• I am excited for the Future of Ubisoft | A "Good" AAA publisher? [Self-Post]
    24 replies, posted
[media]https://youtu.be/SJUsyV-UuP0[/media] Hey everyone. I've been working on this video all day and would greatly appreciate your feedback on the video itself and the editing along with the topic being discussed, whether you agree or disagree. Please bring up points I most likely missed (as I am sure there are plenty!) Some of the effects in the beginning are choppy / cheesy, but I feel I got a lot better as I went forward. To tell you all the truth, I'm incredibly self-conscious and am incredibly nervous how you all will react whether it be good or bad. But I have to start somewhere and hope to get some good feedback and discussions going. I was thinking of posting this somewhere on reddit but wanted to get your guys' opinions first. Thank you very much! Mainly inspired by [URL="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXj7EFAEM6PtQLjjh0wfsSA"]Cleanprincegamings[/URL] style if anyone watches him.
I honestly thought I would never buy a Ubisoft game after the last few years of their games but after seeing Mario + Rabbids and seeing what it was trying to do, and then watching Vinny from Vinesauce play it, I actually bought it, and really enjoyed it. So much so that I am debating on buying the Season Pass which is pretty huge coming from me since I am REALLY picky about Season Passes, unless they are from a company I trust (Nintendo, Bethesda to some extent, probably some others I forgot) I would usually avoid a Season Pass. Another thing I never expected was actually WANTING a ubisoft game, two of them in fact. Watch Dogs 2 and Rainbow Six Siege. When RSS came out I wasn't interested in it because of the crappy launch and lack of content, but now I am tempted to buy it (tho like you mentioned there are multiple versions of the game and I have no clue which one to get so I am a bit off put from buying the game.) And after watching some cutscenes from Watch Dogs 2, I actually found the characters and story to be quite funny and not as Cringy as I thought it would be. Heck here is another one that is new as of this video, Farcry 5. Mainly the Season pass because if it is anything like Blood Dragon which I love, it sounds like a whole ton of fun. FC5 doesn't really interest me unfortunately but after those games I've mentioned I won't be surprised I end up buying it in the future with the Season Pass. I used to HATE Ubisoft, despise them, but now they are warming up to me, of course I am very skeptical of them still but I have given them the benefit of a doubt recently. Ubisoft better not fuck this up because I can see their reputation being restored at this rate. Not too fond of the microtransactions but after hearing how it is in RSS gives me a bit more faith, just Cosmetics, no gambling like Lootboxes and I assume you can buy the skins with ingame currency (please correct me if I am wrong.) It being Cosmetics makes it easier for me to avoid cause I don't really give a shit about skins. You did a great job on the video, don't feel nervous for posting it here and if you do get nervous then don't feel bad about it. At the end of the day we all want the best for you (except assholes who don't) It'd be great to have another youtuber to watch. I'll be keeping an eye out for your videos.
Ubisoft definitely feels like the lesser evil when it comes to AAA publishers. Although I wonder if these consumer favorable practices are the result of them close to being bought out by Vivendi or whatever their name is. Good video though, dude. As for feedback, I would work on your delivery more. You come off as a little dry and the background music sometimes drowns your voice out a bit. Also, I think the script could've been tightened up. It felt like you were talking in circles at some points, and this last one might just be me but I think you talk a little too slow.
we have another decent AAA publisher, Zenimax Media
I've been boycotting them for many years now after I purchased Far Cry 3 from them on release and it didn't work and both Ubisoft support and Steam support refused to help me or give me a refund. It has been six years and I still haven't given them a cent and I have no regrets.
Nice video dude, everything flowed well and you were right on point throughout. If you want some firsthand info about what Ubi is like on the inside, it's pretty much as you described. From the bottom up, everyone tries really hard to make awesome games. Sometimes launches go south because of tech or networking, but as a result there's been a huge push towards making stuff better in the future. It's just a slower process than people seem to realize when there's thousands of people in 20+ studios working on dozens of projects, it takes years to right a ship of that size. I work at the Toronto studio which is relatively young and very ambitious. It's a great mix of super talented senior developers and a very eager crop of younger talent that are gunning to prove themselves and push boundaries. Talking to guys around the office, hearing horror stories of people that have worked at Crytek, EA, Rockstar, etc, the general feeling is that Ubisoft is like a sanctuary where you can work on big projects while still working a normal 40 hour week 95% of the time. Obviously no publisher is without its faults, but I've seen a lot of positive change here so far which has me optimistic about the direction the company is taking.
[QUOTE=Xonax;53162938]I honestly thought I would never buy a Ubisoft game after the last few years of their games but after seeing Mario + Rabbids and seeing what it was trying to do, and then watching Vinny from Vinesauce play it, I actually bought it, and really enjoyed it. So much so that I am debating on buying the Season Pass which is pretty huge coming from me since I am REALLY picky about Season Passes, unless they are from a company I trust (Nintendo, Bethesda to some extent, probably some others I forgot) I would usually avoid a Season Pass. Another thing I never expected was actually WANTING a ubisoft game, two of them in fact. Watch Dogs 2 and Rainbow Six Siege. When RSS came out I wasn't interested in it because of the crappy launch and lack of content, but now I am tempted to buy it (tho like you mentioned there are multiple versions of the game and I have no clue which one to get so I am a bit off put from buying the game.) And after watching some cutscenes from Watch Dogs 2, I actually found the characters and story to be quite funny and not as Cringy as I thought it would be. Heck here is another one that is new as of this video, Farcry 5. Mainly the Season pass because if it is anything like Blood Dragon which I love, it sounds like a whole ton of fun. FC5 doesn't really interest me unfortunately but after those games I've mentioned I won't be surprised I end up buying it in the future with the Season Pass. I used to HATE Ubisoft, despise them, but now they are warming up to me, of course I am very skeptical of them still but I have given them the benefit of a doubt recently. Ubisoft better not fuck this up because I can see their reputation being restored at this rate. Not too fond of the microtransactions but after hearing how it is in RSS gives me a bit more faith, just Cosmetics, no gambling like Lootboxes and I assume you can buy the skins with ingame currency (please correct me if I am wrong.) It being Cosmetics makes it easier for me to avoid cause I don't really give a shit about skins. You did a great job on the video, don't feel nervous for posting it here and if you do get nervous then don't feel bad about it. At the end of the day we all want the best for you (except assholes who don't) It'd be great to have another youtuber to watch. I'll be keeping an eye out for your videos.[/QUOTE] Thanks man, I really appreciate it. I realize I kind of sound like a fanboy throughout, but I hated Ubisoft pre-Siege. I really didn't care for the Assassins Creed games. The only game I really liked was Far Cry and even then it wasn't something I was super excited about. After Siege I was still in the boat of "oh well it's Ubisoft and the new Watch Dogs and Assassins Creed will suck" but I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed them. I was gifted Watch Dogs 2 and loved every second of it and was shocked to see it wasn't anything like the previous game. I also never bought into Origins but was enticed out of my own boredom and a sale to $40, and by reading the Facepunch thread on it. I never finished Syndicate because again, it bored me. But Origins was something different. It felt more like a Witcher than it did Assassins Creed. And the game is by no means perfect - AI bugs are still present and movement can be janky, but it really was an great surprise. Edit: I forgot to answer some of your questions. The issue with all the Siege editions is that it is so convoluted. The starter edition gives you 4 free operators and enough money to allow you to buy 2 more. The Standard edition will (in the next update) give you all the base operators for free (does not give you the year 1, 2 and 3 ops). The next one up gives you all the ops plus the year 3 ones, and the Complete gives you all ops from all years. And yes all cosmetics can be bought with in-game currency EXCEPT elite skins which give you a new skin, operator card and winning animation. And some alpha pack legendaries are exclusive to the packs, but those can be bought with in-game currency and not thru your own dime. [editline]27th February 2018[/editline] [QUOTE=TectoImprov;53162956]Ubisoft definitely feels like the lesser evil when it comes to AAA publishers. Although I wonder if these consumer favorable practices are the result of them close to being bought out by Vivendi or whatever their name is. Good video though, dude. As for feedback, I would work on your delivery more. You come off as a little dry and the background music sometimes drowns your voice out a bit. Also, I think the script could've been tightened up. It felt like you were talking in circles at some points, and this last one might just be me but I think you talk a little too slow.[/QUOTE] Thank you. Yeah I realize after I repeat a few things sometimes, and I could have organized their main issues together in a single segment rather than separating them. And I am also currently sick with a bad cough, but I was really excited to do this and had nothing better to do that I went ahead and did it anyway. But I'll keep that in mind for next time - talk a bit louder and more clear! Also, in real life I tend to get criticized by my family for talking way too fast, so I'll try and find a happy medium. [editline]27th February 2018[/editline] [QUOTE=ForgottenKane;53163004]I've been boycotting them for many years now after I purchased Far Cry 3 from them on release and it didn't work and both Ubisoft support and Steam support refused to help me or give me a refund. It has been six years and I still haven't given them a cent and I have no regrets.[/QUOTE] I'm sorry you've had a bad experience. Uplay is pretty bad. It's gotten better but it's still not ideal. Take a risk and go for a sale on something sometime, maybe you'll be surprised, though I understand if you don't. [editline]27th February 2018[/editline] [QUOTE=Pandamobile;53163053]Nice video dude, everything flowed well and you were right on point throughout. If you want some firsthand info about what Ubi is like on the inside, it's pretty much as you described. From the bottom up, everyone tries really hard to make awesome games. Sometimes launches go south because of tech or networking, but as a result there's been a huge push towards making stuff better in the future. It's just a slower process than people seem to realize when there's thousands of people in 20+ studios working on dozens of projects, it takes years to right a ship of that size. I work at the Toronto studio which is relatively young and very ambitious. It's a great mix of super talented senior developers and a very eager crop of younger talent that are gunning to prove themselves and push boundaries. Talking to guys around the office, hearing horror stories of people that have worked at Crytek, EA, Rockstar, etc, the general feeling is that Ubisoft is like a sanctuary where you can work on big projects while still working a normal 40 hour week 95% of the time. Obviously no publisher is without its faults, but I've seen a lot of positive change here so far which has me optimistic about the direction the company is taking.[/QUOTE] That sounds awesome man! Let me know if they're looking for a junior sound designer.
Yeah I never saw Ubisoft as straight up evil, it was always more of an issue with some of their games being disappointing or buggy at launch. I didn't think of the first Watch Dogs as bad, just kinda underwhelming after all the "gameplay" videos they showed off, but I thought it was still fun to [I]play[/I]. WD2 on the other hand I sometimes wish I could forget just so I could play it again without knowing what's coming because I love everything about it so much :v: I stopped playing AC after 4 but I heard from people that also got bored of the formula that the new one is considerably different and also not bad, so there's that. I never played R6:S since it sounds like a tactical co-op game and I can't talk or have anyone to play it with so, yeah. Judging by how many videos and not-negative memes I've seen of it I'm guessing it's good though. Looking forward to their next single player game though, I hope that thing they teased inside Watch Dogs 2 didn't get cancelled because it looked like something that would be right up my alley
[QUOTE=Thunderbolt;53163248]Yeah I never saw Ubisoft as straight up evil, it was always more of an issue with some of their games being disappointing or buggy at launch. I didn't think of the first Watch Dogs as bad, just kinda underwhelming after all the "gameplay" videos they showed off, but I thought it was still fun to [I]play[/I]. WD2 on the other hand I sometimes wish I could forget just so I could play it again without knowing what's coming because I love everything about it so much :v: I stopped playing AC after 4 but I heard from people that also got bored of the formula that the new one is considerably different and also not bad, so there's that. I never played R6:S since it sounds like a tactical co-op game and I can't talk or have anyone to play it with so, yeah. Judging by how many videos and not-negative memes I've seen of it I'm guessing it's good though. Looking forward to their next single player game though, I hope that thing they teased inside Watch Dogs 2 didn't get cancelled because it looked like something that would be right up my alley[/QUOTE] If you want people to play R6:S with I'm sure many on Facepunch including me would be happy to. The folks in the R6 thread here are pretty friendly and wholeheartedly toxic so it's quite welcoming
[QUOTE=Thunderbolt;53163248]I never played R6:S since it sounds like a tactical co-op game and I can't talk or have anyone to play it with so, yeah. Judging by how many videos and not-negative memes I've seen of it I'm guessing it's good though.[/QUOTE] It's one of the biggest turn arounds I've seen, and it was the first time in quite a few years that I actually ended up buying from Ubisoft again, even if I had to deal with Uplay for that.
I really commend Ubi for them actually shelving out new IPs or in Siege's case, be willing to give the greenlight for a vastly different concept for an old IP instead of the usual of playing it safe by sticking to old IPs or restrict large changes to those IPs. Dunno about others, but it seems that whenever I look at Ubisoft at E3, I would be impressed by the radically different game concepts whereas other publishers like EA I would go "oh cool another battlefield". From the hilariously cringey Siege reveal from back in E3 2014 to the large changes in combat of Ass Creed in E3 2017, Ubi's E3 is always something I look forward to every year.
Whatever you do, don't buy the Rainbow Six Siege starter edition. The base operator costs go from 500-2000 renown to 12500 renown and it's a massive grind. I believe the standard edition will give you all the base operators for free when the next season begins (next week).
[QUOTE=meppers;53163002]we have another decent AAA publisher, Zenimax Media[/QUOTE] Judging by the ratings people aren't agreeing with you, but their last few games were DOOM (excellent), Dishonored 2 (excellent), Death of the Outside (imo at least good), Prey (GOTY) and Evil Within 2 (don't know too much about this one but seems to be a considerable improvement on the predecessor). None of these games have any microtransactions or even bullshit DLC afaik. Their pre-release review policy is the only controversy I can think of they've ever been involved in. Bethesda Softworks is more problematic, but like Blizzard not really feeling like it is part of Activision, Bethesda is very separate from Bethesda the publisher.
[QUOTE=Derp123213;53163479]I really commend Ubi for them actually shelving out new IPs or in Siege's case, be willing to give the greenlight for a vastly different concept for an old IP instead of the usual of playing it safe by sticking to old IPs or restrict large changes to those IPs. Dunno about others, but it seems that whenever I look at Ubisoft at E3, I would be impressed by the radically different game concepts whereas other publishers like EA I would go "oh cool another battlefield". From the hilariously cringey Siege reveal from back in E3 2014 to the large changes in combat of Ass Creed in E3 2017, Ubi's E3 is always something I look forward to every year.[/QUOTE] I really hope they move forward with ideas risky like Steep. It's not as popular but seems like it could be really fun. Skull and Bones looks really interesting as well, though I'm not as interested in Starlink, it looks like something different.
I'm a supporter of Ubisoft in the current climate. They're definitely one of the least bad out there. You can see how much they've improved since Watch Dogs 1. That was at a time where, like most other publishers, they only cared about releasing popular franchise episodes as fast as they could and fucking the customers in the ass with DLC and microtransactions. But then you can see they've changed. Really, you can see that they've actually gone and [I]listened[/I] to complaints, the absolute madmen. Watch Dogs 2 was well-received, Assassin's Creed took a break to deliver a new episode that would be bigger and more polished than ever. It works and I want people to know that Ubisoft is one of the few AAA publishers out there that [I]listens[/I] to the players. Or at least, more than the average. Because you know Activision and EA don't give a rat's ass about the players' opinion. I still won't buy their games until they're on sale, but they're okay in my book.
[QUOTE=redBadger;53164170]I really hope they move forward with ideas risky like Steep. It's not as popular but seems like it could be really fun. Skull and Bones looks really interesting as well, though I'm not as interested in Starlink, it looks like something different.[/QUOTE] steep is so much fun, honestly. it filled a hole that opened up when the latest SSX game wasn't that good
[QUOTE=LZTYBRN;53164429]steep is so much fun, honestly. it filled a hole that opened up when the latest SSX game wasn't that good[/QUOTE] I tried the beta and didn't like it. I might look into it again on a sale. Is it good just as a singleplayer / solo experience?
Good? No Less bad? Sure
I've always held strong hate for them as a publisher but recognized that they obviously care as a dev team about what they do regardless of how much they get ruined by what seems like really bad time constraints. Universally, outside of Ubisoft, I think the big thing to remember in this 'ERA' of gaming is that ' more'bad companies don't make other companies 'less' bad ones. Just because a new practice is far worse than older practices, it doesn't make them better to do in any way.
My only problem with Ubi are them charging £50 for new PC games, the only company in the world to do so in the UK. It's £10 more than the current standard and I have no idea why. Otherwise, I pretty much agree with you.
[QUOTE=redBadger;53164456]I tried the beta and didn't like it. I might look into it again on a sale. Is it good just as a singleplayer / solo experience?[/QUOTE] it's basically a mostly solo experience, the mp aspect isnt really that obvious or necessary to play. it's good to kick back with for an hour or two at a time, but it's quite short lived unless you're really dedicated to unlocking all the missions, which you do by finding landmarks. it's kinda tedious but i usually ignore all of that, pick a spawn point somewhere and start tricking around. the animations and visual fidelity are really nice to look at. i wouldn't expect the same level of trick depth as SSX though. definitely grab it on sale
I feel like a lot of people gloss over stuff when praising Ubisoft/Siege. While Ubisoft do put out more niche titles unlike some other publishers, they're notorious for rushing out projects resulting in unpolished and buggy launches, pumping out sequels and sequels with minimal innovations (except recently since that model has been backfiring on them), downright misleading consumers with pre release footage which almost always looks way worse in the final game. They're also prone to ruining fun experiences with confusing numerous editions of their games (usually none of which get you everything), bloating them with microtransactions, lootboxes, etc. I feel Siege only got the support it received since the launch sales were lackluster at best, and even that took more than a year to iron out some of the experience ruining bugs and overall jank of the game. Not to mention the F2P-like model which you need to grind dozens of hours to unlock all new operators (or the hours needed to outfit all characters in For Honor), the Outbreak lootboxes and the downright scam of the starter edition. That's not to even mention what a joke For honor and the Division are/were for a long time.
[QUOTE=Novangel;53165287]I feel like a lot of people gloss over stuff when praising Ubisoft/Siege. While Ubisoft do put out more niche titles unlike some other publishers, they're notorious for rushing out projects resulting in unpolished and buggy launches, pumping out sequels and sequels with minimal innovations (except recently since that model has been backfiring on them), downright misleading consumers with pre release footage which almost always looks way worse in the final game. They're also prone to ruining fun experiences with confusing numerous editions of their games (usually none of which get you everything), bloating them with microtransactions, lootboxes, etc. I feel Siege only got the support it received since the launch sales were lackluster at best, and even that took more than a year to iron out some of the experience ruining bugs and overall jank of the game. Not to mention the F2P-like model which you need to grind dozens of hours to unlock all new operators (or the hours needed to outfit all characters in For Honor), the Outbreak lootboxes and the downright scam of the starter edition. That's not to even mention what a joke For honor and the Division are/were for a long time.[/QUOTE] They also keep trying to push the very scripted and highly awkward "imaginings" of what co-op gameplay is like - for example their initial gameplay footage of Division/Ghost Recon and Rainbow Six. They also tend to seemingly heavily rely on initial games pushes to drive their margins, which doesn't always pan out and is also likely why Division flubbed as bad as it did. The game just fell flat on launch and pretty much stayed there. Admirable attempts by Massive to rework the game and listen to the community (which was a rarity, but again, kudos to Ubisoft for letting that happen) also didn't help traction. The biggest reason I attribute failure to the game was the Ubisoft stubbornly refused to do free weekends or drop the price via discounted sales to bring people back into the fold, which only further made it a pariah. As a company, they're not much less 'corporatey bullshit' than the others. But they have two key distinctions - they are more dedicated than others when it comes to growing and sustaining artistic style (this can be seen in all of their games, the game itself might be subpar but the artwork is always consistently phenomenal) and what's more important is that they're willing to put themselves out there when it comes to testing the waters with new IP. I've worked with artists from Ubisoft and they are a class apart in the way they work. Having said that, they are [I]currently[/I] the least worst of the bunch right now. Being least worst doesn't deserve a gold star sticker. Problem is, most publishers their size generally tend to go to shit, which is why you cannot reasonably compare them to a studio with arguably less buullshit going on like CD Projekt Red (which has it's own share of issues). So it's more like a begrudging acceptance that while we fully expect Ubisoft to shoot us in the dick at any random moment, they're not doing so right now, which is acceptable.
[QUOTE=ForgottenKane;53163004]I've been boycotting them for many years now after I purchased Far Cry 3 from them on release and it didn't work and both Ubisoft support and Steam support refused to help me or give me a refund. It has been six years and I still haven't given them a cent and I have no regrets.[/QUOTE] siege is worth breaking the habbit if you're up for that kind of game, but I can totally understand why you do it I used to put ubi titles aside, and to be honest, I still do. The only thing I did buy was RS:Siege, which I ended up loving, and ended up buying all the useful DLC for it, such as Year 2 and 3, and the Year 1 operators. I don't really regret it. The only thing I do regret is buying the starter edition which gimps the living shit out of your choices and makes you grind quite a lot, and not having bought the game sooner to get the Year 1 pass aswell.
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