Far Cry 3 may feature jamming guns, guard checkpoints

[FALLEN CHAMP]

Far Cry 3 may feature jamming guns, guard checkpoints
NewsPosted 15/07/2011 - 4:23pm GMT+1
Controversial mechanics from Far Cry 2 may yet return, says Ubisoft.

Far Cry 2 was generally very well-received by critics, earning a whopping great 9 from VideoGamer.com. That said, even the game's biggest fans took issue with the many enemy checkpoints - the guard posts that seemed to magically restore themselves at very short intervals.

Now, Far Cry 3 lead game designer Jamie Keen has confirmed that checkpoints will return for next year's release, but in a way that will address past issues.

"The checkpoints, I think we're trying to fix something there," lead designer Keen told VideoGamer.com at Ubisoft's summer showcase this week. "I think they're trying to give you something to do as you're moving around in the world, and that's certainly something we're trying to do as well. I think they were trying to do something that perhaps they didn't have enough time to implement in the way they would have liked to have done, fully. We're trying to fix it. We're not trying to get rid of elements of the gameplay per se. Some things will go, some things will stay."

Part of the problem is that Far Cry 2's checkpoints didn't really mesh with the rest of the world, said Keen.

"It's really really important that you feel engaged as you are moving around and that you feel there's a diversity there in the world - that it's a living world. I think that was one of the bits with the checkpoints that slightly fell over - it was too much of a look behind the curtain. You move away, and then you come back and the massive, involved firefight you've just had is completely forgotten. They served their purpose, but again, we want to give more of a feeling of a natural world that's going on around you, one that's progressing with or without you around.

Another notorious feature in Far Cry 2 was the fact that your weapon could rust, occasionally jamming up in the middle of a lethal firefight. This mechanic was notably absent from the E3 demo, so we asked Keen if the degradable weapon system had definitely been ruled out.

"As of right now, no," he replied. "Everything is on the table right now."

If you're one of the people who hated this kind of feature don't despair: Ubisoft is well aware of your feelings.

"These things are very debatable, and they're going to divide people down the middle. So I think if we're looking, we're going to measure them [these features] against what we've got in the whole game. If they pass muster, then yeah we'll make sure they're in there and really contributing to the game. But if not, there are going to be certain elements that might not be appropriate."

Recently Ubisoft said Far Cry 3 will be 10 times the scale of its predecessor.

Far Cry 3 is due for release in 2012.

Info found at the link below
http://www.videogamer.com/pc/f...ard_checkpoints.html (http://www.videogamer.com/pc/far_cry_3/news/far_cry_3_may_feature_jamming_guns_guard_checkpoin ts.html)


Now this is a worry for me because the vibes I am starting to get are that the developers are not sure what to do - Why not just come out and ask what people want?

Sure some will want degrading weapons and some won't - Someone who is part of the team should just say "you guys let us know if you want this, or that"

If you want our advice then get a post up and lets get on with it - My own opinion would be leave weapons jamming and degrading in single player but not in multi player. As for the check points, I am one of few that did not mind them, however I hated driving fast through one to find the same type of vehicle catching me up and shooting me round corners.

[Ilovepho]

Thansk for the infos, Lambchop.

1. Gun jamming:

I like it too but many people hate it. I think the reason people hate it not because it jams but because they jam so fast after a few shots. So the solution IMO is: make the guns last a bit longer before they start to jam. That would make everyone happy.

If you remove the jam then I think most people would mind but then FC3 would lose one of the features that makes it stand out in the FPS crowd.


2. Guardposts:

Lambchop. IMO driving past through the guardposts (GP) is not a good idea, as you see, they would chase you and gun you down. I often pulled up my car a few hundred yeads away a GP and taking out the bad guys before driving past through the GP.

I would mind if the GP return but make sure the baddies don't respawn too quickly.


PS. I don't like the patrol trucks to return. IMO. getting shot when you drive a long the roads is much more anoying than the respawning GP's. So, please no, do not bring back the patrol trucks.

[Martythemerc]

I loved the jamming guns - it made me stop at gunshops to "reload" when I was near one. If you bought the extra packages to the gun, the degradation didn't happen as fast. Made things realistic and affected (in a good intense way) strategy and adrenaline rush. Please keep the gun crates.

Guardpost respawn was a little too fast, but necessary, as in real life. A radio call to the post is left unanswered, so they send more to investigate and re-man. But yes, make the time-frame longer - much longer.

You need patrol trucks-jeeps. Every civil war's faction needs to patrol their turf - adds to the chase. The kamikaze Datsuns can go though.

More dynamic damage that is lasting, like the shot-up water pump at the mine.

How good are UBI's artists at drawing in ultralight portable aircraft? http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/halo.gif

[k4Anarky2011]

gun jamming and respawning guard posts keep the tension going, I love both features, what they can do is to make it more realistic and bearable instead of frustrating(to some people http://forums.ubi.com/images/smilies/shady.gif )


Instead of making weapons degrade, weapons can instead react to certain situations. Such as after you swim your pistol might decrease range or jam.

After firing 3 or 4 magazines continuously, a bullet might jam in your AK firing chamber.

Semi-automatic sniper rifles might jam or jerk back and hit you in the face if you try to shoot it like an automatic(that's a bit too much)


Instead of making respawning outposts, how about making enemies reinforce an outpost instead?

Enemies can spawn in boats offshore or in deep river banks, or land from helicopters in nearby natural LZs, to keep the player on edge

Enemies can also spawn in pre-determined HQs and let them run to reinforce those outposts when they are needed

Enemies can also take form of civilians, so they can take arms and fight against you when needed. This also results in moral dilemmas to kill or not to kill

Or sometimes surprise the player! On my birthday I want to see them(sometimes) run straight out of the jungle en masses, gun blazing vietcong-style while singing happy birthday! Easter eggs, anyone?

[Fireseed]

Just expand the time when weapons begin to jam, and the time between spawning on checkpoints - so everything will be fine.

btw: The FC2 weapon jam could be decreased with upgrades...

[curtmantle]

I like both features and would happy to see both return. I'm surprised people had a serious issue with the concept of guns degrading and jamming, but I can understand people complaining when a gun jams too soon, which could happen in FC2.

I liked the checkpoints too and the only issue I had with them was quick respawning. If you clear a checkpoint you shouldn't have to clear it again five minutes later when you come back. But having barriers between you and your destination is a good idea and causes you to think about how you're going to get somewhere. Also having some checkpoints that are more 'deadly' than others adds to this.

I'm not sure why people would have a problem with either of these features as concepts, although I can understand why they may not like the way they were implemented in FC2.

The game needs to provide things that hamper the player. There's no point in having a game that just asks you to do things without providing barriers.

Most of FC2's ideas were extremely good (only the need to take malaria pills in the middle of a firefight was a really bad one!), but in some cases they could have been implemented better. If the developers of FC3 are considering maintaining them with improvements, I think that's good.

Also I'm not at all concerned with the fact that the designers haven't finalised the ideas or are unsure which features will make it into the final game. Keeping an open mind is a good attitude for the developers to have in my opinion.

[k4Anarky2011]

Here's a great example: If anyone has played STALKER: Clear Sky, you know how the factions AIs manually send troops from HQs to reinforce outposts.

This could create some tactical advantage. You can ambush 2 or 3 squads at once with explosives and send them into disarray, while letting the intercepting allies mop up the rest.

And you can also manoeuvred them into natural deathtraps, in case of Clear Sky, anomalies and mutants

Since this game is in an island, the developers could freely spawn enemies offshore and let them boat in. It makes logical sense

Enemies now would be moving all over the island, create some interesting opportunities for the player to make someone's day very bad

The AIs would certainly have to be more complex. Enemies would have to be more relentless, while showing preservance and tactics

Just a thought

[Andre202]

I would like to see the feature of jamming weapons back. Maybe it wasn't perfect in FarCry2, although I think it was quiet OK. In Multiplayer the times my weapon jammed are really rare and in Singleplayer I have no problems with that because it adds to the atmosphere, it adds pressure and it makes FarCry unique. Don't debate about it. The easy solution would be to make different difficulty modes and in Realistic you put everything together what was debateable but is actually realistic. I could imagine the weapons jamming because of tropic temps. Maybe not as fast as in FarCry 2 but I think it should be there. Just as the feature to heal yourself. It's much better then the old CoD regeneration-health.

[FALLEN CHAMP]

I was only in the army 4 years but one of those years I was on a 12 month Guard Shift, we had to zero our weapons in every 12 days - this was only at 25m with small white squares on the targets.

I can guarantee that there would always be someone who had a stoppage / blockage, usually the ****-hook & look thing was the solution, either poking a finger in to dislodge the round or shaking the gun would release the round.
It was not from carbon build up either as the guns were cleaned after every use - and we shot in single rounds so it wasn't from excessive heat/firing.

I am just saying that with the SA80 Rifle going back 18 years this is what I experienced, I also heard that the dust covers snapped off and some areas of plastic melted in excessive heat, They re-designed the rifle to combat these failures.

As previously posted in single player the actual weapon breaking down or the jams was pretty good and did add to the atmosphere but I did the same thing and traded my weapon for a new one every time I passed a gun shop.

Multiplayer though I hated because you didn't get many rounds and the only way to re-stock was to either respawn or get to an ammo crate which was usually exploded, I think they should make players stick with their weapon class of choice once the game starts and not let players swap after they die - also let us pick up weapons from dead players and take away the ammo refill crates.

It would work like this, As an example I chose sniper as my weapon class and the game starts, I either find out that the map is small and not good for sniping or I run out of rounds - The solution is to pick up weapons from dead players which are lying around, when I die I respawn with the last weapon that I had.

That for me would result in a lot more action and better games then the current system in FC2 - It would actually force players to use other weapons and to move around to pick them up.

[Leadstorm76]

I hope not if they must have it please just in the campaign.