UBI talks Far Cry 2 engine

[PARANOiA]

I quite liked Far Cry 2, though I didn't bother finishing it. When I unlocked the second half of the game, it wore down into a "too much of a good thing" zone. I look forward to more games like this that mix it up a little bit more, and hopefully give you a bit more reason to keep going.

I would have put this right up there on my "best of" list for last year since I put so many hours into it... if they made the first map a little bigger, dropped the "second act" and added more bus stops, the game would have been a stunning experience.

 

[Brad Grenz]

My biggest disappointment is the basic problem of everyone everywhere being hostile to you. The story presents a tale of feuding factions and greedy mercenaries, but in the world it's all the same nondescript people shooting you on sight. It would be really cool if you could actually tell who was who and if they could tell whether or not you were on their side at any given time. Granted, that would have been a much more difficult game to build, but it's the direction the series should take. I don't mind the travel or the respawning check points. I'm just bothered by the anonymous nature of the generic enemies wherever you go.

 

[kyleb]

Yeah, something like half a dozen factions, of which you could get on their good sides or bad side depending on how you played though the game, could have made Far Cry 2 a masterpiece. As it stands it has a lot of polish but little soul.

 

[betan]

Below avarage, repetitive game.
Brings nothing new to the table despite the contrary testaments here. I'm sorry but I cannot consider FPS view in a sandbox game innovative at all. And this is by far the worst sandbox game I've ever played.

What's even more disappointing is that, while it's no secret Ubisoft Montreal is suffering from openworld obsession nowadays, at least in their other games the core of the gameplay that's being repeated to death is actually good, and in many ways innovative.

 

[Tap In]

couple of updates.... really starting to enjoy this in multiplayer... the dynamic weather and time of day and wind and fire and revives and custom maps really add to the online play. the controls are much lass twitchy than typical shooters and require a gentle touch and more of a steering of your player and weapon. Once i got the hang of that the initial "clumsy" feeling gave way to good control as well as improving my weapons.

Single Player Save Game Issue

Atmon- Community Developer
"A lot of you are wondering what is happening with the corrupt save bug that causes the player to get stuck at a couple of different completion percentages.
Ever since we received the first feedback on this from our support team and forums we’ve being investigating the issue.
As usual our primary objective was to collect as much relevant information as possible through forums, customer support and so on. We managed to gather a lot of corrupted save games from console and PC users. Unfortunately, all of that data wasn’t helping to understand how the corruption occurs, only what the effect of the corruption was. After trying different hardware and settings for weeks we recently managed to reproduce the bug on a development kit. We are currently repeating the same steps on retail consoles and on PC. After that, we will be able to move on to the next stage where our studio team works on a solution for all platforms.
We fully appreciate that it’s a frustratingly long wait for those of you experiencing this bug. We’re keen to resolve this issue for you as soon as possible and we are absolutely committing all the resources we can towards achieving this."

although the matchmaking sucks- they are adding some perks to the matchmaking

update scheduled for Feb which adds some more game play modes as well as an ability for the host to allow diamond upgrades for all players form the start so everyone in player matches can have equal choices of firepower.

We are happy to announce that we collected some information to share with you about our upcoming Xbox 360 patch.

This patch will include a lot of improvements especially on the multiplayer side; with better browsing features, more multiplayer game options, and other new additions in order to let you play the game, the way you want.

Here is a sample of features you will find in this patch:

New match options
Add respawning time in Host - Advanced options - player match
Add starting rank in Host - Advanced options - player match
Add min players in the host option

More data on scoreboard and in game
Add deaths in scoreboard
Show VIP on Scoreboard (for your team only)
The distance from a down teammate is displayed
The scoreboard is ordered by XP gain the match

Improved features
Players can play consecutive matches on the same host
IEDs can be destroyed if a player shoots on it

Please take note that this list is just a preview showing element that are currently done. Other elements in polishing will be revealed soon.

The target release date is currently set in early February

Thank you!

Last update on the 26th of January

 

[DrJay24]

I've been playing this for a few weeks on and off, I just unlocked the second southern map. I'm really enjoying it despite the annoyances. I love how you can tackle a mission any way you want, go stealth at night or go in guns blazing. The driving gets boring and the constant fighting with respawning of the bad guys is the worst, it would be nice to have an option to buy a pass or something. The game also needs more bus stops or maybe the ability to jump from safe house to safe house, give them a better use. I also don't know when they are going to unlock more guns, there are so many that I cannot buy. I also wish you could repair your own guns or add them to your available weapons. Why do they give you new guns in your safe house but they are rusty and jam, what is the point?

Over all I'm enjoying the open world and the open combat. The graphics are some of the best of this gen too.

 

[Tap In]

I agree.... I am still playing this and enjoying it as well

 

[Mobius1aic]

It's a very interesting engine possibility wise, but the game itself can get old with the repetitive "drive there, kill this guy, get your reward" type of gameplay, and I'm starting to hate the driving, it's very annoying. I was also somewhat underwhelmed by the Realtree breakability, as it's very limited, and the plant physics interaction are not as polished as in CryEngine 2.0, which I'd like to consider Dunia's main competitor feature set wise. The fire spread was cool too, but maybe it's the lack of a system made to take full advantage of the engine to enable full on breakability and fire spread? Of course a quad core could easily handle it I'm sure, but it's not fair to completely out class the consoles

 

[pc999]

The big problem I have with this games is the driving/killing/repairing car every 3m in between missions part, some others things can be boring too but they are optional, AI is weak too.

Besides that the game could be really interesting there is variety in the main missions and it is locations, plus you can really chosse you strategy. Give it a "if you want someone will drive you here in 5s" option and you would have winner.

Personally i really like the gfx.

 

[Neb]

The fire spread was cool too, but maybe it's the lack of a system made to take full advantage of the engine to enable full on breakability and fire spread? Of course a quad core could easily handle it I'm sure, but it's not fair to completely out class the consoles

The engine seems awfully limited in how much you can push it beyond highest settigns (PC). I fairly easy can make the engine unstable with lots of system resources left by going beyond highest settings.

 

[inefficient]

Finally finished the game the other day. The game really loses steam by the time you get to the second area. I think they should have just focused on one area and polished it up more. Totally unnecessary to stretch this game out to 20 hours. It would have been better off as a 10 hour game.

 

[betan]

It would have been better of with more mission variety, reasonable friend missions with real benefits, real check pointing and a useful fast travel solution.

 

[Acert93]

I wanted to get this game (map editor!) but the limited MP options was a big, big turn off. I really hope they do a proper sequal and really offer a robust MP mode (even if that means departing from the SP style).

 

[deathindustrial]

Just finished the game last night myself. Although the ending is abrupt, I have to admit it was one of the more interesting gaming experiences I have had in a while.

Personally I think that this is one of the most satisfying games I have played in years. The immersion factor was super high due to the slick graphics engine, the wide open geography of the sandbox, the high quality of the voice acting and the complex mythos and character interactions which made this feel more like "Apocalypse Now" than the usual "Rambo III" approach found in most shooters.

I do think that they should have changed the approach to make the main quest easier to complete quickly (less driving between locations and less aggressive checkpoints) as this would have kept the momentum up which I think is what turned a lot of folks off. They could still have all of the optional missions types around (like how GTA handles things) so that you can have more gameplay if you want it but it is not artificially stretched out. That seems to me to be the best of both worlds.

Anyway, I hope this game sold enough to warrant a sequel (either direct or using the same engine) as it is one of the better gaming values so far this gen IMHO (at least on the PS3).

Cheers

 

[Tap In]

I wanted to get this game (map editor!) but the limited MP options was a big, big turn off. I really hope they do a proper sequal and really offer a robust MP mode (even if that means departing from the SP style).

I am enjoying the SP while I wait for this *delayed" patch to MP bringing some new modes and player features including not having to start at level one in every player match and a harcore mode.

some of the user maps are pretty sweet. It's one of the few games where the beautiful visuals carry over nearly perfectly from SP as well. the dynamic weather and day night cycles available in MP games make them more cool to play than most MP games since it's an almost unheard of feature in MP games.


http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1521068375/m/1301010327

Here is a sample of features you will find in this patch:

New match options
Add respawning time in Host - Advanced options - player match
Add starting rank in Host - Advanced options - player match
Add min players in the host option

More data on scoreboard and in game
Add deaths in scoreboard
Show VIP on Scoreboard (for your team only)
The distance from a down teammate is displayed
The scoreboard is ordered by XP gain the match

Improved features
Players can play consecutive matches on the same host
IEDs can be destroyed if a player shoots on it

hardcore

The hardcore mode has been designed as an answer to a community request. When designing the multiplayer game our team wanted to provide a balanced experience for most gamers. However some players were seeking and expecting a more realistic experience.

The addition of a “hardcore” setting, available in every game mode, will have many consequences:
A new damage model will be applied with increased damage for all weapons.

All weapons have been rebalanced on normal mode, and on hardcore mode.

Enemy names will disappear after the spawning invincibility period is over (A shield is displayed above a player’s head for a few second to show that he is invincible).

A new option will allow you to tweak spawning time (but not spawning rate).

A new search option will be available in multiplayer to allow you to find games that are playing on hardcore mode.


We hope that you will like the changes our team has implemented to let you enjoy the game, and play it the way you want.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I also don't know when they are going to unlock more guns, there are so many that I cannot buy. I also wish you could repair your own guns or add them to your available weapons. Why do they give you new guns in your safe house but they are rusty and jam, what is the point?

Over all I'm enjoying the open world and the open combat. The graphics are some of the best of this gen too.

You have to do the missions for the weapons dealer to get the weapons unlocked. The purchased guns in the safe house are new and not rusty, atleast the ones in their proper places. Perhaps you are picking up used weapons from the floor or something?

 

[Brad Grenz]

No, he' right. Lots of times there will be some random, but better than your weapon in a safe house. Not in your storage boxes. Even though that RPG or SAW may seem tempting, the reliability issue means you should leave it there and stay with your shiny new guns from the store.

 

[DrJay24]

You have to do the missions for the weapons dealer to get the weapons unlocked. The purchased guns in the safe house are new and not rusty, atleast the ones in their proper places. Perhaps you are picking up used weapons from the floor or something?

I finally finished the last weapon mission in the south, while more are unlocked many remain. I was talking about some of the really expensive weapons on the floor that are locked early on and then cost 20+ diamonds later. They put them in your safe house but they are rusty. Why do they tease you?

Now I'm struggling with the weapon type and slot, they seems to go into random spots. One grenade launcher is secondary, the other is primary. My dart rifle is special, the other sniper rifles are primary (I think). Often times you can't even tell until you buy them. While I have many guns to chose from, the configuration of three spots often makes what I want not possible.

 

[Brad Grenz]

I think the weapons classification is somewhat arbitrary for balance reasons. It does force you to commit to a certain method of attack. They don't want you to be uber at every range. You have to choose between stealth, firepower, range, etc.

 

[Mobius1aic]

On another note, I was impressed by the texture resolution level at it's max settings. Higher than Crysis, but Crysis still looks much better, as the artistry and combination of techniques is more well done, like the twitch of the leaves on trees in Crysis. Also CE2 is rendering much farther distances and some better shaders too it seems as well as geometry (also possible console minded limitations). While FC2 looks fantastic most of the time, FC2 vs. Crysis I think makes a great example of art+technique>pure rendering power even though it takes alot of pure rendering power just to run Crysis in the first place, but then again, Crysis looks great even at medium settings.