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Horizon: Forbidden West (Febraury 18, 2022)


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Horizon Forbidden West looks absolutely incredible, and whilst I enjoyed Zero Dawn and thought it was very solid, it didn't blow me away, so that's saying something by how impressive that reveal was. Feel it could be transcending new-gen game. Only bad news is I feel it will probably slip to 2022, but I'm happy to wait.

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The game looks amazing, but I'm a little concerned that the game won't stray very far from the whole beachside, West Coast theme.  The first Horizon didn't get dull because there was such a variety in environments, where I'm not totally sure where else this one might go.  It'd be reassuring to see more because if this is the majority of the game, I can see it getting old once the "wow" factor of the graphics wear off.

 

 

13 hours ago, LockheedPrime said:

best graphics I've seen so far on PS5 and everywhere else, which is funny cause it's also on PS4, so what's other devs excuses

 

In the "other devs" defense, there are few games that match the first Horizon too.  I think Guerrilla are just really good at what they do.

Edited by Dreakon13
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2 hours ago, Dreakon13 said:

The game looks amazing, but I'm a little concerned that the game won't stray very far from the whole beachside, West Coast theme.  The first Horizon didn't get dull because there was such a variety in environments, where I'm not totally sure where else this one might go.  It'd be reassuring to see more because if this is the majority of the game, I can see it getting old once the "wow" factor of the graphics wear off.

 

Did you see any of the 5 hour countdown? They were showing off various locations. Looked like a lot of variety to me. They also seemed to be showing the places at different times of the year. I've actually seen people complaining that it's "weird" to have all these biomes geographically close together.

Here's a (large) image of all the locations and their location in the real world. (source: reddit)

Spoiler

052kib2y3q171.png

 

(I should note, I still haven't played any of the first Horizon so I don't know how much variety was in that game)

Edited by peffsi
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20 minutes ago, peffsi said:

 

Did you see any of the 5 hour countdown? They were showing off various locations. Looked like a lot of variety to me. They also seemed to be showing the places at different times of the year. I've actually seen people complaining that it's "weird" to have all these biomes geographically close together.

Here's a (large) image of all the locations and their location in the real world. (source: reddit)

  Hide contents

052kib2y3q171.png

 

(I should note, I still haven't played any of the first Horizon so I don't know how much variety was in that game)

 

Oh, I didn't really see anything besides skipping around the gameplay trailer after the fact.  Looks cool!  Thanks for sharing.

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8 hours ago, Infected Elite said:

itll be downgraded a bit on ps4 probably. 

 

lucky me im getting the ps5 version. 

I don't care about the PS4 version, I'm talking on how it looks on PS5 despite also having to run on PS4, the point I was making is that many games are getting an excuse right now for not looking next gen because they are cross gen games, but this cross gen game, looks next gen, so that excuse is dead now

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"HardWareZone spoke to Horizon Forbidden West’s game director Mathijs de Jonge and narrative director Benjamin McCaw to dig into all the new changes revealed during their recent State of Play game demo, which they insist only scratches the surface of Aloy’s grand return. How far along is the game in development? How much has melee combat changed? Will Aloy finally take to the skies?"

 

Link HERE

 

Will there be any incentives for players to explore the new underwater environments, such as loot, collectibles or sidequests?

Spoiler

Mathijs de Jonge: The underwater exploration is completely new to this game since in the previous game, you could only swim just below the surface. Now you can go as deep as you want. With a diving mask, you can stay underwater for as long as you like, so you don’t have the pressure of an oxygen bar that keeps depleting. You can really take your time and explore these beautiful underwater locations.

 

And we have, like you saw in the demo, these flooded areas because the game takes place a thousand years in the future, so the sea level has also risen significantly. A lot of the places that we have on the map are now flooded. So you have these sunken cities that you can go into. There are also…I don’t want to go into too much detail on this, but there are also specific scenarios, quests and even activities where you have to go underwater to discover certain secrets or to help certain people.

 

How does this game take advantage of the PlayStation 5’s new features?

Spoiler

Mathijs de Jonge: One of the big advantages I’m experiencing right now as a developer is how incredibly fast things load. Because normally, if we played our builds, it would take maybe two minutes to load the game to test something. Now it’s seconds. Normally, I would be able to check my phone or read an email. Now I don’t have the time because it’s so quick. It’s really incredible. We’re also using the DualSense controller with the adaptive triggers, where you can feel the tension on the string when you pull the bow back. We’re also fully supporting the haptic feedback and 3D audio. 

 

I think a lot of the features are a great fit for Horizon because we always try to make the game as immersive as possible. We want to make players feel like they want to be in that world, or that they are actually in that world. So those new PlayStation 5 features like the controller, the 3D audio and then of course, the CPU and the graphical prowess which make the graphics even more beautiful – they all help to make you feel even more immersed in the game.

 

How far along is the game in development at this point?

Spoiler

Mathijs de Jonge: We have just successfully completed our beta milestone, which is pretty far along. We’re now in the final stages of development. So we are polishing the game and fixing bugs. We are also wrapping up certain aspects of the game, like some of the machines being behind schedule – because it takes an enormous amount of time to build them. We’re working on the final cinematic. So, we’re really wrapping up. There’s still a lot to do with a game of this size and magnitude, but we’re in the final stages.

 

Are there any noticeable differences between the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game? Has this cross-generation development process proven to be limiting in any way?

Spoiler

Mathijs de Jonge: I don’t think the cross-generation development was limiting in any way. When we started with the concept of this game, we had so many great ideas that ended up being included – to the point that we didn’t really think about hardware limitations or anything, we just wanted to design a really nice, unique experience for the player. An awesome adventure. That’s how we also brainstormed all the quests and events the player is going to go through. I think that the big delta between these two consoles, apart from the 3D audio, quick loading and DualSense of course, is on the graphical side of things. On the PlayStation 5, we can add so much more detail graphically. We can see the tiny hairs on Aloy’s face, for example. You can also see a ton of detail from far away.

 

I don’t think many people notice in the demo, but you could see moss growing on the rocks. On the PlayStation 5, each individual strand of moss is rendered individually. So this machine is so powerful, and it can add so much more detail to the image. I think that’s one of the biggest deltas, next to the processing power of the machine. We also use it for a specific lighting rig. This is a cinematic lighting rig that we normally only have time to use in cinematics. Because the PlayStation 5 is so much more powerful, we have it on all the time. During gameplay, there’s a very high-quality rendering and lighting system on a lot. So there are all these extra features that make the game look even better.

 

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Major misconception that cross gen will definitely hold a game back. I disagreed with the notion even when Xbox was getting flack for not having generational exclusives. I can't imagine looking at that showcase for Horizon and thinking that it was hampered by development of a PS4 version.

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12 hours ago, Stan Lee said:

I can't imagine looking at that showcase for Horizon and thinking that it was hampered by development of a PS4 version.

 

I'd argue it's too early to tell.

 

The graphics look amazing but that was expected. The real point of interest is level design and exactly how far they can go with it. With the footage we saw it was kind of hard to tell, there were some big areas but we didn't see how much of that could actually be explored and how much of it was just background scenery. At the very least there did appear to be some smaller corridor areas which could be a result of the limitations of the PS4, or it could be artistic choice, hard to say based on just what we saw.

 

I think that part of the footage that interested me the most was going underwater near machines that are also underwater. Underwater combat could be interesting if done well.

Edited by AusLeviathan
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People are so stuck in the old ways. The transition from PS4 to PS5 was NOT the same as the transition from PS1 to PS2, or PS2 to PS3, or PS3 to PS4. Yes, the PS5 is more powerful, but both machines are so vastly similar in architecture that we really no longer have the same discrepancies between generations like we did before. 

 

IMO, this is the first time we've had a generational shift, where the previous machine wasn't in dire need of an upgrade. If the PS5 wasn't out or even being talked about yet...I still don't think we've seen the true extent of what a dev could do on a PS4. So the idea that Forbidden West is being held back by it, seems very unlikely. The PS5 version is still going to take advantage of the SSD and DualSense. 

 

Besides, we're still in year one of the PS5...they were never going to just kill off the PS4 games already. We're likely look at 2023 before we start seeing that shift into the PS4 getting shafted on releases. 

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28 minutes ago, Viper said:

IMO, this is the first time we've had a generational shift, where the previous machine wasn't in dire need of an upgrade. If the PS5 wasn't out or even being talked about yet...I still don't think we've seen the true extent of what a dev could do on a PS4.

 

The PS4 is decade old technology which even at launch was under powered compared to what it could have been. There's no secret hidden potential that hasn't been discovered, it's tapped out.

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Just now, AusLeviathan said:

 

The PS4 is decade old technology which even at launch was under powered compared to what it could have been. There's no secret hidden potential that hasn't been discovered, it's tapped out.

Why are people always so hung up on how old the tech is? PS4 games are optimized to work on the tech provided, this isn't PC...it doesn't matter in the same regard, it's not as ambiguous. The fact that Forbidden West, GOW Ragnarok and Gran Turismo 7 are going to be PS4 games, proves it's far from tapped out. 

 

When 2012 came around and we started hearing about the PS4...the PS3 was struggling! Games had screen tearing galore, they didn't run well anymore, and games like Borderlands 2 couldn't even handle getting more DLC that was planned, because there literally was no more memory. THAT'S what I consider "tapped out"....the PS4 isn't in the same boat yet. I'm not saying devs shouldn't focus on making some PS5 only games, but to act like the PS4 (especially the Pro) is having hardware issues and is in dire need of that upgrade to the point where newer PS4 games are unplayable or holding the PS5 back...just isn't true. 

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18 minutes ago, Viper said:

When 2012 came around and we started hearing about the PS4...the PS3 was struggling! Games had screen tearing galore, they didn't run well anymore, and games like Borderlands 2 couldn't even handle getting more DLC that was planned, because there literally was no more memory. THAT'S what I consider "tapped out"....the PS4 isn't in the same boat yet. I'm not saying devs shouldn't focus on making some PS5 only games, but to act like the PS4 (especially the Pro) is having hardware issues and is in dire need of that upgrade to the point where newer PS4 games are unplayable or holding the PS5 back...just isn't true. 

 

That might have had something to do with the PS3 being extremely difficult to develop for. The jump from PS3 to PS4 wasn't anywhere near as big as PS4 to PS5. Plus PS4 games have had plenty of similar issues, hence why it began the standard of releasing games in a bugged state and using early players as Beta testers to figure out what needed to be patched.

 

When I say tapped out I mean we have reached the point where the base PS4's hardware is holding us back from improvements. Even if you ignore the developer suggesting that HZD was held back by hardware limitations in 2017 that prevented some of their ideas being used, the fact remains that the PS4 with it's old tech and HDD limits creativity in how you can design levels and how far you can take those levels.

 

If the PS4 is creating a limitation where smaller narrow areas, or barren areas, or simpler areas have to be used in order to make it possible to load the world properly, is that not a sign the PS4 is tapped out? HZD only featured one large city and that city was separated by a slow elevator used to hide the loading. Other than that HZD is very small villages that look barren with a minimal population that are very spread out. Machines are limited in what kinds can be seen together, how many can be seen together and by a small radius of which they can't exit.

 

We could have very lively worlds that have more in them then we'd know what to do with, but we can't have that until we ditch the limitations of the previous generation.

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7 hours ago, MidnightDragon said:

Bet it'll have a fancy collector's edition.

Collectors editions are a bit expense for my taste but will gladly grab a steelbook if one becomes available. Looking forward to playing and adding the physical edition to my collection. 2022 will be a busy and crazy year for gaming.

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