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Developer explains FFXV's "pre-beta" state: Playable start to finish, half polished
- Thread starter raven777
- Start date
Just look at how much "junk" is often left om the disc when the game gets shipped. Every company goes through more then just one iteration of there game before the final product. Just before now we rarely got told stuff got changed. The only way to know was digging through the files and hope they left stuff there that gave hints.
The Last One
Member
So happy with this update. Hope they something at the jump festa at least.
Developers regulating content isn't the same thing as having a fully playable game inhouse.
Well, I thought they confirmed an ATR before the years end, so it'll probably be around jump festa
I wouldn't expect nothing mindblowing graphics-wise.
Exentryk
Member
Doesn't seem real for some reason. 2016 is the year after all eh?
Isn't "feature-complete" more of a beta than a game just being playable from start to end? They could still have some unfinished & unimplemented features even though the playable content of the game is otherwise more or less done (though unpolished/-optimized).
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
Duscae already looked really good in a very unfinished state.
artsi
Member
But it does have awesome graphics. Just a resolution bump to 1080p is what I want.
ãInaba Residentã
Banned
I just want a locked framerate.
I think they talked about this at PAX but I'm probably remembering incorrectly.
I think they talked about this at PAX but I'm probably remembering incorrectly.
Hmm? Ramuh, Adamantoise, Titan, the possible Shiva attack & such are already pretty mind-blowing graphics-wise and even Episode Duscae had awe-inspiring moments like an enemy airship dropping enemies to attack you at night that showcase some top-of-the-line visuals. The Leviathan battle throughout the city will be mind-blowing if that actually makes it into the game in even remotely similar a state as the E3 trailer showed (which I'll remain somewhat doubtful of).
Vincent Grayson
Member
It's already one of the best looking games I've ever seen, and I can only assume it'll improve between now and release.
Acquiescence
Member
The game will be ready for fall 2016, and then SE will realise that even the biggest JRPG franchise in the world can't compete with the usual big-hitters that always occupy the months of October and November, with Rise of the Tomb Raider serving as a painful reminder, so they'll release it Q1 2017.
That's my prediction.
That's my prediction.
DrROBschiz
Member
Lmao at the "please be excited"
Are they reading GAF posts?
Are they reading GAF posts?
Sanctuary
Member
The way you worded it makes absolutely zero sense. If the next stage after the Alpha is the Beta, and it has gone beyond the Alpha stage, then call it what it is: Beta.
The other way to look at it is that it's still in the Alpha stage, it's just nearing the very end of it.
I mean, if we're going to actually use "pre-beta" as a legitimate term, why stop there?
Conceptualizing > pre-Alpha-pre-Alpha > pre-Alpha > Alpha > pre-Beta > Beta > pre-release candidate > release candidate > pre-Gold > pre-packaging > pre-order money in our pockets >pre-shipping > pre-launch day dollars in our pockets.
-Pyromaniac-
Member
Can't wait to play this luxurious game.
The animations and lighting are spectacular, probably the best I've ever seen yet in a game of this kind, but the image definition and framerate were wonky in Duscae at best. If they can lock the framerate and introduce some kind of AA to eliminate them jaggies I would be very pleased (and surprised to be honest).
They already explained earlier why they called it pre-beta. They still have to kind of go through everything and see if there's anything bigger that needs to be done before they'll "officially" consider the game to be in beta. So it's pretty much literally in between an alpha & beta, hence: pre-beta. It's a big project so there are a lot of moving parts, so they'll just go through everything thoroughly one more time before they move on to beta phase and all that entails.
Sanctuary
Member
What you described is still the Alpha stage.
It seems like a translation error more than anything else.
Or fully playable female characters.
I think they said airship will be added later on as DLC.
"everything playable from start to finish" is what Alpha is IMO. The game may not be able to play continuously from start to finish in this stage, but at least every feature is there.
Beta is when your game can be played pretty much as a whole, with game balance and such done. Only some bug fixing are required before certification.
What is the source of that? I dunno, that's just not how I've understood alpha. The way I've understood it is that alpha is basically the game when it's playable to a certain extent but NOT feature complete and alpha (usually) ends when a game IS feature complete. Beta stage is then (usually) just getting rid of bugs, optimizing the game to run well, gameplay balancing & polish as well as finishing some possibly unfinished assets and such, though it can also include some (usually more minor) feature additions as well as cutting content/features if required for whatever reason. Though the definition of an alpha & beta really isn't set in stone & there can be some variation on its usage based on who's using the terms (see: relatively finished "betas" that stay in beta forever while some major new content & features are still added).
So FFXV seems to mostly be feature complete & playable through 'n through (as in, it's in beta), but they are just going through a final pass of what they have before moving on from alpha to beta & are calling it the pre-beta phase.
That said, I'm not sure why you are so hung up on some kind of "correct" usage of the terms or claiming pre-beta is some kind of a travesty of a concept. They can call it whatever they want.
Kenzodielocke
Banned
I am excited.
I think he is right. Alpha means the game is not feature complete, but Beta means it is.
I think he is right. Alpha means the game is not feature complete, but Beta means it is.
Jesus, being so pessimistic must be exhausting. The changes to Regis were obviously part of the general story revision that has been going on around the time Tabata took over in 2014, they just revealed his new look a year later. The same with Stella who we saw at TGS 2014 for the first time and then only something more substantial again at this year's TGS.
Yeah, pre-beta is not a common term and basically means late Alpha. The game's coming along. Have trust in the team. They seem super ambitious and motivated to deliver something special.
I bet you also find it hilarious when you meet a Japanese person and they say 'please be nice to me'. What a funny man!
Kenzodielocke
Banned
What makes you say that ? The game has nearly a year of polishing time now.
I don't think it will have any more patches than most open world/large games had this year. SE wouldn't ship a main installment of their tentpole franchise in a broken state.
Dreamwriter
Member
Why? Square has never been known for releasing buggy games in the past, why do you think this would suddenly start now out of the blue?
Lol, I didn't think of this at all. I was wondering what they could bundle a FFVIIR demo with and only thought of FFXII, which seemed like a strange decision (don't know why, they just don't have any connection), or Crisis Core HD, lol.
Seriously? After 9 years you still haven't accepted it?
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To be fair, it is their first "open-world" FF of this huge a scale, which creates a ton of sources for bugs, even more than most games already do, anyway.
chozen
Member
This game is very big, every game known to man has some form of glitch.
Open world games are more susceptible to bugs.
There is only 200 or so devs on the team, even one year is not enough to get every nook and cranny.
Maybe the main story could be very polished, but elsewhere who knows what they could miss.
Millions of players will have it one day and one in those millions will find something quicker than the devs could and post it on the internet.
This is their first Triple A Open World ARPG in a while unless i'm forgetting something especially not in this generation
artsi
Member
Who knows, but Final Fantasy games have generally been well tested so it wouldn't be surprising to work pretty good. Their PC ports are a different tale but not really related to the launch of XV on PS4.
Dreamwriter
Member
Different companies have different definitions for alpha/beta. At my old company which did mainly work-for-hire licensed games for various publishers, alpha meant what this "pre-beta" is - the game is feature-complete, can be played from start to finish, but doesn't necessarily have all the art and music and effects done, definitely still needs polish and has lots of bugs. Beta meant everything about the game was complete and we were going into 100% bug-hunt-and-fix mode.
Give War A Chance
Member
I'll believe it when I see it.
Dreamwriter
Member
Not really - GTA V didn't have a ton of bugs at launch, Xenoblade X doesn't either. Skyrim and Fallout, sure, but that's because of the developer, not the type of game; even Bethesda's non-open-world games are buggy as crap
LegendofDragoonLives
Member
Summer to September, do it SE. The characters and story better be amazing though, open world games other than Witcher 3 have put me to sleep after 5-20 hours of playing.
The whole Fabula Nova Crystallis really seems to have been a big eye opener to them
Is it bad that after all SE has pulled with this franchise since FF13 came out, I'm having a hard time giving a fuck? This coming from a die hard FF fan since the very first on NES. They've ruined this franchise, and I don't see 15 bringing it back, but if it's a decent game, I'll jump on board I guess.
PS, currently playing FF14 and it's a masterpiece. I wish they could take the talented people who make the MMO's and have them work on the single player games as well. They are the god tier people at SE.
PS, currently playing FF14 and it's a masterpiece. I wish they could take the talented people who make the MMO's and have them work on the single player games as well. They are the god tier people at SE.
BossDarkseid
Member
After so many years...is this all someone can say
That said this is good news. 2016 release...
ArkhamFantasy
Member
The XV team is twice that size.