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Assassin's Creed III |OT| Easier to read than Ratonhnhaké:ton

Current gen consoles

Okay, what I can't figure out is, if a console can't handle something, why try to do it?

Ambition and scope is one thing, but why try and create a product that the hardware can't handle? I already cancelled my preorder for the Wii U version as I wait to get a gaming PC, but that is some truly infuriating stuff. I just feel like when we hit next-gen, these developers are going to do the same shit-- try and squeeze every bit of what they can out of the hardware, resulting in buggy, choppy messes.

Here's hoping the PC version is worth it. These guys maybe need to aim their sights a little bit lower if this is the kind of stuff we're going to get.
 

Andrew.

Banned
Up to sequence 5 and theres way too much shit to do and its all in my face. too many icons. all at once.

halo four here i come. sorry ass man. I just couldnt take it,.
 

kr2t0s

Member
I hate to ask such a dumb question - but what are you people needing $ for?

In previous games - I totally grinded out $ for buildings and what not. I honestly beat the game (25 hours ish) without really buying anything. Seem extra arrows, bombs, etc but I never once thought, "man - I should buy some stuff".

Not to say there isn't stuff worth buying - which is why I'm asking. I also never bought one single weapon. Tomahawk for life.
 
A shame. While the beginning few sequences are an acquired taste and rather 'marmite' in application, the game really picks up afterwards once you do get to Connor. Then when the game opens up, it's incredibly enjoyable.

I'd recommend giving it a bit more time but it's up to you. I wasn't a fan of the non-Connor beginning either but now I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

well so far the game has thrown 2 or 3 sequences that require stealth or you fail and I really loathe that method of mission design to the point of rage. I don't mind stealth but I do loathe it when the designer forces that its the ONLY way to succeed. It simply de-evolves into trial and error and thats just lazy & shitty design. I prefer more organic/dynamic/emergent gameplay experiences and so far it appears the Ubi and taken an open world game and reduced it to a linear scriptfest.

I'm getting ready to
kill the 'bulldog'
how much longer until I get to play as Connor? Also does the game continue to force stealth or fail missions?
 

SJRB

Gold Member
Is there a way to drop or otherwise unequip swords? I've been playing the entire freaking game with just my tomahawk and now I disarmed a guy in the last mission and now I have this stupid sword hanging on my belt next to my tomahawk clipping through my clothes. It looks terrible.

I tried throwing it at enemies but alas. Please tell me there is a way?
 

Derrick01

Banned
Up to sequence 5 and theres way too much shit to do and its all in my face. too many icons. all at once.

halo four here i come. sorry ass man. I just couldnt take it,.

Think that's the first time I've heard someone complain of having things to do in a game.
 

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
I was hoping the seperate menu for weapons was a mistake for Revelations because they couldn't justify Ezio forgetting all his abilities.

Nope. Still here. The worst. Why is it GTA, Saint's Row, etc can handle multiple weapons in-game but AC 3 can not?
Think that's the first time I've heard someone complain of having things to do in a game.

I've seen plenty complain about it for Guild Wars 2. It's overwhelming when given no context or easing into.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Okay, what I can't figure out is, if a console can't handle something, why fucking make it

Ambition and scope is one thing, but why try and create a product that the hardware can't handle? I already cancelled my preorder for the Wii U version as I wait to get a gaming PC, but that is some truly infuriating stuff. I just feel like when we hit next-gen, these developers are going to do the same shit-- try and squeeze every bit of what they can out of the hardware, resulting in buggy, choppy messes.

Here's hoping the PC version is worth it. These guys maybe need to aim their sights a little bit lower if this is the kind of stuff we're going to get.

I think they feel that the market has spoken on this issue, and they've consistently proven they're completely willing to accept games for lower framerates and jaggies, as long as it has that 'cinematic wow.' You know, something where the player says 'wow, this area is huge' is a lot more buzzworthy than 'wow, this framerate is great!'

It's a very sad statement about priorities, but it is what it is. But, I do think there is an element of future proofing: they know next-gen consoles are around the corner, and they've restructured an engine that will be able to be flexed on those platforms (if you turn up the draw distance, smooth out the edges and lock it in at 30~60fps, and drastically reduce pop-in, I'm sure many in the mass market will accept that it's what a next-gen game should look like).

I am sure that they feel this is preparation for where the series is going in the future.
 

icespide

Banned
buggy game is buggy.

this thing was riding along the street this way

ass3.png
 
Anyone else think Connor's "kills" via counters are just overly violent? Coupled with the sound effects it just seems way too over the top in my opinion, in particular the hidden blade kills.
 
did they? isn't it rb/r1 or whatever?

Yeah those bring up the selection but you have to scroll through it all, was much easier in previous games to use the wheel than scrolling through all your weapons. It's not a major thing but I find it annoying. Unless I'm doing it "wrong"?
 
It's a very sad statement about priorities, but it is what it is. But, I do think there is an element of future proofing: they know next-gen consoles are around the corner, and they've restructured an engine that will be able to be flexed on those platforms (if you turn up the draw distance, smooth out the edges and lock it in at 30~60fps, and drastically reduce pop-in, I'm sure many in the mass market will accept that it's what a next-gen game should look like).

Sure. I just really hope that they stop trying to blow their load and create titles that the consoles can actually handle. Despite the scrutiny that the Wii gets, I can't help but feel nonetheless that some of Nintendo's flagship titles this gen like Mario Galaxy and Skyward Sword are more technically impressive to me exactly because of how they actually look at the hardware and see how they can build a game on it using things like art direction as an advantage without having to squeeze a clunky, broken mess out of it.

I do see that plenty of people are enjoying the game, but I find it increasingly annoying that we get these big development teams and long development times only to result in some technically broken products. This was a title that I was really looking forward to, but after Mess Effect 3 and Resident Evil 6 my tolerance for titles that by all logic should have been great end up being dogshit, I think, has reached critical levels.

That being said, and to try to be a little bit more on-topic and even optimistic, for those of you who hate the game, what would you think about it if there were fewer technical blunders and a better framerate? Would it even be a good game then? Is there hope for the PC version?
 
buggy game is buggy.

this thing was riding along the street this way

http://icespide.com/ios/ass3.png

I had a horse that was galloping on top of a water well. It was neat!

Think that's the first time I've heard someone complain of having things to do in a game.

Is there any real substance to them though? Sleeping Dogs side stuff had an effect on your character progression and abilities. Does AC3's side stuff do this as well?
 

Carbonox

Member
Thanks to the money-making tips in this topic, I can now make 10k every so often. Land Convoys + Land Convoy upgrades + Beaver pelts = shit ton of money per round of convoys.

Aside from this, is there a way to make your manor pretty? I.e. furniture, etc. so it's not dull?
 

LogicStep

Member
I'm trying to find a post that someone made here on gaf that had the key videos to watch to be up to date with the story regarding Revelations. I didn't play Revelations so I would like to watch the key story parts on youtube before I start AC3. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
 

Derrick01

Banned
Is there any real substance to them though? Sleeping Dogs side stuff had an effect on your character progression and abilities. Does AC3's side stuff do this as well?

Sleeping Dogs had a bunch of boring side content and virtually no side missions. AC has a lot of useless stuff too like the collectibles but the navy stuff alone gives it an edge.
 

Noi

Member
That being said, and to try to be a little bit more on-topic and even optimistic, for those of you who hate the game, what would you think about it if there were fewer technical blunders and a better framerate? Would it even be a good game then? Is there hope for the PC version?

Honestly, part of my issues are also with the pacing and lack of context. I still don't know why I'm collecting feathers. Why is Connor getting Almanac pages when I haven't met Ben Franklin yet? Why can I go in and liberate forts for a group of people who I haven't been introduced yet? Hell, why can I do so since before Connor becomes an Assassin?

I wouldn't have issues with the shit ton of stuff to do if I was given a valid reason for wanting to do them. "Get the feathers to help bring your Mother's sanity back" was a good motivation to getting them in ACII. In ACIII, they're basically there and there's a ticker telling me how many I'm missing, but no context as to why.

This is, of course, in addition to design decisions and over complicating stuff that just worked before. Why do I have to drudge through a boring underground maze to unlock fast travel points when I could simply find and unlock them on the main map before? Why don't waypoints reveal all the important parts of the map anymore? Why does wanting to select a different tool need to take me to another screen, completely interrupting the action? Why does the weapon chosen always default to the light weapon? Why am I in sequence 7, have already gone through the major assassin training, and STILL don't know how to use Eagle Vision, but allow sidequests that tell me to use it? It's this mess that takes me out of enjoying the game and makes it all feel like busywork.
 
I'm trying to find a post that someone made here on gaf that had the key videos to watch to be up to date with the story regarding Revelations. I didn't play Revelations so I would like to watch the key story parts on youtube before I start AC3. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

This?
 

Lima

Member
Can't decide between Altair's Outfit or Achille's Original Outfit.

Altair's looks boss as you would expect but really out of place in this game. Think I'm gonna go with Achille's outfit. Looks hella fine too.
 

rvy

Banned
Fucking artisan leveling up is complete nonsense. Now I need to go back and re-do sequences because they can't level up properly otherwise.

Edit, I'm an idiot. It works fine, I just need to buy stockpile stuff from the general store. What a piss poor job at explaining stuff, Ubi.
 
N

NinjaFridge

Unconfirmed Member
did they? isn't it rb/r1 or whatever?

Before it just came up as an overlay on the screen which was quick to appear, use and disappear. Now it's a different screen altogether and is a pain in the ass to use if you're in a fight.

Also, any idea why guards just randomly start chasing me? I can walk through half the city and everything incognito and everything is fine and then all of a sudden a group of guards just start coming after me, what the hell?
 

Kerub

Banned
Finished it now. I loved some parts and hated some parts, loved it more than I hated it though.

It was definitely an interesting, and part-time fantastic game.
 

Kerub

Banned
buggy game is buggy.

this thing was riding along the street this way

ass3.png

Haha. The funniest bug I had was a soldier that completely ran out of fucks to give. He just stood still, casually scratching his head while I brutally murdered his friends.
 
Honestly, part of my issues are also with the pacing and lack of context. I still don't know why I'm collecting feathers. Why is Connor getting Almanac pages when I haven't met Ben Franklin yet? Why can I go in and liberate forts for a group of people who I haven't been introduced yet? Hell, why can I do so since before Connor becomes an Assassin?

I wouldn't have issues with the shit ton of stuff to do if I was given a valid reason for wanting to do them. "Get the feathers to help bring your Mother's sanity back" was a good motivation to getting them in ACII. In ACIII, they're basically there and there's a ticker telling me how many I'm missing, but no context as to why.

This is, of course, in addition to design decisions and over complicating stuff that just worked before. Why do I have to drudge through a boring underground maze to unlock fast travel points when I could simply find and unlock them on the main map before? Why does wanting to select a different tool need to take me to another screen, completely interrupting the action? Why does the weapon chosen always default to the light weapon? Why am I in sequence 7, have already gone through the major assassin training, and STILL don't know how to use Eagle Vision, but allow sidequests that tell me to use it? It's this mess that takes me out of enjoying the game and makes it all feel like busywork.

It sounds like they simply assumed that the player would be okay with these things because they were present in some of the other titles, only in those games a lot of these things made sense in context and now they're thinking "well they did this in AC2 and they loved AC2 so they'll get why it's back." Like the on foot chases. Oh what I wouldn't give for those to be completely axed.

That being said, I'm still excited to play it and I can't help but feel that the diminished hype is a good thing in the long run.
 
Finished it now. I loved some parts and hated some parts, loved it more than I hated it though.

It was definitely an interesting, and part-time fantastic game.

I agree with this review.

Haha. The funniest bug I had was a soldier that completely ran out of fucks to give. He just stood still, casually scratching his head while I brutally murdered his friends.

A guard I killed while hiding behind a corner apparently stayed alive, even though his body ragdolled to the floor. He lay there as I butchered his buddies, and couldn't do anything but see me and yell. I couldn't kill him either, since he was technically dead. I had to bolt and return later, too, because I couldn't open the chest he was guarding.
 

Lima

Member
Also, any idea why guards just randomly start chasing me? I can walk through half the city and everything incognito and everything is fine and then all of a sudden a group of guards just start coming after me, what the hell?

Does it happen when you are running? Because sometimes they are looking for thieves and if you run past them, they will suspect that you are the thief and chase you.
 

Data West

coaches in the WNBA
That being said, and to try to be a little bit more on-topic and even optimistic, for those of you who hate the game, what would you think about it if there were fewer technical blunders and a better framerate? Would it even be a good game then? Is there hope for the PC version?

It's more than just the bugs. I've come to accept bugs and generally don't have that big of a problem with them. Like I said, framerate's never been that bad to me either. The game just isn't the jump in quality that I wanted, and I'm sure some will say it's because of the consoles, but I'll go ahead and say the next gen AC won't be THAT much different aside from graphics.

The combat feels like it's just tacked on over the old combat. It's not smooth like a Batman or a Sleeping Dogs. There's ZERO satisfaction to it. The environments are interesting and usually look great, but there's so much stuff with no context as others have said. Connor's just as bad as Altair if not worse. He's not interesting at all. The outside of Animus stuff is AWFUL. There's a real cool mission but all the first civilization bullshit is insultingly corny and up its own ass.

I don't think any of the naval stuff is that fun. Sure, it's impressive, but I don't enjoy doing it. The last thing I want in an AC game where it's not known for snappy controls is to control a big boat. The 'wildlife' stuff is completely lame. RDR did it better, and from what I've seen of Far Cry 3, it'll do it better too. There's also a group of characters who are portrayed in a different light in the game, and it's hilarious how much they change them. It's like the RLM Star Wars review where he talks about 'Darth I'm a Bad Guy'. I'm a huge history buff, so I've always loved the animus database stuff, but the writers apparently decided they wanted to make a sitcom, so they have Shaun make his little jokes in every.single.entry.

If there's a log in the middle of the river, Shaun will add a joke to the database. If we did the holocause, Shaun would add a joke to the database. Which is odd because his character is fine outside of the database. I guess if you still really like AC, you'd like this one, but if you're looking for something that's similar enough that you recognize it but that it feels fresh, I don't think it does.
 

Carbonox

Member
What do people want from the series in the future? I'd be happy if they - and I presume they will - drop all modern day shit and just make a game take place completely in the historic setting of their choosing. Would be much better and give them an excuse to make titles due to how much history still left untapped. Though I'd be surprised if they dropped the Templar theme and that could well become very stale every game. Not sure what other threats they could utilize.
 

Derrick01

Banned
Yay for beneficial bugs. I was doing a naval contract mission where I had to take on 4 frigates and one sunk itself by running into the rocks, bugging out and flipping a few hundred feet in the air, sinking after it finally landed :lol

Carbonox_Ratchet said:
What do people want from the series in the future?

I think they squandered a lot of opportunity to have this turn out to be a legendary game. Besides not being able to run on modern consoles, they played it too safe by not changing much of the AC2 formula. I really love this time period and it would have been great if they used the fresh start to really re-do everything and come up with new stuff and new controls. I guess we'll have to wait for next gen for that but there's not a lot of settings they could do that will interest me as much as this. I would be happy with a modern setting as long as we don't play as Desmond. But for the first one of next gen I want a complete overhaul of everything.
 

luxarific

Nork unification denier
So is there really no way to make more than one item at a time in the crafting interface? It sucks all the joy out of crafting.
 

Effect

Member
I really wonder if the Wii U version will have these issues. Same with the PC version. From what I recall in videos the Wii U version was being done by a different team while the PS3/360 version was being done by another, the core team I guess. I can only assume the PC version was done by a different team as well.
 
N

NinjaFridge

Unconfirmed Member
What do people want from the series in the future? I'd be happy if they - and I presume they will - drop all modern day shit and just make a game take place completely in the historic setting of their choosing. Would be much better and give them an excuse to make titles due to how much history still left untapped. Though I'd be surprised if they dropped the Templar theme and that could well become very stale every game. Not sure what other threats they could utilize.

I actually didn't mind some of the modern stuff. Story-wise it wasn't great to say the least but there were some enjoyable moments. I wouldn't mind a modern day game but only if they update, well pretty much everything.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
Credits are rolling right now.

I am so glad this is over. Terrible all around, aside from a few solid moments it was a complete trainwreck. Remarkable how every sequence somehow ended up worse than the previous, with the chase in sequence 12 pretty much the epitome of everything that is wrong with this game. If any, it is obvious Ubisoft were working on this game with 6 studios. I've never played such a disconnected, jumbled mess of a game. And don't even get me started on the ending, holy shit. Utterly, mindblowingly stupid and pretentious, the Desmond ending is beyond disappointing.


Anyway, with this piece of shit main story out of the way I can finally go and enjoy this game for what it is - an awesome open world sandboxer with tons of sidemissions.
 
Haha. The funniest bug I had was a soldier that completely ran out of fucks to give. He just stood still, casually scratching his head while I brutally murdered his friends.

I had that a few times where a guard will just start walking his boring guard route right through a brutal gorefest of his friends being mauled in the face with a goddamn tomahawk.
 

Amir0x

Banned
Sure. I just really hope that they stop trying to blow their load and create titles that the consoles can actually handle. Despite the scrutiny that the Wii gets, I can't help but feel nonetheless that some of Nintendo's flagship titles this gen like Mario Galaxy and Skyward Sword are more technically impressive to me exactly because of how they actually look at the hardware and see how they can build a game on it using things like art direction as an advantage without having to squeeze a clunky, broken mess out of it.

I do see that plenty of people are enjoying the game, but I find it increasingly annoying that we get these big development teams and long development times only to result in some technically broken products. This was a title that I was really looking forward to, but after Mess Effect 3 and Resident Evil 6 my tolerance for titles that by all logic should have been great end up being dogshit, I think, has reached critical levels.

That being said, and to try to be a little bit more on-topic and even optimistic, for those of you who hate the game, what would you think about it if there were fewer technical blunders and a better framerate? Would it even be a good game then? Is there hope for the PC version?

It's a "good" game, but just barely. It has some really awful mission design at times, but it is often counteracted by an equally good mission. It is impressive the scale of the world and, if you get into the element, it's fun just scouting around, fighting collectibles and hunting. But the combat is automode shit, although it looks amazing when it happens, and this holds it back more than anything from being great. If they just found a way to make combat have some actual strategy, it'd easily level up the product for me.

That said, I haven't got up to the last sequences and people have been bitching hardcore about those, so I'm crossing fingers it can stay barely above the "good" line.

If it had a great framerate and far less bugs and jaggies, it'd probably be a proper good game. Still not a great one though
 
I think they squandered a lot of opportunity to have this turn out to be a legendary game. Besides not being able to run on modern consoles, they played it too safe by not changing much of the AC2 formula. I really love this time period and it would have been great if they used the fresh start to really re-do everything and come up with new stuff and new controls. I guess we'll have to wait for next gen for that but there's not a lot of settings they could do that will interest me as much as this. I would be happy with a modern setting as long as we don't play as Desmond. But for the first one of next gen I want a complete overhaul of everything.

I really wish they would just focus on the core mechanics of assassinating people and traversing the world on foot. Polish those to a mirror shine and stop fucking around with ancillary bullshit. I've always loved what Yahtzee said about the first AC when he reviewed it:

"The developers can't seem to grasp what it is that makes their game fun. The actual assassinations - planning the route to the target, stealthing over Hitman style, and sticking blades up their arse - they're great fun, it's just that it takes way too long to get to those moments."

Instead they clutter the game up with stupid bullshit. Sometimes it vaguely works, like the naval combat, but mostly it's just tedious, annoying, vestigial crap.
 

rvy

Banned
Anyway, with this piece of shit main story out of the way I can finally go and enjoy this game for what it is - an awesome open world sandboxer with tons of sidemissions.

.

Almost 20 hours clocked in, 13 of those were awful. The others have been pretty great.
 

luxarific

Nork unification denier
Wow, this entire interface for crafting, trading, and stockpiling is a like case study in bad design. No way to buy more than one thing at a time. You can't designate an entire convoy to one merchant, but can only do so on a per item basis. You can't set up recurring shipments, which makes earning money incredibly tedious. Whomever dreamt this turd up should be embarrassed, really.
 

LuchaShaq

Banned
Question about liberation contracts. I did all the white symbols in Boston but only got the recruit from story+1 but I talked to another guy to and now he's in none of the liberation contract bars?

I mean I found him but he won't talk despite me finishing the liberation stuff.

Didn't get an answer so asking one more time.


Also connor is a total bummer. I loved AC2-brotherhood-revelations in large part due to Ezio and a couple of the side people. Desmond/Connor/shaun/rebecca/desmond's dad could all die by the end of the game and I wouldn't blink. The end of revelations/end of AC embers? I was 100% in on it.
 
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