Assassin's Creed: Unity

"It is sometimes hard to remember how easy life was, before the world changed. Now people are starving in the streets and those with the will to fight back are imprisoned... or worse. The life I had is gone. The world I knew with it. Amongst the violence, amongst the chaos, I will find justice no matter the cost. If we've been betrayed from within, I have to do this myself."

- Arno Dorian, Assassin's Creed: Unity Story Trailer.

Assassin's Creed: Unity is a 2014 sandbox action adventure game, and a sequel to 2013's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, the game has the player take on the role of an Initiate as they explore the story of Arno Dorian, who joins the Assassins to investigate the murder of his adoptive father on behalf of his adoptive sister Élise de la Serre, a member of the Templars.

The game was released on 11 November 2014 in North America, 13 November in Europe and 14 November in the UK. It is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

Assassin's Creed: Unity is set primarily in Paris during the French Revolution in the late 18th century, with two additional areas in Versailles and Saint-Denis.

Development
Assassin's Creed: Unity began development in 2010 as Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood wrapped up development. Ubisoft's Montreal-based team, in conjunction with nine other studios from Toronto, Kiev, Singapore, Shanghai, Annecy, Montpellier, Bucharest, Quebec and Chengdu worked on the game.

The creative director was Alexandre Amancio, who also served in that capacity on 2011's Assassin's Creed: Revelations. He was offered the French Revolution game before taking the job of creative director on Revelations. After shipping that game, he was exhausted and took a job in advertising before returning to Ubisoft on Unity in June 2012.

Amancio aimed to utilize the then next-generation console technology to push the boundaries of storytelling, and having an engaging love story without making it become a secondary storyline. He cited ' and ' as video games that successfully placed romance at the center of gameplay, but noted those were far less complex than an Assassin's Creed game.

Travis Stout wrote the single player story, Ceri Young wrote the co-op missions, and Russell Lees scripted the single-player side missions. The historical characters have been mostly relegated to the side missions, leaving Stout to concentrate on writing a story focusing on Arno.

French historian Dr. Jean Clement Martin acted as script consultant. According to the series' primary historical advisor Maxime Durand, he aided in ensuring the story did not feel too Royalist despite critiquing the Revolution.

The game uses a rebuilt Anvil game engine utilizing the Theatre, Zen and City Lights tools, which respectively improve animation, asset management and volumetric lighting. Quebec professor Laurent Turcot advised developers on the look of 18th century Paris, advising them to look at contemporary paintings and engravings in recreating the past. 's paintings were emulated for the appearance of the city's water.

Unity has crowds numbering in the thousands, with new animations and behaviors, such as holding hands or chatting to each other, enhancing their believability. When Arno sees crowds from a distance, the civilians' animation rigs are simplified, but as he gets closer, their "bones" increase and their behavior becomes more complex.

Amancio explained the game's cast are using English accents because unlike previous games, where accents distinguished characters and reminded players where they are from, it is clear to the player that the characters in Unity are French so using those accents was deemed unnecessary.

Unlike previous installments, Unity is set to have three composers for the soundtrack: Chris Tilton, Ryan Amon and Sarah Schachner.

Locations and navigation
As the game is exclusive to next-generation consoles and PC, it will enable renderings of Paris to 1:1 scale and crowds numbering in the thousands. Players will able to explore the city's entirety, including seamless interiors and the catacombs, with landmarks like Notre-Dame having a quarter of the building's interior playable. Even empty buildings may have unlockable rooms with treasures inside. When standing on rooftops, a button can display 3D objects like alarm bells to help the player strategize.

Haystacks have been largely removed in favor of allowing players to control their descent from rooftops, and the controls for freerunning up and down are now separate. Social Stealth has been improved upon with a special crouching mode activated by button, and combat has been made more tactical to feel more realistic: counter kills were removed.

Assassinations in the game are referred to as "black box missions," and harken to the style of gameplay from the first Assassin's Creed. Contextual clues are provided to allow the player to choose and plan their own approach, rather than follow a linear, pre-determined path to the target. Unlike previous games however, an assassination is not deemed successful until Arno has escaped after performing it.

Memories
For memories, instead of the player being given a series of objectives, Ubisoft has developed the Adaptive Mission Mechanic, which gives players several potential paths to complete a mission. For example, choosing to stalk a target will lead to a chase if they detect you, as opposed to causing desynchronization.

Customization
The Assassins' weapons and appearance are customizable, while experience gained can be spent on four different specialties: "Melee" (offense), "Health" (defense), "Ranged" (navigation), and stealth. For example, Arno can possess Eagle Pulse, which allows him to sense how many guards are in a location he intends to infiltrate. Like other skills, it can be upgraded with experience points at the player's discretion. He can also unlock a disguise skill to escape pursuing guards. The player will be able to upgrade all of Arno's skills, given his objective is to become a Master Assassin.

There are around 200 choices for Arno's gear, which can benefit gameplay:


 * Hoods can decrease a guard's reaction time as well as increase the radius of Eagle Sense.
 * Chest items refer to the Assassins' robes, which changing can increase the time you can spend blended in the crowd, and the time it takes for a guard to detect you.
 * Arm items change the appearance of the Hidden Blade, increasing melee damage and the Phantom Blade's ammunition, but can also increase the time it takes to revive allies.
 * Belts and sashes increase the number of health points and items carried.
 * Pants and boots can decrease fall damage and running noises, as well as providing extra health.

Cooperative play
"Assassins do not only embark on their own quests (like Ezio avenging his family), they have to pay their dues to the Assassin council. So players will have to complete what we call Brotherhood missions, in shared experience, to fulfill their duties towards the Assassins."

- Alex Amancio discussing the reason behind cooperative gameplay.

Following the success of Wolfpack in Assassin's Creed III and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Assassin's Creed: Unity is the first game in the series to introduce campaign co-op. Up to four players can take on story-based missions including sabotaging an execution, protecting an emperor or assassinating a target. However, the co-op missions will be optional, all story-based, and can be completed singularly as well.

Co-operative gameplay starts at taverns, where the player can see a "ghost" of a friend who is also playing. Approaching said ghost can establish a request to join the friend on their mission, and both will be loaded to the mission's nearest checkpoint. Amancio expects players will spend a third of their time in co-op mode.

Players can unlock skills that will benefit a whole group: these include the Disguise skill, Group Healing, the Assassin Cache for sharing bombs and ammunition, and Communal Sense, which colors targets' locations across the whole map.

There are heist missions for the Assassins to steal money. The more an Assassin is detected, the less money will be gained. Amancio commented that the co-op missions will encourage players to work together, thereby avoiding a session from falling apart with gamers who refuse to co-operate.

Players can also roam around together in open world co-op and do several puzzles together such as the Nostradamus Enigmas

Other
The modern day portion will return, but will differ from the Abstergo Entertainment. . It instead uses "Helix" a fictional videogame console that allows users to play and view genetic memories. The player themselves is playing as a user who is streaming Arno's memories through the help of assassins Bishop and Shaun, with Bishop being the person who directly talks to him. They show him a stolen internal Abstergo video that explains scientists discovering rare DNA with triple helix (instead of the normal 2) that are from sages. The video states that if they find enough they could build a memory sequence that shows the locations of the pieces of eden, advanced technology left over from the first civilization. The assassins are looking for the sage that Arno met at some point in his life. At some points in the game there are sever sweeps where Arno has to run into a portal before the user is discovered by Abstergo. He then goes through a linear level of Paris in different years such The Belle Epoqué. and the Second World War. He then has to go through the portal to return to the simulation.

Unity is the first game in the Assassin's Creed series to lack the competitive multiplayer, since its initiation in Brotherhood.

Controversy
The development team had intended for players to choose the co-op characters' gender, but it was abandoned due to time constraints. "It's double the animations, it's double the voices, all that stuff and double the visual assets", Amancio explained. "Especially because we have customizable assassins. It was really a lot of extra production work."

This caused an immediate uproar of anger from many fans of the series. Even Assassin's Creed III animation director Jonathan Cooper criticized this reason, stating, "In my educated opinion, I would estimate this to be a day or two's work. Not a replacement of 8000 animations", explaining "Walk/run cycles and idles are the easiest way to define a character. Everything else is androgynous." He also revealed Aveline de Grandpré shared more animations with Ratonhnhaké:ton than Edward Kenway did.

In response, Ubisoft issued the following statement:


 * "Assassin's Creed Unity is focused on the story of the lead character, Arno. Whether playing by yourself or with the co-op shared experiences, you the gamer will always be playing as Arno, complete with his broad range of gear and skill sets that will make you feel unique. With regard to diversity in our playable Assassins, we've featured Aveline, Connor, Adéwalé and Altaïr in Assassin's Creed games and we continue to look at showcasing diverse characters. We look forward to introducing you to some of the strong female characters in Assassin's Creed Unity."

The game shipped with many bugs and glitches, leading Ubisoft to apologize by offering the Dead Kings DLC for free.

Up until now, there have been five patches for the game: Patch 1.1 (Day One Patch), Patch 1.2, Patch 1.3, Patch 1.4 and Patch 1.5.

Here is what each patch offers:

Patch 1.2

This patch reduces the occurrence of the following issues:

• Arno falling through the ground

• Game crashing when joining a co-op session

• Arno getting caught inside of hay carts

• Cinematic performances

• Various flickering and graphic issues

• Various input Issues

• Issues with “Invite to game”

• Helix Credits Issues

Patch 1.3

This patch reduces the occurrence of the following issues:

Stability & Performance

Fixed numerous random crashes for both on Campaign and Co-op​

Fixed specific framerate drops

Gameplay (navigation, fight, stealth)

Fixed navigation issues where the player gets stuck.

Fixed haystack issues where the player can stay stuck in it.

Fixed Cover issues

Fixed various camera issues

Fixed animation issues

Fixed some Booster issues

AI & Crowd

Fixed various animation issues

Fixed various detection issues

Fixed various crowd stations issues

Matchmaking, Connectivity & Replication

Fixed various matchmaking issues

Fixed various host migration issues

Fixed join-in-progress issues

Fixed various replication issues between host and clients

Fixed various issues in the My Club menu

Menus and HUD

Fixed various menu issues and pop-up overlap issues

Fixed Mission objectives & updates issues

Fixed issues in customization menu

Fixed some localization inconsistencies in the menus

Fixed some Credits issues

Mission tweaks (campaign, coop & side content)

Fixed various low repro walkthrough breaks

Fixed various NPC navigation issues

Fixed inconsistencies in some missions

World & 3D

Fixed various collisions and navigation mesh issues

Progression & Difficulty

Adjusted various community events rewards

PC-Specific

Fixed saves corruptions in some cases

Fixed temporal blur for SLI

Fixed graphical corruptions in Character Customization menu

Fixed crash in Character Customization menu on controller autoswitch

Alt+Enter switch window modes correctly

NPC on side monitors shows correctly

Minor UI improvements

Patch 1.4

This patch reduces the occurrence of the following issues:

• Performance & Stability: Frame rate drops, game crashes, lost progression

• Gameplay: Navigation, lock picking chests

• Online: Connectivity, matchmaking, companion app

Patch 1.5

This patch reduces the occurrence of the following issues:

Stability & performance

Fixed numerous random crashes both on Campaign and Coop

Save game & Progression

Fixed gear and outfit rewards getting relocked

Added users profile corrector to resolve companion synchronization issues

Made Initiate and companion app exclusive content accessible to all players

Fixed the ‘Find Leon’ objective not spawning on Dead Kings Memory 2

Online matchmaking, connectivity & replication

Fixed various matchmaking and connection issues both in matches and when starting a match.

Fixed various replication issues between host and clients

Fixed issues with the My Club feature

Gameplay (navigation, fight, stealth)

Fixed issue with Arno losing control after trying to launch Initiates from the pause menu

Fixed minor navigation issues

Menus and HUD

Fixed issues occurring when hacking gears

Fixed additional issues with notifications

World & 3D

Fixed some minor FX and texture issues

Editions
To date, Ubisoft has announced several collector's editions of Assassin's Creed: Unity. The Gold Edition is no longer available for purchase as the Season Pass has been removed.

Amazon Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Unity.
 * A collector's box.
 * A replica of Arno's pocket watch.
 * An exclusive weapon: the Parade Pistol.
 * One exclusive single player mission: The Chemical Revolution.

Bastille Edition= Collector's Edition= GameStop Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Unity.
 * A jumbo steel case.
 * A copy of the official soundtrack.
 * A copy of the official artbook.
 * Two lithographs.
 * Two exclusive single player missions: Chemical Revolution and American Prisoner.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Unity.
 * A collector's box.
 * A copy of the official soundtrack.
 * A copy of the official artbook.
 * A 16" Arno figurine.
 * A music box.
 * Two exclusive single player missions: Chemical Revolution and Killed by Science.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Unity.
 * An exclusive weapon: the Razorhead Spear.
 * One exclusive single player mission: Chemical Revolution.
 * A "Spin to Win" opportunity.

Guillotine Collector's Case= Notre Dame Edition= Special Edition=
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Unity.
 * A collector's box.
 * A FuturePak case.
 * A copy of the official soundtrack.
 * A copy of the official artbook.
 * A 41cm Arno guillotine figurine.
 * A secret Paris map.
 * A framed canvas print.
 * Two lithographs.
 * A customized tarot card game.
 * A music box.
 * Two exclusive single player missions.
 * Exclusive weapons and outfits.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Unity.
 * A collector's box.
 * A copy of the official soundtrack.
 * A copy of the official artbook.
 * A 39.5cm Arno gargoyle figurine.
 * Two exclusive single player mission: Chemical Revolution and American Prisoner.
 * A retail copy of Assassin's Creed: Unity.
 * One exclusive single player mission: Chemical Revolution.
 * Royal Arsenal exclusive weapons and outfits pack.

Marketing
For the 2014, Ubisoft designed an obstacle course, where parkour experts and stuntmen were on hand to help fans recreate the freerunning moves they will see in the game. An animated trailer debuted there was produced by, designed by and narrated by.

Gallery
Videos=