Armored Core 6 Speculations

[Lord_Leperman]

3Let us all watch once more, our darling little glow shall grow up to unimaginable heights.



With that out of the way, some takeaways from the vid:

-AC5 weapon switching
-AC4 Primal Armor
-AC1-3 style EYE head along with CAMS equipped core
-A new EMP-like core function?
-at 1:41, that huge boss with those long arm cannons, broke buildings just to find that poor AC. Prolly a CGI version of this guy:


Stuff like this keeps me up all night. You guys have any other observations?

EDIT: Remember those AC6 leaks from early 2022 by Red Licorace? At least one of the screen shots turned out to be accurate (the one in the trailer and the screenshot above). That image came in a set of 4, so spoilers about potential enemies or bosses we'll encounter in AC6:

At least we know that giant brick with guns is gonna be in the game in one form.

EDIT EDIT: IGN's interview with Miyazaki and Yamamura on 13 December 2022

-Not exactly Souls-like gameplay.
-Heavy focus on customization and control over the AC.

EDIT X3 Original Japanese IGN interview including the details that were omitted.

-No co-op multiplayer
-Not a sequel to ACV or VD
-Part tuning is back

――Does ARMORED CORE VI have multiplayer elements?

Yamamura: Regarding multiplayer, I'm thinking mainly about battle mode. Just like the past games in the series, I think you can enjoy it by colliding with each other as well as showing off the aircraft that you are proud of.
On the other hand, regarding the main story mode, co-op play is not included in order to focus on things like dynamic action, free-running aircraft, and active changes during missions. We are focusing on a rich experience that can only be achieved in single play.

[arrui]

What about the scavenger AC at the start. I feel like that's going to be a part of what we will be doinh in the game. I'm excited for it.

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[Lord_Leperman]

What about the scavenger AC at the start. I feel like that's going to be a part of what we will be doinh in the game. I'm excited for it.

Sent from my M2101K9AG using Tapatalk

Yeah, I have a feeling that exploration would be a thing now akin to Souls and Elden Ring. They did hint at an open world style gameplay, so scavenging and exploration would definitely be part of it, and that backpack would be a pretty telling hint for that. But I gotta wonder , how they'll handle the death and respawn mechanic this time around. Will you need to assemble a new AC from scraps when you die? Could AC6 be a rouge-like open world game in that sense?

In addition, I originally though that we'd have a Vanguard Overboost option after seeing what looks like one in the hangar at 1:42, but now I think it's more of a boss right now.

Also, BIG EDIT at the first post coming soon, I'mma talk about the AC6 leaks at the start of 2022, and how accurate it was.

[Wakeangel75]

Hi all 

Open world AC would be cool if done right definitely but we still want this to be AC not elden ring with a AC skin.on the whole I'm just glad it coming back.
Not been playing much due to nothing holding my attention same old same old but one thing AC does is hold my attention can't wait.

[Lord_Leperman]

Welcome to our forums Wakeangel. I'm on the same boat with regards to AC being back, I'm just happy to have it around after being absent for so long.

On my end, I'd like to see them take their AC and their "recent works" formula taken to the next level. From likes to surprise their followers, so we can prolly expect something good at least.

As for the thread, the only speculations we can gather right now can be based off the press release, the leaked screenshots, and the recent trailer that came out. Guesses about game mechanics, and combat are as good as any at this point.

[atdsutm]

What about the scavenger AC at the start. I feel like that's going to be a part of what we will be doinh in the game. I'm excited for it.

Sent from my M2101K9AG using Tapatalk

Yeah, I have a feeling that exploration would be a thing now akin to Souls and Elden Ring. They did hint at an open world style gameplay, so scavenging and exploration would definitely be part of it, and that backpack would be a pretty telling hint for that. But I gotta wonder , how they'll handle the death and respawn mechanic this time around. Will you need to assemble a new AC from scraps when you die? Could AC6 be a rouge-like open world game in that sense?

In addition, I originally though that we'd have a Vanguard Overboost option after seeing what looks like one in the hangar at 1:42, but now I think it's more of a boss right now.

Also, BIG EDIT at the first post coming soon, I'mma talk about the AC6 leaks at the start of 2022, and how accurate it was.

I'm thinking of a mix of Elden Ring and extraction shooter like The Cycle or Tarkov. Drop on the map at specific points where you have explored. Do quests and explore the map and extract out of the planet to repair and rearm etc... The more places you have explored, the more drop points you can go into the map again. Drop points are probably the bonfires of the game tbh.

[Wakeangel75]

Thanks dude
Heres hoping we don't have to speculate for to long and from release information thick and fast.

[Lord_Leperman]

I'm thinking of a mix of Elden Ring and extraction shooter like The Cycle or Tarkov. Drop on the map at specific points where you have explored. Do quests and explore the map and extract out of the planet to repair and rearm etc... The more places you have explored, the more drop points you can go into the map again. Drop points are probably the bonfires of the game tbh.

Know what? I was thinking they might do something like an extraction shooter as well. If they're gonna go this route, I'm guessing it's gonna be one enormous, unexplored, and uncovered map like in Elden Ring to keep the depth of mystery. Your checkpoints/bonfires/sites of grace, bring you back to your base/hub akin to Cycle/Tarkov/Hunter's Dream, where you can re-arm, shop, accept missions, etc. If you get destroyed, your AC's scraps and loot and scavenged materials stay where you got knocked out like in Souls, and you can pick them up upon redeployment.

Upon accepting missions, certain areas of the open world are walled off, and scripted events would be setup, but still using the basic overlay of the land. The closest comparison I can think of would be MGSV if they'll follow this pattern.

Then there's the money aspect, and what it would do as far as game mechanics are concerned. Leveling up was never a thing in Armored Core, and it would be a drastic change if they were to introduce a similar mechanic from the Souls games. So, I'm guessing they'll pass it off as upgrades this time? I do wish they'd retain the out-of-the-box weapon stats like in every AC game, but let's see if their system is gonna surprise us.

[Mjting]

I'm hoping that they keep it simple and go back to the "dueling" routes like before.

AC5 tried to reinvent it too much IMO, and ended up being a chore instead of something you can sit down and enjoy.

[farmboy28]

Exclusive: The First Armored Core 6 Details With Hidetaka Miyazaki and Masaru Yamamura

[Lord_Leperman]

Exclusive: The First Armored Core 6 Details With Hidetaka Miyazaki and Masaru Yamamura

Thanks for that wonderful interview, a lot of questions are pretty much answered from that.

IGN: The moment in the trailer where there's a mech looking out over in the horizons and it was wearing what looks like a backpack, does that confirm that this game will be an open-world exploration with mecha?

Masaru Yamamura: To be clear, AC6 will feature a mission-based structure to the single-player. It's not fully open – it’s going to stick with that mission-based structure. In regards to that shot in the trailer in particular, there was this great disaster which was depicted in the trailer which brought with it enormous changes to the environment – similar to what you'd see with an ice age. This shot is just a straightforward representation of the world of AC6 and the mecha pilots who have to survive through such dramatic changes. So that's what we're trying to show with that shot.

Okay, so it's a mission based game with a focus on single player, not an open world game.

Anyway, I'll run through the whole interview and give my thoughts on some of the things mentioned a little later.

EDIT: Okay, after reading through that interview and piecing all the information we have right now... What could Armored Core 6 be?

Let's start with what it's likely not going to be: Souls-like. By that I mean, a persistent world, checkpoints, a death and respawn system, real time invasions/co-op. We probably won't have i-frame dodge rolls (It'd be a great in-joke if they actually made an AC dodge roll as an emote). Although quickboost might be a thing, it'd be weird if it had i-frames, unless they make some sort of sci-fi excuse for that. No poison swamps, since you can fly over them now, but we might have corrosive mists that cover horizons instead.

While this may be a letdown for some, it still is a great way for From to switch gears, and experiment on the classic AC formula. 

Now here comes my crystal ball as of 13 December 2022: Armored Core 6 may play out like another AC game: Ace Combat.

-Mission based structure. Check.
-Large, set-piece world for your AC to explore, but not exactly open world. Check.
-3D movement (fly in the air, fight on the ground). Check.
-Heavy focus on combat. Check.
-Ginormous boss fights (Something akin to the Aigaion in Ace 6, and the multitude of bosses in For Answer). Check.
-Earning credits to upgrade and purchase new toys to decrease the lifespan of your enemies. Check.

What would Armored Core 6 do differently from say, Ace Combat 7 (and Project Wingman on that regard).

-Branching mission paths with unique rewards at each end.
-Heavy customization of your AC (as emphasized by that interview).
-A plethora of weapons to finish a mission.
-Multi-tiered damage and defense system that adds complexity to combat.

To be fair, they've tried that system with ACV's 10 Story missions, to limited success, but I consider that sort of a half-attempt as the focus was on multiplayer. This time, there's an explicit focus on the single player experience.

[arrui]

I am still hoping for a Multiplayer mode that is similar to Verdict day. Allow ravens to create their own clans and fight against other clans. Fingers crossed for this.

[Mjting]

I am still hoping for a Multiplayer mode that is similar to Verdict day. Allow ravens to create their own clans and fight against other clans. Fingers crossed for this.

Would prefer a "back to basics" approach in going back to dueling, etc.

The ACV system with clans and territories ended up feeling like a chore or a job more than anything else.

[AEA1]

5 v 5 or 20 v 20 would be awesome

[Zefyr]

Pilebunkers being front and center is great

I hope the single player experience is focused on the most with the multiplayer stuff as an add-on instead of a focus

You know kind of like a Souls game

I know they said mechanically, AC will be AC, but they'll hopefully apply some of the ideas they've done for a lot of their games recently to make sure that the MP experience is better than ever.