Ubisoft proud of the game line Assassin’s Creed. This project has developed for more than five years and overgrown with five chapters with a retelling of a centuries -old confrontation of assassins and Templars. For a long time, players suspected developers in a tendency to conveyor production, and against the backdrop of the indignation of fans, the announcement of the next Assassin’s Creed – Black Flag. Fortunately, on the “Gamer” brand manager of the project Karsten Maikhill (Carsten Myhill) dispelled all doubts and promised us unprecedented adventures in a new game with unique ideas and an amazing plot.

Very soon, this ship will become your home and prison, friend and enemy, you will become part of it, like the whole team!

A new generation pirate life simulator

Karsten talked about various trifles and details of the world with such implication Black Flag, that leading questions simply fell down a mountain. At this time, the background was played by a demonstration of gameplay from a graphically advanced version of the game for personal computers, which is the most technologically advanced. It uses textures with original high resolution, additional links to lighting sources, parallax-model, vertexic technologies, transmission of bone animation of vegetation to the physical engine, advanced weather effects that work on the full coil of the marine processor and much more. All this will be available to future owners of the new generation consoles Sony PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

But at the very beginning of an interview, I, as one of the former developers of a series of games “Corses”, It was very curious whether it was known there, in the world of unprecedented budgets, about our domestic attempt to create a simulator of pirate life. In response, Karsten verbally sent potential “competitors” to oblivion – he did not even hear about such a game, although he noted that this question was not asked for the first time.

At the same time, the giant staff of employees of 8 studios and 900 people simply could not ignore a number of popular in the West of the Games on the sea. For example, the famous Sid Meier’s Pirates project! became a source of a dozen ideas, including the search for treasures and sea battles. There are also conceptual similarities with the mentioned “Corses”.

Many facts about Black Flag Now, on the eve of the console release, widely known. Therefore, I set myself the task of asking Karsten that it is not enough to be covered in detail in the press. We devoted an interview with the gameplay sophisticates of the game, the depth of the map of the card, asked about problems and mentioned a number of doubtful promises. From today’s preview, you will certainly learn interesting facts and features of the fourth part Assassin’s Creed – The most beautiful game about pirates, and maybe even the best in his series.

To the sources of the Keneuev family

From now on, the epic desmond ends. Black Flag Dedicated to new actors – “Abstergo” with her experiments on the study of the memory of the ancestors and the adventures of the Assassin in the 18th century. The main character in the present is the nameless silent corporation employee. The protagonist from the past is Edward Kenway, the former caper of His Majesty King Great Britain, who led the ship “Galka” under the black flag of freedom with bones and skulls on the canvas on the canvas.

According to the idea of ​​the scriptwriters, for the eating of intrigue, Edward’s life is indirectly connected with the main character Assassin’s Creed 3 – we will play for the grandfather of Connor himself. Our talented actors have already voiced a small backstory of Kenoay. We can only recall that Edward was a fan of drinking and shaking, adventurer and naval romantic. The failed first marriage made him go to the service of the British king in the hope of getting rich. So he first ended up in the West Indies, where he became an experienced sailor in the team of officer Benjamin Hornigold.

The service did not last long. Own ship and a team of faithful shirts – all that could only be dreamed of in this saging unbearable heat place. And Edward once reached the star – the quick and maneuverable brig “Galka” went to our hero. At this very moment, the player is invited to a performance that will last the entire short -lived pirate life of Edward, largely similar to stories from famous film and book works.

Picturesque carbs

Unlike Hollywood attractions, Assassin’s Creed full of difficult logic of the narrative and confusing finals. Last time we were shown the ending of history, and now we will witness the events previous to it. And in our editorial office everyone agreed that the pirate setting would only benefit Assassin’s Creed 4. Yes, and if the player does not want to go into the plot component, then he will certainly have a seamless open world with the opportunity to steal ships, travel, hunt, win the settlements and generally do everything that could only dream of true fans of the notorious “Korsarov”.

And this world is not limited by two or three islands and a couple of large cities. Even before we started the interview, I was especially worried about the issue of the scale of the game card. In official messages, the developers mentioned the lack of recent when traveling on the ship between the islands in real time – it will not work out so that for the sake of such an opportunity Assassin’s Creed 4 He will receive picturesque, as in videos, but very terrible territories?

Karsten Maikhill I asked to remove the camera and turned on the map of the card. In addition to Cuba and Jamaica, we were also demonstrated by the Antille Islands, the famous Pirate Island of New Providence, the coast of Florida and even a piece of Spanish Mayn. The waters of the Mexican Gulf and the Caribbean will be available for research along with all small islands on which you can find treasures, skeletons of ships broken by storms and other interesting things. For the sake of dynamics, so that the players do not have to spend weeks of traveling between the shreds of land, the developers fit these territories 16 square kilometers.

The Spanish city of Havana in a cube with an impregnable fortress, the colony of the British crown Kingston near the earthquake of Port Royal flooded after the earthquake of the city of Port Royal and the huge center of shadow trade of Nassau for New Providence will be fully accessible for studying. These are large cities with tall buildings and walls, built for more than a century by eminent European architects. And we must pay tribute to the authors – to create a virtual version of the New World, the best artists, photographers, designers and sound engineers were sent to modern Caribbean Ubisoft.

Entertainment for adventurers

Behind the walls of civilization, a dusk of stuffy jungle with poisonous snakes, dangerous predators and … indigenous Indians reigns. Whole tribes are even found in the forests. By the way, some of the villages inhabit cannibals. In the bays you can find small outposts of bugans or pirates, the construction of fishermen, and so on. This is a big and living world, extremely interesting for study and interaction with it. Karsten admitted that introducing all this in the game was not easy. For example, the topic of slavery today is very acutely perceived by society. Also Ubisoft was forced to refuse to introduce whaling into the game.

Assassin’s Creed 4, Despite its pirate spirit, it remains mainly of a “land” game. The islands are really huge and developed in detail, although they are not fully available for hiking. We will have to spend most of the time on land in the passage of quests, while the ship is mainly used as a means of movement and a kind of Edward mobile estate mobile estate. For the first time there will also be an underwater world;For example, the Port Royal ruins who have gone under the water are rich in treasures and interesting finds.

And in general, such entertainment here is a mass here. Karsten told about the dungeons and caves. Of course, they did without the elements of fantasy – no skeletons and spirits from the other world. But in the labyrinths just get lost and catch the poisonous arrow from a hidden trap or run into a focus of savages. Many caves are used by smugglers, and you can get there only underwater. And it is hardly worth it to rely on the carelessness of the owner-someone is probably guarding the treasures.

We considered the mini-players doubtful as hunting for sharks with harpoon and under water, which can be shrugged over time. Perhaps the quests are bored with us – they promise them a lot, but do not specify how diverse they are. It is likely that we will not use dozens of weapons again, dissecting the first blade of enemies rising in the way. But we will definitely keep us at the screen for a long time impressive sea fights, boarding and shelling of the window structures!

The cannon cannon in AC4 blows everything in its path, even stone fortifications. Height damage system!

Captain’s credo

IN Assassin’s Creed 4 The ship is given the most important role. BRIG “Galka” is the base of Edward. Karsten with regret denied the information that we would have the opportunity to take a walk around the interior of the vessel. This is caused by technical restrictions – the elimination of water inside the case costs large costs. It will be possible to visit only the captain’s cabin, from where we manage officers and the team, hold “upgrades” and distribute orders to the squadron. Yes, there can be several ships under our Admiralism – the prize vehicles are allowed to be traded automatically, pirate in certain sectors, or just follow your flagship.

As soon as the cannonade is heard or the sail on the horizon loosens, the senior assistant to Advale will notify Edward about the danger. We hear the remote drum fraction of a military vessel preparing for a fight with the “Gack”. The Boatsman Dudka and the captain’s orders pierce the air. Under the songs of the brave shirt, the ship goes to battle. Sea romance here borders on the cruelty of bloody battles, shedding tons of red liquid on wooden decks.

Successful outcome of the battle in Assassin’s Creed 4 depends on our attention to the details. If a horn sounds on an enemy ship, then there is probably an ordinary thick merchant, unable to defend himself. But if the preparation of soldiers, drum anxiety and the sound of charging guns are heard through the fog, then it is better to provide yourself with a favorable course relative to the wind in order to take an advantage in the upcoming cannon “carousel”.

Karsten told us about the professional approach of the creators to simulate the work of sails. If in Assassin’s Creed 3 in many respects, the models of ships acted according to simplified rules, then in Black Flag We will encounter both hopelessness in the leftist, and with the difficulties of traveling in Badevinda. However, for the benefit of the dynamics of the battles, it was decided to abandon a long reloading of guns and slow maneuvers.

Craft under the black flag

Traveling on the “Galka”, we will meet ships fighting among ourselves. For example, seeing the yellow-red Spanish flag and a white-red British, it is worth assuming that a battle will be tied now. When it ends, the remaining vessels with a bloodless team would have to plunder. But one should not forget about their own resources – there are only 50 mortal people in the team, the sheathing withstands only a few dozen nuclei, and the sails are torn from the card volleys no worse than that of enemies.

Often, weaknesses will strive to escape under the cover of large window guns. Fortresses are placed on key islands for colonial countries. The fortress captured by the Galka team will shoot our opponents and open new quests. But such a battle requires thorough preparation. First, we must shoot the window guns and destroy the walls, then land to the shore and kill the garrison. Yes, and greatly angry our enemies, we run the risk of running into our heads.

Ubisoft made significant efforts to create an extremely realistic sea and the weather system in Black Flag. As a result, we will have new tactical opportunities, including the flight to the fog (just like in the film “The owner of the seas”) and luring the enemy in a storm. Karsten told about the system of dynamic change in the level of excitement, wind strength, the appearance of

hurricanes with a tornado and so on. And yes, before storming, it is better to climb the mast and examine the vicinity of the telescope, so as not to meet a strong enemy.

Boarding contractions are not similar to another thanks to the technology of dynamic search for ways navmesh (and yes, in front of you is a black beard itself!).

IN Assassin’s Creed 4 Several types of ships are presented. The most dangerous enemy for an inexperienced captain is Manovar’s battleship (Man of War). Its weapons sometimes reach 25 large -caliber guns on board, a well -aimed volley of which can instantly sink a “darling”. To capture it, you will need either a small squadron of pirate vultures, or very skillful maneuvering on a “galle” in a deaf zone between the side and the stern.

Night hunter in a triangle

The game presents quests when it is necessary to catch the sailing ship in order to capture it and kill the captain. In such situations, bypassing the sea battle and interrupting part of the team on the officer quarterdek, we can even seize control of ourselves and hide the vessel with raised sails, as happened by Captain Jack Vorobya from the “Pirates of the Caribbean”.

Since the developers paid special attention to stealth elements, we are free to make our way to ships or to cities secretly and quietly destroy our goals. For non -aggressive tactics of the execution of missions, special awards are provided. Thanks to the updated stealth mode, additional types of weapons will finally become in demand.

Edward will have to fight a lot. And it’s not even about mass board or landing on enemy fortress walls. In addition to the main storyline, we are promised a huge number of quests, including murder contracts, brawls in taverns, duels, treasure hunting, clashes with Indians and much more. Moreover, the choice of pathway is completely entrusted to the fantasy of the players. After all, no one now indicates which place should attack the victim and until what time it is worth following it.

We mention the multiplayer. He is largely similar to the multiplayer regime of the previous games of the series: having mixed with the crowd, the player must quietly eliminate the target. IN Black Flag The developers tried to diversify the gameplay using new weapons and equipment. Pistols, muskens, swords, axes, hooks, rapiers and much more – you can use everything with only one dagger and smoke bomb to play a silent killer.

Life in “Animus”

We have almost completely devoted a preview of the historical part Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag. In Animus, we are allowed to stay from beginning to end the storyline. But at the same time, the authors provided for the capabilities of the abstracting regime of the Abstergo Corporation on behalf of one of its employees who are neither an assassin nor the Templar. This is just an additional opportunity, but, apparently, very curious.

In the modern world, the nameless hero walks in his workplace. He has a table, a computer and even a collection of figures, as well as the labyrinth of corridors and cabinets for research. Thanks to this character, we will be able to find out a huge amount of information about the Abstergo, Templars, Assassins, and indeed about the entire series Assassin’s Creed. We will be allowed to eavesdrop, hack computers, read letters and even plunge into the “cloud” storage of the network memory of “Animus”. Apparently, in such an interactive way, the developers decided to fill the plot gaps observed in the previous parts.

This time with skillful hands Ubisoft a world was created with amazing potential. No wonder numerous DLCs are already announced, which will appear after the release, complementing Black Flag. And this is great, because the only concern causes the possible uniformity of quests. We were given hope for interesting adventures, beautiful places, bloody battles and complete freedom. Yes, what is there, actually, to talk? The storm in the hands, the sunset on the horizon and the sails above the head will never make you get bored of the true pirate. So let’s drink Roma, yo-ho-ho!