The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

the game that has been an eternal feature in my gaming time since autumn 2014 (bloody hell, has it really been that long?)
Europa Universalis 4.
i try to mix it up with something new now and then, but it seems i always go back to it.

You guys watch sports? Soccer? Champions League?

If not, you missed the best comeback EVER yesterday. Basically the equivalent of this year's Super Bowl comeback, except this wasn't in the final.

Let me give you some context: the Champions League is a tournament between the best clubs in all of Europe. Despite the name, it's not limited to each country's champions, but there are varying numbers of clubs competing per country.

Anyway, yesterday was the round of 16, so clubs were competing for a spot in the quarter-finals. The way the games work in this stage is you play one game at home and one away. At the end of game 2, goals from both games are tallied up and we have a winner. In the case of a tie (e.g. 3-3 after 2 games), the winner is the one who has scored the most away goals, based on the assumption that scoring at home is easier. So if A host B and A wins 3-1; then in game 2, B host A and B wins 2-0; B wins because of that one away goal. You can imagine that away goals are often crucial in these games.

So 3 weeks ago, game 1 was played between Paris Saint-Germain (home) and FC Barcelona (away). Both very good teams, so most people expected a close game.

It wasn't. Barcelona had a terrible off-day and ended up losing 4-0. That's a very heavy score, and they didn't manage to sneak in an away goal. That meant they had to win 5-0 or higher in the return match in order to move on to the quarter-finals. Barcelona's coach wasn't worried in a pre-game interview yesterday: "If they can score 4, we can score 6."

Barcelona started off strong in their home match, scoring 1-0 in the third minute. Right away people are starting to look hopeful. If they can keep this up, we'll see 5 goals.

In the 11th minute, Paris SG mount an attack which ends in the ball hitting the arm of a Barcelona defender. If you ask me, that should have been a penalty kick, which would mean PSG level the game to 1-1 and get an away goal that would make Barcelona's chances of winning the game even smaller.

After 30 minutes, Barcelona have 64% possession, which is A LOT. They're dominating PSG like PSG dominated Barcelona 3 weeks ago. Still only 1-0 though.

In the 40th minute (5 minutes before half-time), Barcelona scores a second goal. An own goal, an ugly goal, but a goal nonetheless.

Half-time. 2-0. They might be able to pull this off. They've scored 3 goals in 45 minutes before. They just have to make sure to not. let. PSG. score. That would mess up their plans big time.

Five minutes into the second half, Barcelona get a penalty kick. A PSG defender trips while chasing an attacker and his head strikes the attacker. Initially the referee wasn't going to give the penalty, but the assistant referee standing next to the goal convinces him. Messi scores the penalty.

3-0. This someback could happen. Only two more goals.

62nd minute. A long ball arrives at PSG's striker Cavani and he volleys it in, quite beautifully. That's 3-1. In the video, pay attention to the PSG player shushing the crowd after the goal. That's Ángel Di Maria, who used to play for Real Madrid, Barcelona's biggest rival.

That's a slap in the face for Barcelona. They have about half an hour left to score three goals.

Barcelona keep pressing, but not much happens until 20 minutes later. Di Maria is approaching the goal with only Barcelona's keeper to beat, but a defender catches him and keeps him from scoring. Should have been a penalty kick, to be honest. Barcelona gets away with it.

7 minutes later, still 3-1. Barcelona only have 3 regular minutes left, plus whatever stoppage time will be added. Not gonna happen. People are leaving the stadium early at this point.

But then Barcelona get a free kick in a dangerous position and Neymar hits it in beautifully.

It can't be, right?

90th minute. Barcelona is awarded a very cheap penalty and score 5-1. Now everyone's hope is back. You'd think winning your home game 5-1 would be enough, but because of that ridiculous 4-0 defeat, they need 6-1 now. The referee adds 5 minutes of extra time. It's possible.

5 minutes of intense attacking follow, with Barcelona's tall goalkeeper joining the attack momentarily to get the upper hand in heading duels.

And would you believe it. 20 seconds before the end, Roberto scores the 6-1 and decides the game.

You can't make this up. 3 goals in the last 8 minutes. If you have the time, I highly recommend you watch this 10 minute video, covering the match from before the 4-1 up until after the 6-1.

Watching the game on the couch, I had to take a minute and stare into the distance in order to comprehend what I just witnessed.

You can definitely blame the referee on some points, he had some dubious calls. I won't let it spoil my enthousiasm though. La Remontada ('the comeback') was a truly magical thing to watch.

Sounds like a great win!

Just saw Beauty and the Beast.

Finally a new idea from Hollywood!

in light of recent events in Stockholm, i just want to post that i am nowhere near the area of the attack there, and everyone i know who do live there is safe.

just in case anyone of you were worried.

We're always worried about you Rob, ol' buddy ol' pal.

Was on Reddit and someone posted that they killed a baby bear's mother bear or something, in AC3. They then proceeded to wonder if they could adopt the baby bear and raise it as their own. I replied. It led to this comment thread.

Linked Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0aX--PyUUU

You're getting a lot of mileage out of this video lately. Keeping AC3 alive.

Steam recently gave me a 40% off voucher for the game Inside.
i have no interest in the game, and it would be a shame to just let it expire.

anyone want it?

when does it expire?

the 17th of April

It's the end of April and it's fucking snowing.
i think this summer is gonna be awful

My A/C kicked on over the weekend/last week.
I think this summer is gonna be awful.

For the last few years i've been listening to a lot of History podcasts. things like Hardcore History and The History of Rome are some of my favorites.

i just recently started listening to one called "Our fake History". he focuses on detailing historical myths and legends, and bringing out the truth in them.
like the conspiracy theory that Queen Elizabeth was a man, Shakespeare didn't write his plays or that Napoleon did or said some specific thing. that sort of stuff.

and i found one episode that might be of interest around these parts.
Who Were the Hash Smoking Assassins?

Thanks for the tip, Rob. It was nice that he spent more time on the true story of the Nizārī Ismā'īlī than on debunking the myths.

I've only been listening to podcasts for about 6 months. My problem is finding any that I enjoy. Most just scratch the surface of a subject without delivering much value. The three categories I've focused on are politics, technology and business. Podcasts are well-suited for current events. My favorite so far is Slate Political Gabfest which is about American politics. For technology and business, I get more out of books and audiobooks.

I've recently binged on a murder cold case podcast, Up and Vanished, which has become pretty popular lately. It's addicting. The Serial podcast jump started a rush into the cold case podcast world, but Up and Vanished is very well done.

Good suggestion! I heard about Serial a couple years ago but that was before I started listening to podcasts.

Season 1 is really well done. It's like The Thin Blue Line meets The Night Of. Because it's hard to keep track of all the characters without visual aids, host Sarah Koenig does a good job of reintroducing minor players whenever they weave back into the story.

If you liked Serial, then you definitely need to check out Up and Vanished. It's even more intriguing since it's in the news right now.

Holy shit, guys. The Assassin's Creed story is heating up. Here's a summary and analysis of the most recent Comic issue, done by the super awesome Sorrosyss from the AC Forums.

"Assassin hideout, London. Guernica watches over Charlotte whom remains in the Animus. He starts to talk of the world, observing how it is slowly sliding into chaos and that the end times have arrived. Remarking that only 'she' can save us, he puts a knife to Charlotte's throat. His hand is grabbed by Galina, who promptly throws him to the ground and breaks his fingers before torturing him to find whom he works for.

Meanwhile, in Geneva, Switzerland. My'Shell meets with a banker to discuss the accounts of Vetulus De Montanis Ltd. Apparently William Miles retains ownership, but has been receiving substantial cash deposits from a shipping subsidiary of Abstergo Industries. Seeking answers to this anomaly, the banker suggests she speak with Mr Berg whom is waiting just outside the office. Sure enough she is grabbed and taken at knife point by Berg to a side room. Berg demands to know why the money is going to the Assassins, to which she swears they do not even know about it. Berg concludes that she may not therefore actually be one of them after all. A drone watches the two of them, before Berg destroys it. Knocking My'Shell to the floor, he fights off assailants who suddenly appear. He manages to take down several, until he collapses from his wounds. He is slapped around by Jasdip Dhami, whom reveals himself as the high tech 'Assassin' of the fifth column. He warns Berg to stop pushing, or risk his daughter's life. The future and its vision belongs to 'she', and he throws Berg plummeting over a guard rail.

Back in London, the wounded Arend and Kiyoshi return to the hideout to find Galina torturing Guernica. Explaining why, Galina warns that it likely means that My'Shell is also lost to them. Charlotte remains in the Animus, but she relives a memory that is not her own...

Within a golden Isu city, Minerva, Juno and her father discuss the problem of humanity - the slave race that they created. Juno warns that they try to be like the Isu too much, and that they are a threat to be exterminated. Minerva argues back, saying that humanity is learning to sing and make art and that perhaps one day they can be treated as equals. Juno's father agrees, before he is stabbed through the head by a human servant. The human uprising begins, and filled with rage from her father's demise, Juno utilises the Koh-i-Noor to slaughter every human around them with a brilliant blue energy. Enraged she swears that they must deal with humanity by saving them from themselves. Following this revelation, Charlotte slowly emerges from the Animus, realising that Juno has been scanning her mind. She knows what Juno is planning, and states that they must warn the Templars.

In an undisclosed location, Violet and Jasdip argue over how Berg was treated, with Violet wishing that he had not been harmed so brutally. Jasdip argues that it is only Juno's will whom will see Eden reborn. At this moment Juno appears in an overhead monitor, stating that she has what she needed from Charlotte, and now knows that the Koh-i-Noor was last seen in Spain. Desmond's son is guided to a crowd of waiting Instruments, where Violet warns Juno that he is his father's son and may well betray them. Juno states not to worry, as he is just a cog in a machine, one that will turns mountains into idols."

Forum Link to her Analysis comment;
http://forums.ubi.com/showthread.php/1389564-Assassin-s-Creed-Titan-Comics-Story-Analysis-amp-Discussion-(Spoilers)?p=12657062&viewfull=1#post12657062

I highly recommend clicking on this, you get to see an awesome panel of Juno slaughtering humans using the Koh-i-Noor, and Desmond's Son being revealed to the Instruments of the First Will.

***

Holy crap holy crap.
I haven't been this excited for the AC story in a super long time. They're setting up some *BIG* things for the next game, which has already been teased officially by Ubisoft, by the way. We're *definitely* getting a full reveal at E3. I feel... somewhat Alive.

I hate when that happens.

I know, right? How inconsiderate!

How to recognize a THB member at the water park:

Hoping everyone had a good fireworks day.

For those in the know of my career change info, here's an update.

I got a job offer from that job I was pursuing.

I think it will be a blast. To add even more excitement, the offer is 10K more than I was expecting, and 2.3x my previous salary.

Everything's coming up Milhouse!

Man, that's incredible! Congratulations and good luck dude! Is it different from what you've been doing so far? Excited for the challenge?

Congrats Cheese!

Got the TAC Pro recently, a KB/M peripheral for PS4/PS3 officially licensed by Sony.

It’s fine for some games, EXCELLENT for others, and ABYSMAL for some.

Bad: Killing Floor 2, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst, All AC games.

Good: Thief. MGSV. I suspect, Tomb Raider. (Will test tomorrow.)

EXCELLENT: All Call of Duties. Seriously, this thing feels like it was built explicitly for CoD, and playing CoD with keyboard and mouse even on PS4 feels GREAT. To my knowledge, Black Ops III was bundled WITH the TAC Pro in Japan, and I believe it actually was designed from the ground up to be used with the Call of Duties and Battlefields. I was laughing out loud as I said to my brother, “Shit, these guys are going down a lot faster than with a controller.” There’s something about the way the CoD games register controller inputs that makes using the TAC Pro feel the closest to PC gaming with a KB/M you can get.

Games that run at 60frames are going to naturally feel better to control with this thing than those that don’t, as well. That partially explains why the CoDs are so satisfying to play with it.

I only tested single-player / vs AI, mind you. Though I see a few people on YouTube smashing Multiplayer with the TAC Pro on CoD BlOps3, Battlefield 1 and Overwatch. An interesting peripheral. Overpriced. Kind of a novelty or “birthday gift” sort of item if you really, really miss PC gaming (I do) and want to play some FPS games, ESPECIALLY CoD on a PS4 and be way snappier with your aim (I do.) Comes with a 3200dpi gaming mouse that isn’t permanently attached to the main unit though, so hey, that’s a thing. That also means you can attach your OWN mouse to it. I might test a Razer with it at some point, I’ve been told it improves a lot.

I recently finished Up and Vanished. Thanks for the recommendation, Gopher. I preferred Serial because of the superior storytelling even though it had an unsatisfying ending.

My advice to anyone just starting Up and Vanished: skip the supplementary episodes called "Case Evidence" and "Q&A". The 24 main episodes cover everything you need to know. I made the mistake of listening to everything and it got to be a drag, especially the parts where lawyers spend 10 minutes explaining the difference between incompetence and corruption, or defining "reasonable doubt" for the eighth time.

JoeyFogey, I liked all your photos in Giza this morning. Hopefully you found some valarHODORis photos you liked enough to like as well.

I've found one of yours that I liked by quest-hunting. Is there a way to search for a friend's photos?

Not that I'm aware of. My favorite one I took yesterday was on the far right of the map over the river and up the mountain about 25% of the way down though, if you want to look.

Damn, Joey is fast as hell. Efficient bot cleaning, my goodness.

It helps when you don't sleep.

Want to know why I haven't finished ACO?

Remember this post? http://thehiddenblade.com/last-person-reply-wins?page=39#comment-36515

Remember how happy I was?

You guys have been there since the beginning. Sadly, Baxter's time has come to an end. November 19 we had to put him down after a freak horrific accident. My wife is not in a good place right now. I have recovered, mostly. I'm telling people slowly, and this online community has always been there for me and others in the past. I haven't posted on facebook, so please respect that if you are my friend on there or can otherwise post to me.

I'll put the details in a spoiler bubble below, because I know not everyone will want to read what happened.

Time heals all wounds. It will heal this one as well. I am okay, for now. My wife is not.

The soundtrack of our life is missing his toe-taps in the kitchen at night. Missing his licking, scratching, and rubbing all over. Missing the jingling of his collar as he bounds around. Missing the irregular rapid breathing at night that bothered us enough to check on him. His yelps while dreaming.

He was the best boy ever.

He is the best boy ever.

Sorry to hear that, Cheese. I know the pain that comes from losing a good friend, as do many of us here, I'm sure.

Something I hate that others tend to say is "move on", but these circumstances shouldn't be that simple. Just keep that good boy in your memories. Be those amazing people he saw you as. We're always here for you, brother.

RIP, Baxter.

Shit, man. That sucks. At least you're dealing with it in a healthy way, you know it's no use to blame anyone for this. Is your wife having trouble with the acceptance that there is a void where Baxter used to be, or is she still thinking about him on his final day? I'm no grief counsellor, but it's good to try and let her remember the amazing time he's had in the years he's been with you two. Just try to share fond memories together.

This January coming up, it will be 5 years since my family's dog died. I was 17 then and we'd had that dog since I was 3 or 4, so essentially my whole life at that point. I remember it as a really bizarre day. It was my father's birthday and the dog had been slow and easily tired for a while, but that day it was too much to not do anything. He was shaking, falling down, not keeping his urine in, and visibly in pain so we took a last drive to the vet directly after dinner. I was sobbing the whole ride there and back. That evening family came over for my dad's birthday and we had a pretty awkward conversation when they asked "hey where's the dog". I remember I had exams the day after, but it was hard to focus.

2 years ago we adopted a cat from a family member. Apparently someone had put an entire litter out on the street when they didn't want them anymore. Crazy really, it's a gorgeous ginger (tabby?) cat that people would pay for. The cat is napping right now, coiled up on my left arm as I'm typing this on my laptop. It's great to have another animal in the family again, even though it's nothing like owning a dog. We still ocassionally reminisce about that dog. (remember when he used to get excited for going for a walk when someone said a word that sounded like "do you wanna come along?")

Stay strong man. Take a look at old pictures of Baxter (I'm sure you got lots of them) and see how happy he was to be with you. That's how you'll want to remember him.

<3

Crikey, man, that sucks major ass.

I'm truly sorry for your loss. We've had to put both a dog and cat to sleep this year. It was time for the dog. I got him two days after I finished college, and he was like my first child. The cat was completely unexpected, and the hardest thing I've done from an emotional aspect. It's never easy, and that pain never completely vanishes, and you can never replace who we was to your family. Take the time to remember and miss him in earnest. He added joy and love to your lives.

So I'm finally going to get my degree next semester (late April is when I graduate). I have to do a senior thesis for digital art. Any ideas of what you, as a passerby to such an event, would want to see? Anything that would make you go "I need to know more about this guy". Or just concepts that I could create for the show.

I have ideas already that include:

Two or more screens showing a looping demo reel of me speed painting artwork.
A screen showing my portfolio website.
A display showing my design process.
Business cards for graphic design/illustration work.

I went to the last thesis show as a guest and any illustrators there only had maybe 3 computer screens that were just static images that weren't very attention-grabbing. So I'm definitely looking to stand out. The reason being talent seekers from the game and movie industries come by to see everything.

So something with a lot of explosions?

Hopefully Michael Bay comes by.

Gotta draw lots of lens flare then.

You're thinking of J.J. Abrams.

Gotta draw lots of explosions then.

I'm going on vacation for Christmas again. Again to a sight that's shown up in an AC game.

Anyone interested in a Where in the World is Double McStab with Cheese? complete with cheapo souvenir for the winner?

I'm always up for a good game of Where in the World! Hopefully we can get some more participation this time.

Who won the Last Person to Reply Wins on AC-maps again?

abosol1 won. On THB he's known as Shinkiro. Here's a screen capture of his winning post. I think the tiny text under Yes said "I win":

It's just a picture that says "please update your account to enable 3rd party hosting" :S