You could pace him per map, but then he’d just always be in the same place in Paris, same place in Marrakesh, etc. To truly have it semi- or even truly random, they would need to generate Smith procedurally, and I don’t know if that’s even possible, much less feasible.
The only other way I could think of would be just add him into a few places per map like the clues in the Lust escalation. There are only 12 or so places where the clues can be but they are randomized each time you play. They could probably figure out 5 or 6 places Smith could be and then just randomly choose one each time you start a campaign. Eventually you’d probably figure out all the locations though.
Well, with Ambrose Island’s release now firmly in the rearview mirror (we came, we saw, we killed their asses), we are now full speed ahead to Freelancer. How many months do you think we’ll have to wait for it? 2, 3, 4, or 5? Or will it maybe be delayed again and IOI forced to make it part of Year 3, along with that airport in the snowy mountains map pipe dream that they’ll definitely release next year?
From their previous blog-posts, it sounds like they are pretty far along. They’re just using their playtest feedback to make it even better. So I see no indication or reason as to why they would push it to next year. My guess, which I have absolutely no evidence for… October.
Since they usually do patches every two months, September or November seem like the most likely months to release it. I do think they’ll have it finished in 2022, especially now that Ambrose Island is finished and the team can focus more on Freelancer.
Given how far along the mode seemed in the January reveal, and how the delay seems to be for improving already completed elements and not designing totally new elements, I predict September is when the mode will launch.
I was going to read the entire thread since i got into it but i’ve decided i won’t. I’ve seen the news of the Freelancer mode like everyone else, but i have absolutely no idea what’s it about. Wait and see!
You should really watch IOI’s Year 2 announcement video. Here’s the link:
Skip to 8:04, and it’ll explain Freelancer, and you’ll see why we’re so excited. If what they showed us is what we think it’s gonna be like, then it’s practically a Hitman 4 built into Hitman 3, as it’s pretty much a whole new game’s worth of content to play that chronologically takes place after the end of H3, and sort of combines Contracts Mode, Escalations, and Elusive Targets into one, but all new stuff, not just rehash.
Watch the video from the point I mentioned and you’ll get it. Don’t worry about ruining the surprise, you’ll do yourself more of a service knowing what’s coming, and there are still many questions left that won’t be answered until it releases, so you’ll still be surprised along with the rest of us.
Just gonna put this in now in the hopes it’s added to the feedback pile
I hope that once Freelancer releases, it is featured on the main menu page instead of being tucked away in the Game Modes menu.
I consider it to be an entirely new method of Hitman gameplay, much different from just escalations, contracts or ET Arcade.
This is how I envision and hope its inclusion might look like (in my rushed editing):
With this layout, we can consider the base HITMAN experience to be divided in 3 gameplay styles:
The normal Campaign/original WOA version, the first-person-interactive VR version, and the rogue-like Freelancer version, each offering their own tweaks to methods of interactivity & gameplay systems.
I can’t totally say why Sniper Assassin wouldn’t be there and why they’ve tucked it into the Game Modes tab, but for the sake of Freelancer – which might prove to be much more popular (and offer more longevity/replayability) than SniperA, it should be placed front-and-center.
I like what you have done, but there is no VR on Xbox, so I have my doubts that will make the featured page. Just playing devil’s advocate on that one.
I agree Freelancer needs its own tile, instead of being temporarily buried in the scrolling What’s New tile like Ambrose Island currently is.
So, I have been thinking Freelancer’s diegetic music and sounds. In my opinion, changing some of the in-world music and dialogue could literally mean a world of difference to the new mode.
It occurred to me, playing through Paris recently, and having done so for 7 years now, how tired I am of that catwalk tune. And also… “Look Daniel!!!”
Otherwise, I was thoroughly enjoying the experience, but I think maybe auditory side of things have a somewhat quicker expiration date than the rest of the gameplay, in terms of annoyance.
I am not expecting them to record hours of new voicelines either. Just taking some of them out would be enough. And likewise, a new catwalk tune (and similar music) doesn’t even have to be anything wildly special or original. Just different.
It would freshen up the experience quite a lot. I hope IO will think about this. Maybe they already have, finger’s crossed.
I was always hoping for a non fashion show version of Paris mostly bc then I figured the tarp would be removed from the courtyard but also bc then the music would be gone.
Maybe it’s also since Paris was the very first level. Those of us who started in 2016 at one point only had to option of the training silo and Paris. When Sapienza came along it was 50% more than it was prior so we have likely all played Paris a bit more than other levels.
There was going to be a Paris bonus mission at one point. During one of the original H1 livestreams (when they were streaming directly from a PS4), Torben said that we would one day see a mission set in Paris with every single fashion show prop removed from Paris. Though it, clearly, ended up getting cut and never saw the light of day.
I am doubtful maps will have significant changes i.e. removing entire NPCs, the setting of the map, the set deco. etc because then they’d just be making a new map from the shell of an old one.
I can see them removing the target NPCs, even if just doing so might make some levels very weird. (The Mumbai tower without Rangan, or Caruso’s Villa, still fully guarded, without Caruso)
But you make a good point with removing or redecorating props, as it’d be like making a new level or bonus scenario all over again.
Though we did just get Ambrose as a free gift, so some small changes to levels where they might fit/be needed wouldn’t be too outlandish for Year 2 content. And might also explain the delay.
