The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

TL;DR

I think "ignite the revolution" is nothing more than an advertisement slogan. Nothing more. I don't think Connor will actually jump start the revolution.

I've actually been in Venice a month ago. Pretty awesome if you ask me, i visited piazza san marco!

That's OK, Cheese - we're used to you doing most of your posting during the week when you're supposed to be working

It was Sam Adams and John Hancock (along with Hancock's aunt and the young woman she was trying to get John H. to marry. She wasn't taking any chances). They were on their way to New York to discuss coordinated action between all the colonies to escalate the protests.

Thanks for the info! Most interesting.

damnit, it was hancock. thanks... mind was blanking...

also, i'm sure stab will correct many many more things in this for us... was writing it up on the fly...

It would be interesting to see Connor end up being the merciful man with the hatchet. It would make sense for the AC universe and make it feel like Connor did exist.

One other thing. Ubisoft has said that the "Frontier" portion of the game map will be about 1.5 times the size of Rome in Brotherhood and will span the area between Boston and New York City. It will include Connor's village, and other settlements...

It takes 4 hours to drive at a rapid pace (70+ mph) to get from Boston to New York City...

Sure, it's a "shrunken" version... but Conner hauls!

I think that the map being larger than the last two entire games will be good and provide a lot of interesting scenery for us to explore...

Maybe they'll have my current city, seeing as its militia had a rather professional military militia, including uniforms, and were original commanded by Benedict Arnold, who should show up in the game... The New Haven militia helped escort Washington to Cambridge in 1775. The city was ransacked in 1779 by the British.

One of the multiplayer characters is built around the idea that he's the owner of the gun that was fired, starting the revolution. So I don't think it will be Conner, it'll be that guy.

Nah. Sounds good to me. Actually, the book I'm reading now skips over Lexington and Concord so I was grateful for the refresher!

Is it the book you've mentioned before, Stab? What's it called again? I'd be interested to learn more about America as I know very little about your history and have a whole summer to read all sorts of interesting stuff.

As well as play Shadow of the Colossus, right?

As well as what Stab is reading, I also recommend Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fischer.

1776 by David McCullough. stabgal gave it to me a couple years ago and I'm just getting around to reading it now. It's not like I chose it carefully as a warm up for AC3.

Some good things about 1776 are that it's a quick read (only 284 pages plus 100 of supporting documentation) and it captures both sides of the story. King George III is portrayed as intelligent and cultured as opposed to the common American perception that he was bumbling/insane. The downside is that this book only covers mid-1775 through 1776. It focuses on the Siege of Boston and the British victory in New York City.

I believe this book covers the events of early 1775 including Lexington and Concord. Fischer has another popular book called Washington's Crossing about the Battles of Trenton and Princeton in December 1776. That was the pivotal moment in the war. If you're not already familiar with the story, that's a good place to start.

I remember reading only two books from about that time period:
1. Johnny Tremain. Paul Revere appears in this, and one important event that takes place is the Boston Tea Party.
2. Can't remember the name of this one. I think the protagonist's name is Adam Cooper. Basically what happens is he joins the militia at the age of sixteen when some British soldiers show up at his town (yeah, I forgot a bunch of the plot). I even watched a movie of the book at school. One thing I remember from the movie is when they first fight against the British. It started with a gunshot (sounds similar to the unknown shot at Lexington. Anyone know the name of this book?).

April Morning by Howard Fast.

Thanks guys! Looks like I've got plenty of options there.

And yes, Lisa, I will get Shadow of the Colossus at some point. Honestly!

Oh, Aurel, thanks so much for mentioning Johnny Tremain! That is one of my most favorite books ever and I still get it out and read it every couple of years. It's about time for another read, in fact . The author of that book also wrote a really good biography of Paul Revere, the historical character I would most like to meet. Very enjoyable books, both of them.

When I read Johnny Tremain for school (7th grade?) my mom picked it up and really got into it. Soon I had to fight her for the book just so I could finish my homework! Actually it was nice that she was reading it too. I was able to talk about it with her and understand it better.

so, if i understand Cheese correctly, the entire revolution started on accidents and misunderstandings?
that's a little funny actually

In a way, yeah. haha

It takes a certain culture and thought process to give those accidents credence... It was going to happen one way or another... everyone was British citizens at the time, so it was going to take some real guts to get the ball rolling...

Time to add another city to the list.

Last weekend I was in Newport, RI... and would like to again hypothesize on some things that may be pertinent to AC3.

First of all, Rhode Island was founded as a place to get away from persecution. The inhabitants wanted to simply live their lives. Other colonies called it "Rogue Island." For reference, during the French and Indian war (again, the French and Indians were on one side, the British and Colonials on the other), the colony of RI continued to trade with the French. They were in it for the money... and definitely benefited. Likewise, when the Revolution broke out, RI saw it as an advantage in business to continue trading with the mother country. As you can see, they were their own entity, and many people had reason to hate them...

Some other interesting facts about Rhode Island and its history. Newport was the 4th largest seaport (in the area) at the times of the revolution, behind Boston, New York, Philadelphia. (The others in the South were Savannah, GA and I think Charlston, SC). Rhode Island has a huge harbor leading up to Portsmouth and Providence, and Newport is at the front of that harbor. Also, it's located almost at the mouth of the Long Island sound, which leads into New York. As such, Newport was the IDEAL location for privateering and piracy. England used the people of Newport to ransack Spanish and French ships (privateering), but once in a while, the captains would get greedy and ransack a mother ship (piracy). It was the center for all these illegal activities all leading up to and through the revolution.

Begin my hypothesizing:
In the Comic-Con interview, Hutch mentioned that there are several things to do on the water up and down the northeast coast, in addition to the hypothesized Caribbean missions. Rhode Island (and Newport in particular) would be the perfect launching off point for many, if not all, of the ocean warfare sequences in AC3 (for the northeast). Unless you think they would start from within a city map (Boston or New York), which I don't, there are few other cities that make much more sense than Newport. Another option might be Salem, MA. Due to its proximity to the Boston harbor, it also was a city of privateers and pirates. But Salem was not nearly on par with Newport. In fact, the New England Pirate Museum is located in Newport. All up and down the RI (Block Island and the largest pirate battle in America, etc -- and CT New London, Mystic, almost every little waterway ) coastline there were pirates and privateers raiding the ships going into New York.

Now it's time to get back to work.

Time to add some more locations to my list. It's the first week of October, which means one thing in New England... Fall Foliage.

My wife and I hopped in the car today and drove north for about 3 hours into Vermont, then over and down through the Green Mountain National Forest... none of this is important.

What is important for an AC3 connection is that we followed the Mohawk Trail on the way home. It was an EXTREMELY beautiful drive home. The Mohawk Trail was a trading route the Mohawks used to trade with the tribes to the north. It follows several rivers, goes up and down some mountain ranges, and the whole time had deer/moose/bear crossing signs. Not to mention the several "trading posts" (souvenir shops/tourist traps) offering "authentic" Mohawk goods.

It was such a nice area that I can totally understand why whitey was after the land and Conner had to protect it so much.

When I hear "American Revolution" and "Green Mountain", the first name that comes to mind is Ethan Allen. In 1775 he rounded up his Green Mountain Boys and captured Fort Ticonderoga from the British. (This is where Henry Knox obtained the cannons that he moved to Boston.)

Vermont didn't become a state until after the Revolution. The name is probably from the French les Verts Monts - The Green Mountains.

And the Battle of Bennington apparently was important enough to have a monument that sticks straight into the air as well.

So you did get a chance to see some Revolutionary War sites in Vermont. I don't know much about the Battle of Bennington but see that one of my ancestors was involved. This would be my ggggg-grandfather Jonathan Page:

What is it with so many of us and having really cool ancestors?
(Unless it's just me and StabGuy)

Well, now I have to look up my ancestry

My most recent travel includes a round-about connection to the Assassins and Templars.

Last weekend I crossed something off my bucket list to go see the Groundhog predict the weather in Punxsutawney, PA. I had a blast. For those wondering, he didn't see his shadow. No shadow = early spring (if you trust a groundhog that is right less than 40% of the time and who missed the last two years anyway). I guess Punxy Phil didn't see winter storm Nemo coming...

The groundhog is catered to by his own INNER CIRCLE. I've read that is this INNER CIRCLE that actually decides in advance what the outcome will be. That is, an INNER CIRCLE decides the WEATHER. Now, it would be better if they were right more often... then I could say that the INNER SANCTUM OF THE TEMPLAR ORDER actually controlled the weather through this living PoE... but that is not the case.

For those wondering, I love groundhog day. It is my favorite holiday. Perhaps because of the movie, perhaps because it's the day before my birthday. Either way, it's been on my list for a while and I did it. I have the button to prove it: I came, I saw, I froze!.

Fun fact: Instead of leafy greens like in the wild, Punxsutawney Phil (and Phyllis) are sustained on a diet of dog food and ice cream. Maybe that's why he looks so fat. He also doesn't hibernate like he would in the wild. He lives at the library in the Punxsutawney town square and you can go see him year round!

Also, in a couple months I will be visiting Philadelphia and Valley Forge when my sister comes to town. Looking forward to eating a cheesesteak and running the Rocky steps ... but not in that order

Recently, I went to Philadelphia and Valley Forge.

Two places in in AC3 that Ubisoft got wrong.

Let's start with Valley Forge. In reality, there was a Valley, and Forges on the river (creative name is creative). In the game, there is basically one hill as an encampment. One thing that AC3 got dead right, however, was that there were always stationed guards at the only parts of the river to the North which were shallow enough to cross. I know there were always guards at these locations in the game. Although the huts/shelters are dead on, their arrangement in AC3 are all wrong as well. In reality, the encampments at Valley Forge were around the outer edges, leaving grand parade grounds in the middle for training, and other large gatherings. In the game, the buildings are spread all across the hill. The brick buildings in the game are startling close to what they look like in reality though... the side area of the house, shape and size. Good job.

On to Philadelphia. Mainly what the game got wrong was the location of the First Continental Congress... but I don't blame them too much. For both Continental Congresses in the game, you go to the Philadelphia State House / Independence Hall. You see the outer shots, go inside to a front area with a grand staircase, walk the length of the hall with rooms on either side, etc etc etc. This is all good and well for the Second Continental Congress... but the First was not held at Independence Hall. Again, I don't blame the game for not wanting both locations for the two Congresses, as this would have likely confused more people than would have known better.

Below, find my pictures of Carpenter's Hall... the REAL location for the First Continental Congress.

Here's the outside of the building... it's a lot smaller than Independence Hall, and almost a perfect square as far as dimensions are concerned.

This one really shows how small the building is... I am standing with my back to the door and taking a picture through to the other side.

And here's that grand staircase...

And a bonus picture.

Found a couple more pictures I took in Philly. It seems that some of Poor Richard's Almanack made it to the Post Office / Museum... okay, they're reproductions...

It's a functional post office and was the original post office in America. It's next door to Franklin's printing press.

"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards."
Poor Richard's Almanack, 1738
The Franklin Court Printing Office & Bindery
Independence National Historical Park
Philadelphia, 1996

"Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."
Poor Richard's Almanack, 1738
The Franklin Court Printing Office & Bindery
Independence National Historical Park
Philadelphia, 1996