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[jufonuk]

Its kinda bothering me that Link is right handed again in this demo

edit: Look, there's water lol

yeah as a leftie, I want a leftie hero, wonder if there is an option to switch hands?

 

[Jsheldon]

Will continue to support Nintendo systems for Zelda games (new ones anyways). Can't wait to see more at E3 (6months away though :/). Still hyped.

And hope the wii u hits $199 or less next year.

 

[Volotaire]

YES! I understand that it's still in development and density isn't the focus in this demo, but I still have concerns of density or content being filled in the game world from previous games. I loved the scene with the horses and their animation. Also, I was quite reassured by Nintendo repeating the final release date.

 

[Nanashrew]

We all forgetting the interview where Aonuma talked about unexpected elements? There's going to be some randomness in traveling this land. The E3 reveal trailer even showcased that.

Aonuma additionally notes that the enemy shown in the debut trailer is something not previously seen in the series as you have to come up with a strategy while escaping on horse. He stresses that “If an enemy like this appears, how would you beat it?” is a situation which the team has tried to include in the game.

http://nintendoeverything.com/aonuma-zelda-wii-u-looks-even-better-than-before-update-at-e3-2015/

http://youtu.be/XZmxvig1dXE?t=2m55s

 

[Kathian]

You can control the horse. But you can also choose not to do it. Come on people, its not that hard.

Link gives the horse commands as oppose to controlling the horse. Which I really like.

Suspect some enemies will cause Epona to bolt.

 

[Dictator93]

Because it shows that Nintendo are moving away from the linear design of Skyward Sword and going back to the design ethos of Zelda 1,2 and 3.

Not that hard to understand, really.

I kinda see how it relates to zelda 1 and 3, but zelda 2? They didnt show off any hard as balls combat scenarios yet or anything.

You can control the horse. But you can also choose not to do it. Come on people, its not that hard.

So, either you control the horse to move or do not control the horse and have the ability to stab and shoot?

 

[DrWong]

I So, either you control the horse to move or do not control the horse and have the ability to stab and shoot?

Horse archery, how does it work?

 

[imae]

I do think the idea that the horse "drives itself" or whatever is pretty interesting, but it seems like a crutch for the inability to create good rriding / combat controls at the same time.

I think you'll still have full control of the horse when you want to (i.e. while using the sword at the same time), but the point of the auto-run feature is to make use of the bow feel more seamless. I always felt using the bow in TP felt a little awkward due to have to constantly check where your horse was running.

Epona auto avoiding tree's and stuff is a fantastic feature, horses have brains after all.

 

[Dictator93]

Horse archery, how does it work?

Its a video game, also, people control horses with their legs too brother.

 

[The Noble N00b]

I like it but everything looks overexposed:

 

[Vampirolol]

I hope that the overworld is very early because that was the most boring travel ever! Anouma said that he just wanted to show us the world itself so I'm confident that some gameplay is going to be there.
Not digging the slowmo arrows, looks like a mechanic that's going to slow the pace and become overused because that's what happens in every game with similar mechanics.
The free exploration idea is good and the horse AI looked pretty cool, overall I'm confident on the game but there is going to be a big problem that keeps it away from perfection, like in every 3D Zelda since OoT.

 

[Tanwo]

Here it is.

Really nice to see gameplay. Looks good!
Knowing that there is still a year for development, I'm sure this will be a great Zelda game.

 

[blu]

you should create a political party with NinjaBlade.

Ok, I actually laughed out so loud, my wife asked me what the matter was from across the apartment.

 

[Lernaean]

So, either you control the horse to move or do not control the horse and have the ability to stab and shoot?

It's more like the auto pilot serves to avoid terrain obstacles while you fight or shoot from horseback. If you noticed he still steers it to the general direction, what the auto pilot does is avoiding trees and other horses when it comes to proximity.

Also once more, and not related to your post ofc, the game is a year away and they just wanted to show the scope of the world. It was neither populated or finished with the environmental design. People need to stop with the 'too empty' comments.

I like it but everything looks overexposed:

I agree. It has nothing to do with it being off-screen :/

 

[GarciaHotspur]

I really hate this big open world trend, i hate it

 

[NotLiquid]

I wonder whether or not the game will be running at 60fps. The camcorded part at the start looks really smooth.

 

[Flappy]

I like it but everything looks overexposed:

That's just Nintendo's new HD style. All of their Wii-U games have that bright, sunny day look for some reason.

 

[DrWong]

Its a video game, also, people control horses with their legs too brother.

And it's a Nintendo game. It will have legs.

 

[JMDSO]

Will continue to support Nintendo systems for Zelda games (new ones anyways). Can't wait to see more at E3 (6months away though :/). Still hyped.

And hope the wii u hits $199 or less next year.

A refurbished one is $200 when in stock. No need to wait.

 

[greenteaa]

Grass = cut = rupees

challenge accepted.

 

[Azulsky]

Yeah time to acquire Wii U and TV.

 

[Yatōkiri_Kilgharrah]

What's up with the false dichotomy between having exploration and being devoid of activity or being unnecessarily restrictive and linear? I see it mentioned a lot, sometimes with references to the stupid 4chan meme that proponents of modern Zelda design hold up as some irrefutable truism. You can have openness of exploration and density of gameplay at the same time. It's more rewarding if there's interesting content to discover when you poke around instead of the drudgery of vast empty spaces between meaningful segments. They could rectify this somewhat by having actual useful secondary items and upgrades sprinkled liberally throughout the game, but the trend has been towards cheap filler like countless rupee chests, hearts subdivided into more pieces (which feel doubly as meaningless when combat is insultingly easy and enemies drop more health than the damage they could possibly inflict), or creating useless new collectables that amount to alternate forms of currency or trinkets that fulfill no real gameplay roll.

Zelda games tend to stick within a certain bandwidth as far as number of items, hearts, dungeons, etc, and yet they keep stretching the content thinner and thinner over larger and larger landscapes. It makes Nintendo seem tone deaf to complaints about the series that have existed since its transition to 3D. Majora's Mask is the only one with a reasonably full and carefully articulated overworld, but even that was a bit hindered by being a literal hub world leading to separate quadrants, which is functional but inorganic, and limits the way various parts of the map weave together.

If for the sake of argument we accept an expansive overworld to create a certain mood or sense of adventure, then they need to at least make it so transversal is more varied and interesting. But I'm not so confident this will be the case. And why should anyone be at this point? At first blush the game looks like it could compound the issues of previous 3D Zelda games by further expanding the map without an appropriate increase in overall content. I'm also wary of the way Zelda games have increasingly doled out useful items at predictable intervals, overwhelmingly in dungeons or towns as mandatory content to proceed, rather than gratifying secondary items or upgrades integrated into the field. What's the point of exploration if everything you find it a predictable collectable like a heart, bottle, etc. Imo actual abilities need to be woven into the entirety of the game, and ones that enhance the way you interact with the world, but aren't always 100% necessary to progress. Discovery is more gratifying if it's something useful, and the game doesn't just funnel you towards it.

And why should anyone give the series under Aonuma's tutelage the benefit of the doubt on this? WW and TP has very similar issues with he scarcity of content to justify their expanded maps, and the "solution" of SS was a clumsy reaction which created as many problems as it solved. It's not like a balanced overworld is some insurmountable design challenge either. The whole reason why the lack of one is such an ongoing frustration is because the series already had them before this weird fetishism for sheer acreage, as though the inherent value of a title is literally tied with how many square miles it entails, and not how engaging it from moment to moment.

The most disappointing thing about this approach imo is that it hurts the good content that is there by diminishing its impact. The payoff for all that travel just isn't high enough. Instead of being psyched to experience something interesting you're just relieved to finally have something happening. It totally kills replayablity as well when you know every new file means enduring tons of ultimately unnecessary down time to get anywhere. I would rather have a 20 hour game on the first play that I'm compelled to try again more efficiently than a 75 hour game that I have to force myself to complete once.

But hey, let's keep conflating different opinions about the issues present in various Zelda games and keep pretending like Zelda fans are just a fickle bunch that can't decide what they want. Because it couldn't possibly be that the games have repeatedly made mistakes that are quantifiable and could be solved by a bit of forethought and the right design philosophy.

Because it need not be designed in such a manner. The dungeons were the meat of the world, but the world itself here is a puzzle. So its becom e a part of the meat. Ergo like 2D zleda.

 

[Zalman]

I really hate this big open world trend, i hate it

Zelda games are *usually* open world though.

 

[Violet_0]

has anyone tried to analyze the size of the gameworld yet?

the tower they marked on the map, barely visible on the screen

position of Link and the marked spot on the map

apparently Hyrule in Zelda U is ridiculously huge, like, I'm pretty sure it dwarfs Skyrim

so when we take a look back at the E3 screenshot, it seems to show only a small part of the world rather than all of Hyrule as I previously thought

some random observations:
there's a lot more going on in the screenshot compared to what we saw in the demo - people working in the fields, herding animals, houses, different types of trees, the terrain has more elevation

also, the lightning are colors are much nicer, but that was probably due to the off-screen footage

 

[Kinokou]

At 3:30 you can see the wild horses to the right, but there is also something on top of the rock right in front of Link that looks like another horse or deer. And there seems to be another one creature :07 that looks distinctly sandy yellow in color compared to the trees.

some random observations:
there's a lot more going on in the screenshot compared to what we saw in the demo - people working in the fields, herding animals, houses, different types of trees, the terrain has more elevation

also, the lightning are colors are much nicer, but that was probably due to the off-screen footage

I might be imagining things but I can almost see the outlines of a white castle in the distance, a bit above the white chimney looking thing closets to Link.

 

[DrWong]

It's more like the auto pilot serves to avoid terrain obstacles while you fight or shoot from horseback. If you noticed he still steers it to the general direction, what the auto pilot does is avoiding trees and other horses when it comes to proximity.

I believe real horses do the same. Can someone confirm real horses avoid trees or is it just a new Nintendo gimmick?

 

[Nicktendo86]

I kinda see how it relates to zelda 1 and 3, but zelda 2? They didnt show off any hard as balls combat scenarios yet or anything.


So, either you control the horse to move or do not control the horse and have the ability to stab and shoot?

He was referring to the open world nature of the game, having one large open world you are free to explore which is true for Zelda 2.

Not getting some of the comments in here. Yes some of the ground textures look a little rough etc but this is a work in progress, they just wanted to show us the scale which is huuuuuge. Do you really think they will go to the effort of implementing the great new horseback controls and then not give us anything in the world to use them with? Come on people.

 

[Dictator93]

I think you'll still have full control of the horse when you want to (i.e. while using the sword at the same time), but the point of the auto-run feature is to make use of the bow feel more seamless. I always felt using the bow in TP felt a little awkward due to have to constantly check where your horse was running.

Epona auto avoiding tree's and stuff is a fantastic feature, horses have brains after all.

It's more like the auto pilot serves to avoid terrain obstacles while you fight or shoot from horseback. If you noticed he still steers it to the general direction, what the auto pilot does is avoiding trees and other horses when it comes to proximity.

Also once more, and not related to your post ofc, the game is a year away and they just wanted to show the scope of the world. It was neither populated or finished with the environmental design. People need to stop with the 'too empty' comments.



I agree. It has nothing to do with it being off-screen :/

I do like the fact that the horse avoids stuff on its own (it can be quite weird if your hourses starts rebounding off trees in games).

But I still have trouble seeing where this is lighting people's fire beyond its franchise association. They have shown too little of real combat, dungeons, or even the story to excite me... In fact the whole open world stuff so far seems similar to so many other open world game mechanics, just with zelda aesethetics.... but then again I have not really enjoyed the base zelda gameplay since about zelda 2 or so. I am not the best judge.

 

[Heroman]

I wonder whether or not the game will be running at 60fps. The camcorded part at the start looks really smooth.

It will probably be 30fps like most 3d zelda games

 

[Captain Smoker]

Here's the map.

It's funny that the big lake there is probably larger than the whole area which was shown in the demo!

Any other observations?

Edit: seems to be a topographic map. white areas are higher, dark areas are lower.

Whole world:

Zoom 1:

Zoom 2:

 

[pLow7]

Man i was so hyped when i saw this and i dont even have a WII U. Damn.

 

[Ahnez]

Just noticed the Magic Meter is there

 

[Lernaean]

there's a lot more going on in the screenshot compared to what we saw in the demo - people working in the fields, herding animals, houses, different types of trees, the terrain has more elevation

The terrain is part of the same world, different region. There is more happening on the reveal because it was scripted a chain of events showing the full experience, a proof of concept in the game engine if you want, while the latest demo was devoid of everything and showed the scope of the world during real gameplay. It's really not hard to understand that.

also, the lightning are colors are much nicer, but that was probably due to the off-screen footage

The lighting is fine, it's just another time of the day, when the sun is really low, they showed it and they mentioned it. That and being off screen ofc.

 

[E-phonk]

Zoom 2:

I'd assume right behind the green arrow is the start of the game (first town)

 

[Kathian]

I think Epona based on the map is one form of travel; expect the ability to call birds (hence the heights with views) or for Link to transform to fly.

The river system (thanks for the shots Smoker); is extremely wide in places. Part of the land is cut off so I think you'll be able to travel through there as well.

 

[calcetinvolador]

OK, I know it's still under development, but this looked really underwhelming.

The textures are bad and Link's robotic animation seems like a straight copy-pasta from Twilight Princess.

My biggest complaint, though, is with the incredibly boring environmental design. Just like with Skyward Sword, the world looks utterly lifeless, flat and bland.

Yes, my thoughts exactly, the game will surely turn out great but these issues are concerning.

 

[Cuburt]

http://oracleoftwilight.tumblr.com/post/104473500408/idk-but-these-seem-like-striking-similarities

I totally buy this theory. There are enough similar landmarks to the Zelda I + II map that I'm completely willing to believe they were influenced by the original games' Hyrule and in fact, the scale is such that I'd be pretty intrigued (and wouldn't be too surprised) if they even took that a step further and recreated a few landmarks such as some dungeon placement, cities, the graveyard, Lost Woods, the first cave you find the sword in the first game, etc.

Now that should be cool to see how far they decide to take it if this is indeed what it seems.

 

[zoukka]

some random observations:
there's a lot more going on in the screenshot compared to what we saw in the demo - people working in the fields, herding animals, houses, different types of trees, the terrain has more elevation

also, the lightning are colors are much nicer, but that was probably due to the off-screen footage

A non-random observation. That is a PR screen.

 

[HawthorneKitty]

Wait, there is no carrot meter?

 

[Woffls]

I believe real horses do the same. Can someone confirm real horses avoid trees or is it just a new Nintendo gimmick?

Real horses most definitely avoid trees.

 

[POWERSPHERE]

How can I have 200000 boners but only one penis?

 

[Vampirolol]

Do you really think they will go to the effort of implementing the great new horseback controls and then not give us anything in the world to use them with? Come on people.

They made a completely useless giant bird, an empty sky, a lifeless Hyrule and a sea that got boring during long travels you HAD to do to finish the game. They are not good in making 3D overworlds since forever.

 

[Interceptor]

Here's the map.

It's funny that the big lake there is probably larger than the whole area which was shown in the demo!

Any other observations?

Edit: seems to be a topographic map. white areas are higher, dark areas are lower.

Whole world:

Zoom 1:

Zoom 2:

Yeah, the world is really huge. There are roads but as shown in the gameplay you can just go wherever you want.

I also like the skull lake in the north east. I bet it gets a very creepy and cold surrounding area being so far up in the north.

 

[Dictator93]

A non-random observation. That is a PR screen.

It also has zero aliasing. So unless Nintendo managed to solve the inconquerable task of real time AA... that is more than just a PR screen even.

 

[Souless Squirrel]

Well that got my pretty hyped

 

[Captain Smoker]

I'd assume right behind the green arrow is the start of the game (first town)

You could be right.

This is the largest zoom and you can see the town symbol:

 

[Lernaean]

OK, I know it's still under development, but this looked really underwhelming.

The textures are bad and Link's robotic animation seems like a straight copy-pasta from Twilight Princess.

My biggest complaint, though, is with the incredibly boring environmental design. Just like with Skyward Sword, the world looks utterly lifeless, flat and bland.

Yes, my thoughts exactly, the game will surely turn out great but these issues are concerning.

So you both were able to tell the texture quality from the off screen, low res, streaming footage we saw. Impressive. Donate your eyes to science.

Also the animations are great, amazing even. What is junky is the interpolation between clips making the transitions jump at times. That's one of the last thing those in charge of animation will fix.

 

[Aostia]

You could be right.

This is the largest zoom and you can see the town symbol:

is the 19:00 symbol the time of the day (7pm) or a demo time counter?

 

[Frodo]

I like it but everything looks overexposed:

Maybe because it is a off-screen video?

 

[Nanashrew]

is the 19:00 symbol the time of the day (7pm) or a demo time counter?

It's the time of day. It's was sunset when they showed the map.