Quote Originally Posted by Vivi22 View Post
Quote Originally Posted by DM_Melkhar View Post
Look at The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. I know it's on the PC and Xbox 360...and probably the PS3 soon, but it has a full 3D overworld map and that's what I'd like to see Square do with FF one day (that's if the series lasts that long - they're adding spin offs and remakes to keep themselves going longer).
What do you mean probably the PS3 soon? I've been playing the game for almost two weeks now.

If I'm not mistaken, the overworld in Oblivion would be streaming off the disc/hard drive install, meaning it's constantly loading new sections as you travel. In fact, the game frequently gives a loading area message whenever I'm travelling very quickly through the overworld. It even chugs occasionally as the game tries to keep up with me. In the grand scheme of things though, as large as the world of Oblivion seems, it wouldn't be that large when travelling over it in an airship FF style. You also just can't load a world that size, with that much detail with the speed necessary for something like airship travel. You'll notice most overworlds tend to be pretty small and simplistic, specifically so they do load quickly and easily. As long as Square continues to go the route of travelling through areas as though you are actually travelling through the world, rather than the abstract representation of FF's past, you won't get control over airship travel. Certainly not this generation at least.
My apologies for not seeing that it was already out.

I have Oblivion on the Xbox 360, and though it does say "loading area" occasionally it lasts for no more than a second usually. Take a look at the footage of Lair for the PS3 if you haven't already. That involves dragonflight in full high definition graphics (which means airship travel should be possible on the PS3 and Xbox 360 at least). In fact, Square COULD have kept overworld airship travel the same on the PS2 because the PS1 was able to do it. They were just more interested in making the in-game graphics better, and decided to exclude it.

I don't see what's wrong with the occasional "loading area" message popping up, as long as it remains as short a time as it does on Oblivion (at least for me it's for no more than a split second unless the 360 decides to have a hissy fit).