Article: Everything from today's London Active Time Report

[Linnaete]

[26/02] Everything from today's London Active Time Report

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Today's two and a half hour Active Time Report at the heart of rainy London concluded early this afternoon (local British time), with Final Fantasy Type-0 and Final Fantasy XV producer Hajime Tabata at the helm, along with UK Community Manager Dan Set. The chief aim of the event was to answer questions submitted to them by fans, as well as show off new demo footage from the latest build of the game.

The salient details from the event are as follows:

Final Fantasy Type-0 HD
• Most areas in Final Fantasy Type-0 HD can be streamed, save for parts with licensed music. “Zero”, etc.
• Episode Duscae can be streamed, but SharePlay can’t be used.
• While Final Fantasy Type-0 HD is part of the Fabula Nova Crystallis series, it and Final Fantasy XV are distanced.
• You don’t need to know the lore and terminology from FFXIII series for Type-0 or FFXV
• Given a hypothetical “Final Fantasy Type-1″, Tabata says he’d like to produce it for “high-spec” platform.
• Tabata was surprised by demand from fans, cites it as a reason why the HD version is coming overseas.
• Some gameplay from Final Fantasy Type-0 HD up now, from Tabata’s favorite section of the game — Togoreth in Ch. 2.
• Tabata likes this area because it was one of the first areas developed back when the PSP version was in development.

Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae

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• In the current demo, you won’t be able to use just one weapon for all your combos; the team wants you to think about using different weapons.
• Of course, the team will be taking feedback from fans on Episode Duscae – including the combat.
• Are there equippable armor and accessories? Not in the demo – but in the final version.
• You can use the car on main roads, but off-road you’ll need to walk or use a chocobo. Other modes of transport, perhaps a train can be used.
• The more attacks you evade by holding the guard button, the quicker your MP is depleted — so you can’t rely on it to dodge everything.
• Skilled players can use precise timing for blocks and evasions (uses less MP).
• You’ll be able to customize the control scheme in the final game. The team wants to hear feedback on customization options.
• They want fans to use one control scheme in Episode Duscae and consider the feedback from various experiences.
• In Episode Duscae, the level cap for characters is 99. You don’t have to level that much, but you can!
• This feature is included for dedicated players who want to outlevel and overwhelm encounters. The level cap in the final game has yet to be decided.
• Tabata-san says Ignis is from a different part of the world than the rest of the party – so he has a different accent.
• The team shows live gameplay from the Xbox One version of Episode Duscae.
• Pre-recorded video of dungeon footage. The transition from overworld to dungeon is seamless.
• The team wants to create a sense of fear in dungeons present in early Final Fantasy games.
• The hitstun on abilities has been hastened based on fan feedback.
• There’s an advanced guard technique you can use by collecting Phantom Swords that uses no MP.

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• A “World of Wonder” video is shown that takes a look at the various wildlife inhabiting the Duscae region.
• The demo area is just a part of the Duscae region, it’s bigger than that in the final version. It includes populated areas and ruins.
• The final game is estimated to be around 10x the size of the -entire- Duscae region.
• No large towns in the demo, but there will be in the full game. Comical NPCs are out there, Tabata says “look for a certain couple”.
• Chocobos are in the demo, but you can’t ride them just yet. The system couldn’t be completed in time.

FF Network

 

[AuronX]

Man, March 17th can't come soon enough. I'm mostly pumped for Type-0, but it looks like the FFXV demo is shaping up to be a real treat after all.

 

[ff1-10]

I LOVE how the wildlife look in FF15. They look...wild. I just hope that it's not just all about "looks", though. I also hope that fighting doesn't get boring, as it looks very slash-and-dashy-ish. This game reminds me that times really are changing...everything's changing. No more FF's with turn-based battles; everything looking modern.

 

[AuronX]

This game reminds me that times really are changing...everything's changing. No more FF's with turn-based battles; everything looking modern.

I think that's kind of why Bravely Default exists. Square Enix is still addressing the 'classic' genre, they're just taking Final Fantasy in a different direction. But Bravely Default is Final Fantasy in everything but name.

 

[Razberry Knight]

I believe we'll see more FF games with turn base, but i believe the era of main FF games having 100% turn base elements is over. and thats mainly because going half way doesn't feel natural.

I hated how in FF13 it took FOREVER to choose an attack and wait for it to take affect. yes later it picks up, but it ruins the feel.

Overall i believe there is room to use a more standardize hybrid of turn base and FF. i believe KH Birth By Sleep is a system that worked well, and combined with FF15 using magic for dodging, and FFV job system, might make a great applicable FF game, one to take on in more future FF games.

 

[Paddy McGee]

Okay, usually I don't really pay much attention to the likes of XV and that ilk of news(in fact, the latest Dissidia arcade game has me much more interested than XV ever did) but, I do think the game is shaping up. Of course, I'm of the opinion that this SHOULD sound and look quite top notch since its been in (public knowledge)development for near a decade(is it a decade yet?). The logic behind this is that they've saved and scraped so much on this game that... surely all that's left is high quality(or total hogwash).

The same could of been said about Duke Nukem Forever, but look how that turned out... I'm somewhat confident that this is a different situation entirely... And sadly, I'm thinking that the franchise depends on this BEING a different situation entirely.

Either way, I hope one of you guys streams the demo(and maybe type-0) on our twitch channel, because I haven't gotten the cash to buy!

 

[spoonyrogdrumps]

I have been following all the news on XV from dualshockers and I am very excited for this game. I haven't been this interested in Final Fantasy since IX.

 

[Rey]

Wow, both these trailers looked rather amazing. The game is 10X bigger than the whole Duscae region, which is crazy. I actually really cannot wait to experience the demo but I am a little bothered by the demo cap of 99. It just seems to me like the actual game is going to take forever to release and we probably won't even see a release date by E3. The game is only 60% complete after all. I am anticipating Type-0 right now and I am trying to keep the XV hype relatively low.

 

[Razberry Knight]

The game is 10X bigger than the whole Duscae region, which is crazy.

10 times bigger may be a plus or a downside depending on how big Duscae actually is. But giving me the size ratio already makes me worry about how long the story is. Afterall, Duscae region is more or less designed to be a side-story strictly about fixing your car. If that region doesn't get any more story to it, and compared to most RPG (one region is only used once for the main story), we're already seeing 1/10 of the story.

I actually really cannot wait to experience the demo but I am a little bothered by the demo cap of 99. It just seems to me like the actual game is going to take forever to release and we probably won't even see a release date by E3. The game is only 60% complete after all. I am anticipating Type-0 right now and I am trying to keep the XV hype relatively low.

I'm already having low expectations strictly by what SE has already revealed.