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Horizon Forbidden West - Information Thread, update: Digital Foundry hands-on with PC version


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32 minutes ago, Spawn_of_Apathy said:

Yeah we pretty much have known this is going to be one of the major legacies of Elden Ring. We didn’t know how good open world design could be. Like the whole industry became complacent. They’re being designed without nearly as much thought in how a player will interact, navigate, or be guided in the world. 
 

places and objects, sight lines all feel much more deliberate in Elden Ring and even Breath of the Wild that from the opening moments that game is luring you to a place/thing. not with an obnoxious unavoidable trail, a map marker, or a HUD icon. But with something of the world drawing your eye so you think “I want to go there”. And because of that the game doesn’t narrow your vision. So you feel like you’re seeing and discovering so much more of the world yourself. The open worlds are also full of landmarks and clues to where you are that encourage exploring without getting lost because everything looks the same. 

While I largely agree with you, I think the biggest achievement of Elden Ring's world isn't the layout or the lack of navigation or icons or whatever, and it's not seeing something in the distance that you can go visit (though the art and style is incredible), it's that there is just so much to do. We've been looking into the distance and traveling to far away locations since GTA 3 and Morrowind 20 years ago. What I think sets Elden Ring apart is just how much content there is that isn't simply a recycled encounter or korok seed. Pick a distant spot to travel to in Elden Ring and odds are it's a giant dungeon and on your way you'll stumble into have a dozen smaller caves or buildings that all feel unique and have stories or items to find.

 

I'd argue that Elden Ring's magic isn't that they don't put everything on the map, it's that if they did the map would be so dense that it would put every Assassin's Creed or Far Cry to shame.

 

Elden Ring has both a greater area and a greater density of hand crafted encounters and locations than any game I can think of. Yeah, pull up a map of Far Cry 6 and the map is littered with an endless number of icons, but pair those down to actual things to do, and it gets far less busy. Then figure how many of those activities are more or less identical to each other, and the number of truly unique things to do is actually pretty minimal. Even though I love Forbidden West, I think the same thing holds true for its map.

 

I'm ultimately pretty sympathetic. I don't think you could put out a Far Cry every year or two and come anywhere close to the amount of non-repetitive content seen in Elden Ring. Even Cyberpunk, for all the incredible detail and care put into that world over its many long years of development ends up populating it mostly with small, repetitive, interactions, the majority of which just occur in the open.

 

I won't entirely argue that there's no value in hiding things from players and allowing them to discover things on their own. Even if I don't think map icons area a big deal, I do see the charm in less guided exploration. I just think that the real magic of Elden Ring is that there is so much stuff to discover and that it all feels so bespoke.

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27 minutes ago, TwinIon said:

While I largely agree with you, I think the biggest achievement of Elden Ring's world isn't the layout or the lack of navigation or icons or whatever, and it's not seeing something in the distance that you can go visit (though the art and style is incredible), it's that there is just so much to do. We've been looking into the distance and traveling to far away locations since GTA 3 and Morrowind 20 years ago. What I think sets Elden Ring apart is just how much content there is that isn't simply a recycled encounter or korok seed. Pick a distant spot to travel to in Elden Ring and odds are it's a giant dungeon and on your way you'll stumble into have a dozen smaller caves or buildings that all feel unique and have stories or items to find.

 

I'd argue that Elden Ring's magic isn't that they don't put everything on the map, it's that if they did the map would be so dense that it would put every Assassin's Creed or Far Cry to shame.

 

Elden Ring has both a greater area and a greater density of hand crafted encounters and locations than any game I can think of. Yeah, pull up a map of Far Cry 6 and the map is littered with an endless number of icons, but pair those down to actual things to do, and it gets far less busy. Then figure how many of those activities are more or less identical to each other, and the number of truly unique things to do is actually pretty minimal. Even though I love Forbidden West, I think the same thing holds true for its map.

 

I'm ultimately pretty sympathetic. I don't think you could put out a Far Cry every year or two and come anywhere close to the amount of non-repetitive content seen in Elden Ring. Even Cyberpunk, for all the incredible detail and care put into that world over its many long years of development ends up populating it mostly with small, repetitive, interactions, the majority of which just occur in the open.

 

I won't entirely argue that there's no value in hiding things from players and allowing them to discover things on their own. Even if I don't think map icons area a big deal, I do see the charm in less guided exploration. I just think that the real magic of Elden Ring is that there is so much stuff to discover and that it all feels so bespoke.


no I think you’re right. That’s a massive point in Elden Ring’s favor. I do think it would have been undercut had everything to find, do, and see in the game already had a marker you could just say point too. Or if the game works wasn’t laid out in a way it could be easy to see where you were relative to where you’re going or have been. And that the world was presented in a way invite you to corners of the map. 
 

there were too many times the only reason to visit a spot in some open world games is because of a marker on the map for a collectible or another copy and past outpost to clear out. Everything looks so nondescript the are looks just like everywhere else. And to stop aimlessly wondering around samey looking areas filled with nothing else to do you have no choice but to open the map and way point your way. 
 

but yeah, what you said is massive for Eldin Ring and why it’s world is even more a step above Breath of the Wild’s. And funny you should mention Morrowind, because I was just thinking about that and Oblivion. That while there wasn’t much in the way of drawing you to a landmark to say “this is where you should go” the map was littered with a lot of things to do and find that made the worlds feel alive. And then thinking how far we’ve fallen in 20 years that a game like Eldin Ring comes along and does that again and it feels like a revolution. 
 

probably the difference between Action Adventure games with open worlds and RPGs built over 5 or more years with open worlds. 

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In honor of Lance Reddick, we created a memorial to commemorate the profound impact he had on us all.

 

Thank you, Lance, for everything you brought to the role of Sylens: your gravitas, energy, wisdom and more. An incomparable talent and friend. We miss you terribly.

 

 

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Horizon Forbidden West - Information Thread, update: latest update adds memorial to Lance Reddick
  • 2 months later...
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UPDATE 13/9/23: Following the news this weekend that a "Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition" for PlayStation 5 had …
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UPDATE 13/9/23: Following the news this weekend that a "Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition" for PlayStation 5 had been sighted on Singapore's IMDA ratings board, extremely reliable Dealabs leaker billbil-kun has claimed this new version will also be heading to PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Horizon Forbidden West - Information Thread, update: Complete Edition to release for PS5 on October 6 and for PC in "Early 2024"
2 minutes ago, best3444 said:

 

The thing is, burning shores doesn't look that great on PS5. I was extremely underwhelmed. 

 

I booted it up, it looks better than FW (the clouds!) which makes it then still probably the best looking console game (until Spiderman 2) and at 60fps, though I haven’t seen Immortals on console, but I think the IQ is so low there that Horizon likely looks better still. I think you have a low opinion of the game itself that may paint your perspective of its visuals a bit, it’s definitely not a popular opinion.

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Just now, stepee said:

 

I booted it up, it looks better than FW (the clouds!) which makes it then still probably the best looking console game (until Spiderman 2) and at 60fps, though I haven’t seen Immortals on console, but I think the IQ is so low there that Horizon likely looks better still. I think you have a low opinion of the game itself that may paint your perspective of its visuals a bit, it’s definitely not a popular opinion.

 

Maybe your correct. I can't tell you enough how much I hate Aloy and that entire gaming world. The clouds looked nice but meh on everything else. I'm not trying to bring this down so enjoy!

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  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Horizon Forbidden West - Information Thread, update: PC Complete Edition "NVIDIA DLSS 3, Reflex, DLAA" announcement trailer
  • 3 weeks later...
  • Commissar SFLUFAN changed the title to Horizon Forbidden West - Information Thread, update: PC Complete Edition to release on March 21
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Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition on PC features unlocked frame rates, customizable graphics settings and a broad range of performance-enhancing technologies, including NVIDIA DLSS 3 upscaling and frame generation. AMD FSR and Intel XeSS are also supported. For players with high-end hardware and extra headroom, image-enhancing NVIDIA DLAA is also available. The game leverages DirectStorage for quick loading times on PC.

On your journey in the far-future post-apocalyptic world of Horizon, you will discover a variety of highly detailed environments, including lush forests, sunken cities, vast deserts and impressive mountain ranges. With ultra-wide support, you’ll be able to take in the vistas in a panoramic view. Gameplay is supported in 21:9 ultra-wide, 32:9 super ultra-wide and even 48:9 resolutions with compatibility for triple-monitor setups.

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1 minute ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

I loved the first game, but I couldn't stand how 2 performed on the PS5. After 5 hours of play, I stopped and decided I'd wait for the PC port + 6 weeks for the PC port to get fixed! :daydream:

I REALLY want Nixxes to get this one right.  I loved the first game.

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The first one is great. Forbidden West was ok but they made Aloy aka Blake Griffin extremely annoying which bogged down the experience. You couldn't even figure out a "puzzle" without her talking her ass off ruining any cool element you'd could have figured out on your own. 

 

I won't touch this. 

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11 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

I loved the first game, but I couldn't stand how 2 performed on the PS5. After 5 hours of play, I stopped and decided I'd wait for the PC port + 6 weeks for the PC port to get fixed! :daydream:

 

They released an update for "Balanced Mode" which is all the bells and whistles of Fidelity but at 1440p+ and 40fps VRR.

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