Topic: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Well "progression buffer" is a whole lot different from "impassable", which is what you asserted. Which is downright wrong. But surprisingly the swimming is actually around the same speed as sprinting. And you can cross it whenever you want. You can bypass the bridge entirely if you just swim out of its way. You are correct about the landbridge having stronger enemies to sort of funnel the player away until they're strong enough, but that's laughable if you don't think Zelda will use a similar system, where end-game areas have stronger/more difficult to beat enemies than beginning areas.

I personally think that it is bad design to actively halt progress with a tough enemy. When I find a tough enemy I never think about leaving and coming back when I'm stronger. No, all I see is a challenge. That ends up frustrating me sometimes, like, WHY does the Glavenus have ten times more health than usual the first time you encounter him!? It's like the devs are saying "Ha, you aren't strong enough!" even though I literally am I've been playing these games since Tri JEEZ. /irrelevant rant over/

Since Zelda doesn't use level systems, I imagine your beginner weapons will barely make a dent in the end-game enemies. It's probably designed so that by the time you reach the end, naturally, you'll have a bunch of upgraded swords and armor to do appropriate damage

So did Nintendo actually say the NX version would have better graphics? Or did they say the difference between the 2 version would be the graphics? Because that would change the whole viewpoint we previously had about this so called better running/looking Zelda NX. I might actually have to pick up Zelda for Wii U after all.

@Spanjard Nope, they said nothing about graphics. Just that the content is the same.

No Man's Sky is doing it with whole planets!

It's bizarre how so many people do this in sci-fi given that our own planet is the exact opposite of this.

Uhm, nope and nope. I actually walked to the other continents and took a swim and discovered some story missions along the way. The progression buffer is an illusion you play on yourself.

There is one place I couldn't go to, though...

... But that was when I had a mech and was able to ride into a level++ tyrant...

you guys are making me want to continue Xenoblade again. That really was a well designed game. I loved the world.

I did not love the tiny text that you could not change that gave me constant headaches

@White_Rhino I'm not saying they should make enemies easier, I love challenging baddies. I just don't like enemies that are designed not to be beatable. I would much rather have an actual physical wall in my way than an unbeatable baddie, because then I at least know not to waste time and resources on it.
Example: the Gorons on Death Mountain in Twilight Princess. You need the iron boots to beat them, but the game doesn't initially tell you that, so you end up wasting a lot of time and hearts trying to beat the first one. Only after giving up in frustration will Renado speak to you and say something like "OH HAY YU GOTSA GO TALK AT DA MAYOR BO GUY DURR," basically.

^^^^ Yes

Hmm, I'm surprised Link doesn't roll in this game. Isn't like Link rolling a staple in Zelda.

In some of the footage I saw on the game, a player asked the assistance if Link could roll in this game and the assistant responded by saying "Not Yet". So maybe you can later on or something.

@Tsurii The game does seem to encourage Stealth. Being able to sneak up on enemies and picking them off individually seems helpful when trying to conserve materials. Not to mention, the game rewards you for hitting an unaware enemy by making the attack do more damage.

@Tsurii Stealth elements would be cool, just not Forsaken Fortress style.

Featureless water acts as its own progression buffer. It's the same concept, regardless of whether you admit it or not.

That's what I mean by "progression buffer." It's not always a hard requirement, but rather something that suggest to the player what to do, achieving the desired result with a majority of players. Game design. That's how that works.

"Featureless water acts as its own progression buffer. It's the same concept, regardless of whether you admit it or not."

Not really lol it's not really a buffer if you can easily get passed it.

How long is that swim exactly? 5 minutes? 10 minutes? 15? That's a buffer. That discourages passage. We're hardwired to stay on the land, you know.

ALERT. ARGUING OVER DEFINITIONS. VACATE AREA.

I'll be happy when I can say something, mean it, and people will argue the point, not the words composing it.

It's not like the stigma about water levels comes from nowhere, guys. Water gameplay is notoriously underdeveloped to the point where it's almost always limited to just a swim animation in RPGs.

I'll be happy when we get beyond about 1% of the population (our current level) realising that almost no 2 people use a term in the exact same way, and that elaboration is nearly always needed.

Only 1% of the population even knows any gaming terminology. And that's not even the problem here, but I digress.

So, I've been secretly updating my Breath of the Wild list from time to time, because I'm not-so-secretly a psychopath. I'm wondering if you guys have any more confirmed info to add.

World
-Cold, windy, rainy, and stormy weather so far. It's pretty clear that the desert and volcano will have some sort of heat effect as well (the desert may also become cold at night).
-Dress up or take damage in colder climes.
-There is word that lightning is attracted to Link's metallic weapons. It will set grass and bushes on fire.
-The terrain is very mountainous.
-There are different named areas on the map.
-There's a minimap. (Ew.)
-100+ puzzle-y 'shrines,' so the rumor was right.
-Towers, along with shrines, serve as fast travel points.
-Grass burns, creates updrafts that boost Link while gliding.
-Most trees can be cut down with bladed weapons. As well as reliably yielding korok leaves (think deku leaf + wooden sword), felled trees will turn into logs that can float in water, span gaps, or be cut up further to yield bundles of wood (saplings also yield firewood).
-Climbing to the top of a tree or spire causes Link to cling to the top, granting a vantage point and place to recover stamina.
-Rafts out in the world can be used to cross bodies of water. Their sails can be filled by swinging the korok leaf at them (probably also by wind).
-Different enemies will appear during the night while others go to sleep.
-Bokoblins sleep at camps. If a lookout spots you they will wake up their comrades with a horn.
-Clouds cast shadows down upon the world in real time.
-Shooting stars fall during the night, shine like treasure in the Wind Waker, and disappear at dawn like in Terraria. (I bet we can make sweet space swords outta 'dat stuff!)
-Ocarina-Style stone circles return. It is unclear if they can be bombed to reveal grottos or not.

Setting
-Set in a ruined Hyrule. Apparently Ganon had something to do with that.
-There be Koroks, so it'd have to be set after the Wind Waker, no? Either in New Hyrule or a drained Old Hyrule.
-Link is a star child. Do not ask why, there are no answers.
-There are some corpse-y Sheikah dudes that look like the aliens from Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull.
-Laser-happy "Guardians" populate the world, most of them ruined.
-The audio utilizes piano, violin, and voice acting (to some degree).
-The puzzle solved sound is done with a piano.

Features
-Climbing, jumping, running, gliding, horse riding, swimming, fishing, mining, pushing boulders, sneaking, and shield surfing.
-A stamina bar governs running, climbing, swimming, and gliding.
-RPG-style looting for weapons, armor, materials, and cooking ingredients.
-Degradable armor and weapons, including weather-specific garb and the korok leaf.
-Rare equipment has effects like increased durability or damage.
-Food restores hearts. Heart items seem to be gone.
-While beside a bundle of wood, flint or mineral veins can be struck with metallic weapons to produce a campfire. Campfires can advance time.
-Cooking herbs and meat in a cooking pot creates health-bolstering food items while insect and monster parts produce potions.
-Individual food items take only fire to cook.
-Boars, deer, squirrels, ducks, and birds can be hunted; butterflies, crickets, frogs, and lizards can all be caught by hand; and fish can be caught by dashing to them in the water.
-Gems and metals can be mined by destroying mineral veins with bombs or hammers.
-There is a nebulous crafting system. All we really know is that rubies contain the essence of fire (ice arrows?), sapphires contain the essence of ice (ice arrows?), and topaz contains the essence of lightning (lightning arrows!?).
-The UI has a temperature and sound gauge (hot to cold, quiet to loud).
-Tame wild horses, put your stuff on them.
-Link can shield surf by pressing the jump button while in the air with his shield drawn. Surfing on grass and rock consumes durability on Link's equipped shield, but the shield seems to take less damage on the snow.
-The Wolf Link & Midna amiibo summons the wolf Link partner once a day (with as many hearts as you finished the Cave of Shadows with).

Items
-All items seem to be incorporeal 'runes' in the Sheikah Slate. You acquire new runes at shrines.
-Magnet rune allows telekinetic control of metal.
-Bomb rune allow the remote detonation of spherical and cubic bombs. They don't have ammo, but rather recharge over time.
-The cube bomb doesn't roll.
-Freeze rune allows Link to create blocks of ice out of water.
-Stasis rune allows Link to freeze objects and store up momentum within them, before releasing them.
-Precious gems can be traded for rupees.
-People have looted blue and purple rupees, but only as item text boxes so far, not as 3d-rendered objects on the ground.

Combat: Weapons & Melee
-Health bars. Ew.
-Fall damage is for serious.
-Swords, shields, 2H swords (no shield), 2H hammers, spears, axes, sticks, clubs, bokoblin arms, fire rods, and korok leaves can be wielded as weapons (some weapons, like the axe and hammer, share most attack animations).
-All weapons degrade and shatter (except presumably the Master Sword).
-Link can throw melee weapons.
-If you throw a weapon with only a sliver of life left it will shatter and deal a critical hit.
-Link can jump over enemies Helm Splitter-style.
-Link can also do a flipping jump attack. The 1H sword's is just a simple jump attack, but the axe, hammer, and 2H sword's aerial attack causes Link to flip midair before striking down.
-Link can do an ending blow, SSB downward air-style stabbing attack from the glider.
-All weapons have a 3-stage charge attack that consumes more and more stamina with each level.
-The sword's is the spin attack. The fire rod's charge attack shoots fireballs in all directions. The great sword's is basically the Hurricane Spin. The spear's charge is a multi-hit stabbing attack. The axe's is a slower Hurricane Spin that last consumes Link's stamina meter for its duration. The hammer has a similar charge attack, but, when Link's stamina runs out, he lunges into an earthward strike that deals heavy damage to all enemies on the ground within a radius of the attack, bouncing them up into the air.
-Shield bashes can parry attacks, disarming enemies and reflecting projectiles (arrows, rocks, lasers) octorok-style.
-Wooden weapons can be set on fire. Flaming weapons burn wooden shields.
-The fire rod must be relit at times.

Combat: Bow & Arrow
-The bow fires in a decaying arc.
-Arrows are considered a weapon, so they have ammo.
-Arrows can be lit by walking near a fire. These will burn enemies, but are not as powerful as fire arrows.
-Fire and ice arrows can be found out in the world. Fire arrows set enemies on fire while ice arrows freeze enemies. Fire arrows deal extra damage to ice enemies and vice versa.
-Bomb arrows. They explode.
-Saw a glimpse of the blue light arrow. Still don't know a thing about it.
-Arrows look anime as hell when you draw them.

Combat: Strategy
-Link can sneak and perform sneakstrikes to sleeping or otherwise unaware enemies.
-The sound gauge displays how much noise Link is putting out to potentially alert enemies.
-Shadow of Mordor-style environmental hazards like bee hives, explosive barrels, and camp fires.
-Fall damage is for real.
-The korok leaf can blow enemies off of cliffs (fus roh dah much?).
-Flurry rush is a witch time-like slow motion effect that is triggered by dodging out of enemy attacks at the last second.
-Pulling out a bow midair initiates a flurry rush for the bow and arrow that consumes stamina the longer it goes on. This effect is probably a bad idea while gliding, but can be an asset when vaulting off a horse.
-Link can fire arrows (and attack with weapons?) while shield surfing and horse riding.
-Link can beat enemies to death with the physics engine.
-Backflipping is still the number one way to get totally wrecked by an enemy's attack.

campfire