Not a Trailer Dog
Ubisoft's latest video for the hotly anticipated Watch Dogs is...interesting to say the least. It's more of a mini-documentary/tutorial talking about what the game is, rather than what it's about. It's filled with a lot of bold claims and exciting promises that could easily all turn out to be completely unfounded...but part of me, a very large part of me, is buying into it. What we've already seen, both from Watch Dogs and previous games, does show a lot of potential to really live up to everything we've been promised.
Aside from all the "play the game your way, this is an organic expeirence" stuff, it's worth noting that this in game footage looks a lot sharper than some we've seen recently. No, it's not as impressive as some of the early footage we were treated to, but it does address some of the concerns we've had about it being stripped back. As a side note, my thought is that a lot of what we've been seeing recently is aimed at the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 release, whilst this is likely for the NECKS JEHN! Which, if true, means our beloved PC...is gonna' look niiiiice.
Anyway, all that asicde, we also have a fairly short, but rather interesting Q&A which we have included in its entirety, as well as some tasty screenshots. Today, we are really spoiling you no?
Q. Are there day/night cycles in the game?
A. Yes, there is a real time day and night cycle. Time of day is not scripted.
Q. What weather systems can the player expect to experience?
A. We have a lot of different weather possibilities from sunny and calm, to stormy and rainy. Wind, rain, fog and clouds all have several degrees of intensity and are all systemic.
Q. How do you manage to ensure every NPC is unique?
A. Every NPC has unique qualities that distinguish him or her from others in the game. There are over 3000 character kits and an almost infinite amount of unique profiler possibilities.
Q. How many concurrent NPCs can there be?
A. The number of NPCs players can encounter at one time depends on a variety of factors like time of day and location. If it's mid-day, then players will see more NPCs going about their busy lives. At night, we have fewer NPCs reflecting the patterns we see in the real world. The downtown core of Chicago is also a busier area with lots more citizens than a more industrial region, for example. Our main goal was to ensure that the world feels as alive as you'd expect in a major city like Chicago. And of course, the next gen consoles allow us to place more NPCs in the world than we've ever been able to do in current gen consoles.
So it's hard to give specific numbers, but rest assured, the city will feel alive like players have never seen before with many unique NPCs populating the city.
Q. Can you hack absolutely every NPC in the game?
A. Yes, every NPC can be hacked. Based on their profile, a variety of hacks are possible. You can also hack elements in the world to influence the behaviour of NPC's around.
Q. What different environments can the player expect?
A. Chicago is a rich and diverse city and we want the player to explore every inch of it There are 6 different districts in WD, all with really different looks, types of NPC's and vibe.
Q. How many different vehicles can the player drive?
A. Over 75 different vehicles from bikes to compact, heavy, muscle, off road, SUV, luxury cars, or speed cars, all of them with their own realistic physics.
Q. How many difference hacks are available in the game?
A. Over 100 hacks