The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Wii-U, Switch) 2017

[shdowhunt60]

29 minutes ago, JaidynReiman said:

I'm sure the framerate issues will be tightened up before release.

I'm sure they will also, I'm just baffled they exist in the first place. The geometry and textures are so spartan, but I guess that balances out from the global illumination suite. Not even dipping the game all the way to 720p seems to have alleviated the issue.

[Nepenthe]

It's probably a result of foliage everywhere, the lighting, and the physics engine constantly having to dictate actions and collisions. They already said the physics engine was the cause of the delay.

[Shaddy Zaphod]

Making games that both look great and run well isn't easy, I don't see what anyone would be surprised about

[Candescence]

It's one of those cases where the developer's priorities were in certain areas over others. Making an open-world game that runs well and looks great is really hard, the fact that GTA5 looks as good as it did after GTA4 released in the same generation (granted, GTA4 was sorta cutting edge when it release, but it looks like a pile of ass now) is mostly a testament to Rockstar's engineering team.

Frankly, I can deal with "spartan" textures and geometry, as it works fine with the game's art style. The sheer amount of foliage in this game more than makes up for it, I don't think I've seen any game be this prolific with this kind of grass and other foliage, Breath of the Wild would just look so much worse without it even if the textures and geometry were better, they make the world look more natural, especially a lot more than how foliage is usually handled in games even in this generation.

[Nepenthe]

I'm not big on technical stuff myself. Pop-in annoys me, but that's mostly because it's one of the biggest visual glitches that you can't help but notice it. Like, buildings and huge trees suddenly blipping into existence draws my attention. But stuff like slightly blurry edge textures and even slight framerate drops don't annoy me, and I still have trouble picking out screen tearing. I'm just blind I guess, but so long as the game isn't a slideshow and has an appealing art style, I'll be good.

[Pawn]

Yeah, everyone's mileage varies. I can't stand even the most minor of screen tear myself lol. It's the worst thing for me. I'd take a visual downgrade just to alleviate that. Pop-in always sucks. 30fps and occasional drops in framerate are less bothersome once I get used to them (after all, they didn't ruin Bloodborne for me), even if I do feel that a solid 60fps makes a significant difference to the experience. Blurry textures only irritate me when they're big and obvious (and as such, it's been mostly some of the ground textures that have caught my eye) and these might improve by the time this releases.

[G-Force]

I honestly don't care.  A game has to look pretty friggin' terrible for me to actually be bothered by it.

As long as it doesn't look like someone wiped their butt with my TV screen, it's fine.

[Blacklightning]

10 hours ago, Pawn said:

and these might improve by the time this releases.

Just wanted to emphasize this in particular, because for E3 showings Nintendo isn't particularly afraid to show games in a less polished and optimized state. It's not unheard of for their games to get noticably better between showings:

It's something I give Nintendo a lot of props for, considering E3 is usually a place for white lies and bullshots these days.

[Radiant Hero Ike]

Found this on Twitter and thought it was really funny.

Makes me wonder about how connected it is to WW, what with Koroks and stuff.

[Salamander]

It's not the worst fit.  Sunken Hyrule could be eventually raised above the waves per the Great Deku Tree's plans, some fool comes along and plucks the Master Sword out of Ganondorf's head, Ganon's evil power is revived - heck, maybe it had been slowly tarnishing the Master Sword for centuries - and attacks New Hyrule.  A more technologically-advanced Hyrule would follow logically on from the developments in steam in Spirit Tracks, too.  But many periods are open right now with how little information we have on the wider situation.

[G-Force]

2 hours ago, FFWF said:

It's not the worst fit.  Sunken Hyrule could be eventually raised above the waves per the Great Deku Tree's plans, some fool comes along and plucks the Master Sword out of Ganondorf's head, Ganon's evil power is revived - heck, maybe it had been slowly tarnishing the Master Sword for centuries - and attacks New Hyrule.  A more technologically-advanced Hyrule would follow logically on from the developments in steam in Spirit Tracks, too.  But many periods are open right now with how little information we have on the wider situation.

In regard to the bolded, while that is technically a valid point, it wouldn't make any sense to assume that Breath of the Wild's technology is connected to or in any way developed from the technology we saw in Spirit Tracks.  Basic steam technology doesn't develop into insane magitech structures and octopus robots, and even if it did the technology we've been seeing is obviously incredibly ancient.  All of the technology we've seen seems to be associated with the Sheikah, who have had almost no presence at all in the history of either version of Hyrule, and the Sheikah elders in the shrines specifically mention Hylia, who was only well known in pre-Hyrulean culture.  This tech is older than Hyrule itself.

Looking at the state of the Temple of Time, I'm actually leaning very heavily toward this being in the Downfall timeline.  It's in good enough shape to be obviously recognizable as the Temple of Time from Ocarina of Time, which doesn't match up with Twilight Princess (where it was in FAR worse shape) or Wind Waker (where it would have been crushed by the Great Sea, and thus probably be in worse shape).

[Salamander]

I don't disagree, but in terms of drawing connections, at this early stage we have to take what we can get, and there's only one timeline where Hyrule has advanced particularly in technological terms so far.  There's also nothing obliging the beginning of BotW's century-long span to occur particularly soon after ST, either, so the age of the technology isn't particularly relevant.  Sure, you could say the same thing about any timeline, but when one of them is slightly less arbitrary, there's no reason not to draw attention to it.  For instance, I could suggest that the Temple of Time might have been reconstructed at some point before being ruined again, possibly repeatedly.  There's nothing to disprove it - but it's less arbitrary to look at the versions of the temple which require fewer such assumptions, right?

[JaidynReiman]

8 hours ago, FFWF said:

I don't disagree, but in terms of drawing connections, at this early stage we have to take what we can get, and there's only one timeline where Hyrule has advanced particularly in technological terms so far.  There's also nothing obliging the beginning of BotW's century-long span to occur particularly soon after ST, either, so the age of the technology isn't particularly relevant.  Sure, you could say the same thing about any timeline, but when one of them is slightly less arbitrary, there's no reason not to draw attention to it.  For instance, I could suggest that the Temple of Time might have been reconstructed at some point before being ruined again, possibly repeatedly.  There's nothing to disprove it - but it's less arbitrary to look at the versions of the temple which require fewer such assumptions, right?

We can see evidence that that the plateau is actually Hyrule Market, including the Fountain and parts of buildings around it. Not to mention the walls surrounding the town. That would basically negate the temple being rebuilt entirely and indicate it is the same temple.

[G-Force]

14 hours ago, FFWF said:

I don't disagree, but in terms of drawing connections, at this early stage we have to take what we can get, and there's only one timeline where Hyrule has advanced particularly in technological terms so far.  There's also nothing obliging the beginning of BotW's century-long span to occur particularly soon after ST, either, so the age of the technology isn't particularly relevant.  Sure, you could say the same thing about any timeline, but when one of them is slightly less arbitrary, there's no reason not to draw attention to it.  For instance, I could suggest that the Temple of Time might have been reconstructed at some point before being ruined again, possibly repeatedly.  There's nothing to disprove it - but it's less arbitrary to look at the versions of the temple which require fewer such assumptions, right?

The reason I went out of my way to establish how old BotW's tech was wasn't just to highlight that it was old.  It was to highlight that this tech wasn't made by Hyrule.  It was made before Hyrule was even a thing.  It doesn't matter how advanced Hyrule's tech is in any time period, the fact of the matter is that we know this tech doesn't have anything to do the tech of Spirit Tracks because this stuff was made by the Sheikah looooong before any Hyruleans were making anything.

And yes, I agree that the simplest answers are always the best ones.

[expansivelovestories]

On 6/25/2016 at 6:44 PM, G-Force said:

Insane magitech structures and octopus robots, and even if it did the technology we've been seeing is obviously incredibly ancient.  All of the technology we've seen seems to be associated with the Sheikah, who have had almost no presence at all in the history of either version of Hyrule, and the Sheikah elders in the shrines specifically mention Hylia, who was only well known in pre-Hyrulean culture.  This tech is older than Hyrule itself.

..Yes!  it is very exciting to think that there may be something on the way in the future, (speculation: perhaps using the same engine, maybe also being an open world game) that occurs during that time period!! 

http://nintendoeverything.com/miyamoto-on-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-technologys-role-his-involvement-more/

We clearly talked with the team to make a game centered about Sheik, so I cannot say it is impossible to see something of the sort in the future

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I find it funny how people forget that the first Legend of Zelda was the first mainstream open world game, and that the Adventures of Link was actually the first game in the series with a weapon crafting system

[G-Force]

4 hours ago, Mando-Whirl-Wind said:

I find it funny how people forget that the first Legend of Zelda was the first mainstream open world game, and that the Adventures of Link was actually the first game in the series with a weapon crafting system

Uhhhhh, when did this happen?  I remember that it was the first game to have a magic meter, and the first and only game with a level up system, but I don't recall crafting anything.  Did I miss something?

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

8 minutes ago, G-Force said:

Uhhhhh, when did this happen?  I remember that it was the first game to have a magic meter, and the first and only game with a level up system, but I don't recall crafting anything.  Did I miss something?

Hunh, guess I misread, although it did introduce more RPG elements than the original

Edit: although MM did have a form of crafting in regards to sword forging.

[G-Force]

1 hour ago, Mando-Whirl-Wind said:

Hunh, guess I misread, although it did introduce more RPG elements than the original

Edit: although MM did have a form of crafting in regards to sword forging.

I'd say that's reaching.  In my mind, the only Zelda games that have anything like a proper crafting system are Skyward Sword and Tri Force Heroes, because those are the only games that have tons of resources to collect and give you the ability to actually choose want you want to make with them.

[JaidynReiman]

Yeah, crafting has never been a thing in Zelda titles until Skyward Sword. Legend of Zelda is definitely what you can call the first open world world game though.

[G-Force]

Just wanted to post some random thoughts and observations about this game.  I've been trying to think of how to best do this and...there isn't really a better way than to just dump them in a list.  Some of this might be stuff you've already noticed or heard about.

• This isn't a huge deal, but I haven't seen any person or website point it out.  There are cold weather pants to go with the Quilted Shirt.  You can see them in the official trailer, in any scene where Link is in the snow.  They're black pants with fur lined snow boots.
• The Hylian Trousers look like the sort of pants Link would wear with his classic green tunic and hat in past games.  If Link's classic outfit is in the game, these pants might be intended to be a part of it.
• It seems the Hylian Trousers and Quilted Shirt can both be gotten before leaving the Great Plateau.  Worn together, they bear a rough resemblance to Link's classic outfit.  This is probably intentional.
• If Link's classic outfit is in the game, the tunic and hat are probably separate.
• Headgear is probably a stand alone category just like body and leg gear.
• The descriptions for Amber and Opal mention that they can be used in accessories.  This most likely means accessories are a thing Link can collect and equip, because otherwise they wouldn't be mentioned.
• Accessories might be separate from head, body, and leg gear, or accessories and head gear might be the same thing.
• There are rubies, sapphires, and topazes in the game, and their descriptions mention they hold fire, ice, and electrical power respectively.  You'll probably be able to make things with these, which pretty much means there will be fire, ice, and electrical versions of certain weapons and items.  Don't be surprised to see lightning arrows or lightning rods, for example.
• This is the first time the Fire and Ice Arrows have appeared alongside the Bomb Arrows.
• I can't imagine they would make every weapon and tool breakable, and then NOT give you some way to repair them.
• The doors in the Shrine of Resurrection are opened from the inside, while every other Sheikah structure is accessed from the outside.  This is obviously for gameplay purposes, but it could end up having hidden implications.
• Sheikah tech glows in three colors, orange, blue, and magenta.  Orange seems to mean the device is on standby, blue means it's been used or activated, and magenta means it's hostile.  The magenta color looks like it matches the clouds of Calamity Ganon.
• The various weapons Link can wield seem to break down into three general attack sets;  light weapons, which are anything Link can wield in one hand, such as swords, clubs, or rods;  heavy weapons, which are anything Link wields with two hands, like axes and hammers;  and spears, which are also two handed but not wielded the same way as the heavy weapons.
• Light weapons can be charged to perform a spin attack.  Charging the attack more extends its range or, in the case of rods, fires more projectiles.
• Spears can also be charged to perform a rapid stab attack.  Stronger charges seem to increase the number of stabs in the attack.
• Heavy weapons don't seem like they can be charged, but instead have a "Giant Swing" style attack that can hit enemies repeatedly.  The attack can be held for as long as Link's stamina holds out, and the attack ends by striking the ground with a enough force to produce a shockwave.  The shockwave can knock enemies off their feet.
• Light and heavy weapons can also produce a shockwave by performing a jump attack, though it seems with light weapons you need to jump from a greater height to produce an effective one.  I don't know if spears can do it too, as I haven't seen anyone do a jump attack with a spear.
• The Korok Leaf seems to use the heavy attack set even though it's not literally a heavy weapon.  I'm not sure if has the full attack set, though.

These are just some things I wanted to throw out there, hopefully someone will find some of this interesting.

[JaidynReiman]

I do agree that I think Headgear and Boots will be different from Tops and Bottoms. Maybe its possible they're part of an entirely different Accessories category we haven't seen yet, or perhaps they're just part of Equipment.

Regardless, I'd say the odds of seeing several different types of boots are extremely likely, but Boots that don't change gameplay purposes are likely paired with bottoms. I'd be surprised if we don't see Iron Boots at least show up, maybe other variants like Hover Boots or Pegasus Boots returning (Pegasus Boots would have to be handled differently, since they shouldn't be convenient for traversing the world map a long distance; perhaps you could only move in a straight line and it only works until you run out of stamina).

 

Also, I am SO HAPPY that we've finally got confirmation Fire Arrows and Ice Arrows are returning. I am surprised they're pre-lit though... that's really odd. Maybe there will be a way to enchant arrows to make them later? We haven't seen any signs of Magic yet, but most elements from the Game Awards are still around... granted, some things like the Sailcloth have been replaced, so perhaps Magic is gone completely. (Then again, it could be something you need to unlock. Pretty sure there's room for a magic meter on the HUD.)

 

I do agree I think we'll be able to repair items. We already know upgrades are in place, so we'll undoubtedly be able to make them stronger as well.

[G-Force]

I don't think boots will be separate from pants, or, at least, I don't think that right now because I haven't seen anything to suggest it.  I'm thinking boots and pants are tied together in the same way shirts and gloves seem to be.  Overall, I expect there to be maybe three "main" equipment slots, for head, body, and leg gear, and then Accessories will either be a fourth slot, or will just follow their own rules.

As far as boots with gameplay purposes go, I don't think we'll see the Iron and Hover Boots at all.  Honestly?  The only time they were actually good was when you could turn them on or off at the push of a button, and Breath of the Wild doesn't actually seem to be set up for that.  Pretty much every button on the controller seems to be dedicated to something specific, like melee weapons, bows, or runes, and while you can clearly change what's set to those buttons, you can't change them to a completely different type of thing.

Having said that, boots/legwear with passive effects are definitely still on the table.  The boots that come with those cold weather pants I mentioned might keep you from slipping on ice, for example, and the Pegasus Boots might show up in some form as leg gear that lets you sprint without losing stamina.  Leg gear that helps you deal with sand, gear that lets you swim faster, gear that lets you jump higher...there are a lot of possibilities.

For the arrows, first of all, take a look at the Fire Arrows, Ice Arrows, and Bomb Arrows.  They're all literally just the same arrows with different arrowheads, and, technically, they don't ignite until you actually prepare to fire one.  Actually making the arrows will probably be as simple bringing regular arrows and gemstones to...whatever the crafting system ends up being.  Well, except for the Bomb Arrows, we don't know what you might need to collect in order to make those.  And the magic meter is probably gone since they seem to be building the game around not needing it.  You'd need it for Fire and Ice Arrows if it were still in.

And in case anyone was wondering, I've been using Zelda Wiki to look at item descriptions.

[KHCast]

So do we know if it's just Ganon and not Ganondorf this time that is going to be in the game? Cause one of the elders simply used Ganon to refer to the evil Link is supposed to defeat. That would be a first for a 3D Zelda iirc(Excluding SS and MM of course) if Ganondorf indeed won't be appearing

[JaidynReiman]

7 hours ago, KHCast said:

So do we know if it's just Ganon and not Ganondorf this time that is going to be in the game? Cause one of the elders simply used Ganon to refer to the evil Link is supposed to defeat. That would be a first for a 3D Zelda iirc(Excluding SS and MM of course) if Ganondorf indeed won't be appearing

I think Ganondorf is going to appear in some way.

 

As for "knowing its just Ganon and not Ganondorf", we don't know a damn thing really. All we know is that Ganon is the supposed main antagonist. The only other known NPC's are the Old Man and the Koroks.

We don't know if Ganondorf will appear. But we don't know that he won't, either.