Assassin's Creed PC - Any points to the flags?

[hunterx280]

So I'm finally getting around to playing Assassin's Creed on the PC. Great game so far but I am wondering, is there any point to getting all the flags and what not if there are no achievements? If it unlocks some extra story content or whatever I might consider doing them but if not it seems pointless. At least in Crackdown I got extra agility points but here I don't see any other reward.

If not I might be able to blast through the story and get this done with minimal interference to Fallout 3.

I've peaked at the FAQs at gamefaqs.com (http://www.gamefaqs.com/computer/doswin/game/935316.html) but I don't want to dig too deep into them because of spoilers.

Thanks!

[Bingley Joe]

Nope. The only point would be for the challenge of finding them all, there's no extra content unlocked.

[hunterx280]

Nope. The only point would be for the challenge of finding them all, there's no extra content unlocked.

Hmmm... doesn't seem like I will be worrying about it right now then. Thanks for the info!

[LarsenNET]

On the consoles it did an autosave after each flag. I assume you can save anywhere in the PC version.

[carnage11]

The only reason to get them would be if you're a completionist.

[hunterx280]

On the consoles it did an autosave after each flag. I assume you can save anywhere in the PC version.

Annoyingly enough, not that I've noticed. It does the same auto save.

[Ravenlock]

Annoyingly enough, not that I've noticed. It does the same auto save.

Yes, but it autosaves after literally every minor thing you can accomplish. Find a flag? Save. Find a new eagle eye viewpoint? Save. Rescue a citizen? Save. Overhear a conversation? Save. I think the only actions you can take without it saving are random fights and pickpocketing.

Since you can't make progress of any meaningful sort without it saving, the lack of a "save anywhere" didn't matter much to me.

If anything, I was a little annoyed that it forced me to save so often.

[hunterx280]

Yes, but it autosaves after literally every minor thing you can accomplish. Find a flag? Save. Find a new eagle eye viewpoint? Save. Rescue a citizen? Save. Overhear a conversation? Save. I think the only actions you can take without it saving are random fights and pickpocketing.

Since you can't make progress of any meaningful sort without it saving, the lack of a "save anywhere" didn't matter much to me.

If anything, I was a little annoyed that it forced me to save so often.

That's true but I find that there are instances where I would like save and I have to go hunt down a flag or something. I should still be able to hit F5 or F6 or something to save real fast. My problem I've run into is that I've been in a situation where I want to save and I've run into trouble trying to find a save spot.

They way they have it now is equivalent to having disappearing save points in Final Fantasy. You know how much of an uproar people would be in?

[J Arcane]

Technically each X number of flags adds another point to the threshold for new synchro points, but there's enough ways to get them that you can fill up the bar without ever having to deal with the flags at all, especially if you're a completist when it comes to investigations.

[Cit Phil Cit]

I didn't really make an effort to look for them, but I did do every possible mission available. You know, for the the sake of them. I for one, enjoyed the game - and will get the sequel(s).

[hunterx280]

I didn't really make an effort to look for them, but I did do every possible mission available. You know, for the the sake of them. I for one, enjoyed the game - and will get the sequel(s).

So far it's a great game. I was just a bit ticked when I couldn't open up the pause menu and save. Other than that I think the game is excellent.

[Ravenlock]

I guess I still don't understand the circumstances under which you would want to save, but it isn't autosaving for you already. Every time you DO anything it saves, so what situation could you be in where you want to save even though you haven't done anything? ;)

[hunterx280]

I guess I still don't understand the circumstances under which you would want to save, but it isn't autosaving for you already. Every time you DO anything it saves, so what situation could you be in where you want to save even though you haven't done anything? ;)

Some times it's been a while since I've done anything considerably useful and I would just like to save. It's pretty rare, I will admit but still. I like having the option. I've pretty much gotten over it for the most part and just gotten used to hunting down a flag. And my game is saving when I do things like save a citizen or get a flag or kill a templar the problem is that if I do one of the latter items and I screw up and get 20 guards on me it would have been nice if I could have saved before getting in the fight.

Long story short PC gaming has spoiled me.

[Hotcod]

as i said in the autosave thread in general gaming there is no excuse for most games not to have auto saves with rotating quick save slots... and by most games i mean consoles to... there really isn't a reason for not letting players save freely on consoles these days

[Ravenlock]

I would argue that there are cases where save anywhere is not the right design choice. If you're designing a particular challenge for your game, you may want the player to have to get through it intact, displaying a certain level of proficiency, before proceeding. I'll agree that nothing is more frustrating than having to replay 25 minutes of a level over and over again because you die repeatedly, and that's bad design. But similarly, nothing takes the challenge (and sense of reward) out of a tough action sequence like being able to quicksave every 30 seconds.

Some games have drawn a good middle ground; the Prince of Persia series' rewind mechanic is a great bridge between the two, for example. No excessive punishment for failure, but no "repeat until done" free pass, either.

But then, I'm loving Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia and (even though I can't beat it yet) Mega Man 9, while a lot of gamers apparently think they're unfairly difficult and don't allow for frequent enough saving of progress. So maybe I'm old fashioned, maybe gamers are getting soft, maybe a lot of things. ;)

I understand the counter-argument of "I should have the option to quicksave, and if I choose not to use it to increase the challenge, that's up to me", but I'm not sure I agree with it. To some extent, I think developers should be able to take a player through the game experience on the developer's terms. If a difficult game is designed well, I'm perfectly willing to take some time to get better at it rather than lament the lack of things like quicksave.

[Deadend]

Some times it's been a while since I've done anything considerably useful and I would just like to save. It's pretty rare, I will admit but still. I like having the option. I've pretty much gotten over it for the most part and just gotten used to hunting down a flag. And my game is saving when I do things like save a citizen or get a flag or kill a templar the problem is that if I do one of the latter items and I screw up and get 20 guards on me it would have been nice if I could have saved before getting in the fight.

Long story short PC gaming has spoiled me.

BUT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING TO SAVE! Which is what I don't get.

[RandoM51]

The thrill of the accomplishment without the e-peen dick-waving of an achievement system to back it up.

[jpublic]

The only times I wanted to save without having done anything was when I travelled a long way (like in that big canyon area - The Kingdom?) and wanted to stop and load there.

Of course, since you load in a safe zone, it doesn't matter, you're going to have to retread anyway.

Edit: I'm a bit of a completionist, and all I went for was all Viewpoints, Citizens and Investigations. Climbing the Viewpoints was one of the most fun and challenging parts of the game, and the investigations were often a bit fun.

[squirrelTactics]

I didn't really make an effort to look for them, but I did do every possible mission available. You know, for the the sake of them. I for one, enjoyed the game - and will get the sequel(s).


I found the middle section of the game to be a bit dry and repetitive, but the ending was awesome :D

[Ravenlock]

I'm a bit of a completionist, and all I went for was all Viewpoints, Citizens and Investigations. Climbing the Viewpoints was one of the most fun and challenging parts of the game, and the investigations were often a bit fun.

Ditto that. Climbing the viewpoints was just always good fun, especially the really high, slightly more tricky ones. The climbing system was just involved enough, and the graphics gorgeous enough, that it never got old for me.

Same for saving citizens. The melee fighting in AC was some of the best I've ever played, being simple to control while just complex enough to have some genuine challenge to it (especially if you switched to the wrist blade), and looking cinematic as hell. Good God the fights in that game looked fantastic.

It's a repetetive game, no question, but the parts you're actually forced to repeat are mostly all fun. Taken an hour or two at a time, I enjoyed it all the way through to the end. I wouldn't necessarily play through it again, but I don't regret the purchase at all.

[sparkfizt]

I found the game best experienced in non-marathon style sessions. If you play an hr or 2 every day It never got too repetitious, and I always wanted to get that little bit farther to see what the next assassinated guy would say.

[TheKeck]

So I'm finally getting around to playing Assassin's Creed on the PC.

Pphhh. So I'm finally getting around to playing Assassin's Creed on the PC. :p

I wish I could quicksave to comment on the three year old conversation. :D

I found this thread, though, because I'm desperately hoping that someone can tell me that I'm missing something. When I want to stop playing the game I seem to have to.

Pause
Quit
Confirm
Exit animus
Confirm
Pause
Exit game
Confirm
Press any key
LOAD my profile!
Exit game
Confirm

Please somebody tell me there's a shorter path to exiting the game! (Barring alt-f4 or task manager or something. ;))

[Spectre-7]

Nope, that is the ridiculous fucking procedure for quitting the game. Might as well Alt-Tab out and kill it from Windows, because there's no god damned sanity in the menu system.

Wow, I'd forgotten how much that pissed me off until just now. ;)

[J Arcane]

Alt-F4.

Works every time.

[Ravenlock]

Seriously, J's not wrong. Once the game has saved, just Alt-F4. It doesn't hurt anything and it's effective.

[TheKeck]

I guess that works. Thanks guys.

[LordDon]

It's not quite as bad in AC2, thankfully. Exit to Windows option FTW.

[GigaFuzz]

Might as well:
gwOvuY0UbFM

[TheKeck]

Oh man, making a video of the process totally crossed my mind. Glad to know the truth is already out there. :p

I guess there's not actually a confirm after exit animus. I was just writing the steps for memory.

[TheKeck]

So, how come in the fight with Robert LeSawhatever (and right before him) Altair forgets how to block and counter half the time? :(

[bryan]

You can't block and counter heavy attacks and Robert does a lot of heavy attacks. Just dodge then attack.

[TheKeck]

I managed to get through it, it was just a major pain. And it was more the big group fight right before Robert that was having me tear my hair out.