The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

alexandre mentioned horses are not ridable. city too crowded, and they considered that the purpose of a horse is to rush from point A to B, which is obviously not what they want when they put so much effort into making the city dense and fun to explore.

It made me think, that actually explains why in-city horse riding has always felt off in AC. that system was designed for navigating a long stretch of comparatively empty land, The Kingdom. That's why horses were kept out of cities in the first place.

If horses were to ever come back, they'd need to seriously think about how to redesign it to better integrate them into the basic gameplay, or just only use them for out-of city stuff again.

And in Rome (ACB) and the cities in AC3 you HAD long stretches of land to navigate with a horse. So it made sense... but then you could also use them in the dense part of the cities, no reason not to.

EDIT: actually, i don't recall, could you ride horses in cities in AC3?

Yes, AC3 had horses. You could gallop with them in the frontier, but you only had normal high profile speed in the city.

I should have also mentioned that another reason horses are probably being cut is that the AC engine has always kinda had an issue with pop-in, and moving quickly through environments has always been the easiest way to make that obvious. it's an upgraded engine, but I still saw some minor pop-in during the E3 demos. anyways, they wouldn't have mentioned that reason, since it's not good PR.

Wait, what's pop-in?

I think it refers to objects/people in your field of view magically appearing out of thin air... so rather than riding up on it and seeing it in the distance and becoming bigger, it goes from not there to there very fast.

yep. get on a horse in brotherhood or AC3 and ride around. pay attention to trees and buildings in the distance. they'll appear as low-rez model in the distance, but as you get closer they'll seem to "grow" into a more detailed version.

The reason you can't gallop with the horse inside cities is that cities are full for far too much complex geometry/textures for the system to load stuff fast enough. you'd end up seeing whole buildings go from a featureless block to full detail, or maybe even not have the actual physical model load in at all until you get within a few meters from it.

That explains a lot. Thanks.

She appears to be a templar.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.531839310250316.1073741959.340...

Definitely a Templar love interest (or maybe some other connection that's not love... but it certainly looks that way).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q-zIsiQSvA

It is amazing how many different ways they've managed to make design, tech, and story features of this game related to the concept of "unity".

I had predicted something like this would be involved in the story, but once they revealed it and talked only about co-op and seamlessness, I wondered if the name really related to the main story.

really like the idea of a potential grey-area female antagonist/ally. Kinda like Haytham but less clear how it might turn out.

This is kinda why so much secrecy in games can be bad. If this aspect of the plot and the role of this character were hinted at during E3 instead of leaning on the Co-op stuff, I'd imagine far less controversy would have happened. If they'd had this trailer instead of the co-op one, for example.

Not that this excuses the tone-deaf way they handled it, but it just shows that the game isn't just about dudes doing stuff with dudes, which is something it really needed at E3.

I'm happy that it really seems like this was part of the plan all along, not just a last-minute switch bc of controversy. And I'm glad Ubi isn't trying to spin this as making up for people being angry.

Hi I'm new to this site.Great stuff from you guys here .
Anyway I bet my two cents that Elise is the daughter auf Arnos foster father since I've heard rumors about him being a templar.Seems like they're pulling the childhood friend route in the story.

It is the first time they make 2 CG trailers for one game, correct?
The ressemblance with the AC1 E3 trailer made me happy. I like how Arno has similarities with the previous protagonists (e.g the long hair) but has his own distinguish feature like the scar on his nose :

Damn can Ubisoft make some great trailers.

I'd love to see a twist towards the romance-be-separated-by-differing-ideologies trope.

Was Arno himself trained by Templars? then leaves and finds the Assassins are more to his liking as it pertains to freeing the people?

Love the CG trailers as well... but I'd love some actual gameplay trailers thrown in too.

No, Arno starts out as an Assassin, she starts out as a Templar, for some unknown reason they end up working together in some way.

Arno's been described as challenging the conventions of the brotherhood and the way they do things due to tradition or convention, so it makes sense to me that he might hear out someone most assassins would dismiss outright.

We got two gameplay walkthroughs to start out and another in-game trailer. Black Flag had two CG trailers too, but less gameplay and less actual game information given to us at this point.

I'm alright with it, but this is the point where I'm almost done with the non-walkthrough videos they put out, seems they're unafraid of revealing plot points now.

Some intresting tidbits from Shacknews.com, the Ubiblog and Assassinscreed.com

- The developers changed the way in which the guards detect the player. There will be a "line of sight" system" that will take into account the last known position of the player to the guards. If there are other people in the area, the guards will push and interrogate them and they will even search for the player in crowd flows.

- Previously, the stealth system was NPC-centric: the player could see a triangle on the heads of the enemies that filled up as they were detecting him. The problem with this is that if the player is turned the other way and the guards sneak up on him from behind and detect him/her, this will probably make him/her "frustrated" because he/she did not receive enough information to react in time. In Unity, however, the system is character-based. NPCs that are detecting the presence of the player will be shown by an indicator on the HUD that will show how they are detecting him / her.

- At the beginning of the story, the Assassins for Arno will be a means to an end. The tragedy that occurs at the beginning of the game, in fact, will be caused by the Templars and therefore Arno will be convinced that by joining the Assassins he will have more chances to stop them (the Templars)

- The co-op missions will last approximately 30-40 minutes and will be 11 in total. The player can play them when and how he/she wants because each story is "standalone"

- There will be the equivalent of the Villa from AC2 and the Homestead from AC3, in the form of the "Café Théâtre". These Cafés were cultural centers in which there social classes did not matter and where many people who were doing different jobs and had different expertises (scientists, writers, politicians, etc..) gathered to discuss many topics and create new ideas, drinking coffee instead of alcohol. Arno will then be able to obtain his Café Theatre, where there will be a stage with unlockable content. Each district will also have a "satellite" Café that, once purchased, will unlock content in the player's main one. Once the satellite Café is unlocked, some missions will be unlocked too. These missions, when completed, will change the crowd "ecosystem", so there will be less extremists and more "regular" people. This will also change the way the player approaches the missions in that area because it will have different opportunities (for example, the player will be helped by the crowd)

- Among the other historical characters, there will also be "Josephine" (note by ATA, it may be Joséphine de Beauharnais - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joséphine_de_Beauharnais)

- In the words of Travis Stout (writer for Unity): "The spelling of Arno, A-R-N-O, is an older French/Germanic, I believe Frankish variation, of the name. It’s not as common as Arnaud but you still see it occasionally. It comes back to Arno’s family history. His family is a very old one and they’ve been Assassins for a very long time so we wanted to give him a slightly more antiquated name. Also, the phonetic spelling makes it easier to pronounce."

- Arno is very devoted to the Assassin Order as an ideal but, at the same time, he is not as impressed with the weight of the long mystical tradition and ancient rhetoric as some of the other Assassins. He likes to think for himself and make his own decisions. He isn’t the type of person who will believe something just because someone tells it to him.”

- Arno is known to cheat at cards.

- Arno is a very well educated young man. He was raised in a noble household and had access to tutors and books so he is very well-read. He has a habit of quoting the classics and tends to use humour to deflect when he is emotionally vulnerable.

in-depth video interview about the redesigned movement, combat, stealth, and how parts of unity are inspired by the good parts of AC1
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2014/08/08/the-new-gamepl...

new in-game and early dev footage of all three disciplines, and what I think might be the first footage of a haystack being used in the game. could just be non-final, but it looks like the minimap only shows enemies/hide spots ect, and not the actual city layout/map. so more like the motion detector in Halo than the minimap in CoD.

offhand description of the assassin as "a guy who tries to just kill his target". if only killing your target is something that's better supported in-game and doesn't often require crazy AI manipulation and glitching, I'll be happy. it's why I fell in love with Hitman Absolution. I don't like tons of collateral damage to kill one person.

the music throughout the video is pretty good.

thanks, calvar

Goddammit now I'm like half excited for ACU. Still gonna wait and see though.

That's the spirit!

in so many ways this game seems designed to specifically address complaints from people who don't like AC or think it's lost its way.

when they started talking about it I was kinda shocked with how many long-flawed things they're changing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAuDn3X-BpI

this vid is kinda light on new info, you don't really need to watch it, but near the end they mention that they changed the camera so it adapts better to the player's actions. looking back at the gameplay footage, it is true that the camerawork movement seems more dynamic and convenient to what you're actually doing than it did before. it's those little things.

I'm intrigued by that last shot.

"Arno. You done fucked up. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Dat crowd.

I've always wanted to see an established Assassin counsel like that. Al Mualim's chats always felt so informal compared, and we've never really seen close to that level of an official and established order since. Ezio's trilogy was about building one up, but he left it before we ever saw what it looked like in its prime.

this really does feel so much like what I imagined the first game would be.

musical choice was awesome, appreciate the focus on movement rather than combat. seems like every Ac trailer similar to this has had combat interspersed except this one. really setting the tone.

I'm assuming the boy is Arno (long blue coat is a big hint) and Elise is the little girl, so a childhood friendship is likely what bonds them.

A screenshot of of costume parts it seems, they all each have Stats as well like duration time of detection and such... =0

eh... i've said it before and i'll say it again... if i want a fully customizable player RPG, i'll play a real RPG... i'm not too excited about this. they were fine as cosmetic changes and nothing more with the few exceptions of all the end-goal armor options...

I kind of agree since I've always stuck with the default outfit in every game, but on the other hand there's nothing wrong with exploiting the potential of the next gen system. It's not like they put emphasis on this at the detriment of something else, it's just an added bonus you can ignore if you want.

At least they let you have multiple loadouts like Splinter Cell: Blacklist had, so you can have one focused on stealth, one focused on battle, and one with no upgrades.

Oh, and...

I would have been satisfied with something like they did in Liberation. A few outfits, each with advantages and disadvantages. Pick whatever suits your objective. I don't want to spend 20 minutes deciding what combination of apparel I want to wear. "Hmm, this hood one has +20 sneaking, but this one has +15 wristblade accuracy, but if I choose that one I have to change my coat because it will be too much of the same and I want it to be balanced..."

exactly.

Liberation NAILED it (in concept). [where have we heard this before? -- http://thehiddenblade.com/ac-main-track-could-learn-thing-or-two-liberation]

Different outfits had different gameplay and different perks. And there were 3 to choose from at any given time.

I'm actually a person that LOVES customization, especially in how I look in games. It helps immerse me in that I feel like the character is more personalized to me compared to other players. Different styles, color choices, accessories, etc makes me excited.

I doubt everything will be unlocked right away. Most of these items will have to be earned as you play (possibly bought with Abstergo credits/Animus fragments?) and not something like Skyrim's intro where you spend 30 minutes choosing every detail about your character. You can play through how you start the game. Why is this such a big deal if it's 100% optional?

I'm 100% in favor of cosmetic customization in an AC game... and minimal "perks" with the top of the line weapons and armors... but that's not what this looks like.

And you only spent 30 minutes designing your skyrim player? filthy casual

Really? That's what I see, though. Like I said before, it reminds me of SC: Blacklist's customization options. Some aspects of your gear allow more armor, more items, stealth perks, and more. If that's not what this is, then I hope they come out with a better explanation.

Okay so here's a video showing the full demo seen in the one above...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orLecxD6QUI

From the screenshot, it appears that the coat has a name with stats and perks.

If this is one of the "advanced" options, then I take it all back.

I just hope that not all the coats are named/have different perks. If I want to wear a basic green coat, but the green coat only has bullet resistance perk and not a stealth one like the orange coat... that's where I would have a problem...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF9bO-tPxKE

A few questions: how do the guards not see that it was Arno that threw the smoke bomb at 4:20? They literally walked right through him! Any decent AI would have immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was Arno who threw it. They should have gotten suspicious.

I like the UI and the info that you get before accepting a mission. Everything is more angular and rectangular. Not sure why "helix-ac_unit00" overlaps with Arno's name. Love how they kept the haystack.

Oh, and that assassins was probably one of the most creative I've seen in an AC game!

Yeah that looked super nice. Only hope it's doable without using the objective markers.

If you noticed a few seconds later as Arno was about to use the lift, the guards get suspicious of him and begin to detect him. Also, until Arno walked out of the smoke, their line of sight was blocked by a tombstone, so they just saw the smoke, investigated to see if the man was dead or not, looked around for any suspicious characters, and went to get a closer look at Arno before he zipped up. That's probably how it would be in real life, too, if the variables remained the same.

I think those guards actually started searching around after spotting the body and then started detecting arno just as he began climbing the cathedral.

maybe it would make a bit more sense for them to put the pieces together quicker, but obviously they're not tuned to remember as far back as where the player was coming from a few seconds before they saw the body. if arno had lingered closer to it after the smoke went away i'm sure they'd have noticed quicker.

Thing I've been thinking about is the advantages of only having one city. when I think of it, it's kinda felt like AC only really had multiple cities because they couldn't have any one location that was big and dense enough to support the kind of variety that could carry a game/story of that scope and length. This is part of why brotherhood and revelations' cities didn't feel like quite enough: there just wasn't enough variation and meaningful playspace in them.

I wouldn't be opposed to seeing another multi-city game, but I think they'd have to come up with a real reason to justify it beyond just trying to add more variety. possibly a stronger relationship between the two cities, intertwined stories and mechanics. but it would have to make sense and further the experience, rather than just complicating it. seamless travel between would be nice, too.

I heard in a interview that arno and the lady had the same foster parent (A templar btw) and developed a friendship that throughout the years turned into a romance.

^ It's true. Her father was a Templar, but was killed in the coup due to some internal Templar struggle. She now is motivated by vengeance, is deeply in love with Arno, a dedicated Templar, and is better than Arno at swordsmanship.

Why Arno chooses to side of Assassin's for redemption for the death of his Templar foster father is...beyond me. Although I must admit, it is an interesting plot premise. Wonder how this will spell out for the both of them.

An interesting ending would be that both of them leave their orders and start a family. That would be a unique twist!

Seems like Eagle Vision runs on a cool-down timer. Most likely, it's going to be an optional feature that you can upgrade throughout the game.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2014/08/25/watch-the-larg...

interview + demonstration about the largest crowds in the game.

bit reasurring that they mention that the crowd judder we've seen in the gamescom demo is meant to be ironed out by launch. Which at least does mean that what we saw in that demo was real in-game stuff. They were pretty open about the E3 demo being a visual target, and that they had a lot of work to do to get the whole game running that way on the actual consoles/a reasonably specced PC.

12,000.

Damn.

They delayed Unity to Nov 11
Hope they're polishing the game

Understandable.

october was going to be a really crowded month before a whole bunch of delays and move-ups happened. probably best that Shadow of Mordor and both AC games are separated by a whole month.

http://www.bubblews.com/news/4815887-assassins-creed-unity-achievements-...

12 memories, 100 viewpoints, different flags, modern missions...damn, this game is going to be packed.