The Hidden Blade Assassin's Creed in Depth

i would be interested. i actually lost my ac disc, so I havent had the chance to play in a long time. are you looking for challenges? hear are some off the top of my head, a few of which ive completed but never posted.

1) dynamic stunt on jubair (altair running prior to stunt jump to kill running target)
2) perfect hidden blade fights all thru mb7
3) dynamic stunt on abul as he exits the souk
4) new blitz records (several records are easy to beat)
5) killing every guard and every archer in and around garnier's hospital without being detected, and then killing garnier (similar to "silent treatment" but with archers)
6) doing the same ^ to abul at his party.

Alright sounds fun. I will also try find stuff on my own, people are still finding stuff on AC2 im sure I can find new routes/stunts/challenges etc that havent been uploaded.

I've recently become a lot more interested in playing AC again. I think many people were disappointed with AC:B and, although I am still enjoying it myself, people started talking more about the good ol' days of AC which has inspired me to play again

It sounds shallow (and is), but if AC had trophy support it would literally be my favourite game ever, along with ACII. As it is, the extra bonus of trophy support in ACII makes it superior.

Duude!!!

I'm very much interested!

The main assassination stuff is also interesting, but something I've been trying to develop into something that's interesting enough to be published is moving around and killing without drawing any attention.

The silence can be so gratifying when you manage to get off the street level at a crowded place without anyone saying "why's he doin thaat...?"

It's a treasure trove of gameplay components that only emerge if you pay attention to not drawing any attention. The courageous citizen and the jar carrier don't react to your climbing, but the courageous citizen will sometimes stop, look around, and if you are around him at that point, he will notice you. Stuff like that.

Also, mysterious deaths are also interesting, although I think all of them have already been done.

I even have a challenge for you, and everyone else, who is inclined to make AC1 videos:

In my video "The Gardens of Acre" I try to do the Acre poor district flag collecting mission without drawing any attention. But at the end I have to kill an old guy, because he saw me. Actually, I even cheated, because it is edited together from two different runs. That mission must be the same in the console version.

It seems to me that it's very possible to make it.

Also, Stabguy said that once he started to make a video where he fought many clones of the same Tamplar, he was just not satisfied with the editing, so he didn't publish it. That is an interesting topic for a video too.

Well, 'the silence' seems alright. Eliminating every guard around without drawing any attention, using only your hidden blade. Then going on to your target and performing an assassination or a stunt of some sort. I wonder what would happen if you dropped a few dead guards on their flight path?

Is it intentional, that your video size is distorted? You can resize and/or crop it with VirtualDub, for example.

I like it widescreen, not sure why. Looks different from most videos and I have never had a problem with it this way.

Your crowd stealth idea is really interesting. A lot of what im doing wont be recorded, im simply enjoying the game playing with class. That is from the moment Al Mualim gives me an assignment I will try get through the kingdom without once getting exposed, and get to the bureau without being seen etc. Then I will do all investigations and then scope out the area where the assassination will take place before going back to the bureau to take in escape routes etc. Now this crowd idea makes it so much more challenging, I will have to take note of ladder locations and such.

As for the videos, most of the actual assassinations have been covered pretty well, but I will e trying to find many different escape routes as well, and different entry points to the assassination area.

Finally, man the atmosphere is still perfect in this game. The background mountains in the kingdom are so much better than AC 2 and ACB, the whole area is huge. I dont even care that there is no reward at all for collecting flags, I do it for fun without looking at any online maps otherwise it is pointless. I dont expect 100/100 anytime soon though lol.

I have had some funny moments with the crowds so far. I did a pickpocket investigation and the instant that I stole the letter from the guy I heard a guard say "You dare steal in my presence? That will cost you your life!" Gave me such a fright.

Yes, it may not be obvoius how to make an interesting video about avoiding being seen by the citizens, but just for playing it can be really contentful.

Exactly! The ladders don't have much relevance otherwise. A whole lot of gameplay mechanics that only make sense if you try not to get noticed at all. The whole game seems so shallow in comparison if you're just rushing through the city. Crowd stealth is like a micro-level of the game.

Hehe... many times I had thought that someone is talking to me when I heard "you are wise indeed", which is always funny, because it's a merchant, and it is followed in a different tone by "that's why you come to me..."

Im going away on the 26th for new years ( 25th for you guys) so il try get my first video out by then. Im not looking at any old vids but I have seen them like a year ago. The video will be Garnier, Memory 3. I will probably make 2 videos actually as it will be too long.

First video will be Ians challenge, removing all archers and soldiers without being seen before killing Garnier. I will use throwing knives. I might add in the broken timeline exploit with the flag at the end, I cant remember if this has been shown yet.

The second video will be just a fun stylish assassination. The goal is to get from the bureau to the hospital without arousing any suspicion, kill Garnier without killing any guards, and lose the guards in a stylish manner and get back to the bureau without getting seen again. I wont be using the broken window to escape, and im fairly certain I havent seen my method of losing the guards on youtube yet.

"The fires of war consumes the land!"

"Which is why you have come to me"

AC1 really is a great game, isn't it? So much depth.

Personally, I always use the ladders, in every game. What Asaic did (or was it you, Assas?), however, in one of his vids, was even more awesome. He jumped up with noone stopping to make statements. That was awesome.

As a matter of fact, I'm currently downloading Assassin's Creed for my Mac. I know, I know, illegal and all that, but I already have a copy of the game, so it's legal in my country, I think.

Well I wont be able to upload that vid, I want the first one pretty much perfect and I keep finding different ways to do it lol. Im going away tomorrow for a new year festival, wont be back till 1st Jan so my AC1 series can start in 2011, and wont be rushed. The main difference in my videos will be escaping after assassinating the main targets, I have already found interesting ways of escaping Talal, Garnier and that fat merchant at the party. It seems like there are speficif freerunning sequences nearby that lead right to a haystack every time

Yea, perfection...

Okay, so I didn't like the feel of using the keyboard and the mouse. Besides, I need two mouse buttons and I'm too lazy to go configure that every time I want to play. In any case, I started playing AC1 again on the Xbox 360. Loving it so far, it's really amazing how my playing style has changed from what it used to be.
So while I was at it, I figured I could try to play the best I could. (Little exposure, killing guards out of sight, that kind of thing.) I also am making savegames for replaying the memory blocks and I've got the HUD turned off.
Do you guys turn the entire HUD off as well, or do you leave the weapon icon on, since killing archers with your sword when you just want to stab them is kind of annoying?

I dont know the game well enough to play with the minimap off, I did give it a shot once. Its interesting because the bureau leaders give you good directions to find investigations without a map. However I couldnt even find north without constantly looking at my map, it became more of an inconvenience. When recording I will most likely take everything off.

Well, you just have to have patience. It was kinda difficult to do find investigations at first, I had to search around a lot. On my second playthrough without minimap, however, I could find my way around the district, even though I didn't know where the investigations were situated. I now am proud to say that I'm able to find the bureau from almost any point in the district without looking at my map. The trick isn't to pay attention to the north. You wouldn't do that in a normal city when you're walking around. I think it's better to have some markers, like viewpoint towers. There are two near the bureau, and if you draw a line from the bureau to these two towers, they have an angle of approximately 90 degrees. The bureau's also situated at the second-biggest road of Damascus.
You can walk the big road (the one you enter the city through) until the end, then take a right turn and you'll be at the bureau soon enough.

You took the words out of my mouth. Except I see the game in a different light because of all the cool videos I've seen since I stopped playing it.

I've wanted to beat some of the blitz records from ac1 (that's why I focused on blitzes for ac2). Plus I've found out other stuff for ac1. Perhaps I should replay it?

Here's a trick for finding north. Just remember "It's always 9am in the Holy Land." The sun is in the southeast, casting shadows to the northwest.

Oh, yes, the stationary sun feature! Also something that was too good for ACII. Trying to find out where I am is always a big boost for awareness for me. Checking the map is so detaching.

The sun doesn't change within an area or between memory blocks. But it is different from area to area:

Neat guide, al-Assas! Yes, the "9am" trick only works in the major cities (where I tend to get lost). Although Jerusalem looks more like 11am now that you point it out.

The shadows for Masyaf and The Kingdom are all wrong. In order to cast shadows southward, one needs to be below the Tropic of Cancer.

Yes, and also, the shadow is not opposite the apparent position of the Sun in the sky, except in Akka. In Damascus it's to the east, in Jerusalem to the south, in the Kingdom to the west, and in Masyaf the Sun is almost right to the north.

I checked it with this:

http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/grad/solcalc/

And it turns out that at that latitude at midsummer the sun rises and sets only about 60 degrees from north.

So the Masyaf and Kingdom shadows are maybe a bit too much to the south, but not to the absurd.

Thanks for the pics, I have decided to try play without anything on the HUD now. It should be interesting because its been so long since I have played I will have to try and learn the city and listen to the bureau guys directions to find investigations, very helpful for people without a radar. I agree as well, people dont realise how much you look at the minimap while traveling the city. Will also give me time to find flags without a guide while I stumble around

For those replaying here is something to try out. Only do one assassination/district at a time. That is, take a break after each one to avoid repetitiveness. Dont rush it at all, make sure you have a lot of time so you are relaxed and can play at your own pace, try and take an hour per district. My plan is this each time.

Talk to Al Mualim, and leave Mysayaf, taking a different route each time collecting flags you find, and without spooking the crowd.

Ride through the kingdom to the city you have to go to without the guards being spooked. Flag collecting and stealth Templar killing is fun here as the guards are informed, and there are many interesting villages you wouldnt normally visit if you werent exploring for flags. I travel the kingdom every time now without skipping trip as it gets more challenging with more archers in place. You will also have to look at the directions posted around the place if you are playing with the map off, helps you get to know this massive place.

Once in the city I like to go to the bureau and get directions, then do all investigations without being seen or spooking anyone. I will probably do this without saving citizens now, they ruin some chase assassinations anyway.After doing that I like to scope out the area where the assassination will take place thanks to the memory log, it tells you where it is. I have found efficient escape routes every time doing this, and I hope to upload them soon before I move out.

I find those investigations that simply say where the assassination is going to take place are really unhelpful if you dont scope it out beforehand or play with map off, as it is given to you later on anyway.

Anyway basically try do the whole journey without spooking anyone or maybe without getting exposed. Its really challenging, I have yet to full succeed in a district yet

I have a whole lot of save games, and I usually just load a clean Tamir, Talal or Garnier save, and explore the district.

But I have a playthrough save as well, which I play continuously. And it's amazing. Not rushing it is the key, I noticed that too. I never run when anonymous. Not even with the horse. When I feel the need to run, I just turn the game off and come back to it when I am interested enough to really delve into each minute detail.

That's how I discovered the East Lake Outpost just a a few days ago. I rarely crossed it before, and even then I usually just rushed through it, so I didn't remember any of its details at all.

I'm at Rank 3, Garnier in my playthrough, but I know where the investigations are in the first three levels. The next one will be more interesting. I don't know yet if it will be William, Abu or Majd Addin, but I will explore the city until I find all the investigations. That will be really involving.

Minimap: now that's a real bringdown. Even worse than regularly checking the map. Navigating by the minimap is a sure way to rushing it. And rushing it is what makes it feel repetitive. If you pay attention to the details, it won't be repetitive. Because it's only repetitive on the surface.

Al-Assas, you hit it spot on. Taking your time with the game really makes it great. Finding the investigations requires some more work, but I like that nevertheless. Now, I actually know where most of them are, while I didn't when playing with minimap. You just have to pay attention where you look. Investigations are almost always located at a plaza, or near a church or something, places where'd you actually find something in real life. Also, searching inside of a guarded fortress yields something most of the time.

You know how we were wondering if there are more objects that point stuff out ( roof dent topic) maybe there could be something that indicates where the investigations are. I have also noticed some view points have 2 guards at the bottom and that is usually the best place to climb straight up. Anyway eagle vision actually has a use if you dont have the minimap, just realized for assassination contracts I will have to find those guys with eagle vision and investigations as well. Timed missions will actually be a challenge

There's a famous article about playing AC1 without the HUD. I won't repost the whole thing here. This may be the original source:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=8725331
[If parts appear blacked out, highlight them to read.]

It contains some good tips that you may not have considered. He has specific tips for finding each kind of Investigation:

The whole article is worth reading before trying a HUD free run.

Wow. Nice article. I didn't know about the murmur. I tried it, it' spooky!

I'd like to add that the stealth assassination targets are mostly lone wandering officers. So they stand out even without eagle vision.

Just played for like 2 hours just on William in Acre ( spent ages in the kingdom as well) without the GPS. It was really fun, the city looked so much better without the HUD. The great thing about Acre is if I ever want to know what district im, if I collect a flag it tells you because they have different names.

Managed to kill William and leave without being exposed ever. I just watched Ians method after, from the way I did it you dont have to remove both guard posts, just the two guys outside his area. Finding the investigations wasnt as hard as I thought, and tracking down the informer targets and killing them high profile was also fun.

As for my escape plan for my video, im not sure what il do as pretty much everyone uses the haystack outside the fortress walls. I am thinking of leaving through the right side of the fortress instead and finding an escape route in the city. Oh one weird thing, if you get seen and the alarm goes off but leave the fortress before killing William, you die. Weird huh?

I love that district, especially the northernmost streets, where the stealth assassination informer is. And there's a church in a small courtyard, and there's that other courtyard with crazy people and a templar to the east, and that whole area.

Making my video for Talal, I cant believe I never knew about the guard tower! Im going to try some sort of stunt involving his route to it

if you havent already, check out stabguys stylish assassination guide for talal. there are a several different paths that he can take, which gives many opportunities for different stunts. good luck.

The save file im using for Talal has the save citizens done... the vigilantes are right where I want to do my stunt. Anyway heres a little something, if your target is walking and no guards are attacking you, the vigilantes wont grab him

You can drop and catch ledge anywhere along the front of Richard's Citadel. The thing is that all of your pursuers are now trapped inside the Citadel (they didn't plan on that when they closed the gate). As long as no new guards spot Altaïr, you'll become Anonymous soon enough without even hiding.

Guess il have to plan the escape route from within the fortress itself, or do a completely stealth mission. I already did it before without looking at Ians, and after watching Ians I can slightly tidy it up as there are some kills you dont have to do.

There are a few hiding spots inside the Citadel. Off the top of my head there are at least two roof gardens, two haystacks, and one set of scholars if you save the citizen. That would be an interesting escape: hiding right there inside their own fortress.

Yea, there's a bench at the northeast wall, south of the gate, with a save citizen. I wonder if it's possible to hide there.

Yes, it's possible. You don't even need to do the save citizen.

Go for it, Jack-Reacher I'd love to see more videos from your good self

So, with a supposed two years until the next AC, does anyone plan on replaying the games?

A short while ago I found myself making a new game on AC3 (it wouldn't let me load a save file because some additional content was deleted or something like that). One thing I noticed this time around was how smooth the gameplay was. Still maintain the change in system from the Altair and Ezio games is unnecessary, but at the same time I recently got frustrated with the gameplay in Unity, and that's saying a lot since I still defend that game. Don't think I can call AC3 the worst of the series anymore.

Don't know if I'll replay AC1 and 2 since I already did to back up saves, although that was a while ago. To give you an idea how long ago, when I recorded Robert's Early Death, I was at that point in the game and wanted to attempt reaching him a few more times before progressing.

Made a new game of ACB a while back to help with someone's video. If the Davinci Disappearance DLC looked good enough I'd buy that, but it doesn't.

I also played all of ACR again, I think because the PS3 didn't shut down correctly and corrupted files.

The Tyranny of King Washington DLC is way overpriced, so I don't plan on getting it.

Freedom Cry looks decent, so I may be getting that.

A friend told me about a free demo of Liberations, so I downloaded it a few days ago. I have to say, it's impressive that you can do nearly everything in that game mechanically wise that you can do in AC3, except for a few things, like pick up bodies. Not that I know how advanced the PS Vita is; just that Bloodlines on PSP didn't have that many options.

IGN gave Liberations a poor rating because the graphics weren't always great, poor AI, and bad voice acting, but from what I've seen and done in the demo, it looks like an AC worthy of the series. I'll keep an eye out for sales.

Have to see about Syndicate. I could have sworn another game came out at the same time as Unity; must have been my imagination.

Rogue was great.
Liberations was great.
Freedom Cry was decent.
Da Vinci Disappearance was okay.
Tyranny of King Washington was cool, but I'm not sure what the price is now.

Last time I checked (months ago), the Tyranny of King Washington came in three parts, each costing $20.

Def not worth the price of a full game. It's 3 memory sequences, and I've voiced my concerns about it elsewhere I'm sure. It's fun, but not that fun. $15 total, def $10 and MAYBE worth $20. Maybe.

Edit: the "season pass" is STILL full price of $30... but i think includes all of them :-?

I'll be replaying a few of the games, yeah. I've still also got all the Trophies from ACC India to get, all the Trophies from ACC Russia (in two days) to get, all the Shadow Gold speedrun vids to make of both games, and I'm already replaying Black Flag.