FFXV has an enormous map!

[Freya]

http://cdn3.dualshockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/FFXV_Map_02-670x356.png

Thanks to Mathga II and Photoshopga II magicks, the website DualShockers (http://www.dualshockers.com/2015/09/01/final-fantasy-xv-map-size-potentially-revealed-its-roughly-an-enormous-780-square-miles/) has figured out how big the Final Fantasy XV map actually is! (Huge. It's huge.)

In the recently released driving video, at the 19 seconds mark, you can see a map. The map indicates the length of the route mapped, which is 4,392 m. This gave them the breakthrough they needed to properly calculate the size of the known world map.

After some fancy Mathga II, Dualshockers were able to provide an accurate representation of the immense size of the Final Fantasy XV map. Now if you've played other games, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt or Grand Theft Auto V, you'll know that having large maps filled to the brim with content is very popular with gamers. Dualshockers provided a size comparison map so you can truly understand how large Final Fantasy XV's map is.


http://cdn4.dualshockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/FFXV_Map_04-670x356.png

So we now know why Final Fantasy XV is really taking a decade to create. If this is the full map, it is the biggest map for any single player game.

What do you think about the sheer size of the world of Final Fantasy XV? Seeing as how you'll be able to drive across this landmass, how do you feel about the addition of the car now?

[FFIX Choco Boy]

I can think of one other (non-randomized) single player video game map that's larger. Daggerfall's.

Anyways, I think it's great that we're finally going back to huge maps and tons of areas to explore. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE FFXIII, but the corridor does get stale after a while, and being able to go off the beaten path and find new things is always a welcome addition to the Final Fantasy games.

[Del Murder]

A large map means nothing if the areas are not diverse and full of content. If the FFXV map is as rich as some of the other games that have been mentioned, then it will be very fun to explore. However, if it is a lot of open road you just drive through then there's not much point to it.

Just going by the information shown here, it is very impressive how much bigger FFXV is compared to some other popular open world games!

Also I know the car has been shown a lot for this game, but will we get to fly through this vast world too? I recall airships being one of the last things they are trying to create and that they are not guaranteed, but I hope fast travel (Xenoblade-style free and easy travel please) or some kind of free-flying approach is available.

[Aulayna]

Yeah I agree with Del. The Duscae demo was pretty dull outside of the main story aspect of it, the side quests amounted to nothing more than your usual MMORPG fetch quests. I hope the content of the final game is a lot more varied.

I do wonder if this will be seamless too, or if there will be loading screens between regions or elongated areas of nothingness (ala Mass Effect 1 lifts) to hide loading screens.

[Freya]

I can't say for how much content but the small sample sized that was shown in the driving video that they got the distances from, there was a lot of vistas and locations shown.

http://cdn4.dualshockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/FFXV_Map_05-654x425.png

We can only hope that the whole world has a lot of stuff. I mean, it has to for how long it's been in development.

[Formalhaut]

Given the large map size, and the even larger development size, you would expect most of the world to have some interesting content. If it doesn't, people will be wondering why it took so long in the first place.

I'm cautiously hopeful, but I sadly would not be surprised if some of those wide open fields had nothing to them.

[Wolf Kanno]

Given the large map size, and the even larger development size, you would expect most of the world to have some interesting content. If it doesn't, people will be wondering why it took so long in the first place.

I still believe in my theory that no real work beyond concept design and early pre-production development had actually been done for this game until Tabata joined the project. Which is why it always felt like actual results showed up when he joined instead of the years of Nomura and Wada saying "We're working on it, it's coming!" with little to show except concept trailers shown only to the press behind closed doors.

The size is impressive but I'm skeptical all that land mass will be traversible, and if it is, I'm not sure how much meaningful content can be placed into it.

[Fynn]

I'm super duper hyped at this point :monster:

[Mirage]

Xenoblade Chronicles X is bigger. Just sayin.

[Freya]

Okay. Okay other games have bigger maps. I should have put one of the biggest. :p

[Fynn]

Xenoblade Chronicles X is bigger. Just sayin.

Really?

[Mirage]

actually i'm not sure

it's just a rumour

[FFIX Choco Boy]

Well, we know for a fact that Daggerfall's is bigger.

[Leigh]

Pretty sure that if there is any element of truth to this, then it's going to suffer from Gobi Desert syndrome. Even Grand Theft Auto 5, which was a metropolis, felt that the majority of the world lacked interactivity outside of the computer generated population and automobiles.

[escobert]

Still smaller than DayZs map which clocks in at about 5450 km² :p

[Mirage]

and again, there's the question of content density.

it's unproblematic to make a map that is bigger than africa, but filling it with content is a different thing all together

[escobert]

and again, there's the question of content density.

it's unproblematic to make a map that is bigger than africa, but filling it with content is a different thing all together

http://www.izurvive.com/#c=-50;-38;3

7 cities, 3 airfields, dozens of smaller towns and villages, multiple military bases and more being added every patch with 95% or so of the buildings enter-able. Then there's the player made bases and camps spread around everywhere. it most defiantly is not a wasteland void of things to do.

[Leigh]

and again, there's the question of content density.

it's unproblematic to make a map that is bigger than africa, but filling it with content is a different thing all together

http://www.izurvive.com/#c=-50;-38;3

7 cities, 3 airfields, dozens of smaller towns and villages, multiple military bases and more being added every patch with 95% or so of the buildings enter-able. Then there's the player made bases and camps spread around everywhere. it most defiantly is not a wasteland void of things to do.

Forgive me, I have never played DayZ, but by things to do, does that mean scripted interaction, or just things to look at? Would 6 cities instead of 7 make a quantifiable difference to the game, and narrative (being a survival game, does it have one?), or is it simply a demonstration of a developers 3DS Max prowess?

I think the big worry is a lack of meaningful content, a reason for being, instead of it being simply filler substance. Real life is full mostly nothing. I'd rather my video games not be a completely accurate portrayal of what I am trying to escape from when I fire up the old gogglebox! :p

[escobert]

and again, there's the question of content density.

it's unproblematic to make a map that is bigger than africa, but filling it with content is a different thing all together

http://www.izurvive.com/#c=-50;-38;3

7 cities, 3 airfields, dozens of smaller towns and villages, multiple military bases and more being added every patch with 95% or so of the buildings enter-able. Then there's the player made bases and camps spread around everywhere. it most defiantly is not a wasteland void of things to do.

Forgive me, I have never played DayZ, but by things to do, does that mean scripted interaction, or just things to look at? Would 6 cities instead of 7 make a quantifiable difference to the game, and narrative (being a survival game, does it have one?), or is it simply a demonstration of a developers 3DS Max prowess?

I think the big worry is a lack of meaningful content, a reason for being, instead of it being simply filler substance. Real life is full mostly nothing. I'd rather my video games not be a completely accurate portrayal of what I am trying to escape from when I fire up the old gogglebox! :p

There is no story in DayZ. It's a completely sandbox open world multiplayer zombie survival game. DayZ is very much a portrayal of what a Zombie Apocalypse would be like in real life. You must eat, drink, survive the elements. you can break your leg and not be able to walk, you can be shot by a 12 year old that you never saw from 1000 meters away and never hear the gunshot before screen says "You Are Dead". you must repair your vehicles, keep the fueled and running ect.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DWJkGmIqXc

[Leigh]

and again, there's the question of content density.

it's unproblematic to make a map that is bigger than africa, but filling it with content is a different thing all together

http://www.izurvive.com/#c=-50;-38;3

7 cities, 3 airfields, dozens of smaller towns and villages, multiple military bases and more being added every patch with 95% or so of the buildings enter-able. Then there's the player made bases and camps spread around everywhere. it most defiantly is not a wasteland void of things to do.

Forgive me, I have never played DayZ, but by things to do, does that mean scripted interaction, or just things to look at? Would 6 cities instead of 7 make a quantifiable difference to the game, and narrative (being a survival game, does it have one?), or is it simply a demonstration of a developers 3DS Max prowess?

I think the big worry is a lack of meaningful content, a reason for being, instead of it being simply filler substance. Real life is full mostly nothing. I'd rather my video games not be a completely accurate portrayal of what I am trying to escape from when I fire up the old gogglebox! :p

There is no story in DayZ. It's a completely sandbox open world multiplayer zombie survival game. DayZ is very much a portrayal of what a Zombie Apocalypse would be like in real life. You must eat, drink, survive the elements. you can break your leg and not be able to walk, you can be shot by a 12 year old that you never saw from 1000 meters away and never hear the gunshot before screen says "You Are Dead". you must repair your vehicles, keep the fueled and running ect.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DWJkGmIqXc

I'm sure this is a good game, for what it is. For me personally, I'd probably find it more interesting in 200 years, if the servers lasted long enough, when there is a culture and back story from the several generations of players who have left their mark and contributed to the construction and destruction of the world! :p

At the moment it sounds a little bit like Second Life and PvP/E Minecraft meshed together with players told its dystopia. Now act like real dystopians! I think massive worlds can easily be constructed, with structure and architecture, even completely procedurally without human input. In a game like Final Fantasy, it needs to be a little more relevant. Let's hope they pull it off.

[escobert]

and again, there's the question of content density.

it's unproblematic to make a map that is bigger than africa, but filling it with content is a different thing all together

http://www.izurvive.com/#c=-50;-38;3

7 cities, 3 airfields, dozens of smaller towns and villages, multiple military bases and more being added every patch with 95% or so of the buildings enter-able. Then there's the player made bases and camps spread around everywhere. it most defiantly is not a wasteland void of things to do.

Forgive me, I have never played DayZ, but by things to do, does that mean scripted interaction, or just things to look at? Would 6 cities instead of 7 make a quantifiable difference to the game, and narrative (being a survival game, does it have one?), or is it simply a demonstration of a developers 3DS Max prowess?

I think the big worry is a lack of meaningful content, a reason for being, instead of it being simply filler substance. Real life is full mostly nothing. I'd rather my video games not be a completely accurate portrayal of what I am trying to escape from when I fire up the old gogglebox! :p

There is no story in DayZ. It's a completely sandbox open world multiplayer zombie survival game. DayZ is very much a portrayal of what a Zombie Apocalypse would be like in real life. You must eat, drink, survive the elements. you can break your leg and not be able to walk, you can be shot by a 12 year old that you never saw from 1000 meters away and never hear the gunshot before screen says "You Are Dead". you must repair your vehicles, keep the fueled and running ect.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DWJkGmIqXc

I'm sure this is a good game, for what it is. For me personally, I'd probably find it more interesting in 200 years, if the servers lasted long enough, when there is a culture and back story from the several generations of players who have left their mark and contributed to the construction and destruction of the world! :p

At the moment it sounds a little bit like Second Life and PvP/E Minecraft meshed together with players told its dystopia. Now act like real dystopians! I think massive worlds can easily be constructed, with structure and architecture, even completely procedurally without human input. In a game like Final Fantasy, it needs to be a little more relevant. Let's hope they pull it off.

I agree, that a normal RPG needs to be built differently than somehting like this. But the vast amount of things you can build, craft and whatnot in DayZ along with the player interaction and just beautiful views and places is amazing for being in Alpha development still. The DayZ I'm talking about, (DayZ Standalone) is based off a mod (DayZ Mod) of the military simulation game ArmaII. So there's already a backstory to the fictional former soviet republic it takes place in called Chernarus. There's some REALLY in depth cool role playing servers but my one gripe with them is they mostly all have a no kill on sight rule which really takes a lot of the suspense out for me. When you're character dies, that's it they're dead you start over with a T-shirt, jeans, a rag and a flare on the beach.




I really hope with a map this large, FFXV will bring back the exploration aspect in the game. That was one thing I really enjoyed, was running around finding new places or while frustrating, just getting lost trying to get to your next objective.

[Loony BoB]

I can't wait to explore this map. :D

[escobert]

Is this a new world/universe or are they rehashing a previous world?

[Fynn]

It's new, but it's connected to the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos.

[Mirage]

The FNC is basically just a loosely connected group of terminologies for various supernatural forces at this point. There is no direct connection between FF13, Type 0, or FF15.

[Fynn]

But there's like Etro and l'Cie. Although I don't think the l'Cie are called l'Cie in XV.

[Mirage]

as i said, lcie is just a shared terminology for someone with god-infused powers who do their work. A holy warrior if you will.

[FFNut]

If it truly is a great sized map with the ability to have free roam at parts I am excited. It's what has been missing since IX really.

[Mirage]

I wonder how much of that is purely mountain terrain that's not traversable, though. Based on Duscae though, I'm worried most of the map will just be plain and drab, but not exactly filled with anything to do. Trudging across Duscae was already a chore on foot, so I can't even imagine what exploring a giant map like this might entail, god.

Anyone else worried about the game's performance, though? Duscae's framerate was pretty hit-or-miss, and that was just one area compared to all of this.
I hope the devs aren't making the map enormous just 'cause they *can*.

Map size doesn't directly affect performance. Draw distance does, however, but that can be an issue no matter how small the map is.

[Lawr]

There's plenty of games that would still make this look like a molecule!

I have a feeling a lot of it will not be explorable, or it'll be a lot of empty space/mountains. If not, then we all win but if it is, oh well. Exploration has never been the main selling point of this game and I'd hate for that to be why it's taking so long to finish.

[Mirage]

what is the main selling point of this game?

except "it's the next main FF game"

[Noctis Caelum]

what is the main selling point of this game?

except "it's the next main FF game"
The first real-time combat Final Fantasy (LR most certainly doesn't count since it's ATB in disguise)? An intricate story? A Final Fantasy that is seemingly very realistic?

The only thing about the game that I am looking forward to that is coined to it being the next main FF game is the music. That's literally it.

What is your main reason for not being interested in it? Except "no playable female characters".

[Fynn]

what is the main selling point of this game?

except "it's the next main FF game"
The first real-time combat Final Fantasy (LR most certainly doesn't count since it's ATB in disguise)? An intricate story? A Final Fantasy that is seemingly very realistic?

The only thing about the game that I am looking forward to that is coined to it being the next main FF game is the music. That's literally it.

What is your main reason for not being interested in it? Except "no playable female characters".

When did Mirage say he isn't interested?

[Mirage]

what is the main selling point of this game?

except "it's the next main FF game"
The first real-time combat Final Fantasy (LR most certainly doesn't count since it's ATB in disguise)? An intricate story? A Final Fantasy that is seemingly very realistic?

The only thing about the game that I am looking forward to that is coined to it being the next main FF game is the music. That's literally it.

What is your main reason for not being interested in it? Except "no playable female characters".

Is it a selling point that it is the first to use a real time combat system? I haven't seen SE touting that very often. "Fantasy based on reality" i have seen them say, however. We don't know much about how complex the story is yet. From what we've seen, it could be about as complex as most other games in the series.


If I wasn't interested in the game, I wouldn't spend time reading forum threads about it. Cool assumption, though.

[Del Murder]

Reread this thread by replacing the word 'map' with a part of the male anatomy and it is quite amusing.

[Fynn]

That reminds me of that thread about Sabin's package.

The title was so long that the dots appeared in just the right places on the display. So it looked like "I bet Sabin had a HUGE..." and everyone thought that they can't really mean penis, but the thread was just about that actually, and the missing word was package.

So yeah, fun times.

[Randy]

So how does it compare to Xenoblade X?

[Psychotic]

Reread this thread by replacing the word 'map' with a part of the male anatomy and it is quite amusing.As I'm sure your mother often told you, it's not size that counts it's what you do with it.

[Lawr]

what is the main selling point of this game?

except "it's the next main FF game"

I can't speak for everyone, but from the original trailers and what they were drilling into our heads in the early ATR's (before people started whining about airships) is the fact that this one seems the most "real" in terms of the cities, the politics, the plot, etc. And I guess "real"-time combat fits in there too.

Exploring 2,000 square km of texture swaps full of monsters and collecting smurfing herbs all day would be like, 4th selling point at best. At best.

[NeoCracker]

So how does it compare to Xenoblade X?

Hard to say. All we know is Xenoblade X is suppose to be a lot bigger then the original Xenoblade, allegedly five times the size.

Skyrim was a little bit bigger then Xenoblade, so if it's true Xenoblade X will be about 4-5 times the size of Skyrim.

Not sure how that compares to XV, but there you go. :p

[Madame Adequate]

Whilst there are factors outside of sheer map size to consider, I'm still hopeful that with the time put into the game plus what we've seen so far, they'll be able to create a really expansive, detailed world to explore.

[Leigh]

My experience with games with mahoosive worlds is I spend a lot of time staring at a square telling me how many M's I am from the waypoint, and rarely looking at the environment because I am too focused on trying to straight line it all.

A fantasy based on reality. I so hope the equivalent of traversing the Northern Crater to the final succession of multi-bosses is an M6 Toll Road with each checkpoint blocked by evil highway deities. Seriously, I want this.