What's the story on Lost Odyssey load times?

[recursivelyenumerable]

I read on GAF that battle load times are 20 secs., which is completely intolerable and would put me off buying the game unless I were totally convinced that it were otherwise the best RPG ever, but then I've also read that some of the people posting those times may have had problems with their DVD drives.  Can anyone give a straight answer on this?  N.B. by "battle load times" I of course mean the total time between when the field screen is disrupted and when actual battle gameplay begins, counting swirly wipe effects, BG panning, character introductions and everything else that mostly exists to cover the load times.

[hyp]

i watched today's 1up show and no way is it 20 seconds.  i just watched the footage and checked the timer, it appeared more like 10-12 seconds --  before the first menu option popped up.  gaf is full of shit.

[MCD]

what hyp said.

[recursivelyenumerable]

12 seconds is about the same as FF8 and Chrono Cross. Bad, but tolerable if the encounter rate is low.

[MCD]

also, random encounters are pretty low so you won't be annoyed.

loading might be a pain between cutscenes though, perhaps like dead rising, dcharlie played the game, he can probably elaborate on this issue better.

[MCD]

yeah groo, totally forgot him  (sorry groo)

and yes, shame you can't skip/fast forward battle animations like Enchanted Arms.

[MCD]

Mrs C 

[demi]

and yes, shame you can't skip/fast forward battle animations like Enchanted Arms.

lol - Mrs C said exactly that.

oh, i think she's awake.... let me pester her.

you are supposed to pester her in while she's asleep...

[demi]

maybe in britain

[AdmiralViscen]

Totally buying this shit.

[recursivelyenumerable]

Thanks, but I'm still a bit confused.  Do those times include the "unskippable character panning" (which I'd consider as part of the load time along with everything else) or not?  The English text seems to indicate that it doesn't ("...adds to the wait") while the Japanese (15秒の場合は、キャラクターのプロフィールが表示されます。 ) could be interpreted as meaning that the "character profile" (= panning?) only exists in the 15-second load times.  I think it also says that you get one 15-second battle load each time you change fields (= to a different battle background?) so I guess the battle BG data is kept in memory until it's replaced?

[BlueTsunami]

Ugh loadtimes :/ I'm sorry but I was hoping we would nearly get beyond load times by dramatically reducing them this generation

Would be cool if MS down the line allows you to install the whole damn game or something (just cache the whole thing) or something. Load times have become intolerable to me

[MCD]

Magna Carta (PS2) was the only game i quit playing due to horrible load times.

[AdmiralViscen]

Thanks, but I'm still a bit confused.  Do those times include the "unskippable character panning" (which I'd consider as part of the load time along with everything else) or not?  The English text seems to indicate that it doesn't ("...adds to the wait") while the Japanese (15秒の場合は、キャラクターのプロフィールが表示されます。 ) could be interpreted as meaning that the "character profile" (= panning?) only exists in the 15-second load times.  I think it also says that you get one 15-second battle load each time you change fields (= to a different battle background?) so I guess the battle BG data is kept in memory until it's replaced?

By the videos I've seen, the 10-12 estimates are from the moment you can't take a step forward to the moment you can select something from the battle menu. That's a black screen, some floating purple shit, a pan of the enemies and characters.

[Himu]

Ms dropped the ball here, with a mandatory install these battle times could have been shaved from an unbearable 12 seconds, to a SNES type load time of 11 seconds

 

[muckson]

i haven't seen a 2 or 7 second load time battle but i haven't been counting or even thinking about it because 10 seconds isn't that bad.  the other important factor is that if you want to have a stronger hit you have to use the ring system which means you can't mash buttons or choose the action and then put the controller down and stretch.  you have to participate in the attacks and if you don't then the hit is weaker, which means you are constantly paying attention to the battle and makes it seem like the load times are shorter - you know the difference between watching for water to boil and just letting it happen.

also, random encounters are so infrequent that to collect experience or build levels is a pain in the ass.  i died a couple times because i was too weak but i couldn't go back and build levels because there were no places to really do so.

i'll explain later when i do a review for release day and you guys can make an informed decision on whether you want it or not.

[bluemax]

I'm actually kind of interested in the idea of the battles being more meaningful. My GF was watching me play BD and asked me if I ever get tired of all the simple fights. If fights are fewer and actually require thought, then I could get behind that.

Thank goodness for GameFly.