Assassin's Creed 3 Catch-All

Finished sequence 8 this morning...

Spoiler:

The chase of Hickey was really irritating. More so that it comes at the end of a long string of tailing someone. I hit tackle and actually hit someone else while tackling, and was unable to restart at last checkpoint. That 100% sync objective is a little ridiculous as I find it hard to believe chasing that guy would lead to Conner suddenly becoming very considerate of all other citizens.

End of sequence 8...

Spoiler:

Clearly I'm missing something here with this battle with Hickey and his cronies against Washington and his bodyguards. I try to kill the two guys, Hickey kills the bodyguards. I try to kill Hickey... and per AC rules, the world then stops and the other two guys are basically vaporized by the Animus close-up death scene. And I'm STILL not free to just wander New York. The new mission already has me running around more, which is getting really obnoxious now. All those almanac pages on my map and viewpoints are just waiting for me to use them and I haven't been able to.

Also, is it possible to redo a mission a contract mission later? Right now they lock as you complete, but I still only have 3 of 6 or whatever the max number of initiates is and no one is fully leveled (surplus of cash meaning I'm sending all of them together on each mission since XP is static this time rather than modified by number of people sent)... but I'm worried about how I would level new assassins later.

I tend to kill myself jumping out of those big eagle perch trees. It's the worst, when you take a flying leap and notice you're not going into the dive animation. That fall, man. That fall. Good thing falling to your death isn't that big a deal.

LobsterMobster wrote:

I tend to kill myself jumping out of those big eagle perch trees. It's the worst, when you take a flying leap and notice you're not going into the dive animation. That fall, man. That fall. Good thing falling to your death isn't that big a deal.

Happened once with a tree and once with a church tower, now I always look down to make sure I see it rather than assume it will auto-point me in the right direction.

Demosthenes wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

I tend to kill myself jumping out of those big eagle perch trees. It's the worst, when you take a flying leap and notice you're not going into the dive animation. That fall, man. That fall. Good thing falling to your death isn't that big a deal.

Happened once with a tree and once with a church tower, now I always look down to make sure I see it rather than assume it will auto-point me in the right direction.

On buildings I can usually spot the hay pile but in the trees, branches or other foliage seems to always get in the way of the camera. I'll spend an extra 10 seconds looking next time, but plunging to my death seems like the much quicker method. Good to know that there is a soft landing spot somewhere down there though

Carlbear95 wrote:
Demosthenes wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:

I tend to kill myself jumping out of those big eagle perch trees. It's the worst, when you take a flying leap and notice you're not going into the dive animation. That fall, man. That fall. Good thing falling to your death isn't that big a deal.

Happened once with a tree and once with a church tower, now I always look down to make sure I see it rather than assume it will auto-point me in the right direction.

On buildings I can usually spot the hay pile but in the trees, branches or other foliage seems to always get in the way of the camera. I'll spend an extra 10 seconds looking next time, but plunging to my death seems like the much quicker method. Good to know that there is a soft landing spot somewhere down there though :)

The problem with the repeating tree viewpoints is that generally they are in the frontier. As such, your soft landing spot is a bunch of pine branches and needles which, heyooooo, are the same color as the grass. USUALLY the camera will point you in the direction you need to jump to get down when you sync, but it's not fullproof... but yeah, you save after you sync anyway, so you aren't losing anything with jumping to your death as needed.

So it's now on steam!

The deluxe edition was $99.99 for me though, so I grabbed it from Amazon instead for $79.99 which is awesome since it activates on Steam. I found a way around the whole Amazon only letting US customers purchase digital games, so very happy about that one.

Also, nice that if it goes cheaper somewhere else, I can always just cancel my pre-order with Amazon. I do like that.

Anyone else notice this? (Post Sequence 3)

Spoiler:

Characters you met as Haytham during his sequences are very positive and noble seeming. Charles Lee comes across as a real class act and stand-up guy. Hickey, while obviously in it for the money, still seems like a fun and amusing charcter.

Post Sequence 3, their very LOOK changes. Yeah yeah, years have passed... but Charles goes from seeming like a nice guy to very evil and unkempt looking. Hickey's drunkenness and mercenary motivation come across much stronger. It really was bizarre to realize that these characters I liked so much when I started were suddenly very detestable, then I went back to the opening sequence really quick and noticed they have completely different character models and very different expressions, hygiene, the works.

Weird stuff, but an interesting way to make me ok with assassinating these guys that I had generally enjoyed in the beginning of the game.

Demosthenes wrote:

The problem with the repeating tree viewpoints is that generally they are in the frontier. As such, your soft landing spot is a bunch of pine branches and needles which, heyooooo, are the same color as the grass. USUALLY the camera will point you in the direction you need to jump to get down when you sync, but it's not fullproof... but yeah, you save after you sync anyway, so you aren't losing anything with jumping to your death as needed.

If you switch to Eagle Vision, hiding spots will glow bright white, so that's useful... except that tall grass glows a dimmer white, and from that distance it's surprisingly hard to tell one from the other. But at least if you use Eagle Vision you'll be sure your fresh corpse is hidden.

I should really remember to use eagle vision more often for sneaking and such. I always forget that it shows stuff like that.

That said, back on track to get 100% sync for the main missions at least. Was able to go back and get the two bad guards during the last section of Sequence 8 while preserving the bodyguards and able to get the capture the guy alive without bumping into anyone at the start of Sequence 8. Both took a couple of attempts (and are frustrating as all hell)... but my victories on both were almost immediate on the try.

Can't wait to get the

Spoiler:

Altair's Robes costume

for it. Especially as I've been slacking on naval missions and sidequests as of late.

Also, I can't believe they still haven't figured out how to make the cutscenes (in engine) display the robes you're wearing rather than the default color. It's really weird to be wearing the Black and Red robes from New York while in control, then be back in white and blue for cutscenes.

So getGamesgo has the deluxe edition for $62... but it's not activatable on steam.

Sheeet. $20 difference from Amazon. Now I have to wonder if having it on steam is really worth the extra $20.

The Getgames downloader just gives you a copy of the install files as they would come off a DVD, and as far as I'm aware no limits on redownloading, and you can just back it up yourself.

So I cancelled my digital deluxe edition from Amazon and just went with the standard instead. I figure the season pass for $30 will come down at a later date and to be honest, the multiplayer DLC don't interest me.

The other bonus missions aren't really worth the extra money either. I'm happy with $49.99 for standard. The only way I'd grab the digital now is if the steam version comes down to $60. But between now and 9 days.... don't see that happening.

Checking in - just finished Seq 7.

I've been doing a lot of the random sidequests (feathers, pages, deliveries) as I come into them. Haven't done any of the naval missions, and so far only have 2 recruits.

Just listened to this weekend's CC, and I've got to agree with Shawn and Justin's take - this game really feels like there were a ton of chefs in the kitchen, but no one really making sure that all the pieces came together smoothly.

I wish there was one unified menu system across the game. Instead, on Xbox, I've got a menu from hitting Back, another from hitting Start, a third if I hold LB and hit X (assassin recruit missions), I can go to ledgers in the game to send convoys, and while I get notifications inside the Animus for new emails, I have to leave the Animus and wander around to read them.

My last AC game was Brotherhood, and it feels like they've stepped back in polish over the last 2 years

Also checking in- I'm right around the beginning of Sequence 6. (I think?)

Feel like the game is just opening up and kinda liking the feel of early naval battles. But still, so many weird bugs and glitches here and there, it's hard to ignore. Just trying to focus on main story and mostly naval missions when I want a break from main-lining.

Spoiler:

Everyone kept saying to skip Revelations (which I did) and now after getting this game, I feel like I missed something with Desmond's Dad and how there relationship is so strained. Is that true? I know he was in communication with his Dad and that he was a member of the Brotherhood, but I just feel like I'm missing why they are both stand-off-ish. But maybe that's how you would be after waking up from a coma and seeing your father there for the first time in awhile?

Le0hart85 wrote:
Spoiler:

Everyone kept saying to skip Revelations (which I did) and now after getting this game, I feel like I missed something with Desmond's Dad and how there relationship is so strained. Is that true? I know he was in communication with his Dad and that he was a member of the Brotherhood, but I just feel like I'm missing why they are both stand-off-ish. But maybe that's how you would be after waking up from a coma and seeing your father there for the first time in awhile?

Spoiler:

I also skipped brotherhood, and aside from Desmond's dad being a right jerk, I don't feel like I missed much else. By the end of AC3, it all becomes much clearer, and earlier stuff I had been concerned about skipping was pretty much washed away, as pieces just seemed to fall into place.

And I'll agree, the technical issues take this from being a potentially great game to just a good game. I don't know if they were just hitting console limits, or what, but if the next installment in the series is on both this and next gen, I'll quite likely opt for the latter.

trueheart78 wrote:
Spoiler:

I also skipped brotherhood, and aside from Desmond's dad being a right jerk, I don't feel like I missed much else. By the end of AC3, it all becomes much clearer, and earlier stuff I had been concerned about skipping was pretty much washed away, as pieces just seemed to fall into place.

Spoiler:

Yea, just skipping Revelations, I think that's the only thing I feel like I missed. And even that, I'm just rolling with and chalking that up to "flavor" from AC: Rev and not much more. I'm going out on a limb and saying that Desmond and Mile's relationship probably wasn't delved into *that* much last game.

But like everyone has been saying, the bugs and glitches are just *crazy* and numerous. And I agree with McIrishJihad in the statement about the crazy menu's for getting to everything. *Especially* the Assassin's menu to send people out on missions. It seems like it'd be nice to just be able to do that anywhere, but they don't really spend much time explaining that as well as losing your Convoy (I think that's what it's called, from your Homestead?) as soon as you let it go the first time after a big tutorial of setting it up. Why not put defending it in that same tutorial?! (I think Justin McElroy and Certis went over this issue just a tad in the CC last week)

Have been watching multiplayer videos of AC3 on a nightly basis to try and placate my desire for AC3. Waiting till the 23rd is too damn long.

Is it just me, or does Seq 6, 7, and 8 just fly by?

It felt like in AC1, 2, and Brotherhood, each Sequence had 3-4 distinct missions, building up to a capstone. In AC3, its like "hey, there's the guy. Here's a red carpet to take him down. Oh, small side track for a moment, now go take him out."

I'm part way through 7 and I've taken a break to do hunting missions and hunt enough to fully upgrade the Aquila. I found one region that was literally crawling with beavers. Ended up skinning about 20 of them in 10 minutes.

McIrishJihad wrote:

Is it just me, or does Seq 6, 7, and 8 just fly by?

It felt like in AC1, 2, and Brotherhood, each Sequence had 3-4 distinct missions, building up to a capstone. In AC3, its like "hey, there's the guy. Here's a red carpet to take him down. Oh, small side track for a moment, now go take him out."

I can't remember which sequence number it is (and don't want to spoil with a location), but the sequence that first takes you to New York was the worst offender of this. Totally on the rails for the entire sequence, and then kicks you back to the homestead after. First thing I want to do in a new town? Check out the new outfit options and explore the town, go hit all the viewpoints, etc... and instead, I was wondering if this sequence was going to be it for the city and I would never actually get to free roam.

Demosthenes wrote:

I can't remember which sequence number it is (and don't want to spoil with a location), but the sequence that first takes you to New York was the worst offender of this.

Yup, that's Seq 8. I just finished that last night.

The worst part was after wrapping the sequence, you don't get bumped to the Homestead

Spoiler:

you get booted from the Animus and go on another real-world mission to snag the 2nd power source.

McIrishJihad wrote:
Demosthenes wrote:

I can't remember which sequence number it is (and don't want to spoil with a location), but the sequence that first takes you to New York was the worst offender of this.

Yup, that's Seq 8. I just finished that last night.

The worst part was after wrapping the sequence, you don't get bumped to the Homestead

Spoiler:

you get booted from the Animus and go on another real-world mission to snag the 2nd power source.

Which I hated.

Spoiler:

Interesting to play as Desmond finally in something other than a fantasy land or a lab where you really only can talk to people and read emails... but still, those sections just were not that fulfilling as I really hasn't seen the point... why are we working on powering these sub-rooms instead of working on finding the key to get in already? Seems kind of out of place to me.

I really like how the Desmond sequences don't have any sort of HUD.

Spoiler:

The idea is you're working on powering the sub-rooms so everything's good to go once you do find the key.

LobsterMobster wrote:

I really like how the Desmond sequences don't have any sort of HUD.

Spoiler:

The idea is you're working on powering the sub-rooms so everything's good to go once you do find the key.

Spoiler:

But they state early on that there are other teams "working around the world". Why is it on Desmond's shoulders to not only find the key hidden in his DNA memory, but ALSO find the power cubes for the various sub-rooms in the temple? You'd think he has enough on his mind...

I also like the HUD-less sections, except that the guards seem to have 4x the perception as those inside the Animus.

Rant...
Don't read if you haven't finished the game....

Spoiler:

What a s*&t ending! I'm a huge AC fan and this has made me very upset. It's as if the writers don't respect us at all.
We play for essentially 5 games being an "Assassin" ie choice and freedom over the templars view of "control". Then at the end the player (ie Desmond) chooses control and domination of Juno, without giving the choice to the player. Plus if the ancients "know the future" then why is Minerva there at all, if she knows what Desmond will chose. ie they can see the future.

Sigh. It was the worst "outside animus" story yet, which is sad as they could have done a lot with it, and failed.

Spent last night working on the naval missions and there's this one that requires you, for the 100% sync, to destroy like an entire enemy fleet in 90 seconds. What's irritating about this (similar to the mission where you are chasing this dude and have to catch him without bumping into anyone in the crowd) is that the loading code is apparently imperfect. When you restart from the last checkpoint, you lose a good 4 or 5 seconds... which when you have like 10-15 ships and ninety seconds or the guy you're chasing has a headstart into a crowd, is kind of a big deal.

Never did finish that naval mission. :'(

Demosthenes wrote:

Spent last night working on the naval missions and there's this one that requires you, for the 100% sync, to destroy like an entire enemy fleet in 90 seconds. What's irritating about this (similar to the mission where you are chasing this dude and have to catch him without bumping into anyone in the crowd) is that the loading code is apparently imperfect. When you restart from the last checkpoint, you lose a good 4 or 5 seconds... which when you have like 10-15 ships and ninety seconds or the guy you're chasing has a headstart into a crowd, is kind of a big deal.

Never did finish that naval mission. :'(

I tried that one a couple of times, and then quit out. I will go back once I have fully upgraded the Aquila.

Man, some of the 100% conditions are a total pain in the arse. I am up to sequence 9 with full 100% thus far, but some of that has been incredibly frustrating.

I love that all that stuff is optional - I skipped a ton of that junk.

This interview is from before the games release but I thought it was interest, especially for people who played the previous iterations of the multiplayer.

As someone with all MP achievements in all the games (including AC3) - wolfpack was a much needed, and much enjoyed, addition.