***LONG-WINDED POST WARNING***
***NOT INTENDED FOR CONSUMPTION BY THE ILLITERATE, IMPATIENT, OR IMMATURE***

First post here; hello all.

Let me start by saying that I've played the Far Cry games since the very first release on PC, though I was never a huge fan until Far Cry 2. I always thought the most entertaining aspect of the games was the relatively open-ended gameplay and huge, gorgeous maps. The monsters, "predator mode," and unrealistic AI (insane levels of awareness and accuracy) were the primary issues keeping the early games from earning a spot on my shelf. Really the only thing that baited me into renting FC2 was the fire propogation; man was I surprised to find one of my top 10 games of all time.

Far Cry 2 made leaps and bounds toward what I think is the goal Ubisoft has tried to accomplish with the FC series. Granted, there are a few flaws, but I believe they are greatly exaggerated (most of the time by players who simply didn't give the game enough time). I'll try not to go into what I think are the real issues holding FC2 back. I'm certain they've all been beaten to death on these forums anyhow. Instead I'd like to illustrate what I DID like so much about the game, and what I want to see return or added in a sequel.

1. The World
The map is simply astounding. Despite its size, not an inch of it seems rushed or neglected. The map/GPS system rocks for making an already incredibly immersive game even more so. I would go as far as to say I had more fun just roaming the beautiful map, finding diamonds and scouting/wiping out checkpoints, than I did playing through the story missions. Respawn times have never seemed problematic to me; I find they actually contribute to the "stay-on-your-toes" vibe of the game (besides, wouldn't you expect angry reinforcements to arrive shortly after eliminating a group of guards?). Unfortunately, it seems many players want to be spoon-fed constant, yet repetitive, action via scripted events and obvious paths. These players will never know the true joy of games like FC2 that essentially hand you the tools and set you loose to create your own brand of fun. I can't ask for much more in a game map for the sequel, except to say bigger is better! The addition of innocents and roaming friendlies/buddies would go along way towards adding life to the world, and a few more varied rewards for exploration might also be nice. What if parts of the map were "safe zones" early in the game, but conflict in the story ended up turning them into war zones? That might also add an organic feel to the map.

2. The AI
This aspect of the game and the debate surrounding it are the main reasons I started this post. Anyone who spends more than a few hours playing FC2 (and doesn't get bored/confused/frustrated and pop in a mindless turkey-shoot like CoD) will develop an appreciation for the unprecedented level of realism with regards to AI. I feel that those who make claims of overly-accurate enemies who spot and shoot the player through bushes even with the camo suit are either inexperienced players who don't take the time to learn the mechanics of the game, OR simply impatient players who refuse to put enough thought into their attack. With the camo suit I can clean out checkpoints all night long without being hit; even during the daytime it is possible to lose a group of alerted enemies in the foliage. Ubisoft, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not cater to the whiners who want blind enemies who die from a shot to the leg. If players want to go around knifing enemies in the back, they should go play Splinter Cell.

3. The Variety of Weapons
Few FPS's have as many weapons as FC2, and even fewer have as much variety among weapons. Players have the option of sniping from afar (bolt-action, semi-auto, dart, or .50 rifles, no less), assaulting head-on with an assortment of shotguns, SMGs, or assault rifles, stealthily attacking day or night with silenced weapons (pistol, SMG, even a shotgun!), blowing the place to smithereens (IEDs, rockets, MORTARS!), or even setting the entire area ablaze! The sheer multitude of gameplay options provided goes unnoticed by far too many players who think long hours of story mode or expansive multiplayer are what constitute replayability. As with the map size, the more weapons the better! High-powered revolver? Elephant gun maybe? Not a lot missing in the FC2 weapon selection really. I will say this--how about all the weapons from FC2, and more.

4. The Polishing Touches
FPS's these days are always filled with silly gimmicks in attempt to differentiate themselves from so many mediocre games in the genre. More often than not, these additions distract from the core gameplay rather than contribute to it. However, FC2 expertly integrates features like weapon jamming, catastrophic injury healing, and vehicle travel/comnbat. Many complain about the jamming weapons, and it may occur a little too frequently, but without such a feature, what is the motivation for buying your own weaponry? Besides that, pick up a G3 rifle that's been exposed to the elements without being regularly cleaned and put a few mags through it; it's pretty likely to jam up. Not only is it realistic, but it adds a degree of uncertainty and excitement to combat. It would be nice to see weapons like shotguns and AKs jam less often than more complicated weapons like ARs, but that would take resources away from more important aspects of game creation. On a similar note, the driving mechanics are far from realistic and could use tweaking. A few more vehicles is a good idea, though as always keep it realistic.

Undoubtedly most players have noted the increasing fear that the enemies have toward the player as the game progresses. I had to mention this under this category, as I've never seen a game employ such a unique system. Just a thought for the sequel: what if the player was largely unnoticed by enemies in the beginning, but they became increasingly aggressive and recognized him quicker as the story went on?

Many have suggested more use of animals in the game, especially predators. I agree, though this should take a back seat to more important parts of the game such as weapons and map development. It would be totally awesome if, while sniping, the player were to hear a twig snap and, upon turning, see a group of lionesses creeping up on him. Perhaps there could be a system of being pinned by creatures, requiring well-timed button presses to dispatch the beast with the machete. I'd also like to note that elephants kill more people in Africa than any other animal. Wouldn't it be cool to be creeping through the brush and stumble upon an angry bull? Imagine seeing the snout and eyes of a crocodile disappear beneath the water as you approach a muddy river. Obviously, these events would have to be somewhat rare, or else we'd be playing a Cabela's game. Even if there aren't enough resources to add such predatory animals, I'd really like to see some herds of antelope, zebra, etc. on a more realistic scale than in FC2.

One final note: CO-OP. Period. Think about how much it would rule to have 2-4 REAL buddies playing together, even if missions were unavailable during co-op play. Talk about endless hours of fun...

Whew, that took longer than I intended. All apologies if I'm being post-redundant here, but I mainly wrote this post for the sequel's development team rather than my peers here on the forums. I'm not normally one to spend over an hour writing about a video game, but as I said before Far Cry 2 is one of my absolute favorite games of all time, and I see a tremendous amount of potential in a sequel. So here's hoping that these words make it to at least one of the lucky members of the "FC3" dev team!

To all who finish this, thanks for reading.

-Oats

i have got one simple suggestion for FC3: A SDK!

I personally think this is one of the alltime great games since the original Wolfenstein; the open world maps are amazing. After the freedom to strategically move and choose any attack or retreat I want, I hope I NEVER have to play another silly game where you're led around narrow predictable game corridors like a rat in a maze.

One really important suggestion:

Don't add any fake monsters; make the African animals that should be dangerous REALLY dangerous.

Imagine trudging through the jungles, but having to look out for vipers or constrictors.

Imagine having to look very carefully before you dive off a boat and swim...crocs !!!
or a hippo!!!

Imagine seeing a pride of lions in the distance...
then as you leave your vehicle to scout and snipe, a lion charges! or a rhino!

You see my point; part of the boredom of a long march could all of a sudden be pretty hairy if you could be wounded or killed by certain animals, as in real life. When one jumps out at you or charges, you'd get the surprise rush and have to fight and survive somehow.

Another thought:
have some serious bad guys occasionally come hunting YOU, and not give up til one of you is dead. Again, this is the kind of real scenario that would happen, and raise the game excitement alot.

FC 2 was a great game, and I'll definitely be onboard for FC 3.

Thanks UBI !

I think ubisoft would appreciate new ideas, im also sure they have thought about a lot of them. i hate to draw comparisons but COD world at war puts out website missions to get stats on agreeable/diagreeable changes or topics and rewards you for participation by a ranking system.
I think there could be some very popular realistic changes made like for instance:
i grew up in africa and when you stroll throught the wilderness one of your biggest enemies is nature itself, firstly lions lurk everywhere ;crocodiles and hippos are very significant in rivers and streams(ive had the misfortune of almost being killed by them),the snake population boasts some of the most deadliest in the world and last but least guys
the steering wheel on most cars is on the right not the left.....Farcry is the most amazing game ive ever played and will be playing for a very long time.keep up the good work and lets get better! oh yeah what about putting in a co-operative missions aspect..xbox allowed a system link and you could play various maps against sytem bots?

To Oats, a thoughtful and constructive post. Well said. The others too.

Definately more of the same, only bigger better, more wildlife, some harmless, as it is now, and some dangerous. More stuff to buy with all thise diamonds you collect, more interaction with mercs, like gleaning info from a merc by bribing him, lots of unarmed civvies walking around, more varied missions, etc etc.

i want more GUNZ.
FC2 got almos everuthin good game.
More gunz ans possibility to gain more EXP in a online match cause u barely gain anuthing for playing a match

OH and one more thing keep the weapon jamming.
i got trough almost 50% trough the game without knowing that i had a weapon storage even though the eapons jamms at the time u are getting teared up at. i always admired how the weaapons jams. gotten killed sometimes.
but keep the jamming

I loved FC2 but i never played FC1, aparantly they are very different.

But one of the things that bugged me in FC2 was the way it took around 20 shots to kill some one.

I did like the whole Africa thing alot.

And it would be nice to have some friendlys driving around in jeeps and cars not just enemys.

hey i have one question and please dont awnser me like

TheWarPope: Hey is there even going to be a Farcry 3?
Emxample person 1: omg you freaking noob dont you know that
..so...hehe
uhm what my question was is Is there even going to be a farcry 3?

I would like more urban areas, cmon what kind of a country only has 3 towns? It would be nice if the underground actually fought along side you. Father Maliya with an AK47 lol Maybe get rid of malaria and underground missions could be to fight alongside the underground guerillas?

I like the idea of thirst and hunger levels, in some of the towns there could be a canteen.

Instead of having an unlimited supply of weapons in your armory which is totally unrealistic, you should just be given one weapon and you should be able to perform some kind of maintenance like oiling the gun. Gun oil could be bought from the weapon shop.

A wider range of missions would be nice instead of just assassinate person A, destroy convoy B. Maybe kidnapp someone,
disguise yourself as the enemy and steal a hard drive with top secret info on?

BUT PLEASE DONT BRING BACK MUTANTS!

My wishlist/suggestions

* Civilians

* More stealth added if i knife someone or shoot them with a silenced pistol i dont expect anyone else to hear it

* Righty guns! the lefty guns made me pretty aggitated

* Secrets like DOOM or little hidden easter eggs

* Keep your rank in MP

* I was hoping they would take it out of Africa but that ideas gone

* Better Buildings to place in map editor city buildings would be nice

* More Guns
-M4A1 Assualt Rifle
-G36k
-AK-74U
-MP5A4
-Double Barrel (like ashes from army of darkness and make it deadly unlike the DLC)
-Galil
-M60
-Barret .50 CAL
-P90
-MP7
-MP5-K
-Tavor
-Steyr
-FAMAS
-Scar
-552 Commando
-M14

* Customization of Guns, every gun should come stock and if you want a scop then put on a scope and if you want a silencer add a silencer. Like Rainbow Six, like silencer, scope, red dot, c-mags or extended mags, ect.

* more vehicles. please? the same truck differantly colored isnt that great really.

* keep air vehicles out of it. i know everyone is going to hate on me for this but dealing with heliocopters in Far Cry 1 and Far Cry Instincts was a chore and annoying and unrealistic which is what ubisoft is going for.

* autosave without prompt

* no save glitches please and thank you

* bring the story back to Jack Carver hes the real Far Cry hero as cool as marty is. unless the jackal is secretly jack carver...

* patrols in the jungles not just the roads.

* i kinda wish there was an interactive feature like in oblivion where i can talk to more people and they can tell me where things are or missions or whatever

* I want your actions to actually affect the gameplay.

* the guardhouse to not be reoccupied everytime i walk 5 feet away from it.

* to save whenever i please!

thats all i got.

quote:

Originally posted by Oats1986:
***LONG-WINDED POST WARNING***
***NOT INTENDED FOR CONSUMPTION BY THE ILLITERATE, IMPATIENT, OR IMMATURE***

First post here; hello all.

Let me start by saying that I've played the Far Cry games since the very first release on PC

Well said. FC2 is revolutionary. I actually freaked out a little when I first played it and did'nt go back to it for a couple of months, but I'm glad I did. It is the long predicted "interectactive film" of a few decades ago. Many have tried to reproduce the "you are in a movie" effect with cutscenes and story line but FC2 goes beyond that to an impressive level of immersion. Sometimes I forget I'm playing a video game in FC2 !

So suggestions. Will Ubi produce expansion packs ? My main suggestion would be to keep the quality of production and the political and social awareness of which there is much in FC2. What video game could have taught me about Dogon beliefs about a mythical character called the Jackal ?

I'm back playing FC2 after about a year off and it's AWESOME!

I completely agree with Oats. FC2 is not perfect and it even manages to frustrate a few people, but it is a great step in the series toward making one of the most definitive games of our time. Which I hope FC3 is.

The world is amazing and the graphics astounding, without bringing a system to its knees. The textures may not be as photorealistic as some other games, but every other aspect of the games visual impact blow me away. Every tree limb, leaf and blade of grass sways in the wind, creating the most alive world I've ever immersed myself in. I never get over an African sunrise with the godrays dancing through every gap in the swaying foliage. The lighting and weather effects are amazing.

I hope FC3 stays in Africa. It should take the base elements of FC2 and improve on it, because Ubisoft have pretty much nailed a perfect game here.

Keep everything you have already, because it's fantastic, but change the following:

Vehicles - The driving was very poor, bad (stiff) handling, unrealistic acceleration, sounds were monotonous and annoying. I pretty much never drove anywhere. The player movement was done much better.

Story - I never felt emotionally attached to any of the characters or events happening in the world. Relation to the characters was made all the more difficult by the hurried dialog. None of their words had any feeling.

Extra stuff to do - The world is such a lovely place to explore, I just wish there was more reason to explore it. It needs more secrets. The diamond cases were great, but there should be more.

Enemy placement - enemies should only return to a cleared outpost after maybe 2 days. More random placement elsewhere in the world. The two dudes driving a jeep up and down a couple of hundred metres of road is lame. A jeep or truck should just randomly pass by on the road every now and again. Also, it should be possible to stumble on foot patrols out in the jungle.

More open 'open world' - The world was huge and wonderful, but large open areas were rare unless you venture out into the desert. There should be large expanses of jungle, not just corridors of jungle (unless this would slow down the frames per second). Also mountains should be more scaleable.

The game is fantastic though. Can't wait to see what is done with the next one.

Bongomast3r, I was going to write a follow-up, but you pretty much nailed what I had left to say.

Let's hope someone who carries a little weight in Ubisoft reads this thread!

-Oats

I know these suggestions will be like gobbing into the ocean, but here goes.

Annoyances:
* If I kill a guy in a cease fire zone and there is no-one around to see or hear, why does everyone get alerted? I fired my silenced pistol out of the bell tower window in Mosate Selao and I was public enemy number 1.

* The first person camera motions are pretty overdone. If I open a door in reality my head doesn't jerk around like it's I'm trying to balance a caged badger on my head. If motion is really necessaty, please smooth it out... a lot. In reality we try to move our heads as little as possible. This is not motion-sickness friendly.

* Stop the enemy AI from recognising me immediately. If I'm not notorious, why would an enemy know that I'm up to no good? And PLEASE, cut the whole "This is a secret mission..." business out. If I'm doing a mission for APR, let them help me or at the very least let them leave me alone.

Suggestions:
* More animals.
* Kill the malaria or at least let us pay to get cured or something.
* Let players jump over walls.
* Don't nail diamond cases to whatever they happen to be sitting on. Being able to hit a case off a high ledge with a well placed bullet/grenade will be pretty sweet.
* Make IEDs a skill rather than a weapon, ie. Let me assemble an IED and use it, it will use up some of my explosives, take time to make, etc.
* Let me train my character, ie. the more I run the longer I can run, the more I swim, the faster I swim, etc.
* A motor bike will be pretty sweet
* Allow me and my buddy to go on full missions together, let him (or her) man (or woman :P) the machinegun while I drive or vice versa.
* Single player campaign coop, PLEEEASE!
* Let us disguise ourselves as the enemy to get intel or take out person X for reason Y.
* Add some more mission types and more varied ways of performing them.
* Let some missions have alternate side missions from different buddies, ie. I must blow up a bridge, buddy A wants me to make sure that a convoy is taken out first, buddy B wants me to make sure that the convoy comes across and buddy C wants me to blow the bridge up before the convoy crosses. Each buddy will give me something different for my efforts.

One final note: don't go back to the Farcry/Crytek roots. I enjoyed FC1 until the mutatns appeared just like I enjoyed Crysis until the Aliens appeared. Keep FC2's consistent reality, please.

That's all from me folks.

Ah, one more thing.

I am from South Africa, so hearing guys cursing at me in Afrikaans was great! Please keep that in there!

Thanks

Oats has got some good points, I would sign that.

I liked FC1 until the monsters came up, then I simply stopped playing. Lost my interrest.

Stumbled over FC2 through an email of a friend, so I checked out the trailers and decided to buy it on the day it was released in Europe. I do not have that many games, so 40 Euros seemed to be quite an amount. I remember when I had the package in my hand and then saw the special edition... I never regretted buying that one...

Played it on the PC and really loved it. I did like the concept of being hired to kill someone and thus being sent to a country of which history or conflict I was not interested in or briefed at all. During the game you become part of that conflict without getting closer to this guy called the Jackal... And in the end you even become the same like him.

Single play: I loved the freedom of movement and of time (most people do not seem to see the advantages). Weapons were how I expected them to be in Africa (former Nato and Pakt weapons in bad condition - screw the new bullpup stuff mentionned above, that's the wrong continent!). Remanning checkpoints was ok, but maybe give them some time to regroup an assaulted CP (don't know... send trucks, search parties), but not within minutes. IBeing exarmy: there is no such thing as clearing an area for good - checkpoints are strategic points and have to be manned (even though assaulted from time to time) - so that was ok, keep that.

Loved the diamond search, tapes and even the malaria thing (always came up when I could not need it).
Missions were kind of all the same, but I do not know what else there could be done.

Cursing in Afrikaans was fun, keep that touch of internationnal mercs...

Would like to see in FC3:
- civilians (non combatants)
- predators (lions, cheetas, elefants instead of some monsters so many people want)
- contractors/hitman hunting you as well
- no crawling possible? Climbing?
- How about UN forces in between trying to interfere?

In Multiplay:
Did that in the beginnings, but wondered why the heck the teams were so uneven al the time. Felt like a turkey-shot.
At the end the server always disconnected and I then just didn't bother anymore.

BTW: Thanks for the MakingOf-material. Like the African Diary (weren't there promised more?)and when I was invited to Kenya I have to say that FC2 helped me in the decission process to go. Been to Taita Hills (close to Tsavo West) and fell in love with the region. Leave the colours and the environment - it is like that!
And yes: I bought the bag and it has been to Kenya. You guys sold me 3 bags already and there is still demand from friends!

Patricipated in one of the endless contests and even won a copy through UBISOFT France, but never got it... some intern turned me down when I asked if they maybe have forgotten about me...

So what the heck, now bought FC2 for PS3 and go through the whole adventure again - with my colleages (so much fun just chasing diamonds - without map).

Long posting (but I do not post that often), sorry. Will think about more points over some Tuskers and White Peak. God I miss Kenya!

Good posts. let me give a big AMEN to the above opinions about the stupid mutant/aliens that ruined FC1 and Crysis SP.

Please resist the temptation to add them to FC3. Too many mutants, freaks, aliens, and zombies are the quickest way to ruin the immersive quality of an otherwise great game.

As for my suggestions, howabout making FC3 into a new catagory? FC2 is a pure FPS, nowt wrong with that, but after a few playthru's the missions do take on a familiar feel. I'm thinking, why not add a lil RPG flavour into the mix?

Im currently playing, and really enjoying Fallout 3, which like FC2 has an enormous open world to explore. OK it does have a lot of freaks and mutants, as well as human enemies, but the role playing aspect of communicating with so many NPC's, finding and fixing your weapons, acquring the skills to aid your quests, and the incredible variety of those quests is what's keeping me absolutly hooked right now.

If Ubi were to pick up on some of these attributes for FC3, they could rightly claim to have created the first "RPS". or Role-Playing Shooter.

WoW no way I'm also from SA And in was just playing Farcry2 2 hours ago it's the best game I have ever played so I suggest:

*Cars were great fun in Farcry 2 but the I got trough at least 5 cars in hour of play so make the player buy cars form a car lot and store the car in a garage at your safe house
*let the player fly planes
*give each carater there a differt story but with the same missions
*make more than 2 maps

I only have a few, the rest support others.

I really want customizabilty, and for extra money you can do it on the fly(like buying a threaded barrel to dettach and attach silencers when ever you want)

Have 2 primaries, machete, and secondary. The system of 1 primary and one special limits customizability.

If silencers are added get rid of the dart rifle, instead add more sniper rifles capable of having silencers.

Store weapons in the car. I'd love to drive near a camp, pull out a mortar and shell the camp, place the mortar back into the trunk of the car and pick up a flame thrower to burn the rest of it.

Better damage system. I'd love for the healing to be more involved instead of pressing a button, like choosing what to use(caurterize, stitches maybe, feild dressing, etc) I'd also love if all guns could kill in 1 because you'll enventually bleed out, but you can be pretty easily patched up and you'll bleed out quicker or slower depeding on the bullet. Like if I'm hit with one rifle bullet I'll bleed out pretty slowly, a sniper wound would be more severe, and especially a shotgun wound.

That's all, I'll add more.