possible.
There's also that mission 24 which give you BOTH CP and money, which is an interesting alternative.
Also any guide with the ideal weapons for each character? Is time to upgrade some shit.
Flachmatuch
Member
As I posted before, DO NOT do any upgrades til Chapter 11. I wrote a short guide on how to upgrade weapons, its linked in the first post. Don't bother upgrading equipment that boost health, etc. I never bothered with them myself
Upon arriving on Gran Pulse you have the following to do:
1- Complete Cie'th missions to get some good equipment and CP
2- Progress through the game normally
3- Grind at the behemoth near the cave entrance
#3 is what you should be doing for a few hours to get as much abilities and stats as possible.
Imo you shouldn't bother with that. Seriously. It's a waste of time. Get to the end of ch11, get Death, grind Adamntoises, it's much more productive. I wasted hours on it and I regret it.
CuckFupertino
Banned
Somebody should make a game out of Final Fantasy XIII neologisms and free association.
Pulse Cocoon Gran Pulse l'Cie Cie'th fal'Cie Pulse l'Cie Pulse fal'Cie Santum fal'Cie focus focus focus (hocus pocus?) Eidolon Eidolith Purge PSICOM Guardian Corps Calvary Bartandalus Eden Phoenix Ragnarok.
What's more fucked up than the story in this game is the reason I like this game more than 13-2. 13-2 adds few neologisms and instead repurposes English language words as they see fit. Either that, or
Nomura has no fucking clue what the word "paradox" means, and uses it throughout 13-2 to mean whenever something bad happens. That made my brain hurt way worse than anything in FF13 (which is saying something!).
thunder_snail
Member
#3 is not a good choice. It's completely doable to do mission up to 17 and move on to complete the chapter without grinding and then move on with the game. That way, by the time you reach chp12, you'll have missions 1~27 (or 26? can't remember) done. And it's a lot easier and less tedious to earn money and CP at chp12 than grinding in Pulse.
Then you can always return to Pulse to finish off rest of the missions.
Plus you get Lionheart for lightning at chp12.