Nomura now confirmed for Not-Director of FFXV

[Hisako]

And the original Type-0, etc.

From what I've heard Tabata and Nomura were actually billed as co-directors for XV a while back. If this is true then this would be a fairly natural transition.

As the director, he was supposed to be in charge of a lot more than that -- basically having the final say on everything in the story, and directing both the visuals and combat design. The same role he has with the KH games, in other words, since this was supposed to be his other pet project.

Yeah I understand this, but that said it could simply come down to being unable to handle the workload of two concurrent AAA games. One could assume that he simply believes the development team is on the right enough path for him to leave it to Tabata to supervise. As I mentioned before, it could simply be an administrative decision made in order to meet deadlines.
The role of a director is important but if someone else shares the same creative vision then there is some margin that would allow them to let that someone else take the reins.

 

[Masamune]

My take on it is that Versus XIII FFXV has become a financial black hole all these years and SE didn't want to risk having another generation pass it by. Although he's no longer in the hotseat, I'm sure Nomura has left an inedible mark on the game itself, and he can now concentrate on KH3 while Tabata puts the finishing touches to FFXV. Had the project been left under Nomura's auspices I'm sure it would've been one hell of a game in theory, but his vision was perhaps too ambitious for his and SE's limits. Believe it or not, people actually want this game to see the light of day before the zombie apocalypse hits.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

I don't care. If it's good I will be happy and if it's shit then I will blame everyone.

 

[Lex]

I don't care. If it's good I will be happy and if it's shit then I will blame everyone.

This so much at this point. I like what I've seen from that most recent trailer so here's hoping.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

My take on it is that Versus XIII FFXV has become a financial black hole all these years and SE didn't want to risk having another generation pass it by. Although he's no longer in the hotseat, I'm sure Nomura has left an inedible mark on the game itself, and he can now concentrate on KH3 while Tabata puts the finishing touches to FFXV. Had the project been left under Nomura's auspices I'm sure it would've been one hell of a game in theory, but his vision was perhaps too ambitious for his and SE's limits. Believe it or not, people actually want this game to see the light of day before the zombie apocalypse hits.

This is a great point. Nomura is known to be a perfectionist and for demanding achievements that are difficult to meet out of his staff. He may have lost sight of the forest for the trees.

This is the guy who put feathers on Squall's jacket just to force FFVIII's FMV crew to be better than they had been with FFVII, and he wasn't even in charge of that project, so ... imagine him being the boss.

 

[Splintered]

This is a great point. Nomura is known to be a perfectionist and for demanding achievements that are difficult to meet out of his staff. He may have lost sight of the forest for the trees.

This is the guy who put feathers on Squall's jacket just to force FFVIII's FMV crew to be better than they had been with FFVII, and he wasn't even in charge of that project, so ... imagine him being the boss.

Didn't he do Lulu's belts partly because he wanted to see the FMV team would get the details of placement correctly everytime? And the FMV team circumvented that by only showing her from the waist up. lol

 

[Kai Schulen]

I also remember in the Reunion Files that they mentioned making a bunch of different face models for Cloud for different scenes??

I'd like to see a "Making of XV" documentary someday 3D modelers holding up signs in the background saying they've been stuck in the studios for the past 5 years because they had to render another model of Noctis' hair because the animation didn't look right for the current render when wind is blowing through it.

 

[Ⓐaron]

Kotaku interview with Tabata. I mean, it's Kotaku, so take it with a grain of salt, but I like what Tabata had to say.

 

[ForceStealer]

I did as well. Sounds like good stuff.

 

[Kai Schulen]

55%...

 

[Tetsujin]

I actually suspect a Winter 15/16 or early Spring '16 release.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Based on that interview, one wonders if the plans for a controllable airship have been scrapped.

 

[Cthulhu]

Based on that interview, one wonders if the plans for a controllable airship have been scrapped.

Nah, it'll be release-day DLC,

 

[Hisako]

Famitsu translations via NeoGAF (just to verify salient points I guess )

Tabata on taking over Nomura as director:

- He joined the project in July 2012, Wada personally asked him and the Type-0 team to help out on the Versus XIII project. They also decided at that point to change platforms and rename the game to FFXV, changing the direction of the project.

- About half a year after he joined the project, the tech demo they were working on for FFXV got the greenlight (sounds like a vertical slice), and the project moved full steam ahead.

- He didn't take over the project as director suddenly, since he has been working on this project for a while now. He has had many discussion with Nomura and the development team about the characters and world setting, the meaning of a numbered FF, the best way to make a good game with satisfying content, etc.

- He feels that there is no downside at all to the change in director for the development of the game. He understands fans who have been waiting for a long time might be uneasy, so they had a playable stage demo at TGS along with the trailer, and furthermore if people are still doubtful, there's a playable demo coming next year.

- Tabata's personal vision for the game is the design incorporating the themes of "friendship" and "the journey" into every aspect of it. The story scenes and the battles will all show Noctis and his friendship with the party.



Tabata on the battle system:

- The battle system will feature very flashy moves and abilities, and feel like an action packed flow of moves. There will be warping and magic attacks, and there will be combination attacks with party members which are generated automatically based on context.

- He also mentions that because this is a RPG, you can also play more strategically, and that during combat you can pause the game into a menu and adjust party behavior, change weapons, etc.

- The weapon system in the game is treated like a deck. You set weapons on the deck in the menu, and during combat the most appropriate weapon in the deck will be used based on the situation.

- The evasion in the game is executed by "defensive movement" which is a stance the player goes into when holding down the defense button. This allows the player to move around defensively avoiding attacks.



Tabata on the Day/Night cycle:

- There is a day/night cycle in the game, and at night more aggressive monsters will show up. In day time the monsters will be passive and won't attack the player automatically.

- They might change it in future, but currently one day in the game time is about 30 minutes of play. You can fight the Adamantoise seen in the trailer, but it might take 30 in-game days to beat it.



Tabata on Share and Remote Play:

- The demo will support Share features, but they're not sure if Remote Play will be in. For the actual game both features will be supported.

 

[Ghost X]

If they make me like driving cars in an FF game, that'll be an achievement in itself. I think the game seemingly being car-orientated (the car being described as a party member), and the fact that cars are road-orientated (especially by the looks of the particular car in the trailer), is a sign of linearity. The reason why airships and chocobos are awesome is because of their very off-road aspect (if you ask me). Gives you a sense of freedom.

Edit: 30x30 minutes to take out an Adamantoise? I thought Yiazmat was bad.

 

[Octo]

^Yeah, that car in the trailer is going to be fucked if it goes off road. I wonder if the car is going to be 'invincible' - or how are they going to handle it if the party are running from something - is the enemy not going to give chase? Or is it going to be instant game over if an enemy attacks the car or what?

Anyway, I'm still not really drawn to this game- granted I haven't been following it's progress for as long as some have. tbh it looks like more of the same stuff that made me fall out of love with the FF franchise. I hope they can prove me wrong.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

^Yeah, that car in the trailer is going to be fucked if it goes off road. I wonder if the car is going to be 'invincible' - or how are they going to handle it if the party are running from something - is the enemy not going to give chase? Or is it going to be instant game over if an enemy attacks the car or what?

That's what the mechanic apprentice minigame is for.

Actually, I'm really curious about this: Will there be gas stations? The great refuges of reprieve and hope on any road trip.

 

[Ghost X]

Maybe the car doesn't run on gas?

 

[Hisako]

Basically what I'm feeling from the interviews is that they're taking the classic Final Fantasy overworld and scaling it up to something a little more lifelike

Which I think would be a fantastic thing to do

 

[Drax]

Actually, I'm really curious about this: Will there be gas stations? The great refuges of reprieve and hope on any road trip.

I thought I saw Noctis jumping down off a cliff and landing beside an abandoned gas station in the last trailer.

 

[Tetsujin]

^ That was a trailer from like, 2010 or 2011 iirc.

Question is, will you actually have to refill gas?

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

That's part of my question, yeah, but as Noctis, will I be able to stop at the gas station, and -- while Gladiolus fills the tank and Prompto uses the bathroom -- cruise the aisles with Ignis, taking advantage of a 2-for-$2 deal on 20 oz. soda bottles, and gather up some Hostess Sno Balls, some cheddar & sour cream chips and some beef jerky?

I want the complete road trip experience here, Square.

 

[Monterosa]

Maybe it's an electric car and you'll have to plug it in somewhere.

 

[Kai Schulen]

http://www.novacrystallis.com/2014/09/nomura-comments-on-his-departure-from-final-fantasy-xv/

Oh.

Now I'm not so optimistic about FFXV... I wouldn't be surprised if Nomura resigns from SE when he finishes KH3.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Yeah, he's pissed. This is the guy who usually spends a lot of time saying very little.