darkSpyro

Well, The whole coding for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER sure sounds like a lot, and with Sky5 Next year I believe, and with them possibly switching from Tfb to VV every game... Do you think every character will stay supported in future games? It will sure sound like a lot...

I don't see why they wouldn't be supported.

I just didn't know if It would be too much coding or a company didn't wan to do it, but hey, I don't know much about programming anyways..

If they didn't they would have lots of angry people on there hands including me

Well Pokemon has like 700 pokemons, and they even change the moves and art for them every game. This can't be harder I believe?

Quote: DragonShine

Well Pokemon has like 700 pokemons, and they even change the moves and art for them every game. This can't be harder I believe?

Hmm.. Good point

Quote: DragonShine

Well Pokemon has like 700 pokemons, and they even change the moves and art for them every game. This can't be harder I believe?

Skylanders 5 alone will probably see the release of 700 new characters at the rate that Activision seem to be ramping up the new toy release.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them start to phase older characters out at some point in the near future.

Well, Pokèmon's characters are less "articulated" than Skylanders.

I mean, they are part of a turn based game, not an adventure/platformer one.
Skylanders all have different animations and effects in a 3D world.

But yes, I do think they will support all the characters.
They always put a big emphasis, on that aspect.

Well it's doubtful we'll see any visual improvements, so that's one less job. Generally as long as they keep the same skeleton the animation can be reused along with the sound too.
The code is already there for all the previous Skylanders in their game engine, so they won't need to do a lot!

Quote: AdamGregory03

I don't see why they wouldn't be supported.

I guess no one has noticed the gap of content this year. If getting less content is a consequence of supporting characters, then NO.

Not sure why we apparently got less this year, but something's gonna give.

I wish the would make another game like SA, no gimmicks. Just use your already owned skylanders.

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Well, The whole coding for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER sure sounds like a lot, and with Sky5 Next year I believe, and with them possibly switching from Tfb to VV every game... Do you think every character will stay supported in future games? It will sure sound like a lot...

This is news to me. Where was it posted that they were thinking about dropping Toys for Bob?

Anyway, in order for them to continue to support so many characters plus add more content (as if that last one will happen any time soon), they'll have to primarily build the games for the X1 and PS4. The medium the X1 uses for discs can hold much more data than the discs used for the 360. That was what Microsoft mentioned for their reason about not doing the Halo remakes and Halo 5 on the 360.

With that being the case, they can't add more unless they focus only on the X1 and PS4, unless they gives those owners more content than the 360 PS3 owners. I know games like WWE 2K15 are doing something like this. They built the games for the newer gen consoles and then took out certain features for the older (360 and PS3) consoles.

Quote: LightStarStrike

I wish the would make another game like SA, no gimmicks. Just use your already owned skylanders.

Well even if they do that, they'd probably still release all new characters. 'Cause you know. $$$.

Quote: LightStarStrike

I wish the would make another game like SA, no gimmicks. Just use your already owned skylanders.

You and me both.

Me too!

Quote: LightStarStrike

I wish the would make another game like SA, no gimmicks. Just use your already owned skylanders.

i would absolutely love a game that had no figures attached, just use your old collection. much more emphasis on content rather than the new figures. As long as you already have an existing collection.
i think there would need to be figures sold in the pack with the game, for people that would be just joining the franchise, with this game as their first.
You couldn't have something that you buy, take home, and then find out you cant even start playing the game without an old portal and figures.

Quote: Dezartfox

Well it's doubtful we'll see any visual improvements, so that's one less job. Generally as long as they keep the same skeleton the animation can be reused along with the sound too.
The code is already there for all the previous Skylanders in their game engine, so they won't need to do a lot!

Well yes and no...I believe all the legacy characters were rebuilt from scratch for Swap Force to really bring the series into HD, plus add jump animations which none of them previously had. There could be some future gimmick/feature that would require further re-tooling of the library Skylanders.

Even assuming it's a simple code port (and I believe Trap Team reuses the high-res models and animations from Swap Force), there's also a lot of quality assurance and testing to perform to make sure each character is compatible with each environment. The Activision support page has multiple known character glitches this year, include Dune Bug causing the game to lag and Legendary Zoo Lou not jumping high enough. I can't see this getting any better moving forward.

Quote: Eggers

Anyway, in order for them to continue to support so many characters plus add more content (as if that last one will happen any time soon), they'll have to primarily build the games for the X1 and PS4. The medium the X1 uses for discs can hold much more data than the discs used for the 360. That was what Microsoft mentioned for their reason about not doing the Halo remakes and Halo 5 on the 360.

With that being the case, they can't add more unless they focus only on the X1 and PS4, unless they gives those owners more content than the 360 PS3 owners. I know games like WWE 2K15 are doing something like this. They built the games for the newer gen consoles and then took out certain features for the older (360 and PS3) consoles.

In the case of WWE 2K15 for PS3, the features weren't removed due to disc storage, as PS3 uses the same format (Blu-Ray) as WiiU, PS4 and XBone - it was due to hardware capabilities. X360 got some multi-disc games during its run, while PS3 got single-disc releases of the same games. Off the top of my head: Final Fantasy... 13? (can't keep track of them XP), Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 1 (not sure about #2), and Assassin's Creed 3 and 4 (both had singleplayer on disc 1 and multiplayer on disc 2).

As for Skylanders, it will greatly benefit from ditching Wii first (oldest+weakest hardware, DVD format), then X360 (old hardware, DVD format), while PS3 will get ditched only due to the old hardware, most likely at the same time as X360. I have no doubts that WiiU support will continue despite the slightly weaker hardware, since the kid/family market is larger on Nintendo consoles.

Quote: AdamGregory03

Quote: LightStarStrike

I wish the would make another game like SA, no gimmicks. Just use your already owned skylanders.

Well even if they do that, they'd probably still release all new characters. 'Cause you know. $$$.

Would like it a lot, and buying other Cores wouldn't be a problem.
Trap Masters feel like the first gimmick characters that don't really add anything new.

They are still great Skylanders, mind it, but giving them the exclusive to trap villains, and maybe making their weapons glow up accordingly to the game, would have make them so much worth the buy (and the price).

Quote: Eggers

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Well, The whole coding for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER sure sounds like a lot, and with Sky5 Next year I believe, and with them possibly switching from Tfb to VV every game... Do you think every character will stay supported in future games? It will sure sound like a lot...

This is news to me. Where was it posted that they were thinking about dropping Toys for Bob?

Anyway, in order for them to continue to support so many characters plus add more content (as if that last one will happen any time soon), they'll have to primarily build the games for the X1 and PS4. The medium the X1 uses for discs can hold much more data than the discs used for the 360. That was what Microsoft mentioned for their reason about not doing the Halo remakes and Halo 5 on the 360.

With that being the case, they can't add more unless they focus only on the X1 and PS4, unless they gives those owners more content than the 360 PS3 owners. I know games like WWE 2K15 are doing something like this. They built the games for the newer gen consoles and then took out certain features for the older (360 and PS3) consoles.

I'm going to guess that he meant switching *between* TfB and VV every game. Skylanders is an Activision property, as is Call of Duty. With Call of Duty, each year the game is traded off between two different developers, so that each game has two years of development, instead of one. I think what he was saying, is that Activision might start doing this with Skylanders. When Toys for Bob was done with Giants, they started developing Trap Team, and presumably, the decision had been made during development of Giants to let Vicarious Visions handle what would end up being Swap Force.

My personal opinion is that with Toys for Bob having made three basically identical games with Adventure, Giants, and Trap Team, I would rather see the reigns shift to VV permanently. There was a lot more to Swap Force than there was any of the other three, and the quality of overall gameplay was better. Trap Team kind of feels like they somehow squandered most of the extra year they had to develop.

On topic though, they will never remove 100 percent backward compatibility. The entire premise of the games is built on the idea that you have all these characters, and you can use them on any system, and any game, at least going forward. If Wii weren't ever part of the equation, they could have patched in forward compatibility, not to say they would have, but they *could* have. If you take away any backward compatibility in future games, you are removing part of why the game existed to begin with, and given what a juggernaut the game has been financially, they simply won't do that.

A remaster of the first two games for PS4 and Xbox One would be nice (also a Wii U version of Spyro's Adventure would be nice as well.

I can see where you guys are coming from, wishing/hoping for a Skylanders game that just allows you to use your established collection to play ... but let's face it, that's pretty unlikely. The profitability of this franchise comes from its ability to continuously siphon consumers' cash gradually, and that mechanic depends on the gradual release of new characters, some of which must enable new unlockables, etc.

The Skylanders concept is truly brilliant. It combines the best of both worlds for young children in a first world culture: action figures AND video games. I know many of the adults (especially those of us that keep Skylanders packaged and/or hang them on the wall) don't necessarily appreciate this aspect of Skylanders, but for children, the little figurines actually make for endless hours of creative imaginative play, even without turning on the video game console. On top of innovating that amazingly profitable concept, the Skylanders franchise knows that in addition to being attractive to children, the collectable aspect of the figurines appeals to many adults, too. Adults who might have collected baseball cards, stamps, postcards, shot glasses, or matchbox cars in past generations have a new vice available to them, and it just so happens to simultaneously provide a connection to their kids ... it's a win-win-win scenario for the developers/distributors, the parents, and the kids.

Seriously, what other toy/gaming franchise has ever captured the attention of so many adults AND so many kids simultaneously? Maybe the 8-bit Nintendo when it first arrived (with light gun and Power Pad!?) The baseball and baseball mitt?

So, while there is some minor "wiggle-room" for change within future releases of Skylanders games and accessories, it's kind of silly to presume that there will ever be any major shift away from the established Skylanders marketing and development model/recipe. It's TOO good to mess with. As much as I hate to pop creative and thoughtful balloons here, I think it's safe to say that we can anticipate a yearly release of a new Skylanders game/Starter Pack, in October, from now until whenever the Skylanders franchise is laid to rest. Each year, there will be a new "gimmick" which will be exactly that, and each year there will be something "new" that will inevitably be controversial among established fans/collectors, and there will be something "removed" that established fans will predictably lament ... but the franchise's games will constantly be above-average (and occasionally awesome) video games that consistently walk the narrow line that magically allows them to appeal to both adult and child audiences. And there will always be LOTS of new accessories and figurines for you to buy or not buy, at your discretion.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

I can see where you guys are coming from, wishing/hoping for a Skylanders game that just allows you to use your established collection to play ... but let's face it, that's pretty unlikely. The profitability of this franchise comes from its ability to continuously siphon consumers' cash gradually, and that mechanic depends on the gradual release of new characters, some of which must enable new unlockables, etc.

The Skylanders concept is truly brilliant. It combines the best of both worlds for young children in a first world culture: action figures AND video games. I know many of the adults (especially those of us that keep Skylanders packaged and/or hang them on the wall) don't necessarily appreciate this aspect of Skylanders, but for children, the little figurines actually make for endless hours of creative imaginative play, even without turning on the video game console. On top of innovating that amazingly profitable concept, the Skylanders franchise knows that in addition to being attractive to children, the collectable aspect of the figurines appeals to many adults, too. Adults who might have collected baseball cards, stamps, postcards, shot glasses, or matchbox cars in past generations have a new vice available to them, and it just so happens to simultaneously provide a connection to their kids ... it's a win-win-win scenario for the developers/distributors, the parents, and the kids.

Seriously, what other toy/gaming franchise has ever captured the attention of so many adults AND so many kids simultaneously? Maybe the 8-bit Nintendo when it first arrived (with light gun and Power Pad!?) The baseball and baseball mitt?

So, while there is some minor "wiggle-room" for change within future releases of Skylanders games and accessories, it's kind of silly to presume that there will ever be any major shift away from the established Skylanders marketing and development model/recipe. It's TOO good to mess with. As much as I hate to pop creative and thoughtful balloons here, I think it's safe to say that we can anticipate a yearly release of a new Skylanders game/Starter Pack, in October, from now until whenever the Skylanders franchise is laid to rest. Each year, there will be a new "gimmick" which will be exactly that, and each year there will be something "new" that will inevitably be controversial among established fans/collectors, and there will be something "removed" that established fans will predictably lament ... but the franchise's games will constantly be above-average (and occasionally awesome) video games that consistently walk the narrow line that magically allows them to appeal to both adult and child audiences. And there will always be LOTS of new accessories and figurines for you to buy or not buy, at your discretion.

Basically this.

However, a non-gimmick game, with some gameplay innovations, and a cast of 32 new Cores isn't THAT far fetched, in my opinion.

Quote: LordElohim

Quote: Eggers

Quote: Badwolfmichael

Well, The whole coding for EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER sure sounds like a lot, and with Sky5 Next year I believe, and with them possibly switching from Tfb to VV every game... Do you think every character will stay supported in future games? It will sure sound like a lot...

This is news to me. Where was it posted that they were thinking about dropping Toys for Bob?

Anyway, in order for them to continue to support so many characters plus add more content (as if that last one will happen any time soon), they'll have to primarily build the games for the X1 and PS4. The medium the X1 uses for discs can hold much more data than the discs used for the 360. That was what Microsoft mentioned for their reason about not doing the Halo remakes and Halo 5 on the 360.

With that being the case, they can't add more unless they focus only on the X1 and PS4, unless they gives those owners more content than the 360 PS3 owners. I know games like WWE 2K15 are doing something like this. They built the games for the newer gen consoles and then took out certain features for the older (360 and PS3) consoles.

I'm going to guess that he meant switching *between* TfB and VV every game. Skylanders is an Activision property, as is Call of Duty. With Call of Duty, each year the game is traded off between two different developers, so that each game has two years of development, instead of one. I think what he was saying, is that Activision might start doing this with Skylanders. When Toys for Bob was done with Giants, they started developing Trap Team, and presumably, the decision had been made during development of Giants to let Vicarious Visions handle what would end up being Swap Force.

My personal opinion is that with Toys for Bob having made three basically identical games with Adventure, Giants, and Trap Team, I would rather see the reigns shift to VV permanently. There was a lot more to Swap Force than there was any of the other three, and the quality of overall gameplay was better. Trap Team kind of feels like they somehow squandered most of the extra year they had to develop.

On topic though, they will never remove 100 percent backward compatibility. The entire premise of the games is built on the idea that you have all these characters, and you can use them on any system, and any game, at least going forward. If Wii weren't ever part of the equation, they could have patched in forward compatibility, not to say they would have, but they *could* have. If you take away any backward compatibility in future games, you are removing part of why the game existed to begin with, and given what a juggernaut the game has been financially, they simply won't do that.

I'm pretty sure that they announced that they are going to switch back and forth to give that 2 years of development. It was only announced with Swap Force (I think even after), so I'm not sure when that deal was made. As for who is better, that is a matter of opinion. I remember when Swap Force came out everyone was crying for Toys for Bob to come back and how horrible Swap Force was.

I think they will continue to support older characters for a long time to come. For one thing, you can still buy Spyro's Adventure characters in stores even now. Second, finally letting the Wii go means they will have much higher data capacity in games going forward now that they will not be constrained by the Wii's limits.

Quote: obidawsn

Quote: LordElohim

Quote: Eggers

This is news to me. Where was it posted that they were thinking about dropping Toys for Bob?

Anyway, in order for them to continue to support so many characters plus add more content (as if that last one will happen any time soon), they'll have to primarily build the games for the X1 and PS4. The medium the X1 uses for discs can hold much more data than the discs used for the 360. That was what Microsoft mentioned for their reason about not doing the Halo remakes and Halo 5 on the 360.

With that being the case, they can't add more unless they focus only on the X1 and PS4, unless they gives those owners more content than the 360 PS3 owners. I know games like WWE 2K15 are doing something like this. They built the games for the newer gen consoles and then took out certain features for the older (360 and PS3) consoles.

I'm going to guess that he meant switching *between* TfB and VV every game. Skylanders is an Activision property, as is Call of Duty. With Call of Duty, each year the game is traded off between two different developers, so that each game has two years of development, instead of one. I think what he was saying, is that Activision might start doing this with Skylanders. When Toys for Bob was done with Giants, they started developing Trap Team, and presumably, the decision had been made during development of Giants to let Vicarious Visions handle what would end up being Swap Force.

My personal opinion is that with Toys for Bob having made three basically identical games with Adventure, Giants, and Trap Team, I would rather see the reigns shift to VV permanently. There was a lot more to Swap Force than there was any of the other three, and the quality of overall gameplay was better. Trap Team kind of feels like they somehow squandered most of the extra year they had to develop.

On topic though, they will never remove 100 percent backward compatibility. The entire premise of the games is built on the idea that you have all these characters, and you can use them on any system, and any game, at least going forward. If Wii weren't ever part of the equation, they could have patched in forward compatibility, not to say they would have, but they *could* have. If you take away any backward compatibility in future games, you are removing part of why the game existed to begin with, and given what a juggernaut the game has been financially, they simply won't do that.

I'm pretty sure that they announced that they are going to switch back and forth to give that 2 years of development. It was only announced with Swap Force (I think even after), so I'm not sure when that deal was made. As for who is better, that is a matter of opinion. I remember when Swap Force came out everyone was crying for Toys for Bob to come back and how horrible Swap Force was.

Ah, ok. That was my mistake, I misread what he wrote. I can see now he was probably referring them switching between the two developers for every other game. I had mistakenly read that as him saying that Acti was dumping TfB altogether. My mistake

Quote: Drek95

Quote: BahamutBreaker

I can see where you guys are coming from, wishing/hoping for a Skylanders game that just allows you to use your established collection to play ... but let's face it, that's pretty unlikely. The profitability of this franchise comes from its ability to continuously siphon consumers' cash gradually, and that mechanic depends on the gradual release of new characters, some of which must enable new unlockables, etc.

The Skylanders concept is truly brilliant. It combines the best of both worlds for young children in a first world culture: action figures AND video games. I know many of the adults (especially those of us that keep Skylanders packaged and/or hang them on the wall) don't necessarily appreciate this aspect of Skylanders, but for children, the little figurines actually make for endless hours of creative imaginative play, even without turning on the video game console. On top of innovating that amazingly profitable concept, the Skylanders franchise knows that in addition to being attractive to children, the collectable aspect of the figurines appeals to many adults, too. Adults who might have collected baseball cards, stamps, postcards, shot glasses, or matchbox cars in past generations have a new vice available to them, and it just so happens to simultaneously provide a connection to their kids ... it's a win-win-win scenario for the developers/distributors, the parents, and the kids.

Seriously, what other toy/gaming franchise has ever captured the attention of so many adults AND so many kids simultaneously? Maybe the 8-bit Nintendo when it first arrived (with light gun and Power Pad!?) The baseball and baseball mitt?

So, while there is some minor "wiggle-room" for change within future releases of Skylanders games and accessories, it's kind of silly to presume that there will ever be any major shift away from the established Skylanders marketing and development model/recipe. It's TOO good to mess with. As much as I hate to pop creative and thoughtful balloons here, I think it's safe to say that we can anticipate a yearly release of a new Skylanders game/Starter Pack, in October, from now until whenever the Skylanders franchise is laid to rest. Each year, there will be a new "gimmick" which will be exactly that, and each year there will be something "new" that will inevitably be controversial among established fans/collectors, and there will be something "removed" that established fans will predictably lament ... but the franchise's games will constantly be above-average (and occasionally awesome) video games that consistently walk the narrow line that magically allows them to appeal to both adult and child audiences. And there will always be LOTS of new accessories and figurines for you to buy or not buy, at your discretion.

Basically this.

However, a non-gimmick game, with some gameplay innovations, and a cast of 32 new Cores isn't THAT far fetched, in my opinion.

Great post Bahamut, agreed. ^ I totally can see this when fatigue sets in. It's not far fetched. Like, if they actually concentrated on GAME PLAY for the gimmick. Imagine that.

If they didn't they would have QUITE a number of VERY unhappy people (including me) who bought all the older characters, just for them to not work later. I don't think they WOULD drop the older figures, because that would be a highly stupid move, Though I will only worry about it if TFB/VV specifically states it in an interview.

This is why Pokemon is on the handheld versions. Full 3D of all the Pokemon just never works. They have to pick usually.

Quote: Drek95

Well, Pokèmon's characters are less "articulated" than Skylanders.

I mean, they are part of a turn based game, not an adventure/platformer one.
Skylanders all have different animations and effects in a 3D world.

But yes, I do think they will support all the characters.
They always put a big emphasis, on that aspect.

Well in older games I can see, but now in the newer ones, the Pokemon now have moving animations during battles, make movements caught or again during battle and every single one of em have different interactions from Pokemon Amie. So now it is hard to say which is harder and some of them Pokemon do have some ridiculous designs that call for insane animation tactics.

One way the developers could skirt support for older figures in future games is by moving in a new direction with these 2 new elements. If, for example, the next game was a 'light/dark' elements (only) universe, then they would only have to support the handful of light/dark characters introduced in TT. Thus, they could still claim 'backwards compatibility,' but in a very limited way. Of course this is completely hypothetical, but it does worry me that the developers could phase out older elements in favour of (more) new ones.

the day they stop supporting old skylanders is the day i quit buying the games.

Quote: GhostRoaster617

Quote: Drek95

Well, Pokèmon's characters are less "articulated" than Skylanders.

I mean, they are part of a turn based game, not an adventure/platformer one.
Skylanders all have different animations and effects in a 3D world.

But yes, I do think they will support all the characters.
They always put a big emphasis, on that aspect.

Well in older games I can see, but now in the newer ones, the Pokemon now have moving animations during battles, make movements caught or again during battle and every single one of em have different interactions from Pokemon Amie. So now it is hard to say which is harder and some of them Pokemon do have some ridiculous designs that call for insane animation tactics.

I understand that, but, it's the type of the game, that matters.

An RPG with turn based fights, where the only different gameplay moment is the exploration of a "3D" world, with the animation of a single character, cannot still be compared to a game that revolves all around the exploration of big 3D environments, with over 100 different animated characters to do so.

Pokemon animations basically show up only when fighting or doing a special activity.

Quote: Spinal

the day they stop supporting old skylanders is the day i quit buying the games.

Still unsure about that, but it's highly probable for me too...