Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Hands-on Preview

JDR13 · July 13, 2020

JFarrell71 said:
Weird. On my screen, there are a whole bunch of other words. Maybe check your browser.

Let me check…

JFarrell71 said:
Before that, there was no dedicated stealth/crouch button, and all sneaking was accomplished by moving from haystack to bush to haystack in painfully constrained sequences. I hated it. I continued to sneak around in Origins and Odyssey, primarily when clearing forts and the like..

Seems to be what you're saying there. Apparently, actively using the environment to conceal oneself isn't sneaking to you which is pretty strange. I guess you wanted an instant stealth button as if he had cloaking technology? Correction: It's sneaking, but you hated it because there was no instant stealth via a button.

JFarrell71 · July 13, 2020

JDR13 said:
Seems to be what you're saying there. Apparently, actively using the environment to conceal oneself isn't sneaking to you which is pretty strange. I guess you wanted an instant stealth button as if he had cloaking technology?

Okay, going out on a limb here that's you're actually asking…

Earlier AC games were highly arbitrary and scripted in its use of stealth. You could be behind an entire building and the game didn't care; it only cared if you were in its caerfully designated stealth zones. They didn't care about sound or light sources or line of sight or anything else. It was a simple "is player in bush yes/no" equation.

AC these days still isn't a very complex simulation compared to something like Thief 2, but at least now it's at least based on those things. The existence of a button to crouch is a game-ified way to signal that you're consciously making less noise and presenting a smaller physical profile. You can still sneak around while standing if you make sure to keep things in between you and your targets and don't get close enough to them for them to hear you because the game is actually modeling stealth and not just doing that binary check.

JDR13 · July 13, 2020

Sure, but that way wouldn't make much sense in the older games where the majority of the action takes place in cities and towns where you're constantly among people. Not without a major suspension of disbelief at least.

They tried to implement something more realistic by having the player use the environment and disguise to get close to their target. You might think it was arbitrary, but it's better than magically turning invisible with the push of a button. I give them credit for that even though I'm not a fan of those games.

Morrandir · July 13, 2020

For me a game features stealth if it gives the player the possibility to achieve (some) goals without other entities (for the lack of a better word) being able to notice the player's character(s) for certain periods of time.

That doesn't necessarily mean that it had to feature a stealth mode.

JFarrell71 · July 13, 2020

JDR13 said:
You might think it was arbitrary, but it's better than magically turning invisible with the push of a button. I give them credit for that even though I'm not a fan of those games.

The fact that you keep referring to a magic invisibility button makes that clear.

Syndicate also takes place in a crowded city envionment, but they had already disposed of the bush/haystack system at that point and replaced it with their modern stealth model.

JFarrell71 · July 13, 2020

Morrandir said:
For me a game features stealth if it gives the player the possibility to achieve (some) goals without other entities (for the lack of a better word) being able to notice the player's character(s) for certain periods of time.

That doesn't necessarily mean that it had to feature a stealth mode.

Well, it has to involve more than that. It has to involve a mechanism by which other entities are attempting to notice the player's presence, and a mechanism by which the player can prevent that. Which is basically a fancy way of saying stealth system (I used "system" rather than "mode" because I don't think it's necessary for it to be a discrete mode of operation in the game; using Thief once again as an example, you are always essentially in stealth mode)

JDR13 · July 14, 2020

JFarrell71 said:
The fact that you keep referring to a magic invisibility button makes that clear.

Makes what clear exactly?

JFarrell71 said:
Syndicate also takes place in a crowded city envionment, but they had already disposed of the bush/haystack system at that point and replaced it with their modern stealth model.

Point being? That doesn't make it a superior method. I suspect they did that simply to appeal to more people.

JFarrell71 · July 14, 2020

JDR13 said:
Point being?

"Sure, but that way wouldn't make much sense in the older games where the majority of the action takes place in cities and towns where you're constantly among people. Not without a major suspension of disbelief at least."

You JUST got through writing this. Either being in cities constantly among people is a reason the modern system wouldn't work or it isn't. Or if you're JDR13, both simultaneously.

This is why I don't like replying to you. I'm done.

JDR13 · July 14, 2020

JFarrell71 said:
You JUST got through writing this. Either being in cities constantly among people is a reason the modern system wouldn't work or it isn't. Or if you're JDR13, both simultaneously.

This is why I don't like replying to you. I'm done.

I haven't played that one so I wouldn't know. My word, you do get butthurt quite easily don't you?

I was simply asking you a question. I didn't realize you were going to get all flustered. Anyways, that's where the suspension of disbelief I mentioned comes in. Anytime you can stealth by simply crouching down when there are scores of people all around you, it's pretty unrealistic. Of course this isn't unique to these games.

Couchpotato · July 14, 2020

Found a new impression video for anyone interested.

I Played 3 Hours of Assassin's Creed Valhalla

largh · July 14, 2020

Here is one more preview. Not quite as positive.

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020...lhalla-hands-on-an-incomplete-witcher-ization

joxer · July 14, 2020

https://www.pcgamer.com/assassins-creed-valhalla-does-have-sidequests-but-theyre-a-bit-different/

There have been a lot of claims over the last day that Assassin's Creed Valhalla won't have sidequests. Depending on where you were looking, it won't have any, it won't have any traditional ones or it just won't have many of them. This all seems to have stemmed from a single Gamespot article. And semantics.

Valhalla will have sidequests.

From what we've seen, you won't be looking for icons on the map that denote a quest giver, instead encountering them when you're wandering around. Ubisoft calls them world events, and they're not unique to Valhalla. The Red Dead Redemption series is full of them. It's certainly a different approach from Odyssey's sidequests, and it doesn't sound like it's for the better, but these are definitely still sidequests.

In other words, radiant garbage will become even more rotten.

For all those who still didn't start AC:Odyssey - avoid radiant quests as plague!
These do not add to experience but instead ruin the game.
Do only proper sidequests and mainstory.

sakichop · July 14, 2020

NFLed said:
I am replaying AC2, AC Brotherhood, and AC Revelations, and I recently replayed AC Unity, and I am enjoying the stealth-based and non-combat-based gameplay of those games a whole lot (as I did when they were first released). AC Odyssey is one of my favorite games of all games but I also miss the stealthy-and-non-combat days of AC.

AC Valhalla looks to be going in a much more combat-oriented direction, maybe even more so than Odyssey. But I may be wrong because going off a preview like this is often just plain wrong.

Either way, I'm looking forward to AC Valhalla and Watch Dogs Legion a whole lot, though they might have to wait until I finish Cyberpunk 2077.

Actually sounds like Valhalla will have even more stealth options. Even being able to take out bosses with stealth. Also seems the old stealth method also returns. Pulling a hood over your head to conceal yourself and blend into the crowd. This video covers a lot of stealth elements.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GxRg5HHK-mg

Andrew23 · July 15, 2020

I think that earlier AC titles (1st and 2nd at least) worked with assumption that you are continuously avoiding being noticed. Basically as if you hold sneak button all the time. Only moments when you were not sneaking was exactly when enemy noticed you somewhere you shouldnt be or during open conflict. Then you had to use environment to disappear again. To me that makes lot of sense in context to design and gameplay of early AC games.

joxer · July 15, 2020

What sneaking.
Early AC games had be surrounded with bimbos so they attract the attention mechanics. You know the drill from RL. Get some pretty girl/boy with you and noone will notice you exist.

Sadly, this mechanics disappeared later from AC because two reasons:
- Ubisoft didn't dare to make the protagonist normal or ugly looking
- AC weren't RPGs with party/sidekicks so sexy, sexier than the protagonist, they could distract "enemies"

Voqar · July 15, 2020

The previous AC game was the only one I've ever got into and I enjoyed it immensely - looking forward to seeing how this turns out. I'm not that much into Viking theme but the gameplay and visuals will make it enjoyable, I'm sure.

Philistine said:
I wonder if I'll be as annoyed by this

You realize it's a game and not an attempt at a history book? There's no real reason for them to go for total accuracy - just nail the vibe.

For me the factor can be too much familiarity. Ex, I didn't enjoy New Vegas that much since I've lived in the SW for the past 36 years and the locations were boring to me and I don't care for Vegas itself. Less about annoyance than disinterest.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla - Hands-on Preview

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