Far Cry 3 overall is a fantastic game, and is a massive improvement over Far Cry 2. However, there were a few minor things that Far Cry 2 did better. Some of these are very nit-picky while some are very huge. Why these things aren't in Far Cry 3 boggles me. And if they were Far Cry 3 would definitely be enhanced. But these are some of the features that Far Cry 2 did better.
1. Physics and fire damage -
More specifically, the foliage and environmental physics. Far Cry 3 has minimal almost zero destructible environments, at least in far Cry 2 parts of trees could break off. But Far Cry 2 you could shoot parts of tree's - not just plants - and the whole branch would come off. Its ok that some of the larger trees in Far Cry 3 cant go down - like in FC2 - but the palm tree's are stuck. The leaves do move on many of the trees but in comparison to FC2 it is very minimal. The trees in FC2 were so real and alive, there branches swaying back and forth with the wind and all the leaves moving about. Yes the trees themselves in FC3 do move but not the leaves - aside from small plants. And then there is the Fire damage. This is very minor but why do the leaves stay when they have just been burnt in FC3? I mean at least in 2 the leaves disappeared and there was just a black wooden skeleton of the tree.
2. Weather
Far Cry 3's weather system is non existent, it basically sucks. Clouds are just an image in the sky that changes time to time on fast travel, and thunderstorms are an immediate transition into ok rain effects. Far Cry 2 on the other hand had amazing weather effects. Going back to the physics, it totally changed the feel of the environment playing into how much the trees swayed around and the dark foggy surroundings. Also - DYNAMIC CLOUDS! This was so much better than what FC3 did and nothing really needs to be said about this. The slow transition into rainy windy and brusseling noise of the trees was so immersive and atmospheric. Its always sunny in FC3....boring. Sure its pretty but not nearly as immersive.
3. The map and HUD
Now this one is subjective, the map in Far Cry 3 isn't that bad. It gets the job done well enough and it shows meaningful and useful information. However the HUD on the otherhand is not meaningful. Sure, its useful but it gets in the way. Many of you have already pointed out the overly sized HUD on screen, the annoying flashing objects, the constant popping up "Hey there is this mission you have to go to" and objective markers. Even though I got used to the HUD on screen and map FC2 did it better.
It was so much more immersive having the ingame handheld - spooky updating - maps that your character held. We don't need a bloody minimap >. And also how the health and ammo info actually disappeared after not using it so there is nothing on screen. This all ties into, well you know, realism. Sure Having dingos, bears, tigers and deer living in the same place isn't realistic but you get my point.
4. Music
This is also subjective, and it isn't about the car radio because that fits perfectly into the setting. But the game soundtrack as a whole. Some of the tunes that play fit and work well when you are just exploring. But the others have way to much dupstep influence. I know the theme of the game with insanity at its core and all plays sort of to the tone of the music but the jungle tunes of Far Cry 2 just seemed so much more appropriate for this type of game. You might remember the opening music in the very first e3 demo where Jason just comes out of the jungle to the valley and some music plays. What happened to that? It was much more appropriate and sounded darn good. Even if the style of music in Far Cry 2 was in Far Cry 3 that would be much appreciated. Its not overly bad though. Just something worth pointing out.
5. Hardcore mode
This is self explanatory as FC3 simply doesn't even have such a mode. Warrior isn't difficult enough, and having modes like hardcore improve immersion and tension.
Well that's 5 things that i think Far Cry 2 did better. What do you guys think? Is there anything else you think it did better? Overall though, I think Far Cry 3 improved heavily on most things Far Cry 2 did and is a much better game for it.![]()
far cry 3 is a very good game but i agree with all you say also one time a shot an enemy in far cry 2 and he dragged himselt to a tree wounded and he pulled his pistol out and try to kill me still as he lay on the floor no other game has done that also the fire in far cry 2 was much better the fire arrow in far cry 3 dont set any thing on fire ??
What always bugged me about 2 was the grass. Even though it was made out of actual polygons it turned as you were turning like it were made out of 2D bitmap billboards. No idea why they decided to make it that way. Only turning around the Z-axis, though. Plus there were far less decorational objects making the world much more repetitive imo. But yeah, I'd like to have the physics back, too. On the other hand, I like it, how fire can now crawl up walls. Doesn't destroy anything, really, but the effect looks better overall.
Dunia 2 certainly isn't worse than 1. I bet it's still capable of all that fancy physics effects. They've just been disabled for performance reasons.![]()
Originally Posted by SachielMF Go to original post
Would be nice if we could get it re-enabled then, I miss that aspect of immersion and I am really used to it due to FC2 and the Crysis games having it yrs earlier.
SSAO gives very fat borders with DX9, too. Can be changed in the .xml settings, though, not matter if DX11 or 9. Is there any difference between the two at all other than MSAA out of the box? Even on DX9 I get sunrays and stuff.Originally Posted by psytic Go to original post
Great thread. I was going to start a similar one myself. I agree with all the points made by all posters. I feel the fire propagation and environmental destruction was quite a bit better in FC2. I'll never forget throwing grenades in FC2, where dust and leaves were blown out, and the roofs could even be blown off some small grass huts. In enemy camps there were heaps of things that would blow up, ignite or could be blown apart. Not so many in FC3. If something fell into the water in FC2 there were also splashes and ripples...
The fire propagation was much better in FC2. Firstly there were big differences between fires in dry environments and green/wet ones. Second, you could see the direction of the wind in FC2 with the grasses and branches blowing, and plan your burn-offs appropriately. The strength of the wind varied in FC2. Fire could ignite barrels, cook-off ammo boxes, gas-pumps.. In strong winds and dry environments it could be very important to note the direction of the wind before an attack.
The day/night cycle is much better in FC2 IMO. Firslty, there was a smooth transition through the hours of the day and night, with some glorious sunrises, sunsets and twilight periods. In FC3 some of the day/night transitions seem triggered by events, rather than the passage of time. That is jarring to me. In FC2 there were even different birdcalls and insect noises at different times of day, if I recall. I haven't noticed the same detail in FC3.
The dynamic weather effects were far more realistic and various in FC2. In FC3 there is enough wind to blow flags horizontal, but trees do not move? In FC2 often the wind would pick up before a weather change. Brilliant! In FC3 there seems to be an instant transition from relatively cloudless to stormy, and no moving clouds. It's almost a throwback to 90s gaming in the sky department.
And yes I miss how some enemies would survive a few bullets and attempt to crawl away in FC2, or even be carried to safety by some loyal mates! It often came as a shock to stumble upon one sitting against a vehicle, holding out bravely with a pistol.
Finally I thought the African setting of FC2 was much more original and realistic. It really looked hot, dusty, run-down and isolated from the outside world. I loved the huts cobbled together out of 'junk', and the rubbish everywhere. I was convinced by the setting. The FC2 tropical jungle was not a lurid bright green like FC3, but had a jungle that could be dark, oppressive and forbidding. Except in direct midday sun, tropical plants do not usually appear a bright green... And there was great variety between the savannahs and the jungle in FC2.
Anyway FC3 has many improvements too. I wonder if the things they left out of it are only due to memory and/or processing limits? ie. They couldn't add new things without taking some things away.
I actually like having the minimap. I would like it to be a little tighter in the corner so its not so far into the center of the screen though. I loved fc2 but with the handheld gps, I felt like I spent more time staring at that to navigate where I am instead of just looking around like I can in fc3. One quick glance to the left and I can see everything I need to know without having to keep fumbling with a gps. Also wouldn`t mind making it so the minimap in the corner stays static and stops rotating when ever I turn.
Yeah that was probably my biggest issue, especially no weather in-between rain and sunny.Originally Posted by Viragoxv535 Go to original post