I'm gonna start this new topic to share my impressions instead of feeding them to PZ's topic... it seems appropriate! ;D
Controls feels pretty much like the other titles and are very natural to me... except V for eagle visions instead of E and E to aim and shoot poison darts.... a bit confusing in the beginning but a fair layout change in the end. Fighting, exploring, climbing, looting... all feels pretty much like the other titles so AC:R is absolutely a seamless continuation to me, as if I had just finished a level in AC:B and started a new level of the same game in AC:R!
As for Constantinople... WOW 8) beautiful city so far, full of colors and life as expected! I've played the intro and tutorials only up to the point of defending a den from Templars, which I particularly didn't like so much... it kind of departs a bit too much from the adventure kind of game the series have been and it might be a bit annoying imo if it plays a big part in the game as I think it does according to PZ's impressions posted here... ????
To see a grey bearded Ezio is also great... I can't remember any character I felt so connected to as I feel to him... we saw his birth, his youth chasing girls, the most tragic episodes of his life when his family were murdered, his home attacked and now we see him searching for his very own roots, his back story and it is just amazing! He was just a reckless teenager and now he is a master assassin and we've been through all that with him... outstanding player-character bonding!
Looking forward to more! 8)
Quote from: JRD on January 20, 2012, 06:12:20 PM
... I can't remember any character I felt so connected to as I feel to him... we saw his birth, his youth chasing girls, the most tragic episodes of his life when his family were murdered, his home attacked and now we see him searching for his very own roots, his back story and it is just amazing! He was just a reckless teenager and now he is a master assassin and we've been through all that with him... outstanding player-character bonding!
Looking forward to more! 8)
Great comments JRD, I agree wholeheartedly. In fact, what you posted paraphrases exactly what I was thinking this morning as I was playing - the story line between the games of the series has to be the best I have ever experienced. There is a seamless transition from one title to the next, and I enjoy playing the entire series again much like I like watching my favorite movie again.
It's interesting, in a scifi kind of way how you will know how Ezio will turn out while you are playing AC2. It's been long enough since I played ACB that I have now forgotten the story line of that title, so I am excited to play the entire series again. (That is one advantage of a failing memory :-())
Hope you continue to enjoy the game, and do plenty of experimentation.
Spoiler
There are two suits of armor that do not degrade, and that offer superior protection. One you get when you outfit all of your dens with assassins, and they reach a certain level, and another when you collect 10 memory pages and complete a secret area. The only problem with the latter is that one of the pages is in an area that is not accessible until later in the game.
Quote from: PZ on January 21, 2012, 03:03:55 PM
There are two suits of armor that do not degrade, and that offer superior protection. One you get when you outfit all of your dens with assassins, and they reach a certain level, and another when you collect 10 memory pages and complete a secret area. The only problem with the latter is that one of the pages is in an area that is not accessible until later in the game.
Thanks PZ, I'll keep that in mind. A good armor is essential. I played through AC:B with a mid-level armor as I couldn't do the shop quests to unlock the good ones available and only managed to get the Armor of Brutus near the end! :-\\
Back to Ezio, we played as Altair in the first game but he was just a character with no past, no family no friends no nothing... a shallow character in fact. Not only we literally live the life of Ezio but also Ezio has a family and lots of friends he cultivates thoroughly and who became our own family and friends with time! It's hard not to like him and not to be proud of what he achieved so in the end, the bonding is inevitable :)
Quote from: JRD on January 22, 2012, 08:53:01 AM
...Back to Ezio, we played as Altair in the first game but he was just a character with no past, no family no friends no nothing... a shallow character in fact. Not only we literally live the life of Ezio but also Ezio has a family and lots of friends he cultivates thoroughly and who became our own family and friends with time! It's hard not to like him and not to be proud of what he achieved so in the end, the bonding is inevitable :)
Absolutely! The story is long (3 full games plus DLC) and character development is excellent. You really get to know the people that are in Ezio's life. For example, when Ezio is writing Claudia (his sister), I can picture her face in my memory as she cried when Duccio broke her heart (decades ago). It makes beating him all the more fun in ACR :-()
If I had never played AC2, I would not be able to relate since Claudia is not seen in ACR.
Ok, a question about that contested den thing... I took a den from the templars, killed the capitain, got my reputation back to secret or incognito or whatever and went on with my life... some time later I see the icon with some yellowish thing on it and decide to go back and check it. Turns out it's being contested by Templars... so I tried to defend it and lost... :D I managed to fight off those soldiers but couldn't fight off the war machine they brought in the end... nothing seemed to be effective and I don't know why I could place a cannon shot on it :angry-new:
So my question is: is it going to be always like that? I take the den, clean my status, they come back, try to take it back and either I fight them off and they might come back for more at any time or I loose the den and start all over again? ????
Please tell me it's a one time only I have to fight the templars away, pleeeeeease..... :-\\
The den defense is something that I initially found interesting, but once you try (and fail) to complete them, it gets kind of old. On the last plays through, I never had a contested den other than the very first tutorial one. Once you lose the den defense, the den reverts back to their control, and you have to free it all over again. Here's my method.
When I go to a Templar lair I ensure that my red meter is black so that I don't immediately become notorious when I light the signal fire. Then, once I have the den in my possession, I immediately look for a herald, pay him the 100A bribe, then beat him up to take it back. :-()
If you keep your meter from becoming fully red, you'll not need to worry about the Templars attacking your den. Using this method I have not doe a den attack in two or three full plays through.
Spoiler
One thing to keep in mind if you like killing the Templar Captains is to allow the den to revert back to their hands - then you can go in again for more fun. I have done this in the past when perfecting my assassin calling skills. This is especially useful for the Captains that flee like cowards - simply lock on them and call you assassins - then go about your business until they kill him.
So if anytime my meter is all red I might have a den contested?! ????
Well, no biggie then... I thought I'd have to fight them off time and time again for the rest of the game!! :-D
My strategy to kill a capitain is: go around rooftops killing guards on watch unnoticed to thin out their defense and make my approach easier. I then find the target and move to a position where I can hit him with a poison dart or do an air kill just for the impact (I like to think they get intimidated by my sudden appearance >:D )
I can be bold and walk to the front door and just kill everyone around which used to w@&k well in Brotherhood but here, with those marksmen, things are getting a bit harder! ::)
Quote from: JRD on January 23, 2012, 02:44:52 PM
So if anytime my meter is all red I might have a den contested?! ????
Yes, that is exactly it. Keep your meter from becoming all red and the Templars will not notice your presence, hence they will leave your dens alone.
I'll try your method of dealing with the rooftop guards first, and then go for the ground people - sounds like stealthy fun. However, it is sometimes easy to tip off the Captain so he flees for an entire day, so my usual method is to run and gun so to speak, and let my assassins do the dirty deed :-()
What also makes it difficult is the presence of guards behind their enclosures - their bullets have a devastating effect on your health!
Complete the first mandatory den defense then help Yosif with the den capture as the story line is laid out.
Then you can go back to the Den you defended (the mandatory one) and if you have an assassin underling who is level 10 you can assign them to defend that first den by sending them on a master mission. At this point is is a good time to wander around and collect memory fragments and maybe do a couple more storyline missions.
I would advise capturing additional dens too quickly because that forces you to drop what you are doing and defend them or lose them.
By doing a couple more story line missions the first promoted den master will complete his mission and you will meet back up with them on the Galata waterfront for a den master mission part two. Once you've completed that 2nd mission with them they will take over all responsibility for defending the Galata den. Once that is has been accomplished go to the den you helped Yosef capture and step inside. You will once again select a level 10 subordinate to be assigned to that den and w@&k with them through their master assassin assignment to secure your second den from attacks that you need to oversee.
I try to approach the Templar held lairs one at a time and will even raid the outskirts of their held positions even when not attempting to capture them to find enough Templar Almogavars (big hairy axe wielding brutes) to be able to check off the requirement of killing 25 of them for the warrior's guild challenge but sometimes things will get out of hand and I end up with an extra den and no master assassin guarding it so as PZ said I do my best to keep my Templar awareness level low enough to avoid having to do den defenses.
Killing one of the stalkers that rush you and try to knife you is another way to drop your Templar awareness level a lot and they have high cash when looted but make sure there's no guards watching as they will come after you if they see it often leaving your awareness level higher than it was before the stalker jumped you.
My last time through the game I had only that first mandatory den defense and was able to avoid having to face any more of them by getting my den masters in place quickly enough after capturing lairs.
Quote from: mandru on January 23, 2012, 03:36:23 PM
...My last time through the game I had only that first mandatory den defense and was able to avoid having to face any more of them by getting my den masters in place quickly enough after capturing lairs.
... or just keep yourself out of trouble if you can :-()
Great advice mandru and PZ... :-X
The idea of having a way of doing those den missions once and not having to worry about it anymore is comforting! :)
I'll take notes of those tips next time I'm in Constantinople! Cheers! :-X
Been following your advices guys and it`s going fine. I regained control over the Den I`ve lost without even being noticed! >:D All thanks to zip lines + air kills and the poison dart from rooftops over the capitain. Nobody saw me and I used my assassins to help me clear the way before lighting the signal! >:D >:D
I am also upgrading all assassins I have so I can place them on Dens and have them holding it down for me!
One thing I noticed that caught my attention though... my awarness meter increases everytime I buy a new shop! ??? Why is this a source of Templar`s awareness? Is it because we I`m taking the market for myself in an aggressive capitalist manner? The shops were closed anyway for Marx`s sake! For each shop I bought I had to bribe one herald!! :angry-new:
My strategy before going on with the main story is to have as many shops purchased as well as dens/assassins controlled/upgraded so I can fully take advantage of those perks! 8)
Glad you're getting the hang of it JRD. :-X Once you figure out the rules and the w@&k arounds there's a lot less to stress about and that lets you to dive in and enjoy the game.
When one of your assassins reach level 10 they stop advancing until you assign them to be a den master but just because their level (1-10) doesn't keep going up they still continue to accumulate experience points that they earn through assisting you when you call them for on the spot assassinations or when you send them off on missions through the Mediterranean Defense Meta game.
When I select a new den master in training as I acquire new dens I look at their experience points and try to pick one of my team who already has all of the points needed to be a level 15 master. That way as soon as I assign them I immediately trigger the Part 1 Master Assassin mission for that den which will start the locking process.
The Mediterranean Defense activity when used to advance your raw recruits can really shoot them up in experience points a lot faster. When there's a mission for 4500 experience points that den masters could do by themselves if you send a new recruit they will split that point jackpot which is a lot better than sending the raw recruit on a solo mission that will only pay them 30 or 40 points.
Assigning one of your assassins on a solo mission that is far beyond their ability it can very possibly get them killed (masters get injured/apprentices can die) so it's a good idea to be sure to assign teams if necessary to meet the 100% success rate. I had one new recruit that popped up on my roster that had the same last name as the Templar Manuel Pallilegos whom you follow to Cappadocia to recover the 5th Masayaf key. I didn't want that family name on my staff roster so I sent him on a fatal fool's errand and found a better recruit when I received the sorry news. >:D
The Med defense game also can pay dividends through more bomb making materials available at the shop and nice cash royalties paid monthly as well as more control over the cities you are active in. When you look at the missions they will tell you what it costs/pays and experience available.
With the Den Def activity I didn't understand that I could target an attacking Templar down in the street and shoot him myself. That has the benefit of not only killing that 1 targeted enemy but it also tells your posted assassins on the rooftops with you where to focus their counter attack efforts. After the second time I had to go through that mandatory Den Def knowing I could better direct my group made it go a lot easier.
Thanks mandru :-X
The Med meta game is pretty much like the one in AC:B so I`m familiar with the mechanics of it. I usually assign a high level assassin with a mid to low level apprentice so they could benefit from the XP points earned mostly by the high level assassin! I managed to level up my apprentices quite fast this way! 8)
I didn`t know I could target a given attacking Templar myself but I did shot at the war machines they bring in the end (to no success though :-\\ ). Those machines are the ones that bothered me on the only Den Def I did. I don`t know why I couldn`t damage the thing enough for it to stop and it just advanced to my front door and literally rammed the whole thing down! :-( I think I didn`t place my men the right way. There are three classes if I remember correctly: archers, marksmen and another class I dodn`t remember. Each should be more effective against one class of enemies. Instead of reading through the tips and paying attention to the tutorial I just placed assorted men over rooftops. By the time the machine is brough on to the attack I guess I was running low on assassins and morale so I couldn`t place more men as the machine advanced, resulting in an easy prey for the Templars! :D
There's supposed to be a way to loot the bodies of enemies in the street though I was never able to figure it out. Looting fallen enemies is said to replenish consumed resources and quickly restore morale for your troops.
I didn't play AC:B so I wasn't aware that had Med Def had already been introduced. Sorry for tossing in that unnecessary info. :-[
Quote from: JRD on January 27, 2012, 04:53:59 AM
One thing I noticed that caught my attention though... my awarness meter increases everytime I buy a new shop! ?
Evidently the Templars like ghettos. :-()
I've managed to win den defenses by using the cannon properly - you can fire single shots or salvos, but it is best to have a barricade in place so they have to stop for a minute - enough time to pound them with a shell or two.
Quote from: mandru on January 27, 2012, 11:02:39 AM
There's supposed to be a way to loot the bodies of enemies in the street though I was never able to figure it out. Looting fallen enemies is said to replenish consumed resources and quickly restore morale for your troops.
I didn't play AC:B so I wasn't aware that had Med Def had already been introduced. Sorry for tossing in that unnecessary info. :-[
Nothing to be sorry for, mate. It's always good to see what people do and how! :-X
I think I managed to loot fallen enemies just by rovering the mouse over them. An icon appeared hinting to loot! I'm not sure though as I was a bit busy with all new info of the Den Def
My focus now is on levelling up my assassins and doing as many Med Def missions as possible to reach level 15 with as many assassins as I can before even trying to take more dens! As mandru pointed, this can bring income and the aid of very experienced assassins you can use during fights.
In AC:B the whole mechanics of this meta game was a lot more simple. You could recruit new assassins in the streets and they would appear in your assassins meta game screen to be sent on new missions to level up. Once having enough assassins to allow you one assassin mark you could then call them on a fight. Three marks allow you to call an arrow storm killing all guards around. The role they played was just that. There were no reason to have more and better assassins by your side as they didn't have to defend anything. The cities where the missions take place were neither under Templars or assassins control or, once under assassins control, would bring any income. In the end, training assassins was pure fun and not a need as it is in AC:R.
The only benefit in sending them on some missions was to have a few items needed to shop quests earned but, as I pointed on another thread, the shop quests were a bit useless in AC:B. I'm very glad they dropped those in favour of Den quests! :-X
All in all, I guess that what I dislike in AC:B is left aside and AC:R is a far more enjoyable game (side quest wise) in my opinion! 8)
I sent my assassins to missions all over the Mediterranean area and then went for a nap on a haystack to wait for their return and also to let my revenue accumulate at the bank. :-D
My real me went to the supermaket and came back after a couple hours... ::)
All cities under Assassins control in the Med Def game were under siege! :D
That'll teach you to delegate!
:laugh:
...
...
...
...
... or not... ::)
:laugh:
Maybe you should send your assassins to the supermarket - you could conquer the Mediterranean while getting free groceries! >:D
:laugh:
:laugh: :-X
I can see the headlines:
"Templars siege to superkarket in Rio de Janeiro continues: Assassins refuse UN negotiator"
"Housewife claims: they took all my discount coupons"
8)
Quote from: JRD on January 29, 2012, 03:38:31 AM
All cities under Assassins control in the Med Def game were under siege! :D
Interestingly this does not seem to matter one bit. I am not aware of any consequence to having cities under siege.
As far as I uderstand the meta game, when a city is under siege you cannot send your assassins on other missions in that particular city, just defend it. Also, if you have any income from that city (money or goods) it will be suspended untill you defend it or loose control over it.
Anyway, the income from those cities is quite small compared to the revenue at the bank and any good earned from those cities can be easily found scattered over Constantinople so defending the cities is just a matter of fun.
hmmm... although I can't say for sure, I don't think I defended the cities at all during my last play through, yet managed to make plenty of money and advance all of my assassins. I'll be sure to check it out on my next play through just in case I'm missing out by being unobservant! :-()
Having a city under siege may just slow down a bit the development of your assassins as you cannot send them on missions for 4,000-5,000 XP. The defend the city missions can be accomplished by two assassins (lvl 10 or higher) and still earns you 1500 XP so in the end, defending a city is not a bad deal.
One of my favorites are the 3000 XP missions that only take 5 minutes, and can easily be handled by young assassin teams. My guys (and gals) advance very quickly - so quick that on my last play through I didn't even upgrade any of my armor at all, and was handed the master assassin armor not long after starting the game.
In the Med Def game if you are defending a city there are still a lot of other cities that teams can be sent to to advance any Assassins that need it.
In my last play through I never assumed control of any of the Med cities so I never needed to defend one of them under siege conditions. This left me free to cherry pick what ever missions out of all of the cities as I found them to be the most advantageous to the specific training I needed applied to my subordinates. I earned the Armchair General UBI achievement (all Med cities under assassin control) the first time I played AC:R so I don't feel like I ever need to do that again. :)
I'm working my way towards having all cities under assassin's control in the Med Def game. I don't think it'll make a difference in my playthrough but since I started doing it I'll finish it.
mandru is right about letting it to Templars. The meta game is independent story wise, meaning whatever happens there, stays there and doesn't affect your AC:R story evolution. Since what matters is to have your assassins fully upgraded, just go for the XP and forget about controlling the Mediterranean area! :-X
I now have four assassins fully upgraded and all others above lvl 10 about to be promoted to master assassin! >:D >:D >:D Just a couple dens with no master left!!
As you guys mentioned, I didn't upgrade my armor a single bit but unlocked the top notch armor when I took the last Templar den! 8) All of a sudden my health meter is double the size it was before! >:D
I also bought all shops and almost all landmarks so my income every 20 minutes is about 25,000A with a maximum 120,000 accumulated t the bank!
Time to hit the main story hard!! 8)
You're going to have a great time teaching all those guards what it means to be an assassin! :-()
I always enjoyed in AC:R that what ever point of the game I'm at or have recently completed the Heralds are right on top of it reporting to the citizens gathered about my adventures and how they are affecting the political scene and discomfiting one or another noble or upper echelon bigwig. I often have to stop, blend with the crowd and listen to the herald's reports about what I'm up to. ;D
Quote from: mandru on January 30, 2012, 07:13:01 PM
I always enjoyed in AC:R that what ever point of the game I'm at or have recently completed the Heralds are right on top of it reporting to the citizens gathered about my adventures ...
Indeed - the heralds are certainly way more competent than the media reporters we see in "real life" (if that is what you can call reporting in today's society)
PZ, I've noticed also that a herald in the South Western district has a whole different outlook on the politics as opposed to a herald from the North Eastern district near the Sultan's palace. When you first get there the South East heralds are all for promoting cooperation with "The Stewards" but at that very same time in the N.W. the heralds are announcing that the stewards are outlaws and that they have no official standing. Any citizen with information on their activities should report it immediately.
Just as I can bribe the heralds to stop bad mouthing me the stewards (Templars obviously) can fund the heralds to provide the spin that puts them in a good light.
Depending on where you are (district to district) even the matter of the feud between the Sultan and one of his sons is handled differently by the wording the heralds are feeding the local population. Clearly different areas support each of the two sons in their ascension to the Sultancy in turn but for me that adds to the feel of a country torn by civil war where sympathies are held towards both sides. Even Tarrek(sp?) the captain of the Janissary elite while being faithful in the performance of his position guarding the royal family clearly would prefer to serve the son who is not in favor because he feels that son would be a better successor (someone who wouldn't be restless in times of peace and weak in times of conflict) even though the Sultan is warring against him.
Excellent observations mandru, I need to listen to these guys a bit more - I just catch bits and pieces as I run past. Besides, my normal M.O. is to bribe the herald, then beat him up to reclaim my 100A :-()
Finished the game a couple nights ago... I'll put a rating together but can share my aftergame thoughts before that!
All in all the game has the best graphics of all in the series (of course, it's brand new ::) ). The level of detail is amazing, the clothes, buildings, vegetation, light effects, fog, dust, day/night cycles. textures... all is incredible. :-X . Isaw guys playing dice and smoking narguilés in the streets, selling carpets, fruits, loading and unloading stuff at the port, drawing scenery and landmarks around places like Hagia Sophia and minding their own business in a very life like way, not just people passing by. They actually seem to be doing a lot of things while you are just passing by! :-X
I followed PZ's and mandru's advice regarding the Assassins Dens and it took a long part of the game for me, something I really enjoyed both for avoiding me the Den Defense part of the game and also because it makes me feel Ezio is a true Master Assassin recruiting and training people!
When I was through with Dens and had all shops and landmarks purchased (and a gnerous income due to that) I decided to hit the main story. That's when I felt a bit let down... the main story is about searching for books and the Masyaf Keys which means doing the puzzles (a very Tomb Raider part of Assassins Creed).
The thick historical/political background filled with treachery and revenge that was present in previous games (in AC1 Altair is after Robert de Sable and in AC2 Ezio is after Rodrigo Borgia) is replaced by a more introspective aura. Ezio is looking for his roots and the issues with Tarik and the Vizir is just a side story to keep the action flowing. Manuel Paleológos is the enemy here but he doesn't actually fit into this shoes... this is not Ezio's war being fought, he was just dragged into this by chance and the only thing keeping him there is Yussuf and the other assassins.
The ending brought a few answers and more questions... the cliffhanger in the end is great! Playing as Altair until he's 92 ( :o ) is amazing. Bring a lot of life to an otherwise shallow character... tighten the bonds with him!
I agree completely about the graphics and the idle time activities - gives so much more life to the environment that simply having automatons walking around.
Things at Ubi have come a long way since the absence of civilian life in FC2 to the cities full of life in ACR
Quote from: PZ on February 04, 2012, 12:12:25 PM
Things at Ubi have come a long way since the absence of civilian life in FC2 to the cities full of life in ACR
True... I guess that once you have the character files built and some of their basic activities already coded, like walk, respond to Ezio's actions, get scared, run etc.... it's just a matter of fine tunning what they do, like play dice, load/unload crates from a ship, sell carpets and so on and so forth. Also you probably just have to change the texture files that NPC will load as it's outfit and it'll look better, so just replace the flat, one colored texture a NPC will load for a new, more detailed file and voilá... a NPC looking way more detailed ;)
If you look carefully, what has changed, graphics wise, from AC2 to ACR is basically the package. What wraps around buildings and NPCs are more detailed, all textures are more advanced but apart from that, the game looks and feels the same. Whatever they are preparing to AC3 will have a new engine, new foundation and we are in for a treat... hopefully... :)
Quote from: JRD on February 04, 2012, 02:43:45 PM
... Whatever they are preparing to AC3 will have a new engine, new foundation and we are in for a treat... hopefully... :)
I sure hope so - it would be sad to ruin a good thing. :-()