Heavenly Sword - Developer Q&A

momolicious said:
i think the problem is that the grahpics are upgraded but there is now aliasing visible obviuosly because its real time
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Technically it didn't actually use anti-aliasing in the E3 2005 trailer, but with with a lot of post processing effects and high resolution trailer in motion, it hides it well.
 
6. How long has the game been in development and when is it due for release?
We first had the idea for Heavenly Sword in mid 2003 so it's been quite a while in development. Its official launch date will be announced soon.
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best part. :D
 
Striek said:
Good Q&A. Sooo hyped for this. The focus is 100% spot-on IMO.


We need to see this...
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Did you see the GDC tech demo? Although it's just a bazooka blowing hundreds of characters up, it gave an idea the scale of the battles.
 
Kittonwy said:
Did you see the GDC tech demo? Although it's just a bazooka blowing hundreds of characters up, it gave an idea the scale of the battles.
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that was just a pointless tech demo, I doubt there will be that many guys in the final game and neither will the stages be so barren....

Remember tech demos = no ai, no game logic, no sound....
 
Doom_Bringer said:
that was just a pointless tech demo, I doubt there will be that many guys in the final game and neither will the stages be so barren....

Remember tech demos = no ai, no game logic, no sound....
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There is sound though, you hear the bazooka noise go "boom" and then guys going, "WAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

And there is physics, you're right in that it was not running AI or game logic (since it wasn't the full game), but then it was merely a stripped-down demo to show one very small aspect of the game, like the Motorstorm demo showing the mud deformation with simply one buggy.
 
Kittonwy said:
There is sound though, you hear the bazooka noise go "boom" and then guys going, "WAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
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:lol are you talking about the GDC demo?? All I heard was Phil Harrison blabbing about something...
And there is physics, you're right in that it was not running AI or game logic (since it wasn't the full game), but then it was merely a stripped-down demo to show one very small aspect of the game, like the Motorstorm demo showing the mud deformation with simply one buggy.
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Ya true that!
 
Will probably become the big 'surprise' hit this spring, like God of War.
Sure, we know it's coming but it will end up showing alot of people I think.
 
This game definitely looks ace, and will be a huge boon to the PS3's lineup. Would be great for everybody involved if this could make it out for launch in a polished state. Maybe that's a contradiction in terms but would be quite amazing if it happened, and would be really cool to have a DMC/NG/GoW caliber game this early in the gen.
 
A good Q&A but they have left themselves wide open for the GAF onslaught if the game falls short of anything but perfection.
 
Jim said:
5. Can you tell us a bit about some of the weapons we'll be getting to grips with in the game?

Your main weapon is the Heavenly Sword itself. It comes in 3 stances which you can switch between on the fly to create your own combos and fighting style.
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:O
 
Bodom78 said:
A good Q&A but they have left themselves wide open for the GAF onslaught if the game falls short of anything but perfection.
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when has anyone, least of all NeoGAFfers, let a li'l' hitch like "perfection" stop them from piling on a game? lol besides, perfection is subjective... ;p

Heavenly Sword will be AWESOMEOWN, no doubt!
 
This game has been cleverly set at the forefront of the first wave of PS3 titles. I'm sure it will easily become one of the first killer apps when it launches next year easily passing the million mark. Like a GT3 - MGS2 hype of sorts, obviously not reaching those levels since it is still an unproven franchise. I'm sure this will be the game PS3 early adopters will want to buy. Then E3 can come and show what PS3 will be all about.
 
One aspect of the game that has been downgraded from since the E32k5 build, is that they're no longer flags or banners... to the scale seen in the E2 2k5 demo.

A pity, but a relatively meaningless triviality to the game in the scope of things.
 
They didn't have any flapping banners in the in-doorish section (which isn't the same as the Arean but still) of the E32K5 thing, and it's not like they showed anything outside of the Arena at E2k6.
 
Zen said:
They didn't have any flapping banners in the in-doorish section (which isn't the same as the Arean but still) of the E32K5 thing, and it's not like they showed anything outside of the Arena at E2k6.
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Oh, I'm not conjecturing based on the demo, I'm just recalling what one of the devs said about the banners, although for the love of me I can't remember where I saw it or who said it anymore.
 
Doom_Bringer said:
:lol are you talking about the GDC demo?? All I heard was Phil Harrison blabbing about something...


Ya true that!
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And you wonder why you got banned from their forum, cheer up a bit, the game is going to be amazing!
 
Zaptruder said:
One aspect of the game that has been downgraded from since the E32k5 build, is that they're no longer flags or banners... to the scale seen in the E2 2k5 demo.

A pity, but a relatively meaningless triviality to the game in the scope of things.
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They are probably talking about the large battles then, because both the arena and the demo of the "gollum" character had banners in the background during E3 2006.

I remember Deano talking about the banners at B3D shortly after E3 2005, he said they were very "expensive" but that they weren't optimized back then.
 
Forsete said:
They are probably talking about the large battles then, because both the arena and the demo of the "gollum" character had banners in the background during E3 2006.

I remember Deano talking about the banners at B3D shortly after E3 2005, he said they were very "expensive" but that they weren't optimized back then.
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Yeah, I remember that. But I recall more recently something been said about them dropping the use of those flags altogether. I'm just hoping someone else can bring up references to what I'm mentioning...
 
I don't remember them saying that at all. Comparing the E3 06 scene to the E3 05 indoor scene, it's hard to tell if the latter had any more than a couple of flags, and the E3 06 scene did sport two in the background, behind the enemies. It was also one of the improvements made between the official shots and E3:

Pre-E3 build:

hs3wh4.jpg


E3 build:

hs1zy1.jpg


hs2ka5.jpg


There are also two windmills in the scene, one in the more distant background (the white circular thing), and one just above the stage (casting shadows on the floor below) - though it's hard to tell if they're actually using cloth sails or not.

(Caps are from BlimBlim's awesome video of NT's E3 presentation.)
 
2. Do you use the new hardware in any way, other than creating more advanced graphics?

Does the new technology also affect gameplay?
Combat is our biggest area of gameplay. The combat engine has been in development for well over two years. You can fight using three sword stances which you can switch between on the fly to create your own combos. You can use all enemy weapons against them. You can use objects in the scenery to throw and smash, you can blow up masses of enemies with cannons and so on. Physics has been integrated into combat so that you can smash people into objects or sweep debris into enemies. You can fight one-on-one against supremely skilled enemies, fight against dozens of tightly choreographed enemies, or against armies of thousands. There are also some amazing and outrageous combat set-pieces which have no precedent in games or films. This a real next-gen combat engine that would never be possible on current gen consoles.
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what1jx.gif
 
I read the edge article about her hair + its dynamics.. and my reaction then was wow... can't wait to see more.

The Q+A is good stuff. PS3 media needs to be more forthcoming. TGS in september. ... too long a wait
 
Great comparison gofreak. I never even realised there was a difference. Why did NT send out screencaps of the pre-E3 build to all the press sites though, considering the new E3 build was such an improvement?

Pre-E3 build:

hspree3ci3.jpg


And here's an E3 gameplay pic:

hse3jh0.jpg


So much changed, every model (enemy and Nariko) is different, the enviroment changed and improved dramatically, the lighting seems substantially better, different HUD and so on. I'm wondering just how old this build must be, considering the face is the same as E3 2005's model it could be from all the way back then
 
Yoboman said:
Great comparison gofreak. I never even realised there was a difference. Why did NT send out screencaps of the pre-E3 build to all the press sites though, considering the new E3 build was such an improvement?
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The most in-your-face difference is that pre-E3 pictures show no aniso filtering but the E3 demo build had 8xAF. If you look closer though, almost everything else has been improved too (I didn't even notice those flags even though now they seems impossible to miss). I said it earlier, they did themselves a disservice by releasing those pictures from an obviously old build. Probably because they didn't have a new one up and running before it was too late (magazine lead time, etc)
 
So much changed..compare the sides of the background where the enemies are standing, the enemies themselves were completely changed too. They changed the background make-up of the scenery (that water wheel -?- went out, and in came a windmill etc.). It's kind of a good illustration of something that was mentioned in one of the previews for HS - that the team just keeps revising things over and over again until they feel they're good enough.

Also, someone mentioned earlier about Nariko having just a few hours to live, and whether that's a reflection on playtime - I just heard from an interview that the idea is that if you fight well, and stylishly, it replenishes your 'life clock'. So there is a caveat there, through the game you'll be able to extend her life (though by the end of the game I'm guessing you won't be able to preserve it going forward..).
 
This game almost makes the $499/$599 asking price cheap. Ok...not really but this game looks fantastic nonetheless. I just wish there was some way NT could get this game up to 60fps but I'll happily take a rock solid 30fps.
 
gofreak said:
So much changed..compare the sides of the background where the enemies are standing, the enemies themselves were completely changed too. They changed the background make-up of the scenery (that water wheel -?- went out, and in came a windmill etc.). It's kind of a good illustration of something that was mentioned in one of the previews for HS - that the team just keeps revising things over and over again until they feel they're good enough.

Also, someone mentioned earlier about Nariko having just a few hours to live, and whether that's a reflection on playtime - I just heard from an interview that the idea is that if you fight well, and stylishly, it replenishes your 'life clock'. So there is a caveat there, through the game you'll be able to extend her life (though by the end of the game I'm guessing you won't be able to preserve it going forward..).
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Yeah that's the first thought that came to my mind too. I think they said that in Edge
 
gofreak said:
Also, someone mentioned earlier about Nariko having just a few hours to live, and whether that's a reflection on playtime - I just heard from an interview that the idea is that if you fight well, and stylishly, it replenishes your 'life clock'. So there is a caveat there, through the game you'll be able to extend her life (though by the end of the game I'm guessing you won't be able to preserve it going forward..).
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Well, you dont expect HS to be a one-shot game do you? I can see a franchise there.
 
ypo said:
4x AA and 8x AF. Mmmmmmm...

:D
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I recall reading somewhere where the dev (I think nAo on B3d) mentioned that although the system employes 4xAA, it doesn't look as as it should and that they're improving the aliasing artifacts that are left over. I don't have a link but I recall them saying that.

So anti-aliasing will apparently get better on final release.
 
TTP said:
Well, you dont expect HS to be a one-shot game do you? I can see a franchise there.
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There will be, but it will revolve around the "heavenly" weapons, not the characters that wield them
 
Yeah, they've said they can see potential for a franchise focussed around the sword, not necessarily one character that wields it..I think that's a good idea, it gives them a lot of scope to explore different stories/characters/time periods etc. etc.
 
gofreak said:
Yeah, they've said they can see potential for a franchise focussed around the sword, not necessarily one character that wields it..I think that's a good idea, it gives them a lot of scope to explore different stories/characters/time periods etc. etc.
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Sounds like Eternal Darkness' structure. Everybody finds this book and everybody ends up the same. ;)

Maybe the final game can be somebody breaking the curse or something.
 
gofreak said:
Yeah, they've said they can see potential for a franchise focussed around the sword, not necessarily one character that wields it..I think that's a good idea, it gives them a lot of scope to explore different stories/characters/time periods etc. etc.
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Ah yeah forgot that part. Maybe, considering people care about characters more than the sword they brandish, my guess is next chapters will look at the past of Nariko rather than the future without her. I mean. looks like she is a very strong character. Lots of effort went there. Wouldn't make sense to let her die and replace her with another heavenlysworded warrior.

Yeah, I like Nariko a lot :)
 
Y2Kevbug11 said:
Sounds like Eternal Darkness' structure. Everybody finds this book and everybody ends up the same. ;)

Maybe the final game can be somebody breaking the curse or something.
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Like a coin flip that ends up on its edge? :3
 
Ya rly! Last female video game character I reallly liked was Chris from Suikoden III. I might change my mind when we hear her act in cut scnese and whatnot
 
Doom_Bringer said:
Ya rly! Last female video game character I reallly liked was Chris from Suikoden III. I might change my mind when we hear her act in cut scnese and whatnot
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What? She wears an armour for christ sake! Didnt play Suikoden III tho. Dunno if she shows a bit of meat down the road. :P
 
TTP said:
Ah yeah forgot that part. Maybe, considering people care about characters more than the sword they brandish, my guess is next chapters will look at the past of Nariko rather than the future without her. I mean. looks like she is a very strong character. Lots of effort went there. Wouldn't make sense to let her die and replace her with another heavenlysworded warrior.

Yeah, I like Nariko a lot :)
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You ever play GTA Vice City? Lots of people loved Tommy Vercetti, but R* tossed him to the side and came up with CJ in GTA San Andreas. And it worked for them.
 
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