The SP FAQ Thread | Forums

[FALLEN CHAMP]

Gearhead was kind enough to do us a MP and IGE Thread with answers to a lot of our questions and I know that UbiTimS managed to get a load of answers for some of us (Dapper maxpower and myself)

So I thought I would put this post up for anyone that missed the info.

Q1. So Far Cry 3 is back in a tropical setting, great stuff. Who decides the story, do you have a writer or do you all sit down and input ideas and see where it takes you?

A. I’ll let Lucien Soulban (Story Designer) answer this:
Good question with a detailed answered, so sit back! What happens is we work collaboratively to create the story... we have to given the multiple disciplines at play in crafting a game. The Creative Director is the driving force behind the global story, but on most teams, a Narrative Director or Story Designer is there from the beginning to help refine the page long story concept into what eventually becomes a script. That said, the process needs to be flexible enough to accept input from any cell in the team. Animation and modeling contribute in refining the look and personality of the characters; art reflects the overall narrative thematics of a story; level design helps define the flow of the story and even establishing the conflict beats; AI is responsible for engineering the enemy personality through their actions; gameplay creates a character growth arc through what the player faces and what skills the character learns along the way, etc. And we haven't even discussed audio, localization, realization, etc. These are just the tip of a very fluid iceberg that is designing story for game. So Narrative has to be there at every step to adjust to these needs or to suggest alternate solutions. Sometimes Narrative maintains the original vision of the Creative Director, and sometimes the CD does that him/herself.

So, when does a writer become involved? It really depends. On some projects, a veteran writer might be there from the get go helping craft the story, characters, and beats. On other projects, the writer comes later in the project to finalize an established narrative through the dialogs. Most often, a writer is brought in at key points in the process to validate game direction as the game passes its production or creative gates.

Q2.The whole insanity thing is captivating; already those words from Vaas seem to be known by everyone, are you happy with the way the videos have been received so far?

A. Lucien answers another:
Happy is an understatement. It energized the team and forced everyone to match their work to the caliber of the actor's performance. To see the fans even surpass our own enthusiasm for the speech and all the hard work we put into it is amazing. It’s one of those perks that make the work and long hours instantly gratifying.


Q3. Vehicles in the single player part of the game, I noticed the glider, jet ski, one that looks like the patrol boat from previous games and an inflatable boat – Vehicles in FC2 felt a little clunky, they were slow and damaged very easily – how is the vehicle speed and durability in FC3?

A. The driving experience was a big focus for us in Far Cry 3. We’re making sure the handling is intuitive to the vehicle your driving.

Q4. Another question reference vehicles, my top choice for land and water would be the jet ski and ATV – Can you confirm if the ATV is in FC3 and from this image below I can see a sampan and a motorbike (either of those driveable) or if this is not the time and place to answer these questions can you at least tease us by giving us a figure on how many vehicles there are in the single player game which we can use?

A. The ATV will return in Far Cry 3. Right now, we have more than ten different types of land, sea, and air vehicles. The Jet skis are a pretty awesome to zip around the island!

Q5. FC3 seems to have a lot of exploration available to those that want to go everywhere and find everything, we have already seen items in the water which can be picked up – a statue for example, how is this used do we sell it or trade it for something else?

A. As you play through the game you collect items that can be traded in shops for things like guns. As you saw in the E3 game-play last year, you can loot bodies as well to pick up objects. These type of rewards incentivize exploration for the player.

Q6. I have heard the term Gifting for the multi player mentioned where players can give or trade weapons via social networking or in game – is there anything in the single player game which uses this type of option?

A. Gifting is a multiplayer feature. We didn’t feel the mechanic fit within the singleplayer experience.

Q7. The last video reference the crazy Doctor – I think that blew people away, it was put over very well and was crafty with what was shown in very small snippets, even had me pausing to see things which I had previously missed – are you happy with the marketing so far with FC3?

A. We’re all pretty happy with the trailers we’ve put out so far. The CGI definitely got a lot of buzz online from some big names like G4TV, PC Gamer, and Edge Magazine.

Q8. Is the single player camp a happy one, everyone getting along and having fun making the game?

A. Yes! We’re developing a MONSTER game for you guys. The team here in Montreal is around 250 people. Some come from the Far Cry 2 team, while others have worked on titles like Assassin’s Creed, Splinter Cell, and Rainbow 6. We also have the team at Massive in Sweden who is developing a kickass multiplayer.


Q9. In Far Cry 2, our characters may have been in the worst physical condition in video game history. Running or swimming a short distance required some down time and a Fresca to recover. Have you recruited characters that are better physical specimens for Far Cry 3?

A. Jason’s a young twenty-something adrenaline junkie. As you can see in the stranded trailer, he knows how to run, jump, slide his way around the island.

Q10. Let's talk about the water in Far Cry 3. It looks like a natural spring from Heaven itself compared to Far Cry 2. Is it's appearance affected at all by the time of day? Weather? Also, I've seen sharks out there...can we wrestle or fight back against anything in water, or are we bait?

A. There will be day/night cycles in the game, and changes in the weather.

Q11. Can we continue to roam the map once the single player game ends? Also, are the individual missions unlocked for free play once we complete them?

A. Yes! You’ll be able explore the island after the main storyline has finished.

Q12. The takedown moves look great, much better then the wild flailing attempts to hack someone on the African continent. How many takedown moves are there? Are they all available from the start, or do we earn/buy them as we progress? Are they available in story mode and multiplayer?

A. There’s a number of them in the game that are dependent on the situation. So far we’ve shown you the takedown from above and the zipline takedown. I don’t want to spoil them all, because it’s much more fun to discover them as you play.

Early on in the single player campaign you’ll see that Jason is not a skilled military vet. He learns to survive on the island and become a warrior.

The takedowns will be available in both single and multiplayer.

Q13. FC3 has such a nice color palette now and things are looking really fresh, it must be hard pushing these old consoles to find ways of exploiting them to get the best out of a bag of old bones, how much more freedom do you have with a top end gaming rig in how you can make the game look so much better visually?

A. While I can’t discuss all of the specific changes from a technical standpoint, I can say that we’re optimizing as much as possible for each platform.

Q14. The water plays such a big part in the Far Cry games, unfortunately it looked dreadful in FC2 – My belief is that it was a sacrifice because of all the fire propagation taking up a lot of processing power (but no doubt I am wrong) still it was sad to say that Instincts on Xbox 1 had better water than FC2 – So here is the question, with the water looking so much better on FC3 did you have to make any other sacrifices anywhere else?

A. The team has focused on bringing the best features from previous titles to Far Cry 3. We didn’t want any sacrifices this time around, so we’ve made sure to include the propagating fire system of Far Cry 2 and the water play of Far Cry 1.

Q15. We have seen the mission Majusas Mast, once completed does this become a fast travel area where I could return anytime I want and replay to gain more XP or collect items – in a similar way to how things work on Red Dead Redemption?

A. You won’t be able to play the main missions again in the same story, but there will be different things in the game that you can come back to at any time.

Q16. You must have something in place to stop the player going too far away, what happens if they take a jet ski and just keep riding further and further out to sea, will they hit an invisible barrier or out of bounds, or is there something more sinister that awaits?

A. That aspect of the game is still in development. Any suggestions?

Q17. The animals in FC2 were harmless, are there any in FC3 that would actually harm us if we get too close?

A. Yes! We’ll have a variety of predatory and non-predatory animals that can harm (and kill) you. You’ll be able to hunt animals and trade their meat for goods.

The Komodo dragons are feisty little guys that you’ll need to watch out for.

Q18. by B STATS - I'm wondering how the edge of the map will be dealt with. Bigger sharks that eat you like in Crysis? Boat running out of fuel? Maybe even a continuous expanse of ocean like in Grand Theft Auto? Hopefully not just a Bethesda ''You cannot proceed in this direction''. Is there any news on this?

A. From UbiTimS - Currently when you leave the playable area you'll receive a message to turn back and a timer. If the timer runs out, the screen will fade to black and you'll be teleported to the nearest safe house.

Q.19 by zoidberg1339 - What kind of role is fire going to play in SP?

A. From UbiTimS - The fire mechanic works very much the same way it did in Far Cry 2. It’s a feature the team wanted to keep in the franchise because it’s such a great gameplay mechanic. In some missions (like the one pictured below), setting large fires is the objective.

The fire in the hotel scene is designed for gameplay. The mission is one of our more scripted action bubbles where we guide the player.

Fire is also a big part of the multiplayer, specifically in Firestorm. When you've started a fire, the maps landscape changes, limiting your movement within the area.

[FALLEN CHAMP]

I will pass these over to UbiTimS and see if he can find anyone that can give us some answers then I can update the post above.

20. It has been mentioned that there are stones in the single player inventory, In some of the previous games we could throw these stones when close to the enemy and they would be alerted and follow in the direction - is this the way it works in FC3 ?

21. Are there any form of traps in FC3 can you confirm Y/N even if you can not give us any specific details ?

22. The safe houses is still a grey area, we have only heard that they are back and have been upgraded - can you give us any more details then that ?

23. I read that there are 3 different types of drug on the Island, I am unsure if the main character can become addicted but also read that some help him see the Island differently, are these all related to Dr Earnhardt ?

24. In Far Cry 2 there was an option to purchase a camouflage suit, (which IMO did not seem to do a lot really) is there anything like this in FC3 ?

25. In one article I read that there are some missions where you do not use any weapons at all, looking at one of the videos where Jason speaks with the Doctor, it later shows a cave with bats - is this one of those missions where there is no need to use weapons, instead it is about finding something to take back to the Dr in return for something else ?

26. Can vehicles be upgraded / modified or is it what you see is what you get where vehicles are concerned in the game ?

27. Is there any talk of us getting a Playable Demo from a section of the single player game before the game ships ?

28. At what stage in development is the single player side of the game & with the extra time the developers will now have is it possible for them to add in anything extra that they previously could not squeeze in ?

[Viragoxv535]

There were supposed to be a video series of the singleplayer Q&A...

[DapperHayden007]

I think you should sticky this. It would fit in nicely with the MP and IGE threads. I am also wandering what happened with the Q&A.