Hitman (2016) Season 1

[Art Blade]

thanks, fragger :)

Actually, in the holiday special map (a festive château in Paris with around 300 people the majority of which are guests) which is very much stuffed with Christmas decorations, -presents, -trees and whatnot, you can exit through a fireplace through the chimney. Generally speaking, it is about two burglars who want to raid the place and an insurance company has hired you to retire them permanently. Hilarious. :-D

[PZ]

Lots of body bags there, AB!

[Art Blade]

yes, there are :-D The screenie was taken after my successful attempt of cleaning up the map so I could walk about without being molested by any guards and other individuals who would freak out when noticing any type of weapon in my hands. Are you afraid of this shovel, mate? *WHANG* You were right about that, mate. What did you just say? I didn't hear it over your neck snapping..?  :-D

[Art Blade]

Although I have advanced beyond Marakesh (all but one mission played through just so I reached the maximum mastery level 20 per mission except the last one, Hokkaido in Japan, which I'm going to tackle during the next days) this screenie looks somewhat nice and gives you an impression regarding how populated some maps actually are. You see me disguised as an officer with a totally unsuspicious-looking massive sniper rifle on my back.. :-()

[smg id=9442 type=preview align=center caption="Marakesh crowd"]

Most screenies don't actually show anything that represents playing it. I should point out (probably again) that this game is a perfect sandbox game -- anything goes, you have complete freedom to do whatever you want, where, how and all that. NICE.  :-X :)

However, even if you don't see much.. I'll post one more pic from the Colorado military camp so you can see how little you can see (I am disguised as a scarecrow and crouched in cover at the bottom of the pic, in cover behind those crates, you may spot the hat and the sniper rifle I'm carrying around on my back) The game is fantastic, though, I've already racked up 150+ hours playing time  :-X :)

[smg id=9443 type=preview align=center caption="scarecrow in cover"]

[PZ]

I must say that it is enticing

[Art Blade]

I've been busy playing this game after finishing shadow warrior 2 with 100% completion (including playing through on "insane" difficulty) and I've got 100% for Hitman as well now.  :)

I'm a big fan of MrFreeze2244's short and efficient videos. I found his vids by accident but ever since his vids have inspired and helped me improve a lot. I reckon he's a full-time pro player (and I know he's an Englishman) while I'm just a casual gamer. Nevertheless, I'm enjoying it and I've got some quite decent scores (somewhere between top 100 and 300) on the global leaderboard, some of which achieved without any help. There are other missions with not as good a score, like "just" ranking 3,000th or so but hey.. I'd say that usually I'm in the top 500. But scores aren't everything. I also love to play the game just as many players do at least once in a while: kill just everyone rather than stealthily just the target(s) and all that :-D

My recent gaming activity was focussed on a new map called Landslide which is just a variation of Sapienza, the Italian map I showed some pics of earlier in this topic, which I like best. I now know that there are 575 NPCs (non-playable characters, or AI) in the mission Landslide. How? I killed them all  It's shown on the score board as penalty. You're not supposed to kill "non-targets" so you get a negative score of 5,000 points per non-target killed. Earned -2,875,000 points for that :-() Took me almost five hours to get them all (without getting killed myself, however I needed to reload a few times because eventually they killed me when I was being a bit too reckless :-() )

On the same map I'm currently ranking 92nd in the world with a fast 53 seconds run and "silent assassin" (best evaluation, meaning never seen, no traces, no casualties) which I did using my own tactics as opposed to replaying something seen on YouTube. I had at least a rank of 106 which I was proud of until Binnatics said I should score in the top 100. And then I tried until I did.  :-() The number one ranking player did it in 27 seconds. I can do it in 29 but there's always a non-target kill which spoils the score extremely (those -5,000 points make a huge difference in the top 100 ranks) but it isn't really fun. It basically requires you to do within the first five seconds: get out of your starting position, equip an explosive, throw it, detonate it, drop another explosive next to a car and start running towards the exit. You'll get there at around 27-30 seconds but you detonate the 2nd explosive just by looking at the elapsed time, at say 20 seconds. Then all you can do is hope that the target actually took the route you needed him to take (I think more than 75% of the time he doesn't) and then detonate the car so it takes him out and him alone. He's usually covered by four bodyguards so usually at least one of them bites the dust when he does and that's it with a good score, doesn't just happen. I tried a few hours and always got that ba$t@rd along with the target. I don't like that type of blind speed run just for the sake of a high score and rank. What I did is different, I actually saw what I did and I can repeat it, every time silent assassin, target only, never seen, no traces. Rank 92.  ;)

All in all, this game is just the way I like it. Single player, no hectic, stealth that actually works and all the freedom to do whatever you think is best. The game is difficult to master because there are around and up to 300 "real" NPCs (that are actually AIs) while there's always some extras hanging around that don't really act much. Like, they won't run away if you kill the guys left and right of them. The "real" NPCs will run away and seek help, give your description to the guards and those will start to hunt you down. Or you're being spotted by a guard who'll go after you while calling in his mates. Combat is quick and deadly for the player, it's absolutely horrible and to be avoided at all costs. Oh, they don't only see you. They can hear you as well.. they notice bullet impact sounds and weapons fired and close quarters combat noises. All of which will result in a state of alert that spreads among the NPCs so you're basically done with if you can't find a spot to hide and wait for it to ebb away. And the best is always the tons of disguises there are. Pacify an NPC and take his clothes.. usually it's some type of uniform, like a chef, a waiter, a guard and so on. Guards may carry visible weapons, even in their hands, so that disguise is nice. If a surgeon runs around with a sniper rifle or a gardener with a katana, it will look very suspicious and can't be a good idea. Also, many areas are restricted. A soldier may enter the barracks, a chef may not. So disguises have some perks that can be good for one and bad for another occasion.

Interested? :) The steel book edition is already in the stores.  :-D

[Art Blade]

I decided to add a vid here both for showing the Landslide mission and because it's done by MrFreeze2244 so you get an idea what I use as reference if I don't know what to do or how to improve. He's really good.

This is a "normal" gameplay (as opposed to a speed run) following a certain strategy. It is a very efficient and comparatively fast SA/SO (silent assassin, suit only) which is the highest difficulty: no disguises, just your own suit, never spotted, no dead bodies found except if purposely an accident kill is used which doesn't count towards SA/SO, no surveillance camera footage, no witnesses, no non-targets killed.

I did SA/SO in my 53 seconds, too, minus the "crank it to eleven" challenge Freeze is using as accident kill method. There are tons of challenges that allow for various attempts, basically each mission can be done in ways that unlock achievements of all sorts. You can check them first and then plan accordingly but you can just as well do it the way you want and perhaps coincidentally unlock achievements. It is the reason why replaying missions is almost mandatory due to the vast amount of different challenges you may want to master.

! No longer available

[PZ]

Nice video - I wonder how much those really good gamers play per day

[Art Blade]

indeed.. I wonder, too. He appears to know all the maps inside out. What looks easy is in fact not easy: Basically all of his vids require meticulous timing which means speed. You can only run that fast so you need to avoid any hiccups, not getting stuck on corners, not getting slowed down by bumping into anything and so on. It has to be one fluid move and perfect timing. The timing is crucial because most NPCs follow a certain routine and if you miss them where you were supposed to meet them, you'll have to wait until they come back and that can take minutes. The longer it takes, the lower the score. Plus, you might end up coming across other NPCs on their routine causing new problems and therefore delays. All of that means you need to know exactly where your targets will be and then time it properly to intercept them. Also you need to know how long it takes to get to a certain location and at the time, where the target(s) will be. You rarely have just that one target, mostly it's two or more, up to five objectives. Sometimes it means steal something and kill someone so you also need to break in and enter usually restricted and guarded areas. That again means that you at times need to find alternative routes to avoid conflicts or just to cut short. Or it might come in handy to get a master key and knowing where to find it is another little job to take care of, eventually. Quite challenging but that's the fun of it, to get it right  :)

[Binnatics]

I already commented to this topic in the steam chat but that doesn't hold me back to put in something here as well. It's funny how much I provoked by mentioning Art should get under #100 :-D

Art somehow got infected by the desire of achieving 'everything', something that has been influencing my way of gaming a lot in the last 6 or 7 years. In fact, while I slowly loosen up a bit, Art is moving the opposite way ^-^

And like I told you before Art, well done and a big thumps up for your perseverance :-X ;)
This game exactly fits your desires in a video game I think 8)

[Art Blade]

you're so right, in every which aspect :-()

Thanks for the kudos, too. :)

I'm currently trying my luck at the professional difficulty level. It means there are more guards, more cameras, and everything is more dangerous. They can hear your footsteps (running, walking.. only if you crouch-walk, that's silent enough, crouch-run is already too noisy) and they've got a peripheral view that is annoying as they seem to spot you just everywhere and at any time when you least need it. One false move and you hear, "huh?" usually followed by mission failure seconds thereafter.

Only ONE save per mission is allowed, not one save slot. So once you saved, that's that. Unless you start from scratch. Save too early, and you'll have all the way to the end without fallback. Save too late means, you didn't save in time and got busted before you could save. So finding the right moment for a save is essentially this: Restart over and over until that point when you consistently start to screw up. That's when you should save, before reaching that point, and try your next move.

I decided to start out with trying the hardest possible mission, the Colorado freedom fighters camp (paramilitary organisation, EVERYONE is armed) and do the suit only, silent assassin challenge. Takes longer than any other approach because you cannot be seen or "it's over, clown." :-D Then continue to the less difficult stuff..

I made it -- damn, it was hard.  :)

[smg id=9454 type=preview align=center caption="first attempt on pro difficulty SASO"]
[smg id=9455 type=preview align=center caption="first attempt on pro difficulty"]
[smg id=9456 type=preview align=center caption="pro description"]

[fragger]

Well done, mate +1 :-X :-X

Whoa - just one save? Not even a reusable one? That IS tough ???

[Art Blade]

Thank you, fragger :) Oh yes, it is tough. Really tough. It's almost like trying to walk barefoot on a path that's covered with broken glass. Don't make any noise, don't get spotted.. OR IT'S OVER  :-D

[Binnatics]

Another kudo well earned! Excellent play Mr Blade!! :-X 8)

And keep it coming. I bet you will master this one in the top 100 too, although it might not w@&k on the second playthrough ;)

[Binnatics]

Nice avatar btw :)

[Art Blade]

thank you again, on both occasions. :)

The avatar is 47 in Sapienza, Landslide mission (sunset)

I doubt that I'll get in the top 100 as there are all those cracks that have got nothing else to do but to stay on top. After I posted, I found myself dropping to 171, then 172 already. I play for the fun of it, and it is nice to master that type of difficulty, but I'm not crazy about being and staying a top-ranking player. It's already quite something to rank in the top 200 of the world on professional difficulty. And it was my first attempt -- in one go  :-()

There is a chance though: That score was a long run, no better starting position as I hadn't yet unlocked any (meaning I had to run all across the map and that takes precious time) and the fact that I did an SA/SO-run means that it was extremely difficult and required precautions and waiting periods, just to get a flawless run without any traces and screw-ups. No bodies, no disguises, never recorded by any camera, no witnesses.. it was tedious, to say the least. Perhaps a different approach changes the score for the better but I'm not crazy about it. :)

[Art Blade]

Yay. Finished the mastery level 10 for Colorado, which is the maximum on professional difficulty. And it is most certainly the most difficult level as everyone there is armed on top of all the rest of the professional annoying stuff. I had to do several runs with several challenges to get it all done and I made it :)

Just so you can see, sometimes achieving means master certain challenges, not necessarily completely clean like silent assassin rating. I didn't care about some casualties. Actually, some challenges cannot be done as silent assassin as there will be bodies found that are not caused by any accident. However, in order to get the crap done with, I packed several challenges into a single run and damn, I didn't want to start over all the time. I had to start over anyway and that quite many times.

During my last run my savegame was at around 5 minutes into the game, the remaining 25 minutes were without saving.. I took my time so I could bloody finish without failing the last moment again LOL see screenies below.

Now I've got ALL the sniper rifles in the game, the last one was the reward for reaching level 10 on professional in Colorado. They knew why they put the best reward on that mission. It IS the damn hardest mission there is, already on normal, let alone on professional. :)

By the way, all other rewards are crap. So this is why I went first for the best. :-()

[smg id=9457 type=preview align=center caption="took some time"]
[smg id=9458 type=preview align=center caption="unlockey my reward"]
[smg id=9459 type=preview align=center caption="all sniper rifles"]