Games

[Texas]

http://kotaku.com/leaked-images-reveal- ... 1547111652

One of this fall's big Assassin's Creed games, called or code-named Unity, is set at least partly in 18th-century Paris, according to early leaked screenshots obtained by Kotaku.

These screenshots, sent to me by a source who requested anonymity, show Unity's new assassin roaming around what appears to be Paris. You can see Notre Dame, the Seine River, and other Parisian landmarks, and the shots are very clearly from an early version of the game.

What's more, this is just one of two major Assassin's Creed games that will be out later this year, according to a number of sources. Unity will be for the current-gen consoles—Xbox One and PS4—while a second game, possibly called or code-named Comet, will be released on Xbox 360 and PS3. Presumably one or both versions will also be on PC. Sorry, Nintendo fans: I haven't yet heard anything about Wii U.

This information comes both from web chatter and our own conversations with developer sources. For months now we've heard rumors and rumblings about what could be the next installment in Ubisoft's popular assassin-parkour series, which has been released on an annual schedule for five years now. There's been a new major Assassin's Creed every fall since 2009.

Interesting as all this is, the prospect of two major AC games this fall is particularly noteworthy. Some might be excited that Ubisoft is liberating their teams from the shackles of cross-gen development for Unity, which won't have to make any compromises to fit into last-gen hardware. But some critics have already accused Ubisoft of milking the Assassin's Creed franchise—in the past five months alone we've seen Black Flag, the mobile game Pirates, the HD remakes of Liberation, and an Assassin's Creed board game called Arena. Two new games this fall could add to Assassin's Creed's reputation as an overused series.

A few weeks ago, rumors about Unity popped up on the gaming forum NeoGAF, and were later corroborated by Examiner's Nicholas Gigante, who has been correct about Ubisoft-related rumors in the past. The gist: Unity is one of two Assassin's Creed games this fall; Unity is set during the French Revolution; Unity stars an assassin named Arno. This all matches up with rumblings we've heard in conversations with our own developer sources. It also meshes with the screenshots we've obtained (all posted below).2

Last month, Assassin's Creed producer Jade Raymond told AdWeek that the next game in the franchise would be set during her "favorite historical era." A fake internal e-mail in last year's Assassin's Creed IV hinted at a number of potential historical settings for future games in the series, one of which was the French Revolution. Last year at E3, Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot told Kotaku boss Stephen Totilo that they had three Assassin's Creeds in development.

Leaked screenshots:

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http://www.vg247.com/2014/03/21/assassi ... -released/

Assassin’s Creed: Unity has been revealed by Ubisoft through a video featuring footage of the game.

Images of the title leaked earlier this week.

“We have been working on the new Assassin’s Creed for more than three years and although we weren’t quite ready to show you our full vision for a next-gen only AC, it seems Abstergo are trying to force our hand,” said Unisoft.

“So here’s a true first look at in-game footage from Assassin’s Creed Unity. Stay tuned – we’ll have many more exciting details for you in the months ahead.”

The report from earlier this week stated the game was set in 18th-century Paris during the French Revolution.

It was also stated at the time another Assassin’s Creed game was in the works for PS3 and Xbox 360, codenamed Comet.

Assassin’s Creed: Unity is slated for a holiday 2014 release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Sneak Peek Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYllK9Gl3W8

[Texas]

http://www.dualshockers.com/2014/04/07/ ... o-athlete/

Ubisoft seems to be very interested in adding parkour moves to its games, as we’re seeing in Watch_Dogs, and the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Unity seems to be getting its fair share of tricks.

Parkour professional athlete Jesse La Flair left a comment (discovered by Reddit user ProfeshCamper) on one of his youtube videos, teasing a collaboration for the “next AC,” and the addition of a horizontal wall run move to the game.

What if I told you I may or may not have worked on the NEXT AC and they may or may not have added the ability to Horizontal Wall Run in the game…

Considering that La Flair is a highly recognized athlete that has done stunts for several movies, and that it’s definitely not unlikely for software houses to take advantage of the services of specialists like him as consultants and performance capture actors, it definitely seems credible, especially since La Flair mentions Assassin’s Creed it in the video itself.

Of course we should consider it a rumor until we actually see it happen in the game’s footage or Ubisoft makes an official announcement, but looks like the new French assassin will come with some new tricks up his sleeve.

If you don’t know what “horizontal wall running” means, you can check out La Flair’s video just below.

The video with La Flair's comment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mn06LXFDsk

[icycalm]

Assassin's Creed Unity Official E3 2014 Co-op Commented Demo [US]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpJ6GICqQyc

Best thing I've seen so far at E3, by a huge margin. Arkham Knight and Far Cry 3 and 4 look like mini-games in comparison. Same with GTA5. The environment is so huge and loads so seamlessly, the buildings are so detailed, the crowds so large and look and react so realistically. Everything is so beautiful, so colorful... Utterly amazing. And omg the four-player co-op sounds incredible. Only thing I don't like about it are the little markers above the other players. Hope you can turn these off...

Also, it really sucks that you are with the bad guys. I mean really, REALLY sucks. I could do without the demonization of the nobility in my hella immersive videogame, damn it.

Other than that, Game of the Show for me, so far. I mean looking at these fucking screenshots:

I have no words...

Kudos also to Ubi for going current-gen-only.

[Amor fati]

E3 single-player demo with commentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzBJPOcmke0

[infernovia]

New Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T98KhAGzIEY

[icycalm]

Stunning trailer, but the propaganda is unbearable. Coming soon: Assassin's Creed: Occupy Wall Street.

[Gaius]

Awesome new CG trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DU8QOBlNZGs

[Masahiro9891]

[icycalm]

Well, at least in that trailer he's trying to save someone from the guillotine. That's something I guess. I wouldn't call it awesome, however. The faces are of far lower fidelity than the environments (and far less beautiful too -- some of them could even be called ugly, like the girl's for example), as is typical of the art in Ubisoft games, and it's very glaring. And the animation feels stilted at times and is not perfectly fluid, as in the CG of plenty of other games.

Ubisoft needs better artists. And it needs them soon, because the better the technology becomes, the more glaring will be their artists' insufficiencies.

[Masahiro9891]

http://gematsu.com/2014/08/assasssins-creed-unity-gamescom-gameplay-walkthrough

Assasssin’s Creed: Unity Gamescom gameplay walkthrough

ACU-11-Mins-GC14.jpg (67.46 KiB) Viewed 28937 times

Ubisoft released a new single-player commented walkthrough of Assassin’s Creed: Unity at Gamescom.

The 11-minute video, narrated by creative director Alex Amancio, follows a full single-player assassination mission from start to finish, providing viewers a look at the new parkour system, updated stealth, and city of Paris.

Watch the footage below. The game is due out for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 28.

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

[Masahiro9891]

Co-op heists mission: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OX5p45aYy2k

[movie]

http://www.allgamesbeta.com/2014/09/ass ... -pass.html

Assassin’s Creed Unity Season Pass Fact Sheet

Product Description

Experience everything Assassin’s Creed Unity has to offer with the Season Pass. With 8 hours of new content including a new campaign in a rural city outside Paris, more missions and gear in Paris, and an all-new downloadable game set in 16th Century China, and much more.

Key Features

• New Campaign - Dead Kings - Follow Arno, after the events of Assassin’s Creed Unity, to the ominous rural city of Saint Denis. Explore the troubling city’s extensive underground universe - an ancient necropolis with an intricate network of catacombs and deep caves that hide the best-kept secrets of the deceased French kings. Use Arno’s new lantern to advance in the dark, fend off animals, and solve ancestral puzzles; or put out the lantern to explore the catacombs in the dark.

Battle the Raiders, an aggressive and secretive faction desecrating the catacombs of Saint Denis for mysterious reasons. To combat these powerful new foes, Arno will add the Guillotine Gun to his arsenal – a powerful weapon that allows him to unleash both long-range explosives and close-combat havoc. Once obtained, the Guillotine Gun can be used in the main Assassin’s Creed Unity game, including co-op missions.

• Expand Your Experience in Paris - Upgrade your Master Assassin and equip more than 30 new items including weapons, gear, and outfits. Whatever your play style, you will be able to build the perfect load-out to achieve your objectives. Content carries over from Assassin’s Creed Unity to Assassin’s Creed Unity Dead Kings, and back.

• New Downloadable Game - Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China - China,1526. Shao Jun, the last remaining Assassin of the Chinese Brotherhood has returned to her homeland with a vendetta. Newly trained by the legendary Ezio Auditore, she is hell-bent to exact vengeance and restore her fallen brotherhood.

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is a 2.5D reimagining of the celebrated franchise. Experience parkour on the Great Wall, use martial arts and new weapons to kill from the shadows, and take the Leap of Faith in a vibrant setting designed for digital download.

Assassin's Creed Chronicles: China Fact Sheet

Product Description

There are more secret mysteries to unravel and more daring heroes whose stories remain untold. For gaming enthusiasts who share a passion for rewriting history with games, Ubisoft presents a thrilling new saga of vengeance, retribution and redemption: Assassin’s Creed Chronicles

Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China is an entirely new entry in the Assassin’s Creed Universe. True to the Assassin’s Creed experience, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles is a 2.5D reimagining of the celebrated franchise.

Experience parkour on the Great Wall, kill from the shadows, and take the Leap of Faith in a vibrant setting designed for digital download.

China,1526. Shao Jun, the last remaining Assassin of the Chinese Brotherhood has returned to her homeland with a vendetta. Newly trained by the legendary Ezio Auditore, she is hell-bent to exact vengeance and restore her fallen brotherhood.

Key Features

• Experience The Thrill of Being a Stealthy Assassin - Use martial arts and all-new Assassin gear, like the Jian Sword and Foot Blade, to take on groups of your enemies in all-out combat, or stealthily pick them off one-by-one.

• Dive Into a Vibrant Civilization in an Exciting Time Period - Travel across China and its legendary landmarks. Stalk enemies from the roofs of the Forbidden City, hide in the shadows of The Great Wall, meet iconic historical figures and experience this great Empire in the 16th Century during the Ming Dynasty.

• Play in a True Living Painting - Enjoy unique art direction inspired from traditional brush paintings.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pl5BI9LDChg

[icycalm]

That China game probably deserves its own thread. It's the most stunning use of 2.5D I've ever seen. It'll probably be my first DLC (that I haven't got as a freebie as part of a bundle) and season pass. Ubi is going totally overboard with this stuff for this game, and hey, it's working.

[Texas]

Interview with Jeffrey Spicer, the Character and FX Production Manager at Ubisoft:

http://www.develop-online.net/interview ... ty/0198705

Develop sat down with Jeffrey Spicer, the Character and FX Production Manager at Ubisoft to talk about how the new generation is freeing the production team with the way they create assets.

So in general these new consoles ought to be improving the desity of most of the toys someone in your line of work gets to play with, right?

Yeah, we’ve been able to reach a new level with the effects, but not too much has changed in the pipeline - they’re just able to have denser, deeper effects. In the demo, we use a smoke bomb which fills the whole screen with smoke and makes it almost impossible to see anything. We wanted the tools to portray what they actually did in the real world (and provide real cover), so we’re now actually able to do that. We’ve got rich fire, and similarly rich atmospherics.

It’s the 1790s – it was a dirty time and it was important that we were able to portray that within the city, not just by buildings and the world itself but by making it feel living and breathing and that it was gritty and sooty. On the effects side, it just allowed us to make much richer effects because of the memory that was allowed us and the performance capabilities of the consoles.

Did this raise the bar for other areas as well?

The things is, in a next-gen city, you can’t be walking around seeing duplicate characters. With the progress that we’ve made in graphics, it just makes those issues pop out even more.

We’ve got the biggest crowd ever in an Assassin’s Creed with Unity. We’ve got the most unique characters and the most detail. One of the greatest progressions was on the character side, most definitely. Not just in the amount of characters we’re able to integrate into the game world (because it’s a huge world), but how we’re able to tie the system together and just develop unique characters. We’ve made breakthroughs in facial scanning, skin shaders, eye wetness – all of that comes together to really make much more believable and realistic characters that help draw you into the storyline and make them feel like real people and real characters with a real story to help keep you immersed in the game world.

Tell me a little about the process behind character creation with crowds that large.

At the level of detail that we’re able to put into modelling, my character artists essentially have to work like fashion designers. Instead of just modelling a single 3D unit, they model actual patterns (like how a shirt would be made with a front and a back), then they stitch that fabric together and each aspect of it has weight.

It definitely adds a lot. We didn’t just need modellers, we needed designers in a way, so that we were really able to tie in to the era with the clothing.

How detailed have you gotten with that stuff?

Well, every seam and every fold has a different weight. We’ve been able to do a lot with what we call ‘soft cloth’, where we give cloth real physics to make it feel like it’s living and breathing and it reacts to the game world. That’s evidenced on Arno. He has 200 gear items that you can equip through the customisation menu. Each of the character components adds different skills and strengths, but also just adds to the richness of the characters.

It’s almost painstaking. With every fold and every crease having weight, it really makes you think about design before it’s integrated into the game. The tools that we’ve developed at Ubisoft really allow us to iterate quickly. We can create a character and get them in the game world, see how they react and see how they fit within the visuals and the gameplay component of it to really make sure that we’re hitting everything spot-on very quickly and just keep what works.

But I think one of the biggest breakthroughs apart from the memory is in hair. We were able to get to a level with hair which was a lot more believable and a lot richer.

Per character or specifically on one character?

Per character. So we broke it down and we have Arno, who’s the protagonist, but then we have unique characters that play in strong leads to the core narrative. So we have over 50 unique characters that are really highly detailed, and then the rest of the world obviously is compiled of slightly less detailed crowd.

So are all of the crowds procedurally generated?

Yeah. You have to be smart with asset use, especially with the amount of detail that needs to go into them. This is the largest land mass ever in an Assassin’s Creed game in Unity, so it’s a really dense city. It’s comprised of seven districts, each of which has a different architectural and atmospheric style, but also different crowd components. You can’t have a bum walking around The Louvre, you know? So we’ve got a variety from paupers and beggars to military to the bourgeois, each of which has starkly different demands in terms of character components, so while we do try to re-use as many assets as possible (obviously, that’s just smart development), we also try to get the biggest array possible.

Thank you for your time!

[ChevRage]

"Open World" trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXnYNECuGy8

[infernovia]

Time Anomaly Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtlP5pvoeJ4

[jeffrobot494]

It sounds like that original trailer where they demonized the nobility doesn't reflect the entire game. A former French minister is complaining that Unity portrays the French people as "savages" and the aristocrats as "upstanding".

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014- ... -candidate

A former French minister and presidential candidate has attacked Assassin's Creed Unity for its portrayal of the French Revolution.

Left Party founder Jean-Luc Mélenchon disputed Ubisoft's portrayal of historical characters and events in its latest Assassins-versus-Templars adventure.

"It is propaganda," Mélenchon commented during a recent French radio interview, published today in The Telegraph.

France's "treacherous" King Louis XVI is shown in a far too sympathetic light, he complained, while Louis' wife - "that cretin" Marie Antoinette - "is celebrated as a poor little rich girl".

The general French populace are portrayed as "barbarians, bloodthirsty savages", he continued, while aristocrats are "presented as fine upstanding people".

"The man who was our liberator at a certain moment of the Revolution - because the Revolution lasted a long time - Robespierre, is presented as a monster."

A controversial figure, Robespierre is lauded by some historians as a spokesperson for the downtrodden and disenfranchised.

But others have criticised his dictatorial leadership and extreme methods, which resulted in the mass execution of those suspected of being disloyal.

Overall, Mélenchon concluded, Ubisoft's game "presents an image of hatred of the Revolution, hatred of the people, hatred of the republic which is rampant in the far-right milieux (of today)."

[icycalm]

Oh wow, that's the best kind of narrative. Draws you in with liberal bullshit in the trailer, and then gets real once it's properly going. Sort of like how Scaramouche begins. Ubisoft delivers once again (remember that the villain in Far Cry 2 quotes Nietzsche, without even namedropping him).

[Texas]

http://assassinscreed.ubi.com/en-GB/new ... 8-76770-32

The launch of Assassin’s Creed Unity was a highly-anticipated moment for me and for our development teams around the world who dedicated a tremendous amount of energy, passion and skill to the game’s creation. For us, it was the culmination of years of work on new technologies, the development of multiple innovations -- including an all-new game engine -- and an evolution of the Assassin’s Creed franchise’s core pillars. More importantly, we know that it was a highly-anticipated moment for many of you as well, as you looked forward to taking part in the first truly next generation Assassin’s Creed game.

Unfortunately, at launch, the overall quality of the game was diminished by bugs and unexpected technical issues. I want to sincerely apologize on behalf of Ubisoft and the entire Assassin's Creed team. These problems took away from your enjoyment of the game, and kept many of you from experiencing the game at its fullest potential.

We’ve been working hard to fix the problems players are reporting, and the patches we have released so far have resolved many of them. Today, we’re releasing our third patch, which fixes a variety of specific issues related to the game’s stability and performance, matchmaking and connectivity, gameplay and menus. You can find the release notes on that patch here: Patch 3 Notes

To show our appreciation for your continued support, we’re making the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Unity Dead Kings DLC free for everyone. For Season Pass holders, we will also offer the choice of one additional game from a selection of Ubisoft titles for free. More details on the offer for Season Pass holders can be found here: AC Unity FAQ

In addition to the latest patch and this offer, we are committed to delivering further fixes for other issues you’ve raised. In the meantime, please keep your feedback coming – it has been both humbling and incredibly helpful as we continue working hard to improve the overall quality of the game. We are hopeful that with these forthcoming updates, everyone will be able to truly enjoy their Assassin’s Creed Unity experience.

We will continue striving to make Assassin’s Creed one of the most ambitious and innovative franchises on the market, and we thank you for your continued loyalty and support.

Sincerely,
Yannis Mallat
CEO, Ubisoft Montreal & Toronto

[El Chaos]

Assassin's Creed Unity patch analysed, improved performance on PS4? http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... h-analysed