OpenWorldGames Server ONE

I thought it might be fun to have a topic in which we can post what we experience as we travel the islands without being in a mission.

   
• South island outpost - I began an approach on an outpost on the southern edge of the island because I wanted a fast travel station to that area.  I'll leave the outposts flanking that area alone.  The outpost was on the shore and I found a high sniper hide on the cliffs above.  My sniper is my new silenced .50 cal with high powered scope.  I did not deactivate the sirens because I wanted additional waves of pirates to come in, which included Molotov chargers, Heavies, and general troops.  It was a simple matter of first picking off the heavies.  The Molotov chargers ran at me, but they could only make it to the bottom of the cliff - others joined them and a grenade later I had multi-kill experience points.  This was a very satisfying way to play the game  ^-^
• Traveling the roads - my favorite is the machine gun truck (MGT).  I can be traveling along when I hear another vehicle approaching - I recognize it as a pirate truck and immediately enter the gun turret - a couple of short bursts later and they exploded.  The machine gun is terribly effective on these trucks.  In fact, while traveling I saw a bear attacking a water buffalo, and another time a jaguar attacking a tapir - both fell to a few machine gun rounds.  I tried using my best assault rifle on buffalo but it took clips of ammo before it went down.  It took literally a 2-second burst from my mounted machine gun to accomplish the same.
• Finding relics without a map - I'll bet this would be quite difficult.  I had just dispatched three pirate trucks on the far side of a bridge and wanted to walk over to see the results of my w@&k.  As I returned, I looked to my left across the river and barely saw the opening to a cave.  Into it I went - it was filled with water, so down I dove and followed a passage hoping it would not drown me.  I found a chamber with a relic within.  It was great fun discovering this gem on my own.

Is FC3 worth it?  A resounding "YES" would be my answer.  Sure I'm disappointed in the main story line due to it's linearity and boss mission, but now that I have both islands opened and literally 99% left to explore I'm as happy as I can be with the game.  I can see all of the map, have all the weapons and skills I need, and now it is time to simply enjoy myself to the fullest.
I can also say that if Ubisoft had not acquiesced to the masses that like the linear CoD missions, and instead had created truly open world missions, FC3 would be a perfect game for me.

Quote from: PZ on December 14, 2012, 07:25:11 PM
I can also say that if Ubisoft had not acquiesced to the masses that like the linear CoD missions, and instead had created truly open world missions, FC3 would be a perfect game for me.

I feel exactly the same way, mate :)

me too :)

I liberated the entire northern map, by that I got all the Path of the Hunter missions needed to acquire unique animals skins which would allow me to upgrade pouches (rucksack, ammo..) to the maximum. Taking out all outposts undetected but the first two (didn't know, then) gave me 1,500XP each, all the supply drops, all memory cards and lost letters as well as about 60 relics gave me both loads of XP and unlocked signature weapons. I had striven to get all unlocked skills and even had a surplus of XP points I couldn't spend any more so I had to do main story missions (the 11th unlocks 26 more skills) and spent them at once, did what was needed to max out the skill tree that had been unlocked. Time to do more story missions to unlock the rest of the skill tree. Which lead to the southern map.

Entering the southern map I did all radio towers and supply drop missions and perhaps a few story missions to unlock and spend XP points on the rest of the skill tree until it was maxed out entirely. Now I still do get XP but I cannot make any use of it any more, so I don't get any more XP points. I have unlocked all weapons and signature weapons and they're all in my possession.

The southern map has got quite a few fast travel stations ("camps") without needing to free outposts. After a few story missions you'll get the notification that "fast travelling is now available" on the southern island. So I only liberated a single outpost which I liked the most, the Lonely Shore Way at the west end to the north. Like that, I get loads of enemies to kill in the South (as long as I don't liberate the outposts) and a holiday version almost without enemies in the North.

"Purrrrrfect"   :-D

Quote from: Art Blade on December 15, 2012, 01:49:56 AM
... After a few story missions you'll get the notification that "fast travelling is now available" on the southern island. So I only liberated a single outpost which I liked the most, the Lonely Shore Way at the west end to the north. Like that, I get loads of enemies to kill in the South (as long as I don't liberate the outposts) and a holiday version almost without enemies in the North.

"Purrrrrfect"   :-D

That's great news; maybe I'll do more story missions because I like having the red areas of the map to explore with the threat of possible interaction with the pirates.

How to get fast travel stations in south island and the "blend in" uniform

The Doppelganger mission is one of the first few missions when entering south island, and I highly recommend doing it because that is what gives you the privateer uniform and reveals many fast travel stations as Art indicated.  The privateer uniform lets you walk freely among the bad guys unless you do something outrageous.

Now I can roam south island assassinating at will, and have fast travel to boot  :-X

Now it's a$$-kicking time  >:D

have fun :)  :-X

Thanks AB  ^-^

I just had another cool experience - very small detail but satisfying.  As I was traveling across country toward my next objective, I found a hut that looked interesting.  As I approached I saw the relic icon and picked that up.  I also saw the diamond indicating a loot chest - which was evidently at the bottom of a well.  Down I jumped, found the submerged loot chest (looted it) and then swam through a sewer pipe toward the river where I emerged.

This kind of attention to detail is what I really like about FC3.  The linear missions remind me of the AC series, CoD, and JC2 (the last one I completed), however so far there have only been a handful of really odious missions (like the boss mission), so I can say that my appreciation for the game grows with each passing session.  ^-^

Having finished the story missions and having left most of the outposts in the southern part of the map intact, I wonder if it was a good decision. The place is crawling with mercs! They have both patrols and road blocks in place! Every important road and bridge is blocked. I feel like a paratrooper behind enemy lines who lost his unit. I used a car from The Compound towards the airfield and already a road block out of town, merc patrols chasing me, and some troopers on top of a hill spotted me, too. I finished all off and finally I came to this bridge:

[smg id=5015 type=link align=center width=400 caption="2012 12 16 00006"]

After I killed the mercs there with three explosive arrows, reinforcements came waltzing in and some of them parked their car right next to me (see mini map in the pic below). Like that, I'm going to waste a lot of ammo on my way getting anywhere.. I might liberate an outpost or two somewhere in the middle of the southern island to keep the mercs in check.

[smg id=5016 type=link align=center width=400 caption="2012 12 16 00007"]

I tried a few different variants to see how it would affect the overall merc presence.

First I liberated the outpost north of The Compound which seemed to have caused the roadblocks around The Compound to disappear. There were still plenty of patrols everywhere and the mercs inside The Compound were still there and respawning.

One after another I liberated the nearest outposts to the East, South and West and after every single one I checked the situation at The Compound and roads: fewer merc patrols, more Amanaki patrols. After the Compound was surrounded by liberated outposts, the roads were clear yet mercs kept spawning inside The Compound. Interestingly, when I picked a fight there (well, easy.. just get spotted or make noises such as an explosion :-() ) I could start a merc war among Hoyt's men and Amanaki warriors if and when those were outside the gates. They'd come inside and the mercs would go outside, so it was pretty nice to watch  :-D

However, I reverted the whole process and only kept the outpost to the North (Stubborn Kid Farm) as well as the first one I liberated earlier (Lonely Shore Way). It actually is way more fun to have mercs buzzing and crawling everywhere in the South  :-()

Oh and a tip (how I did it) -- make a manual save so you can revert to it (I gave up the one from before the last mission.. I now know that I like the "afterlife" as it is) and liberate any outpost you like which will cause an autosave. Quit to menu, Story, Load, > save1 or whatever your current manual save is. Ta-dah, all outposts "un-liberated"  :-D

Cheers Art :) I thought about using that save technique as well, nice to know it works :-X

I agree with PZ that finding relics (and chests) without maps are more fun. In my next play through, instead of getting weapons for free, I'd to explore to loot then buy weapons, activate tower to unlock more weapons, explore to loot and get more weapons. Rinse and repeat. Getting weapons for free would kill the joy of looting and exploration IMO.

In my first playthrough I ended up buying all maps there are just to spend money (purse was 10,000/10,000 and I got the message "can't loot, buy items from the store")  :laugh: Which resulted in a map that was so peppered with diamonds and relics and letters I hardly found locations any more -- I disabled the diamonds and so forth by unchecking them in the maps "legend" menu. Unfortunately the game forgets that after a reload.

I agree with durian regarding getting free weapons via the towers. It might have been better if the towers merely unlocked the weapons in the same way as the weapon shops in FC2 did, but would still require you to pay for them. Getting the weps for free by unlocking the towers makes it a bit too easy - besides, I keep ending up with too much freaking money stuffed into my wallet and nothing to spend it on :-\\

On another subject, this was a bit of an odd experience. While relic-hunting, I came across this APC
[smg id=5027 width=600]

here.
[smg id=5028 width=600]

But before I could take it for a spin I went looking for the nearby relic, managed to fall off a small cliff and killed myself. Later, when I came back to this spot, the APC was gone.

Maybe the APC appearances are randomly located each game load and you have to be in the right place at the right time to find them.

Crazy  :-D Reminds me of road blocks I encountered when all the surrounding outposts were still not liberated. Maybe that's why you see it there, the area is luminescent red  ??? :)

I was on the south island and I made my way to the radio tower west of Turtle Hill. Near the tower is a higher hilltop with a hang glider on it. On a whim, I took the hang glider and was able to glide all the way over the water back to the north island, landing on the coast just near Citra's Temple. The flight must have lasted at least a couple of minutes and that hill I launched from is nowhere near being the highest peak on the south island.

Next thing I'm going to try is launching the highest hang glider I can find from the highest land on the north island (on the small map above, it's about in the middle of the darkest green area) and see if I can make it back to the south island from there.

I love the flying in this game :-X The wingsuit too is marvelous fun but of course you lose altitude faster.

On another subject, I found a quite extensive cave system in the northern region of the north island with a lot of ledges that you need to jump across or risk falling down into some scary-looking crevasses with waterfalls disappearing into them. It was like something out of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth 8) If I can find it again I'll post the location.

There's a lot of cool caves and so much else to discover in this game :-X

nice :) Feels as if a quarter of the map was subterranean.

Good finds guys.  I read somewhere about the APCs, but mention was made that you cannot interact with them.  Hope that's as wrong as many of the things we find on the regular internet.

Looking for a relic solution

Caves sound like fun, speaking of which, I was hunting a relic in north island that was underground.  I swam to a cave opening into which the water flowed, went in and ended up on a ledge with the water falling down a high waterfall.  The relic is across a deep chasm with what looks like lots of mining wooden structure.  There is a small zip line in the cave, but it does not lead to the relic.  It looks like you need to find a way down and then climb a ladder up a wooden structure to get to the relic.  Anyone know how to go about this one?

about the spoiler: I think I found that one and I plunged down. A liana to climb back up hangs from a stone wall. Just hop in and see if that's it :)

I'll give it a try, but using the camera reveals wooden decking below; I've already died once  :-()

then maybe you entered through the exit?  ???? :-() Try find a tiny blue spot on the map when zoomed in as much as possible, these indicate cave entrances or exits.

Quote from: Art Blade on December 18, 2012, 02:34:55 PM
then maybe you entered through the exit?  ???? :-()

I'm confident that I'm in the proper entrance because there would be no way to get up to where I am standing; perhaps this area just offers a tantalizing glimpse of the objective.  I do see light in the distance, which I assumed to be the exit, but maybe I'll try to find that opening and go in from there.  Thanks for the tip on the blue dots  :-X

welcome :)

can you give us the X/Y coordinates? When you're there, open the map and use the "centre" function (centre is where you are) and just jot down the coords from the top right corner of the map. I'd like to see it myself and hopefully be able to help you :)

I'll do that.  Although I'm not positive, I think that is an area where there is some kind of stone ruin atop the hill, and I'm wondering if it might not be one of those places you need to encourage with some C4

I've found a few sinkholes too that will drop you into a cavern if you're not careful. There's always a way out though, even if it means swimming underwater.

There's one where you do a bulletin board hunting mission (not a Path Of The Hunter one, just a reward one) to bag a few leopards with a bow and arrow. In the hunting area is a bunch of rocks around what looks like the remains of a temple pillar. I tried to jump from a high rock onto the top of the pillar, didn't make it and fell down a deep hole in the ground next to it which was really hard to spot when I went back and looked. There was a cave at the bottom with a tricky underwater swim required to get out of it, and I think there was a relic down there.

I found the island with Vaas' compound on it during my wanders but you can't get into it outside of the "Payback" mission (this island wasn't at all where I thought it was, it's way up north). You can climb onto the first platform but can't open the big door. I also found the hotel that you and Liza escape from (the one Vaas sets alight) but once again you can't get into it. This was after I did that mission though - I wonder if you can get in before that mission?

You'll see the hotel if you move along the high ridge NE of Citra's Temple. You need to go a ways north, but keep looking to your left and eventually you'll see it. There's a path that leads down to it from up there.

Nice, fragger, you are definitely an explorer!

cool, need to check that one out, fragger  :) :-X

Quote from: Art Blade on December 18, 2012, 03:41:42 PM
welcome :)

can you give us the X/Y coordinates? When you're there, open the map and use the "centre" function (centre is where you are) and just jot down the coords from the top right corner of the map. I'd like to see it myself and hopefully be able to help you :)

Looks like there was not a temple ruin above after all, but I did go in again and try to jump down (died again).  592.2 x 774.2 are the coordinates

I did do a couple of others, one in a bunker that required a grenade to enter, but I used C4 because I need to practice with that stuff.  I wonder what the range is, say if you stick it to a vehicle.

You'll get a refund if they "drive" out of range.. a message pops up telling you "out of range" and you get them right back in your hands  :) :-X

and thanks for the coordinates, I'll take a look and perhaps a plunge  :-()

Quote from: Art Blade on December 18, 2012, 09:43:19 PM
You'll get a refund if they "drive" out of range.. a message pops up telling you "out of range" and you get them right back in your hands  :) :-X

and thanks for the coordinates, I'll take a look and perhaps a plunge  :-()

Thanks for the info, and thanks for taking a plunge if you get a chance  ^-^

I've got a weird map quirk - the "center" function doesn't w@&k. The controls list at the bottom of the screen tells me that the middle mouse button is the one but it does nothing when I press it. I tried C and Enter and Tab and Space and anything else I could think of, no dice. And because I can't center, I can't get the co-ords to display my position properly. If I autoscroll the map by moving the pointer to a screen edge, the co-ords merely show where the pointer is when auto-scroll engages, and as soon as I stop scrolling, the co-ords continue to show were the pointer was just before it was moved away from the screen edge and won't change unless I do another autoscroll.

Sorry guys, but until I figure it out I won't be able to provide any accurate co-ordinates ::)

fragger, click on the word "CENTRE" on the screen and ignore the mouse. :) Then again, when you open the map, it will be centred on you.

PZ: I am there right now and guess what.. one of our nice stone @-walls is there (x590/y776)  :-D Check your map, PZ, and not only look for blue spots but for black spots, too. In out case, the black spot on your map is the cave entrance that is blocked by the wall, blow it up, follow the rail road, climb up the long ladder and you'll be presented with a zip line next to the ladder. Take it, zip.. and you'll be where you tried to get in from the exit  :-D

[smg id=5040 type=link align=center width=500 caption="FC3 0019"]

I know the place!  I recall being there before you guys informed me of the wall demolition.  Thanks for the help!  :-X

you're most welcome, PZ :)

Quote from: Art Blade on December 19, 2012, 03:01:45 AM
fragger, click on the word "CENTRE" on the screen and ignore the mouse.

What can I say but "duhhh..." I never even thought to try that :D Thanks!

I found the place that you guys are talking about just last night. There are a lot of caves in FC3 - a lot.

I like the caves, but wish my flashlight was a bit more powerful.  I'd like to be able to see more detail  :-()

lol fragger  :laugh: you know.. expect the unexpected  :-() :-X

PZ, adjust brightness, contrast and gamma, under options > calibration  ;)

Quote from: Art Blade on December 19, 2012, 06:36:18 PM
PZ, adjust brightness, contrast and gamma, under options > calibration  ;)

Tried that but then the outside was too bright; I'm just a fussy old gamer, I guess  :-()

you could temporarily change the settings until you've left the cave. I've set mine to be just bright enough to see quite well in a cave yet not too bright in order to prevent me from going permanently blind on leaving a cave  :-D

 :-X  Sounds like a good idea when I go into some of the more extensive caves fragger mentioned.

I just read the entire topic, trying to catch up, and read about the APC vehicle. I'm afraid it's not available for driving. I paid attention to all "drivable" or otherwise steerable vehicles and this APC is not one of them :-(
But definitely a nice find Fragger! I saw you found it close to the spot where you have to follow it and where Vaas suddenly pops out of it. So maybe that's why you found it in that specific region, like a mission left over.  :)

You could be right about that, Binn. It is odd that it wasn't there shortly after.

I've been having lots of fun, and finding tons of cool places, by doing this: buying the maps from the vending machines/shops then going around unlocking all the loot crates and collecting all relics and Lost Letters. There are A LOT of crates and I keep maxing out my wallet, but it's leading me to all sorts of neat locations. And led to a couple of discoveries:

If you visit Vaas' compound sometime after you've whacked him, you can just walk right in through the main gates and there are no more pirates around, just villagers and Ratyak guys. Which means that you can take your time poking around the place. There are heaps of wads of cash lying around in there, just waiting to be picked up.

In case you're not aware, this is the island with Vaas' compound on it:
[smg id=5043 width=600]

But I've also come across a couple more of those pick-it-up-before-it's-too-late scenarios - not relics this time but loot chests. There's one in Vaas' compound and a couple in Citra's temple, and maybe more in some other key places that I haven't noticed yet. The one in Vaas' compound is inside the final building you enter when you're going after him, the one with the large doors. If you visit the compound later after Vaas is dead you can't re-enter that building, so you can never get that chest from that point on - you need to get it before you kill Vaas, i.e. on your way to do him in. It's in the first room you enter (the next room is the one where he stabs you with the ornate dagger and you take a trip). Ditto the two in Citra's Temple, you need to get them during one of the visits before the big boss fight, otherwise you'll never get the chance as you can't go into the Temple again after that. One is just inside the main doors somewhere and one is right at the end of the structure, in her private area. How or when you can get to that one I'm not sure as you don't get to see that part of the temple on the first visit as it's all scripted when you get to see Citra, unless you can go in there after the "knife vision" trip. Maybe you can do it during the second visit after Citra tells you the story about the giant in the pond. I'll have to find out on a subsequent 'thru.

You don't get anything by raiding all the loot chests and Lord knows there's enough of them without those particular three, but I'd kind of like to see if I can get them all anyway just for the heck of it. That will have to wait until the next game now.

I also discovered another weapon shop at x:770 | y:788, in a little viliage NE of Badtown. Dunno how many others are around the maps.

some arms dealers are just alongside roads without anything of importance around or nearby.

I managed to get into Citra's temple and loot the rest, only I couldn't climb out again. You need to either kill yourself with explosives or quit to main menu and reload. You won't respawn in the temple.

 ???? How did you get in? I tried to climb over the walls near the entrance, could almost get there but not quite.

Btw, I've discovered that a diamond symbol on the map don't necessarily indicate a loot chest. Sometimes it simply marks the location of a few wads of cash. But most wads of cash aren't represented by any kind of symbol on the map. It's all rather inconsistent :-\\

fragger, follow the temple structure on its left hand side towards the coast where you'll be able to jump onto the temple structure and to climb up and around. You'll "feel" invisible walls and floors.. follow them pushing inwards until eventually you'll drop inside some grassy area :)

Cheers Art :) But I actually came across another way, going along the right side of the structure (when facing it from the front).  I had to stick to the wall, eventually the grass ran out and I went onto a masonry ledge. That ended abruptly and there was a tricky left turn which I had to do crouched or I fell off the rocks and died. Then it was a matter of sticking to the walls, with another tricky left turn at one point, and clambering over some rock until I ended up in Citra's private area (with that slab in it). From there you can just waltz into the temple proper. You can come back out the same way and there are a couple of those Zodiac-type boats in the water at the very end of the land - you don't have to kill yourself to get out.

Either way, I don't think the devs meant for the player to be able to get in to there. They didn't reckon with us though, did they? ;)

I've spent the last few nights doing nothing but going after relics, letters and chests, which I'm finding is great fun. I was supposed to be bumping off three captains for Sam but he just had to wait until I was good and ready :-() Despite its shortcomings, I'm digging the open-world aspects of this game immensely and have had tons of terrific firefights - and lots of laughs. Outside of the story missions it's an absolute blast :-X

I came across that sinkhole that Vaas dumps you into (with the bessa block tied to your ankles) - the bodies of the other poor sods are still in there on the bottom, but you have to dive deep to see them. There's a relic in that cave system too, but I'm not going to tell you how to find it...

I still have a bunch of relics and stuff on the north island to find, but I thought I'd get back into the story for a bit, so I hiked up to that high ridge NE of Citra's Temple and flew a hang glider all the way back to the south island. That is just so cool to be able to do that 8)

absolutely, and then using the wingsuit.. terrific  :) And no, the devs didn't reckon with the likes of us at all  :-D

As to the bodies,

[smg id=5049 type=link align=center width=500 caption="2012 12 21 00042"]

How utterly OWG  :-X

The hang glider is much better than in FC2. I enjoy flying with it  :)

Me too, they're great fun :-X And I love how you can let go of them at any time and wingsuit/parachute down (after you've gone south and gotten the wingsuit, that is).

Speaking of hang gliders, I hiked up to the highest point on the south island (at approx. x:260 / y:460). There are a couple of hang gliders up there, one of which points towards the north island. I took this one and flew it all the way across the water to the south island, and without adjusting my altitude and applying only a tiny bit of course correction I was in the air for a whole six minutes, coming down a surprisingly long way inland on the north island.

Also from that high point on the south island I took another hang glider (this one is west of the high point, near a big wooden cross) and flew it towards the radio tower almost due south. My course took me over the airport (the one you rescue your brother from), and just past the airport I let go of the hang glider and went to wingsuit. Approaching the radio tower, I deployed my parachute and with a bit of steering managed to make a gentle controlled landing right in front of the control box on top of the tower. I didn't even have to move, I just turned around and interacted with the box. I was pleased as punch with myself :-()

I collected all the relics but of course you don't get anything for that, except maybe an achievement, I can't recall. Some of them aren't easy to find, and one on the south island requires you to sneak right into an outpost if it's unliberated (Dry Palm Storage Depot) to enter a disused mine to get it. There's another one on the south island that you only seem to be able to get with a hang glider, in a tiny shallow cave way up high on a sheer cliff face. You have to take a glider from a still higher point nearby and try to land right on a small ledge in front of the cave entrance, get the relic, then wingsuit down.

Quote from: fragger on December 23, 2012, 05:18:51 AM
I collected all the relics but of course you don't get anything for that, except maybe an achievement, I can't recall. Some of them aren't easy to find, and one on the south island requires you to sneak right into an outpost if it's unliberated (Dry Palm Storage Depot) to enter a disused mine to get it. There's another one on the south island that you only seem to be able to get with a hang glider, in a tiny shallow cave way up high on a sheer cliff face. You have to take a glider from a still higher point nearby and try to land right on a small ledge in front of the cave entrance, get the relic, then wingsuit down.

That's cool! Didn't remember the one in the outpost, that will be intense indeed. I remember the one on the cliff down south. Backthen I didn't know I still had the hang glider so after collecting it (indeed with the hang glider) I jumped to a certain death :laugh:

I remember one relic on top of a rocky hill near a big cross symbol on the northern island that was also only reachable by hang glider, because I couldn't find a way up the rocks.

I only collected 119 relics in the first playthrough, and now after completing my second (on warrior difficulty without liberating any outposts so far) I want to get them all 120. Just for fun and to keep exploring. It's so relaxing wandering the islands searching for relics and get distracted by numerous entertaining happenings and lead-asking eyes all around you ^-^

 :) I agree, I've been playing for hours and hours and hours just getting relics and lost letters, finding all sorts of cool stuff and having a great many adventures along the way. It has also meant that this second playthrough has ended up being much, much longer than my first one, truly epic :-X

I have now learned to put my annoyance with those main missions aside and concentrate on the fun stuff. When main mission time comes around I can grin and bear them now until I get them out of the way - then get on with the fun stuff :-X

I'm looking forward to the post-game roam this time as I've only liberated six or seven outposts. I haven't really been too concerned about doing the Path of the Hunter missions except for the ones that enable me to carry four weapons and max ammo/quiver. The other pouches and stuff provide plenty of carrying capacity without having to be maxed out.

These posts remind me of the ones we did in FC2; everyone enjoying the game to the maximum despite difficulties.  ^-^

yes, they do remind me of those times, too :)

"ahhh... the good 'ol days..." makes me feel old  ^-^

makes me feel well seasoned  :-()

Quote from: Art Blade on December 23, 2012, 06:28:37 PM
makes me feel well seasoned  :-()

oops... reminds me; I need to run out to the smoker - making beef jerky - the soft kind  ^-^

"reminds me?" what do you mean, "reminds me?" -- hey, I'm not a well seasoned soft beefy jerk!!

Spoiler

:laugh:

 :laugh:

Playthrough no. 2 complete! Now it's free-roam time with lots of outposts and baddies to mess with (rubs hands together with great relish) :-X

I had a much longer game this time due to looking for relics, lost letters and loot crates. Money certainly isn't a concern in this game, it's all over the place. The problem is actually having too much of it. I know it isn't necessary but I wanted to see if I could loot every crate and end up with no diamond icons on the map, and since a few crates contain only cash and some of the diamond icons mark not a crate but wads of cash, if my wallet was maxed out I would have to leave those ones and try getting them later. This meant going to a safehouse or shop and buying anything I could (I ended up buying a lot of weapon paint jobs - I'd bought everything else) or deliberately losing contests and poker games to get rid of some money so I could then go back and loot those crates I'd had to leave. I still have some crates to get in locations such as Hoyt's compound and the fuel dump, places that remain defended even after the missions in them have been done, and of course the ones in the unliberated outposts. And one in Vaas' compound that I can never get to now because it's in a building that has become inaccessible since the mission to kill Vaas has been completed.

I seem to have taken a bit of a frame rate hit since I've finished the main game and started the free-roam. Have any other PC players experienced this? Why it should happen I don't know. It's not hugely bad but it is noticeable, I may have to tweak the graphics options a bit to fix it ????

I can pretty much relate to all of what you wrote above, fragger  :-()

Good idea losing at poker, brilliant, actually :laugh:  :-X I waste my money by paying the airstrip a lot of visits (it stays in mercs' hands) so I blow a lot of ammo and explosives and all that over there until all mercs and reinforcements are wasted and then I go back to the next outpost to the east, a nice quick drive down the road, and refill my ammo there which can be pretty costly :-() It has become an enjoyable habit, commuting between those two stations  :-()

I recently felt a frame rate drop while doing Rakyat trials. Actually, it was more a mouse sensitivity issue and I tried to smoothen it -- the best thing I came up with is going to the video section and no, it wasn't the quality which I put back on high (except shadows on low) but the glider that changes the field of view. I don't recall the default which I think was around <70. The smaller the number, the less peripheral stuff you see (basically a zoom). Most games I played had that at 90 which is nice during non-action packed free roam but 70-ish is far smoother when it gets hectic. The mouse sensitivity is directly influenced. If your mouse is slow at 90 it will be fast at 70. Try fiddling around with these :)

Cheers Art :)

Yeah, I sit in on a poker game and choose "Expert" to make the pot as expensive as possible, wait until I get dealt a lousy hand then go all in :-() I think it's the quickest way to lose excess cash. Sometimes it backfires though - the other players all chicken out and fold and I end up winning :D

My frame rate seems to have come good again, apparently just a reload was all that was required. But thanks anyway for the tip about the FOV, that's handy to know :)

welcome :) lol @ chicken out / winning - happened to me when I didn't want it, too: I had a good hand and went all in but all others folded  :D :-D

By the way, I checked my FOV, I have it at 80 now. which seems to be a good compromise :)

As to the shotty you mentioned elsewhere.. I just ran into a group of mercs and took them all out with less than one extended mag and all they did was just as much as turn around to get it in their faces  :laugh: :-X The one health bar got dented when I ran at them and one bullet hit me. I then came to a stop here and so did they  :-D

[smg id=5205 type=link align=center width=500 caption="2012 12 26 00010"]

Cool :-X :-D You even went with the same custom paint job on that as I did 8)

I found a few more loot chests that can't be gotten once the missions that give access to them are done. There are three in Hoyt's mansion which I think you'd have to do after your meeting with Hoyt and when you're on your way to the basement to interrogate the prisoner, and there's a few in the underground part of Hoyt's communications complex. In the first instance, the doors to Hoyt's mansion are closed and you can't get in (you can even see one of the crates just inside one of the front windows, but that glass is apparently as hard as tungsten - C4 won't scratch it) and in the second case the steel door that you blow open during Paint It Black is back in place, and this time you can't blow it. However, if you go up one of the hillsides facing the complex there's a wooden platform you can jump off and you can wingsuit/parachute down to the open area where the big comms dish is (that too is back in place) and then you can get any chests that are in that area. However, you can't get back down the way you came up during Paint It Black as you'll find a big sheet of metal blocking the opening where the ladder is. You can get down from the open area several other ways, but not into the interior areas of the complex. Why, I don't know, considering that you can get back into some other places where main missions have taken place (like where you see the video of Liza being tormented by Vaas at Pirate's Cove).

It's silly how they put some of the chests where you can't get at them later :angry-new:

I had the same "problem" -- during my first playthrough I missed out on one single chest in Hoyt's mansion. During my second, as you guessed, I fetched it between the interview with Hoyt and the interrogation with Riley. The Paint it Black mission is one of many (thinking of Citra's temple) that have loot boxes which will be inaccessible after the mission. If you're a perfectionist, take your time during missions to fetch all those boxes you see on the mini map. On your next playthrough, that is.  :-D

I think I have a solution for having too much money: buy all the paint job like fragger did,  buy health syringes instead of gather plants, buy armor, buy ammo (especially RPG, sniper rifle, LMG and SMG).

Hehe, indeed.. spend your money on things you wouldn't have thought of during the first steps around in the game  :-()

Fragger, just for fun and giggles, regarding frame rate drop and so forth.. I found out that I can use the graphics option "Ultra High" if I use the topmost option (otherwise I'd only get "high") and guess what..  ??? my graphics card isn't wheezing half as much as on high. It is even reasonably smooth and man, it does add detail  ??? :)

[smg id=5209 type=link align=center width=500 caption="FC3 0027"]
[smg id=5212 type=link align=center width=500 caption="2012 12 26 00056"]

The following two are were 1920x1200, the site downsized it to 1024, and compare low with ultra high resolution using dx9. I admit that downsized and pixelated it doesn't show as much as it does in the original pics.

[smg id=5210 type=link align=center width=500 caption="FC3 low res (dx9)"]
see for example in the pic below the green blob (tree), above the mini map and parallel to the roof, on the left side of the pic, which is missing in the pic above. Also, there are more trees on the horizon. Overall it's more sculptural and vivid. You should check them in detail in the library and even better, try it at home -- the game allows any graphic change (even textures) without needing to restart.  :-X
[smg id=5211 type=link align=center width=500 caption="FC3 ultra high res (dx9)"]

Wow, that does make a difference!

I've been running on dx11, maybe I should try running under dx9, upping some of the other options and see what results I get :-X I've noticed with some other games that there can be a major difference between running dx9 and dx10/11, such as with Civ V. On 9, smooth as silk; on 10/11, sluggish.

Cheers :)

Hope it works for you :)

I will also try and see what difference the game offers me at DX9. I was afraid to lose a bit of 'glance' to everything, but we'll see ^-^

Fragger, and everyone else suffering from that too-much-money syndrome, I found a fun way to spend money. On mines. Just stay close to the vending machine so you can get loads of refills. Although you can only carry 6 if you've upgraded your satchel to the max, you can actually place more. Far more. I haven't yet found out how many more but I had placed 2x6 when I got a refill and then walked around to see (or, hear) whether or not the others were still activated and in place. You can't pick them up any more and beware, don't wander away too far because they then sometimes might have forgot that you're the one they're not supposed to blow up. What you will get for all your effort (apart from some space in your wallet) will be several sharp bangs and either random bodies or random dead animals. Makes it fun to wait where it will set off the next and what it will blow up  :-D

Here.. almost wiped me out setting off that mine, that bloody buffalo, but he did bite the dust with quite an impressive bang. You can still see his feet in the air after the lift-off..  :-() Actually he surprised me by running up at me but I am dead sure he had the bigger surprise when he set foot on my turf  >:D

[smg id=5218 type=link align=center width=500 caption="2012 12 28 00004"]

 :laugh:

 :laugh:

A kamikaze cow - the bovine wind :-()

I didn't realise that your own mines will remember you put them there and love you for it. I've been dropping them and running away quickly before I set them off myself.

Thanks for the info :)

 :-()   :-X
Another way to burn your bankroll: buy C4. I prefer it to mine as I  don't worry about accidentally setting it off  and killing myself ;D

I was just looking at the list of FC3 Achievements at Uplay and realised that I've done all but six of the single player ones. They are:

Free Fall - Freefall more than 100m and live
Memory to Spare - Gather all the memory cards (I would have had this one by now if it hadn't been for all the weird save issues I've had lately)
Say Hi to the Internet - Find the lost Hollywood star (dead celeb, TV show reference or misplaced Walk Of Fame star? Dunno which)
Heartless Pyro - Kill 50 enemies with the flamethrower (need to get my arse in gear on that one :-())
Never Saw It Coming - Kill an enemy with a takedown from above from a glider, zipline or parachute (sounds tough)
Improper Use - Kill an enemy with the Repair Tool (I believe Art has done this one)

There's also an Action called "Higher Than A Kite", defined as, "Use your wingsuit to reach the southern island". I don't know whether it's permissible to drop from a hang glider or whether you have to launch from a high point somewhere on the north island, but I intend to find out. I don't know what happens if you fall into the sea halfway across. I guess you do a long swim and be prepared to biff out a few sharks along the way. Or be a total wuss and Fast Travel your way out of strife...

Quote from: fragger on December 30, 2012, 08:37:13 AM
Never Saw It Coming - Kill an enemy with a takedown from above from a glider, zipline or parachute (sounds tough)

I had just learned the skill to takedown from above when I zipped down from a tower and right below me was a pirate, quietly strolling down a path. I acted by instinct and hit LMB and pierced him head to nuts straight away... man, that felt great (for me, obviously)... what a fantastic feeling of accomplishment!  8) >:D

Well done mate, I'm impressed! :-X 8)

Out of pure luck!

I never saw the pirate there... it just... happened!  8)

I think it would have to be a "right time, right place" scenario to be able to pull of that trick at all. But the fact remains that you acted quickly enough to score :)

Very nice, JRD!  :) I need that one still, too.

And no, I haven't killed anyone or any beast with the repair tool yet, only caused a few blisters and got done in for that :-()

I have the "never saw it coming" achievement, but I have no idea how I did it. It's just done in my achievements list ^-^

I did all the SP achievements, only 5 coop related achievements left to do.
The one "higher than a kite" should you get automatically once reaching the second Island mission-related I thought ???? Once you reach the second island it's accomplished in my case.

"Say Hi to the Internet" is found on the beach. It's the actual cover of the game, without Vaas that is. You can find the location on the western beach of the southern-most piece of the northern island. Just left of the 'bear-symbol'. You have to  'interact' with the head in the sand. Nothing happens though :-\\ But you trigger the achievement ^-^

Looking at my Achievements page, Higher Than A Kite is ticked as having been done, but if I look under Actions, it indicates that it's yet to be done ????

:lamp: <click> I haven't run the game online for quite a while... maybe it's a synchronisation thing. Odd that the achievement is done but not the action...

Thanks for the info regarding the head in the sand Binn, will go and look for that :)

Here details in a pic, fragger (and all)

Spoiler

There is a machete, too :) Binnatics showed me, I then took pics  :-D
[smg id=5239 type=link align=center width=500 caption="FC3 say hi to the internet"]

I actually found the scene on my own before I came back here, but still thanks Art and Binn :)

[smg id=5240 width=600]

Yep, I too noticed the machete (on the far right at the water's edge in this pic) 8) Thing is, in the cover artwork the two bodies in the trees are both hanging upside down - here, only one is. I guess maybe Vaas likes to rearrange the decorations from time to time :-()

Any idea who that is supposed to be buried up to his neck (in the cover artwork, that is)? The achievement for interacting with the head says "Find the lost Hollywood star" so I don't know if it's supposed to be someone in particular. It does look a bit like Tom Cruise, or to a lesser extent the guy who played Jack in Lost. The head in the game just looks like a Rakyat guy without tatts.

Hmm, shape round, on a beach of a forgotten island.. It's Tom Hanks's "Wilson" in Cast Away  :laugh:

seriously, no idea.

Quote from: fragger on December 30, 2012, 08:37:13 AM
Heartless Pyro - Kill 50 enemies with the flamethrower (need to get my arse in gear on that one :-())

I love the flamethrower in FC3 - it is permanently in my load out.  When wandering through the wilderness on foot, I pull out the flamethrower as soon as I hear a menacing animal sound.  A quick blast of flame will take out just about any animal, or at least make it run away.

Only three SP achievements left to get now - Heartless Pyro, Never Saw It Coming and Improper Use.

Free Fall was pretty easy to get - just take a hang glider from a high location near a coast, fly out over deep water, let go, fall into the water, then swim back to shore.

I've wrung out my second playthrough. The actual story ended ages ago and I've been free-roaming. I've done all outposts and towers and collected absolutely everything there is, including all but a handful of the loot chests, that handful being the ones in places like Vaas' compound and Hoyt's mansion that I couldn't get after the relevant missions were done. Everything has been maxed out and every single box in the Handbook has been ticked.

I thought about trying the outpost reset mod but I'd just as soon start from the beginning again, which is what I've done.

Quote from: fragger on January 02, 2013, 07:11:59 AM
Only three SP achievements left to get now - Heartless Pyro, Never Saw It Coming and Improper Use.

Never saw it coming: When doing the last mission for Buck I saw at least two oportunities to kill an enemy from a zipline. All it takes is to use stealth not to alert the pirates and you can pull out a few deaths from above there!  ;)

Quote from: Art Blade on December 30, 2012, 05:15:33 PM
Here details in a pic, fragger (and all)

Spoiler

There is a machete, too :) Binnatics showed me, I then took pics  :-D
[smg id=5239 type=link align=center width=500 caption="FC3 say hi to the internet"]

Thanks Art and Binnatics. I didn't know the location.

welcome, mate :)

I've been tackling this playthrough differently, and it's making quite a difference to the game.

This time I'm not unlocking any towers (except for that one you have to do during the tutorial), not liberating any outposts, and getting the main missions done as quickly as possible. This changes the feel of the game substantially:

No map visible: Means groping around the countryside essentially blind and making it far more challenging to find relics, letters and loot.

Plenty of combat: No shortage of pirates to fight with! The buggers are everywhere. For an extended scrapfest, sometimes I'll deliberately kick up a hornet's nest at an outpost and let the reinforcements come. Duke it out big time, then run away when the ammo or bad guy supply gets low (to avoid accidentally liberating the outpost).

All weapons must be bought: Personally, I feel now that I'm earning my weapons and not just having them handed to me. It also helps to keep my wallet lean and fit for a change!

Skill points harder to accumulate: Because there are no Supply Drop races, no Wanted Dead and Path Of The Hunter missions available, skill points are a bit harder to come by. This is an incentive to fight more and gain more points via Multikills, Head Shots, Takedowns, etc.

The downside of this approach is that I'm denying myself a lot of Fast Travel locations, Safe Houses and some of the Sig weapons, but conversely it's extending the gameplay duration by making me travel everywhere through normal space (although there are two FF points that become available by completing main missions - Citra's Temple and Badtown. There will be plenty more on the south island).

Game ending discussed here, for any who haven't gotten to it yet

And as I just arrived in the south island I will do the same thing there, up until that last clutch of main missions, where I'll leave off the rest of the main game. I know how it all will go down anyway - exactly the same way as it does every time. The painfully long card game at Hoyt's place followed by the totally unsatisfying knife fight, the race against time to the airport, the protect-the-helo caper, the interminable cut scene where I walk the fiery warrior's path while moving at the pace of a doddery old geriatric in a walking frame, and ending with the choice of saving my friends or bumping them off for a bit of houghmagandy with Citra. Been there, done that.

The way I'm going about it this time, all the fun stuff will be left to do at the end, in one big hit :-X

nice :)

And I fully agree about what you said in the spoiler.

I've been trying to get back to a certain place that I was at during my crash-a-minute phase. It was early on, and I seem to recall a mine shaft or entrance, a tunnel, then a large, deep open ravine with water at the bottom. There were a few loot chests and a relic in there, plus some scaffolding that led down to the water where there was a jet ski that I presume could take you out into the ocean or a river somewhere.

Anyone recall where that might be? North Island, of course.

Oh yeah, and how are you supposed to know the coordinates on the map screen? When you move the map, the coordinates change, but it doesn't tell you where those coordinates are pointing to. There's no crosshair or any indicator to go by, are you just supposed to guess that it's the center of the map somewhere?

D_B, from your description I'm thinking that the place you are referring to is near the Old Mines outpost North Island.  It should show on the map as an irregular lake S.E. of that outpost.  You can see the scaffolding on the lake if you zoom the map in far enough.  The easiest way to get there is to use the cave entrance that is in the back corner of the Old Mines outpost and follow it through to the scaffolding and the Jet Ski.

There is another way in but the outpost is the easiest way to describe how to get there.  By the way that Jet Ski is part of a emergency supply delivery mission so it will also give away it's location on your map with that mission start marker.  :-X

agree, got to be what mandru described.

About the coordinates, indeed. Easiest way to get a somewhat precise location is if you first centre the map (on your position) and put your index finger right on top of the Jason symbol and keep it on the screen, then move the map around until you are literally pointing at the coordinates you seek. Set your map marker, done. May sound and look silly, but hey, we didn't program that s#!t  :-()

Dunno why they couldn't have made it so that the coords are continually updated as you move the pointer around. I've seen things like that in other games.

well, they haven't  :-() And if they had, they wouldn't know how to do it  >:D

Thanks guys. I haven't done a lot of the supply drop missions yet, so I'm sure I'll stumble upon that one again. I have a large disconnect in how the island feels as every time I'd save before a crash, it would save to a new tower or safe house. So, I'd respawn at a new location and not have traveled the area between where I crashed and where I was now, so I'd have no idea how the two locations related.

OK, so the map coordinates are for the center of the map? With no indicator whatsoever what the center of the map is? Nice. My problem is most times when I open the map, for some reason my cursor jumps to the edge of the screen and the map starts auto-scrolling that way, so I lose where the center is. I'll just have to fiddle with it. When I used to do portal placing in Minecraft, I had a map utility that would do the same thing. I resorted to placing a piece of clear cellophane tape ("Scotch" Tape) on the screen with a pre-measured center point marked with a sharpie to align portals correctly. Fun times.

I had for a very long time a tiny dot in the centre of the screen, I used a water-resistant red marker for it. As for the game, the middle mouse button is supposed to centre the map on you but then again, the map (read: the game) tends to screw up in various ways. If the map behaves strangely, try to hit the ALT key (which is supposed to bring up the legend) to sort out the map, else quit to the main menu.

Yeah, I get the map racing off center a lot so jiggling the mouse a bit to stop what ever is causing the drift and clicking the mouse wheel to recenter on my location has become 2nd nature for me in FC3.

Clicking the mouse wheel to recentre the map on my location has never worked for me, ever, no matter how many times I've Alt-ed the map ???? The button just does nothing. I know my mouse wheel button works fine otherwise because that's my ironsight control.

I also get that immediate map-scrolling thing sometimes.

I'm pretty sure last night when I middle clicked, it centered on the current objective / waypoint. Will have to fiddle with it a bit.

the MMB centres on your current position :)

That is if there isn't a remap conflict I would think.  :-\\

I haven't seen this happen before on the north island... I was in the process of liberating an outpost (Broken Neck Home, near the wrecked lighthouse at the south-eastern tip of the north island) when some pirate got a visual on me and activated the alarm. Soon after that, a helicopter gunship arrived! I've previously only seen that happen on the south island. Luckily I was loaded out with the Ripper, which made short w@&k of said chopper. But I mean really - where did these red-shirted, knuckle-dragging bottom-feeders get the smarts to be able to fly a chopper? Judging by the sound of them, and from witnessing their driving prowess, I'm surprised they could get one started up, or even figure out how to get the cockpit door open.

Incidentally, that outpost can be scouted from the top of the lighthouse. From up there, I sniped one heavy and one regular dude, and was even able to free a tiger from its cage for a bit of pirate-scratching-post fun. Then I jumped out of the lighthouse and wingsuited my way towards the outpost but some sharp-eyed, unchewed bad guy evidently saw me doing so because the alarm went off while I was still en chute. Soon after landing I heard the whop-whop-whop of an approaching chopper and thought, "oh fudge", but I whipped out the mighty Ripper and clipped its wings.

What was cool was watching the liberated-outpost animation with the Rakyat flag going up the pole while bits of burning chopper were coming down all around it 8)

Hehe :-D To me too it only happened once that they had a chopper coming in which is more likely to happen in the South.

Had a bit of fun with the guys hanging around the sewage treatment plant. I had just done the white bellied tapir hunt and still had the recurve bow on me, so I perched on a rock across the river from the dock and pinged a couple of them before they got wise. Got the long distance bow achievement in the process too. Anyway, once they were moving too much to get with the bow, I took out the sniper and pinged some more of them. A Rakyat patrol boat came along just then and had a nice party with the pirates, but ended up losing (how do you lose against handheld AK's when you have a mounted 50 cal?). Just then I heard a tiger attacking something behind me and spun around to see a dead tapir just a few steps behind me and the tiger looking off over the river. Got out the shredder and took care of him, skinned them both then turned back to the sewage treatment plant across the river.

All the pirates were back again, at their usual posts. So I pinged them all again with the sniper, getting headshot XP points for each one. Jumped in the river, swam over and looked around. My first time here was during my crash period, so I didn't have a chance to look at much beyond grabbing loot chests. Had an idea and got out the C4 and planted some on various spots on the dock. Walked around a bit and killed another tiger. Came back and found some new guys wandering around. They weren't near my planted C4 so I tossed some rocks in that direction to lure them over. One guy took the bait and walked over to investigate. Hit the C4 and found out that they don't all go off at once, but in the order you set them (remembered afterwards something vaguely about this in the intro). So, that guy is now toast and his buddy is of course curious as to what happened, walks over and I hit the button again. Second pirate toast. Two more guys showed up and started to look around. I missed with my third one because I didn't quite remember where I'd set the C4 and he wasn't quite close enough. Stirred them up though, and in the confusion, I blasted the rest with the shredder.

As I think of it, that rock across the river is a prime spot to set up and just ping as many as you can for the XP.

amusing story, I particularly liked "..skinned them both"  :laugh:

About the C4, haven't done that in a while but I think if you keep the button pressed rather than tapping it, they ought to set off all at once.

Lol, sounds like one cool 'party'  :laugh:

Good sniper positions  :-X

Good tip about getting the XPs up :-X

Speaking of getting XPs, has anyone here ever done a multiple takedown, i.e. more than two guys in one hit?

yes. Apart from the original takedown (from above etcetera) you can get it easily with explosives such as explosive arrows aimed at a manned vehicle or a group of guys while they're loitering.

Cool :-X But I meant like a stab, stab, stab in quick succession type thing. There's a skill for it but I've never tried it out.

Oh, yes. You can do two, perhaps three guys in like that. They usually don't exactly line up in front of you :) Easiest way to get them is if you sneak up behind a patrol on foot.

At the airport where you rescue your brother (outside of the mission) there are often two or three guys milling around close enough to each other all looking off in different directions so that it is fairly easy to hit ("F Key" and hold on the PC) Takedown working your way through the lot domino fashion.  But if you're spotted by anyone else nearby, expect things to quickly heat up.  ^-^


Going back to the sewage treatment plant D_B posted about earlier I like the trail that runs along the top of that immediate cliff edge to the West that overlooks the plant.  It puts you high enough that most of the weapons the pirates use either can't reach you or are inaccurate.  Even after hours and hours of camping that spot with the snipers both silent and exploding rounds, the ripper (? the signature BMG) or grenade launcher by using Art's "ESC Key" Trick to refill ammo in the current clip (too bad it doesn't w@&k on the RPG and don't hit a manual reload or you lose those rounds) I've never had a wild animal even show up anywhere near me let alone attack me.  :-X

That overlook is a quick hop from the Amanaki Outpost which is convenient for saving or reloading and you can park your ride at the nearby triangle intersection which will keep it safe from stray bullets but still very close to where you will be working from.  I used this location to fill in several of the last steps possible in the skill tree before moving on to the last few missions on the North Island and pushing South to seriously face Hoyt's goons.

very nice, mandru  :) :-X I too like those locations and keep returning to them although just for fun and not for XP (don't need any anymore)  :)

 :-X

After the patch 1.05 was released, things changed. Not bad, for SP. The unlimited ammo trick isn't working any more so it means that we now have to pay attention again. The new feature -- for all those who finished a playthrough -- is very welcome, to reset all outposts and be able to retake them again and again  :-X All that combined with the new "Master (very hard)" difficulty level makes an excellent open world game, finally.  :) :-X I still have a few side missions to do but overall retaking outposts is the biggest fun.  :-D

Yes, I have to admit that the outposts are one of my favorite places to visit  >:D

Mine too :-X

Quote from: Art Blade on February 22, 2013, 12:14:58 PMAbout the C4, haven't done that in a while but I think if you keep the button pressed rather than tapping it, they ought to set off all at once.

I meant to comment on that before but never made it -- here goes: This assumption was based on my first steps in the game and I had placed three packs of C4 closely together so detonating one would blow up the remaining two giving the wrong impression that you could trigger them at once. You cannot do that, only one by one. :)

I find roaming the islands and thrashing the incidental bad guys I encounter far more pleasurable than the actual mission elements of the game.  But even better than that is the rare opportunity of stumbling across some random weirdness that the developers accidentally included in the works and on the Southern island just a stone's throw to the N.W. of Littlegate Bridge I found a spot that embodies that concept.

What I'm describing is a generously sized pond hidden from the nearby road by woods that sits down in a protected hollow.  It's wrapped on half of its circumference by steep natural stone embankments and there's a small cabin with a pier to be able to dock a rowboat for fishing.  The first time I encountered this location it struck me as being one of those perfect little environmental gems standing out as a place I'd like to have a retirement cabin.

As a kid I was never able to completely resist the urge to jump from high places into water when it was appropriate ( :angel: ) and sometimes when it was marginally less than appropriate. ( >:D )

I was hoofing it cross country working my way generally towards Hoyt's compound and found myself standing on the pond's embracing cliff overlooking this idyllic spot.  The light was just right and it struck me as being a little slice of heaven and after pointedly making a quick scan for crocks I gave into that boyish pleasure of the heady rush of a quick plunge from a high ledge.

Completely invisible from the surface the crock had me before the splashdown animation was completed.  :o

Fortunately the Quick Time Event (QTE) for a crock is a lot simpler than that of a tiger with it's struggle, stab and done.  **(In the QTE for a tiger there's a struggle, you get in a first slash, he falls back and comes in after you again if you don't slap some heavy enough mojo on his a$$ in the brief moment he's regrouping )**

Underwater after kicking free of the dead crock I cast a quick glance around found to my to my surprise that I was sharing that small pond with four additional eagerly awaiting and equally invisible from the surface reptilian assailants.  ???

Not to brag but I've become fairly astute in spotting crocks or at least being aware of the conditions where they proliferate and as anyone with a level of survival skills in this game...  Well, basically we've figured out how to avoid them!  How these crocks had managed to fool me into dropping my suspicious nature was a real puzzle that demanded further investigation.  What I found in that location is something that I've thankfully not encountered anywhere else in the game.

From the surface there is a layer of lily pad vegetation containing lotus flowers and on some occasions I've spotted an obvious crock sharing that surface layer.  Crocks generally don't use the lily pad type of cover that lotus flowers provide moreover preferring a smaller leafed and more web like spread pattern plant type that I've come to call duckweed.  So if there's lotus plants it will typically push out or prevent the spawn of the type of weeds that crocks like.

But when you get down below the surface of that pond there is a completely unexpected additional vegetation layer left behind by some possibly inattentive game developer near the pond's bottom where that crock bearing duckweed I mentioned is able to spawn in abundance because it's not having to compete for space with the lotus plants.

I still think its a sweet little spot but I'm going to need to find a reliable source of industrial strength Crock-Away before I'd want to retire there.  ;)

sweet. I think what you're looking for is called C4 and to be chucked down and blown up before you go in after it  :-D

 :-(

I had thought of that but C-4 would really spoil the fishing which was a large part of the lure of having a pier for a rowboat besides having the option of dropping anchor in the center of the pond and letting it rock me to sleep for the occasional nap sounds good too.  ;D


By the way I've gone back to this location several times to verify that this effect wasn't a one-off event and going straight off the end of the pier is the safest way to enter the water to check it out.  ;)

whenever I see a crock, I shoot it dead. If I can't see any but suspect them to be there, I chuck in any type of explosives before I so much as dip a toe into the water  :-() After you cleansed that pond with explosives you may as well pretend you didn't only you won't have any crocks nibbling on even remotely important parts of your astral body :-D

I have not utilized C4 nearly enough; great tips guys!

After finishing off a second play through I reset all the outposts but then decided to  activate all the towers first before attacking any of the outposts.
First you mark a tower somewhere in the middle of the island, activate it then pick one the furthest N, S, E, W on the map then w@&k your way around, because there's no roads showing on your map you're basically driving blind trying to locate it, the fun part is dodging patrolling pirates and outposts

sounds fun :) Tried that on insane difficulty yet?  ??? :)

Nope, that could be a lot of fun  :-D

 :-D

"A lot of fun" is a nice little euphemism for copping a hiding :-()

I just thought you were going to say, copping a squat. :-D

That too :-D

Wandering around to find interesting stuff I realised I could actually see Dr. Earnhardt's mansion from the top of the high mountain to the south of it on the Southern island. From there, I could see the entire Northern island and indeed see the lighthouse. Remember the deepest sinkhole under water in the "Shark Bay" where you can barely make it to the ground and back up? There is a cave at the North-Eastern end of the bay which I could also see. The enormous distance produced some texture glitch so I saw something like a nut (as in nuts and bolts) and I actually travelled there to find out what it really was. :)

My position and the targets.
[smg id=6225 type=preview align=center caption="far view 2 1"]
The mansion.
[smg id=6226 type=preview align=center caption="far view 2 2"]
The nut (had to do some extra colour manipulation to make it more visible) that turned out to be..
[smg id=6227 type=preview align=center caption="far view 2 3a"]
..a cave exit above ground in the Shark Bay.
[smg id=6228 type=preview align=center caption="far view 2 3b"]
The lighthouse.
[smg id=6229 type=preview align=center caption="far view 2 4"]

That is really cool  :-X

Yeah! Funny how those monstrous fake mountains distract your view in a way that you almost never really focus on the true visibility from high positions. I remember trying to recognize the real islands, always focussing on the hills and mountains you see. I never focussed on detail. Great find!

Cool pics Art :-X

I once flew a hang glider from the highest point in the south island (near where Art took the third picture) all the way to the north island. I think I landed somewhere well north of Amanaki Village. The flight lasted six minutes.

Thanks :)

That was a cool idea, fragger. I just had to do that and did it myself. I had to round the hilltop first because the highest glider was on the other side. After some 6+ minutes I landed 80 metres short of Amanaki outpost. :)

Nice one :-X

Sometimes there's a glider on the same side of the yard as the entrance, down the grassy slope a bit. It's one of those gliders that's there one minute then gone the next. But it points towards the north island, and that's the one I took.

Turn your back on a missing glider, walk away a short distance and then come back.  Repeat as needed.

That procedure has quite often helped me spawn a glider that I knew was supposed to be there (there was an empty wooden launch deck on the hillside for Pete sake!) that I needed for some specific task I had my mind set on.  ;D

 :-D

I know what you mean. I saw an empty wooden launch deck there myself and three words started to form in my head, beginning with the letters W T F.

Spoiler

OK, it could as well have been, Want To Fly. :-()

Only I am not patient when it comes to flying or gliding. If there's no hang glider, I usually just jump off the nearest highest point and use the wingsuit. This commonly leads to something you might like to refer to as hilltop hopping as I wingsuit down along a crest until it starts to ascend and whip out the chute perfectly timed just so the sudden uplift puts me right on top of a ledge or another hilltop until I am close to a big one which I then run up. Sometimes I find a hang glider there, sometimes I just do some more skydiving. However, I like the wingsuit more than the glider but still can't resist a few glides once in a while  :)

 :-D

In godmode who need a chute?

But when you reach lower altitudes make sure you close the wingsuit if you are approaching anything but level ground.  Otherwise you can slip through the rock face of a cliff or into a grassy hillside ending up in a limbo that can only be escaped from by opening your map and transporting to a safe base.  ;)

Oh yes. I roamed the underworld of the islands quite many a time by punching straight through the surface, head first  :-D

Not all the holes in the map are of the glitchy variety.

I can't remember where it is, but I climbed over some rocks at the base of a small cliff next to a road to hide from an approaching patrol only to drop into a steep-sided funnel-shaped depression that I couldn't get back out of. It wasn't a glitch, just a deeply convoluted part of the terrain that the devs must have either overlooked or thought that nobody would ever find and then be silly enough to fall into.

But if there's a hole somewhere, I'll find it and be silly enough to fall into it :-() Thank heavens for fast travel... If I ever find it again, I'll point it out.

you surprised me with "point it out." I was willing to bet you'd say "fall into it, again." :-()

 :-()

 :laugh:

I'll fall into it again.

See, you should have bet on it :-()

Nah, I'd never bet on your mishaps.  :)





I'd have someone else do it for me, though.

Quote from: fragger on September 03, 2013, 04:53:43 AM

But if there's a hole somewhere, I'll find it and be silly enough to fall into it :-() Thank heavens for fast travel... If I ever find it again, I'll point it out.

The road along the front of the area for the experimental kennels (in the hunter mission where you kill the rabid dogs with the RPG) has a rock embankment that conceals a hole such as the one you've described.  I was crabbing sideways following the [mini-map] illuminated mission boundary while scanning for one last dog to complete the mission and slipped into a hole much like the one you described fragger becoming irrecoverably stuck forcing a mission abort and restart due to fast traveling back to the outpost where the mission was on the bulletin board.

I've mentioned it before in an earlier post.  The irony does not escape me that if it turns out to be the same hole I was silly enough to fall into it first.  :laugh:

that would be funny :-D

I recently found a place I remembered from a side mission on the Southern island which has some sort of command post on a slab of rock you can reach from the back at ground level or front using a ladder. I climbed (slid) down the ladder and wham! fell through the floor. Nice..

That sounds familiar, I think I did the same thing thing, at least I recall sliding down a ladder only to find that the ground wasn't so solid underneath me.