Far Cry 3

Vector wrote:
Aristophan wrote:

I spent way too much of my time tonight hunting goats. I don't have any long range weapons yet, so my "technique" involved running up to them, spraying wildly with my assault rifle, running out of bullets as I ran after them, switching to my silenced pistol, running out of handgun ammo, and finally knifing them.

It could probably use some work.

Try a grenade.

They're quite effective on Sharks too. Make a nice *plump* Booooooooom! *sploosh* sound. Rather rewarding. Just watch out for the others coming towards you as you skin the dead one.

BlackSabre wrote:
Vector wrote:
Aristophan wrote:

I spent way too much of my time tonight hunting goats. I don't have any long range weapons yet, so my "technique" involved running up to them, spraying wildly with my assault rifle, running out of bullets as I ran after them, switching to my silenced pistol, running out of handgun ammo, and finally knifing them.

It could probably use some work.

Try a grenade.

They're quite effective on Sharks too. Make a nice *plump* Booooooooom! *sploosh* sound. Rather rewarding. Just watch out for the others coming towards you as you skin the dead one.

Running down sharks in a wave runner is also enormous fun. Takes a few hits but sooo worth it.

So, playing on Hard is, in fact, hard. I spent last night attempting to take a small pirate base, and was repeatedly run out of the area. Between their dogs, reinforcements, and position, I could not sneak in, and my weapons (an STG and some grenades) were not adequate for the task of picking them apart.

I spent the rest of the session hunting, including a tiger (!), whom I felled after a terrifying close-quarters battle. I rather think he was upset with me from the outset, as I'd plinked a couple of rocks off of his head before he closed in. (He was an impressive kitty, too -- took 3 blasts from a 12 gauge at close range before he finally fell over dead.) Between the spoils of that encounter and a handful of pelts to sell, I had enough money to buy a bolt-action sniper rifle, which I'm hoping will be the first step towards being able to take down that base. Next up is making a holster so that I can carry a backup pistol.

Man, what a great game.

Good read for PC users wondering about GPU Settings/Performance

http://hardocp.com/article/2012/12/0...

Last night before shutting down, I just stood on a hilltop in the sunset for a few good minutes, watching the action in the valley below.

At one point I counted 23 different AI (animals and humans) in my field of vision at the same time. There was a group of goats being chased by wild dogs, another group of pirates in a shootout on the road with some of my Rakyat compadres, a 2-man boat patrol on the river, and a nearby outpost manned with pirates, dogs, and a caged animal.

I was blown away at all the unscripted madness going on at the same time. This was on PC - I'm guessing the console versions would throttle the amount of AI processing much more.

I don't think I've ever seen that many unique AI routines running at once, except maybe in Assassin's Creed (although I have a hunch the huge crowds milling about in games like that and GTA are following some kind of simpler procedural script that is easier on the hardware). Definitely not in a shooter. For me, this is the promise of the next generation - using our faster processors and extra memory for a level of AI interaction the likes of which we've never really seen before.

Makes me more excited for that game Ubi showed off at E3 - Watch Dogs, I think?

Had my first bear encounter last night. Man those things are a, well...a bear.

(Shameful truth: The Bear was actually in a cage that I safely shot open from a distance. After four guards softened it up with AK-47s, losing their lives in the process, I swept in for clean-up duty.)

Still man, bears!

On a side note, the motion capture and facial detail/animations in this game are pretty incredible (for the lead characters anyway).

Meeting Dr. Earnhardt last night proved to be one of the most impressive character cut scenes I've seen all year, from a technical perspective. It's like you can actually see the gears turning in the doctor's head as he talks. So convincing.

(switch to 720p to see in detail)

It's like you can actually see the gears turning in the doctor's head as he talks. So convincing.

You know, I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. There's something off with that first helpful guy you meet; his eyes look kind of strange, and his face is kind of wooden. But the doctor's face and expressions are really, really well done. He actually climbed out of the uncanny valley for me, and registered as basically real, which the other characters haven't done, at least so far. And I wasn't paying attention to it, I didn't even notice at the time, which I suppose is maybe the strongest sign of how good they're getting.

Although, crazy psychotic guy was pretty good too, now that I ponder a mite.

Oh, and: wow, it is WEIRD to be voluntarily playing a Ubisoft game.

I put in about 1.5 hours last night, and I feel like I probably need to put in a few more before I have a reliable (ie less negative) first impression.

My knee jerk reactions mostly have to do with how much this game doesn't feel like Far Cry 2: the extent to which the intrusive HUD and constant notifications destroy immersion, the way the game immediately beats you over the head with an overwhelming array of side missions, the way in which you are forced to leave the game to navigate menu after menu to craft items, which is necessary because you have to craft stuff in order to carry more than a little money/carry more than a couple of syringes/carry more than one weapon. The various ways the game is set up to entice you with a constant IV drip of upgrade unlocks--XP! More guns! Upgraded guns! More syringes with different capabilities! More skills! More room in your inventory!--they feel so overtly video gamey that they almost feel insulting to me. Hey gamer, you thought Far Cry 2 was boring? Check this sh*t out! We packed Far Cry and Assassin's Creed and Skyrim into this Female Doggo! Boom! Crafting! Boom! Skill challenges! Boom! Races! Boom! Hunting! And we will constantly remind you about this stuff, because no way is this game as boring as Far Cry 2!

I loved the gritty, grimy minimalism of Far Cry 2. I loved that you were put in a world that was aggressively hostile to you both as a player and as a character in the game world. I loved that your job was:
a) kill motherf*ckers
b) think about the implications of this horrible circle of violence as you travel across a beautiful and desolate world
c) kill some more motherf*ckers

My first impression of Far Cry 3 is that while it is beautiful and mechanically super polished, it is also all about shoving fun into your face as fast and as frequently as possible. It also--at least initially, maybe this changes--seems to be chock full of cloying adolescent power fantasy. You are for no apparent reason the chosen one with the magical tattoos, and all these attractive brown natives need you to lead them. Thematically, it seems to have a lot more to do with Far Cry: Instincts than Far Cry 2. Maybe FC3 is way smarter than I think it is, maybe the writers are just riffing on game tropes. I hope so.

During the first hour and a half, though, the game feels like a desperate ex-girlfriend promising to lavish me with everything I want, when I what I really want is just to go back and hang out with the girl who is rough around the edges, a little depressed and kind of a jerk sometimes, but who really gets me.

Malor wrote:
It's like you can actually see the gears turning in the doctor's head as he talks. So convincing.

You know, I hadn't thought about it, but you're right. There's something off with that first helpful guy you meet; his eyes look kind of strange, and his face is kind of wooden. But the doctor's face and expressions are really, really well done. He actually climbed out of the uncanny valley for me, and registered as basically real, which the other characters haven't done, at least so far. And I wasn't paying attention to it, I didn't even notice at the time, which I suppose is maybe the strongest sign of how good they're getting.

Although, crazy psychotic guy was pretty good too, now that I ponder a mite.

Aye, Vaas struck a chord with me. A terrified chord, but a chord none the less.

My favourite moment, so far, is non-combat related. I was doing a little bit of exploring and ended up falling off a cliff and into a deep pool of water. Climbed on a ledge and realized I was trapped. Kept climbing and ended up finding one of the relics. Really cool little exploration moment. I knew where it was on my map but if I didn't fall down a cliff side I wouldn't have found it that quickly.

Another cool moment was after setting a bomb and making my mistake I accidently jumped right on top of a crocodile. I had enough time to realize, as I was flying through the air, "oh sh*t I'm going to land on that crocodile!". Ended up stabbing it to death and finished my escape.

I loved the gritty, grimy minimalism of Far Cry 2. I loved that you were put in a world that was aggressively hostile to you both as a player and as a character in the game world.

My only real complaint with FC2 was the constantly respawning guard posts. If stuff you'd cleared in that game stayed dead, I'd have loved it. Well, that, plus if the stealth worked better, since every bad guy had laser vision, but you didn't.

I like the stealth in FC3 a lot, so far. You're hard but not impossible to see in brush, medium-easy to see in shadow, and super easy to see in bright, uncluttered light. If I could have this stealth system and clearable guardposts in FC2, I'd be in gamer heaven.

It is super-gamey, kind of frustrating. You've got a thousand dollars in your pocket, and you can't buy a better wallet? When enemies are dropping them all the time? Yeah, sure, whatever. Stupid.

Podunk wrote:

I put in about 1.5 hours last night, and I feel like I probably need to put in a few more before I have a reliable (ie less negative) first impression.

My knee jerk reactions mostly have to do with how much this game doesn't feel like Far Cry 2: the extent to which the intrusive HUD and constant notifications destroy immersion, the way the game immediately beats you over the head with an overwhelming array of side missions, the way in which you are forced to leave the game to navigate menu after menu to craft items, which is necessary because you have to craft stuff in order to carry more than a little money/carry more than a couple of syringes/carry more than one weapon. The various ways the game is set up to entice you with a constant IV drip of upgrade unlocks--XP! More guns! Upgraded guns! More syringes with different capabilities! More skills! More room in your inventory!--they feel so overtly video gamey that they almost feel insulting to me. Hey gamer, you thought Far Cry 2 was boring? Check this sh*t out! We packed Far Cry and Assassin's Creed and Skyrim into this Female Doggo! Boom! Crafting! Boom! Skill challenges! Boom! Races! Boom! Hunting! And we will constantly remind you about this stuff, because no way is this game as boring as Far Cry 2!

I loved the gritty, grimy minimalism of Far Cry 2. I loved that you were put in a world that was aggressively hostile to you both as a player and as a character in the game world. I loved that your job was:
a) kill motherf*ckers
b) think about the implications of this horrible circle of violence as you travel across a beautiful and desolate world
c) kill some more motherf*ckers

My first impression of Far Cry 3 is that while it is beautiful and mechanically super polished, it is also all about shoving fun into your face as fast and as frequently as possible. It also--at least initially, maybe this changes--seems to be chock full of cloying adolescent power fantasy. You are for no apparent reason the chosen one with the magical tattoos, and all these attractive brown natives need you to lead them. Thematically, it seems to have a lot more to do with Far Cry: Instincts than Far Cry 2. Maybe FC3 is way smarter than I think it is, maybe the writers are just riffing on game tropes. I hope so.

During the first hour and a half, though, the game feels like a desperate ex-girlfriend promising to lavish me with everything I want, when I what I really want is just to go back and hang out with the girl who is rough around the edges, a little depressed and kind of a jerk sometimes, but who really gets me.

This is a fair point.. I also was jarred to some degree about how "gamey" everything is.. its like they took everything in regards to this from other games and shoved it right in your face within the first 10 minutes. Combine with uPlay notifications (on the PC side) that are far more obvious than Steam Cheevos and its a bit off putting.

But the inherit gameplay seems to be rock solid.. so I think it will outshine that negative...I'm actually surprised my character didnt break the "fourth wall" as well lol

Podunk wrote:

During the first hour and a half, though, the game feels like a desperate ex-girlfriend promising to lavish me with everything I want, when I what I really want is just to go back and hang out with the girl who is rough around the edges, a little depressed and kind of a jerk sometimes, but who really gets me.

Best quote I've heard from anybody about the game so far. Spot on!

I am actively rooting against the main character and his friends. Vaas > these annoying chucks.

The takedown to knifethrow move you can unlock is pretty damn satisfying to the point where I will forgo the 1500xp stealth route just to bust it out.

I'm glad to hear you guys say that it evens out later into the game. I really want to like it.

Podunk wrote:

the extent to which the intrusive HUD and constant notifications destroy immersion, the way the game immediately beats you over the head with an overwhelming array of side missions, the way in which you are forced to leave the game to navigate menu after menu to craft items, which is necessary because you have to craft stuff in order to carry more than a little money/carry more than a couple of syringes/carry more than one weapon. The various ways the game is set up to entice you with a constant IV drip of upgrade unlocks--XP! More guns! Upgraded guns! More syringes with different capabilities! More skills! More room in your inventory!--they feel so overtly video gamey that they almost feel insulting to me.

Malor wrote:

It is super-gamey, kind of frustrating. You've got a thousand dollars in your pocket, and you can't buy a better wallet? When enemies are dropping them all the time? Yeah, sure, whatever. Stupid.

I started last night and played for 3-4 hours on PC. My experience was pretty much equal parts fun and frustration, the frustrations due to the things I quoted. I didn't play either of the previous FC games, but I had seen enough gameplay video of FC3 to form an impression that it is a fun, open-world game with lots of things to do. While there are things to do, there are also things that get in the way of the fun to be had. The most frustrating of those, for me, are UI stuff - the f*cking constant visual and audible reminder (that CAN'T be turned off) every 60 seconds of what my current mission is, the HUD that can't be toggled off/on, and the clunky menus, all of which break the deep immersion that the game potentially has.

Also, I can buy super powerful weapons from a gun locker in some stranger's house, but I can't buy a simple pouch to carry more ammo and/or syringes from the shop in town? Stoopid.

The first weapon I bought was the more powerful of the two sniper rifles ($1800), but for some reason I can only buy 5 bullets at a time. So I think I'm going to start a new playthrough and get the silenced pistol as suggested by someone. And instead of immediately wandering off outside the starting mapped area (when the game will actually let you), I'll do more hunting in the starting area to get the skins needed to craft things, so that I can actually carry more than one weapon and a handful of ammo.

Hopefully by starting a new game and getting the basic necessities early before trying to do my own thing, I'll get to the point where the fun outweighs the frustration so that I don't regret my decision of paying full price, not to mention buying a PC game from Ubisoft.

Also, I can buy super powerful weapons from a gun locker in some stranger's house, but I can't buy a simple pouch to carry more ammo and/or syringes from the shop in town? Stoopid.

Yeah, that whole mechanic is super lame. But they could have made it work pretty well, with some thought. Wallets could have been, say, $25 or whatever, but this is a distant island with a crappy economy, so nobody has any money. Instead of needing rhinoceros hide or some crap to carry two weapons, you might have just needed a $10 belt holster, maybe a $50 backpack if you wanted to carry three. And they could have even included the option of making it from animal hides instead, or else giving the animal hides to the shopkeeper in exchange for what you wanted. (leopard skin, I imagine, is probably pretty damn valuable.) And you wouldn't have been able to really buy weapons at all, except the first Colt 1911, but would have to take everything else from enemies and loot boxes. Totally would have worked well and been fairly immersive.

But, instead, you've got this bizarre mechanic where full auto machine guns just show up in random places all over the island, magic gun lockers with every weapon known to mankind, and enough ammo to fight WW2 on that little island, but a simple strip of cow leather can't be found.

The engine is really cool, beautiful, super-advanced, and fast, and the feel of the combat is excellent. But, taken as a whole, this game makes zero sense whatsoever. It's still fun, but there's no sense of immersion at all.

the f*cking constant visual and audible reminder (that CAN'T be turned off) every 60 seconds of what my current mission is

I would like to find the person responsible for making that decision, and administer a pimp slap. In a game with many strange design choices, that's the one that's really frustrating.

Oh, and the explanation for why freeing radio towers gives you free equipment is ludicrous. There are advanced weapons lurking in remote hilltop villages, but somehow, they can't be notified that you'd like weapons unless the radio is working? That is .... the stupidity in that explanation beggars the imagination.

All they'd have to do is explain it differently, or tie the weapon progress into outposts freed instead of radio towers. The simple explanation then becomes: with the increasing safety on the island, more weapons dealers are willing to take the risk of supplying the rebels. More advanced stuff becomes available, and some of it is given to you for free by the grateful population.

Exact same game effect, but you could actually, you know, believe it.

Malor, I'm totally with you. The internal logic of the game's economy is nonexistent, and it's all the more annoying when compared to FC2's bone simple shop and upgrade system. Ambushing arms dealer convoys to unlock new weapons has got to be one of the most satisfying upgrade mechanics ever.

Did the developer change between 2 and 3? I'm to lazy to google myself. It does seem weird that they chose to forgo some of the interesting FC2 designs for the overally "gamey" decisions here.

But I must admit that its not detracting from the "fun" level yet.

It's the same developer (Ubi Montreal) and even some of the same leads, but FC2 creative director Clint Hocking left for LucasArts, and then for Valve. FC2 seems like it really was Hocking's game.

http://criticalpathproject.com/?v=51...

Not really enjoying this. A few too many niggles so far.

Aristophan wrote:

I spent way too much of my time tonight hunting goats. I don't have any long range weapons yet, so my "technique" involved running up to them, spraying wildly with my assault rifle, running out of bullets as I ran after them, switching to my silenced pistol, running out of handgun ammo, and finally knifing them.

It could probably use some work.

I dunno if this was just hyperbole for humorous effect or not, but goats are one of the few things that are not going to hurt you so you can get really close without having to worry about getting mauled (by the goat, anyways, whatever the hell else happens to be in the area is another matter). And if you get really close, presumably you'll miss less.

Ambushing arms dealer convoys to unlock new weapons has got to be one of the most satisfying upgrade mechanics ever.

I never got far enough with FC2 to do that, but it sounds brilliant. I quit about the third time I had the same fight at the same little guard outpost.

Malor wrote:
Ambushing arms dealer convoys to unlock new weapons has got to be one of the most satisfying upgrade mechanics ever.

I never got far enough with FC2 to do that, but it sounds brilliant. I quit about the third time I had the same fight at the same damn guard tower.

Isnt there a mod that will disable this?

1Dgaf wrote:

Not really enjoying this. A few too many niggles so far.

You seem to be the lone voice of dissent here. An important role for any echo chamber. What's bothering you?

No, it's a fundamental part of the FC2 engine. I don't remember all the details, but the game world is divided into "zones" and only your local zones are loaded into memory at any given time. If a zone gets unloaded then reloaded it "resets" to base; it doesn't remember anything that you did that wasn't part of the main storyline. (It wasn't just guardposts that respawned; burned areas would regrow and damaged vehicles would be repaired and moved back to their starting positions, for example.)

One of the devs said in an interview that they really never noticed it in testing because they pretty much ever looked at one quest at a time and never went through the same area over and over. It wasn't until the game was near completion that they played all the way through and realized it was a problem and by that point it was too late to redesign it.

This is the closest we've got to a mod that disables checkpoint respawns in Far Cry 2. I don't think it disables respawning, but it does tweak checkpoint AI to make the guards less aggressive.

At this point, I'm annoyed enough by the constant hammer-over-the-head reminders of what I'm Supposed To Be Doing Next that I'd actually recommend holding off on this one to see if it gets patched out.

I don't know what they're thinking -- they push the 'do what you want' gameplay so hard, and then literally, once a minute, they whack you to say you're doing the wrong thing. It's the bong for Important Stuff, too, so you kinda have to pay attention.

Navi was more annoying than these reminders, and the inability to skip text in Okami was definitely worse, but I'm mentioning all three in the same breath.

Everything else is livable -- it's a bit eye-rolling at times, but it's livable. But the reminders, they are driving. me. nuts.

Well, more nuts, anyway.