• New Horizons on Maelstrom
    Maelstrom New Horizons


    Visit our website www.piratehorizons.com to quickly find download links for the newest versions of our New Horizons mods Beyond New Horizons and Maelstrom New Horizons!

Discussion Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - Single-Player Adventure Game

Actually, that could be interesting: An article written by our historical experts detailing what's wrong in AC3 in a humorous and educational sort-of way.
Imagine it like a Cracked.com article like "10 Things Assassin's Creed 3 Claimed They Would Do Right But Really They Didn't" or something.
Now that's more like it. Rather than passing judgement on the game before we have concrete details, it would be quite funny to see a review of what they claimed to do and failed to deliver, when the game comes out.
I can imagine it being one of MK's news articles on the front page...

We should probably drop the arguments in the meantime, before people start falling out with each other for no good reason.
 
Now that's more like it. Rather than passing judgement on the game before we have concrete details, it would be quite funny to see a review of what they claimed to do and failed to deliver, when the game comes out.
I can imagine it being one of MK's news articles on the front page...
That's why I suggested AC3 because that game is already out and has been for a while.
And if we do that soon and advertise the article everywhere relevant, perhaps it can generate some interesting discussions wherever we post it.
And that could potentially end up with the game developers taking some of the comments to heart. OR we can use it to secretly advertise our HoO project.
 
Subtle hints to the developer, as well as stealthily advertising our own work? Sounds good to me! :D
 
Just a question. Could we please come back to topic? The topic was not "is UbiSoft able to create a highly realistic action oriented game with a highly accurate pirate setting?". The topic is "UbiSoft announced Assassin's Creed IV - Black Flag. An Assassin's Creed game with a pirate setting."

It's a little unfair to put a judgment about realism in the game before anybody has seen something from the game. All we have seen is a pre rendered trailer which say nothing about the realism in the game. And for sure the actions of the Assassins in all "Assassin's Creed" games are quite unrealistic but they are quite entertaining. It's like watching a Hollywood Action Movie like "Die Hard". Everybody knows that the actions of the main character are unrealistic in many ways but millions of people rush into the cinemas around the world to see the movie for fun.
And on the other hand the AC games are characterized by high realism to the buildings, the cities , the environment, the uniforms or the weapons that were used.

Perhaps the developers mean with "high realism" not that they show 100% accurate ships but rather the realistic atmosphere that prevailed on a pirate ship at that time. Accompanied by a realistic damage model on the ships and amazing sound atmosphere.


Does it really make less fun to sink an enemy Spanish Galleon or board the ship just because you know that type of ship was not built in 1715 but in 1789?

So let's wait for the first gameplay videos before put a judgment on realism. And as long we can first gather some more information about the game and post them in this thread, ok? ;)
 
Ok, no speculation based on past actions.

The trailer is what we have to go on and it shows a psychopath in action. Look to the end where a well dressed man and woman are walking down the street smiling. He rushes up and stabs the man in the back and walks away with the woman.
What is that woman thinking? Most likely it's "Crickey! How is a poor working girl supposed to make a living when this lad keeps killing all me best customers?"

That is not a character I am going to play.
 
So let's wait for the first gameplay videos before put a judgment on realism. And as long we can first gather some more information about the game and post them in this thread, ok? ;)
I believe we're still on topic. We are discussing this game that was announced, and we are discussing the advertising and claims made by the developers.

I don't care if it will be fun or not. The developers have already claimed that this will be authentic. What I have seen so far is complete fantasy. I am comfortable judging the realism of the game based on what has been posted in this very thread. Making the game authentic would involve trashing all of the advertising they provided and starting over again. That will not happen. Anybody who knows about ships and naval history can see that their claims are false, and will likely remain so.

Does it really make less fun to sink an enemy Spanish Galleon or board the ship just because you know that type of ship was not built in 1715 but in 1789?

This isn't a matter of time frame here. Their advertisements containing the brig (Jackdaw)* are showing something that wasn't built in 1715 or 1789. Ships never, ever, ever, ever, looked remotely like that.* As for the "we don't know if it's going to be in the final game" argument, a question: Are they really going to distribute media that is completely different from, and not even comparable to what they are working on now?

*I have seen it in two separate advertisements now.

*Everything CA and MK have said is true. The proportions are ridiculous, and it seems to e a combination of ten different vessels, all from different eras, and some modern. I will add that there was never a rig that looked like the one on the Jackdaw concept. Ever.All the proportions are wrong, and there are two sails that are literally useless.
We know ships, and we know when something is made-up fantasy.

Again, my problem with this is that they are claiming an authentic experience. The way I see it, that would be like giving men-at-arms in an "authentic" medieval video game armor and weapons from World of Warcraft. Even if everything else is 100 percent accurate, the armor clashes so much with reality that the experience is no longer authentic.

In conclusion: All of my remarks and judgements have been based on what we have seen in this thread, and on the premise that the developers are advertising for the game they are making, and not some other fantasy game.


No hard feelings, of course. This pisses me off more than others, since it will effect me more than it does others. More stupid, inane, idiotic misconceptions for me and my crewmates to deal with from the public, and other things I will not discuss for the sake of the OI's tall ships program. The public will believe anything. I've seen it over and over again.
 
Well just registered finally, after having to use google to figure out the captcha question that is a hundreds of years old nursery rhyme, admittedly had to google that. I registered here to discuss Snowbird's Carribean! which I have been signed up for beta since they announced it. I am also on their forums as well, majorly looking forward to the game and have been a M&B/Warband fan for years.

I am also really interested in AC 4 Black Flag believe it or not, Jack Black described my thoughts word for word. Carribean! is a game I expect to follow on the lines of more era accuracy, but I understand Post Captain, your frustration with the matter.

So this from IGN,

"The Jackdaw can be upgraded with more cannons, stronger hulls & new abilities and new weapons. In addition to upgrades, the Jackdaw must be repaired. It can also be customized -- it's being treated as a second "main character" of the game.
The relationship between Edward and the Jackdaw has been compared to that of Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars, or Captain James Kirk and the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek."

Source: Ubisoft press presentation attended by IGN staff

I read that and I was stoked, I like that whole idea of the ship being like a "second main character", the Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon relationship betweetn Edward and the Jackdaw. Here are my concerns,

While I think it is a cool feature to customize the ship, I hope that the customization options don't become ridiculous, you know and I doubt they will but I am just saying. No Nos stickers or decals, no secret motor propellers and or air balloons that make your ship fly etc. I am going into this game as a visually fun action packed open naval exploration AC game like everyone. I think it has potential if they don't **** it up.

In my personal opinion I think that the game should be exclusive purely to next gen consoles and PC. The whole Wii U and developing Simultaneously with current & next gen consoles is kind of ridiculous to me, but that is the way it is. We will see how the next gen / PC version turns out.

Far as commandeering other ships, I am pretty sure any other ships you'd control in AC4 will be a scripted quest or a very temporary event ingame.

So yea, other then that, I understand the clipper design is beyond the golden age of piracy but that doesn't bother me a bit given the game. I like that we are given a larger ship then the Aquila, but not something as big as a Frigate or Galleon. I like the uniqueness of the Jackdaw, I bet it will look really cool when it is fully upgraded and customized.
 
So yea, other then that, I understand the clipper design is beyond the golden age of piracy but that doesn't bother me a bit given the game. I like that we are given a larger ship then the Aquila, but not something as big as a Frigate or Galleon. I like the uniqueness of the Jackdaw, I bet it will look really cool when it is fully upgraded and customized.

Another point: It isn't even a clipper (not even close). Again, nothing remotely close to such a design ever existed. They could very easily have copied a real ship exactly and achieved the same uniqueness. It would've looked way better, too. And yet they still claim that it the game will be authentic. Again, I've seen the same vessel on multiple items, so there's a very good chance it will end up in game in a form similar to the one presented to us.
 
The relationship between Edward and the Jackdaw has been compared to that of Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars, or Captain James Kirk and the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek."
I like the way they want the ship to have this much meaning to the player, and I can see how this will appeal to them.
It's just a shame, though, that they also seem to feel that this uniqueness can only be achieved with an over-the-top fictional design. I honestly think there's no need for that. One needs only consider the likes of Jack Aubrey and his connection to HMS Surprise. The ship isn't an over-the-top design (even in the film), and yet she's certainly unique, at least to Aubrey.
 
The design of Surprise is actually more unique in the books. Aubrey made extensive modifications to the trim and rigging, etc.
 
Darn good read if I say so myself from gameinformer, highly recommend reading this if you haven't already.

http://www.gameinformer.com/games/a...ssassin-39-s-creed-iv-black-flag-preview.aspx

A lot of cool information in that article, no surprise thier will be a loading for the 3 main cities. Their is one thing out of all things in the game that I do hope we can do, and that is fire cannons at people on land. I don't mean attacking forts, I mean you just happen to see someone walking along the beach and decide to launch a full cannon barrage at them.

"Ahoy Captain! someone on the beach", "Ah I see that and what of it?", "Sir?", "Well you know the drill, one random person on the beach, load the cannons!".

Lol yea, but see they say and I quote "first true naval open-world game", ship to land is seamless in AC4, I hope cannons to land are as well.
 
Ok, no speculation based on past actions.

The trailer is what we have to go on and it shows a psychopath in action. Look to the end where a well dressed man and woman are walking down the street smiling. He rushes up and stabs the man in the back and walks away with the woman.
What is that woman thinking? Most likely it's "Crickey! How is a poor working girl supposed to make a living when this lad keeps killing all me best customers?"

That is not a character I am going to play.

Oh come on, you play a pirate in this game.
What do you think will a pirate do? A pirate is a ruthless, unforgiven, cold blooded killer who kills people for money and sometime just for fun.
Did you ever read a psychological profiles about Edward Teach aka Blackbeard? He was described as a sadistic and brutal psychopath who board enemy ships with two or more bladed weapons, four or more guns in his bandolier and two boarding axes in his belt. (sounds familiar? ;) Look at the pictures of Edward Kenway) Blackbeard choke two women on a boarded ship to death with his own hands and throw the dead bodies overboard only because they are women and he don't want to have any women on his ship.
Or did you ever read something about Francois L'Olonnais? The most cruel and brutal pirate who ever sailed in Carribbean waters who often torture his victims just for fun.

I think the characterisation of Edward Kenway is much more accurate then any other pirate hero in other pirate games or movies. I don't believe in the Hollywood styled noble and galant pirate princes like Errol Flynn who act more like Robin Hood. Steal from the rich and give the poor. :thumbsdown2
I still think most of the pirates were dastardly, mean lowlifes and sometimes psychopathic who would kill their own mother if price was right.
 
LOL! Those were the exceptions, not the rule. Most acts of piracy involved no bloodshed at all. The pirates were after the cargo, which was insured. When the merchantman was overhauled he would surrender without a fight, the pirates would offload the cargo and sail off to smuggle it into their chosen port without paying taxes. Usually they were headed for North America.
It was only if the merchantman was desirable that the ship would be taken, or it might be taken to a secluded bay to be stripped. Blackbeard took the Whydah because she was a better ship than his.

Also, I personally play as a merchantman/smuggler. Both the pirates and the navies are my enemies and are to be avoided.
 
Well this proves that they have no intention of implementing realistic ship combat "Ubisoft offers the "Charger" as an example, which prefers ramming you at full speed to a strategic cannon battle."
and
"in addition to historical sources, the developers are using more grounded entertainment for inspiration. Movies like The Mission and Master and Commander" Ha...ha...we all know that's definitely the case

Still, while its claims to realism are in many respects completely false, the gameplay sounds like it should be fun. And there might even be some areas where it is more realistic than most past pirate games, though there will be a glaring lack of realism in other ways.
 
LOL! Those were the exceptions, not the rule. Most acts of piracy involved no bloodshed at all. The pirates were after the cargo, which was insured. When the merchantman was overhauled he would surrender without a fight, the pirates would offload the cargo and sail off to smuggle it into their chosen port without paying taxes. Usually they were headed for North America.
It was only if the merchantman was desirable that the ship would be taken, or it might be taken to a secluded bay to be stripped. Blackbeard took the Whydah because she was a better ship than his.

Also, I personally play as a merchantman/smuggler. Both the pirates and the navies are my enemies and are to be avoided.


Unfortunately, these guys were not the exception. There were almost as many ruthless pirates as pirates who treated their victims fairly. There are just more cases of pirate attacks are known to have gone out without bloodshed because the victims survived the attack to tell about it. (There is generally a ratio of 65:35 assumed. 65 percent "kind" pirates, 35 "bad" pirates). But among these 35 percent were a large part of the infamous pirates such as Edward Low, Francois L'Olonais, Blackbeard, Calico Jack Rackham etc.
Moreover, it must be said that not only the pirates have raged bloody. Many english or spanish captains behaved far more cruel than some pirates.

In AC 4 you have unfortunately no choice how to play your character. You play a vicious pirate who was trained by an Assassin. (Edward Kenway is not a member of the Assassins order. He's just a pirate who get involved in the war between Assassins and Templars. )
 
Not only that, but you're an assassin. You have a much better excuse to be a complete, unrepentant, lady-killing sociopath here than in GTA or Saints Row, that's for damn sure.
 
65/35? That is about a 2 to 1 ratio.

We already have an assassin storyline in POTC. You get your assignment and carry it out, then get the next assignment. Kill this merchant, kill that smuggler, sink this ship, capture that ship and so on. Been playing POTC for over 3 years and only played that storyline once. Why spend $60 for something I don't want to play? If you enjoy being a sociopath, go for it.
 
I don't remember. I never actually finished that storyline.

On another note, is this AC series mod-able? Could someone use AC4 as a base to work from and create a proper age of sail game with a larger map and a real economy?
 
Back
Top