Support NeoGAF

[DeSolos]

They should just aim to make main character that looks like the main Hyur seen in the CG movies for FFXIV. Dude looks like he could be passable for Western audiences without looking like some roided dudebro:

Brown haired white guy doesn't stand out.

Spoiler

As a brown haired white guy I'd call myself an authority on this.

FF characters need to be iconic and memorable. This guy looks too average, he looks like someone's dad.

 

[MagnaderAlpha]

Brown haired white guy doesn't stand out.

Spoiler

As a brown haired white guy I'd call myself an authority on this.

FF characters need to be iconic and memorable. This guy looks too average, he looks like someone's dad.

Give him red hair. It's been a damn while since we've gotten a red-headed FF hero. Take it back to Famicom-era red-headed heroes!!! Or, you wanna go FF/JRPG/Anime route, just plain give him silver hair. Problem solved.

 

[Mory Dunz]

Brown haired white guy doesn't stand out.

Spoiler

As a brown haired white guy I'd call myself an authority on this.

Where's Mario in your pic?

 

[DeSolos]

Give him red hair. It's been a damn while since we've gotten a red-headed FF hero. Take it back to Famicom-era red-headed heroes!!! Or, you wanna go FF/JRPG/Anime route, just plain give him silver hair. Problem solved.

Red would be awesome actually! I think another possible saving grace would be to target a less realistic FF, FF9 style or at least FF12 style. Then designs can be a lot less constrained.

Where's Mario in your pic?

Didn't make the compilation, but Mario's stylization makes him iconic. I believe the criticism that this pic was addressing was the lack of diversity of protagonists in more realistic games.

 

[The Last One]

Yeah, Noctis really isn't that appealing to the western audiences. And to make it worse, he looks like Uchiha Sasuke =/

 

[Papacheeks]

They did, and they still do. But there are a couple differences: Unlike Versus/XV, we are getting the Last Guardian we were supossed to get years ago, and also, they are also very personal and unique games which had long cylces, SOTC already took like 5 years.




They aren't even using the same engine or assets anymore, that's a poor excuse. The comparisson with From Software is merely a management one. SE is one of the biggest Japanese studios, yet they could learn a couple of things of a mid sized studio like From Software which is able to have an extraoirdinare ratio of releases/quality.



Having a decent toolset and workflow capabilities is the thing that truly matters on an engine, no if they can put trillion polygons,whatever effects and stupid shit on it.

From Software is evolving their own engine and having a very good productivity with it, that's a good thing, not a negative point. If SE was unable to do so, is their own fault, they have been dragging a deficient engine for all these years, and they are repeating history with Luminous.

That's not a testament of hard work or something to applaud. Is a shitshow of poor management



Luminous was built for next gen. I don't think you entirely know what are you talking about.

"The game originally used Crystal Tools, a middleware engine designed by Square Enix to develop their seventh-generation console and PC content.[46] However, it was later rebuilt with a proprietary, action-oriented engine and some middleware tools along with parts of the company's new Luminous Studio engine, such as its lighting technology.[47] When Final Fantasy Agito XIII was renamed Final Fantasy Type-0 and the next-generation consoles PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were presented to Square Enix in 2011, the company decided internally to change Final Fantasy Versus XIII* '​s title to Final Fantasy XV.[1][48] For a time, the game was developed for both the PlayStation 3 and the next generation of video game platforms. However, after a public announcement of the title change had not been possible in 2012 due to unspecified reasons, the limited life cycle of the current console generation was considered a problem. After some trial and error, the PlayStation 3 was abandoned as lead platform in favor of a DirectX 11-based development method that allowed for easy porting to the next-generation systems.[1] Production fully shifted to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in mid-2012.[16] By 2014, the game was being developed solely for the Luminous Studio engine.[9] While handling the DirectX 11 technology, the team used experience from a previous experiment for a scrapped sequel to Type-0.[49] Development of XV and Luminous Studio occurred simultaneously, with the teams working closely together to optimize each project.[1]

BOOM!

It is you, who have no clue what you are talking about. If you could not watch that video I gave you and see character models, and assets from PS3 code translated to PS4 then it's you who has no clue what the hell you are talking about.

 

[Turin]

Yeah, Noctis really isn't that appealing to the western audiences. And to make it worse, he looks like Uchiha Sasuke =/

I'm just glad he doesn't sound like him.

I'll take Bat-Noctis any day of the week over that shit! D:

 

[threelights]

A bit random but: that was the best translator I have ever heard in the video game industry. Was he reading of a prompter? Goddamn.

That's just the coolest guy in the industry. SE London did a podcast with him a few months ago (he was also the translator in the London ATR right before the demo came out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiQ4rh4hhiU)

Here's the podcast: http://eu.square-enix.com/en/blog/square-enix-london-podcast-episode-2

I didn't find him on Twitter, or anywhere like that though D=

 

[The Last One]

I'm just glad he doesn't sound like him.

I'll take Bat-Noctis any day of the week over that shit! D:

Seriously, if his personality was like Sasuke's one it'd would be disastrous.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

So uhh.. how f'n large are they planning on making Lucis in the game? ...

Looks like they still want to include battling on skyscraper walls.

So actual gameplay in Lucis during the attack is still happening?

That's a massive relief.

 

[Ray Down]

Yeah, Noctis really isn't that appealing to the western audiences. And to make it worse, he looks like Uchiha Sasuke =/

Just design wise.

He will have more personality, character and be much more likable then Sause.

 

[Mory Dunz]

R
Didn't make the compilation, but Mario's stylization makes him iconic. I believe the criticism that this pic was addressing was the lack of diversity of protagonists in more realistic games.

Yeah, I was just messing around since he's kind of a 30-something white male too.

 

[TheGreatDirector]

So uhh.. how f'n large are they planning on making Lucis in the game? ...

Looks like they still want to include battling on skyscraper walls.

I sincerely hope we get to explore at least a part of Lucis.

 

[Lifejumper]

Im assuming lucis is endgame, since he has to take back his home city.

 

[Turin]

Seriously, if his personality was like Sasuke's one it'd would be disastrous.

Just design wise.

He will have more personality, character and be much more likable then Sause.

Yeah. I actually liked him in the demo.

Spoiler

Especially when imagining he's a secret stoner.

 

[benzy]

So actual gameplay in Lucis during the attack is still happening?

That's a massive relief.

Tabata said you won't fight during the Niflheim attack since the party scene was removed and Noctis is away, but he will include new scenarios where you'll be fighting in Lucis.

I sincerely hope we get to explore at least a part of Lucis.

Yeah, it's gonna be weird if we see a huge city and can't explore it considering XV is referred to as open-world.

 

[BlackJace]

So uhh.. how f'n large are they planning on making Lucis in the game? ...

Looks like they still want to include battling on skyscraper walls.

See, the problem with this game seems to be a weird sense of overambition.

How they couldn't see that all of these set pieces would be expensive and time-consuming is beyond me.

 

[SolidSnakex]

Definitely, you're right. Is the FF audience still big enough, though? I doubt it. They are clearly trying to get more of those other 20 millions by moving to an action-based battle-system appealing to gamers who aren't into menu-based RPGs and rather play RPGs with real-time gameplay, like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, etc., or (Character) Action games. But those millions are used to western, "generic" designs, too.

XV was an action RPG back in 2006 when it was announced as Versus. The point of it was that Nomura wanted to go against the grain of what people expected for the series. Since it wasn't numbered at the time, he didn't have to worry about upsetting people because they didn't like some of the changes he decided to make. That's why it has a more grounded and realistic approach to clothing, environments, transportation etc. There are obviously still very fantasy inspired creations in the game, but it's far "realistic" looking than any previous FF. It's also why the battle system is real-time rather than turn-based. That was all in place before Mass Effect or Dragon Age were even released.

So I don't really think that it's a game out to chase western trends because its original premise wasn't built on that idea. FFXIII was actually their attempt to target the group you're talking about. Toriyama even specifically namedropped CoD in interviews for XIII as an inspiration.

With that said, I think Square's new president does a good job of explaining why it's not a good idea for them to chase after trends instead of doing what their core audience wants

“For example, in the past, when we developed console games with a worldwide premise, we lost our focus, and not only did they end up being games that weren’t for the Japanese, but they ended up being incomplete titles that weren’t even fit for a global audience.”

Matsuda continues, “On the other hand, there are games like the JRPG we made for the Japanese audience with the proper elements, Bravely Default, which ended up selling well all around the world.”

“Due to having split [the development mindset] according to regions around the world, we weren’t able to see this clearly up until now, but fans of JRPGs are really spread around the world,” emphasizes Matsuda. “Through the means of various networks, the latest information that is announced in Japan is instantaneously being spread across fans throughout the world. Whether it’s North America, Europe, or South America. There really isn’t much of a gap [in the relay of information].”

“With that in mind, and all of the collective fans, there’s a sense of mass, which loses the image of a niche market,” continues Matsuda. “For the new games we’ll be developing from this point on, while this may sound a bit extreme, we’ve been talking about making them as heavy JRPGs. I believe that way, we can better focus on our target, which will also bring better results.”

“If you focus too much on the global aspect, you might lose sight of who you’re actually making the game for,” explains Matsuda. “For example, if you look back at 2013, we’ve had some home console games made for a global audience that struggled.”

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/31/bravely-defaults-success-west-making-square-enix-rethink-jrpgs/

Last gen Square led the charge on that mindset that gamers no longer wanted JRPG's being made in the same way that they had in previous generations. Instead they wanted JRPG's built with a western appeal. And their output suffered because of it. But I think we're seeing a renewed interest in JRPG's this gen, and that actually started last gen. You saw that with how well Ni no Kuni was received in the west. Both in terms of sales and reviews. And that's a game that stars a kid, which is a terrible thing if you go by some on the net. Then there's Bravely Default, which Matsuda brought up in this interview. Tales games have also performed well. And Baba openly admits that they only think of the Japanese audience when designing them, although they're thankful that they also appeal to the west. Those games are just JRPG's, they weren't games designed to appeal to the west. But they ended up appealing moreso than something like The Last Remnant, which was a game that Square designed with the west in mind. And that's because gamers never stopped wanting JRPG's built like they were in the past.

Square seems to have their shit together this gen and I think that's in large part to them doing what Matsuda said. They aren't chasing the west anymore.

 

[artsi]

So actual gameplay in Lucis during the attack is still happening?

That's a massive relief.

They'll be in Lucis too for sure, but during the initial invasion they're on the road.
You could gather that from the trailers and confirmed in the story details:

In a matter of days, the Kingdom of Lucis is to sign an armistice, ending a long and bitter conflict with Niflheim. Ahead of the ceremony, Prince Noctis, heir to the Lucian throne, sets forth from his homeland to formalize the union of states through his marriage to the Lady Lunafreya of the imperial province of Tenebrae.

The offer of peace, however, is no more than a ruse to lower the Lucian shield, and the imperial army takes the crown city and its sacred crystal in one fell swoop. En route to his destination, Noctis is shocked to learn that he, his father the king, and his betrothed are believed dead.

 

[sappyday]

The treaty could be a two day thing. First day is the party and all that stuff. Second day is the official signing (invasion). Noctis and Co leave on the first night for plot related reasons.

Who knows. I rather think that than assume that they cut it out.

 

[DeSolos]

So uhh.. how f'n large are they planning on making Lucis in the game? ...

Looks like they still want to include battling on skyscraper walls.

My guess is they cut the opening because of this. I fear Insomnia will be saved for CG cutscenes, and when we get back to it, it will just be wilderness sparsely populated with fallen buildings. Other than the government building of course.

Basically what Bioware did to Earth in Mass Effect 3.

 

[Hades Hotgun]

Brown haired white guy doesn't stand out.

Spoiler

As a brown haired white guy I'd call myself an authority on this.

FF characters need to be iconic and memorable. This guy looks too average, he looks like someone's dad.

The issue of homogenization is well taken, but I mean, many of the protags in that pic come from highly successful games. It seems those brown haired white guys stand out enough to be pretty damn popular. Also, Squall and Auron look to fit in there as well.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Look, as I said, there is a middle-ground to be found if they'd want to. And you don't have to look far to find it:

These are perfect. Not too much Anime, not too much Bald Space Marine. The red-haired man and the black-haired woman are some of the best designs I've seen in a FF.

Is white mask dude still even in the game?

The other characters in this pic have either been mentioned or shown since all the changes, but not him.

 

[benzy]

See, the problem with this game seems to be a weird sense of overambition.

How they couldn't see that all of these set pieces would be expensive and time-consuming is beyond me.

I believe they started mass-producing assets and models a year ago, and they also outsource game content to 2 other developers, XPEC and HexaDrive. But yeah, even then Lucis looks like a huge understaking if we're actually able to explore it in detail.

 

[sappyday]

I believe they started mass-producing assets and models a year ago, and they also outsource game content to 2 other developers, XPEC and HexaDrive. But yeah, even then Lucis looks like a huge understaking if we're actually able to explore it in detail.

It'll be unbelievable if they achieve it. Not even Novigrad is that big.

 

[DiipuSurotu]

I think they'll basically handle Lucis the way they handled Zanarkand in FFX.

 

[benzy]

My guess is they cut the opening because of this. I fear Insomnia will be saved for CG cutscenes, and when we get back to it, it will just be wilderness sparsely populated with fallen buildings. Other than the government building of course.

Basically what Bioware did to Earth in Mass Effect 3.

Could be. I can't tell if it's just a 2D backdrop here at e3 2013 with all the blur but it looks like they had a good chunk of it modeled already though.

The main government building asset for the pre-rendered e3 video looks like the same model as in their recent tech demos.

tech demo

 

[Andrefpvs]

We will never see the Stella meeting scene CG promised back in 2012 /sobs

Welp, now I'm depressed.

 

[wmlk]

Just give me Accordo. I'll get there in the game and I won't leave.

 

[.JayZii]

I think they'll basically handle Lucis the way they handled Zanarkand in FFX.

It will be a dream created by the constant mourning of thousand-year dead souls?

 

[artsi]

After revealing the story beginning I'm now more interested in this scene from Duscae ending.

It seems to be Insomnia, but Luna was supposed to be in Tenebrae where Noctis heads for their wedding.

http://abload.de/img/ffxv-secret-movie-revx1lkk.jpg

 

[sappyday]

After revealing the story beginning I'm now more interested in this scene from Duscae ending.

It seems to be Insomnia, but Luna was supposed to be in Tenebrae where Noctis heads for their wedding.

http://abload.de/img/ffxv-secret-movie-revx1lkk.jpg

Tabata strikes again!

 

[DeSolos]

After revealing the story beginning I'm now more interested in this scene from Duscae ending.

It seems to be Insomnia, but Luna was supposed to be in Tenebrae where Noctis heads for their wedding.

http://abload.de/img/ffxv-secret-movie-revx1lkk.jpg

She's being an independent women and doing her own thing.

Spoiler

It's actually Stella.

 

[chozen]

Tabata strikes again!

Wasn't she giving Noctis the ring at Accordo tho?

Still supporting the "She made it out alive" line.

 

[BumRush]

Sort of off-topic but its come up a few times so I wanted peoples' opinions:

Spoiler

(also, Toriyama saying his new game being announced this year has me worried)

When will FFXVI be announced? Before XV releases? After?
Who will be directing it?

 

[plasmawave]

Where's Mario in your pic?

He wears a hat.

 

[DeSolos]

Could be. I can't tell if it's just a 2D backdrop here at e3 2013 with all the blur but it looks like they had a good chunk of it modeled already though.

The main government building asset for the pre-rendered e3 video looks like the same model as in their recent tech demos.

tech demo

It seems redesigned to be more fantasy oriented lately, so I'd imagined it's changed a bit since 2013, but even then they could feasibly make the changes to the city.

What I'm concerned with is beyond that. Ok we have a city, but what do you do in it? That thing looks the size of at least Los Santos from GTAV. I just can't imagine it ever being utilized to its full potential, even if they do fully build it out in game.

I think at best, it's going to be one hell of a giant expensive set piece for a climactic battle.

 

[Kagari]

^Easily one of the best protagonists in a recent SE game.

And I love how he seems to age and gain confidence/equipment/stubbles/scars(?) as XIV goes on.

My warrior of light looks nothing like that though.

 

[YunFang1130]

After revealing the story beginning I'm now more interested in this scene from Duscae ending.

It seems to be Insomnia, but Luna was supposed to be in Tenebrae where Noctis heads for their wedding.

http://abload.de/img/ffxv-secret-movie-revx1lkk.jpg

I think it's a ruse. Either Luna went to Lucis to warn Regis about the impending attack from Niflheim or she's being used be Niflheim to take Lucis' crystal, but escapes.

 

[artsi]

It seems redesigned to be more fantasy oriented lately, so I'd imagined it's changed a bit since 2013, but even then they could feasibly make the changes to the city.

What I'm concerned with is beyond that. Ok we have a city, but what do you do in it? That thing looks the size of at least Los Santos from GTAV. I just can't imagine it ever being utilized to its full potential, even if they do fully build it out in game.

I think at best, it's going to be one hell of a giant expensive set piece for a climactic battle.

I've thought the same and come to the conclusion that the major cities are probably separate, restricted zones from the main world map.

Especially as they are planning to implement the airships, no way they have developed these areas to be 100% traversable unless the 9 years has been spent for that.

Altissia seems more feasible though, and we haven't seen other cities in grand scale yet.

I think it's a ruse. Either Luna went to Lucis to warn Regis about the impending attack from Niflheim or she's being used be Niflheim to take Lucis' crystal, but escapes.

Yeah that's most probable.

 

[tuxfool]

It seems redesigned to be more fantasy oriented lately, so I'd imagined it's changed a bit since 2013, but even then they could feasibly make the changes to the city.

What I'm concerned with is beyond that. Ok we have a city, but what do you do in it? That thing looks the size of at least Los Santos from GTAV. I just can't imagine it ever being utilized to its full potential, even if they do fully build it out in game.

I think at best, it's going to be one hell of a giant expensive set piece for a climactic battle.

It seems unlikely that they would allow or even create a full city. It will be just the center, a few blocks. Isn't the game split up into zones? They'll just warp you out if you reach the edge of the current zone.

 

[Icyflamez96]

Literally Zac Effron

 

[YankeeDonB]

So uhh.. how f'n large are they planning on making Lucis in the game? ...

Looks like they still want to include battling on skyscraper walls.

This looks awesome. But there's no way they can populate all that right?

 

[Kagari]

I was hoping they would actually show the city outside cutscenes/that entrance area at Gamescom.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

BOOM!

It is you, who have no clue what you are talking about. If you could not watch that video I gave you and see character models, and assets from PS3 code translated to PS4 then it's you who has no clue what the hell you are talking about.

You should read the rest of what you quoted.

By 2014, the game was being developed solely for the Luminous Studio engine

 

[The Last One]

No way we can explore this whole city.

 

[Eggbok]

Could be. I can't tell if it's just a 2D backdrop here at e3 2013 with all the blur but it looks like they had a good chunk of it modeled already though.

The main government building asset for the pre-rendered e3 video looks like the same model as in their recent tech demos.

tech demo

So my question is how will we be fighting soliders halfway up the building?
Will they be coming down from ropes or something? Haven't seen the trailers in a while so I could be missing something.

 

[Kagari]

So my question is how will we be fighting soliders halfway up the building?
Will they be coming down from ropes or something? Haven't seen the trailers in a while so I could be missing something.

Originally you would warp there. That stuff is probably dead though.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

So my question is how will we be fighting soliders halfway up the building?
Will they be coming down from ropes or something? Haven't seen the trailers in a while so I could be missing something.

You won't.

The combat system from that demo is dead.

 

[Philippo]

Of course you won't be able to explore all Lucis, lower your expectations people.
It would actually be pretty pointless.
I mean, a smaller, more fleshed out section is way better.