2. Including the Parkour…
One of the biggest changes: the ability to navigate down a building. Previously, you’d climb up a building, race across the rooftops, then find a convenient haystack for a leap of faith, landing safely on the ground below. “We wanted to avoid having haystacks all over the place and doing that special move all the time,” says Senior Producer Vincent Pontbriand. “Controlled descent is more exciting. It also allows you to do things that are different each time. This also adds to the sense of joy of being free and doing whatever you want.”
You’ll need that extra freedom of movement, as the buildings are now all designed at a 1:1 scale. Acrophobics, beware: You’ll really feel that height when you’re standing atop Notre Dame, staring out over the city.
And that’s just a small taste of how navigation has been overhauled. The way an Assassin will move through Paris will be radically different than in previous games – but we’ll have more on that later.
5. Mission Uncontrol
Mission structure has also changed. Or, to put it more directly: missions no longer have a set structure. In previous games, you’d be given a defined set of goals. You’d achieve them, or you’d start over – either at the beginning of the mission or at an appropriate checkpoint. Assassin’s Creed Unity introduces something called Adaptive Mission Mechanic (AMM) – which is exactly what it sounds like.
To explain AMM, Amancio lays out a typical scenario from previous games. Let’s say you’re tailing a Templar target; if you get spotted, the mission might be over. That’s no longer the case. “We’ve opted for a different philosophy where we won’t tell you Tail this guy,” Amancio says. “We’ll just maybe tell you Figure out where he’s going.” That means you can tail him if you like – and if you get spotted, the tail could turn into a chase. If you lose him altogether, your goal switches to locating your target. If a riot happens to break out and your target is killed, then you can loot his body to, say, find a letter that tells you where he’s going. “So it’s really up to the player to figure out how he’s going to do this,” Amancio says.
Of course, there’s much more to AMM than this. It’ll never be as simple as choosing the easiest path (i.e., killing every target and looting their bodies) because that could have serious repercussions in the world. “If a guy is missing, maybe they’re going to double up patrols in your next mission. So there’s a risk. It evens itself out.”
7. Paris Bound
Assassin’s Creed Unity is set in Paris during the French Revolution – one of the bloodiest, most chaotic periods in world history. This was also a time that set the stage for the modern era, changing everything that came afterward.
But history lesson aside, Paris during the French Revolution was also a bustling, dense city, with amazing architecture and a diverse population. There are various factions in the world, groups of people who will interact with each other – and who the player can use to his advantage. And there are moments when you might see crowds of up to 5,000 NPCs on screen, as opposed to 150 or so that you might find at maximum in previous games.
Assassin’s Creed Unity also introduces interiors. Yes, you can enter buildings throughout the city – some of which will be simple interiors, with others being fully decked out settings for missions. “It’s a game-changer for us,” Pontbriand says. “You can explore Paris inside and out.”
And under. The catacombs of Paris will also be available for players to explore.
New ACU video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBNfenWTCXg
why i get the feeling it was downgraded? maybe i got Watch Dogs placebo effect :/ but it looks like in the new AC video, it have worse anti aliasing and flatter looks than the gameplay we saw in E3 2014.
The new PBR materials and lighting are a gigantic improvement in character looks. Textures also look much nicer and I'd say poly count is much higher too. The difference is like night and day to me.
Well you live and breathe this stuff so it should be like night and day. To a layman like me there's little difference.