Activating Combat Mode - Exploring the battle system

[Pixel]

We've just uploaded the new episode of Claymore and JasonTandro's video series. This time they tackle the battle system.

Let's see if we can get this video to skyrocket like the last one by sharing, commenting and liking. And subscribe to our youtube channel if you haven't already.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wI5odT-3Ac

 

[Mayo Master]

Thanks for the video guys,

2 comments regarding the implementation of the battle system:
- As far as I understood from the Active Time Reports, FF XV should implement magic, however this aspect of gameplay was not included in the demo. So the combination of a real-time action-based system including magic should eventually exist in the FF franchise.
- The system of Dragon Age Inquisition presents one of the best possible compromises between action-based and turn-based, because you can play the game either way. So there are already gameplay schemes out there which can cater to all tastes, and ultimately leave the choice to the player. As you said in the video "everyone and their dog will have their own idea about the perfect battle system", so it would make sense for Square to follow a similar direction for FF7 remake.

 

[Lex]

Good video. Audio balance is right!

I have a few critiques this time:

- Try not to scream Jason, that was some primo ear rape around "CLOUD WHAT ARE YOU DOING". Might be better to go for a high pitched annoyed-voice thing. I laughed though.
- As Mayo mentioned, the FFXV battle system is not final, so expect people to pick up on that. If you're not 100% sure about something, state that or don't mention it
- The footage you recorded from VII is using the MIDI music. Please try to avoid this. Both the steam and SE Store releases have been patched with the real music since then.
- Quality - kinda pixellated at max res. You can put this down to the source being bad, but even so it's pretty consistent across all footage so it looks like a rendering issue to me. Make sure the quality is cranked up.
- Framerate - same deal here, it's a bit jumpy throughout. Looks like a rendering issue.
- Resolution - 1080 or bust. 720 as the highest option is kind of unacceptable in this day and age.

I respect that you guys might find those a bit harsh but these are all small things that will go to making the next vid perfect. You really don't want a bitrate lower than 2500. We don't need to worry about 60fps because we're not extensively showing gameplay, so just don't render at a bitrate of any less than 2500ish and it should look pretty awesome.

I want you to understand that I think the level of work and effort put into these vids is great, and I hope you keep it up <3. If you want to talk rendering send me a PM - forum member Gabriel is a bit of an expert when it comes to rendering too so feel free to also send him a PM also (I'm sure he won't mind, nyuk nyuk).

 

[Jason Tandro]

Yeah... the narration is my fault, as I send an uncompressed WAV to Claymore when I'm done. I should have either not screamed or if I did, do some peak reduction before I finalized it (If I'm not mistaken, Claymore did some in the final mix). Obviously I can't speak for Claymore, but technical critiques are always a good thing. I'm sure we both want these videos to be as amazing as possible.

 

[Claymore]

Rendering / Encoding critiques...

Because of the extensive process of having to render the complete video, upload to mediafire, send the file, download the file, and then finally upload it onto the Youtube channel, we attempted to find a balance that could drastically reduce the file size whilst keeping some of the quality. We can easily up it back to what the first video was like ... but it means having to slog through that long process.

We'll just have to keep trying to find that middle ground with these vids.

- As far as I understood from the Active Time Reports, FF XV should implement magic, however this aspect of gameplay was not included in the demo. So the combination of a real-time action-based system including magic should eventually exist in the FF franchise.

- As Mayo mentioned, the FFXV battle system is not final, so expect people to pick up on that. If you're not 100% sure about something, state that or don't mention it

I'm definitely aware that magic should somehow be included in the final product of XV, but we were looking at the options available in the demo now, not what might be. As XV stands - especially the original demo - it hosts a distinct lack of options.

Yeah, I could have added another minute or two to the vid explaining about the different demo types of XV, the new linkup moves, the reports that state that magic should be on the way somehow, etc... but that's going off somewhat on an unneeded tangent. Taking criticism of the first vid on, I was trying to keep it on point as much as possible and not go on those tangents, to focus on how XV's current system would relate to the materia system being used in such a setup.

Just like the crossdressing video - we can't include everything (otherwise we'd have a mammoth 30 minute video discussion!), but that definitely doesn't mean we're unaware of the issues!

I want you to understand that I think the level of work and effort put into these vids is great, and I hope you keep it up <3.

Thanks. We do appreciate the critiques and am really glad that people are discussing the content. At the end of the day, that's the point really.

 

[Jason Tandro]

Claymore: A possible work-around. Why don't I add Pixel to the Google Drive folder where I stored the raw files and then you can upload the file directly to Google Drive that way? Save you the hassle of fighting with MediaFire?

 

[Lex]

^That would help with the quality issue.

@Claymore re: XV, it doesn't need to be a whole minute or two of explanation, I'm thinking the script could simply have read "now they might be adding magic in the final release, but as it stands our options are woefully limited" or something to that effect (less stale in wording). The way the video is now you'll have people thinking you've been misinformed and wanting to correct you, rather than just leaving some information out.

 

[Claymore]

Claymore: A possible work-around. Why don't I add Pixel to the Google Drive folder where I stored the raw files and then you can upload the file directly to Google Drive that way? Save you the hassle of fighting with MediaFire?

If I understand that right, wouldn't that just be substituting MediaFire for GoogleDrive? It wouldn't really be getting rid of a step in that long sequence (Pixel would still need to download the file and then upload it to the channel), but if it might aid overall quality, then yeah sure, we'll give that a shot next time.

@Claymore re: XV, it doesn't need to be a whole minute or two of explanation, I'm thinking the script could simply have read "now they might be adding magic in the final release, but as it stands our options are woefully limited" or something to that effect (less stale in wording). The way the video is now you'll have people thinking you've been misinformed and wanting to correct you, rather than just leaving some information out.

Yeah, I can see how it might look like that, but yeah, that's just the internet. There are some people always sitting on the edge of their seats waiting to bash their keyboard in quick to point something out that they believe someone else has specifically missed.

 

[Jason Tandro]

MediaFire compresses, Google Drive doesn't. Plus anybody with access to the same Google Drive folder gets immediate access through the Cloud. You could pop a full quality 1080 video in there and all Pixel has to do is grab it from the folder. My friends and I use a combination of that and Dropbox to do all our filesharing needs.

 

[Pixel]

The video is actually rendered at 4000kb/s. It's the source files that are the problem, or mediafire, or the program. I wouldn't bother with 1080p unless you're using quality 1080p source footage. Its just extra file size with no benefit.

I actually thought the music was too low, to the point where I wasnt sure there was any.

As lex said, the shouting is bad. Nerd rage just annoys me tbh. You've done well to slow down the frantic narration from the first video, but then it flares up in moments.

 

[Starling]

I can't believe it took me 2 days to notice this thread. It's a good video but I think mentioning the Kingdom Hearts gameplay could've helped, since it's heavily influenced by the gameplay in FF games, often containing the same spells in some shape or form. BBS especially seems to be a refined version of the gameplay they were aiming for in CC and features some stuff that reminds me of the materia system. I even used some KH gameplay as an example of how some materia could be adapted for real-time combat.

 

[Lex]

The video is actually rendered at 4000kb/s. It's the source files that are the problem, or mediafire, or the program. I wouldn't bother with 1080p unless you're using quality 1080p source footage. Its just extra file size with no benefit.

I actually thought the music was too low, to the point where I wasnt sure there was any.

As lex said, the shouting is bad. Nerd rage just annoys me tbh. You've done well to slow down the frantic narration from the first video, but then it flares up in moments.

It looks like a shoddy bitrate tbh, you mentioned extra file size with no benefit - there it is. A bitrate that high for a video of that quality is completely unnecessary, considering gameplay at 30fps 1080 is possible with no artifacts with a bitrate of less than 3k.

1080 footage can be obtained with almost all of the footage that was used in the vid, so I disagree. Where possible, they should use 1080 sources and include a high quality 1080 render in the final video. Honestly, it makes a massive difference.

 

[Lex]

I've just realised there's no front page poast. I can do it tomorrow if nobody's available to do it nao?

 

[Pixel]

There was no frontpage post for the other one either. Might as well group the 2 together this time.

 

[Umatbru]

One of my complaints was the use of the outdated ATB system. It is to video games what the carburetter is to cars.