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The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero - DLC Speculation & Discussion Thread

masdog

What is the airspeed of an unladen Swellow?
Magic the Gathering game without 75% of its library...
Otherwise known as Standard, which only allows sets in the last two years.

So that's a bad example.

The 3DS proved that they could have 800+ Pokémon. All they need to figure out how to manage transfered Pokémon, maybe with a special box that has a limited storage (like 30) from HOME, and the game could just cycle through a small number of Pokémon at once, loading an dunloading them for each session.
You're missing the point here. And while I second the request to move this to a dedicated thread, I want to point something out to you.

There was no issue putting all 809 Pokemon into USUM because Game Freak didn't have to do any significant rework to existing Pokemon between Gen6 and Gen7. There was no major graphics improvements between those two games, and they could easily reuse existing assets.

That's not the case between the 3DS games and the Switch games. There was a significant resolution bump. The 3DS is 800x240, and the Switch can do 720P handheld and 1080P docked. So every previous generation Pokemon asset needs to be reworked in order to be used on the Switch. This is the basic skeletal model, the textures, the animations and interactions with other animations like moves. And every time they tweak these for HD, they need to recompile them and test them. And if they need to make further tweaks or adjustments, they need to do this again. This is a very time consuming process.

And you can see the progress that has been made. Look at Talonflame or Lucario in USUM, and then compare it to their appearances in SwSh and SV. You can see just how much it changed and improved over the course of three generations.

They have to do this for EVERY Pokemon that they want to have in the game. And because the games have changed how we interact with the world with things like open-world maps, roaming Pokemon, and on-map battles, they have additional changes to make and test.

And guess what - they'll have to do this again when Nintendo releases a system that supports 4K.

I understand that you want DexIt to be over so you can use all of your Pokemon that you have in Home...but I don't think we'll ever go back to having a true NatDex because of the work involved in keeping all of the game assets up-to-date. It could happen - LewTwo had a twitter thread about a presentation that Game Freak gave at a developer conference about using "the cloud" for their build and render pipelines that speed up some of the dev work, but there is still a limit on developers and testing.
 
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MrJechgo

Well-Known Member
Bending the knee for the Pokémon Company for offering less content over time and not using their extra resources to rectify all of them, such as bumping from 200 to 2,000 employees... adorable :rolleyes:

There shouldn't even be talk about DLC if GameFreak would have added a Battle Tower with rotating trainers with weekly events, which is something fans have been critisizing since last Gen. Fine if you guys want DLC, but problem-solving should be part of the solution as well.
 

janejane6178

Kaleido Star FOREVER in my heart <3
Bending the knee for the Pokémon Company for offering less content over time and not using their extra resources to rectify all of them, such as bumping from 200 to 2,000 employees... adorable :rolleyes:

There shouldn't even be talk about DLC if GameFreak would have added a Battle Tower with rotating trainers with weekly events, which is something fans have been critisizing since last Gen. Fine if you guys want DLC, but problem-solving should be part of the solution as well.
There is basically no post game
It just sucks
 

Luthor

Well-Known Member
There shouldn't even be talk about DLC if GameFreak would have added a Battle Tower with rotating trainers with weekly events, which is something fans have been critisizing since last Gen. Fine if you guys want DLC, but problem-solving should be part of the solution as well.

A battle tower or similar facility should have been added even if they just copied the Sword and Shield one which wasn't the best but at least it gave you the chance to test certain teams before you are ready to go into competitive (if you even want to). Even if they add a tower like facility via DLC given that will be locked behind a cost for certain people which isn't great. I'm OK with DLC as a concept but the lack of post-game is disappointing as its not like we even know when it will arrive.
 

Pikasaur

Lazy Summer
A battle tower or similar facility should have been added even if they just copied the Sword and Shield one which wasn't the best but at least it gave you the chance to test certain teams before you are ready to go into competitive (if you even want to). Even if they add a tower like facility via DLC given that will be locked behind a cost for certain people which isn't great. I'm OK with DLC as a concept but the lack of post-game is disappointing as its not like we even know when it will arrive.

Maybe they'll add the battle tower for free when DLC comes out?

like Sword/Shield gave us a free Galar Slowpoke. Couldn't get more or evolve it without DLC, but it was free
 

Luthor

Well-Known Member
Maybe they'll add the battle tower for free when DLC comes out?

like Sword/Shield gave us a free Galar Slowpoke. Couldn't get more or evolve it without DLC, but it was free

That's a fair point they could if they wanted to. But when they did that free slowpoke as you say they specifically made it so it wasn't as useful without DLC. So while not impossible I'm at least skeptical because they'd have to physically have a building for that or re-purpose an existing building to make it free which there's not that many places they could do it. Maybe within the school but other than that I'm not sure.
 

Bolt the Cat

Bringing the Thunder
Bending the knee for the Pokémon Company for offering less content over time and not using their extra resources to rectify all of them, such as bumping from 200 to 2,000 employees... adorable :rolleyes:

No one is saying this, they're simply being realistic about what they can offer and when. Would we like all of the Pokemon to be in the game? Of course. Do we think Game Freak needs to increase their staff and development time? Yes, but for other reasons such as performance and the amount of content and features. But some of us actually realize the logistics of including 1000 Pokemon in an HD console game and it's not a reasonable expectation.

There shouldn't even be talk about DLC if GameFreak would have added a Battle Tower with rotating trainers with weekly events, which is something fans have been critisizing since last Gen. Fine if you guys want DLC, but problem-solving should be part of the solution as well.

Not everyone cares about the Battle Tower (I myself don't, I'm not a competitive battler and typically skip it). Fans want DLC for other reasons. Some want an expansion on the story. Some want new and returning Pokemon (and no, this is not just compensation for Dexit. Even if Dexit wasn't a thing there'd still be several hundred that are only available through transfer and DLC could make them available natively so you don't need to own a past game). Some want extra side modes and features such as Dynamax Adventures in CT. Even if SV did have DLC, there would still be high demand for DLC to add more content to the game in a variety of areas.
 

ShadowForce720

Well-Known Member
Just pointing this out but did any else find it weird how the Eevee line hasn’t really gotten anything special in gen 9 even though they made a major or somewhat major character being Penny just have a team full of the Eeveelutions?

I get that it’s a popular Pokémon but they could have easily handled it like they did in past generations.


Like it seems kind of weird to have Penny’s team just be solely of the Eeveelutions and not introduce a new one or give Eevee some special.

I mean yes there was a raid of event where you could get Eevee with different terra types, but that’s not really a big deal considering there is already a way to change Eevee’s terra type in the game and every Pokémon can have any terra type.


I do have to wonder if maybe Eevee will get something in the DLC like a new Eeveelution or something else.
 

Lord Godwin

The Lord of Darkness
Rest of Eevee's Evolutions. Would be nice if that DLC could focus solely on Eevee's Journey, along with 'legendary Eevee'.
Why not Paradox Eevee which can hold the Legendary Plate and Paradox Pikachu looking a lot like Gorochu.
 

masdog

What is the airspeed of an unladen Swellow?
Bending the knee for the Pokémon Company for offering less content over time and not using their extra resources to rectify all of them, such as bumping from 200 to 2,000 employees... adorable :rolleyes:
Adding more people doesn't speed things up. It can actually make software projects take longer, especially if the project is behind schedule. This is because it increases the number of communications channels and overhead for managing people doing the tasks. Even if they can find people with the skills they need, there is still a ramp up period as people join projects before they can become productive.

There is a second issue too - the number of compute resources to actually compile and test things is finite. There are only so many concurrent builds that can go on at one time. Yes, you can add servers to do builds, but that adds costs, overhead to manage the system, and additional complexity.
 

Auraninja

Eh, ragazzo!
My main question about DLC is not the "if" but "when". I think, at this point, every generation starting game will get paid DLC.
I'm more curious about the timeline of how it will be distributed. This leads into my second question: will this be one-part or two-part?

Sword and Shield had a two part DLC. I could see that for SV, but I could also see them just adding one more section.
 
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Bolt the Cat

Bringing the Thunder
My main question about DLC is not the "if" but "when". I think, at this point, every generation starting game will get paid DLC.
I'm more curious about the timeline of how it will be distributed. This leads into my second question: will this be one-part or two-part.

Sword and Shield had a two part DLC. I could see that for SV, but I could also see them just adding one more section.

Well we probably know when it will be announced, January or February 2023. Every upcoming Pokemon game since 2019 and all but 2 since 2013 have been announced in that window. Usually Pokemon Day, but the SwSh DLC was announced in a Pokemon Direct in January, so that might point towards them not saving DLC announcements for Pokemon Day.

Everything you're questioning is still fair to question. SwSh had 2 expansions, but we don't know if that pattern will hold. And we don't know exactly when they'll be releasing. One assumption I do think is safe is that the last of the expansion (or the expansion itself if it's just one expansion) will be sometime in Q4. They'll want everything over with before the holidays so they can sell a base game + expansion bundle as their "holiday game" for the year and move on to something else in 2024 (probably another remake, Legends game, or some other kind of revisit to an old region). September or October will probably be good months for the final expansion. If there's 2, I could see them roughly repeating SwSh's schedule, one in the summer and one in the fall. If they do 3 or more (which I don't think they will but for argument's sake let's discuss the option) then we could see one in the spring as well and them spaced 1-3 months apart depending on how many.
 

bruhidk

LARRY SUPREMACY
The true twist villain is the history teacher because why DOES she want you to break the seals of four pokemon that bring destruction?
 

Sαpphire

Johto Champion
I really feel like they have the resources to make all Pokémon available at this point. It’s a disappointment that this still hasn’t happened. Yes it’s a lot, yeah there are a lot of animations, but to me that’s all just yet another reason they should have a longer development cycle. But realistically, of course, I get that they simply won’t do that.

I care more about the Battle Tower, honestly. I think there’s something very deeply odd about the absence of a battle facility right now - the only games that haven’t had a battle facility in the last two decades are Kanto remakes and Legends. It must be because they realized people will pay for it - I’ll be even more disappointed if it’s not included in the likely DLC at all, but it seems plain as day to me that battle facilities are a core feature (if a sometimes neglected one) of the series and that they wouldn’t put out a new generation that simply never has one. I hope and expect to see it included in the strange shaded map area to the northeast.

I’m just going to cling to my completely unreasonable hope that part of the planned DLC is actually a Battle Frontier or something similar, and that’s why not even one facility is in the base game. I’d forgive the whole situation and happily pay up for a full frontier. Obviously this isn’t going to be the only thing or perhaps even the primary focus of the DLC - the Suicune and Virizion paradoxes and the final legendary will definitely take center stage. I almost wonder if there’ll be one DLC to wrap up those plot points, and then another that gives us a battle facility and a new area (perhaps a second new area if the first gives one, too).

Whatever the case, I’m sure we’ll know more soon, and I’m sure DLC is on the way with how successful the SwSh model was, financially.
 

Bolt the Cat

Bringing the Thunder
I really feel like they have the resources to make all Pokémon available at this point. It’s a disappointment that this still hasn’t happened. Yes it’s a lot, yeah there are a lot of animations, but to me that’s all just yet another reason they should have a longer development cycle. But realistically, of course, I get that they simply won’t do that.

I care more about the Battle Tower, honestly. I think there’s something very deeply odd about the absence of a battle facility right now - the only games that haven’t had a battle facility in the last two decades are Kanto remakes and Legends. It must be because they realized people will pay for it - I’ll be even more disappointed if it’s not included in the likely DLC at all, but it seems plain as day to me that battle facilities are a core feature (if a sometimes neglected one) of the series and that they wouldn’t put out a new generation that simply never has one. I hope and expect to see it included in the strange shaded map area to the northeast.

I’m just going to cling to my completely unreasonable hope that part of the planned DLC is actually a Battle Frontier or something similar, and that’s why not even one facility is in the base game. I’d forgive the whole situation and happily pay up for a full frontier. Obviously this isn’t going to be the only thing or perhaps even the primary focus of the DLC - the Suicune and Virizion paradoxes and the final legendary will definitely take center stage. I almost wonder if there’ll be one DLC to wrap up those plot points, and then another that gives us a battle facility and a new area (perhaps a second new area if the first gives one, too).

Whatever the case, I’m sure we’ll know more soon, and I’m sure DLC is on the way with how successful the SwSh model was, financially.

Ehh, I feel like they view battle facilities as a fun extra but it's not a huge priority. The gradual decrease of battle facilities, unwillingness to include the Frontier in ORAS and BDSP, and their complete absence from LGPE and LA (when there'd been at least 1 in EVERY GAME since Crystal) implies that they're losing interest in continuing them. As for why, I think they feel it overlaps too much with competitive and they'd just want people interested in that kind of challenge to just battle other players (now I don't think they should be going in that direction, but based on their words and actions I think that's what they want). There might very well be one, IoA gave us Restricted Sparring, but I wouldn't be shocked if there's just nothing.
 

Captain Jigglypuff

Leader of Jigglypuff Army
Pokémon I think will be part of the DLC are the Mr Mime line including the Galarian variants (mostly because of Chilly Reception’s move description), the Darumaka line, Vulpix line, the Legendary Beasts, the Swords of Justice, the Hisuian Pokémon, and Metagross line.
 

divinepokemonXZ

ALL HAIL THE GORILLA-FROG!
I doubt we will see southern Kalos... :(
But I do want to see new forms or evo for Kalos Pokemon....
I suspect the DLC area will be based on the southern part of France. It and Kalos could be part of the same "nation" just as Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh" but will be treated as separate regions.
I think that the new 3rd Legendary is going to be Normal/Dragon type.
Didn't one of the leakers indicate it would be a Rock Type?

Incidentally, I was poking around on 4Chan and somebody partially deciphered the text on the illustration of the third legendary, so its name may be something like "Wisher".
 

RileyXY1

Young Battle Trainer
I suspect the DLC area will be based on the southern part of France. It and Kalos could be part of the same "nation" just as Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh" but will be treated as separate regions.

Didn't one of the leakers indicate it would be a Rock Type?

Incidentally, I was poking around on 4Chan and somebody partially deciphered the text on the illustration of the third legendary, so its name may be something like "Wisher".
I'm saying that it's Normal/Dragon because usually Pokemon connected to type changing are part Normal, like Kecleon, Castform, the Porygon line, and Arceus. And I don't believe that there will be any connections to Kalos, because if there were they would have brought back Mega Evolution, which they did not.
 
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