Assassin's Creed III - HUD-less option on Wii U

by **robometal cowboy** » 13 Nov 2012 23:19

Assassin's Creed III - HUD-less option on Wii U
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That should make for a more cinematic experience on the Wii U! Thanks to Jetku for the heads up.

by **LegendofSantiago** » 13 Nov 2012 23:22

That's cool, it's one of the features i want to see more. Clean the hud and put all that junk on the gamepad

by **Shaanyboi** » 13 Nov 2012 23:22

well... considering the HUD has, at times, critical information that you'd want to not have to look away from the TV to see,...uhhh... why would anyone do this?

by **Eternal Rain** » 13 Nov 2012 23:30

Shaanyboi wrote:well... considering the HUD has, at times, critical information that you'd want to not have to look away from the TV to see,...uhhh... why would anyone do this?

Well it is just an optional thing. I'm gonna keep the HUD on the TV (not like it was ever a problem in earlier AC games anyway), but I'm sure some people would like to go HUD-less to better admire the scenery.

by **Shaanyboi** » 13 Nov 2012 23:57

Eternal Rain wrote:
Shaanyboi wrote:well... considering the HUD has, at times, critical information that you'd want to not have to look away from the TV to see,...uhhh... why would anyone do this?

Well it is just an optional thing. I'm gonna keep the HUD on the TV (not like it was ever a problem in earlier AC games anyway), but I'm sure some people would like to go HUD-less to better admire the scenery.

yeah... i dunno. It's at points like the 'action' button in Zelda games. It's like... you sometimes just need that there. Oh well. People can do what they want. I just don't recommend it. And yeah, it's not like the HUD is so intrusive on this game...

by **Seroth** » 14 Nov 2012 00:09

Can you manage your inventory on the Wii U gamepad? I can see that being really useful, because it really sucks that you have to go into a separate menu to use your secondary equipment in AC3 since they got rid of the weapon wheel. It's really annoying.

by **Zaakro** » 14 Nov 2012 00:17

@Seroth

Yes you can

by **Shaanyboi** » 14 Nov 2012 00:20

Seroth wrote:Can you manage your inventory on the Wii U gamepad? I can see that being really useful, because it really sucks that you have to go into a separate menu to use your secondary equipment in AC3 since they got rid of the weapon wheel. It's really annoying.

THAT'S one route where i can see the gamepad being of benefit.

by **Mako** » 14 Nov 2012 00:57

I hope we get this option with Zelda.

by **jmizzal** » 14 Nov 2012 01:25

Shaanyboi wrote:well... considering the HUD has, at times, critical information that you'd want to not have to look away from the TV to see,...uhhh... why would anyone do this?

I really dont see this as an issue in a game like this, its not like your gonna be getting shot at all the time while your looking away, a clean HUD is very cool

by **happyhappyman1** » 14 Nov 2012 01:41

this could be really useful because I can rarely see what the text is saying in assassins creed games.

by **Shaanyboi** » 14 Nov 2012 02:35

jmizzal wrote:
Shaanyboi wrote:well... considering the HUD has, at times, critical information that you'd want to not have to look away from the TV to see,...uhhh... why would anyone do this?

I really dont see this as an issue in a game like this, its not like your gonna be getting shot at all the time while your looking away, a clean HUD is very cool

A clean HUD looks great, yeah. But... not if it means getting rid of information that the player might actually need. There are actual notifications/icons that can be pretty important, especially in the context of combat or while you're being all stealthy. A colour-change on your rope-dart, indicating that your target is in-fact reachable, or that your target is in-range for your pistol, or that you are close enough to an enemy to use them as a human shield... that's all stuff that should be RIGHT there on the big screen because it can important to gameplay. Putting it on a second screen that you have to look away to isn't as user-friendly.

I get the desire to get rid of the clutter in HUDs, and yeah, dumb stuff like "you got a new e-mail, new animus entry" can get lumped in with unnecessary information. But I think all this just means there needs to be more intelligent HUD design as opposed to "EHHHH, THROW ALL THAT S*** ONTO THE SECOND SCREEN." Some of that information should be immediately accessible to the player's view, never requiring them to look away from the action because that can be where you can make your cues as to what to do next. If i'm in the middle of a fight in a game, I'm NEVER looking away from that fight.

Like... Dead Space didn't get rid of the HUD like everyone champions it for doing. It just placed that information in more natural, easy-to-read places (health on the character's spine, etc). I dunno. Throwing your inventory menu or whatever onto the Gamepad screen, okay sure, but getting rid of necessary gameplay information just seems like bad design.

by **Jerome** » 14 Nov 2012 03:15

Or they could, you know, have a HUD that comes up instantly when you hold a button, and disappears when you release it. I'd say that would be better, since you'd never have to look away from the TV.

Efficiency is doing a lot with a little. From what I'm reading, Wii U's gamepad is about doing a little with a lot (in many cases, using a huge, expensive, battery-sucking controller to do what could have easily been done with a plain ol' button).

by **Zaakro** » 14 Nov 2012 03:48

I can't believe no one pointed out Remote Play above it

by **link2dpast** » 14 Nov 2012 06:07

Zaakro wrote:I can't believe no one pointed out Remote Play above it

Finally someone noticed. What the hell are you guys arguing about a HUD-less screen when this is the first time remote play has been confirmed for ACiii.

by **sonicspike41** » 14 Nov 2012 06:45

jmizzal wrote:I really dont see this as an issue in a game like this, its not like your gonna be getting shot at all the time while your looking away, a clean HUD is very cool

There's plenty of times where having the minimap on the same screen is extremely helpful. Also, not having to constantly look away to follow a marker/nav point.

I can't believe no one's brought up Dead Space yet. This is a solution to a problem that didn't exist. If you want a clean HUD, then find better ways to integrate it into the screen, not remove it. Turn health into a visual character display. Make weapon ammo easily visible on the character. Make the mini-map toggle-able. All I think would be more elegant solutions than taking away from the main screen/game. (And yes, I know it's optional, it's just that there's better options.)

by **Jerome** » 14 Nov 2012 07:51

sonicspike41 wrote:There's plenty of times where having the minimap on the same screen is extremely helpful. Also, not having to constantly look away to follow a marker/nav point.

The whole advantage of a HUD is that it makes pertinent information easily visible in the general area you're looking anyway. Having to look at a seperate screen forfeits that advantage.

sonicspike41 wrote:I can't believe no one's brought up Dead Space yet. This is a solution to a problem that didn't exist. If you want a clean HUD, then find better ways to integrate it into the screen, not remove it. Turn health into a visual character display. Make weapon ammo easily visible on the character. Make the mini-map toggle-able. All I think would be more elegant solutions than taking away from the main screen/game. (And yes, I know it's optional, it's just that there's better options.)

Agreed. You can only look at one screen at a time, why use a whole extra screen to constantly display something you'll only occasionally glance at, when you can just bring up an overlay? I like your statement about a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, another way I've heard it is a solution looking for a problem, which is what most of the uses of the Gamepad I've seen seem to be.

by **King_Dodongo** » 14 Nov 2012 09:17

It's good to have options.

by **gatorboi352** » 14 Nov 2012 11:29

LegendofSantiago wrote:That's cool, it's one of the features i want to see more. Clean the hud and put all that junk on the gamepad

Agreed. The last thing I want to see is overly forced and unnecessary second screen implementation ala waggle button mapping for Wii games back in the day. Dumping HUD crap onto the touchscreen is perfect for me. That, and guaranteed Off TV play.

by **Koisuru** » 14 Nov 2012 11:37

Shaanyboi wrote:well... considering the HUD has, at times, critical information that you'd want to not have to look away from the TV to see,...uhhh... why would anyone do this?

There is nothing important on the AC3 HUD, any AC for that matter. The only thing I use the HUD for is the Map and even though I own the PS3 Version, I'd have absolutely no problems in glancing down to make sure I'm travelling in the right general direction.

by **gatorboi352** » 14 Nov 2012 11:39

Jerome wrote:
sonicspike41 wrote:There's plenty of times where having the minimap on the same screen is extremely helpful. Also, not having to constantly look away to follow a marker/nav point.

The whole advantage of a HUD is that it makes pertinent information easily visible in the general area you're looking anyway. Having to look at a seperate screen forfeits that advantage.

sonicspike41 wrote:I can't believe no one's brought up Dead Space yet. This is a solution to a problem that didn't exist. If you want a clean HUD, then find better ways to integrate it into the screen, not remove it. Turn health into a visual character display. Make weapon ammo easily visible on the character. Make the mini-map toggle-able. All I think would be more elegant solutions than taking away from the main screen/game. (And yes, I know it's optional, it's just that there's better options.)

Agreed. You can only look at one screen at a time, why use a whole extra screen to constantly display something you'll only occasionally glance at, when you can just bring up an overlay? I like your statement about a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, another way I've heard it is a solution looking for a problem, which is what most of the uses of the Gamepad I've seen seem to be.

Wow did you miss the boat or what. You're so off base it's not even funny.

Also, I always find myself turning off any and all HUD related information in my games today anyways. Especially in FPSs its the only way to go. I don't have a HUD in real life, why would I want one in my games?

by **Jerome** » 14 Nov 2012 12:19

gatorboi352 wrote:Wow did you miss the boat or what. You're so off base it's not even funny.

I don't understand, would you care to explain?

by **sonicspike41** » 14 Nov 2012 14:45

gatorboi352 wrote:Also, I always find myself turning off any and all HUD related information in my games today anyways. Especially in FPSs its the only way to go.

What FPS games do you play that knowing how much ammo is left in your mag before a reload, knowing how much health/shields you have, or knowing where your teammates or enemy team members are is not that important? Or are you talking about single-player only? You'd have your butt handed to you online if you didn't keep on top of that stuff.