Topic: Splinter Cell: Conviction

[Xessive]

Yeah, it's been pretty rough.

Good news: Skidrow have also cracked the multiplayer allowing legitimate users to go online while still bypassing the DRM.

[MysterD]

Yeah, it's been pretty rough.

Good news: Skidrow have also cracked the multiplayer allowing legitimate users to go online while still bypassing the DRM.

We knew it'd only be a matter of time.

[Xessive]

Amusing "secret" dialogue

[Xessive]

Patch v1.02 is out.

- Added DLC support
- Fixed many disconnection and divergences issues in coop modes.
- Added Multi-GPU support for SLI/Crossfire (remaining issues on ATI side)
- Added ATI Eyefinity support (we are waiting on a validation by AMD for theEyefinity Ready official stamp)
- Some configuration specific divergences fixes, crashs et minor bugs
- Graphic glitches when running in low visual quality:
- Improve performances and some flickering issues.
- Low-end video card optimizations.
- Fixed Microsoft Wireless X360 controller not being detected properly with some drivers.
- Fixed interaction buttons overlapping in certain resolutions/aspect ratios.
- GTX400 Nvidia video card support (removed the error message)
- Various minor fixes.

Some people are reporting a loss in framerate but I've actually noticed a performance boost. At least on my system it's actually running better.

The matchmaking system seems to be functioning now too. When I tested, within 10 secs I connected to another player. That said, the game still lacks any form of chat/voice communication. Most people have worked around that by joining TeamSpeak an Ventrilo announced games.

The game still needs some fixing but I'm grateful for this for the time-being. Although this really should have been a 0-day update.

[MysterD]

Yahtzee's SC: Conviction review/editorial.

[MysterD]

I don't know if you guys played SC: Conviction on its hardest difficulty, but I found this article interesting - b/c it talks about how playing it on its highest difficulty needs you to be much more Stealthy than any of the other difficulties.

As I play through Splinter Cell: Conviction, I find myself confused at some of the criticism levelled at it, specifically that it focuses more on action than on stealth. However, I realize that I’m playing it on the hardest difficulty for the achievement, and as with Mass Effect 2, difficulty changes everything. I’m forced to stay in shadows, to use my gadgets whenever possible (especially the explosives that can clear a room in seconds), and to sit in a corner and watch guards walk by until I memorize their pattern. I’m forced to actually be  stealthy. As I play Hunter mode and try to get the achievement for not being spotted, I learn to be even more stealthy. I don’t use explosives, too noisy. I use flash bangs and EMPs to blind enemies and then kill them. My quest for achievements teaches me to be a perfect hunter.

[Pugnate]

I played on the hardest difficulty as well... always do with games where stealth is a well fleshed out option... it can be a bit too hard when you are battling in open combat... but it isn't too bad.

[Pugnate]

So I just finished it. I was on the last mission as I typed that previous message. The game was without doubt, very good, but definitely fell short of excellence.

There are moments early that offer lots of stealth options, and the first half of the game finds a great balance between stealth and action. Unfortunately, the last half felt far more third-person action. Don't get me wrong, it was still good fun, but I felt it was easier to raise hell than sneak from the shadows.

Overall the storytelling was good, and the soundtrack was just top notch.

Good solid game, but I'd still rank it below the first splinter cell, and Chaos Theory.

[MysterD]

Ahhhhh....now that's in the right place, Pug.

I remember in the last 1/3rd of Assassin's Creed 1, the game felt like it went from Stealthy game to an action game - and now it happened again w/ SC: Conviction?

Haven't UbiSoft Montreal from making such decisions? 

[Xessive]

The only thing I really noticed on Realistic difficulty is that the consequences for getting spotted are more dire; the detection bar is quicker and I may die more quickly. In terms of difficulty it's kinda the same as all previous Splinter Cell games: I play it so stealthily that I don't notice any difference on the higher difficulty.

Overall I like the game. It's different from the rest of the franchise but it is still a stealth game, it's just mainstreamed. How mainstreamed? I've seen girls play it relatively well. I don't mean to discriminate against girl gamers but looking at the stats most girls would put shooters and stealth games aside in favour of RPGs and MMOs.

I have finished the main campaign 3 times now, once on normal and twice on realistic. After the patch my performance went up noticeably so I had to go through the game at a full 1920x1080 resolution. It is crisp. Regarding the gameplay, there is some degree of variety to the game; it's not 100% the same each time. The baddies are occasionally scattered differently.

Online is quite a bit of fun too. So far I've only played Hunter, Last Stand, and Face Off. All pretty good but I really just want to play the coop story! I managed to connect to one guy who had a coop story game going, completed the first segment (roughly 10 minutes) and got disconnected. It's getting a little frustrating.

[MysterD]

Insurgency $DLC announced.

Ubisoft Announces Premium DLC for Splinter Cell: Conviction
By Mike Sharkey | May 17, 2010
Four new maps coming to Deniable Ops mode in less than two weeks.

Ubisoft has been trying to whet the appetites of Splinter Cell fans with free downloadable goodies every Thursday. Now that they've had a taste, Ubisoft is ready to find out if gamers are ready to pay for a Sam Fisher score. Insurgency, he first premium (read: paid) DLC pack for Conviction, is coming soon.

Ubisoft made the announcement today in a brief press release that describes Insurgency as additional content for Conviction's Deniable Ops modes. Brand new missions for Archer and Kestrel will take gamers on a journey from San Francisco to New Orleans in four additional maps.

"Sam Fisher may have his conviction, but Black Arrow is still out there - waiting for him," Ubisoft said in a statement.

And for you achievement junkies, Ubisoft added that the DLC will offer up 250 new points for unlocking.

Insurgency is set to launch on May 27 for the Xbox 360 and Windows PCs for 800 Microsoft Points/$9.99.

[Xessive]

Yes Ubisoft, I'm going to pay you some more money for 4 maps to play online--wait, the online mode is still broken, isn't it? Yes, it is.

[MysterD]

Yes Ubisoft, I'm going to pay you some more money for 4 maps to play online--wait, the online mode is still broken, isn't it? Yes, it is.

I'm sure the pirates, hackers, and/or modders might fix that.

[Xessive]

I'm sure the pirates, hackers, and/or modders might fix that.

Sort of, I've been playing it using Tunngle. It's a virtual network tunneler, so we're all able to connect and play like a LAN. The best part is we don't ave to use the broken matchmaking system at all, we just use the LAN server browser. Yet all these minor successes are nothing but workarounds and not final solutions.

Ubi need to get their shit together.

[MysterD]

Sort of, I've been playing it using Tunngle. It's a virtual network tunneler, so we're all able to connect and play like a LAN. The best part is we don't ave to use the broken matchmaking system at all, we just use the LAN server browser. Yet all these minor successes are nothing but workarounds and not final solutions.

Ubi need to get their shit together.

It's a damn shame Ubi can't get their matchmaking system, DRM, and online working right - especially since it's probably a major portion of the game, since the SP is quite short.

At least Gearbox fixed their MP-issues on GameSpy w/ Borderlands PC...

Bring back PC gaming-style dedicated-servers, geez...

[MysterD]

Weekend Deal on Steam...
Splinter Cell - Elite Echelon Pack on Steam = $45.99.

Includes: Splinter Cell, SC: Chaos Theory, SC: Double Agent, and SC: Conviction - Deluxe Edition.

SIDE NOTE: SC: Pandora Tomorrow is NOT in this collection.

[MysterD]

Started this today and been playing.
While I do like it so far, I got one complaint already - I can't hide dead bodies! Seriously, WTH? 

The Mark and Execute is cool and feels very VATS-like. Actually, it's more like that pistol specific skill for targeting X amount of enemies in Alpha Protocol.

[Xessive]

It's the same thing, you mark targets and push a button (or release in AP's case) to execute. I just find it works a lot better in SC:C because you're not on a timer when you're marking targets.

I only truly started enjoying SC:C when I changed my mentality on the game: I had to stop thinking of it as a Splinter Cell title. Other than the theme and storyline it has very little to do with its predecessors. After that point I started to see it in a different light.

[Pugnate]

Overall, the game was just a touch underwhelming. It is a pretty good game... just not a great one. It has a few cool gimmicks, but there isn't anything surprising after the opening bit, which I remember was quite awesome.

[MysterD]

Just finished the Single Player Campaign. Yeah, it was pretty good - even though is not as stealthy as I'd have liked. Sure, there's duck and cover and you can get into the shadows that way, too - but, that's not the stealth I'm looking for - even though I do like that addition.

More so than anything else, I really miss some of the old stealthy elements such as hiding dead bodies and being able to roll the sneaking-speed and movement of your character while sneaking.

I really like the new way of embedding objectives and videos right into the game-world and black-and-white signaling you're in the shadows.

I still think SC: Chaos Theory is the crowning jewel of this series.