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[TheJollyCorner]

They need to pull a FFIX with the next game and make it a love letter to fans who have loved this series from the start. Rather than chasing some fickle ARPG fans. See y'all in 8 years when the next game comes out.

Things change. Creative tendencies change. What was a form of inspiration for a young Hironobu Sakaguchi in '87, or Kitase in '93, or Itou in '99, is going to be totally different from whoever steps to the plate for a new FF- even if it's one of the names I just mentioned.

As Kagari said, XIV is a true love letter to fans... and it will continue to be built on. The hugs and snuggles of nostalgia will keep getting plastered on it for as long as it lives.
If FFXI is any indication, that could be for a while.

Choose to embrace new ideas or not, but saying "I'm out until the next familiar fan-wank" just seems like an exercise in futility to me. If FFXVI turns out to be an Itou fanboy dream of ATB turn-based combat, exaggerated characters, a whimsical story, and Amano art: great... fantastic. The sad thing is, at least to me, it seems like this is the only thing that could make some FF fans happy at this point.

 

[SPAW]

Official translation from the FFXV forum moderator. (More or less the same as what Raven said, but they confirmed they've entered the final development stage)
https://forum.finalfantasyxv.com/discussion/816/development-info-about-ffxv-pre-beta


"Nice to meet you all, My name is Kitade Satoshi and I am a programmer. I am mainly responsible for maintaining the development environment for FFXV. Today I would like to explain some more about the pre-beta version of the game that we talked about on Twitter a little while ago.

The term “pre-beta version” refers to the product of development on FFXV that was put together in October this year. We have managed to achieve two things with this pre-beta:

1.) We have managed to get the game in a state where you can play the whole thing through from the opening to the ending. By doing this, all the dev. staff are now able to get a shared impression of the overall game.

In short, we can now say that we have done the groundwork for finishing all the different areas of content in the game and the overall product itself to a high standard, polishing up each individual element and fine tuning the gameplay.
There are mechanics and elements that are still undergoing testing and are not implemented in the release code yet, but making it possible for all the dev. staff to grasp an overall image of the game is very important for the next stage of the development process.
As a programmer, I am now in a situation where I can concentrate on the process of optimization and will be pulling out all the stops to get the appeal of the finished product across to people as much as possible.

2.) We have polished the first half of the game to final retail quality and established the final feel of the gameplay.

By doing this we have been able to extrapolate how much work will be necessary in order to bring all aspects of the game, including the feel of the gameplay and the standard of the visuals, up to the final quality level we envisage.
At the same time we have been able to check how actual players will approach playing the game and the pace of their play by inviting valuable players from outside the company in for focus testing.
We have entered the final phase of development now, where the technology and people’s feelings and intuition come together, and this is where the programmers can really show their stuff. You can expect great things from us!

=====

One thing to note is that game development is very complicated and there's still quite a lot of work needed to be done on FFXV but the team are making good progress "

Good crunching guys!

 

[Vincent Grayson]

That and

Spoiler

Zodiark and the entire Ascian lore.

Also sky pirates.

And didn't Yoshida do the character designs?

 

[Kagari]

And didn't Yoshida do the character designs?

Yep.

 

[Dark_castle]

Play 14 if you want a love letter to the fans.

If it's free or buy-to-play, I'd definitely try it out.

 

[Trago]

If nothing else, fix the frame rate. Keep that stable 30 fps. Good to know that things are going smooth for the time being.

 

[NoctisVsStar]

Things change. Creative tendencies change. What was a form of inspiration for a young Hironobu Sakaguchi in '87, or Kitase in '93, or Itou in '99, is going to be totally different from whoever steps to the plate for a new FF- even if it's one of the names I just mentioned.

As Kagari said, XIV is a true love letter to fans... and it will continue to be built on. The hugs and snuggles of nostalgia will keep getting plastered on it for as long as it lives.
If FFXI is any indication, that could be for a while.

Choose to embrace new ideas or not, but saying "I'm out until the next familiar fan-wank" just seems like an exercise in futility to me. If FFXVI turns out to be an Itou fanboy dream of ATB turn-based combat, exaggerated characters, a whimsical story, and Amano art: great... fantastic. The sad thing is, at least to me, it seems like this is the only thing that could make some FF fans happy at this point.

Excellent post. The problem I think the franchise is facing is expanding and growing the current userbase. I think Tabata alluded that the dedicated fanbase is there ( and will always be) but it hasn't grown and they want to reach out to more people. In the process you got OG fans who are a bit stubborn (not all and I'm not taking no subtle shots btw) and then you got others who will say let's see how it plays. I believe FF strives on innovation and changes even if the end result isn't good, I'll give them props for trying and not sticking with the safe route.

 

[KratosEnergyDrink]

They should hire Jim Sterling to beta test the game.

I think he is still busy with playing Xenoblade X.

 

[Dreamwriter]

If it's free or buy-to-play, I'd definitely try it out.

It's $20 for the base Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (you can't play the Heavensward expansion until you've completely finished the base game's main storyline anyways), comes with one month of play, after that it's $10 a month.

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Its becoming more and more apparent that some people see turn based combat as the core of final fantasy, even though there are hundreds of games that use similar combat systems, I wonder why all of those games arent looked at as fondly as final fantasy?

Its almost like there is alot more to final fantasy than combat....

 

[Koozek]

FFIV was actually very well received in Japan after I-III.

Not sure if an analog can be made in US since they went from I -> IV right away.

edit: Can't read apparently, but V and VI were pretty much the same. Squaresoft could do no wrong in that era really.

Oops, my bad. Meant FFIV, which was the first to have ATB.

 

[Bousf]

"From beginning to end" and "Play FFXV" are two things I never thought I'd see in the same sentence xD

This is great news! There are still 3 full months of work until March so the game will be further done by then.

This game is probably going to be in the November 2016 gaming battle for sales, though I'd be happy if we got it around September instead ^^

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Excellent post. The problem I think the franchise is facing is expanding and growing the current userbase. I think Tabata alluded that the dedicated fanbase is there ( and will always be) but it hasn't grown and they want to reach out to more people. In the process you got OG fans who are a bit stubborn (not all and I'm not taking no subtle shots btw) and then you got others who will say let's see how it plays. I believe FF strives on innovation and changes even if the end result isn't good, I'll give them props for trying and not sticking with the safe route.

Exactly.

Although I'm not afraid to say I enjoyed FFXIII and definitely liked my one free month of XIV, I haven't had that old feeling of pure bliss and excitement with a FF since FFX.
Get this, though- I don't put the full blame of that on Square-Enix. I put equal blame on myself. I've changed. My life is different. My tastes have changed.
I just don't have the childlike wonder for the series anymore that I had when I was 12 when I first played FFII (IV). I'm not in that confusing, angsty period of my mid/late teens like I was when I got really into FFIII (VI) and FFVII or the absolute bliss of breaking out of my shell and getting into my first serious relationship right around the time of FFVIII.

Now I just want a fun game. That's how I felt with XIII. If I was so completely wrapped up in it being a 'good FF', sure, I'd probably look at it with disdain like many around here do. I got it, I enjoyed it, and that was enough for me. I felt it was worth my time (which is limited now) and my money. That's really where I am with FF, or any game, at this stage of my life. If FFXV comes out, entertains me, and doesn't make me want to put the controller through the wall, it's a success. If it happens to emotionally move me and truly inspire me, that's a huge bonus.
Does a part of me yearn for a new FF experience that just makes my jaw drop, my eyes water, and my soul to 'de-age' even for a brief period of time? Absolutely, but I'm not going to hold that over the very talented, creative people working their asses off on new FF projects.

I just want an enjoyable experience these days.

#depressing-old-guy

 

[mrlion]

Someone on the planet has played through the entirety of Final Fantasy XV.

Crazy.

It must've been a pain in the ass.

 

[notaskwid]

It must've been a pain in the ass.

lol

 

[Asd202]

It must've been a pain in the ass.

Hehe.

 

[wmlk]

It must've been a pain in the ass.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

FFXIV isn't the love letter I want. Glad you all enjoy it, but an mmo for me can't give me the sp experience of a Final Fantasy game.

 

[Plywood]

Wow I need to play FFXII again - I didn't get the

Spoiler

Ascian

connection at all.

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Occuria

 

[TheJollyCorner]

FFXIV isn't the love letter I want. Glad you all enjoy it, but an mmo for me can't give me the sp experience of a Final Fantasy game.

Have you even played it?

FFXIV can feel very much like a SP FF at times, due to the ease at which the game can be solo'd for much of it.

 

[raven777]

Official translation from the FFXV forum moderator. (More or less the same as what Raven said, but they confirmed they've entered the final development stage)
https://forum.finalfantasyxv.com/discussion/816/development-info-about-ffxv-pre-beta


"Nice to meet you all, My name is Kitade Satoshi and I am a programmer. I am mainly responsible for maintaining the development environment for FFXV. Today I would like to explain some more about the pre-beta version of the game that we talked about on Twitter a little while ago.

The term “pre-beta version” refers to the product of development on FFXV that was put together in October this year. We have managed to achieve two things with this pre-beta:

1.) We have managed to get the game in a state where you can play the whole thing through from the opening to the ending. By doing this, all the dev. staff are now able to get a shared impression of the overall game.

In short, we can now say that we have done the groundwork for finishing all the different areas of content in the game and the overall product itself to a high standard, polishing up each individual element and fine tuning the gameplay.
There are mechanics and elements that are still undergoing testing and are not implemented in the release code yet, but making it possible for all the dev. staff to grasp an overall image of the game is very important for the next stage of the development process.
As a programmer, I am now in a situation where I can concentrate on the process of optimization and will be pulling out all the stops to get the appeal of the finished product across to people as much as possible.

2.) We have polished the first half of the game to final retail quality and established the final feel of the gameplay.

By doing this we have been able to extrapolate how much work will be necessary in order to bring all aspects of the game, including the feel of the gameplay and the standard of the visuals, up to the final quality level we envisage.
At the same time we have been able to check how actual players will approach playing the game and the pace of their play by inviting valuable players from outside the company in for focus testing.
We have entered the final phase of development now, where the technology and people’s feelings and intuition come together, and this is where the programmers can really show their stuff. You can expect great things from us!

=====

One thing to note is that game development is very complicated and there's still quite a lot of work needed to be done on FFXV but the team are making good progress "

Yea added the official translation in the OP

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

Its becoming more and more apparent that some people see turn based combat as the core of final fantasy, even though there are hundreds of games that use similar combat systems, I wonder why all of those games arent looked at as fondly as final fantasy?

Its almost like there is alot more to final fantasy than combat....

What is a Final Fantasy?

A miserable little pile of secrets.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Regardless of my reservations o the content, to hear that they are approaching the end of polishing of the final build brings a tear to my eye. I guess we can see the game next year after all...

 

[TheJollyCorner]

What is a Final Fantasy?

A miserable little pile of button presses.

Adjusted that a bit for you, M_Night.

 

[reKon]

So Uncharted 4 in March. FFXV in July would be nice.

 

[AcademicSaucer]

I hope they're taking advantage of that new PS4 CPU core available for games.

1080/30 with no visual compromises would be a dream.

Isnt on PC, tone down your expectations.

 

[Vital Tundra]

I swear if PC users have to wait even a year for this game I will freak.

 

[Inuhanyou]

Isnt on PC, tone down your expectations.

It will be one day, and then we'll be seeing 4k 60fps gameplay even with all the particles flying around....

Even so, i don't see 1080p and solid 30 for the final retail product of 15 as so impossible

 

[DeSolos]

It will be one day, and then we'll be seeing 4k 60fps gameplay even with all the particles flying around....

Even so, i don't see 1080p and solid 30 for the final retail product of 15 as so impossible

They will cut back to make it so.

V
V
V

V
V
V

 

[10k]

I swear if PC users have to wait even a year for this game I will freak.

I think FFX HD and X-2 along with XII are coming to PC first. FFXV might take 9 months to a year. But I think all future Square titles will get PC ports from now on. Especially with the sales of them on steam and the use of a very PC friendly engine they use how (Unreal 4).

 

[Lumpy Onion]

Nice to hear things shaping up so nicely. Can't wait.

I wish I could get into FF XIV more, but even though I find it gorgeous and full of FF elements it sometimes feels like doing chores and I end up quitting again and again. Glad theres FF fans who enjoy it though.

 

[wmlk]

They will cut back to make it so.

V
V
V

V
V
V

This makes me cry.

I was saying back when the demo trailer was shown about how it looks much worse from the October 2014 footage.

Thankfully, the Caem driving footage looked a lot better. Especially faking soft shadows with clouds making it back. Their LoD is really aggressive in that footage, though.

 

[Hibiki Kurosawa]

So Uncharted 4 in March. FFXV in July would be nice.

Why July? This is most def a Fall release.

 

[Vital Tundra]

I think FFX HD and X-2 along with XII are coming to PC first. FFXV might take 9 months to a year. But I think all future Square titles will get PC ports from now on. Especially with the sales of them on steam and the use of a very PC friendly engine they use how (Unreal 4).

Now that I think about it, with 6 coming to PC, almost every FF will be available. 10 and 12 will be great if they come on over.

 

[Garlador]

FFXIV isn't the love letter I want. Glad you all enjoy it, but an mmo for me can't give me the sp experience of a Final Fantasy game.

I'll echo what someone else said.

Nobody hated on Final Fantasy as an MMO harder than me, delighted in watching FFXIV ver 1.0 fail, and I boasted hard that it would go F2P and that remaking it was a waste of time and effort. I don't like MMOs. I like Final Fantasy. I would never play nor enjoy this game.

... I gave it a try and it's by far my favorite Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy IX. Great visuals, music, characters, story, and fanservice out the wazoo. It's a celebration of nearly 30 years of Final Fantasy.

It's not perfect, and there's some fetch quests and grinding, and you definitely need tutorials and youtube help to get the most out of the game... but the payoff was more than worth it for me.

About the time I was dressed to the hilt as Kain from FFIV, riding my Magitek armor from FFVI, I knew it was something really special. It's great. I recommend it. I HIGHLY recommend it.

And know that my recommendation comes from someone who was beyond convinced that FF14 could never even be "good", let alone a proper numbered FF game. No, the game earns its number with flying colors.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Have you even played it?

FFXIV can feel very much like a SP FF at times, due to the ease at which the game can be solo'd for much of it.

Yes, on PC and PS4. ~ 40 hours

I'll echo what someone else said.

Nobody hated on Final Fantasy as an MMO harder than me, delighted in watching FFXIV ver 1.0 fail, and I boasted hard that it would go F2P and that remaking it was a waste of time and effort. I don't like MMOs. I like Final Fantasy. I would never play nor enjoy this game.

... I gave it a try and it's by far my favorite Final Fantasy game since Final Fantasy IX. Great visuals, music, characters, story, and fanservice out the wazoo. It's a celebration of nearly 30 years of Final Fantasy.

It's not perfect, and there's some fetch quests and grinding, and you definitely need tutorials and youtube help to get the most out of the game... but the payoff was more than worth it for me.

About the time I was dressed to the hilt as Kain from FFIV, riding my Magitek armor from FFVI, I knew it was something really special. It's great. I recommend it. I HIGHLY recommend it.

And know that my recommendation comes from someone who was beyond convinced that FF14 could never even be "good", let alone a proper numbered FF game. No, the game earns its number with flying colors.

I am a WoW veteran, I liked parts of FF14, but I think I am not willing to play any mmo anymore.

Music is great though, I'll give you that.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Yes, on PC and PS4. ~ 40 hours

.... fair enough then.

 

[NoctisVsStar]

So Uncharted 4 in March. FFXV in July would be nice.

You don't release big blockbuster games during Summer (unless it's early June) it's the graveyard from an economic perspective. Kids are outside, vacation, etc but you will say " there's plenty of people that got time to play in the Summer!" The reality is otherwise. Sept and beyond are perfect since everyone is back to school and winter around corner.

 

[Inuhanyou]

They will cut back to make it so.

V
V
V

V
V
V

Its a somewhat harsh pill to swallow, but i'd take somewhat reduced graphics and effects for a stable framerate and native res in this particular instance

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I'm betting the game will release WW from September 20th to October 1st.

My basis? Tokyo Game Show 2016 runs from September 15-18th and with Gamescom a few weeks before that.

I can see them wanting to heavily market the game at both of those events, along with E3 of course.

Prime time for a bunduru as well.

Bookmark this post.

 

[NoctisVsStar]

I'm betting the game will release WW from September 20th to October 1st.

My basis? Tokyo Game Show 2016 runs from September 15-18th and with Gamescom a few weeks before that.

I can see them wanting to heavily market the game at both of those events, along with E3 of course.

Prime time for a bunduru as well.

Bookmark this post.

Before November is my guess, with P5 releasing in the US late November-Dec

 

[Asd202]

They will cut back to make it so.

V
V
V

V
V
V

Yeah the difference is huge maybe on high end PC you'll be able to make it look like in the first screenshot.

 

[Philippo]

They will cut back to make it so.

V
V
V

V
V
V

This makes me cry.

I was saying back when the demo trailer was shown about how it looks much worse from the October 2014 footage.

Thankfully, the Caem driving footage looked a lot better. Especially faking soft shadows with clouds making it back. Their LoD is really aggressive in that footage, though.

Idk i think

Spoiler

hope

they'll be able to get closer to the first pic, i remember that post from one of the team eployees where he said that they were able to reach something similar but weren't able to optimize it in time for EP Duscae so they had to tone it down.

I'm betting the game will release WW from September 20th to October 1st.

My basis? Tokyo Game Show 2016 runs from September 15-18th and with Gamescom a few weeks before that.

I can see them wanting to heavily market the game at both of those events, along with E3 of course.

Prime time for a bunduru as well.

Bookmark this post.

Sept 18th is my birthday YOU HEAR ME TABATA?
I swear if this releases around my b-day i'll take that as a sign from Heaven.

 

[.JayZii]

Sounds like they're on a good track, I'm intrigued by what's going to go down in March. They should also just start keeping "tanoshimi ni" in Japanese. Maybe that can become a meme next.

^Setsuna

More like "setsunai"! Boom! These SE assholes, am I right, guys?... anyone?... I feel empty

 

[Asd202]

I'm betting the game will release WW from September 20th to October 1st.

My basis? Tokyo Game Show 2016 runs from September 15-18th and with Gamescom a few weeks before that.

I can see them wanting to heavily market the game at both of those events, along with E3 of course.

Prime time for a bunduru as well.

Bookmark this post.

I always felt that September would be a good month for XV but with the recent delay of Deus Ex to late August I'm starting to think it's going to hit in October.

 

[OrionsNebula]

Sept 18th is my birthday YOU HEAR ME TABATA?
I swear if this releases around my b-day i'll take that as a sign from Heaven.

Seems possible. Personally I am hoping for sometime in July, but I know that probably wouldn't give them sufficient time to effectively market the game to the masses. September seems quite reasonable.

 

[The Last One]

I'm also betting in a September release, but given this new report about the progress I could see an August release.

 

[Edge_Maverick]

I'm betting the game will release WW from September 20th to October 1st.

My basis? Tokyo Game Show 2016 runs from September 15-18th and with Gamescom a few weeks before that.

I can see them wanting to heavily market the game at both of those events, along with E3 of course.

Prime time for a bunduru as well.

Bookmark this post.

I can totally see this happening.

 

[AdanVC]

Pretty much a 2016 release is now totally possible. It is going to be the best FF game ever with the most majestic soundtrack!

 

[Garlador]

I'm also betting in a September release, but given this new report about the progress I could see a August release.

Square Enix delayed Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to August, right? I think they'd release FF15 later so as not to cannibalize their own sales. I'm going to guess October or November... maybe even December...