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[sublimit]

Yeah, why does the world look so brown and grey? Has it been explained? Or is it just an attempt to appeal to western gamers who hate color?

The rich colors was one of things that made Xenobalde so beautiful.

They said that the weather changes dynamically.I imagine when it has clear blue skies the environmets will also look more colorful and when it's cloudy they will look more greyish.
Also i think this game looks a bit more realistic than XC so they might have chosen a bit more toned-down color palette this time.Some areas in XC also had less color than others.

But it still looks gorgeous IMO.

 

[rjinaz]

So what is the general consensus after the Treehouse stream? Is the disappointment from the 2 previous trailers generally dissolved? I am excited for the game either way (despite horribly funny character models), and I think it still looks like we are eventually getting what we were shown at that very first hype trailer.

I'm actually able to enjoy the story trailer more now that I have watched the demo. I suggest if you haven't, rewatch it. Knowing more about the game means your imagination isn't running wild, in perhaps a negative direction as it was the first time. That's how it was for me anyway.

 

[Jarmel]

Those character models really are atrocious though.

 

[Foffy]

Those character models really are atrocious though.

They usually are in the Xeno games. I think in the case of the Xenoblade set of games, the ingame models are the ones also used in cutscenes.

 

[onilink88]

Quoted like a mofo

Looks great though. I still like Xenoblade's areas better cause they were more colorful and thus nicer looking, but this looks fantastic too. Can't wait to explore the shit out of this planet!

I don't think Xenoblade looks better by the simple virtue that it carries itself in a more vibrant manner (not that it's wrong to hold that sort of preference). Both games should be judged on their individual merits. Where Xenoblade aimed for a vibrant high-fantasy aesthetic, X is going for a grounded, earthy sci-fi look.

Yeah, why does the world look so brown and grey? Has it been explained? Or is it just an attempt to appeal to western gamers who hate color?

The rich colors was one of things that made Xenobalde so beautiful.

In addition to the above:

Secondly, the area is called "Primordial Wilderness". The color palette is very subdued here as to convey a, well, primordial atmosphere (there's also all that fog/mist that adds to that atmosphere and has a diluting effect).

As we've seen in the second teaser, the game has a lot of color. It's just not going to be as vibrant as Xenoblade.

 

[Gammacide]

This will almost inevitably be what pushes me over the edge of buying a WiiU. I have been waiting for this with huge anticipation ever since it was shown way back when and the footage stunned me. Sure, this new footage does not excite me quite as much but I am confident the final release will be something to marvel at, just as Xenoblade Chronicles still is on the Wii.

 

[BruceLeeRoy]

Man that looks so dang good.

 

[onilink88]

Quoting for new page (and I can't stress this enough: don't quote this):

Unadulterated majesty:

Obscene scale:

 

[Effect]

Quoting for new page:

Unadulterated majesty:

Zelda looked beautiful but this is still my most sought after game. That is until Zelda footage starts coming out but by then I'll have played this, perhaps twice over if it releases early 2015. Wow. This damn game!

 

[Ataru]

Also i think this game looks a bit more realistic than XC so they might have chosen a bit more toned-down color palette this time.Some areas in XC also had less color than others.

Eh, there is nothing realistic about a lack of color. Unless you are in dark room, cave, or deep underwater, there is color everywhere. Flowers bloom even in the desert.

Hopefully, other areas will be more colorful.

 

[Coolwhip]

Will I like this as a Wow fan? Or do you need to be a JRPG fan?

 

[sublimit]

Just watching the first 40 minutes again and man character movement during combat looks very bad. It's as if the characters are made of wood or something. So far i think this is my only complaint.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Will I like this as a Wow fan? Or do you need to be a JRPG fan?

People have said that the combat in the original Xenoblade is very MMO-ish, and this game seems to have multiplayer elements so maybe you'll be right at home.

 

[Buggy Loop]

Yeah, why does the world look so brown and grey? Has it been explained? Or is it just an attempt to appeal to western gamers who hate color?

The rich colors was one of things that made Xenobalde so beautiful.

I suggest everyone complaining about colors, to look back at the starting area of Xenoblade.

Who the hell knows how strange it'll become as we progress.

 

[SuperCambot]

I was hoping Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii might come down in price so that more people can play it, but I'll bet the hype surrounding XCX will keep the price for the Wii game sky-high.

Maybe I should sell my original Nintendo.com copy for $50.00 on eBay just to give someone else a chance to play it - if only I could assure the buyer isn't a scumbag eBay flipper.

 

[jgwhiteus]

Eh, there is nothing realistic about a lack of color. Unless you are in dark room, cave, or deep underwater, there is color everywhere. Flowers bloom even in the desert.

Hopefully, other areas will be more colorful.

It looks like they use the same general color palettes as Xenoblade (just looking at the daylight scenes with grass / sky / water, etc. in the trailers and comparing it to places like Bionis leg) but they've turned down the general saturation setting for everything so it doesn't look as vibrant. I think it's most noticeable with the sky - in all the trailer footage and gameplay footage, the sky is still blue but has a slightly grayish / periwinkle tinge to it.

I'm not worried about it, though - there's still a ridiculous use of color (the sunset in the Treehouse gameplay demo was gorgeous), and I'm sure they've got beautiful areas we haven't seen yet, like Satorl Marsh at night from Xenoblade.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Sure wish we could play this demo through the eShop. Even if it had a severe time constraint. Say you can only play it once, and it deletes itself from the system. Next year is just so far away.

 

[onilink88]

Eh, there is nothing realistic about a lack of color. Unless you are in dark room, cave, or deep underwater, there is color everywhere. Flowers bloom even in the desert.

Hopefully, other areas will be more colorful.

Xenoblade aimed for a vibrant high-fantasy aesthetic, X is going for a grounded, earthy sci-fi look.

In addition to the above:

Secondly, the area is called "Primordial Wilderness". The color palette is very subdued here as to convey a, well, primordial atmosphere (there's also all that fog/mist that adds to that atmosphere and has a diluting effect).

As we've seen in the second teaser, the game has a lot of color. It's just not going to be as vibrant as Xenoblade.

 

[sublimit]

Sure wish we could play this demo through the eShop. Even if it had a severe time constraint. Say you can only play it once, and it deletes itself from the system. Next year is just so far away.

I would have bought a WiiU just for the demo.Even if i was able to play it only once.

 

[Laconic]

I don't think they are going to change it, otherwise they'd have kept it as just X for now.

Some people won't be happy until it gets named Xeno Trigger.

 

[rjinaz]

I was hoping Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii might come down in price so that more people can play it, but I'll bet the hype surrounding XCX will keep the price for the Wii game sky-high.

Maybe I should sell my original Nintendo.com copy for $50.00 on eBay just to give someone else a chance to play it - if only I could assure the buyer isn't a scumbag eBay flipper.

Gamefly is a cheaper option for those that really want to play Xenoblade in the US. It's pretty much always available. $16 gets you the game for a month.

I'm really really hoping Nintendo does something like an HD release once XenobladeX gets closer. I think there is a lot of money potential for them if they do it digitally especially.

 

[EVH]

I actually did fall asleep during the demo (only because I stayed up for Nintendo Digital Event). It was pretty awfully boring, yes. But I can't stress enough that Xenoblade Chronicles was a freaking epic game, and this looks even better.

I never played Xenoblade C. but looked at some LPs and it looked quite good, I remember liking more the art in that game than here.

I mean, this looks to me like one of those mods for Skyrim where you can add an anime companion. Meaning that most of the art looks western-RPG but then the characters have the manga style.

 

[SuperCambot]

Gamefly...$16 gets you the game for a month.

Yes, and that's almost enough time to get your third party member.

 

[SoraanTribal]

Will I like this as a Wow fan? Or do you need to be a JRPG fan?

The combat definitely has a MMO-ish feel to it. The story will be very JRPG, though.

--

While I love how that starting area looks, I can't wait to see what else they have in store for us. I want to see something akin to Eryth Sea in Xenoblade.

 

[rjinaz]

Yes, and that's almost enough time to get your third party member.

Ha good point.

It really just depends on how much time you have for playing games in a month and how much of Xenoblade you plan to complete. If you put in an hour or so a day here and there, you'll need a lot longer than a month. On the other hand, you can beat the game in 50-60 hours which is certainly possible in a month for those with the time.

 

[Currygan]

just watched the Treehouse gameplay

one word: fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

[SuperCambot]

Ha good point.

It really just depends on how much time you have for playing games in a month and how much of Xenoblade you plan to complete. If you put in an hour or so a day here and there, you'll need a lot longer than a month. On the other hand, you can beat the game in 50-60 hours which is certainly possible in a month for those with the time.

Yeah, I guess. I spent hours upon hours fighting rare beasts and searching for rare items and leaving and re-entering areas to get items to respawn - all so I can gain 1000 XP here and there. And I really hope XCX has all the same trappings.

 

[onilink88]

just watched the Treehouse gameplay

one word: fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Most impressive game on the Wii U by a fair margin.

 

[sublimit]

Simple. Trailers are what sell games to many people, so simply put out competent and appealing trailers.

Even die hard fans were questioning this trailer. There are games companies that put out amazing trailers for games that then dont see the light of day for years (XV, TLG) they do such a good job of grabbing attention that they keep people invested in the game for years.

I agree that the last trailer was somewhat lacking but this one was amazing IMO.

(Edited the link,wrong copy paste. )

 

[TC McQueen]

I think the lack of color is due to misapplying desaturation theory to everything, instead of specific scenes. It's something that happens a lot in different kinds of media, presumably because of the "serious = good" bias many cultures tend to ingrain in their populations.

As for westernizing the game, I feel like they could get away with a lot of stuff if they just included Bravely Default's game difficulty sliders. Most of the western RPGs in the last ten years have been moving away from the "tons of levels, tons of grinding," tons of menus, and turn based/hybrid combat, because that stuff works great if your players are all teenagers with tons of time on their hands, but it becomes a huge obstacle if you're playing as an adult with little free time. If you can mitigate some of that with in-game settings, then the game becomes more appealing to a wider range of people.

 

[onilink88]

I think the lack of color is due to misapplying desaturation theory to everything, instead of specific scenes. It's something that happens a lot in different kinds of media, presumably because of the "serious = good" bias many cultures tend to ingrain in their populations.

Yeah, I don't think that's it. It's not like the whole game looks like that, it's that one particular area, and I've given a more likely explanation above for why that is.

 

[bobbychalkers]

Noticed a scene in the new footage from last E3
http://a.pomf.se/hzvorm.webm
Way too big to gif but webm, fixes that problem

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

Anyone else think this might come out in Q1? (in japan at least)

That treehouse exhibition seemed to play more like a full game than a demo.

 

[Ntsouls]

This seriously needs to be this year. At least in beta or something.
WiiU is begging for this.

 

[NoMoreTrolls]

Looks okay I guess. I thought the first one was waaay too grindy. Hopefully this one will have better missions. And better voice acting.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

hmm, loving all the mecha and scifi story stuff but the gameplay looks boring as fuck to me, was a real let down after that intro to be standing around shooting a helpless pig thing in the ass a thousand times :/

for those that haven't played Xenoblade...

Even though you initiate an auto attack, you are constantly managing your skills/arts during battle, selecting moves, linking combos etc..

You aren't simply selecting attack in a menu

 

[ActStriker]

I wonder what the TP cost for the bigger arts are going to be like.

 

[aravuus]

This seriously needs to be this year. At least in beta or something.
WiiU is begging for this.

A beta for not only a single player game, but a JRPG at that? Wonder how that'd work

Looks okay I guess. I thought the first one was waaay too grindy. Hopefully this one will have better missions. And better voice acting.

Yeah, I have to say there were way too many side quests. I'm one of those people that have to do absolutely everything in a JRPG, and Xenoblade's quests burned me out on the game really bad. 5 to 10 proper side quests per town, like with actual stories and unique objectives plus some that run through the whole game would be perfect.

 

[Twilight Princess]

Yeah, why does the world look so brown and grey? Has it been explained? Or is it just an attempt to appeal to western gamers who hate color?

The rich colors was one of things that made Xenobalde so beautiful.

We have only seen one zones, there are likely multiple zones and cities.

 

[Riki]

I don't get the "lack of color" complaints. The game is very vibrant.

 

[Rebel Leader]

Quoting for new page (and I can't stress this enough: don't quote this):

Unadulterated majesty:


Obscene scale:

 

[Cow Mengde]

Obscene scale:

http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2014/162/6/0/xcx03_by_onilink888-d7lx74g.gif

His toenail is probably level 15.

 

[wmlk]

You're going to have to source this, because none of the interviews ever have him saying this. He's expressed frustration with all of his stories because there's always some kind of limitation preventing him from writing what he wants to write. Nowhere does it state that he thinks poorly of what was done in Xenoblade; this is projection on your part.

In fact, he sees that his old writing style has reached a dead end and has adopted one that has his writing accommodate a gameplay-first philosophy.

Sourced.

"We wanted the game to be like a boys' manga where a classic storyline is loaded with twists. This is what boys' manga are known for."
- Tetsuya Takahashi (NOE's Xenoblade Chronicles Feature "The Origin of an Epic" - Part 4, Directing the details)

"This game was unusual because the story was added later, like a postscript."
- Tetsuya Takahashi (NOE's Xenoblade Chronicles Feature "The Origin of an Epic" - Part 1, Achieving our vision)

There is a crapton of information that suggests Xenoblade was an experiment at large.

 

[Noirulus]

Only the protagonist is customizable. It's essentially like Mass Effect.

"Players can customize everything about the main character’s appearance, including gender, shapes, height, skin color, voice and tattoos."

The customization is just for one character. Not the cast.

Isn't that even worse? Considering just how horrible the cast looked.

 

[onilink88]

There is a crapton of information that suggests Xenoblade was an experiment at large.

I know about that; I've read all the post-Nintendo acquisition interviews, but what you're saying about him lamenting XB's story, that's not true. As for Xenoblade being an experiment, that's true. It served as an experimental prototype for X. And within the context of that particular interview, which was their technical goals for the game, he was primarily talking about gameplay elements (something about Xenoblade being 5% of the game he's envisioned).

 

[wmlk]

I know about that; I've read all the post-Nintendo acquisition interviews, but what you're saying about him lamenting XB's story, that's not true. As for Xenoblade being an experiment, that's true. It served as an experimental prototype for X. And within the context of that particular interview, which was their technical goals for the game, he was primarily talking about gameplay elements.

"...there are times when I want people to be more critical."
- Tetsuya Takahashi, Iwata Asks: In Conversation with Takahashi & Sakaguchi (2011)

"...in terms of my own personal goal--my vision of an ideal game--I'd honestly have to say that it's barely 5% of the way there."
- Tetsuya Takahashi, Interview with Tetsuya Takahashi (Nintendo Power, 2012)

"To be honest, there are times when I think I've atrophied as a writer since the Xenogears era."
- Tetsuya Takahashi, Interview with Tetsuya Takahashi (Nintendo Power, 2012)

"I often find myself thinking, 'One of these days, I'd love to free myself from these sorts of restraints and write whatever I truly want to write'"
- Tetsuya Takahashi, Interview with Tetsuya Takahashi (Nintendo Power, 2012)

"I couldn't figure out why they would care so much about a game like Xenoblade Chronicles when they had so many superior RPGs to choose from in the West."
- Tetsuya Takahashi, Interview with Tetsuya Takahashi (Nintendo Power, 2012)

" [I'm] grateful for the game's positive reputation, [but I and my team] didn't set out to make Xenoblade Chronicles into the company's magnum opus. It was made to be an experiment"
- Tetsuya Takahashi, Interview with Tetsuya Takahashi (Nintendo Power, 2012)

He was definitely lamenting to a certain degree. When I said that I didn't mean that he went all Kojima-depression on it. But he was not satisfied.

 

[jj984jj]

Why do people like posting that article that chops up Takahashi's words to use them in a context that serves their own purpose instead of what Takahashi actually said? He didn't say the story was poor because it had twists like a shounen manga.

 

[FlashbladeGAF]

Isn't that even worse? Considering just how horrible the cast looked.

The Cast's faces are a mixed bag, but luckily I played Xenoblade and this is a step up.

Wish we had Korean nextgen MMORPG level of customization though

 

[onilink88]

Why do people like posting that article that chops up Takahashi words to use them in a context that serves their own purpose instead of what Takahashi actually said? He didn't say the story was poor because it had twists like a shounen manga.

Yeah, there's some serious projection going on there.

He was definitely lamenting to a certain degree. When I said that I didn't mean that he went all Kojima-depression on it. But he was not satisfied.

The bolded refers to what caused him to change writing styles in the first place. The rest of those quotes either don't support your assertion or are related to act of crafting the game.

 

[jj984jj]

Yeah, there's some serious projection going on there.

It's pretty clear Takahashi moved away from what they wanted and they decided to project it in the worst light possible. In the full interviews it's pretty obvious that Takahashi's new goals are about world building and exploration and that is what he is focused on right now.