The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

Damn. The buildings and the clothing on Arno looks very nice. Has a nice matte finish, unlike the pixelated textures that was in the previous games.

Damn. The buildings and the clothing on Arno looks very nice. Has a nice matte finish, unlike the pixelated textures that was in the previous games.

I was told by someone who's up on the rumors that Unity is actually going to be the next-gen exclusive, with the other game being the last-gen one. Keep in mind re: visuals that this is still pretty early, a lot of things come together in the polish run-up to E3. The skybox on the screenshots appears to be placeholder, for example.

Updated title and post with more accurate information.

I think the most interesting detail I spied were the prompts "Parkour Down" and "Parkour Up". Interesting to see if this is going to be an introduction to more granular parkour control, or just a different name for what we can already do now.

Also, I may be wrong, but I believe this is the first time those prompts have correctly called it "Parkour", rather than "Free-running".

EDIT: one last thing: notice that opening at the top of the building? is this possibly a way to enter that building stealthily? "more enterable buildings" was on the survey ubi put out a while ago.

Would be awesome if you could open the front door to that building as well.

Also, this story has a different shot of Paris, showcasing a heckuva lot of density: http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5526386/report-assassins-creed-unity-pa...

Looks pretty sweet and I like Paris/France in general. If they can guarantee that I'll be able to open all of the chests, this is a buy.
I'm also very intrigued by the Parkour up/Parkour down controls.

I'm hoping that Paris won't be the only city available in-game.

Hopefully not, yeah. we weren't intended to see the game like this, I'm sure the reveal trailer would have made it immediately clear if there would be many locations or not, like Black Flag's did.

Intriguing, yet its probably just placeholder text until someone comes along to dumb it down.

So, now the question is what is the timeline; what portion of the French Revolution is it during?

Setting is cool and everything, but what I really want is:

- a single player level editor. I'd be happy with something that looks like ACB's VR Training room, but I understand that a grey environment like that may become boring soon. I think I read once that the buildings in AC1 were built up from 'blocks' that could be arranged and combined pretty much any way the creators wanted (can anyone confirm this?). Is there any way a system like this can be used in a level editor? I just want to be able to create and share challenging stealth situations, and play those created by others. Just pop in a Templar in the middle of a courtyard, litter the surrounding roofs and doorways with guards, set some parameters for detection and pick a spawnpoint for the player. Ready? GO! Save your replay if you did something extraordinary or try to get your fastest time at the top of the leaderboard. Ubisoft might make a selection of good, challenging levels once a month and promote them. Similar to Rockstar Verified multiplayer gamemodes in GTA V. (I think it's similar to that, from what I've seen on YouTube.)
- a simple stealth button, a bit like what did in AC1. In crowded areas, it should be able to blend the character without needing NPCs around him. In a Frontier, jungle or Bayou, the character should be able to crouch without needing stalking zones or bushes or anything. Crouching in a bush will still be a more effective method of being stealthy, but you can still (try to) be stealthy when there's nothing around to help you.

I'm not sure I like that. I'd prefer for pseudo blending animations to simply be automatic while guards are detecting you and you're walking normally. accomplishes the same effect but with less inputs required.

As for crouching... maybe. the way it was going to work in AC4 was that there was no dedicated button, but you were automatically crouched for a few seconds after running out from stalking zones.

Welp it's been officially announced now, Ubi playing off the leak as Abstergo pushing them~

http://youtu.be/wLcjwqXATIM
Holiday 2014

I'm making a separate topic for that video because holy shit

BREAKING NEWS: https://twitter.com/GreatWallofChin/status/447110632387510272

There isn't a colon in AC: Unity. It's just AC Unity.

HUGE NEWS, RIGHT?

WHAT THE HELL? It's like they don't even care about the fans. I am SOOO not buying this game. How do they not know that colons are a hugely important pillar in the AC franchise? They just messed up all title designs because it will be missing that colon. Might as well put it in freaking Comic Sans, I don't even care anymore... GAH!

hopefully they follow it up next year with Assassin's Creed: :::::::::::

The video looked good until I saw the "holiday 2014" part. Then again if they won't make another game until 2016 I'd like that (not including the supposed other game of course). But let's focus on the present for now. I'm only getting the game if it has enough promise. No lame or lack of targets, no simplified controls, no Arkham Asylum combat ripoff (but that probably can't be helped anymore), and for goodness sake MAKE THOSE CITIES CONDENSED.

What, you were expecting them to announce it, show gameplay, and then NOT release it in the same year?

I think you mean "Dense", not condensed.

I'm pretty much on your page. Black Flag was great, but it also made me really hungry for an AC game that feels totally new and overhauled.

Something that will address longstanding problems of the series.

Considering this has Parkour Up and Parkour Down buttons on the screenshots and placing that fact side-by-side with Ubisoft saying they'd like to rebuild the Three Pillars (Stealth, Combat, Navigation) from the ground up, again - I'd say there's a pretty decent chance. I really, really want to see what they could do - specifically, I'd like for all three of those to be able to feed and flow into each other.

From Stealth into Combat, from Combat into Navigation, from Navigation into Stealth, just webs and strands, fluidity and gameplay flow from each of those three concepts into any other seamlessly. If they gave me that, I would gladly get it. It shouldn't be crazy hard to do, The Last of Us did it incredibly well as far as I remember - and I remember pretty well since I just beat that today. (Fantastic game, by the way, recommend it 100% to anyone on Hard for an awesome experience.)

all three pillars definitely need an overhaul.

Pretty excited for this, seems like they are going back to basics with a big city. I am a little dubious that the trailer is in-game footage, but I hope to be proven wrong.

What are your hopes and/or expectations for the E3 gameplay trailer?

• Fluid Up/Down Parkour demonstration.
• Combat and Stealth not being "separate" of each other (In AC 1-Revelations, you would Lock On and go into 'Combat State', in AC3 and IV: Black Flag, you would attack and go into 'Combat State') - such that whether you're in Combat or not, it looks and feels mostly similar/the same, it's only the animations and flow that tell you you're in Combat State. More fluidity, because we should be able to enter and exit combat at any time, and we should be ENCOURAGED to enter and exit combat repeatedly if we do get in a fight (lead guards to choke points, lead guards to rooftops, lead guards to areas that you can fight in better, be tricky, etc.) What I mean is, the way Jackdaw - Land fluidity was, on a micro-level with regards to Combat and Out Of Combat. I want that. I want that so bad, no one understands.
• Just because one enemy detects you, doesn't mean all of them do. What this allows is for the killing of one enemy that has spotted you, and tactical repositioning when fighting the others. See; The Last of Us
• Shown several methods of completing a mission, similar to how Thief and Dishonored's Gameplay Trailers showed at least two possibilities.
• An insane amount of fluidity of motion, slides and vaults, tic-tacs off walls.
• Using the crowd to a greater degree with many detailed Blend animations (reading a newspaper, sitting at a table and having a drink, if Courtesans are hired, actually touching/cuddling/holding them against a wall or something so that you're not bothered by Guards)
• Weapon Limitations - Hidden Blades are primary because they're the Iconic Assassin's tool. Every objective in the game should be balanced around the use of Hidden Blades.
• Unlockable or Selectable Difficulty
• New Game+
• Return of Full Sync (I'm not too particular about details, I just love it as a mechanic and would enjoy playing with it more)
• Demonstration of how the player can be aware that they will lose a fight with guards, and escape/use fluid Combat-to-Evade-to-Stealth to reposition, run away or become Anonymous again. Losing fights with guards shouldn't be purely dependent on Numbers - environment should play a part too. Assassin's Creed as it is uses the environment for all of the Core Pillars EXCEPT for Combat. What the hell is up with that? Environment is used during Stealth, environment is used during Parkour, but not during Combat? That needs to stop, that needs to be changed and quick. Combat feels "flat" like you're only moving on a "locked" plane when you fight in AC1 - IV: Black Flag. Use the Environment. Get some Jason Bourne stuff in there, come on. Next-Gen right? Right. Good. Glad we understand each other.

More thoughts on Environment and Combat;

I like this. If you're more of an aggressive "tank" player, guards should be more afraid of you. If you're more of a stealthy player, you'd evoke more of a Batman "myth" feeling towards guards, and they'd be shocked to even see you. Both play styles will have perks and drawbacks.

I feel like notoriety as a system has some inherent problems. Who you are and what you're doing, you should never be notorious. all that should be known is the result of your actions, and guards and people should respond to that.

Shorter term and less drastic things like guards in the general area of the city where you did your business being put on alert, that both makes more logical sense and works better with gameplay. When a lot of people have been killed, it would make sense for there to be an investigation of the surrounding area, questioning of witnesses going on, higher security. when it's not the entire city being placed under house arrest with thousands of bounty hunters walking the streets, and it's a more measured response to atrocity, it's easier to believe that it could go away and be forgotten, that the extra patrols would be recalled and such.

sticking to the idea of you personally gaining notoriety is so much more limiting than the idea of your actions causing panic and attempts to reassure the public and find you.

Black Flag revealed that many of the Assassin's Creed series' mechanics make far more sense for Pirates than they do for assassins. you understand why Edward gains notoriety at sea, and why people know his name. he's not hiding, he's trying to build his legend, not work from the shadows. (other things being stealing money from chests, attacking random people at sea, raiding fortresses)

I dunno. Maybe they'll figure out a notoriety system that works with the assassin fantasy, but I feel like it's a dead end.

I'm a bit torn.
One the one hand, I want freedom in missions, figure out a way to approach and kill your target that suits your personal playstyle best.
But on the other hand, I want more opportunities for 'smart' approaches. Use the environment, blend, don't get seen until you put your hand on the shoulder of your target. I feel like we shouldn't be some incredible murdermachine when we just jump into a restricted zone and get surrounded by twenty guards.
The only compromise I see between these two is if the non-stealth method is not recommended and combat is made more difficult. Also, the non-stealth method should have some bad consequences (not sure what). That way you're influenced to try the stealth method.

This is why I advocate changes to the combat system - similar to the thing that Thief did.
In Thief, combat is a possibility, but it's not a very encouraged one because unless you're well-armed (and everything is very expensive) combat becomes boring and difficult. What I meant by multiple approaches falls in line with something Assassin's Creed could do very well;

+ Social Stealth Approach
+ Line of Sight Stealth Approach
+ Combat Approach (Difficult, Possible)
+ Brotherhood Approach (Would require strategic/tactical Assassinations of sentries so that your recruit can actually get there/would require your recruit killing in time so that you can get there)

For that last one, I'd like to see the power of Next-Gen really shine. In Assassin's Creed Brotherhood to III, the Brotherhood mechanic was very, very simplistic and either felt like a cheap gimmick or a one-touch Nuke button. I don't want that. I want the Brotherhood mechanic to actually have some great AI, like Ellie from The Last of Us. I want it to actually help you, and to feel alive instead of just a button you press to have a dude run around aimlessly. There are so many mechanics Assassin's Creed has dabbled in over the years that just haven't been realized fully, but only half-way.

I want some of those half-way mechanics to be realized fully - it could create incredible Depth of Gameplay.

My overall vision for Assassin's Creed Unity is as follows;
+ Make the game more difficult, while giving the player at least four to five UNIQUE OPTIONS in most situations so that they have different ways of dealing with them - instead of following the AC1-IV model where there are not MANY OPTIONS, but the game's challenge is artificially reduced to account for that lack of options.

We're not looking for a Dark Souls experience, we're looking for an intelligent game that allows us to really have freedom of gameplay.

Assassin's Creed 1 revolutionized gaming many years ago by doing exactly that.

The same game ripped from then to now, would simply NOT FLY because it's TOO OLD.

But they can do it again. I know they can.

If Assassin's Creed 1 can do it on last gen, Assassin's Creed Unity can do it on Next-Gen. AC1 used SO MUCH of the X360 and PS3's potential when it first hit.

I want to SEE what they can do with PS4 and XOne.

Forgot to ask...

What's that?

Whenever you Clear/Finish a game, New Game+ allows you to start a New Game, but with most or all of your previous items already unlocked at earlier points - usually also making the game a bit harder to compensate for it. New Game+ does a pretty decent job of giving more Replay Value to a game.

This would make previously impossible assassination attempts now possible. I quite enjoy that idea. Any idea how hard it is to build that into the game? And that's a serious question, not a sassy, rhetorical one.

It pretty much renders this entire thread useless, since you titled it to discuss a game with a colon in it.

Got something against colons? Eh, colon-hater? You gonna make fun of MY colon next? I'm proud of my colon, thank you very much. #colonlove

Which one of these is you?

http://gawker.com/5903384/why-knowing-the-difference-between-colon-and-c...

You're right, Methodical, I'll change this thread title for the good of the universe!

EDIT: As well as removing the colon I updated the title to more accurately reflect what we're basing our discussion on, and updated the OP with the latest info (not much, so it was easy)

I'm more of a Raul.

Something I want to see this time around is the actual application of all the features in the game. When I learned that the "stealth swim" had been added into ACIV, I got excited, thinking that there was going to be times when it was really the only way to "hide in plain sight" during missions. I must say that I was wildly disappointed. Aside from maybe using it to steal the Portuguese flag in Black Bart's Gambit, it really had no place in missions, despite being a really cool idea on the surface.

I'd also like the ability to do things like throw rocks to distract guards. I can imagine this might be a pain to incorporate into the game, but having the assassin use more of the environment to put the attention on everywhere but him or her seems like something that could be added in. I wouldn't want Ubi to over-do it with providing us with "distraction objects," but some new toys to play with are always fun.

Maybe this time around will be when the random guard spawns finally disappear from the game? Likely not, but a guy can always hope.

As discussed in the review of ACIV, if you're going to have optional objectives, MAKE SURE WE CAN F*&$ING SEE THEM AT THE START OF THE MISSION.

No flying machine. I'm terrible with aerial depth perception. Ships, tanks, horses, no problem. Stupid da Vinci.

Seriously, at this point, why are parts of the map still blocked off? In ACIV, why the hell couldn't I go to Long Bay and run around before the game prompted me to? The freaking Observatory wasn't opened and they could've just loaded it up with those Legends of the Hidden Temple guards they had. If you don't want me going somewhere early in the game, don't put a gigantic blue wall there that I can't pass when pedestrians can walk through it to the market on the other side. Just made it damn near impossible to get there by putting guards that will overpower me in the way.

I used them because they were there, but pistols and assassins don't go hand-in-hand. The blowpipe? Certainly, makes total sense. Loud noises? Meh.

I'm with you guys in that carrying fewer weapons and/or armor (and thus opening yourself up to annihilation in open combat) should result in quieter, faster movement. My assassin probably can't suspend by one hand with 75 pounds of metal hanging off of him or her. If I want to go the Altair route, let me. If I want to be a freaking human tank like El Tiburon, let me, but force me to have my feet on some sort of surface at all times and have me make noise when I move.

Agreed with Methodical's comment on more features feeling like they're in the game for a reason.

As for how easy it is to make New Game+, it's seriously not that difficult because you're not actually changing anything except for certain Stats/Flags in the game's code that tell the game what Items your Assassin has at the moment. It's literally the exact same game, perhaps with a few more guards in certain areas, maybe with altered Damage Numbers, bigger Detection Ranges, things like that. It's not a Qualitative Change, it's a Quantitative one, meaning you're just changing numbers.

Using this as an example: In the Batman Arkham games, New Game+ Mode lets you keep all your upgrades (health, combat, and gadgets when you re-obtain them in the story), but makes the game harder by having enemies deal more damage and removing the counter attack icons.

"stealth swim" is mechanically identical to the dive mechanic that's been in the game since AC2. It's not always useful, but if I didn't have it during the times when it is, the game would be a lot more frustrating.

Not every feature needs to be necessary or useful in every mission, as long as it's crucial in the situations you're really going to need it for.

That said, I'd like to see more levels that give you certain paths which encourage using water-stealth. I think Brotherhood had some of the best instances of areas and missions focusing on water-stealth, despite stealth usually being few and far between in that game.

I'd also love to see some experimentation with the water having a current that pulls you along, which AC3 only did with one specific river on the homestead. (I believe that's the only water in all of AC with an actual current that affects the player, outside of scripted sequences) That's sorta the water equivelant of my proposed momentum system for parkour.

Fair enough on "stealth swim" not being an entirely new feature and having its uses at times.

The second point is what I was really trying to get across. I never felt as though the use of stealth swim was necessary/encouraged by the developers. With all the time we spent on the water in ACIV, I really thought it would be a much more useful tactic. Honestly, when I first saw it, I thought back to the one mission in ACII (or Brotherhood, can't remember) when Ezio snuck into a complex via the sewers and had to swim for a long portion of it while avoiding detection by patrolling guards. I really imagined we'd be presented with some long aquatic stealth missions with a large amount of guards whose routes would make the feature almost necessary to avoid detection. Needless to say, I was disappointed.

As far as the currents, I believe you're right. Saving the loggers in ACIII had it and some of the underwater exploration areas in ACIV had them as well, but nothing that hasn't been scripted as far as I can remember. That'd be something else that would either be incredibly frustrating (imagine being stealthy and getting caught in a current that brings you ALL the way back to the beginning of an area) or freaking awesome to use as environment to avoid detection.

Yes, that was the naval leonardo invention mission, I believe.

There was also a Fort in AC3 that could only be stealthily accessed by water, it was one of my favorite ones.

And one of Black Flag's underwater wrecks led to a room filled with enemies and tons of fully diveable water and underwater passageways/shortcuts below. That might be the height of integration w/ a stealth scenario.

I'm not going to lie, I really don't like the game title without the colon. I need a little break from the series name to the current title feature. This is a bit overwhelming. I might take a Sharpie to my game box when I purchase it.

now that I think of it, Ubisoft never put a colon in front of any of the subtitled AC games.

It's all just people assuming it's there.

Rumored new screen. seems plausible, but could be fake. note altair's dagger on back, but that could just be a weapon unlock. https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t31.0-8/s720x720/160205...

appears to be a different outfit from reveal trailer. maybe a disguise mission, or indicative of customization options?

Or fake.

won't update the OP with this until there's something solid proving it's real.

https://twitter.com/shinobi602/status/457327029198000128

two Unity demos at E3.

https://twitter.com/shinobi602/status/457327902636642304

one of them singleplayer, one of them four player co-op.

shinobi602 is not a ubisoft employee, but knows people in the videogame industry. he's been right before about many things, so his information is generally reliable. however plans can change at any time, so this isn't as set in stone as an official announcement would be.

going off the other leaks and what ubi's done previously at E3, it's pretty easy to expect this would be how they'd do it.

This 4 player coop had better not be another wolfpack mode, but thanks for the link.

https://twitter.com/shinobi602/status/457363730322706432

what double said.

according to the original leaks it's supposed to be replacing the brotherhood-style multiplayer, not just a new mode in said multiplayer.

we'll see if those leaks are correct.