Search

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 13th to 19th February Community Share 21 Feb 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Assassin’s Creed Guardian Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ Pibu_Ra First up this week we have a gorgeous shot of Bayek stood atop a building. The burning colours of the sunset are just delightful. The silhouette of Bayek in the Horus outfit with Senu on his arm is just perfect. I must mention the birds in the sky too. Everything is aligned so well in this capture. It reminds me of the moody cinematography of The Dark Knight Trilogy. Link: https://twitter.com/pibu_ra/status/1595458460878925827?s=46&t=YewA56R-1GGtit5lI2FR IQ Taking Flight Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ VirtualCaptures Next up we have a shot that represents the beauty of Assassin’s Creed Origins. This capture is from a stunning set of four shots that are all magnificent. What drew me to this photo is the deep, rich colours that are a staple of Origins. I love the bird taking flight and the NPC in his straw boat. The cloud formations above just add to the elegance of this shot. Link: https://twitter.com/virtualcaptures/status/1625296015296266240?s=46&t=YewA56R-1GGtit5lI2FRIQ Senu Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ blackdog_vp I could not resist selecting this shot for the weekly showcase. Despite an abundance of Senu/Ikaros shots recently, this one stood out due to it amazing perspective. Senu looks elegant as ever soaring over Alexandria. Capturing the lighthouse in the background with the smoke rising from the top is nothing short of genius. The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week: Judge: Colum Blackett (Col_96) This is such a unique capture that demonstrates a clever use of the photo mode tool. I particularly like the contrasting colours within this shot, and use of perspective to create an optical illusion where the eagle appears to be a similar size to its surroundings. Seeing Senu in flight passing the Lighthouse of Alexandria immediately makes me think of Bayek the protector, keeping a watchful eye over his beloved Aya. This would make a great phone background. Daredevil Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ MissEvieFrye A new hashtag from our friend’s @CreedScholars brought about this unbelievable shot from Miss Frye. I am a massive fan of this VP artist, and this shot is up there as one of my favourites. I am getting huge Daredevil vibes from this capture. The hood, eye mask and wild hunt tattoo make for such a striking shot. I would not be messing with Eivor looking like this. Eivor Varinsdottir Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ TuridTorkil We end this week with a beautiful black and white portrait of Eivor. Black and white VP can be so impressive but often under used. There is a clean look to this shot and that really helps highlight the amazing details on Eivor’s face. I love the hair and tattoo combination with the face scar really prominent. The winner though is her look, excellent camera positioning. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

TOWCB Recap: Reddit AMA with the Assassin’s Creed Mirage Dev Team News Share 13 Jul 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Back To Database Banner by Thea Marie Rivedal (Moonchildgecko) from TOWCB Art Team. The official Assassin’s Creed Twitter account announced this last week that the devs of AC Mirage would be holding an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit’s r/Assassin’s Creed on the 13th of July, 2023. Present for the AMA were Creative Director Stephane Boudon, Narrative Director Sarah Beaulieu, and Art Director Jean-Luc Sala. The Q&A session lasted for about 3 hours with 23k reported views (via Moderator u/WhiteWolfWhispers) and we have gathered and trimmed all of the questions and responses from the devs below for you to read in an easy and organized fashion. You can read through the full subreddit thread here . Game Development and Design u/WhiteWolfWhispers: Just curious, at what point during Valhalla was it decided to make Mirage a full game instead of a dlc and why? Sarah Beaulieu: Hi! We decided to make Mirage a full game in the following weeks after starting working on it. The opportunity of working on the city of Baghdad, and on the character of Basim, was too good to be missed! u/SparkedSynapse: Is there a chance of Assassin Focus being visually retouched to add more digital-artifacting, Animus distortion, floating text, and the like? Stephane Boudon: The walkthrough trailer was still work in progress and we continue to improve the visual of the game. u/andyreloads-YouTube: How long will it take in hours to complete the game (100%) & how big is the map in KM? Sarah Beaulieu: In terms of playtime, we are closer to the first AC games. u/SparkedSynapse: Is there any chance of quest replay or mission replay being made available in a potential post-launch update? Stephane Boudon: For now, Mirage has no plan for DLC or extensive post-launch u/Ras_AlHim: Maybe a silly question, but will there be credits playing at the end (unlike the past few ACs)? Sarah Beaulieu: Not a silly question! Yes, you'll be able to read the names of everyone who worked on Mirage at the end of the game! u/ClaudioACSy: I would like to know what accomplishment you're the most proud of and what is the hardest challenge you've faced during the development of this game? Sarah Beaulieu: I'm especially proud of the cast of characters and actors we gathered for Mirage. The talents brought passion and authenticity to the story, and I'm so grateful for this. When working on a complex and huge lore such as Assassin's Creed, the hardest challenge is to stay consistent, while creating bridges with existing lore elements, and new ones... This is key! Story u/NeedleworkerPure5092: The game is set in the period called “Anarchy at Samarra”. Then, why doesn't it include Samarra, Basim’s birthplace and the Abbasid Caliphate’s capital at that time? It’s the city where all of the caliphs lived and most important historical events happened. Sarah Beaulieu: The city of Baghdad was the center of the world at that time, home to many scholars and artists, so we decided it was the perfect place for our story. And back then, caliphs came to Baghdad regularly. We tell the story of the origins of the rebellion, and tie it to the Hidden Ones'. u/PapaSmurph: Why give Basim an Eagle companion when he had no such companion in Valhalla and Eagle Vision makes the Eagle companion almost obsolete? Sarah Beaulieu: Hello! About the eagle, and on the story side, you'll get an answer in Mirage on why Basim doesn't have his eagle in Valhalla… u/Sir-Fluf: Could you explain your decision to not include modern day within this game? Will we still see some in the future? Sarah Beaulieu: Hi, thanks for the question! As the game is more condensed in terms of narrative, we decided to focus on Basim's story during his time in Baghdad, since it was already so dense. There is a scene at the beginning of the game where you will have the modern day context, then the experience will focus on Basim's evolution as a Hidden One. u/fabled765: What is the approach to weaving philosophy into the story of Mirage? Does Basim seek liberty for all or just himself? Sarah Beaulieu: Freedom is actually the core theme of the conflict. Basim is torn between his strong will to bring back justice in Baghdad, and his own struggles. This supports the whole story and character evolution. u/NoTax20: Will there be any ties/connections to Origins or the Babylonians? Jean-Luc Sala: The visual identity we chose for the masks of the Order of the Ancients has a connection to AC Origins, which also suggests a presence of the Order during the Babylonian era. We also have in-game items that will definitely remind you of Origins. u/OlgaBaikova: Why did you choose Basim to be the main character of this game? We've seen the end of his story in Valhalla, and if this game becomes an absolute success, there will be not much left to explore about Basim's life in case of a sequel; unlike the mysterious other assassin, Haytham, whose life we know almost nothing about, and who is the "real deal", if you know what I mean. Sarah Beaulieu: Basim's origin story was basically a blank page, so we saw this as a great opportunity to explore his complex personality. He is the kind of character I love working on. How did he become the character from Valhalla? What happened to him? And as the team really wanted to explore Baghdad's history, Basim made even more sense! u/lillchicken126: What books did the team read to get ready for this period? Jean-Luc Sala: A lot, but Guy Le Strange book "Baghdad During the Abbasid Caliphate From Contemporary Arabic and Persian Sources" was a solid start for us. Historians, specialists of the topic, inside and outside Ubisoft helped us a lot. Gameplay u/yautja-hunter: Will there be assassin headquarters like in the earlier games? Also, can we train our own assassins and use them in combat? Sarah Beaulieu: Each district in Baghdad has a Hidden Ones Bureau, where you will report to the rafiqs and collect assassination contracts. The experience is centered around Basim becoming a Master Assassin, therefore he does not train any other assassins yet! u/Assassiinuss: Also in the gameplay walkthrough the player picks up a contract from a board - are those contracts handcrafted and limited in number (as in you can do every contract only once) or are they randomly generated out of a set of locations, objectives and other modifiers like for example the quests from the message boards in the Wrath of the Druids DLC? Stephane Boudon: All the contracts are handcrafted and limited in number, no random generation. u/SparkedSynapse: How possible and available are Ejects during movement? Stephane Boudon: For Parkour we are focusing on fluidity and control and building our own thing, taking inspiration from several ACs. Back ejects and side ejects as in the pre-AC3 games are not part of our Parkour system, but we put a lot of effort working on small details to make sure players have the best control on Basim. We are still fine-tuning the Parkour to reinforce even more this control and the feeling of fluidity and agility when traversing Baghdad. Abilities u/SparkedSynapse: If they have the resource for it, can a player activate Assassin Focus during any state? (Walking, Jumping, On A Wall, etc) Stephane Boudon: You can only activate the Assassin Focus outside a conflict. u/SixKeys: How does the skill tree work? Can we obtain skills in any order and ignore ones we don't care for, or do we have to buy certain skills to unlock the rest? Can we unequip skills and armor for a no-upgrades run? Stephane Boudon: We’re still fine tuning the skill tree. Skills are dependent on each other so you will have to unlock a path to access the next skill. You can unequip most skills except the ones concerning an additional tool we newly added. Armor/Outfit can’t be unequipped, but you can override them visually with a Costume. u/Ti2738: What are your thoughts on the backlash towards the new “Focus Assassination”, specifically towards the comments on how it ruins the game by being too fantasy-like visually. Is it too late to change the look of this ability and, in your honest opinion, do you agree with what people are saying or do you stand by how the ability looks currently? Stephane Boudon: Basim is an incredibly agile and efficient Assassin, and when using the Assassin Focus he is so fast that the Animus has a hard time keeping up with his movements - that's what we convey with the visual effect. From a game design point of view the Assassin Focus is an incentive for players to use Stealth, as you need to do Stealth kills to fill in your gauge. It is also a way to reward the player with a possibility to eliminate in a blast the remaining targets of a specific location. But using it is completely optional and it will be your choice to invest or not skill points in the ability to upgrade it. When triggering it, you will also have to be very careful about where Basim will end after the last kill, or you could be easily detected. Stealth u/SixKeys: Can you tell us more about social stealth? Can we blend with anyone or just certain groups? Is blending automatic or do we need to press/hold a button like in Valhalla? Stephane Boudon: You can blend with any civilians in AC Mirage (except children) as soon as you have three people in Basim’s vicinity, however you can also trigger a patrol blending. Equipment u/BrunoHM: Outside of the 6 tools shown, are there more to be revealed? Could we get more examples of how we can change their properties? Stephane Boudon: Yes, Basim will be able to access 3 tiers for each of the five tools he will unlock (Torch is not upgradable). Each tier will allow you to choose a new modifier. For instance, a smoke bomb can be turned into a healing vapor refilling Basim’s health or throwing knife can be charged to deal more damage. u/Assassiinuss: In the gameplay walkthrough it is said that tools will get branching upgrades - are those choices permanent or can they be swapped/rolled back? Stephane Boudon: You can roll back or swap those upgrades at the bureau if you want. u/MedicinalM1Abrams: What differentiates costumes from outfits? Are they disguises that the player can wear to better blend in and sneak into enemy compounds(like a guard costume that lets Basim walk right through the front gates of a restricted area?) Jean-Luc Sala: Costumes are official costumes Basim would wear in "real life" (like the assassins costumes) and outfits are to player discretion. You can dye the outfits and not the costumes. In certain circumstances the game will require [you] to wear some specific costumes in order to infiltrate a location. Outfit[s] give you specific perks. u/Enviromental-Crew66: Will there be an option to toggle Basim's hood during gameplay? Either like Valhalla with a quick access wheel or in Origins with a menu button? Stephane Boudon: No, you can’t do it. For us, Basim is a predator that must remain hidden. It was for us natural that Basim keeps his hood on every time he’s on [a] mission in Baghdad like Altair will do later. Of course, you will be able to witness Basim without his hood in bureaus or when Basim is with his fellow Hidden Ones. u/MedicinalM1Abrams: What exactly are talismans meant to be? Do they have any tangible gameplay benefit or are they trophies/trinkets taken from any one of Basims targets that we can wear for further aesthetic customization? Sarah Beaulieu: The talismans are cosmetic only! But I can already tell you that some of them are well hidden in the world… u/andyreloads-YouTube: Is there an ISU armor set to obtain in Mirage? Sarah Beaulieu: About the Isu elements, we definitely have some surprises in store! Exploration u/BrunoHM: After the prologue, how much freedom do we have in regards to the main targets and map exploration? Will our Rank restrict us in the same way "Levels" or "Power" would? Stephane Boudon: The first target is mandatory in Baghdad after that you’ll be free to start your investigation in one of the 3 other bureaus of Baghdad. u/BrunoHM: Exploration-wise, are you using Valhalla's Artifacts, Mysteries and Wealth? What type of activities, and rewards, will we find around Baghdad and Alamut? Stephane Boudon: Like in AC Valhalla you will be able to discover unique world events, treasure maps and loot but we have also new specific activities, such as pickpocket contracts and roaming target to tackle inside the world. u/BusyBizBusyBiz: Even if the main story is shorter than previous installments, will we be able to keep playing with challenges and exploration? In the same vein, is there a new game plus planned for this release? Sarah Beaulieu: Apart from the main story, you will encounter world events as you explore Baghdad and its surroundings: you will meet characters and experience short narrative moments! You will also have assassination contracts that you will collect from the Hidden Ones Bureau, as well as world activities. All of them support either the world, the lore, or Basim's characterization. World & Environment u/Max-full: How did you reconstruct the city of Baghdad during this period ? Was it difficult? Jean-Luc Sala: Was it difficult ? Well bringing back to life a lost city is for sure always a challenge. Historians inside and outside Ubisoft were a great help. We will give details on this topic in our next Dev Diary. We based our work on Guy LeStrange['s] incredible book about Baghdad. The map of Baghdad in the game is very close to the Le Strange reconstruction. Le Strange book : Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate. u/neelabh2818: How dense is the city? Jean-Luc Sala: The city is very, very large. From an urbanistic point of view : it depends on the district, we have some intricate streets in the poor districts like in the city of Anbar and the workers district. Some other areas have large avenues. You will have the feelings of Mazes in the Round City. From a population point of view: you can expect more people in the commercial district of Karkh. u/Ras_AlHim: How different are the districts of Baghdad visually, what makes them unique? Jean-Luc Sala: The type of people and activities to be found in each city will affect their look and feel. Each District surrounding the Round City has a dedicated role. One is mostly industry and workers houses, the other is dedicated to trading and the last is about knowledge and science. You can expect very typical landmarks for each, [such] as factories, Great Mosque, Prison, Grand Bazaar, sellers streets and markets, Pharmacy, Hospital (Bimaristan), House of Wisdom, to name a few. The heart of the empire is the Round City and you can expect in this specific part of the city, the most exquisite display of Abbasid architecture and gardens, Administrations, Harem, a zoo and the Caliphal Palace at the very centre of the City. u/norranradd: What part of Baghdad did you enjoy building the most, or what part of the city is the most beautiful? Jean-Luc Sala: It's hard to choose :) I love the reconstruction of Dur-Kurigalzu (An ancient Ziggurat) and the southern marshes with flocks of Flamingos. The Western movie vibes of the Nestorian monastery is also one of my fav places. Of course the jewel of the empire is the round city, but the vibes in the bazaar district and the district of wisdom are really places I love to wander. As you see, it's hard to choose. :) Game Options & Modes u/SparkedSynapse: Was the Quick-Save feature visible in recent screenshots of the Inventory screen made available due to the consideration that Mirage leans harder on Stealth, and thus more punishing combat than Assassin's Creed previously has in many years? Stephane Boudon: In a way, we noticed stealth players love quick saving and we decided to make it more accessible. The game difficulty is a factor of course. u/SparkedSynapse: How does the Quick-Save feature work, and how "reliable" is loading your Quick-Save? In Origins, Odyssey and Valhalla for example, loading a save sometimes caused guards to be mispositioned or for guards "killed in a previous timeline" (IE, killed before you loaded the save) to still be dead. How "bulletproof" do you feel Quick-Save is? Are there important limitations for us to be aware of, with this feature? Stephane Boudon: This is part of our debug process, and we are committed to give you the best level of quality for AC Mirage. u/virtualtourism: Will there be a photomode to capture Basim and Baghdad? Will it be improved from the previous titles to have a photo mode? Jean-Luc Sala: Yes we still use the photo mode and you will have a lot of opportunities as Baghdad and surroundings are really visually stunning. You can also try to photo safari the now extinct Arabian Ostriches. We'll have the same feature set as for ACV, but you will also be able to play in-game (and capture shots through Photomode) with our AC1 nostalgic filter. u/Moon_Logic: Will there be a Discovery Tour or at least a no enemies free roam mode? How hard was it to recreate a city that was destroyed so long ago? Is accuracy even possible? Jean-Luc Sala: The recently announced feature "History of Baghdad" is our way to bring the historical content forward in your game experience. It felt important to us to share all the historical research and knowledge that went into the making of the game. Even if the city was destroyed in the 13th century, a lot of information can be found about [the] city . The reconstruction started with us learning the architectural Abbasid style in order to find back "the spirit of Baghdad". Bringing back the codex is also part of our "back to the roots" overall take on the game :) So what are your thoughts on what we learned today? Share your thoughts here or on our @ ACFirstCiv Twitter and on Facebook. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 25th to 01st October Community Share 3 Oct 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Assassin’s Creed Origins White Senu Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ PodToGo “Be my eye, Senu” The friendship between Bayek and Senu is heart-warming. She is his only friend while gallivanting around the desert. Senu is Bayek’s eyes in the sky, spotting danger before it is too late. Her ability to distract guards and hunt animals make Senu a powerful alley. This capture of the special white feathered Senu is so good. I love the composition with Senu nestled beautifully between the pyramids. The contrast of colours are charming with the luscious green of the trees popping behind her. I have to applaud the timing, Senu looks so graceful coming in to land on Bayek. Let’s Dive In Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ Defalt368 “Fear not the darkness, but welcome its embrace!” Ezio’s Brotherhood robes seem to be a staple for all Assassin’s Creed games. The legendary Italian is a real fan favourite. He went from young tearaway to Master Assassin thanks to the tragedy of house Auditore. In that sense he mirrors Bayek, making it fitting the Medjay should wear his robes. What I love about this capture is the classic Assassin’s Creed feel. The leap of faith always looks fantastic but add to it those amazing reds from the flags and we have one hell of a shot. The positioning and depth of field really help to showcase the shot, with Bayek nicely in the centre of the flags. You could not wish for a better framed shot. The Hood Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ giraph_1 “Every morning of my childhood, my father and I spoke the Prayer of the Medjay, a promise to those in need” The Egyptian Hedj outfit is definitely one of my favourites in the game. It has such distinguishing features and works perfectly to help Bayek hide in plain sight. I was over the moon when Ubisoft added it to Valhalla. This shot immaculately showcases the finer details of the hood, allowing Bayek to look just like an Egyptian Assassin. The angle is brilliant permitting us to only see his nose and mouth. The sandy tones are beautiful, but the darkness entering from the right really epitomises Bayek’s story. A wonderful capture that tells of Bayek’s fight against evil. Link to Set: The Wonders of Egypt Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ Cll3ar “We will find you. We will find you, in your sleep” There is an elegance to Assassin’s Creed Origins thanks to the beautiful landscapes of Egypt. It must have been a dream for the developers to recreate such a famous place in history. However underneath the visage is a deeply corrupted Order who Bayek must put to the sword. This gorgeous capture could easily be mistaken for a painting. I adore the colours and the framing, and those trees either side of the columns look exquisite. I think Raven has captured the beauty of Origins in this shot, and it shows us why Bayek and Aya were so keen to protect their beloved Egypt. Link to set: The Hidden One Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ KaiVirtualPhoto “You are the Medjay from Siwa” Bayek is one of the last Medjay of Egypt and the co-founder of the Hidden Ones. His time training with his father prepared him for the duty he would later endure. The death of his son to the Order ignited a vengeful streak that saw Bayek cross Egypt in search of those responsible. This cinematic style shot of Bayek is so good. I am loving the assassin come warrior look with the Anubis sword at his side. The desert sandstorm feel is really elevating the shot with those stunning particles blowing pass him. The level of detail here is insane, and I cannot believe how lifelike he looks. I cannot wait to see what Kai can do in the Mirage photo mode. The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: @ DaveWoodwardAC ''The reason I have selected this shot for feature of the week is I absolutely love the colour tone which is a big stand out for me. The use of the sun in order to capture this image is fantastic.'' And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Photo Mode Review Community Share 18 Mar 2025 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Turið Torkilsdóttir Back To Database Ubisoft are back with another entry into the wonderful world of Assassin’s Creed. This time we are off to the highly sought after Japanese setting. This series just seems to be going from strength to strength and is now one of the most established franchises in the gaming industry. With Ubisoft doubling down on their core IP’s it is safe to say that this is only the start of a new wave of games from the historical playground that is Assassin’s Creed. Assassin’s Creed Shadows doesn’t deviate too far from the previous RPG titles, but then again why would it. They have all seen huge success and Shadows even takes some cool learnings from the extremely popular Mirage. Once again Shadows features a photo mode but for the first time Ubisoft have moved away from the classic UI. This latest entry sees us enter Japan with a focus on dual protagonists. Something that Ubisoft Quebec have dabbled with before in Syndicate. We are thrown into 16th century Japan towards the end of the Sengoku period. For the first time in the RPG titles, we will have the Assassin Brotherhood fighting against the Templar Order. The player can flip between Fujibayashi Naoe a female shinobi, or Yasuke, an African samurai who is inspired by an historical figure of the time. The story starts off very promising and aligns itself in a similar way to Origins. Shadows does well to introduce characters and give them meaning. There is a clever use of flashback to further our connection to Naoe, this serves the story in deeper ways than we have previously seen. The early stages of the game can feel a bit slow and the lighting flat, but once you exit the prologue the game becomes far more impressive. There is a considerable leap in night-time lighting which does allow for some very unique captures. Gameplay wise Shadows really pushes forward with the mechanics of the previous entries. There is an increased sense of satisfaction when entering an encounter and the finishers are brutal. Everything just seems so smooth and effortless. At its core though Shadows is a Ubisoft game and does what it knows best. There is a world building that is so rich and full of life that you really feel like you are in the Animus playing out a genetic memory. The Photo Mode: If you have played any of the RPG games, you will be familiar with the Assassin’s Creed photo mode. Ubisoft have pretty much run the same system for four games now with just minor evolutions. It was a solid photo mode and despite not having the bells and whistles of a Sony version it was widely appreciated, especially for newcomers, to the virtual photography world. This time around we have a few upgrades with the new UI being the most noticeable. Accessing the photo mode has not changed, with a click of L3 & R3 you will be free to snap away. We are still not able to capture during cutscenes, but this isn’t common practise, so I am not surprised. Despite the new UI everything works as you would expect, and we only have four tabs to work with, making this a soft reboot of the photo mode. The composition mode has minimal on-screen distractions with all your options being confined to a box in the lower right-hand side of the screen. A simple press of (triangle/Y) will remove the editing functions and allow you to view your capture unimpeded. The camera action closer resembles what you would use in real life. The movement however is a little rough and lacks the smoothness of the old version. There is a generous range, but it remains restrictive especially now we don’t have a bird companion to use. The bumpers on your controller are able to rotate 90 degrees for those nice portrait shots, a simple function that is essential to a virtual photographer. The zooming function that I so loved in the previous games has been replaced with focal length and the narrowing of the field of view still acts in the same manner but feels a little rougher and lacks the speed we are used to. Now that it is controlled by a slider you can at least see the value so once you find a nice setup it is easier to repeat. There are a few grids to play with but in the most part you will probably find yourself only using the rule of thirds option. The camera will still pass through characters if you get too close and collision course with objects in the world can sometimes impede a nice composition. However, Assassin’s Creed has always been generous with movements of the camera and this remains in Shadows. You can even take it underwater for those quirky captures. You will be pleased to know that in my time with the game I have not observed that the DoF has any bugs like previous versions. There is no flicker when DoF and high contrast combine and the DoF issue where it would sometime just not operate has been fixed. The DoF function has been slightly complicated by adding focus distance and aperture sliders. The auto focus cursor of the old titles has gone, and you don’t have just one slider to operate. There is an auto focus toggle that mostly comes in handy for close-up captures. Once again, its baby steps in terms of evolution, and it’s mostly a case of learning to use it. The third tab on the new UI is where you will find arguably the most interesting improvements. Filters have now been removed from the upper section of the photo mode and instead we have two options: FX Filters and Filters. The former being the most intriguing with filters that complement the setting of the game. Most notable are the Red Dragon and the Ink as they can turn a normal capture into something quite different. Sadly, we cannot make any manual adjustments to the FX Filters, but it is possible with the standard filters. This is good because I found these to be limited. Along with the filters we have our other colour-orientated sliders. You can increase/decrease the values to adjust temperature and tint to balance the colour tones of your capture. In addition, saturation can be used to increase your vivid output or introduce some nice black and white to proceedings. The pace in which these sliders move can be quite frustrating and you will find that the higher values can negatively affect the skin tones of character making them appear sunburnt. That being said, this is not too dissimilar to what we have experienced before and functions adequately for the user’s needs. I was very surprised to find the fog option has been removed. This for me feels like a huge loss given it was a much-celebrated function that is rare to see in a photo mode. Bloom has also been removed so you are left to rely on the games weather and lighting to create atmospheric photos. Both of these options were so interesting to play around with, however I have found Shadows to be on another level in terms of lighting and ambiance so hopefully we won’t miss out too much. I mention above that the lighting has improved and that is the case for the majority of the game. There are times when things will look a little flat and muddy, but I often found the landscape to be quite majestic and vibrant. The real noticeable improvement with lighting is at night where people and points of interest seem to have a spotlight on them. Admittedly this can seem a bit forced but I have found it to be hugely beneficial for night-time photography, something that was mostly impossible in Valhalla. Sadly, we haven’t been given the custom lighting options or the ability to change the time of day. The latter is something that I wish Ubisoft had implemented, especially as it featured recently in Star Wars Outlaws. We are not left without options though with the games new seasonal mechanic there are ample opportunities to diversify your captures in varying ways. It is worth noting that Ubisoft has continued with their support to virtual photography by including the ability to capture straight to Ubisoft Connect. Your captures will be compressed but they will be uploaded to Shadows Photo Mode website for you to obtain. Not only that but they will appear on the world map in the location of your photo. Other players will then be able to view these, making it a great feature for showing off your Shadows adventures. Shadows features two extremely powerful protagonists who contrast perfectly. The cleverly designed switching between the two allows us to take photos of each with ease. They both make for great subjects and the return of loot drops from Odyssey, means there is far more variety of styles to capture. Unfortunately, with no tattoos or hair customisation like we had in Valhalla there are limited options to put your own stamp on both characters. Additionally, both characters lack expressions meaning most portraits look the same. Nonetheless we have been treated to a fluid combat system that includes some devastating finisher moves. All of which pose opportunities for interesting and stylistic photos. Plus, the world we are in is so populated with both intriguing places and inhabitants who act out their daily lives. There are small villages and huge castles to explore, that have been well executed in terms of design and detail. Being an Assassin’s Creed game we are obviously treated to picturesque scenery and distinct wildlife. All of this plays into the hands of a virtual photographer who can at a click of two sticks turn feudal Japan into works of art. Rating: Assassin’s Creed Shadows isn’t pushing any boundaries with the game or the photo mode, but I am not sure it has to, and it doesn’t stop it from being one of the best entries in the series. It is however probably the most polished Assassin’s Creed we have had to date. Ubisoft perhaps finds themselves fighting against unrealistic expectations brought about by the quality of the Sony exclusives over the last few generations. What’s obvious is that Ubisoft knows how to handle the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and you can see the love and dedication that has gone into this entry. There will not be many of the core fanbase who are not happy with what they see. Ubisoft should be praised for giving us a new photo mode, despite it being a little safe. There are better and more intuitive photo modes out there, but it could always be argued that if it isn’t broke why fix it. Assassin’s Creed is all about the characters and the beautiful world in which it is set. A standard functional photo mode is all you need as the beautiful backdrop of Japan will provide the rest. Thanks to Ubisoft for providing a code for the purposes of this review. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Searching For The Creed - Rome Breakdown Share 12 Sept 2024 Written By: Edited By: Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon) Gargudon Back To Database The legendary and iconic Italian capital, has a special place in our hearts here at The Ones Who Came Before. It is where founder Colum got engaged, and a city others from our team also have fond memories with from when visiting. In continuation of our articles, showcasing and comparing the landmarks of London and Florence, portrayed in-game versus real life counterparts, we now shift focus towards the heart of the world’s first superpower, the streets wandered of in Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, Roma. Note any real life pictures of Rome’s landmarks, have been taken between 2018-2020, and may therefore be slightly outdated. Text, in-game and select Rome pictures by Gargudon. Select Rome pictures by Col_96. Pantheon Kicking off the list we’re taking a look at the Pantheon, the iconic Roman temple located in the heart of the city, famous for its roof with an always open oculus. Not much to say about the temple itself, other than Ubisoft Montréal did a great job replicating it. It’s more the area outside where the game takes its liberties, featuring a much wider and more open space, with much different looking buildings surrounding the temple. Construction of the temple originally began in 27 BCE, with it standing finished in the early 2nd century under Emperor Hadrian. The Pantheon is open from 9:00-19:00, every day of the week year round with the exception of 1st January, 15th August for Ferragosto, as well as 25th December. Entry is 5€ for tourists, free on the first Sunday of each month, as well as for Roman residents, worshippers and people under 18. Piazza Navona The famous square in the heart of the city, more or less looks the same as it did 500 years ago. Only major differences being the game’s portrayal being moderately downsized, the addition of the Sant’Agnese in Agone church, as well as the Quattro Fiumi / Four Rivers fountain surrounding the obelisk in the 17th century. The place has certainly also seen a further uptick in crowds with the centuries, coming to house a number of restaurants, bars and street performers among other things. You can visit Piazza Navona almost any time of the day, witnessing its unique, vibrant life and atmosphere. The square was founded in 86 AD, under the commission of Emperor Domitian, with the purpose of serving as a stadium for athletics competitions, with stands where there are now buildings. Campidoglio There are a few notable differences, between the game’s portrayal of one of the seven hills of Rome, and its real life counterpart. The overall look and structure of the Senatorial palace, the Palazzo dei Conservatori, as well as outside square is pretty spot on, but there is some slight downsizing, and most notably this is prior to Michelangelo’s rework of the whole place starting in 1536, commissioned by Pope Paul III. While the game’s version houses a fountain in the middle of the square, part of Michelangelo’s renovation project included adding a statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius instead in 1537. Not only did he completely redesign and rework the facade of both existing palaces, but a third one, the Palazzo Nuovo, was added opposite the Conservatori. Today all three buildings serve as the Capitoline Museums, and can be visited from 09:30-19:30 for 32€. Santa Maria In Ara Coeli The small church of Santa Maria In Ara Coeli, located right besides the Campidoglio, is with the exception of its size, another landmark there isn’t much to say about, other than Montréal did a great job replicating it; both the outside seen in 1503, and the inside explored during the Modern Day finale of Brotherhood. As far as we and historians are concerned though, there are no secret advanced mechanisms within the church, nor any ancient civilisation temples hidden beneath it. The church was built in the 5th century, technically still on the ruins of the “Temple of Juno”; the Temple of Juno Moneta, a temple in Ancient Rome used to mint Roman coins. The Santa Maria In Ara Coeli can be visited free of charge, and is open from 7:00-19:00 every day of the week. Foro Romano Although fairly downsized, the heart of Ancient Rome in the centre of the city, located right between Capitoline Hill and Colosseum, is otherwise as accurate as can be, and Montréal did a stellar job recreating it. From the overall look and feel of the area, to the remaining ruins of all the temples and arches it houses. In ancient times, the Roman Forum was home to everything from public meetings, trials, and gladiatorial matches, as well as housing a number of shops and markets, and being home to different religious ceremonies. The Roman Forum can be visited every day of the year, from 8:30-19:15 from January-September, and from 8:30-18:30 from October-December. Tickets start at 24,90€, also including access to Palatine Hill and the Colosseum. Colosseum Up next, we take a look at one of the city’s as well as the world’s most famous landmarks, the iconic gladiatorial arena of Il Colosseo. The exterior of the arena more or less looks the same as it does in-game, and has done so for hundreds of years now, with one half of the original iconic facade still standing, the other destroyed by an earthquake in 1349. Constructed in 72 AD, the original facade is believed to have been fully round, more white coloured, with statues in each window and flags on top. Inside of the arena, a few notable differences are prominent, most notably on the centre battlefield itself. Not only is the game’s version moderately downsized, but also has a flatter, greener surface, and is a more open space, with the absence of the big walls standing there today. The area above with the old stands, then holding thousands and thousands of spectators is as spot on as can be. The Colosseum can be visited every day of the year, from 8:30-19:15 from January-September, and from 8:30-18:30 from October-December. Tickets start at 24,90€, also including access to Palatine Hill and the Roman Forum. Castel Sant’Angelo Penultimately on this list, we shift focus towards the massive and iconic fortress of Castel Sant’Angelo, located right next and en route to The Vatican. Constructed between 135-139 AD, originally serving as the mausoleum of Emperor Hadrian, then converted into a fortress in the 5th century. Although absent in-game, a note worthy aspect of the castle, the atop statue of the archangel Michael, has quite the story behind it. Legend has it, in 590, Pope Gregory The Great, praying for the end of a plague, had a vision of said archangel sheathing his sword over the castle, signifying the end of the plague. Hence, the castle got its modern name, and said statue to symbolise it. Other than this statue, Brotherhood’s portrayal of the iconic castle is more or less spot on, including Ponte Sant’Angelo crossing the Tiber, leading to it. Militant use of the place ceased in 1901, the castle underwent restoration, and serves today as a military history museum. Castel Sant’Angelo can be visited every day of the year, with the exception of Mondays, 1st January, 1st May and 25th December, from 9:00-19:30, with tickets starting at 22,90€. Basilica Di San Pietro And last but not least, the iconic basilica of St. Peter’s, one of the most sacred sites in Christianity, has seen its fair share of change, from first being founded in 326 under Roman Emperor Constantine, to Pope Julius II in 1506, laying the first stone of the massive church standing today. As portrayed in Brotherhood, the original basilica was nowhere near as big as its successor, but based on a 19th century drawing, showing the place as it is believed to have looked mid 15th century, it is safe to say Montréal did a great job replicating it. From the basilica itself and its facade, the atrium, and most of the surrounding area. Only exception and where the game’s portrayal has free styled a bit, is the iconic dome, which technically wasn’t designed until mid 16th century by Michelangelo, with construction being finished from 1588-1590. The basilica stood fully finished in 1626, a whole 120 years after construction began. St. Peter’s Basilica is open and can be visited free of charge, every day of the week, all year round from 7:00-19:00. Going up in the dome costs 8€ using the stairs, and 10€ using the elevator. It is open from 7:30-18:00 in the summer months, closing one hour earlier in the winter months. And that concludes this comparison, of yet another iconic city, portrayed in-game versus its real life counterpart! Make sure to stay tuned as we shift focus towards other towns and cities in the future, and check out our other articles comparing London and Florence, as well as our video comparing Monteriggioni, available on our YouTube channel and TikTok page! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Gustav / Gargudon is an active community member, who started out in podcast hosting in 2016, but today mostly specialises in video creation, interviews & composing. By joining The Ones Who Came Before in 2019, originally reviving 'The Memory Corridor' podcast, which had been offline for nearly a year, he has had the opportunity to expand his audience and further develop his skills.

 His unique skill set made him the perfect candidate for our team. Among other things, he is known in the community for the Sounds Of History project - an original Assassin’s Creed inspired instrumental music project, featuring five tracks inspired by as many different games - other original fan themes plus covers of iconic AC tracks, as well as video interviews with a number of high profile names in the world of AC, from Roger Craig Smith, Jesper Kyd and more. Fun fact, among his growing colourful tattoo collection, Gustav is the only member of our team to have the TOWCB logo inked. Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon)

This Week in Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 23rd to 29th October Community Share 1 Nov 2023 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Colum Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week I will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. This week’s theme: Basim Close up Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ G_Assassin90 “You now follow in the eagle’s path” Stepping out into Baghdad for the first time in the initiate robes has a special feeling. It has been too long since we have played as a full Assassin protecting their city. The Initiate outfit is arguably the best one in the game, and Basim will always be remembered for wearing it. This close up capture of our protector is beautiful. I like that it was taken at night, with what looks like a torch adding saturation to his face. The cold of the night allows the blue on the hood to stand out, and the details on the hood are flawless. Basim may not have many facial expressions but this soft look suits him at the beginning of the game. Link to set: Moonlight Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ FrameHoldPhotos “Basim, what happen here?” Crossing the desert at night under the moonlight has a magical feel to it. Assassin’s Creed Mirage balances the city missions with the wilderness ones very well. I like that Ubisoft allowed us to explore these more baron places, as it mixes up the gameplay. This incredible shot of Basim under the moonlight is gorgeous. Often night shots in Assassin’s Creed games can be difficult but here you can see so many details. The moonlight reflecting off of the hood is elegant, whilst the shadows across his body are very mischievous. The lighting and composition is so good, and really makes for a perfect Basim portrait. Who is Next? Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ Jedicentinel “Are you aware this women works for the order?” The Assassin’s are all about writing wrongs and delivering justice. In Assassin’s Creed Mirage, it is Basim’s purpose to rid Baghdad of those who wish to harm it. That being said I love how there are pros and cons to both the Hidden Ones and the Order's beliefs. Here we see Basim right after what looks like an Assassination. I like that we can see the target on the floor with the blade just in front of her. The guard behind is readying his horn to call for reinforcements. We all know this to be futile as Basim is poised ready to attack. I love this stance in the game and it has been captured so well here. Valhalla Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ Cll3ar “I am always at peace. And never alone” After playing as Basim in Assassin’s Creed Mirage, I think the Valhalla version of the character is more interesting. That being said I have really enjoyed witnessing the character development for him and I wish Ubisoft would explore more characters in this way. I love this shot for the contrast of colours. The Valhalla outfit looks stunning against the clear backdrop and the greenery. Nice use of depth of field to highlight Basim in the centre. The outfit is definitely a step up from Valhalla and helps to bridge the two games. The Gladiator hand movement is a subtle icing on the cake. Reflection Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ belegarsson115 “We have drifted apart” When I think of Basim there is one word that springs to mind, mysterious. His whole time in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is shrouded in mystery. Yet for the most part, our time with him in Mirage is also a cryptic affair. Basim is a compelling character and I have enjoyed my time exploring his origins. This shot sums up Basim’s life, you can see he is conflicted here and in pain. The black background serves the shot well by highlighting his expression. The lighting is on point allowing you to only see one side of his face. Basim only wants you to see one side of him and this shot illustrates that beautifully. Link to set: The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: @ BasimIbnIshaq_ ''The choice of a black and white portrait was obvious to me. I particularly like this photographic method. I find that black and white photography highlights more details in a shot than colour, this is true for both real life and virtual photography. This black and white portrait of Basim, I notice the details and subtlety that the photographer Belegarsson transmitted. I completely feel Basim’s emotions and this play of light on his face is just beautiful. The grip angle is excellent too. This portrait of Basim has a big place in my heart.'' And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Best quotes in Assassin's Creed Unity Share Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Back To Database comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Assassin’s Creed Virtual Photography: 6th to 17th January Community Share 30 Jan 2025 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Renzo Back To Database Welcome to the biweekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from the AC Partnership Program. Every two weeks we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. This theme has been run alongside @ saskiaemmischVP the winner of our VP competition in 2024. Saskia has been around for some time now and has such a distinctive photography style. You can often find her beautiful minimal or moody shots throughout various games on social media. Saskia has recently joined @ ArtistofSociety where she will be supporting virtual photographers and building a community. You can feel the passion Saskia has for VP and we are delighted she has joined us for this theme. Keep an eye on the site as more shots are added, we are looking for captures across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to #ACFirstCivVP for a chance to be featured. Banner by Turið Torkilsdóttir Theme: Assassin’s Creed Moody Cold Desert Nights Game: Assassin’s Creed Mirage VP Artist: @ wingsforsmiles The Ones Who Came Before Photo of the Week Judge: Saskia Saskia I love the dark and moody atmosphere in this shot. Combined with the fog it envelops the silhouettes of the rider and the trees. I also find the shot to have minimalist inspiration, which is a very nice addition. This adds to the overall clarity of the picture. Aaron Moody isn’t really something that springs to mind when capturing Assassin’s Creed Mirage. The sun-drenched, golden city of Baghdad is full of corruption but remains one of the most beautiful locations we have visited in the series. I have to applaud wingsforsmiles for producing a shot that effortlessly fits the theme. This exquisite silhouette of Basim atop his camel is situated so smartly amongst the trees. I love the use of deep blacks and lighter blues, coupled with the fog to give that mysterious feel. There is such a seriousness to this shot, and Basim remaining in the shadows suits his story arc perfectly. The Golden Archer Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP Artist: @ Defalt368 It's nice to see some Assassin’s Creed Origins return to these articles. Once again, it’s not the first game I would think of for a moody shot, but Bayek epitomises the moody hero. Josh has nailed the framing in this capture. The sun encased elegantly between the arrow, string and riser, but also surrounded by the clouds in the sky. I like how Bayek is a silhouette and having him pose with a bow fits with his skills as an archer. It would have been easy to make this a black and white photo but keeping the strong orange glow reminds the viewer that we are in the hot deserts of Egypt. Wandering Viking Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla VP Artist: @ BetweenDPixels The essence of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is two siblings wanting to step out from their father’s shadow and forge their own path in England. Although at times this can be lost in the pure scale of the game, it’s humble beginnings always live on throughout the story. This shot instantly wows you with that sun lighting up the clouds providing the photo with a tantalising glow. There is a balance of colours here that match the English countryside, and despite the dull moody tone they serve to add some warmth to the shot. For me this capture symbolises the journey Eivor has experienced. I really like how she is strolling off into the unknown with new horizons in front of her. The Wheat Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ cyriellevp.bsky.social Assassin’s Creed Odyssey often has some really unique moods that are linked to the varying landscapes the game has to offer. This is a real treat for us virtual photographers. You can see in the shot above that Cyrielle has managed to capture the beauty Odyssey has to offer. There is a nice moody ambiance to this photo with the ominous sign of birds flying away. The dark cloud entering from the left adds a dull tone and there is that nice haze in the sky. I like how the camera is situated giving height to the shot. Being amongst the reeds obviously brings the Gladiator feel and that sad mood that you experience at that point of the film. The Odyssey Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey VP Artist: @ wondernoob.bsky.social Just before the launch of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, Ubisoft released promotional shots of the game showcasing the jaw dropping scenery and Kassandra exploring the Greek world. This capture reminds me of them but instead of bright colourful landscapes, here we have the moody and shadowy version. It's nice to see this darker side to Odyssey, the game actually has quite a few harrowing moments. I am enjoying the lower textures and how they amplify the fog to shroud the photo in mystery. The tree looks so realistic, and I like how Kassandra is walking towards the forest evidently in search of her next victim. And that sums it up for this Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out the photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next time keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Product Reveal: Assassin's Creed Through The Ages Tankard by Nemesis Now Merchandise Share 12 Feb 2024 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) TOWCB Team Back To Database We are pleased to reveal the 'Through the Ages' Assassin's Creed Legacy Tankard by N e mesis Now! Releasing Summer 2024, this masterfully crafted collector's item pays tribute to the series and the multiple developments made over time to the hidden blade, the Assassins weapon of choice. Step into the shadows of history with this Officially Licensed Assassin's Creed Through The Ages Tankard . A masterfully crafted vessel that pays homage to the legendary assassins who have left their mark across centuries. Adorned with intricate gold details that capture the essence of the Assassin's Creed legacy. This Tankard is cast in the finest resin before being hand-painted, and will let you relive the adventures of assassins past at every glance. We can't wait to see this product in person when it releases in a couple of months, and can only imagine the sheer joy fans will feel when they receive their own. Assassin's Creed Syndicate Cosplayers in particular are in for a treat, as the style takes a stab at recreating a historical drinking vessel. Look out for it in stores June 2024, or pre-order now from the following retailers. PlanetMerch ComicWarehouse comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Interview with Magnus Bruun (Eivor in Assassin's Creed Valhalla) Interview Share 21 Dec 2020 Written By: Edited By: Colum Blackett (Col_96) Ashlea Buckley Back To Database To celebrate AC Day, we interviewed Magnus Bruun, who provided the voice and mo-cap performance for the male version of Eivor in Assassin's Creed Valhalla! Colum: Hi Magnus, thanks for joining us today! I'd like to start by exploring your Assassin's Creed journey. When you first auditioned for the role, did you know that it was for an Assassin's Creed game or a Viking related project, and was it always with the intention of playing male Eivor? Magnus: When I first heard of the project back in the spring of 2019, it was called The Black Wolf Saga and was an animated Viking series to be filmed in Canada. So when I made my selftape I had no idea what was actually going on, nor did my agent. It was first when I got the call back and the invitation to come to London for the audition that we found out that it was Ubisoft who was producing it, but we still didn’t know exactly what it was. So I flew from Copenhagen to London still in the blind, but when I entered the audition room and was met by Darby McDevitt and three other directors from Ubisoft Montreal it all became very clear. Also I originally auditioned for the role as Sigurd, but that changed when I got the call back and for my two days of castings in London I was auditioning for Eivor. Colum: What were your initial thoughts on the character? Magnus: I loved Eivor, such a great character to dive into. Eivor is stubbornly independent, honor bound, strong and adventurous but also a character dealing with a childhood trauma trying to find the way to a brighter future. Colum: This is the first time the series has split a character into both male and female versions. How did filming work, and did you take turns with Cecilie to film scenes? Magnus: I shot almost all of the cinematics for Eivor so we never really took turns, but we did shoot one scene together, though I really can’t talk about that one since it would spoil the game for the players who hasn’t completed it yet. I love the fact that everyone playing AC Valhalla gets to met and live as Eivor and that you as a gamer make your own choice to how and who your Eivor is going to be, so I think the character choice in the game is working very well. I also really love Cecilie Stenspil's acting and voice work and I think she did an amazing job with the character. Colum: How are you finding the motion capture, and do you ever get used to it? Magnus: I found the motion capture a bit weird an unsatisfying in the beginning because I just came from shooting two seasons of The Last Kingdom. On the big Netflix set in Hungary I had an army, was riding a black stallion, looking like a true Viking warlord in my armour with scars, full beard and face tattoos, and now I had to be clean shaven for the facial scans and HMC (head mounted camera) and my costume was a tight spandex suit with small dots all around, not very ‘Vikingy’. At the Alice Studios in Montreal there was nothing, or all most nothing. It’s an enormous room with green screen, a hundred cameras on the ceiling and four steady-cam operators walking around you, but there are no horses, the castle is made of boxes and when I jump over Yggdrasils roots (spoiler, sorry), it’s just me jumping over some big ropes and sandbags lying on the floor. So I had to cope with that, but after a few days it gave me a lot of freedom. In a studio like this everything is suddenly possible and from the moment I fully understood that, I embraced it and never looked back. BTW the people working at the Alice Studio were so professional and helpful and they made all my weeks of shooting feel great, adequate and very fun. Colum: Did recording during lockdown present any challenges, and did the team manage to overcome them? Magnus: I filmed my last performance capture in Montreal the day after the Danish Prime Minister locked Denmark down. Then I flew home and we actually managed to record all the rest of the voice overs without having any real difficulties, thank God! Talking about the voice work I have to give my utmost respect to my voice director Thor Bishopric. Working with him made Eivor come to life in the voice-overs and I have a feeling that we created the character together. I also want to praise Allan Beaupre our incredible voice designer, Sebastian Vaskio my sound technician ninja and all the other wonderful people working with me and Cecilie Stenspil during the hundreds and hundreds of hours we used in voice studios all over Canada, England and Denmark. There wouldn’t be any Eivor in this game without their tireless work. Never forget! Colum: Do you think that your time working on The Last Kingdom contributed towards any of Eivor's traits? Magnus: Portraying Cnut in The Last Kingdom definitely gave me a great deal of stamina towards playing Eivor in AC Valhalla. Though they are two very different characters, (one off them allegedly being being a villain) they are both Viking warriors getting more and more power and influence. Family and a home for their clan and their people are important to them and they are both very ambitious, but then it sort of ends there. Cnut being the unsung hero of his own saga, Eivor actually is the real hero of the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Saga. I shot my last scene as Cnut for season four of The Last Kingdom a week before I flew to Canada and started the first motion capture shoot as Eivor, so I was in the mindset of a Viking and had been it for more than three years, and that helped a lot. Colum: Which type of flyting do you prefer? Normal (insults) or reverse (compliments)? Magnus: Normal flyting with insults of course! Colum: Which missions were your favourite to shoot, and did you have fun working on the game? Magnus: My favourite part of the game is the main story with Sigurd and Basim and in details I think everything involving Fulke, brilliantly portrayed by Gaia Weiss. The four of us had so much fun shooting all the performance capture scenes and Gummi, Carlo (Gudmundur Thorvaldsson & Carlo Rota), Gaia and I had a blast in Montreal when we had any spare time. And YES I obviously loved working on the game and I love that it’s still not finished. I’m currently working on the DLC’s, Seasons and press for the game, so Eivor is still out and proud and doing all the dirty work. Also I made some great friends in Montreal and I don’t think I want to go back to my old life without Darby McDevitt and Alain Mercieca in it. Best damn writers, brains and lovely funny people I’ve ever met. Period. Colum: Do you have a favourite (non-spoiler) line? Magnus: As Eivor returns to his childhood home in Norway he says: ‘Home. Or it used to be home… Now it’s nothing but bone.’ And may I just add that I freaking love Norway in the game. It’s the most beautiful stunning place! Colum: Have you had much time to play Valhalla yourself? If so, are you focusing on story or exploration? Magnus: I haven’t been playing the game much since the release, but I’ve played it while we where making it. I’ve been watching some of my friends play it and I enjoy that a lot. The thing is that I know everything. I have read it all. Said almost all of it. So there’s no surprises. But when I’ll finally sit down and dig deep into it, I’ll plow through the main story so I can listen to my great colleagues work. And then I’ll go back to Norway and just explore. Jump from Island to island and enjoy the northern lights. AC Sisterhood graphic by Dylan and Sebastian Dell’Aria from The Mentor's Guild Colum: How do you feel the game has been received overall, and have you seen any of the fan content created to celebrate its arrival? Magnus: It feels like most people really enjoy the game and that makes me happy. Of course we can’t satisfy everybody but when millions of people are playing the game that’s always a hard thing to do. I heard there were people wanting Eivor to sound like Kratos from God of War, those people are hard to please. (BTW I love Christopher Judges voice) Back when we approached the character we wanted Eivor to be someone people would listen to, someone people would fall in love with, make alliances with someone to follow and genuinely like as well as be afraid of at the right times. We wanted to make a real human being with strengths and flaws. So if you are only looking for a bloodthirsty Viking, sorry, Eivor can be that, but not all the time. About the fan content and art. I freaking f****** love it! Keep it coming! Colum: One thing that was noticeable during the marketing campaign was the focus on male Eivor over female, contributing towards the creation of the AC Sisterhood movement. Do you have a message for fans picking up the game for the first time regarding character selection? Magnus: I believe that AC Sisterhood is a very important movement and I really think you should keep up the incredible work you are doing and keep pushing. Things are changing in the world and also in the gaming communities and the female representation will change for the better even though the battle sometimes feels Sisyphean. I’ll personally do what I can to push things in the right direction and you can always call on me for help, I mean that. When my Eivor arrives in England the first place I will go is the western part of Wessex. Here I’ll find myself an underground entrance so I for the rest of the game can show off some powerful tattoos with the most wonderful logo! And I think that you should pic the Eivor you want. It’s a great game anyway you play it. Cecilie Stenspil did a fantastic job with her Eivor and I did my absolutely best with mine. Whatever choice you make you can always switch whenever you play it or you can let the Animus decide. Just go with your gut feeling. I think I’m gonna give Female Eivor a go because I’ve been listening to my own voice for all my life and I know how I’ve said and played every single one of the eleven thousand lines Eivor has in the game, so for me it’s time for a change. But pick your poison it’s a good drink anyway you drink it. Colum: You recently attended the Assassin's Creed Valhalla launch event in Denmark, organised by the Ubisoft Nordic team. How was it? Magnus: Yes I did, and it was great. Drunk Uncle Covid has f***** up the entire planet at the moment, so obviously it wasn’t the launch we wanted, but we had a good time. I met a lot of fans of the franchise, talked about making the game and signed posters. When we get to the other side of this weird period in the world I really look forward to meeting more fans at conventions but at the moment it has to be online, sadly. We’ll prevail and when the sun shines again it’ll all be perfect. So wear your face mask and take care of each other then we’ll get to the other side faster. Meanwhile I’ll make you a second DLC. Deal? Cheers Magnus Look out for our Assassin's Creed Valhalla review, coming January 2021! We would like to thank Magnus for joining us for this interview, and to Kim Beacham and DMJ Consultancy for making it possible! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Col is one of the UK's leading Assassin's Creed Community members, and is best known for establishing both 'The Ones Who Came Before' fan community and 'Isu_Network' content creation program. As Team Leader for The Ones Who Came Before, Col was officially recognised by Ubisoft, becoming one the UK Assassin's Creed community ambassadors in 2016. He has attended many events after spending a decade in the AC Community, and has worked on countless projects, all of which you can find here on TOWCB website. He is also a former Ubisoft Star Player and member of The Mentors Guild, two recognisable community programs which opened doors and took his status within the AC Community to the next level. Colum Blackett (Col_96)

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla Merchandise Guide Updated 20/3/21 By Colum Blackett Edited by Ashlea Buckley Share Here we will be logging all of the merchandise we find for Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. UbiCollectibles Please note that this guide contains Amazon affiliate links, Learn more The ultimate guide for Assassin's Creed Valhalla Merchandise. Eivor's Hidden Blade Be like Eivor in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla by wearing this faithful and size-adjustable replica of the Hidden Blade or display it in your collection. Available from Ubisoft Store Xzone Cz Amazon Game Game Mania Eivor The Wolf-Kissed Figurine Eivor is a devoted and confident Viking clan leader, who is not scared of dying to protect his people. Despite his deep love for his clan, he is a lone wolf. Available from: Xzone Cz Ubisoft Store Amazon Eivor and Drakkar Figurine (30cm) Only available with the Assassin's Creed Valhalla Collector's Edition. A Viking Statuette of Eivor with her raven and Dane axe (height: 5cm). Exclusively sold on the Ubisoft Store. Apparel Assassin's Creed Valhalla 2020 Announcement T-shirt Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Northern Lights T-shirt (available in Black, White, Black Heather, Athletic Heather and Ash) Available from the Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Axes T-shirt (available in Black, Black Heather, Athletic Heather and Ash) Available from the Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Eivor T-shirt (available in Black, Black Heather, Athletic Heather and Ash) Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Aurora Hoodie (a vailable in Black and Carbon Grey Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Berserker Hoodie (a vailable in Black and Carbon Grey Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Nordic Hoodie Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Vikings Long Sleeve T-shirt (available in Black, Dark Grey Heather, Navy and Athletic Heather. Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Axe Snapback Hat (available in White or Charcoal Grey) Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Long Sleeve T-shirt (available in Black, Dark Grey Heather, Navy and Athletic Heather) Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hoodie Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Viking Snapback Hat (available in White/ Charcoal grey) Available from Ubisoft Store Raven's Face mask Available from Ubisoft Store Axes Face mask Available from Ubisoft Store Nordic Face mask Available from Ubisoft Store Northern Lights Face Mask Available from Ubisoft Store Berserker Face Mask Available from Ubisoft Store Valhalla Face Mask Available from Ubisoft Store Viking Face Mask Available from Ubisoft Store Valhalla Crest Banner Hoodie by Difuzed Available from from Merchoid , Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Raven T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Wolf: Raven T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from , Xzone Cz , Gamlery, Fantasy Welt Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Shield T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Shield Hoodie by Difuzed. Available from Merchoid , Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Teddy Women's Hoodie by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Cz Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Nordic T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Crest T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Axes T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from EMP , Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Eivor T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Women's Teddy Hoodie by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Cz , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Metal Badge Snapback by Difuzed. Available from Merchoid , Xzone , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla Logo Beanie by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Cz , ActionFiguresItalia Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Tribal Baseball Hat by Difuzed. Available from Merchoid , Gamlery Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Logo Baseball Hat by Difuzed. Location unknown Assassin's Creed Valhalla: T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from FantasyWelt De Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Snake T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from HMV , FantasyWelt De Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Wolf T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from HMV , FantasyWelt De Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Woodcut Dragon T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from FantasyWelt De Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Eivor T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from FantasyWelt De Assassin's Creed Valhalla: T-shirt by Difuzed. Available from FantasyWelt De Assassin's Creed Valhalla Snapback by Difuzed. Available from Xzone Assassin's Creed Valhalla Tie Die T-shirt Available from Xzone Assassin's Creed Valhalla Longsleeve T-Shirt. Available from Merchoid Assassin's Creed Valhalla Viking Hoodie Available from Merchoid Ubisoft Heroes: Female Eivor Chibi figure, inspired from Eivor in the Assassin’s Creed® Valhalla. Available from the Ubisoft Store Ubisoft Heroes: Male Eivor Chibi figure, inspired from Eivor in the Assassin’s Creed® Valhalla. Available from the Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla Leggings Available from WildBangarang Assassin's Creed Valhalla Leggings Available from WildBangarang Assassin's Creed Valhalla Pencil Skirt Available from WildBangarang Assassin's Creed Valhalla Snood Available from WildBangarang Assassin's Creed Valhalla Snood Available from WildBangarang Eivor T-shirt Available from GraphMkt Limited edition Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirts by Charli Cohen , featuring augmented reality technology Glow in the dark Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt Available from Zavvi Assassin's Creed Valhalla Face Mask by Volante Design Assassin's Creed Valhalla Snapback Cap by AbyStyle Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt by AbyStyle Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt by AbyStyle Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt. Available from ASDA Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt. Available from ASDA Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt. Available from Zavvi Assassin's Creed Valhalla long sleeve T-shirt Available from Zavvi Assassin's Creed Valhalla Sweatshirt Available from Zavvi Assassin's Creed Valhalla Wolf T-shirt Available from Zavvi Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hoodie Available from Zavvi Assassin's Creed Valhalla Character T-shirt Available exclusively from HMV Assassin's Creed Valhalla Green Wolf T-shirt Available exclusively from HMV Assassin's Creed Valhalla Logo Cap Available exclusively from HMV Assassin's Creed Valhalla Beanie Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Logo T-shirt Available exclusively from HMV Assassin's Creed Valhalla Raven & Symbol Hoodie Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hooded Sweater (Womens) Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Raven & Symbol Hoodie (Womens) Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hooded Sweater Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Medium-length dress Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hammer and Symbol Hooded Sweater (Womens) Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hooded Sweater (Womens) Previusly available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Axe and Hammer Long-sleeved T-shirt (Womens) Available from EMP Grey Assassin's Creed Valhalla Shield T-shirt Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Feather T-shirt (Womens) Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hammer and Symbol T-shirt Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Raven and Logo T-shirt Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Hammer and Symbol T-shirt (Womens) Available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla / Reebok Hoodie Available from the Reebok store Assassin's Creed Valhalla / Reebok Hoodie Available from the Reebok store Assassin's Creed Valhalla / Reebok Socks Available from FootLocker and the Reebok store Assassin's Creed Valhalla / Reebok Cap Available from the Reebok store Assassin's Creed Valhalla Dragon Hoodie. Available from Zavvi Assassin's Creed Valhalla Raven and Symbol Tracksuit Trousers, available from EMP Assassin's Creed Valhalla Logo Cap Available from EB Games Assassin's Creed Valhalla Crew Socks Available from EB Games Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt by BioWorld Available from EB Games Assassin's Creed Valhalla Face Masks Previously available from Geek Store Officially licensed Viking wraps by Volante Design Officially licensed Viking belt by Volante Design Officially licensed Viking cloak by Volante Design Eivor Hoodie Available from the Ubisoft Store Sigurd and Eivor Sweatshirt Available from the Ubisoft Store Will Never Die T-shirt (4 colour options) Available from the Ubisoft Store Valhalla Comics Sweatshirt Available from the Ubisoft Store Valhalla Comics Bomber Jacket Available from the Ubisoft Store Valhalla Comics Hoodie Available from the Ubisoft Store Will Never Die Hoodie Available from the Ubisoft Store Valhalla Comic Premium T-shirt Available from the Ubisoft Store Valhalla Comic Crop Top Available from the Ubisoft Store Valhalla Raid T-shirt (4 colour options) Available from the Ubisoft Store Valhalla Comic Face Mask Available from Ubisoft Store Valhalla Face Mask Available from Volante Designs Valhalla Vintage Cap Available from Alza Assassin's Creed Valhalla Christmas Jumper Available from EMP and Impericon Assassin's Creed Valhalla Christmas Jumper Available from Ubisoft Store Assassin's Creed Valhalla Raven Cap Available exclusively from Ubisoft Store Brazil Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt Available exclusively from Ubisoft Store Brazil Assassin's Creed Valhalla T-shirt Available exclusively from Ubisoft Store Brazil Previous Guides AC Odyssey AC Movie Funko Pops AC Origins AC Rogue Black Flag PART 2 PART 3 Are we missing anything? Let us know and we'll update the article Did you buy anything from the Merchandise Guide? Let us know in the comments! Merchandise

The Future of Assassin’s Creed at UbiForward 2023 Part 1 - Pre-Show & Assassin's Creed Nexus Breakdown Share 15 Jun 2023 Written By: Edited By: Michael Smith Colum Blackett Back To Database Banner by Thea Marie Rivedal (Moonchildgecko) from TOWCB Art Team. Welcome to the first part in a new series breaking down all of the Assassin's Creed content presented at Ubisoft Forward 2023. In part one, we take a look at the pre-show and Assassin's Creed Nexus reveal! Related articles The Future of Assassin’s Creed at UbiForward 2023 Part 2 - Assassin's Creed Codename Jade The Future of Assassin’s Creed at UbiForward 2023 Part 3 - Assassin's Creed Mirage Story Trailer The Future of Assassin’s Creed at UbiForward 2023 Part 4 - Assassin's Creed Mirage Gameplay Trailer Pre-show We kick things off by joining a team of architects researching Assassin's Creed Unity, and video game architecture! In an effort to understand not only the creation of the games, but the architecture used in the games. Assassin’s Creed Unity is used for teaching classes taught by You+Pea. The full video (which was released in May, 2023) can be found on YouTube here and is part of Ubisoft’s Carte Blanche series. Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix In the preview for Adi Shankar’s Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix one of the “rebel outcasts” that Super-soldier Dolph Laserhawk will be working with to break out of the Supermax prison, is a frog Assassin that reminds me of the Assassin’s Creed series’ Ezio Auditore. This animation is coming to Netflix in Autumn, 2023. Adi Shankar was once slated to produce an animated Assassin's Creed series, but no clear update has been given on this project since 2017 Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR (Red Storm Entertainment) The trailer for Assassin’s Creed Nexus opens with a player donning their Meta Quest headset and taking control of Assassin’s Creed III protagonist, Ratonhnhaké:ton/Connor Kenway. Jumping from the rooftops of what looks to be Boston, Massachusetts, Connor sneaks up behind a British soldier and with his tomahawk, dispatches him with a strike to the chest from behind. From here he runs up crates that are being used for barricades in the alleyway and launches himself into the air where he draws his longbow to attack a group of soldiers from behind as one of them turns to see him. The action transitions from Connor, to the player holding the posing simulated control of the bow before transitioning again to Kassandra from Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. She releases the arrow into a Spartan soldier and then turns in first person view to clash swords with another. The sword she is using at first made me think of Nikolaos's Sword but at second glance seems to be a generic blade. Her parry allows her to bring the blade down on the soldier as the video transitions again to the player kneeling post-strike, and switching once more to Ezio Auditore in a crouch on the rooftops of Venice with the Basilica S.Maria Gloriosa dei Frari behind his right shoulder. Ezio stands and parkours over a short section of the canals until he is standing above a group of four soldiers. He releases his dual-hidden blades and performs an assassination on the soldier closest to him, with the video transitioning again as he makes his kill. The video ends with the player performing various actions with a sword and then shows the title card with the three Assassins that you will be able to play with. The English Audio Described VOD from the Ubisoft YouTube channel does not provide any additional information as it does not have the EAD like other trailers in the showcase. From the website and supplemental interview with Creative Director David Votypka for the game provides the following information: Climb & parkour anywhere The levels will be in open map areas Blend into crowds Interact with civilians Perform assassinations and the Leap of Faith Choose how you play, fast or stealth All-New Assassin’s Creed Story This is an All-new Assassin’s Creed story, where Abstergo Industries has retrieved Isu Artifacts and you must sabotage their plan in all new missions as the legendary Assassins. The game will provide 360-degree navigation around historically-accurate open maps where you can traverse and choose how to achieve your objective. This sounds similar to Black Box Missions which are also known to be coming to Assassin’s Creed Mirage. It was also confirmed in the interview with David Votypka, that the Modern-Day story will tie all of the historical periods together. Players will be trying to solve a mystery that requires them accessing the Assassin’s pasts to accomplish. Explore and Parkour Freely In the interview with CD David Votypka, he describes the open world style of the game as “tactical sandboxes” where the maps are not big (such as Odyssey or Valhalla), but if you can interact with anything you can see and climb and parkour both horizontally and vertically. 360-degrees of how they choose to play, stealth of fighting, rooftops or streets. The first few missions will be linear to teach players how the controls in VR work, but the remainder of the campaign will be up to the player to decide how to play. The game can be played room-scale, stationary, standing, or seated, but standing in room-scale is the most immersive way to play. Intuitive Combat Players will be able to block, parry, counterattack, and duel with reactive enemies using real-world motions. There will be a large arsenal of weapons including: Hidden Blades (All) Swords (Ezio & Kassandra) Tomahawk (Connor) Bows (Connor & Cassandra) Crossbow (Ezio) Throwing knives (All) Smoke bombs (Connor & Ezio)* David Votypka describes which Assassins will use which weapons (*not confirmed) in his interview and describes the actions used to deploy your Hidden Blade. Players will perform the same action as the characters they will embody, flicking your wrist (while holding the top trigger). The team really wanted to have a tactile motion to this weapon. Ezio and Connor will have dual-blades, but Kassandra will only have one. Stealth Players will be able to use traditional stealth as well as social stealth. While controls have not been released yet, it is assumed that you will be able to crouch physically to sneak up on enemies, or hold a button to perform the same action (a way to provide Accessibility controls). You will also be able to perform air assassinations, but there has been no indication of other types such as bench, haystack, or ledge assassinations yet. Interactive World Players will be able to explore in the open maps, interact with historical figures, and see the reactions of civilians and enemies when they perform actions using cinematics that will provide a unique immersive experience. Innovative Comfort Settings Accessability does appear to be kept in mind as various settings will be included to combat nausea, vertigo, and fear of heights. These are: Peripheral vision blocking Teleportation Additional settings not listed In the interview listed above, David Votypka states that players can use the stick on the controller to move around, which has to be done regardless of how you play. There is also a focus on sitting to play as not everyone can stand for multiple hours. He also informed that there is a dedicated team that worked exclusively on comfort features. Some of the things they worked on was allowing players to teleport without breaking the stealth experience, but an awareness warning where enemies would see the path you are taking if you were crossing a street for instance. You can also use the teleport feature for parkour, avoiding free locomotion. Having played the Assassin’s Creed Escape Games’ AC Odyssey: Medusa’s Gate, AC Origins: Escape the Lost Pyramid, and Prince of Persia: The Dagger of Time on the HTC Vive, I am very confident that the teleportation will remain an immersive experience. The peripheral vision can be adjusted with dynamic vignetting (blacking out the edges of the screen which was first shown in Eagle Flight (a 2016 VR release from Ubisoft). This feature is used when you are near objects and only in needed areas. Additionally on the subject of fear of heights, a subliminal grid can be used to give you a sense of the ground beneath your feet while standing above the maps you are exploring. The Assassins The site also provides small Codex entries on the three Assassins. This includes their name, when and where they were born, and what they have done previously to the Nexus game. It also provides information on what has happened recently in ties with the new title. When explaining the choices made to uses these characters, the decision was based on fan-favorites, poster-characters, and the interesting environments of their historical settings. Ezio Auditore da Firenze Born: 24 June, 1549 CE Active during the Italian Renaissance and a Master Assassin. Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR will follow Ezio in 1509, two years after his time in Rome during Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. He will reunite with the Auditore Family (his sister Claudia and his mother Maria) as well as friends such as Leonardo Da Vinci. The story is noted to contain harrowing conflict, stolen treasures, and revenge. Kassandra Born: 458 BCE A Greek misthios (mercenary) active during the Peloponnesian War. Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR will reunite players with Kassandra 20 years after the Battle of Amphipolis (where Brasidas and Kleon were killed). The historical event of this mission set will be during the “ Reign of the Thirty Tyrants ” rule of Athens. Connor Born: 4 April, 1756 A British American Mohawk active during the American Revolution Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR will have Connor working a contract for Achilles to rescue an imprisoned Son of Liberty in Boston. It is described as a story of espionage, intrigue, and betrayal. The Sons of Liberty were active between 1765 and 1766 and had a major role in fighting back against The Stamp Act of 1765. In Boston, where these missions are based (or at least start) The Sons of Liberty burned an effigy of Andrew Oliver , who could have a role in this story. The missions take place between 1776 and 177; between Sequence 7 & 8 of Assassin's Creed III. Assassin’s Creed Nexus VR is set to release Holiday 2023 on the Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest Pro, and Meta Quest 3. It can be Wishlisted on the Oculus website, here . Our coverage for UbiForward 2023 will continue over this weekend, so please make sure to follow us on Twitter & Facebook to stay notified of the next article. comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Mike Smith is a collector of all things Assassin's Creed and a major supporter of transmedia who joined TOWCB as a writer from 2021 - 2024 With nearly a full library of Assassin's Creed media, his work explored the universe in order of Genetic Memory. Notably, his Assassin's Creed Timeline became an essential tool for fans of the franchise looking to complete their collection and consume AC media in a particular order. Michael Smith

Eric is an experienced social media manager who joined TOWCB Social Media Team in February 2024 in an effort to help the team establish a clear identity for Isu_Network. Professionally, Eric has managed social media platforms in a number of fields such as fashion, trucking and more, working alongside 300+ brands. Taking on the role of social media coordinator, we will be working alongside Eric in 2024 and beyond to create consistent social media content that is both engaging and memorable. Previous Next Eric Allen // Milz_VP Social Media Team Eric is an experienced social media manager who joined TOWCB Social Media Team in February 2024 in an effort to help the team establish a clear identity for Isu_Network. Professionally, Eric has managed social media platforms in a number of fields such as fashion, trucking and more, working alongside 300+ brands. Taking on the role of social media coordinator, we will be working alongside Eric in 2024 and beyond to create consistent social media content that is both engaging and memorable. Twitter Work

This Week in Assassin's Creed Virtual Photography: 26th March -1st April 2022 Community Share 12 Apr 2022 Written By: Edited By: Aaron Young Ashlea Blackett Back To Database Welcome to the new weekly virtual photography roundup hosted by Aaron Young from The AC Partnership Program. Every week, we will be picking our top 5 favourite Assassin’s Creed shots and showcasing them on The Ones Who Came Before website, in order to promote virtual photography and talented content creators within the community. Aaron is a keen virtual photographer and loves to post his journeys through Assassin’s Creed on Twitter. Keep an eye on the site as more weekly shots are added, we are looking for capture across all Assassin’s Creed games. Tag your photos to the #TOWCBWeeklyCapture for a chance to be featured. 1) Wildlife Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla This week’s first capture comes from @ GeeketteAna over on Twitter A first wildlife capture for our weekly roundup. I really like the Autumnal feel of this shot, with the fox as the main focal point. This truly is a beautiful photo. I feel like Valhalla really nails the design of foxes in the game. After playing Ghost of Tsushima I never thought this possible. 2) Cave Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Photo number two comes from @ _Jellybird over on Twitter. Sticking with Valhalla and we have a wonderful shot of Eivor exiting a cave ready for battle. I love the details on this one with the rippling water and the egg shaped cave entrance. The lighting is on point to, giving a window like feel. Not quite sure where this is on the game but I would like to find it. 3) England’s Beauty Game: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla This week’s third shot comes from @ Chris25551 over on Twitter. I picked this shot because of its beauty. Valhalla has such great scenery, and this showcases it. A fantastic, almost painting like capture that encompasses the range of colours in England. The sun breaking through the clouds creating a misty haze adds to the mystery of this shot. 4) Nefertiti’s Throne Game: Assassin’s Creed Origins VP number four comes from @ ophierian_vp over on Twitter. A change of game now for capture number four. This tilted image gives a great sense of depth to a sun-drenched imagine of Nefertiti’s Throne. It’s been a long time since I played the Curse of the Pharaohs, but I might just need to make a return after this. I especially love the small details in this shot. 5) Companion Game: Assassin’s Creed Odyssey The final capture of the week comes from @ Elvira04289 over on Twitter. I like this capture for two reasons: one it showcases Kassandra and Ikaros brilliantly, and in such fine detail. However secondly it made me smile. Ikaros definitely looks like he is photobombing here. I miss Senu and Ikaros so much, as they were great additions to their respective games. And that sums it up for this week’s Assassin’s Creed virtual photography recap list! Thank you for checking out this week’s photo collection. This would not be possible without the virtual photographers out there so a huge thanks to them. Until next week keep those shots coming in! comments debug Comments Write a comment Write a comment Share Your Thoughts Be the first to write a comment. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who joined our AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer back in 2021 after the release of Assassin's Creed Valhalla. After building momentum and interest on TOWCB website for Virtual Photography, Aaron established TOWCB Virtual Photography Team, of which he is now Team Leader. Throughout 2024, TOWCB VP Team will be sharing community captures in dedicated articles, and providing a positive environment on Twitter for gamers to share their shots. Aaron Young

Starter Guide focussing on Norway for new players looking to begin their Assassin's Creed Valhalla adventure. Community Guides Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Huntsman Gear Guide By Aaron Young 26/3/21 Share Top Stories The Assassin's Creed Community are raising money for Ocean Conservancy. Donate today After the relatively long intro in Norway, you will no doubt be eager to find a new armour set when you arrive in England. One of the easier sets to claim is the Huntsman, which can be found in the opening areas of England. All items can be found in-game without the need for DLC or micro-transactions. All gear sets in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla will not only provide the player with an aesthetic look, but also stats and bonuses that increase Eivor’s strength. Further to this, your gear will also be aligned to one of the three branches of the skill tree. The Huntsman set follows the wolf skill line and therefore will benefit from any skill points you have placed here. It is also good to consider the set bonus perks that are different for each armour set. The Huntsman gear provides you with a nice Viking look and leans heavily into an archer playstyle. The two bonuses for equipping the Huntsman set are in the image below. It is good to remember that the more pieces of the set you wear, the bigger the bonus. It is not essential though, and you can mix gear for interesting perks. Edited by Ashlea Buckley The Huntsman Set Interview with Magnus Bruun - Eivor Assassins' Creed Valhalla Merchandise Guide Q&A with Abubakar Salim - Bayek of Siwa TOWCB Plans for 2021 Netflix announce upcoming live-action Assassin's Creed series Female Vikings: The Real History Building an Assassin's Creed Community: Getting Started Mentors Guild Announcement Interview with Benoit Richer: Valhalla Co-Dev Game Director Interview with Eric Baptizat: AC Valhalla Game Director Interview with Jordan Van Andel (JorRaptor) Colours in Assassin's Creed: A Short Review 6 ways to stay entertained in the Assassin's Creed Community during isolation Interview with Carlos Ferro - Da Vinci 5 ways you can support TOWCB Interview with Jesper Kyd Top Stories How to Get the Huntsman Gear Set The Huntsman Cape This seems like it could be more difficult than it actually is. Your best route is to take your Longship up river to Templebrough Fort in Ledecestrescire. The Huntsman Helm This one can be a little trickier. The helm can be found at Tonnastadir fort in Ledecestrescire. It is a heavily guarded area, which can be difficult early in the game. You will come here as part of the Ledecestrescire story arc, and I would suggest waiting until then to collect the helm. Hopefully these tips will help you get started on your Viking adventure. Valhalla is a wonderful game full of intrigue and mystery with a story that sucks you in slowly. Be patient and take your time, you will not regret it. About the Author Aaron is a passionate Assassin's Creed fan who recently joined TOWCB AC Partnership Program as an Online Article Writer. Throughout 2021, Aaron and other writers will be joining the admin team in a collaborative effort to create an Assassin's Creed Valhalla Guide Database, which you can find here . Twitter Aaron Young Save 10% on officially licensed Assassin's Creed Origins merchandise with the code "TOWCB" Unfortunately you cannot obtain all of the set pieces in the same region. There are five gear items to collect, with three in Grantebridgescire and the other two in Ledecestrescire. The Power Levels of these regions should not pose too much of a problem, as when you arrive in England both Grantebridgescire and Ledecestrescire are early story destinations. That being said, all of the Huntsman armour is well guarded so you will need to either fight your way to it or use stealth. Grantebridgescire and Ledecestrescire are both Power Level 20, so following the story would be the best way of attaining this set. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla has four tiers for gear pieces: Grey (Fine) Red (Superior) Blue (Flawless) Gold (Mythical) When you fine each piece of the Huntsman set it will already be Superior. It is wise to use what resources you have to bring the gear to its highest level, and save your nickel ingots to upgrade the armour to flawless when you return to Gunnar at the Settlement. It is important to note that Ubisoft recently patched Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, implementing the transmogrification feature. This means you can upgrade your gear to the highest level but not have to worry about not liking the look. You can pay fifty coins to Gunnar and he will amend the aesthetic to one of the previous iterations but with the highest stats. The helm is locked behind a gate, so you will first need to head to the longhouse. The key can be found on a table, but be careful as sometimes there will be guards in the room. Once you have the key, head to the metal gate where three guards will be waiting. There is some debris you can drop on them. Either way you will need to dispatch the guards before entering. The helm can be found at the end of the hallway in a chest. The Huntsman Armour The chest piece is probably the most difficult to obtain. It can be found in Ravensburg outpost, Grantebridgescire. This outpost is part of the story arc so waiting until then is a good option. The cloak can be found in a tower situated in the middle of the river. Just climb the tower and shoot the wood hanging to break the floor below. From here jump down and open the chest. There are a few guards so be careful not to been seen, but it is possible to avoid them altogether. You will find the chest containing the armour in the main hut at the centre of the enemy camp. Despite the camp being well guarded it is possible to get all the way to the hut unnoticed. You may wish to tactically remove some of the guards just so if you are caught you will not be overwhelmed. The Huntsman Vambraces The vambraces are hidden behind a waterfall in Grantebridgescire. The location is not too far from your settlement. Just head south of Ravensthorpe and you will see an area with two sections of water. The vambraces can be found in the first section of water, behind a waterfall. Once you enter the cave you will find another section of water. You will need to dive in and swim underwater until you reach the end. Straight after exiting the water you will see the chest in front of you. The Huntsman Breeches Your final piece to collect will be the breeches. They are situated in Soham hideout, which is on a patch of land not too far from Isle of Ely Monastery, Grantebridgescire. You will want to sneak into the camp and head towards the large stone building in the centre. Inside you will find a chest containing the breeches. You may also need to dispatch some of the guards. There are two sat at a table in the main building, making it difficult to sneak up on them, so be careful. Once you have all the gear items, you can return to Gunnar to upgrade them. Don’t forget to take a look at the transmogrification feature. It is also worth mentioning that you can pay travellers for information regarding the location of gear items (represented on the map by a question mark)

Junaid is a UK-based digital artist who joined the art team in Summer 2022. In 2017, he created various art pieces to mark the 10 year anniversary of Assassin's Creed, and by joining the program, we will be collaborating on a number of projects that create exclusive artwork for the community to mark events such as the 15 year anniversary, and the annual AC community fundraiser for charity. Previous Next Junaid Iqbal (Medjay_Graphics) Artist Previous Partner Junaid is a UK-based digital artist who joined the art team in Summer 2022. In 2017, he created various art pieces to mark the 10 year anniversary of Assassin's Creed, and by joining the program, we will be collaborating on a number of projects that create exclusive artwork for the community to mark events such as the 15 year anniversary, and the annual AC community fundraiser for charity. Twitter | Instagram | Website Work

News Community Reviews, Breakdowns, and Analysis Interviews Events Merchandise Merchandise Guides Theories, Predictions & Wishlists Pitching An Assassin's Creed Game Guides Community Interviews Rumor Hub In Memoriam Podcasts Other

James (FlickzKiller) is a social media manager looking to make an impact within the Assassin's Creed Community. By joining our Social Media Content Team, James will have the opportunity to work within a team of dedicated AC fans, and experiment with social media techniques that increase engagement and interactions. ​Look out for James as he takes over the Isu_network Twitter account. Previous Next James (FlickzKiller) Social Media Previous Partner James (FlickzKiller) is a social media manager looking to make an impact within the Assassin's Creed Community. By joining our Social Media Content Team, James will have the opportunity to work within a team of dedicated AC fans, and experiment with social media techniques that increase engagement and interactions. Look out for James as he takes over the Isu_network Twitter account. Twitter Work

The Maverick is an Assassin's Creed TikTok star based in USA who is known for his comedy sketches and parkour ability. He is also a Modern Day follower of the Creed who strives to make a difference in real life, through actions such as litter picking and fundraising to help the less fortunate. Previous Next The Maverick Video Content Previous Partner The Maverick is an Assassin's Creed TikTok star based in USA who is known for his comedy sketches and parkour ability. He is also a Modern Day follower of the Creed who strives to make a difference in real life, through actions such as litter picking and fundraising to help the less fortunate. Instagram | Twitter | TikTok Work

Welcome to the Program The AC Partnership Program (Isu_Network) is a community initiative created by The Ones Who Came Before, which aims to promote and share content. The program is a great way for content creators to gain recognition for their work within the community, and expand to a wider audience. The program hosts a whole range of projects and feature content created by talented members of the community. We aim to amplify community voices. The program also aims to create more opportunities for our community members, such as interviews, giveaways, and more. Out team are working behind the scenes on a number of projects such as art demos, cosplay guides, podcasts, video logs, and walkthrough videos. We are always recruiting, and are carefully monitoring our social media channels and contacting potential partners. The future is bright, and we would love to get more people involved! For some, the program is a stepping stone into the world of journalism; for others, it is the opportunity to work as part of a team, developing skills and making friends within the community. Our partners are encouraged to create regular content for the Assassin's Creed community, with the help of our admins. Partners Aaron Young Bio Charlie Cooper Bio Gustav Poulsen (Gargudon) Bio Jebs Bio Phie // Capture Creed Bio SisterlyThrower Bio TheÆlchemist Bio Zephryss Bio Aita_Sageblood Bio Eric Allen // Milz_VP Bio Hayden Bird Bio Laura M. Jung Bio RS (WonDerNooB_VP) Bio Taylor McKay (TMAC) Bio Turið Torkilsdóttir Bio Calvin Whiteway Bio Frame Hold Photography Bio James Davis (TopChef1288) Bio Otamotts (Evil) Bio Shaya Fury Bio Thea (Moonchildgecko) Bio Yasmin Page Bio Alumni ActualSpider-Man Bio Aureliusz DArccc Bio Caleb Allen Bio Jack Harrison Bio Jarrett and Tiffany Bio Kevin (Going Viking) Bio Lisa Zaman Bio Michael Smith Bio Noon (TheHiddenVirtuals) Bio Renzo // CapturesByRenzo Bio Al Boncompagni (It’s A Creed) Bio Ben Weal Bio Edenoi Bio Jaime (aSassysCreed) Bio Junaid Iqbal (Medjay_Graphics) Bio Kyle Marvell Bio Louise // TheNerdyArcher Bio Mieke Dix Bio Preston Carbonaro Bio Serajeddine Bio Ashlea Blackett Bio Brandon McDonnell | Sirmcdonnell Bio Finn Fletcher Bio James (FlickzKiller) Bio Katrina Stark Bio Lauren Harris Bio Michael Doyle Bio Muhamad Verrell Bio Quela Bio Sophia Bio The AC Partnership Program is seeking to expand its membership through recruitment. If you have a passion for Assassin's Creed and wish to get involved, get in touch and let us know more about your interests and expertise! Recruitment