How large will the areas be?

[Morgoth]

Hi,

just thought to drop in (after I completed TLJ a few days ago, now my interest grow in Dreamfall) and ask a question:

What's about the size of the levels? In TLJ, most of the backgrounds suggested enormous space (i.e. Metro circle), but it was only 2D background, therefor non-interactive...
Now that Dreamfall is gonna be created in full 3D, I'm wondering how large the areas this time are, and how interactive? I watched the new Dreamfall trailer and was amazed by the large and detailed environments, but I fear that most of that stuff is just decoration and not really passable? Also I fear that due to the lack of RAM for the Xbox, the areas may suffer in size, too? Perhaps the devs could answer that? Thanks.

[Panthera]

Do we still have to run over big areas with nothing in it, to get to what we need to visit? I'm thinking of the long run over the docks to get to the (I can't remember his name) computer dude without legs.. I've spent quite some time running to and forth him..

[Morgoth]

Do we still have to run over big areas with nothing in it, to get to what we need to visit? I'm thinking of the long run over the docks to get to the (I can't remember his name) computer dude without legs.. I've spent quite some time running to and forth him..
That was quite tiresome, true. This time however I hope that larger areas will be more populated (more chars, more quests). For very large areas, some kind of flying Taxi could be very useful...at least in Stark. :)

[Lïon]

Interesting topic... I'd like this to be answered as well. Because the game does seem quite huge when looking at the screenshots and trailers.

I don't see running through the areas being a really big problem, though. It should be quite the opposite actually, now that we have full control over the character. It's different when you have to p-n-c.

Well, it all depends on the level design.

[RaMa]

I agree with Lïon. The going from one place to the other in TLJ was usually boring because it was actually waiting. The screen was static and aside from moving your eyes over the screen, looking for something interesting, there wasn't much to do. The Arcadian parts weren't so bad though in my opinion. I could really get lost in most of those scenes :P.

This time, you will have full control over your character, so each time you go through that location will look a bit different. And you actually have to keep something pushed to keep walking forward, so you're not doing completely nothing, which helps a little bit.

I'm also curious about how large the environments will be though and if they will change continuously (amount of snow, different people, different background sounds, etc.). Of course it would have taken time to get all this in the game, but it still would be cool :).

[wandrew8]

True, but in TLJ you could enable Esc skipping for those long distances.

Not sure what you could do for a 3D space...

[Lïon]

True, but in TLJ you could enable Esc skipping for those long distances.

That essentially destroys immersion, I think.

[RaMa]

Yeah. I only used that when I really wanted to go on really bad,

[Panthera]

This time, you will have full control over your character, so each time you go through that location will look a bit different. And you actually have to keep something pushed to keep walking forward, so you're not doing completely nothing, which helps a little bit.


Your'e right I didn't think about that, I guess the gameplay will be so different that we can't really compare. I never saw Arcadia as tiresome either, I loved the enviroment and the mystic so much! I have to say I loved Arcadia more than Stark, I was always looking forward to my next journey into the "magic country"

[Didda]

True, but in TLJ you could enable Esc skipping for those long distances.
I never found a option to turn this on in the swedish version. In the english it could be turned on from the settings. Did I do somthing wrong or is this missing from the swedish version?

[dreamfall]

In the older verson of TLJ you cant yous press ESC, but in they newer versons it can :)

[wandrew8]

I've got the 4-disc version; you just have to enable it on the Options screen.

[Dazz]

I have the Dutch 4-disc version and there isn't an option in the game. But you can enable the ESC option in the preferences.ini file, which can be found in the TLJ folder.

I started a thread about this a long time ago: click here (http://forums.longestjourney.com/showthread.php?t=1115)

[Cosmic Dreamer]

have that version too..

it even doesnt have a station fix folder as described in the site (would that be a very old version then?).. anyway, changed this fastforward thing too so that will help in refreshing the story befor I play dreamfall :)

[okinon]

Also I fear that due to the lack of RAM for the Xbox, the areas may suffer in size, too? Perhaps the devs could answer that? Thanks.

Well...keep in mind that Xbox runs games at a lower textures and resolution then PC games do, which is why Xbox is able to run many games with great visuals with only 64MB of shared RAM.

I'm guessing the developers may address this issue in a way that other developers in the past who have made games for both PC and Xbox have....where the Xbox version would have its levels broken down more into seperate loading points or by having streaming data, which is what many developers do now.

But honestly, though Dreamfall is a fantastic looking game, looking at the screens I doubt it'll be a heavy resource hog. In fact, I think the system requirements will be quite modest and it'll run smoothly both on Xbox and a moderate PC.

[Morgoth]

But honestly, though Dreamfall is a fantastic looking game, looking at the screens I doubt it'll be a heavy resource hog. In fact, I think the system requirements will be quite modest and it'll run smoothly both on Xbox and a moderate PC.
I'm not concerned about the System Req's. I'm concerned about the size of the maps. Look at Kotor or DX:IW, both games had tiny maps due to the small RAM of the Xbox (64MB). It's just that Dreamfall is supposed to render huge outdoors (cities, landscapes etc.) and offering much room for exploration. When I explore Casablanca, I want to feel that I' exploring a huge city, not some small slices with tons of loadings in-between. That's an immersion killer.

[Urania]

I want to feel that I' exploring a huge city, not some small slices with tons of loadings in-between. That's an immersion killer.
I totally agree with you. That's like wake sb up spilling a glass of cold water on its face.
I hope I can explore the spaces more deeply than in TLJ

[LeBouquote]

I have a feeling the exploring in the game will be at a bigger level than it was in TLJ. But even the 2D TLJ graphics gave that special feeling (p.e.: Stark - too large, too seedy-looking - don't go there, it's evil!). Now with the screenshots we were offered, I have a feeling that the exploring part will certainly be more vast. And besides, if you don't get to explore the whole area, wouldn't that give it that intriguing feeling?

[toremygg]

I'm pretty sure Ragnar posted about this a while back, that the levels looked larger than they are, and that they are designed so that you won't feel (unless you make an effort) that there are places you aren't allowed to go. But there are limits, of course.

[Vainamoinen]

Judging from the trailers, "Dreamfall" feels quite huge. I'd be a little disappointed if you were just walking on set paths which came to an end pretty quickly. Similarly, I wouldn't like walking for hours just to reach a certain place, with nothing happening on the way. I don't think I am the only one with that opinion... let's see how it works out.