FFXIII-2: Post Release Discussion

[Tobi]

soooooo yeah

http://gematsu.com/2012/06/final-fan...se-new-project

[Kiarax]

Just got around to playing and beating this yesterday, my body is ready. Really enjoyed, still a couple more things it'd be nice if they fixed about the combat system, but it's a massive step up from XIII. Here's hoping they improve character progression (in terms of stats, abilities, etc, not plot) this time around. The crystarium system in XIII-2 is ass and they throw every single ability at you stupidly early in the game, leaving you absolutely nothing to look forward to.

[Milkster]

Just got around to playing and beating this yesterday, my body is ready. Really enjoyed, still a couple more things it'd be nice if they fixed about the combat system, but it's a massive step up from XIII. Here's hoping they improve character progression (in terms of stats, abilities, etc, not plot) this time around. The crystarium system in XIII-2 is ass and they throw every single ability at you stupidly early in the game, leaving you absolutely nothing to look forward to.

This was one of the main things that pissed me off. After 25 or so the rate3 at which you learn abilities is ridiculously spaced out.

[dejet]

I'm more passed that haste was not something I could abuse like crazy. Bull Crap that I only had haste for a few rounda(or had to use weapons and fuse monsters to get)

[Lonely]

What pissed me off was that stupid noel got cura and curaja and serah didn't. I don't give a fuck that she had higher magic to compensate, she was suppose to be the obligatory cute white mage and that means being a master at healing.

Oh and fuck your .5% drop rates. Seriously that shit belongs in your shit mmos SE.

[Pirian]

Just got around to playing and beating this yesterday, my body is ready. Really enjoyed, still a couple more things it'd be nice if they fixed about the combat system, but it's a massive step up from XIII. Here's hoping they improve character progression (in terms of stats, abilities, etc, not plot) this time around. The crystarium system in XIII-2 is ass and they throw every single ability at you stupidly early in the game, leaving you absolutely nothing to look forward to.

If there are going to be AoE's that are actual AoE then there needs to be some way to manually control the position -.- that was the main issue I had with the combat system. It's coming, I know, but Star Ocean pulled it off with sprites <.< lets get with the program.

The crystarium did seem really short. While passive abilities were abound, active abilities were lacking. Not to mention that once you got Ruinga then ALL the random battles turned into easy-mode.

These things said, I still really liked this game for not just the story, but the game play, and while it was lacking in places it was still a ton of fun

[Carth]

Caius's COM does massive damage especially against Lightning's Paladin (I assume you meant this with "Gladiator") because according to the description you get an increased damage penalty from it.

No, I meant Knight. Have no idea where I got Gladiator from (might've been from a vague memory blip from FFXIV).

[Boyiee]

I've been looking for something to play on console lately, PS3 has been collecting dust since I finished FFXIII the first couple weeks it was out.

Worth buying this game? I remember beating XIII, playing around with turtles to finish one weapon then never playing again. Never doing hunts or any extra content. Beat game > turtles for a few days > off forever. I don't know if I want to replay it or pick it back up from where it was, but will XIII-2 be worth the buy? Will I get any more out of it?

[Insanecyclone]

For $20 right now yeah

[Insanecyclone]

What is a good place early on, like real early, to farm? Faeryl dragon just bends me over all the time.

[Carth]

Archylette Stepps is as best as you're going to get in terms of farming CP. Otherwise you're gonna have to use Wild Artefacts to open gates to different areas to complete quests there.

[6souls]

It is well documented that the development of Final Fantasy XIII was fraught with difficulty, and that Square Enix wished to get its franchise back on track. While the game sold very well, it came at a much higher cost than the company would have liked.

"The development time was quite long," admitted Motomu Toriyama, director of FFXIII and FXIII-2, at GDC Taipei. "Within our company, developing on PlayStation for Final Fantasy XIII we required a huge amount of graphical data. ... At the peak, there were over 200 people working on it.” The breakdown there was 180 artists, 30 programmers, and 36 game designers.

"With a large-scale development team, we didn't use our time well," he said. "How do you communicate to everyone in the department what the drive of the game is?" The company had previously been using the story as the basis for development, but as it changed, it was tough to keep that many people abreast of the changes. "We decided we needed to create more practical milestones, not story-based ones."

"Because it's a large-scale project, we had to keep it secret, but this led to user testing happening way too late in the process," he said. "We heard a lot of feedback about things we needed to fix, and we decided we would do that with FFXIII-2. ... We decided that we would have a milestone every month, and realized we needed to applied more western technology and production techniques. We learned this not only from GDC, but also from Eidos [now owned by Square Enix]."

"We are also thinking that we will not do large-scale internal development any longer." he said. "We have a lot of great creators in Square Enix, but for larger-scale development we will be doing more distributed and outsourced development to reach our targets on time."

Moving to this monthly milestone-type development, "In the beginning of a month we decide the achievements for that month,” he said. “We decide the core of what we need to do, and plan for that."

Development went well for XIII-2, but he still feels it could be better. "We feel like we need to add more buffer time for player testing in the future," he added. "We improved for FFXIII-2, but it's still not enough time to add everything we learn back into the game."

Toriyama also touched on the success of the Asian launch, meaning all parts of Asia that are not Japan. The Chinese and Korean versions were made with the assistance of Sony, helping them achieve a worldwide launch for FFXIII-2.

He further revealed that Final Fantasy XIII sold 350,000 units in Asia, making it the number one third-party game on PlayStation 3, while FFXIII-2 sold 200,000. "This may not seem like a lot," he said, "But compared to other games in Asia, this game even beat our numbers for other markets like Germany and France."

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/1...tasy_XIII2.php

[Insanecyclone]

http://andriasang.com/con1pj/toriyama_gdc/


Toriyama Discusses FFXIII Season 2, DLC and CEO's Recent FFVII Comment at Taipei GDC

Final Fantasy XIII and XIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama gave a presentation at the Game Developers Conference yesterday. No, not that Game Developers Conference!

Toriyama spoke about Final Fantasy XIII and its sequel at the Game Developers Conference in Taipei, which was held on the 26th and 27th. Famitsu.com filed a full report, packed with pics of the presentation and the many slides showing top secret XIII-2 design docs.

When browsing the Famitsu.com pics, you'll want to look for one that says "Final Fantasy XIII Season 2." This was apparently what the game was referred to during the concept phases.

Toriyama also spoke about the use of download content in FFXIII-2. This is the first time Square Enix has placed such effort into download content for a numbered FF game. The plan to offer DLC for the game was in place at the start of development, revealed Toriyama. During the end of the main XIII-2's development, the staff started work on DLC in parallel. Toriyama believes that DLC will be a required feature for future games.

Toriyama's presentation ended not with Final Fantasy XIII or XIII-2, but with Final Fantasy VII. During a Q&A session, an attendee asked when a Final Fantasy VII remake will be released. Toriyama replied by mentioning the recent quote from Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada saying that Square Enix won't make an FFVII remake until they've made a game that surpasses FFVII. He joked, "As a creator, there's a bit in there that I can't agree with."

[hey]

Finally got to play this due to decrypted eboots being released a few days ago for the ps3.

The story was excellent, and i even liked how it ended. Gameplay was definitely not perfect, but it was enjoyable. The crysterium was probably the worst part of it. Why does serah only get like 3 spells for medic, and no aoes? I think i actually liked 13's gameplay a little better, ignoring it's linearity. Still, despite it's flaws, it's an excellent game, and i'm really glad i finally got to play it.

Time to go 100% it.

[Insanecyclone]

http://andriasang.com/con1tg/ffxiii_...gdc_interview/


Toriyama Hints at More Final Fantasy XIII

Final Fantasy XIII-2's download content has come to an end, but we could be seeing more of Lightning and friends.

Famitsu.com conducted an interview with FFXIII and XIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama at the recent Taipei Game Developers Conference. The site asked if we can expect something Final Fantasy XIII related at the upcoming Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary event. Toriyama replied, "The [FFXIII-2] Lightning download content had an ending that left a feeling mystery and hope. The day when the meaning of this will come to light is not too far off."

The Final Fantasy 25th anniversary event mentioned by Famitsu is an art gallery that will be held from August 31 through September 2 in Shibuya. Visit this story for additional details.

Regarding download content in general, Toriyama seems to recognize that some fans take issue with having to buy content separate from the main game disc. He's traveled around the world and heard opinions of players, and some want all the content to be included directly on the game disc. This poses a dilemma, said Toriyama, as development times will go up.

Outside of future XIII developments, Toriyama made a non-comment about Final Fantasy X. Asked for a progress report on the HD conversion of FFX, Toriyama said, "Regarding HD conversions, there is a lot to look into, so please wait a bit more."

Toriyama and his fellow developers appear to be moving towards next generation development. Famitsu asked him for his impression of Square Enix's Luminous Engine. He responded that the engine allows for amazing visuals at a level unchanged from pre rendered CG, and he's of course looking forward to it. He added, "While still at the technology development stage, we're currently moving to the phase where where we come together with our game development teams and prepare for next generation machines."

[Spira]

wish they'd just announce XIII-3 already. we know its coming geez. they're so good at being subtle.

i also hope they'll show some vsXIII and flat out change its name to XV lol, but thats probably just me.

[Cichy]

I no longer believe in existence of XIIIvs. If they confirm XIII-3 I'd be really fuckin happy.

[dejet]

GASP FF13-3!? no way, did not see that coming!
Bring it on!

[arus2001]

I like dilemma. People mad they gotta pay for DLC, but it'd mean more dev time to include in the game? How about just let the DLC be free. x.x

[dejet]

SE has said the cost of making the game is going up, thus DLC is needed to make it worth the time.

im fine with it so whatever I pay for DLC, wish it be a little longer though.