First impressions

[PZ]

 :-X

[fragger]

The Lost Letters collectively tell an interesting little story. It's best to wait until you have them all, so you can read them in the correct sequence. It becomes apparent why so many of the letters are found next to long-dead bodies wearing 19th-century British uniforms.

[PZ]

Wasn't there some sort of letter collection near dead Japanese soldiers in FC3?  I never did collect most of them, so I don't even know the story - suspect it will be the same in FC4 for me

[Binnatics]

I remember the Japanese letters. I guess I read most of them, but I never came to discover any story in it... except for them pointing in the direction of a horrible, past war.  ????

[Dweller_Benthos]

Yeah once I realized the letters are in a particular order, I've stopped reading them until I get them all. Same goes for Mohan Ghale's journals, they tell the story of the revolution up to Pagan's take over, from what I can tell, so I'm waiting until I have all those before reading more.

I just broke into the north, having done EVERYTHING there was to do in the south, something like 45-50 hours so far. I collected all loot, mani wheels, letters, etc, did all side missions first before main missions, all races, etc.

Speaking of races, has anyone done those? The leaderboards are a complete joke, most of the times posted are impossible from what I can tell, people must be using hacked clients or exploits and Ubi is too stupid to fix it or doesn't care.

[PZ]

I have only done enough to barely get into the north main mission-wise.  I've done a few side missions, all of which have been reasonably fun.

The first Shangri-La mission was not awful, but did feel like more of a hoop to jump through just to further yourself in the game - not something memorably fun like most in FC2.

I'm following the Sabal line of missions for the entire game, and if I do a play through again, will do the Amita missions just to see how the story line changes.

[mandru]

I've hit the point where I've unlocked all bell towers in the South, have my karma up to 5 and all craft upgrades as far as I can get without without the Fashion tasks to top them off.  I'm going to hold off on the Golden Path power struggle for leadership until I've mopped up outposts and side missions.  Overall so far I'm feeling like FC4's been on the "Good Purchase" side of the balance scale.

There's a few irritating things I've encountered.

In chapter 1 The constant nuisance of the fox like dogs Dholes was over the top.  D'holes!  I've come to think of them as Dill Holes.  >:((

The Loot on Takedown skill in FC3 was close to being one of the ultimate skills for the tree branch it was placed on.  After the first time through FC3 I stopped enabling that skill on the four or five times I player through after that because dumping extra cash in the after game was too much of a bother.  In FC4 loot on take down is the first skill for its branch.  There are a few other skills in FC4 that are also placed early on in their branches of the skill tree that are burying (while unrelated) more desirable and useful skills.  It's as if UBI monitored what skills were being ignored from FC3 and made it so you have to climb over them first to get the skills you actually need and want.

Having used the Buzzer for a prolonged period scoping out and planning the approach to a target I landed on the flat area near a grapple point to descend, approach the target and make my strike.  Grappled up to drop down I set out on my course of action which quickly turned into a fatal plunge down the cliff face to awaken far away and without immediate access to another Buzzer t go back and try again.  ???

Default for the PC is set up so the Buzzer uses the "Space Bar" to climb and the "C" button to descend.  If you touch the "C" button while grappling...  Oh!  You will descend, very quickly and typically head first!  :D

When grappling on the PC it's the LFT mouse button to climb and the RT mouse button to descend.  I need to keep it straight so I don't pull that stunt again sometime about two thirds of the way through a critical mission.

I'm sure I'll encounter more as I go proceed through the game.  I'm just getting my feet wet prior to the full immersion plunge.  :)

[fragger]

@ D_B, I've done a few of the races and I agree, there is no way anybody could do them in the top-listed times without dudding the rules in some way. I had a near-flawless run in one of them and still managed to finish about 40 seconds later than fastest logged time. I strongly suspect some chicanery going on...

For those who may not have tried them yet, there are two types of races - speed runs using just one vehicle, and ones where you have to switch vehicles mid-race. In the speed runs there is an overall time to beat as per FC3, but in the switch-vehicle races there is a much shorter timer, and you buy a bit more time whenever you pass through a gate. There's one switch-type race where there is always a bunch of bad guys between where you leave your first vehicle and the location of your next one. If you stop to fight you might run out of time and fail, but if you run past the hoods to get to the next vehicle you'll take a lot of damage. It's a pain in the bum of a race.

Some races can be a tad annoying in FC4. In FC3 you would sometimes run into a car full of yokels or groups of mercs who would hamper your run, but in FC4 they're programmed to get in the way - and not just humans but big animals too. If you find an elephant for example hanging around the front of a gate in a particular race, that elephant will always be near the front of that same gate every time you do the race, although his precise position may vary. Sometimes you'll be able to whizz by him without a problem, but sometimes he'll be right smack in the way.

There's a fun gyrocopter race though, can't remember where it is. Somewhere in the north I think.

@ mandru, those annoyances struck me as well. As far as I know, there is no listing in the keymapping menu or anywhere else to tell you which keys allow you to abseil down a rope or simply let go of it, except for that prompt you get when you reach the bottom of a cliff without hitting it at terminal velocity. I learned the hard way too ::)

[PZ]

...In chapter 1 The constant nuisance of the fox like dogs Dholes was over the top...

I've always thought of them as Aholes  8-X

[Art Blade]

 :-D

[fragger]

Heard this comment from a Golden Path woman today:

"I wonder what they'll do with all that wood from the Lumberyard? We should build a Trojan Yak and mail it to the Royal Palace" :-()

[PZ]

The AI comments appear to be a bit more clever in FC4 than in FC3 - more like what we enjoyed in FC2.

However, lines like "Hey... you hear about Ned?...." are priceless as are many more unforgettable conversations

[mandru]

I've enjoyed reading the descriptions of the loot as I sell it.  My favorite was one of those jiggling plastic hula dancers found in some of the vehicles from FC3.  It was named Maimed Wahine.

Selling for ₭ 13,500 the description read:  The hula girl's head has been replaced by an insane looking man with a mohawk.

[nexor]

mandru, I use the "E" key to activate the grappling hook and the "R Ctrl" key for the release, works pretty well for me

[fragger]

Selling for ₭ 13,500 the description read:  The hula girl's head has been replaced by an insane looking man with a mohawk.

:-D :-X I got one of those plastic hula-dancing Vasses with my special edition of Far Cry 3. Ridiculous looking thing, I think I chucked it out :-()

[PZ]

I've enjoyed reading the descriptions of the loot as I sell it.  My favorite was one of those jiggling plastic hula dancers found in some of the vehicles from FC3.  It was named Maimed Wahine.

Selling for ₭ 13,500 the description read:  The hula girl's head has been replaced by an insane looking man with a mohawk.

It is interesting that there are moments of brilliance in the detail of the game, yet complete flops such as the quick way to game end.  It seems like there are teams of developers within the group that display real brilliance while other groups within their divisions are likely potheads similar to "dumb and dumber"

After all, there has to be some reason the credits take nearly a half an hour to scroll by with the hundreds of names you see  :-()

[fragger]

Yeah, it's like the movies. Even the office gopher who photocopies the scripts and the guy who goes for the coffees get a mention :-()

[mandru]

I've also seen a pizza boy who made a set delivery late one night get a spot in the credits.  ::)


@ fragger's IRL Maimed Wahine.  I didn't know they existed.  :o


Nex, thanks for the thought on reassigning the command key but I recall from another thread that from pinkie tip to thumb your hand pretty much spans from "L Ctrl" to "R Ctrl" Mr. gorilla mitts.  :-D

When I'm deep in the game I don't like to let go of the mouse with my RT hand as it pulls me out of the immersion.  I just need to drum it into my head to be aware of what I'm doing and make the correct key selections.  :-\\


I had a situation arise while using the grapple system last night.  A pair of wolves had showed up at the top of the grapple as I hooked up and started to make my drop.  The other members of the pack had split off and run to the bottom to await me there.  Suddenly it was a game of monkey in the middle only I was the one playing keep away. 

I climbed from where I had lowered myself back up to almost the top to lure the wolves below so they would gather above me.  That way I could do a quick drop, dash over to my buzzer (which was at it's altitude limit) that I'd parked just a few steps away before ascending.  As a tactic it seemed at first to be working but they were so anxious to get at me as they were snarling, jostling amongst themselves and lunging at my position they were one by one knocking each other off the ledge.  My thought as the first wolf plunged past me was "Cool".

Dead wolves at the bottom would have been a good thing.  But instead of killing them at a point below me they were finding their feet and harnessing the Power Slide mechanic of the game down the last bit of the steep embankment arriving very much alive and every bit as angry with me.  ???

Once at the bottom they would make a dash back for the top to rejoin the pack.  There was maybe about eight minutes of hanging there like a rotting plum on a tree branch waiting for enough of a break in the stream of cascading wolves to give me enough time to descend and make an escape.

Now I need to keep in mind that critters as well can use the power slide and a steep bank isn't the protective buffer I'd previously assumed it was.

One more way for the game to kill me.

[PZ]

Those nasty wolves are one reason the buzzsaw is always part of my load out - a half-second burst is all it takes, and the belt holds 400 rounds  >:D

A group of 5 wolves tried to assault me last night, and a 2-second burst killed the lot - they should not have packed themselves so tight 

[mandru]

I'm sure I said it elsewhere, can I borrow a cup of buzzsaw. 

[PZ]

   Yes, you did!  :-X

[nexor]

Nex, thanks for the thought on reassigning the command key but I recall from another thread that from pinkie tip to thumb your hand pretty much spans from "L Ctrl" to "R Ctrl" Mr. gorilla mitts.

Ah damn, sorry mandru........ >:D

[mandru]

 

[Art Blade]

 :-D

[fragger]

Funny story mandru, and as usual, well told :-X :-X

Those nasty wolves are one reason the buzzsaw is always part of my load out - a half-second burst is all it takes, and the belt holds 400 rounds  >:D

Once you max out your ammo bag, the Buzzsaw belt will hold 500 8)

Heard another new comment, this time from a Royal Army guy after I'd led him on a merry thrown rock chase:

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice - you're fucking dead!"