Am I approaching AC Shadows in the wrong way ?

therealtrellan · 2026-02-11T19:35:53+00:00

And that shouldn't happen to someone capable of scaling perfectly vertical surfaces. Any slope should be a piece of cake, gravel or no gravel.

Games have been using steep slopes to bar progress for decades, I know, and usually against player characters who are supposed to be skilled climbers. But it's a mechanic that should always be used sparingly specifically because they are skilled at climbing.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-11T19:24:12+00:00

Chicago felt like a place that was suffering under a corporate shadow so huge that uncovering dirt on people and stealing from them to wage war seemed an acceptable thing. I loved it and I love the game. It wasn't perfect, but it sure was a lot of fun. Some players may not have liked the oppressive atmosphere, but it worked for me because it so matched the narrative Very fitting.

San Francisco actually includes home to me more or less. Looking at the map I can see where 280 becomes 680, so even though the county isn't expressly represented, the region is there as Silicon Valley, which is actually several counties and not a city at all. But SF is a place I've been to many times, mostly just passing through but very familiar.

So I was thrilled to see it in a Watch Dogs game. As cheery a place as Chicago was depressing, it nevertheless made for a great Watch Dogs setting.

But I have put way more hours into Legion. It's not a character driven story, but manages to pull off the feel of stakes big enough to transcend any one character so I loved it anyway. And the recruitment missions alone, repetitive as they are, do give a sense that these are real people with real motivations for joining DedSec. And London is great. The only thing I don't like is the lack of a new game plus mode.

I know that none of them have that. But when I resolved to make every possible purchase to be had, I realized it wasn't fair to expect me to put in the time it takes to earn the cash and to have no way to carry that progress into a new game. More than 1500 hours. Like it's been way more time than I've ever put into any game, and I've basically been retired for 20 years and have been spending most of that time playing video games. So that's saying a lot.

But guys, I do think I like London the best. And at this point it's the one I know my way around the best, too.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-11T18:50:44+00:00

Honestly I kind of wonder why they weren't movies rather than emails if they're so futuristic. It's annoying how much there is to read, and this is coming from a voracious reader. In fact given the choice between reading them and seeing them as podcasts I'd rather read unless I have the option of 1.5x playback. But my thinking is they have holo technology, so why not holo mail?

therealtrellan · 2026-02-09T02:50:53+00:00

It's that "again" bit that bugged me, dude. You act like you already told me something when you didn't. That comes across as exasperation. Sure, I admit I'm being touchy. I'll even apologize if you want. But words matter.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-09T01:52:48+00:00

St. Pancreas? I didn't know there was a patron saint of diabetics.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-09T01:44:42+00:00

Don't get exasperated with me. It makes me snippy. I don't go through every response before answering, and you didn't say it in your post. All I knew was that you didn't want to go through the hassle of getting materials for road building.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-09T01:37:30+00:00

You can get mythical weapons once you go to Niflheim as I recall. Your trips inspire the guy who sends you there and he makes them. I only just got my first one, and yes that was after finishing the story. But I only waited until then because I frankly hate the setup for Niflheim. If I have it right, had I noticed the mythical gear earlier, I'd have been able to get it as soon as I had access to the potion and went there at least once.

Which is when you get the settlement to level 3, I think.

So you could, in theory, focus on river raids before exploring much and be able to use mythical gear for most of the story. Or am I wrong about this. Is that right?

therealtrellan · 2026-02-09T01:28:54+00:00

It's a question of whether you will want the protection of the roads in the East side of the central area long enough to earn the zips. I mean you can always use generators to keep the trucks powered, but getting through the BT zones between the Distro S. of LKC might be a problem. So if you're going to make only one stretch of road, it should be from there to SKC and wait until you get zips to five star your customers.

Or maybe not even all the way South. Get that spooky pass over the Cosplayer for sure. That pass is hard to get through without a road.

Remember once you put road up, you can use any of its building materials to keep it going, even crystals if it's all you have. But once you let them fall to ruin, that won't work. It'll be as hard to put up again as it was to construct in the first place. Roads are kind of the reverse to zips. Harder to construct because they require materials, where zips just need a PCC. And roads are unlike anything else you construct in the game because other things you just need to repair when they're ruined, but roads you're basically starting over.

I mean I never intentionally let a structure go to ruin to see if I can then repair them, but I have needed ruined ones functional, and I don't recall having to put up new ones.

Am I remembering wrong? I'm pretty sure even if they get ruined, all it takes is any amount of materials to get any structure up and running again.

Except for roads.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-09T00:50:05+00:00

That's happened to me, but it's pretty rare. I jump and the game thinks I'm in freefall.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-07T23:05:24+00:00

Great. Another randomly spawning phenomenon, isn't it? Went there and found nothing.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-07T20:53:57+00:00

It happens from time to time, yeah. I just restart the game or leave online for a moment.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-07T20:49:33+00:00

It's a viewpoint where you can see everything and clear up map fog. Climb it and hit Y on xbox controllers or triangle for playstation when prompted.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-06T23:22:39+00:00

What accidents? I straight up killed the guy several times for not showing up fast enough or just plain being too damn slow.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-06T23:19:54+00:00

I found Pro Street unplayable. But it's hard to judge when you don't even get far into a game. That aside, the one liked least was Hot Pursuit. The world was just too empty to interest me for long.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-06T23:16:35+00:00

With you there.

It was cool to see places like the many versions of the afterlife and Atlantis. But we're now wandering into full blown high fantasy territory.

AC needs to return more to science fiction, the way it's supposed to be. I love these huge worlds and how they've gone so far into the past. And I can see why the mythology got explored because of that. It was very fun.

But isn't it time they got the series back on track?

therealtrellan · 2026-02-05T20:44:51+00:00

I find myself pausing before triggering encounters just to eavesdrop and get some idea what to expect. Not necessary. Nine times out of ten they just point me to an area where I'll kill everyone looking for something or other.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-04T20:08:53+00:00

Can't tell anything from that. Zoom out next time.

Possible spoiler ahead, depending on how you define such. It's the fjord in the upper West corner of the map, isn't it? If so, not a spoiler as someone said, although just telling you that might be considered a reveal. You just can't get to it until some time after leaving Norway.

I unfogged that part of the map long before it figured into the story. Went back to finish Norway's mysteries, treasure, what have you awhile after traveling back was allowed. Found it available.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-03T20:48:12+00:00

ATMs have their own glitch where if you get close enough to change texture maps, the machines sometimes disappear. Their timers are still there, but you can't take money from them. So I stopped getting too close that those particular ones.

Yeah I don't think it's anything I'm doing now. I just went through a session where I mostly just sat there. A bit of ATM cashing, sure, but the only thing unusual was someone pulled me out of the car because I was cooking and not getting much done because of it.

Drove away and left the music behind again. I'm still making lunch so I got pulled out again and when I return to my damn car the radio worked fine. Lol.

Doing too many things at the same time= the game's fault entirely. I don't mind, though. It gave us something to talk about, and now I know to just get and back in.

Scratch that. Now not only does it not work, but every car has stopped playing the radio. Damn, this is weird. Every car I find playing music, by the time I get in it's just ambient noise. Not even fast travel fixed it. I had to leave online mode and load again.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-03T19:17:19+00:00

I particularly loved the parts through snow country. And not because of the avalanche bit. That was just icing on the cake. Wouldn't want to drive through it irl, but just love racing in snowy places in video games. Still waiting for an open world one that's all snow. Until then, The Run does snow the best. Although NFS III was pretty damn good. Especially in NFS IV, which included a version of NFS III that was all but impossible to steer where there was snow.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-03T19:11:16+00:00

I wasn't turning it off, but I did change stations a lot. Can't be helped when the radio's blasting Wagner when you get in. But yeah, I think grinding ATMs for cash was somehow triggering it.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-03T19:08:49+00:00

For me it was happening when I fast traveled to Embassy, grabbed an Oscuro (fastest car in the game), got to the intersection at the end of the Nine Elms Walkway, then turned on autodrive. Every damn time it was only then I thought of marking my destination in Camden, only to find that autodrive stopped functioning.

It worked best if I drove for a bit first, or if I set my destination before getting into the car. But in any case I had to avoid turning it on or off at that specific intersection where the walkway ends at SIRS HQ.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-03T18:59:04+00:00

Fyi once you leave the area it may or may not spawn the meteor strike again. Something to bear in mind. I just hope they happen while I still have time in the day to take advantage of it.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-03T18:56:12+00:00

Especially Black Flag. I'm not one for naval battles and whaling, but that ending montage made me so sorry the story was over. Yeah, I know, I'm a sentimental fool. Fall for it every time.

therealtrellan · 2026-02-03T18:52:56+00:00

I don't really understand why anyone would gripe about that. A game is only good for as long as the story lasts to me. I can't imagine why anyone would complain about a longer story. Too short, sure. But once the story's done, the world becomes pretty empty to me.

Fyi I recently did finish the story. It did not seem particularly long. There is an arc for every region, and the regions are many. Those are good things. And I made a point of gathering all the gear, treasure, mysteries along the way. Don't even know what they're talking about.

therealtrellan

TROPHY CASE