Standalone Discovery Tour questions

[taz.in.bc]

Very new user here, just fired up Discovery Tour for the first try-out and I'm wowed! OK, the "tour guide" voice-over is a bit pompous and I'd like to turn it off and just read the text for myself, thanks very much. But the history is interesting and the 3d modelling is Whoa, Amazing. I've taken the first two or three guided tours of Alexandria and I'm just blown away by the finish quality. It might not be the biggest OW map ever (maybe ETS2 takes that prize?) but holycow, the details! It makes other sims look underpopulated and dead.

Note to devs: two identical-except-for-clothing-colour groups of animated NPCs in the Forum/Arena space are too close together, so it's kind of obvious they are clones. That's the only illusion-breaker so far.

I have only one question so far (getting the hang of the UI) and that is, can I make my avatar walk instead of running everywhere? I'd like to move more slowly so as to look around more.

[EbonHawk]

Tap Z (default key on keyboard) and your character should start walking slowly. Tap Z again to go back to normal.

Have you discovered about the glowing "hotspots" under the characters' feet yet?

[taz.in.bc]

Hey thanks!

Glowing Hotspots? I've discovered the "follow this glowing golden line" tour mechanism of course. (And the underlighting of the 3d avatar is a nice touch!) I've discovered how to use V to get the eagle skycam. I've discovered how to teleport to places on the map. [I've found the map/tour-info-point interface really cumbersome and confusing, but hey, gotta have something to complain about.]

But glowing hot*spots*, nope. What are they?

Interesting that some characters have a collision box (you can bump into them and they bounce off with an Oof or a muttered curse) but at other times I see NPC's intersecting with each other, like a guy tries to walk through a horse. A little illusion damage there. But overall, AMAZING.

I am not a big RPG fan -- combat is boring, grinding up the levels is a waste of life-hours, inventory management is tedious (I mean, people do logistics and inventory for a living, not for amusement) , boss fights are boring plus stressful -- platforming is so ho hum, and I don't have teenage game controller reflexes any more -- it's the EXPLORING thing that draws me into the open world games. So this Tourist mode is fabulous, I think every big OW RPG sim out there should have one. I would definitely buy... hmm, at the very least I would buy Skyrim and Witcher for sure, if I didn't have to campaign and defend myself from idiotically hostile NPCs. Tried playing god-mode in Half Life but the hostiles are still out there blowing up the scenery, they can't kill you but they spoil the tourist experience. HitMan has some really nice environments to explore -- and the NPCs are really fun -- but they're very small scale.

So that's my message to the industry for 2020: Tourist version of Every. Single. Large. Open. World. Game. Read my lips! Huge untapped market! virtual tourism is here to stay.

[EbonHawk]

Those hotspots should start glowing when you get close to someone.. you can aim the camera at them and then move into their spots, and your character will start doing what the AI was previously doing. Just another immersion thing.

[taz.in.bc]

Thanks EH I think I found them: star trek transporter style glowing "spotlights" on the ground. Sometimes an NPC is in one, with an empty one nearby. Other times there's just one hotspot with no NPC. If I stand on it, I immediately take on a background NPC role like selling, chatting, cleaning etc. I would guess that in the "real" game my assassin character would use these hotspots to blend in with the background and be stealthy, as in Hitman.

Anyway, I'm in time travel heaven with the Discovery Tour. The only thing is, I can't figure out how to Climb. The Controls settings panel says "C" is climb as well as crouch. I found a nifty small garrison on the lakeshore with a watch tower. There was an obvious solid ladder leading up, so I walked up to the ladder and tried C. No dice. It felt all wrong, like that ladder was clearly there to be climbed and yet I couldn't climb it.

Is the keybinding legend inaccurate? Is Climb some other key? Z key isn't even listed (and works perfectly whether riding or walking) -- so I'm wondering if their control key doco in the Discovery Tour version has some gaps. Are you playing the real game with the Discovery Tour as a DLC, or the standalone DT? Willing to share all your keyboard keys?

I'm still learning the control style which is mostly, but not quite, intuitive. Wish there was a FP mode, though I also enjoy watching my avatar because the animation is quite good. Riding mode (camel and horse) is really fun :-) though I could do without the repetitive "gee! haw!" vocal sfx.

I managed to walk onto a boat that arrived at a nearby dock (possibly synchronised with avatar's arrival in the area?) and take a brief scenic boat ride along the waterfront -- ravishing graphics, and as I looked overboard in transit, there was actually a palm frond floating on the surface, properly undulating with the wave action. Is there no end to Ubi's attention to detail? It's like one enormous easter egg, the whole thing: an apparently endless series of wows.

Biggest wows so far: the floating palm front of course; but perhaps even more impressive, incense smoke in the various temples actually behaves and looks like real smoke (great particle model!). Flocks of birds behave with remarkable realism. Vegetation mix very realistic and repetitions are subtle and hard to spot. Terrain very nice, gritty and detailed. Surface textures AWESOME (I've got all graphics quality cranked to max). Water exceptionally good, the best water model I've seen so far. Also -- jaw drops -- avatar gets wet after being in the water! Drips dry rather fast, but the wet effect is superb. Avatar swims somewhat realistically. Walking in shallow water, there's realistic splash and sfx. In sand, dust puffs (very nice touch). I was almost shocked when avatar didn't leave footprints in the sand :-)

Another nice touch is that NPCs are somewhat responsive to the avatar's presence. Some turn their heads to look as you pass, others grunt in protest if you get in their way. Flamingos and ibis rise and fly if you get too close. I've zoomed in far enough to see that some NPCs have animated eyeballs -- their eyes are actually swivelling as they look around!

These guys have set a new bar for 3d sim. The world texture/detail level is fantastic and the exploration/travel feeling is truly immersive. Map size *feels* huge, and it's the feel that counts.

There are modelling glitches of course. Some NPCs' body parts intersect weirdly with their clothing, passing through it rather than draping it. I've found just one masonry structure with missing surfaces (hollow box problem). Avatar can walk right through trees. Avatar occasionally manages to stand on thin air. But overall the sim fidelity to real world physics and form is running about 99 percent and that's remarkable for such a big project.

[EbonHawk]

I'll check more into some of the other stuff later, when I get the chance, but the thing about those "hotspots" didn't show up until the Discovery Tour. I WISH that was an option in the game, and now that you said that, I wonder if that was a proposed idea for the main game. It certainly would have been a welcome addition. I know I missed that feature from previous games. Origins (and Odyssey) don't offer crowd blending. Only stealth is (besides broken line-of-sight) is to crouch in foliage of some kind. Grass, weeds, bushes.. you can go stealthy.

As for climbing, it should be a different key from crouch. Try binding it to a completely different key or mouse button. I have mine set to mouse button #4 (first thumb button for me) and that's what I have to press when I approach a climbable wall or ladder.

About 98% of the vertical surfaces in the game are climbable, even debris and junk lying around. I think it's just your keybindings. Separate the crouch and climb buttons definitely, as those are just two mutually exclusive actions, or should be.

[taz.in.bc]

Hi again EH! well I figured the climbing thing out. Oddly, though they don't specify this, the C key is used as a modifier. You hold down W and tap C, like tapping Z to run. I think it works both down and up, or else Shift is Up and C is down, something like that. Anway, my avatar suddenly climbs like a monkey!

I've not been able to climb anything except obvious ladders so far. Smooth walls nope, even stairstep rock formations nope. Scaffolding nix. But any bamboo ladder that's in place, I can now climb those. Which has led to some wonderful views.

The Discovery Tour version offers no way to map keys. I guess it's because it's supposed to be "educational". Same reason they glued very unconvincing sea shells over the nipples of all the nude statues? Now that is an illusion-breaker, but I guess Ubi was afraid of some dark-ages school district in the US banning the educational game.

More discoveries: avatar can swim (crawl or breast stroke, equiv to run or walk). She can also dive and swim underwater! And some (not all!) small boats can be commandeered. I can jump aboard, "mount" (E) meaning move to the helm/oar, and then roar off at very unreal speeds. The boats are so much fun. But I wish there was some way to tell whether they are sailable or not, because I've wasted time jumping on boats that won't move.

Also discovered I can steal other people's horses :-) so all I get if I whistle is a camel, but if I find an unattended horse I can rustle it. Horse seems to be a bit faster.

I'm just mesmerised by this sim. The level of beauty and detail is unprecedented in my experience. Will definitely be writing a review. If there was such a thing as a smell generator to synthesize the various odours of Alexandria, the illusion would be frighteningly complete! As it is, I can almost feel the dry air, or smell the river mud or the flowers of the bazaar and temples. It's a world you could get lost in -- happily lost -- and I think it will be a perennial delight in my Steam collection. Not a game you play once, learn the trick, and never both to play again, but a place that you visit because you enjoy being there. On the strength of this one I'm definitely buying the Discovery Tour that Ubi made from Odyssey (Ancient Greece).

[EbonHawk]

I would find it really odd if they didn't include some way, by default, to be able to traverse the environment in the DT just like in the game. I mean, maybe a few exceptions, but overall... I just don't think they would do that.

For instance, in my Discovery Tour mode, right at the start outside Alexandria, I can climb pretty much any wall or rock formation, statues, etc in that area.

Here's Aya climbing some of those:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1973868216
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1973868140
the statue..
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1973868196

But, here is one part she can't climb.. The inside of that archway. But all other surfaces there are fair game.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1973868171

Here's my settings screen for the Discovery Tour. Under Controls, there's a Customize Controls section..
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1973871104

and here's where I can set and change the button for climbing.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1973871127
Maybe try setting it to something completely different there, and then holding that key in the game (or button, for the mouse) as you run towards a vertical surface, or rock, statue, etc.

[EbonHawk]

I wouldn't think so, but I wonder if we get different Settings menus because I also have the full game? I think that would just be strange if it was set up like that though.. Maybe it is.

[taz.in.bc]

Aha. Got climbing all figured out now, thanks EH! I did finally notice the button config option on the left, *after* you pointed it out to me :-) (I was looking for it on the right, where the buttons are)... anyhow I tweaked those keys for easier chording, so that climb up is now R and climb down is now F.

So now my avatar has super human monkey climbing skills, great fun. I can shinny up most structures if the masonry is rough, enjoy the view from the top, then leap fearlessly back to ground level.

I'm still just gobsmacked by the detail and beauty of the sim, muttering Wow every few minutes, sometimes every few seconds! The granaries in the eastern archipelago are stunning, and the tanners' and dyers' quarter in Alexandria is a tour de force, it really has the maze-and-warren feel of the old quarter of an ancient or mediaeval city.

The small boats that one can steal and sail, do you know how many of those there are? I thought at first there might be just one ("My Boat") which I had to keep track of, but since then I've found a couple more that I could hijack, with various cargoes. I notice the map doesn't tell you where boats may be found, you have to keep a sharp eye out. I've been using the eagle to look for boats.

One illusion breaker which I'm trying to forgive and ignore is that the sun rises and sets nicely, but afaict the moon just sits there all night in one position (harumph). The moonlight effect is drop-dead gorgeous though: night sailing on the harbour is absolute eye candy. The game world boundary is well offshore too, so one can sail pretty far out there and navigate back by the Pharos light (it kinda gives me the shivers, seeing the ancient world come to life like this).

Animal NPCs are well done too. Crocodiles, hippos, various goats and sheep, cats, birds -- I saw a lion at one point -- the world really feels alive. Lots of interesting transport too, some of which I would like to hijack: pity we can't steal a Roman chariot or a goods wagon, just for a change.

This title is crying out for VR. I would finally go out and invest in a VR rig if Discovery Tour was VR capable.

Anyway thanks for getting the complete AC ignoramus started.

[EbonHawk]

There are only 2 steerable little boats that I know of, in the Discovery Tour. Might be a 3rd one? They are all similar, but one is made out of reeds(?) and is the smallest. Then there are 2 that are really close together, with subtle differences. And I think there is one with a sail in it. I know it's in the regular game, just not sure about in the Discovery Tour..

Someone suggested in another thread that you can whistle, like you can for your horse, but in the water it calls a boat to you. I haven't tested that out in the DT.

No problem, glad to help.

[taz.in.bc]

I've found at least 2 boats with sails that I could steal, haven't yet stolen any without sails. I haven't been able to commandeer any of the larger vessels though. Once I managed to catch one just before it left the dock on the lake near where the hippos are wallowing, and had a nice ride over to the city waterfront, but mostly I jump aboard and they just sit there. :-) I tried to chase a larger ship by swimming but at that time had not figured out Climbing so couldn't get aboard. Lots more experimenting to do!

[EbonHawk]

Tons. Although the DT is really "limited" since none of the quests are active. Still a blast though.

Just curious why you don't get the game and play with all the "cheats" enabled. Game would be crazy-easy then, but I haven't tried that Animus Console thing in a while. I think it has a lot of "cheats" in it though...

[taz.in.bc]

I didn't know you could even get to a console in AC. Animus Console, will have to look that up.

Have to admit too, I rather enjoy the museum tour stuff. Even if the voice-overs are cheezy, the information is fascinating and some of the supplementary still photos are quite good. I'm planning to be a completionist with this one: want to walk or ride every km of road, visit every island and city/village, take every tour and see every ruin. Should keep me busy for weeks.

If there is a console that allows god-mode or similar, I might invest in other AC franchise games just for the tourism -- are they all modelled with the same loving care and obsessive attention to detail?. I see that the Ancient Greece scenario is available as an edutainment version (Odyssey Discoery Tour) and I'll probably buy that, waiting to see if Steam picks it up.

This game is firing me up with enthusiasm to work on a mocap-usb-game-controller project that I've had in mind for a while. I've done a bike controller using ETS2 and ATS (hands down the biggest and best driving sims out there, imho, though the graphics are not state of the art). Google for USBcycle, game controller, virtual bike, those kind of terms, you'll probably find it. There's a YT video documenting first version of the project

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI55Mqzf5uQ

Up until I discovered Discovery Tour :-) it was my favourite evening relaxation to ride through Europe, Russia, Iceland etc -- or for a change of pace the Western US. Fake sunlight can be therapeutic in the dark BC winter, and it was pretty good exercise too. And that virtual world is HUGE. I mean enormous. You can ride from southern Greece to Iceland (some ferries involved) and from the Pyrenees region to central Russia. And it's not all freeways. The devs have built a lot of very nice back-country 2-lanes.

So now I'm thinking about a walking sim USB controller where I instrument the human. Only in the thinking stages so far, I think I know what technology I'd use but there are a lot of unanswered questions as I haven't fooled around much with gyro-accelerometers (did use wiichuck output for steering in Euro Truck in an early prototype). Anyway, to enjoy Discovery Tour and get some exercise at the same time would be a real achievement so I'll be doing a lot of musing and sketching. Particularly the eagle mode has a lot of potential (arm extension, flapping, etc).

I'm just fascinated by game controllers -- how many creative ways they could be designed, especially so as to provide exercise while playing. Seems like the industry just reproduces the same old game pad in barely-different flavours, or the same old car driving set up, or the same old HOTAS. Not that I'm down on driving sims or flight sims -- I enjoy a quick bout of DiRT3 or DiRT Rally as much as the next gaming idiot, I learned to back a trailer by playing ETS2 with a wheel and pedals, and I fly helicopters (not very well) in XPLANE-10; but it seems like there's so much more we could do with USB game control. Hmm, sorry to be a bore, shutting up now...

[taz.in.bc]

Tried wading into the water and whistling for transport. Didn't get a boat.

My camel took a swim :-)

https://i.imgur.com/FHUaLX9l.jpg

[EbonHawk]

Only Origins and the newest release, Oydssey, has a Discovery Tour mode. As for Odyssey's DT, I think it's only available on the Uplay store right now. Don't think it will get a Steam release, unless something changes. Ubisoft said that all (most?) future titles will come out on Uplay exclusively, and that was right around the time that we were waiting for the DT for it. Fortunately, if we owned the game already on Steam, then the Discovery Tour got added to it for free.

Odyssey's DT is just as good as Origins'.

And only Origins and Odyssey feature an Animus Control Panel in the game mode. It takes your current save file and makes a hacked copy of it, so you can mess around in it. Basically, it opens up all kinds of damage modifiers (for you and your enemies in the world) and you can adjust them to insane levels. Same for hitpoints and other things. You can basically make yourself invincible, stealthy (pretty sure that's one of the options), and super fast. It just basically maxes out all your stats for speed, damage, and defense (armor).