Vehicles Discussion

[clowd]

The Highwind

Probably the most important vehicle in Final Fantasy VII. The Highwind is key to traversing Final Fantasy VII's gigantic world map quickly. Its unlikely the remake will feature the world map in the same way as the original, so it will be interesting to see how they implement it.

One thing is for sure: point, click, and teleport airship travel like FFX or FFXII simply will not be a satisfying means of traveling the world in this remake. Nobody who played the original game will be happy with such a design choice, and Im sure the team making the game knows that.

Now, there is a chance that implementing a fully functional Highwind in the remake may simply not work. It may be too much of a technical challenge. If you're flying fast enough to traverse the entire map in 30 seconds what type of pressure is that going to put on the hardware if its a fully detailed open world? Even with pop-in or fog you have to wonder if its technically possible. At this point I would be fine with a point and click Highwind that teleports you to any place on the map. But only if the game is fully openworld on a massive scale.

With the power of the PS4 the sensation of flying the Highwind could be increased dramatically. Not only will the 3D model itself be amazing, but the sensation of flying as well. Flying through clouds, actually hearing its propellers, and more.

Tiny Bronco

Seeing how this was used in the original game, getting it to work in the remake will be tricky. First of all, its going to look a little goofy seeing a couple of people laying on the wings in 1080p. And finding a way to restrict it to shallow water near continents will be odd.

I think this is a gameplay mechanic that will be heavily revised to suit the remake. Maybe when its crippled it transforms into a boat before crashing into the water. This gives us the ability to traverse Gaia by sea in a traditional seafaring vehicle.

They should remove the shallow water limitation and find other clever ways to restrict the player's ability to reach or see towns like Mideel or the Norther Crater. Maybe early in the game if you stray too far from land you get swallowed up by some large sea creature, but later in the game your party decides to fight it and kill it so your free to explore the entire ocean. Maybe add a couple areas of the map later in the game that are only accessible by the Tiny Bronco.

And of course unlike the original game it should always remain on the world map.

Buggy

This 8 wheel off road vehicle can pass through shallow parts of rivers. I can definitely see this gameplay mechanic staying pretty much unchanged for the remake. Hopefully the buggy itself gets a major facelift, because as you can see from the picture, its not very pleasing to the eye. Its like a 10 year old designed it.

Again, unlike the original game it should always remain useable, and maybe a few secrets on the map can only be reached using it.

Submarine

Theres certainly lots of room for improvement with the underwater exploration using the submarine. While they did add some neat things to the underwater oceans, maybe this time they can open up the entire ocean to us. More, more, more secrets! The strategy guide should be thicker then the New York City phone book.

Hardy Daytona

I would love to see this bike become some sort of late game unlockable secret. How cool would it be to get to ride around an open world Gaia on this thing with Cloud? Just like the Advent Children credits? This bike is simply too cool to be only used for one small segment of the game.

Various other Vehicles

Final Fantasy VII's world is full of cars - yet you never see one being driven outside of the first cutscene. Im in opinion that this should change, and the remake should adopt Final Fantasy XV's expansive road and AI car traffic systems, complete with gas stations etc. It only makes sense that a world which is obviously full of cars and highways should be....full of cars and highways.

Apparently the car the main party of Final Fantasy XV drives around in is always on 'autopilot', meaning the AI drives it for you. I dont mind this system at all, but it would be hilarious to take a car off road and use it to ram enemies or something.

Renting a car like Final Fantasy VIII is always a possiblity. It would be cool to have a nice variety to choose from when renting, from economy cars to really hot looking but expensive sports cars.

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Well, those are my thoughts. What would you guys like to see from the vehicles in this remake?

 

[Starling]

I think it would be ridiculous if the Tiny Bronco turned into a boat. They could restrict going into deeper water by presenting the risk of it sinking, whether as something that actually happens if you try or just what you're told when prevented from going further.

 

[clowd]

The risk of sinking is a very good idea to keep you close to shore. Venture too far out and someone tells you to turn back. Still doesnt quite solve how you depict travel on the Tiny Bronco. I suppose they could have Cloud in the cockpit 'driving' and 2 people on the wings. Would look kind of funny.

But I do want a boat so we can have the trifecta of land, sea, and air travel.

I've always wanted the desert around the Gold Saucer to be much more expansive then it was, and I'd really like to see the Buggy at home there, making it more useful then a tool to cross a few shallow streams. Maybe making leaving the Gold Saucer desert something of a challenge as well.

 

[NewQuixote]

My personal hope is that they still have the world map but enlarge its scale and make it immensely detailed: vistas of rolling hills, mist creeping through the tips of Nibel in the distance, sunsets over cosmo canyon, pollution darkening the skies surrounding midgar, visible enemies roaming the wilderness, the overhead sight of vast swaying forests, and yes, roads. They can aim to strike a balance between driving home the enormity of the landscape without having to do a 1/1 reconstruction which would save them time (and save us filler content) but retain something familiar from the original while still being incredibly beautiful, not to mention the ability to see the entire party moving around the overworld at once while the theme music plays.

For the High wind i imagined a fully navigable/dynamic and interactive sky box where the land is obscured by clouds but flying over any potential landmass will allow you to land there in small FMV or just a 'deploy' option becomes present, they should also allow the buggy to be offloaded from the high-wind/any other vehicles, not just chocobos.

For the tiny bronco limits Cid could just bitch, "No way we're taking her into deep waters on this gas tank!" or some such.

Submarine stuff would be amaaaazing. There's so much they could do with just this.

On another note, chocobos. do we have to catch a chocobo for every party member if we want to get past the Zolom? something to speculate on..

Either way I'm excited to see whatever they have up their sleeves.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Final Fantasy VII's world is full of cars - yet you never see one being driven outside of the first cutscene. Im in opinion that this should change, and the remake should adopt Final Fantasy XV's expansive road and AI car traffic systems, complete with gas stations etc. It only makes sense that a world which is obviously full of cars and highways should be....full of cars and highways.

Agreed. There also needs to be more trains. It makes no sense that train technology was developed and then only used in two places. Even if the party can't get on the trains for security reasons, we need to see them sometimes.

 

[Starling]

I would love to see train tracks with the occasional train passing on it. It'd add a lot to the feeling that you're traveling through a world that has a life of its own beyond what you see.

I liked the unconventional way the Tiny Bronco ends up being used. To me, characters sitting on the wings while travelling on it doesn't really strike me as something that'd look ridiculous. If we're going to see all the party members while travelling, they'll probably have to scale it up a bit so everyone fits.

As for chocobos, I'm not sure how many people's suspension of disbelief would get stretched too much by ending up with more than one chocobo per catch, but if they make catching one less of a hassle it wouldn't be that bad to have to get one for everyone.

I always thought the Buggy was probably a bit too big to store in the Highwind. It's an airship but it has limitations in what it can carry.

 

[NikolaiBroketheZoom]

I could see them changing the design of the Tiny Bronco slightly so that the entire party can fit inside and just making it buoyant, like as a safety feature in case it's downed over a body of water, with Cid explaining that it's still not quite a boat so it can't be used in deep water for fear of sinking.

I agree regarding more trains and cars. I want Gaia to feel alive, dammit! I want to be able to follow the train tracks between towns and find car wrecks and stranded travelers and wandering caravans while exploring!

 

[NewQuixote]

Trains would be cool, but I always got the feeling Midgar was a closed city Nobody could enter or leave without Shinra's consent. I can't imagine any trains leading out of that particular city. More pressing is the fact that Kalm is separated from Junon by a mountain range, if there was a way over them via rail we could just bypass the mines all together.

They could just set up a large roadblock in the hopes of detaining the party though, after all Shinra would be sure to pin the blame for the President's death on our hands. This would force us to take the mines.

 

[Starling]

Maybe the railway through the mountains passes on bridges you can't cross without risking getting hit by a train. Despite my impression that Midgar is a closed city, I find it strange that they wouldn't have some means of travel to and from the city, as well as a way to bypass the slums, since a city that size without means of growing plants in its immediate vicinity would require a trade route to import things, as well as a way for all those people wanting to join SOLDIER to get there and hopefully not get disillusioned with Shinra at the mere sight of the slums.

I also got the impression that Corel's railways, if no longer used nearly as much as when coal mining was a thing, used to be quite expansive. Some of the tracks, like the one traveled to get through the mountains, are obviously abandoned but the fact that Shinra tries to take the huge materia with a train suggests trains probably still see some use in the region.

 

[Channy]

I hope they don't upgrade the vehicles too much. The charm of the game is that it's the first to really deviate from the castles and medieval fantasy and into modern technology... but it goes about it in a very deep, steampunk way. Going off the new trailer, Midgar looks a little more modernized, however back in AC, things still looked gritty and steampunkish, like with the everyday trucks and cars that were used then. So I hope they accentuate it and bring everything out more.

Also, concur with trains.. trains all throughout would be neat.

 

[Octo]

Buggy

This reminds me of the car Homer Simpson designed. As such I want it to be exactly the same as in the OG but with the addition of a horn that plays 'La Cucaracha'

 

[Starling]

It kinda looks like a cartoon spaceship on wheels.