Multi-Disk Games VS huge capacity drives..

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 22, 2006, 1:05 pm

It's been divulged recently that Blue Dragon will be released on 3 DVD's and clock in at about 40-60 hours of gameplay depending on if you do sidequests or not.

The question is do you care about having to swap disks during a game or would you rather not have to do it.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » November 22, 2006, 1:07 pm

I would not mind it if I could start the game from any disk. For instance, if I had advanced to disk 3, I would not want to have to put disc 1 in to load the game, and then insert disk 3 to play it.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 22, 2006, 1:09 pm

The old Final Fantasy (VII, VIII, IX) games you could start on any disk and load your game from there right?

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » November 22, 2006, 1:10 pm

depends on the frequency. in a 40-60 hour game i wont have a problem

Fenna · Post by **Fenna** » November 22, 2006, 1:31 pm

I'm thinking you mean swapping discs during game play. I don't like that idea; I haven't had to do that since the Commodore 64 days. If consoles still do that, it would annoy me. Who wants that kind of interruption?

I don't even like multiple install discs on PC games. I buy the DVD whenever possible. But at least that's just on install; no interruptions during play.

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » November 22, 2006, 1:33 pm

3 fucking DVDs?? They need to lay off the wankfest CGI sequences.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 22, 2006, 1:41 pm

Boogahz wrote:I would not mind it if I could start the game from any disk. For instance, if I had advanced to disk 3, I would not want to have to put disc 1 in to load the game, and then insert disk 3 to play it.

As booger mentioned, it wouldn't be a big deal if you had to switch disks once every 20 hours. That might force the game to be more linear though as you couldn't pop all over a map for example.

An option Microsoft could provide eventually for the 360 would be optional game releases on the HD-DVD drive, like the CD/DVD game releases available today.

~21-27GB of data must include a crapload of cut scenes.

This would be a great way to sell HD-DVD drives. Bundle it with an HD-DVD release of Blue Dragon as an optional delivery method for the game.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » November 22, 2006, 1:42 pm

The way multi-disk was done on the PS1 is that you would do the first section of the game and when you got past a certain disk, it would prompt for disk 2 and so on and so forth until you get to the end of the game.

You do swap from disk 3 to 1 to 2 etc etc over and over again. The game is split into sections as you progress to the storyline.

(Square did this masterfully by usually having some huge moment or cataclysmic event in the story and then swapping disks after that)

Truant · Post by **Truant** » November 22, 2006, 3:52 pm

if it were done in the vein of the abovementioned FF 7-9, I wouldn't mind swapping at all. And yes in those games, you could start the game from any disk and load your game, assuming you were on that disk.

However, I will admit, that if there is not some kind of big story element combined with a transition from one major part of the game to another to accompany a disk change, I'd be pretty damn annoyed.

Hesten · Post by **Hesten** » November 22, 2006, 7:13 pm

Depend on the size of the game, and the frequensy.
If its one change every 20+ hours, i can live with it, but i prefer a full install on HD that dont require CD checks.

If its because some idiot distributer decided to release it on CD, fireburn the supplier, then download the game.

Lynks · Post by **Lynks** » November 22, 2006, 7:43 pm

If its done like FF7, then I don't mind. I'd rather not, but I don't mind.

Dregor Thule · Post by **Dregor Thule** » November 22, 2006, 7:51 pm

Animalor wrote:The way multi-disk was done on the PS1 is that you would do the first section of the game and when you got past a certain disk, it would prompt for disk 2 and so on and so forth until you get to the end of the game.

You do swap from disk 3 to 1 to 2 etc etc over and over again. The game is split into sections as you progress to the storyline.

(Square did this masterfully by usually having some huge moment or cataclysmic event in the story and then swapping disks after that)

It should also be noted that this was only really necessary because of the CG sequences as the actual "game" was on all the discs in its entirety.

Jice Virago · Post by **Jice Virago** » November 26, 2006, 11:27 pm

Here is an example of where the whole no native hard drive in the default console thing bites design in the ass. But its not really a big deal for RPGs as most of that shit is just cgi and/or Tweener screens anyhow. Honestly what all the console designers should have done is included native USB hard drive support and let someone else worry about cheap storage.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » November 27, 2006, 2:49 am

Jice Virago wrote:Honestly what all the console designers should have done is included native USB hard drive support and let someone else worry about cheap storage.

I think the PS3 has that capability although it's not active yet.

vn_Tanc · Post by **vn_Tanc** » November 27, 2006, 7:49 am

Winnow wrote:
Jice Virago wrote:Honestly what all the console designers should have done is included native USB hard drive support and let someone else worry about cheap storage.
I think the PS3 has that capability although it's not active yet.

We in the trade refer to this by the technical term "not having that capability"

Leonaerd · Post by **Leonaerd** » November 27, 2006, 3:07 pm

I remember getting the prompt to switch to disc 2 for the first time in FF7 and I was psyched that I'd made it that far.

Niffoni · Post by **Niffoni** » November 27, 2006, 5:57 pm

What the hell is wrong with swapping disks?

As long as it's not something you have to do every time you load your game, or every 3 hours or something. Most recent disk-swapping games I've played, you'd be hard pressed to have to swap more often than every few days.

Oh noes! My eject-pushing finger!

EDIT: If you're talking like, those shitty old PC games that required 3 different disks every time you load the fucker up, okay, yeah, that sucks.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » November 27, 2006, 6:17 pm

Leonaerd wrote:I remember getting the prompt to switch to disc 2 for the first time in FF7 and I was psyched that I'd made it that far.

I remember feeling the same way. Honestly I don't care about disc swapping, I can admit that I have some lazy tendencies at times, but complaining about swapping a disc out of your gaming console is crazy talk.

VeeshanVault

Multi-Disk Games VS huge capacity drives..

Do you mind having to swap disks for a game or would you rather it all be one media?

Multi-Disk Games VS huge capacity drives..