Support NeoGAF

[The English Conquistador]

Gah this game. Still having real trouble actually liking it.

The parkour stuff feels absolutely terrible now. Jittery as fuck and looks a hot mess. In AC2 - Revelations it just felt...smoother. Looked less janky. Sure it wasn't as fast but it felt more natural. This just looks shit.

The voices being the same for nearly every fucking recruit you rescue, the voices not matching characters at all? (Why do all the black women sound irish in the Caribbean?) Obviously they can't voice each individually but put some effort in it for god sakes...it's laughable at the moment.

Edward and his group are about as interesting as the stock market so far. Overall this gives me the same shitty vibes AC3 did, but this actually looked more promising. Yeah it's pretty but past that? Nothing so far has made me think that I like any of it.

 

[TacticalFox88]

PLEASE tell me it's at least better than ACIII.

I was so bored I didn't even get to the sections with Connor.

 

[Roto13]

PLEASE tell me it's at least better than ACIII.

I was so bored I didn't even get to the sections with Connor.

It's miles better than ACIII.

 

[chickdigger802]

Make sure to wear the pirate cloak.

Makes the game 3x more fun

 

[timetokill]

Anybody else have their "Silence, Fool!" trophy bugged?

I've shot and killed 3 guards while they're ringing bells and the trophy won't unlock.



Edit: I just figured it out. The trophy says "Kill a guard ringing a bell," but that's inaccurate. Shooting them doesn't count. However, when I assassinated him, that worked and unlocked the trophy.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

PLEASE tell me it's at least better than ACIII.

I was so bored I didn't even get to the sections with Connor.

It's amazing. Normally I blast through the stories, but I've put that on hold to explore the world, loot and plunder, do every side mission, and make myself the Terror of the West Indies.

It's awesome.

 

[BigDug13]

I'm trying to figure out why there is a "Sea Shanties" option in the audio if they're not going to use it. I turn the music down to 0 and keep "Sea Shanties" in the "on" position and they still won't sing sea shanties. Sea shanties are still tied to the "music" audio control and I don't understand why.

So what's the point in the separate audio option for sea shanties if they're not going to actually let you still listen to sea shanties when you have the game music turned down?

I want to be able to choose the realism of only game sounds with no background soundtrack, but also KEEP the music that is generated by NPC's as audible.

Is there a way I can do this?

 

[GSG Flash]

Does anyone else find the graphics disappointing? Coming from Killzone and BF4, I expected so much more from this game, but it just looks like a higher res version of PS3/360 games.

 

[Starsunder]

Does anyone else find the graphics disappointing? Coming from Killzone and BF4, I expected so much more from this game, but it just looks like a higher res version of PS3/360 games.

I....pretty much have the exact opposite opinion. I think it might be my favorite looking game out of the bunch. The storms look absolutely incredible, whether you're on the seas sailing or walking around Nassau when one rolls in. The foliage looks great to me, the general textures...I dunno. I think it looks phenomenal.

 

[Dune1975]

Does anyone else find the graphics disappointing? Coming from Killzone and BF4, I expected so much more from this game, but it just looks like a higher res version of PS3/360 games.

It is just a higher res version of an PS3 game, it looks amazing for what it is though IMO

 

[Derrick01]

This game is such a chore to play (like all of the others kind of). Can someone tell me why I'm collecting manuscripts/letters? What do they do? Why does seemingly everything else on the map serve to only give a bit of money and junk items that are automatically converted into money? For a new sword when I can auto kill almost everyone in the game with the starting sword? What's the point of doing missions/assassin contracts when it's just normal janky AC gameplay where you have to chase someone while trying not to run up every surface or slowly follow someone for 10 minutes?

Does anyone else find the graphics disappointing? Coming from Killzone and BF4, I expected so much more from this game, but it just looks like a higher res version of PS3/360 games.

Yes, it's not a very good looking game because of its last gen assets. It's not much different than some of these HD remakes of PS2 games, in that yeah they look better than they did on their original versions because the image quality and jaggies were cleaned up, but it's still quite clearly a PS2/Xbox game.

Plus I keep waiting for that awful AC aesthetic to go away and stop making the games look so muddy and blurry.

 

[SJRB]

Make sure to wear the pirate cloak.

Makes the game 3x more fun

I wear the cloak while at sea, but the default outfit when in the city. The cloak looks silly when the hood is up.

Also - why the hell is the hood not a toggle? I want to decide for myself when I want to put the hood up or down]

 

[Sickboy007]

Looow Laaands (Heeey)
Looow Laaands AWAAAAY John

I'm having a good time with this but I'll echo the sentiment about the lack of personality of the cities.

 

[NoSkillz187]

Is there a way to cancel missions? I started a assassination and didn't do it for like 2 hours and now I can't find where to go since it isn't on the map anymore, but the missions description is on my screen at all times...

 

[Tenrius]

Is there a way to cancel missions? I started a assassination and didn't do it for like 2 hours and now I can't find where to go since it isn't on the map anymore, but the missions description is on my screen at all times...

It's probably a glitch, you can't do anything about it. An assassination contract (Juan Garcia) bugged out on me and now I'm forever stuck with a "kill beacon". Ubisoft said that this was a known bug though, maybe that means they'll fix it.

 

[Tenrius]

This game is such a chore to play (like all of the others kind of). Can someone tell me why I'm collecting manuscripts/letters? What do they do? Why does seemingly everything else on the map serve to only give a bit of money and junk items that are automatically converted into money? For a new sword when I can auto kill almost everyone in the game with the starting sword? What's the point of doing missions/assassin contracts when it's just normal janky AC gameplay where you have to chase someone while trying not to run up every surface or slowly follow someone for 10 minutes?

I feel that this is a bit unjustified. The sword upgrades are quite handy, because a lot of enemies do feel like damage sponges with the default swords, even in the beginning of the game, and I understand that there'll be tougher enemies later on. Most of the other upgrades are, for once, either similarly useful (Jackdaw, HP) or just fun (Jackdaw appearance, cove, outfits). I'm not very fond of the collectibles myself, but at least the Mayan stones, the shanties and the treasure maps are fairly interesting. And I liked the assassination contracts — for what it's worth, ACIV doesn't feature a lot of the "normal janky AC gameplay" (which is not as janky in this game, at least, compared to ACII) and for me it was a welcome diversion from all the swashbuckling.

EDIT: Ugh, I figured the thread would be moving faster. Sorry about the double post!

 

[HORRORSHØW]

Is everyone's complexion supposed to be burnt sienna?

 

[Blue Ninja]

It's probably a glitch, you can't do anything about it. An assassination contract (Juan Garcia) bugged out on me and now I'm forever stuck with a "kill beacon". Ubisoft said that this was a known bug though, maybe that means they'll fix it.

Same here. I hope it's fixed soon.

 

[GSG Flash]

This game is such a chore to play (like all of the others kind of). Can someone tell me why I'm collecting manuscripts/letters? What do they do? Why does seemingly everything else on the map serve to only give a bit of money and junk items that are automatically converted into money? For a new sword when I can auto kill almost everyone in the game with the starting sword? What's the point of doing missions/assassin contracts when it's just normal janky AC gameplay where you have to chase someone while trying not to run up every surface or slowly follow someone for 10 minutes?



Yes, it's not a very good looking game because of its last gen assets. It's not much different than some of these HD remakes of PS2 games, in that yeah they look better than they did on their original versions because the image quality and jaggies were cleaned up, but it's still quite clearly a PS2/Xbox game.

Plus I keep waiting for that awful AC aesthetic to go away and stop making the games look so muddy and blurry.

This is exactly how I feel about this game, both the graphics and the actual gameplay

 

[DMiz]

Deriving a ton of enjoyment from this game.

I've turned off all the HUD elements sans the weapon indicator, and it's been a blast. Taking the time to scope an island, running around and trying to find all the chests and hidden items (before finally giving up and opening up the map) has helped immensely to lengthening the adventure. I'm nowhere near done, and I've passed the time mark where I usually finish AC games.

For the record, I still maintain that AC2 is my favorite in the series: not particularly for Ezio, whom I never liked, but for just having very good pacing and several game elements that work well together.

AC4 comes very close. There is a lot to do, and a lot of good reasons to do it - though, like others have mentioned, there are also superfluous elements that are pointless and seem contrived. For what it's worth, my thoughts on the subject, as they stand (I've spoiled some bits that people might want to find out on their own):

• The world is large, vast, and it's fun to poke around. Turn off your mini-map - seriously, do it. Don't fall into the trap of "oh, there's a treasure here, and I'll zip around to pick up this thing" - appreciate each island! Sail and have a blast, taking out ships along the way! They really do a good job of mimicking some of the sense of wonderment that Wind Waker has (and the director himself mentioned that Wind Waker was a point of inspiration during development), and it's fun to see new things over the horizon that you didn't know was there because you didn't look at your map.
• Ship combat is fun and feels much improved over 3.
• The
  Spoiler

  return of a 'base' and recruiting ships is a good nod to the Assassins system in AC2. It's quick, fast, fun, and gives you some busy-work in between sailing to new islands.
• Edward is a decently fun protagonist - not too over-bearing, different enough to be a good ancestor to poke around in.
• The modern day parts are, for the most part, un-intrusive and interesting. I was highly skeptical when reviews came out claiming that it was well-done this time around; for the most part, I agree.
• Combat is still the same. If you didn't like it before, you won't like it now - there's less weapon variety and much more same-iness.
• More options for PC, please! There just needs to be more toggles, from what I've seen.

I don't think my opinion will change much by the time I beat this game, but it'll be interesting to see where I place this within my own personal ranking of the series. It is shaping up to be a great starting point for future spin-offs or titles.

 

[TheVampire]

I'm kinda confused.

I havn't played as a game in this series since Assasins Creed 2.

I just beat the first part of the game and now I'm in that real world office section.

So Abstergo Industries‎ made Abstergo Entertainment?
I thought Abstergo were the bad guys?
And now they are sharing that memory Animus tech with the world and are making games for everyone to use?

And they are using Desmond's DNA to do this?

 

[SJRB]

I'm kinda confused.

I havn't played as a game in this series since Assasins Creed 2.

I just beat the first part of the game and now I'm in that real world office section.

So Abstergo Industries‎ made Abstergo Entertainment?
I thought Abstergo were the bad guys?
And now they are sharing that memory Animus tech with the world and are making games for everyone to use?

And they are using Desmond's DNA to do this?

All I can say is keep playing, my friend.

 

[Milennia]

Ok finished the game.

Ending was ok i guess.. Story overall in this game was a let down for me, but the overall gameplay such as the naval combat made up for it a bit.


Also the game looked amazing.

 

[DMiz]

I'm kinda confused.

I havn't played as a game in this series since Assasins Creed 2.

I just beat the first part of the game and now I'm in that real world office section.

So Abstergo Industries‎ made Abstergo Entertainment?
I thought Abstergo were the bad guys?
And now they are sharing that memory Animus tech with the world and are making games for everyone to use?

And they are using Desmond's DNA to do this?

As SJRB said, keep going. lf you'd like a spoiler, since you haven't played the other games in the series, though:

Spoiler

Desmond is dead; he was given a choice by one of the remnants of the Precursors (similar to Minerva, who you saw at the end of AC2), to either become a leader for the people but effectively resulting in the repeat of history in the conflict between Assassins and Templars, or to end his own life in order to make a break for something new - all in the hopes of averting a major solar crisis approaching Earth. Granted, the latter choice also set free the Precursor, who is hinted to having some major psychological issues and hatred towards humans.

Desmond ends up choosing to sacrifice himself, as he believes that the conflict between Assassins and Templars has ultimately been the result of different perspectives on a common goal (which is something that drives his interactions with the ancestor in AC3, Conor, and his father, Haytham), thus freeing Juno, the afore-mentioned 'goddess' that came before Man. She does, for her part, manage to thwart the impending doom, although what she does after her release is not yet told.

After Desmond's death, Abstergo packs him up in a body bag and starts using his biological samples to trawl through his DNA, which is where you find yourself now.

Catching some of the cutscenes on YouTube should also fill you in.

 

[Charcoal]

These Man O' War's got me sweatin tho..

 

[LightofRohan]

This is definitely my favorite AC game so far.

Goddam that stealth is so much better. AC3's stealth was just so horrible!

 

[Derrick01]

One of the things I hate in modern games the most is making me do tutorial story missions for activities that I've already done numerous times. Why am I doing a mission that teaches me how to sail and how to attack and board ships when I've done it 7 times myself already? It's even worse with missions that teach me how to do things that have been in the AC games for 2 or more games already. Stop designing every single game with people in mind who never touched the series.

There should be an actual tutorial in this series at the very beginning and it should be skip-able for people who have played this series. No story missions should be wasted doing basic activities.

I feel that this is a bit unjustified. The sword upgrades are quite handy, because a lot of enemies do feel like damage sponges with the default swords, even in the beginning of the game, and I understand that there'll be tougher enemies later on. Most of the other upgrades are, for once, either similarly useful (Jackdaw, HP) or just fun (Jackdaw appearance, cove, outfits). I'm not very fond of the collectibles myself, but at least the Mayan stones, the shanties and the treasure maps are fairly interesting. And I liked the assassination contracts — for what it's worth, ACIV doesn't feature a lot of the "normal janky AC gameplay" (which is not as janky in this game, at least, compared to ACII) and for me it was a welcome diversion from all the swashbuckling.

EDIT: Ugh, I figured the thread would be moving faster. Sorry about the double post!

I haven't encountered an enemy that takes more than a couple of hits and those are usually the heavy weapon enemies. Everyone else dies in a counter so far. The assassination contracts would be ok if they all weren't the same as any other kill in the game. It's like Far Cry 3 in this regard, you go to an area and wipe out everyone there and you get a small and insignificant bonus for doing it stealthy. It would be much better if they would at least change up the secondary/bonus objectives like they used to in these games.

Another useless collectible I forgot to mention, what are those animus fragments for? I've gotten every one in Havana and Nassau and nothing happened. Have I not reached the dumb tutorial that tells me that yet?

Goddam that stealth is so much better. AC3's stealth was just so horrible!

It's the same stealth though! They let you crouch in bushes (I don't remember if that was in 3 or not) but it's basically the same as hiding in hay piles and whistling an enemy over to you.

 

[Jeels]

Answer to my question: https://support.ubi.com/en-us/faq.aspx?platformid=35&productid=4186&faqid=kA030000000ebfgCAA#legacy

 

[Megasoum]

So question about the Fleet thing.

So I'm mostly using brigs right now. Is there a way to increase their cargo capacity or the only way is to start capturing the next and bigger ship in the foodchain (whatever is the next one after the Brigs)? Right now I have missions available to Portugal and Eastern Canada and they all require a LOT more cargo than what I can carry.

 

[SoraanTribal]

Another useless collectible I forgot to mention, what are those animus fragments for? I've gotten every one in Havana and Nassau and nothing happened. Have I not reached the dumb tutorial that tells me that yet?

Just ignore them from now on. You get absolutely nothing for collecting them all - I found out the hard way. A little "Abstergo achievement" thing pops up saying you got them all. But you get absolutely nothing outta it (not even a trophy). I hate pointless collectables like that. I assumed you would get at least SOMETHING outta it.

So question about the Fleet thing.

So I'm mostly using brigs right now. Is there a way to increase their cargo capacity or the only way is to start capturing the next and bigger ship in the foodchain (whatever is the next one after the Brigs)? Right now I have missions available to Portugal and Eastern Canada and they all require a LOT more cargo than what I can carry.

Higher level Brigs have more cargo space (same for every type of ship actually). They also have better overall stats like attack and speed. There's other bigger ships after brigs, though. High level Man 'o Wars have like 90 cargo space.

This is definitely my favorite AC game so far.

Goddam that stealth is so much better. AC3's stealth was just so horrible!

What stealth? You hide in a bush or a haystack and use whistle. That's all there is to the stealth until you get

Spoiler

Sleep and Berserk darts.

But the actual stealth mechanics are just as poor as they have always been. The only thing that got better (maybe) is the placement of the bushes/haystacks.

 

[Balphon]

So question about the Fleet thing.

So I'm mostly using brigs right now. Is there a way to increase their cargo capacity or the only way is to start capturing the next and bigger ship in the foodchain (whatever is the next one after the Brigs)? Right now I have missions available to Portugal and Eastern Canada and they all require a LOT more cargo than what I can carry.

Higher level versions of ships (i.e. hunters) have larger cargo capacity, or you can go after the next tier of ship (frigate). For some of the later missions you'll need 80+ cargo, which requires a high-level man o' war.

 

[Derrick01]

Just ignore them from now on. You get absolutely nothing for collecting them all - I found out the hard way. A little "Abstergo achievement" thing pops up saying you got them all. But you get absolutely nothing outta it (not even a trophy). I hate pointless collectables like that. I assumed you would get at least SOMETHING outta it.

God damn it Ubisoft >.<

 

[Megasoum]

Higher level Brigs have more cargo space (same for every type of ship actually). They also have better overall stats like attack and speed. There's other bigger ships after brigs, though. High level Man 'o Wars have like 90 cargo space.

Higher level versions of ships (i.e. hunters) have larger cargo capacity, or you can go after the next tier of ship (frigate). For some of the later missions you'll need 80+ cargo, which requires a high-level man o' war.

All right Thanks guys

God damn it Ubisoft >.<

Well technically you get the "Deceased Crew cheat"

Spoiler

Which turn all your Jackdaw crew into skeleton

.... big whoopidoo

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Grabbed this one for $50 from Walmart during their "pre-Black Friday sale". Pretty stoked for full HD 1080p Ass Creed on my PS4, even though I'm not myself a huge fan of this franchise and never finished the first one.

 

[Kazerei]

This is definitely my favorite AC game so far.

Goddam that stealth is so much better. AC3's stealth was just so horrible!

I think the mission/level design is what got better. There weren't alot of opportunities to go stealthy in ACIII, and when I did, it was very trial-and-error for me. Also, levels felt strangely linear. In ACIV the levels tend to be more open-ended, so stealthing around feels more fun.

 

[SoraanTribal]

Well technically you get the "Deceased Crew cheat"

Spoiler

Which turn all your Jackdaw crew into skeleton

.... big whoopidoo

Collecting the 200 Animus fragments alone doesn't give you that cheat, though. You get that by completing 100 challenges.

 

[Megasoum]

So I used the upgrade from PS3 to PS4 deal and now it looks like I don't have the "Limited Edition" DLC on PS4.... One of the bonuses is the Matching Golden Swords, I'm standing exactly on the spot where the chest is supposed to be and it's not there.

 

[rocketskates]

He's no Jesper Kyd, but Brian Tyler did a great job on the OST.

 

[LightofRohan]

I think the mission/level design is what got better. There weren't alot of opportunities to go stealthy in ACIII, and when I did, it was very trial-and-error for me. Also, levels felt strangely linear. In ACIV the levels tend to be more open-ended, so stealthing around feels more fun.

Yea perhaps. But I also feel they are much more forgiving, whereas AC3 if they spotted your shoulder from a mile away peeking behind a rock, they'd alert everyone in half a second. Also, I think the map is displaying their fov much more accurately -- where AC3 I think was only a dot? I feel more confident when I'm taking out an area opposed to AC3 where I was constantly just trying to glitch behind a rock and hoping it doesn't break. AC has always had broken/undefined stealth mechanics, this is the most functional yet.

One of the things I hate in modern games the most is making me do tutorial story missions for activities that I've already done numerous times. Why am I doing a mission that teaches me how to sail and how to attack and board ships when I've done it 7 times myself already? It's even worse with missions that teach me how to do things that have been in the AC games for 2 or more games already. Stop designing every single game with people in mind who never touched the series.

There should be an actual tutorial in this series at the very beginning and it should be skip-able for people who have played this series. No story missions should be wasted doing basic activities.

Yeaa, that's my biggest pet-peeve as well. Especially when they don't even give you a second to figure it out for yourself, "HEY PUSH FORWARD ON THE STICK TO MOVE K!?" But I've always just turned off tutorials/updates in the hud in AC games (plus a lot of other things).

This series has always felt to me like it was: ARTISTS vs DESIGNER. Like they all hate each other and nobody wants to help the other one out. Especially starting from AC1, where the entire beautiful NEXTGEN game was destroyed by such trivial gameplay mechanics and ugly UI.

 

[matrixman92]

can anyone on ps4 PLEASE try to go into multiplayer and tell me if it works. I have been trying to get in for literally the last three hours to no avail. I have seen absolutely nobody talking about it online, im thinking its just me.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I want to make lots of money fast.

What should I do?

 

[TheVampire]

What the hell.....Can you no longer kill random civilians in this game?

I tried everything

 

[rocketskates]

Spoiler

YOUR NAMES NOT JAMES IS IT

lol edwards

 

[socialQ]

This game is so fucking last gen. Regret buying it. Blah...

 

[O.DOGG]

The game has the best-looking sea I've seen in a game.

 

[LightofRohan]

The game has the best-looking sea I've seen in a game.

This game is so fucking last gen. Regret buying it. Blah...

He he he.

Give it some time, it's underwhelming at first -- but it has its moments. Them stormy oceans...

 

[kazebyaka]

What the hell.....Can you no longer kill random civilians in this game?

I tried everything

You can, with pistols

 

[Naite]

I think these multiple optional objectives to get 100% sync are getting to me. In older games I use to be stealthy as possible, but now I just rush thru repeatedly til I find a pattern that works.

 

[Alcander]

I want to know why you *still* can't crouch/stealth walk in the AC series. Like, seriously? I'm being all sneaky, knocking dudes out, ducking in the grass and then... hey! let me just saunter normally around for a bit! Ok now back to being sneaky... Bleh.

Wish you could toggle "stealth mode" or something.

 

[kazebyaka]

I want to know why you *still* can't crouch/stealth walk in the AC series. Like, seriously? I'm being all sneaky, knocking dudes out, ducking in the grass and then... hey! let me just saunter normally around for a bit! Ok now back to being sneaky... Bleh.

Wish you could toggle "stealth mode" or something.

As if Assassin's Creed needs more buttons