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Discussion New BOTW2 Mechanics Detailed in Patent Applications

Skittzo said:
They were published by WIPO but the corresponding USPTO applications appear to not have been published yet. That could be due to a non-publication request (which would beg the question why didn't that go into effect for the WIPO ones) or it could be that the USPTO simply hasn't gotten around to publishing these yet.

Usually when Nintendo patents something they intend to use, i.e. the Switch itself, they file non-publication requests with every relevant entity.
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So the fact that these are public mean they might not be used?
 
Phendrift said:
So the fact that these are public mean they might not be used?
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Nah in this case I'm quite confident these will be used, considering we've seen two of them in action.

Maybe they consider this info already to be revealed, or maybe WIPO denied their non-publication request for whatever reason.
 
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How in the world are they gonna do this without excessively long load times on the Switch. I'm not only interested in trying out these features but also seeing how it performs on a 7 inch handheld device
 
ILikeFeet said:
did the e3 trailer leave you wanting more?
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I wanted to see more obviously, but the trailer was a bit underwhelming to be honest.

The terrain and enemies were mostly the same with only minor/aesthetic changes, the music theme was derivative and the floating islands seemed kinda small/linear to scratch the sense of wonder/discovery and exploration itch of the first game. The fact that Skyward Sword is my least favourite 3D Zelda game and the vibes I got with Link “flying” didn’t help, too.

There were some intriguing elements of course (the magic arm abilities, Link’s new clothes/shield/hair style, mummy-Ganondorf), but not enough to hype the game like when they were releasing BOTW trailers years ago.

With the first teaser I was very excited with the possibilities of big and entirely new underground map below Hyrule but now I’m not sure we’ll get something like this as well as the sky areas (And underwater, too, or an extension of the surface map beyond the edges at north, west or even other big islands/peninsulas at south and east).

Probably I’m overreacting too soon (i want to be wrong with my fears), and in the end the game will be massive and amazing, and those patents proves that they’re indeed experimenting new interesting gameplay elements that I’ll love. But with a more than five year development period I’d love to see a whole new world, not a remixed or an expanded one, as my great enjoyment with BOTW was the exploration more than being creative killing Bokoblins.
 
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kimbo99 said:
How in the world are they gonna do this without excessively long load times on the Switch. I'm not only interested in trying out these features but also seeing how it performs on a 7 inch handheld device
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Why would any of this affect loading times?
 
TonyBaduy said:
I wonder if them patenting them also means they are close to showcasing them in a trailer, beyond the teases we got in the last one? Though I feel 50% sure the next trailer will involve the Switch Succ, which according to the leaks is probably geared to release next year... it all depends on how soon or late the next trailer is shown. Maybe if we get a new trailer by February we won't get any Succ upgrades in it, but if it was in May, we could.
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What leak are you talking about that suggests switch 2 is next year.
 
AranPrime said:
What leak are you talking about that suggests switch 2 is next year.
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That dev kits have been out in the wild since late last year, which included RT in portable mode (though it seems the power draw was a bit too much at the time, who knows about now or once the SoC is taped out), there were even MORE dev kits distributed around last E3. The SoC has been leaked to be based on the Orin SoC which should be releasing early next year. We also have the Bloomberg report about it in which Nintendo had to take us all for a ride with their wordplay so that they could keep the existence of the Dev Kits secret... but that's impossible when the Dev Kits are, apparently, already an open secret in the industry. This doesn't happen when a successor is years away from release (unless something VERY BAD happens that delays them, and I doubt this pandemic will be enough to delay it for years). We have a large thread regarding all of this, take a peak if you haven't already:
famiboards.com

Future Nintendo Hardware & Technology Speculation & Discussion |ST| (Read the staff posts before commenting!)

Welcome everyone! The purpose of this thread is to be the one and only place on FamiBoards to speculate and discuss news and/or rumours that may or may not pertain to future Nintendo hardware and technology. Disagreeing with other members is a normal and inevitable part of speculation and...
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Skittzo said:
Yeah but these particular game mechanics have nothing to do with asset sizes, which are the things being loaded in while the game is loading.
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I mean the in game references of the mechanics. Free falling from the sky x funneling through a pillar, I'm curious to see how these will perform in a already demanding game for the switch
 
One of my favourite parts of BOTW was the epic midair fight against Vah Medoh.
More dynamic and elaborate aerial combat sounds like it could absolutely amazing.

The sheer potential of the rewind function in conjunction with the existing physics and chemistry systems is also mouth-watering.

I don't envy the Zelda team; after the reception and success BOTW1 got, there must be enormous pressure on them to not only live up to the first game but differentiate from and build upon it. If anyone can do it though, it's the minds behind BOTW.
 
Yavga said:
This is the first time I heard of gameplay patents, so if I actually imagine and implement my own invented mechanic which is similar to this I could get sued by Nintendo?
feels pathetic imo and stiffles creativity all over.

The mechanics sound fun though, can't wait for LoZ: Patent on the Wild
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Only if they are granted this patent, and you try to sue other companies that use the similar mechanic as if it’s your own, will Nintendo come for your neck in a lawsuit.
 
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kimbo99 said:
I mean the in game references of the mechanics. Free falling from the sky x funneling through a pillar, I'm curious to see how these will perform in a already demanding game for the switch
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I’m curious about this too. Sometimes the sky islands are right above the ground, but sometimes they seem sectioned off into their own area.
 
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kimbo99 said:
I mean the in game references of the mechanics. Free falling from the sky x funneling through a pillar, I'm curious to see how these will perform in a already demanding game for the switch
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FWIW, BOTW 2 is the first Zelda game written directly for the Switch. BOTW was a Wii U game ported to the Switch on fairly short notice.
 
I don't see any reason these mechanics should cause problems for the Switch.
Look what BOTW1 or even Xenoblade Chronicles X managed to achieve on significantly less capable hardware.
 
Nintendianajones64 said:
A rewind function reminds me immediately of The Sands of Time. Such an amazing game.
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The major difference here is that this rewinds the path of one object, leaving everything else alone. Whereas Prince of Persia would rewind the entire game world.
 
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I was most impressed by the scene in the trailer where Link would go to another platform above it in some kind of liquid form. I always had the impression this was a critical game mechanic. It opens up so much cool verticality traversal and with all the floating platforms above I think it will be a joy to explore the word map. Seems like they’re going to 1up botw with all these new mechanics and take it to the next level.
 
Phasing is definitely going to be the method used to get from the ground to the sky. The ability will be 'active' whenever Link is underneath an island.

I'm still wondering whether or not we can just straight jump down from the sky to the ground without loading times.
 
Irene said:
Phasing is definitely going to be the method used to get from the ground to the sky. The ability will be 'active' whenever Link is underneath an island.

I'm still wondering whether or not we can just straight jump down from the sky to the ground without loading times.
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The patent application mentions a maximum height threshold so if this mechanic stuck close to the patent you'd think using that phase ability to go from the ground all the way up to the sky wouldn't be possible.

I still feel like these are gonna be two separate instanced spaces, sadly.
 
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They showed the player phasing to a sky island, but I think moving through the ground will be used to full effect in underground sections. The original game was all about making full use of every piece of the world. Even stuff like wind, lightning, and potential/kinetic energy. Moving to a sequel, they’re going to want to expand on that. And since they’ve hinted at underground areas, it makes sense for them to add something like this. It’ll make cramped areas feel more “open”, and turn the ground into another tool just like BotW did for other elements.
 
Irene said:
Phasing is definitely going to be the method used to get from the ground to the sky. The ability will be 'active' whenever Link is underneath an island.

I'm still wondering whether or not we can just straight jump down from the sky to the ground without loading times.
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I'd think that they are/were at least trying to achieve jumping down/off without loading times. I get the feeling there will be a wacky mechanic to the process though.
 
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The air combat portion has the potential to be absolutely genre-defining, depending on how developed the mechanics end up being explored.

Still, I can't help but feel people will end up dissappointed if none of the patents make it to the game.

Of all the three, the rewind option seems to be the most straightforward and somewhat of an expansion from the stasis ability from the original, quite confident it will be in.

I will happily eat crow here, but I can't imagine the upwards teleport working on a seamless basis. I think going to and back to the sky will only work on certain points, like the water drop mechanic from the trailer.

The aircombat is the one which intrigues me the most. If they manage to allow full control and add in some kind of hook/clawshot, the possibilities are limitless.
 
Peleo said:
The air combat portion has the potential to be absolutely genre-defining, depending on how developed the mechanics end up being explored.

Still, I can't help but feel people will end up dissappointed if none of the patents make it to the game.

Of all the three, the rewind option seems to be the most straightforward and somewhat of an expansion from the stasis ability from the original, quite confident it will be in.

I will happily eat crow here, but I can't imagine the upwards teleport working on a seamless basis. I think going to and back to the sky will only work on certain points, like the water drop mechanic from the trailer.

The aircombat is the one which intrigues me the most. If they manage to allow full control and add in some kind of hook/clawshot, the possibilities are limitless.
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The rewind option and phasing upward have both already been seen in provided footage, the upward ability much more prominently than the rewind (though we don't have anything telling us that'll provide transport to the sky, per se.

Of these, only the aerial combat is really new, and it makes sense, so much sense of wouldn't have crossed my mind that there would be a patent application if we'd seen it already. I'd be surprised not to see it, especially with the free falling being such a played upon element.

For the rewind and phasing, this is really just some more detailed information. But two out of three have already been seen, and the last would be surprising not to see as well.
 
Aerial combat feels like a natural extension of the flurry rush, which already gave a limited degree of aerial maneuvering for precise bow shots.
 
I say often enough that Breath of the Wild's "open air" focus -- and then additions such as the aerial maneuvers only add to this -- seems like something that would befit Kid Icarus, for instance, but these could impact more broadly than The Legend of Zelda.

One possibility that comes immediately to mind -- aside from the imminently obvious Kid Icarus is potential for something like Star Fox, as it often moves away from its rail shooter origins. Jumping out of an arwing at the last possible moment and turning around to fire back at the jerk who was shooting you down, for instance, could be a possibility.

Specific reference to items other than the bow highlight this possibility:
patent text said:
For example, in another embodiment, the player character may perform, as the shooting action, an action of shooting a gun, an action of throwing an object (e.g., a weapon) that the player character grasps, or an action of emitting a fireball by a magic.
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That's not particularly fleshed out and seems far-fetched, but the potentials extend far beyond Zelda itself.

Yeah, maybe this thread aged a bit, and, yeah, maybe I meant to post that back when the thread was new. I guess it's here now.
 
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