Despite being one of 2012’s biggest blockbuster games, Assassin’s Creed III somehow managed to release riddled with bugs, more so than any other Assassin’s Creed title to date. From game-breaking glitches to minor graphical annoyances, developer Ubisoft Montreal had issues with that last bit of polish before pushing the game out the door. Now, Ubisoft is looking to correct many of those issues with a massive patch set to release before Christmas.
The numerous fixes cover both single-player and multiplayer, and you can read the complete patch notes below (via Ubisoft).
Global Fixes
- Couriers will now appear more often in Boston and New York.
- Fixed a bug where consumables would not be restored properly after playing a naval mission.
- Fixed a bug where multiple copies of heralds or paper boys could be spawned at the same spot.
- Fixed a bug where printer shops icons could appear on the map even if the player is not notorious.
- Fixed a bug where the second equipped pistol could disappear after a loading.
- Fixed a bug where the player could fall through the map if he went through a city gate on horseback while in conflict.
- Fixed a crash when the player uses the rope dart on a horse from above.
- Fixed horse glitch.
- Fixed inventory messages that kept being displayed after every reload if the player had completed some missions.
- Fixed various crashes.
- Forced subtitles to be displayed for off-camera voices like some tutorials and end of sequence transitions.
- Made sure to stop tavern music when exiting taverns.
SEQUENCE 1
A Deadly Performance: Fixed a music glitch by making a cinematic not skippable.
SEQUENCE 4
Feathers and Trees: Fixed another case where optional objective “Do not touch the ground or water” could fail for no good reason.
SEQUENCE 6
On Johnson’s Trail: Fixed a bug where sometimes Adams and Revere could be missing, preventing the player from starting the mission.
SEQUENCE 7
Lexington and Concord: Fixed a bug where the player could stay stuck on the road while on horseback at a specific spot on the mission’s path.
EPILOGUE
Fixed Animus Synching gameplay that could get stuck.
Side Quests
- Boston Brawlers: Clearer message after beating all ex-champions, stating that you need to go back to Boston.
- Boston Underground: Fixed a bug where exploded barrels could come back if you re-entered through the South Commons entrance.
- Boston Underground: Fixed a bug where Haytham could never use the North Port entrance.
- Liberation Missions: Added unfogging of the map when the player gets near a liberation event, to make sure the icon will be revealed in case the player doesn’t complete it and wants to come back later.
- New York Liberation Missions: Fixed a few cases where the player could get to the event’s icon but nothing would happen.
- New York Underground: Fixed a bug where the player would be teleported at the center of New York if he declined to enter the underground through the South Market entrance.
Homestead
- Added map icons on Homestead buildings as you unlock new settlers.
- Made sure Achilles cannot be stoking the fireplace after the homestead story arc is completed.
- The Proper Tools: Added map icons on all shops in New York when that mission asks the player to go buy the hammer parts for the blacksmith.
- Side-quest Encyclopedia of the Common Man: fixed a bug where the quest would still not be completed if the problem was already encountered prior to the last patch. Buggy savegames are now fixed on load.
Naval Locations
- Oak Island: Fixed a bug where the mission could not continue if the player reloads after completing some parts of the puzzle.
Frontier
- Added auto-whistle for a horse when entering Frontier from Boston, New York, or Homestead.
- Fixed NPC committing suicide when the player approaches.
Menus
- Fixed a bug where it was impossible to hide the onscreen money counter and “hold to skip” message. Money is now linked to the “minimap” HUD visibility option, and the skip cinematic message to the “controls” option.
- Fixed a bug where the “Fast Travel Points Unlocked” stat could not reach 100 percent.
- Fixed a possible crash after all pivots have been synched.
- Fixed bad date formatting in Notification Center.
- Fixed various typos and bad translations,
- Made sure Boston Brawlers and Hunting Society icons are displayed over the fog once the player gets approached to join the club.
- Map icon filters: Added a bunch of side-quest start icons on the missions layer, added viewpoints to the collectibles layer, and made sure all fast travel destinations are visible on all layers.
- Opening the weapon, naval weapon, and assassin recruits menus is now faster.
Multiplayer
Modes
- Team modes balance is no longer affected when extra players join in progress.
Abilities
- Players are no longer stuck after they got hit by knives while climbing cranes.
- The Unstoppable Perk now correctly opens recently closed Chase Breakers in the Animus Core map.
- Closure now seals and opens Chase Breakers for the player who used the ability as intended.
Scoring
- Abstergo points now update correctly after you finished a game in the progression menu.
Locking
- Locked targets don’t become unavailable under certain conditions anymore.
- Players will now see the notorious lock indicator when their pursuers kill NPCs, regardless of their approach meter.
- In a chase, target players will now be able to lock their pursuer by default prior to any other character.
Misc
- It is now possible for players to reopen Chase Breakers right after their team mates went through them in the Animus Core map.
- The time during which you’re vulnerable after a stun from ground to a haystack doesn’t vary from one mode to another anymore.
- Players can no longer get killed by another player from any distance after performing a haystack kill.
- Players no longer get stuck in the position the character adopts on narrow ledges when they kill with the Fast Gun.
- Players will no longer see their pursuers as notorious when their pursuers are killed with the silent bonus or better.
- Characters appearance and Gamertags can no longer be accidentally reverted on Wolfpack podium staging.