IamA Developer on Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag AMAA!

How likely is it that Connor's story will be continued in another game in the future?

Not very. We want Tumblr to pick up where we left off.

why must you hurt me so?

Better to tear the bandaid off straight-away than to pull it slowly, my friends.

Can I ask why you're not continuing his story? Is it because of fan reaction, or just issues with his narrative? He is legitimately my favorite character of all time, so this answer is like being stabbed in the chest.

It's sad hearing it's not likely to continue Connor's story... :(

Seriously I've come to accept the fact that I'll forever have to fill in the gaps in his story with my own headcanons, but it really fucking sucks reading that. I feel like I need a support group for the trauma these games have put me through.

Funny you should mention a support group... one already exists here: http://wolfkininitiative.tumblr.com/

Seriously though, we do appreciate that people love Connor and if we had all the money and time and programmers and modellers in the universe, we would probably revisit him... and Rosa, and tell you what Claudia was doing while Ezio was in Istanbul/Constantinople, and follow Shao Jun back to China, and do something in the present day with Clay and Lucy, and... and... and...

It's a huge universe. We could work forever and not illuminate it all.

Are you actually receiving the star voting feedback from the missions? What's the general feedback? Any outstanding missions that everyone hates?

Yup, we're looking at them now! The general feedback is that the early game was liked and late game was extremely liked. The missions people didnt enjoy so much seem to be related to high desynch rates (either from death or detection)

Highest rated mission is gaining the Jackdaw. Lowest rated is find the sage in Seq 5, but its a 3.5 / 5 so thats pretty good :D

Oh, so you can see how much the players desynch? that's really interesting! Do you receive any other stats?

We receive a ton of stats, provided you are connected to the internet... however, they are stripped of all identifying factors, so we never could tell exactly who any of you are (privacy is paramount, naturally).

But, yeah, for example, we can see how many people desynched in a mission and where (world coordinates)... it's pretty detailed and helps guide us when crafting patches and that sort of thing.

Is the companion app ever going to come to smartphones?

Working on it! We've heard from a ton of you who want to use the Companion App on their phones, so we're already hard at work. Can't give an ETA at present, but know it's a priority for us!

How about PS Vita and laptops? Any chance of the app being available on those at some point?

Gah! One thing at a time!

Big big fan of the AC series! Can't wait to pick it up for the next-gen!

In your opinion, what's your favorite addition to AC IV: Black Flag that wasn't in previous AC games?

Edit: Thanks for the replies, guys, much appreciated!

For me, it's the seamless open-world ocean... I loved the naval missions from AC3, so it was intensely gratifying to pick up AC4 and be able to sail around the West Indies, just doin' my pirate thangs.

From a multiplayer perspective it has to be the Game Lab. Letting players become game designers and making their own modes for me is really awesome.

Game Lab is totally slick... I really enjoyed the ruleset of our last Multiplayer Event "Under Control" with the super-fast Domination take-overs, so it's nice to know I can recreate that ruleset whenever I want!

Hey Ash aren't you supposed to be on vacation? Lol congratulations guys, phenomenal game!

They came back just for this. ;) Parvez is, like, super persuasive.

Ashraf: please supply us with another hint for the underwater easter egg. Allow us to find it on our own, but we need a bit of leading!
(Please don't say we are required to be online, i.e. White Whale)

you dont need to be online. Its underwater near the middle of the world map. And you have to be inside a ship looking out,...

While we're asking silly questions....my crafting has been unavailable for some time. My Google-fu has revealed nothing. Is there any sort of known bug? I keep getting notification that 'this item is now available for crafting!' but when i access the menu it just says crafting is unavailable at this time.

You cannot craft while aboard a ship. Dock and get back on dry land and you should be able to craft again.

I'm a 17 year old girl looking to study animation and games design at university next year. Any tips for getting experience in the industry?

I loved Aveline; she was a wicked character IMO. Have you got any plans to introduce any more female assassins or key characters in future games?

You're on the right track! While at university, be sure to work towards building a portfolio, show reel and demo levels or design docs. We look for quite a bit of previous industry experience when hiring (Ubisoft isn't really a starter studio), but a killer portfolio can turn a few heads and is more likely to get your foot in the door than anything else!

What are your favorite games?

PC or Console?

Carrots or potatoes?

I started playing games when I was a wee lad in Spokane, Washington... so here are my faves in the rough order that I played them:

Kings Quest, Ancient Art of War, Below the Root, Space Quest, Manhunter: San Franciso, The Secret of Monkey Island, Sam and Max Hit the Road, Grim Fandango, Creatures, Half Life, Blade Runner, The Last Express, Flashback, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, Dark Souls, AC2, Portal, Red Dead...

I see no System Shock 2 here. I am... disappointed.

Favorite games?

I started out on the Atari, but quickly moved to PC and later back to consoles... now I oscillate, mostly because of MMOs like Final Fantasy XIV and Terraria (although, I do enjoy Minecraft on both PC and 360). Favorite games would have to be Wing Commander, X-Wing, System Shock 2, Bioshock, Rainbow Six Vegas, GTA, SSX... and then the guilty pleasures: Armored Core and Tenchu (not great games, but I love them all the same).

And potatoes. Definitely potatoes.

What are your favorite foods during those late hours of work?

Portugese chicken and rum

I regret that I have but one upvote to give this response.

AC is by far my favorite series in this generation. Thank you!

Thanks for the compliment, glad you like it!

I've really enjoyed sailing the open ocean while my crew sings off shanties. Do you have a favorite?

I love Rio Grande: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0a_WFYu1toQ, but also Lowlands Away!