FC3: First impressions

[durian]

Don't worry fragger, I've just done some outposts that I hadn't liberated before finishing the game. Besides there are still patrol guys, so you have a ton of bad guys to shoot  :)

Yes the wingsuit is one of very cool feature in FC3.  :-X

[Art Blade]

I talked to Binnatics and he confirmed that at least one place I had in mind (the subterranean prison where Jason's girlfriend was held captured, some kind of lagoon) actually stays hostile and keeps spawning Pirates on end.

The wingsuit -- the first tower on the second island made me discover that on jumping for the zip line I got the (very brief) message to open my wingsuit.. so ever since I keep using that instead of zip lines  :-() I plan to go back to the first island to the immensely high mountain there and jump off of it as there is no hang glider anyway  :-D

[PZ]

I talked to Binnatics and he confirmed that at least one place I had in mind (the subterranean prison where Jason's girlfriend was held captured, some kind of lagoon) actually stays hostile and keeps spawning Pirates on end.

The wingsuit -- the first tower on the second island made me discover that on jumping for the zip line I got the (very brief) message to open my wingsuit.. so ever since I keep using that instead of zip lines  :-() I plan to go back to the first island to the immensely high mountain there and jump off of it as there is no hang glider anyway  :-D

Dang, I already forgot where I saved her

The wing suit sounds like load of fun.  Now no more dying when I stumble on a high ledge  :-()

Might be fun to outrun the pirates that way - head toward a cliff and see if you can get them to run over it.  :-()

[Jim di Griz]

Cheers fragger - going to have fun with that on my next day off...assuming I get anywhere near the south island by then. I think I only have about a third of the north island opened up so far and by no means completely explored yet.

[PZ]

Although I activated all of the towers, I've only done about 1/3 of the outposts.  Now I'm mostly doing main missions so I can go to south island to gain better weapons, then go back north and do a few more outposts - kind of keeping the north and south balanced so I can explore with a little threat of danger from roaming pirates  :-()

I remember wishing for something more meaningful to do in FC2 when returning to Leboa; something more than just collect diamonds.

[Art Blade]

I did it, the wingsuit test.. climbed the highest mountain I know (check the coordinates top right of the screen, it is the centre of the map view) you climb it from the south-west long ridge.

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And then I jumped (not so easy to deploy that thing before you hit something below you if it isn't exactly a cliff but it can be done) -- and I jetted off..  :-X  :-D

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[PZ]

Looks great - how long were you able to fly?  ... and do you think that different flight plans would allow you to do an aerial tour of some of the island?

[Art Blade]

about a minute I guess and it only goes down, if ever so slightly, but not up. You can't easily take off from anywhere, you do need something like a steep ledge, no slope. That makes it difficult to start the tour in a specific desired direction. However, anything steep like a roof, a tower, a ledge, a rock.. it does w@&k :) I even "flew away" from a boar once by stepping onto a rock and jumping off, whipping out my wingsuit

For sight-seeing, I'd try to use both hang gliders and the wingsuit.

By the way, try all of them at once: use the hang gliders to get off  those plateaus that offer a hang glider and eventually let go of the hang glider just to whip out your wingsuit, later your parachute. If you do it right and time your parachute properly meaning slow down your speed properly, you can actually land on your feet rather than passing a tiger below his jaw line while ploughing through the soil with your nose.  :-()

[PZ]

...you can actually land on your feet rather than passing a tiger below his jaw line while ploughing through the soil with your nose.  :-()

[Art Blade]

hehe  :-()

I just did another story mission that was not scripted. The majority of the missions are scripted but apparently every once and then they reward us with some freedom to achieve a goal. Pity we can't make a savegame to repeat those rare gems.

The Hoyt guy (see fragger's pic, "would you buy a car from this guy") who claims to be German and to have been promoted for his, shall we say, "fear-inducing" German accent actually has too much of a native English speaker's accent and that indeed produces a horrible German accent. I'd never use any of his few German words he slips in once and then. Almost as if I'd say, "upon my soul!" when offered a cup of tee. :-D

However, I'm enjoying the game tremendously particularly when not on a mission  :-() :-X

[PZ]

... Pity we can't make a savegame to repeat those rare gems.

So true; but I have hope because I recall a time when we all thought FC2 couldn't be modified.  You never know what the future will bring.

[fragger]

The Hoyt guy (see fragger's pic, "would you buy a car from this guy") who claims to be German and to have been promoted for his, shall we say, "fear-inducing" German accent actually has too much of a native English speaker's accent and that indeed produces a horrible German accent. I'd never use any of his few German words he slips in once and then. Almost as if I'd say, "upon my soul!" when offered a cup of tee. :-D

:-D

I was hoping you'd comment on that, and what you said was pretty much what I thought you'd say :-() I too cringed at some of the awful stuff he said ("Blitzkrieg!" when he was attacking? Yeah right...)

I haven't known a huge number of German people but I have known some, and I've never, ever heard one speak with a dumb accent like that ::)

[Art Blade]

 :-D

I just noticed I had a funny typo, "tee" rather than "tea" -- probably thinking of tea shirts.

[Art Blade]

Southern island, wearing the Hoyt's merc uniform means the other mercs won't attack you unless provoked (attack or kill one of theirs while they're watching).

I was on a random road trip following two random merc patrol Jeeps (random convoy) when the leading car had a minor accident and the crew got out while the car between them and me had no reason to stop, so they ran over those who got out. Nice, four dead but "nothing happened." It so happened that buffaloes were hanging around and decided to step onto the road so the car in front of me crashed into one buffalo, the two mercs got out, one got killed by the buffalo, the other one killed the buffalo while I was just staying in my car.

Now it started to get boring because the only merc left appeared to be waiting for Christmas next to his Jeep so I got out and planted one mine on the road behind the car across the road and, just to make sure, one more mine on the rear of his car, facing the middle of the road. I hoped that either some car came passing by taking out the rigged car or the merc might want to walk to the rear.. or at least something might happen. But, nothing.

I remembered the other buffaloes that were silently browsing on a hill on that side of the road the Jeep was parked so I ran up to scare them up a bit and ran down again, buffaloes in my wake, towards the rigged Jeep, when I heard car engine noises coming closer.. four new mercs approaching. The Jeep didn't blow up but the merc and one buffalo were fighting it out and then a nice explosion which apparently wasn't so nice a view for the approaching mercs who were already yelling and getting ready to chase me.

I had barely enough time to drop another mine on my way down a slope, hoping the few remaining buffaloes that were after me, too, would trigger it, and I found cover in an old WWII fortification where I placed a mine on the door frame. Up the hill heavy machine gun fire was heard, down the hill some animal and merc sounds mingled with single shots and screams, and a massive roar right next to me.. a roar? One explosion up the road, multikill XP, and more engine sounds arriving. What the hell was going on there? A whole garrison started to stage there  ???

An explosion that left a ringing in my virtual ears shook me up and a dead bear in the door.. tsk, tsk, tsk.. of all things, a bear set off the mine on the door frame.. guys shooting at me, yelling from up the road, more cars, some healing, another explosion (the last mine had gone off and gave me another multikill).. It took at least 20 minutes to mop up all the s#!t that was coming at me until a mellow layer of silence soothed my ears..

Thinking that basically it all started with nothing on my mind but a peaceful random road trip..  :-D

[fragger]

Great story mate, lot of laughs :-X

There is much potential for funny mayhem in this game :-()

[Art Blade]

About Sam:

I haven't known a huge number of German people but I have known some, and I've never, ever heard one speak with a dumb accent like that ::)

I just finished a mission that started with a meeting with Sam and from what I remember he revealed that his father was an American soldier and I think Sam said he used to be a Navy SEAL, and something that he/they went to Germany (probably stationed there), so indeed the accent is more American and only a few bits and pieces of the German language is apparently all he knows. Somewhat funny to try to pass as a German, then  :-()

[PZ]

That was a great mayhem story Art, and is exactly what I love about FC3.  i can put the finishing the main story line away altogether to be able to enjoy these jaunts into the wilderness.  You never know what is coming up next, but can overcome by a great variety of methods from what you did, to running away - your choice, and that's the best part of open world.

[fragger]

I'm also greatly relieved to not have to tolerate invisible walls and be able to negotiate so much of the terrain.  I've noticed that generally speaking, if there's grass there's a foothold. As long as you see that you can get traction on it. And even when there isn't, a running jump will often get you over some of the non-grassy slopes.

Have you noticed that if you take a running jump into water, your guy will stretch his hands out in front of him and dive in? Only if you jump into water while running forwards in a sprint, that is.

[PZ]

Have you noticed that if you take a running jump into water, your guy will stretch his hands out in front of him and dive in? Only if you jump into water while running forwards in a sprint, that is.

Yes, that is another feature from Assassin's Creed.  In fact, the developers seem to have merges features of each game FC2 and the AC series to form FC3.  For example, there is a crude flying machine in Assassin's Creed that reminds me of the glider.  Because they are both Ubisoft games, I'm not surprised.

The only thing that disappoints me is that they did not incorporate some of the best of what I like in the AC series, for instance the feature that will allow you to complete the mission even though you did not do so in the required time - the penalty is 50% synchronization.  The other thing I would like is the ability to replay missions like in AC.

[Art Blade]

thanks, PZ :) It was one of the best mayhems I've experienced so far.

fragger, yes, I too love the pro-style diving into water after a straight sprint :) And I also noticed the grassy grip and the run-up jump to climb difficult terrain.

[Art Blade]

Well. I'm through with it. The main story missions, that is  :-D I've been playing in my "afterlife" for about two hours now and it is satisfying enough, I still have enemies to fight. I liberated the entire northern map but only one outpost in the South so there are still truckloads of Hoyt's mercs waiting for me to finish them off.  :-()

For example, in the South, a location called The Compound that also is a fast travel location, where Hoyt has his mansion, it is all quiet now (no more screaming and nobody tortures any locals any more), the people in the bar are marked green in the crosshairs despite being my natural enemies, and contests such as knife-throwing are.. there but not there:

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However, the other (few) guys in town are hostile. It is funny that you can spawn in The Compound (fast travel there) and still have your cell with that vending machine in it. Then you take a peek and start to ambush the unsuspecting mercs.. I had loads of fun doing that. They keep respawning there and sometimes a Jeep with fresh meat comes driving by.. while I wait at the gates for them to enter and I do have a nice surprise for them, TAKEDOWN! -- All they can say is, "what the ffffffff...." while I'm looting their warm corpses.  >:D

The roads are buzzing with merc patrols and no way I can have a walk in the park without being called to a terminal showdown. Which, in a way, is a walk in the park.  :-D

The best of all: No more nagging reminders every two minutes to do a mission I'm already doing.. finally  :-D

[Art Blade]

Oh man. I'm having a lot of fun at The Compound shooting mercs and vehicles and looting everyone I killed. Then I go back to the cell, sell the loot, get some ammo if I couldn't loot it before and then, rinse and repeat. I'm trying different loadouts and stealth and guns blazing, you name it. Basically I don't get to do anything else at all, two hours straight  :-X

[PZ]

Oh man. I'm having a lot of fun at The Compound shooting mercs and vehicles and looting everyone I killed. Then I go back to the cell, sell the loot, get some ammo if I couldn't loot it before and then, rinse and repeat. I'm trying different loadouts and stealth and guns blazing, you name it. Basically I don't get to do anything else at all, two hours straight  :-X

Sounds like loads of fun - FC2 style, just the way I like it, only better.  :-X