Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 helicopter bazooka


Apart from a map editor (check out one mapper's impressive efforts), Far Cry 3 doesn't contain in-depth modding tools. It's a shame, but that hasn't stopped the ambitious members of the official forums from snooping around data files and jungles of code, unearthing tons of tweakable content in the process.

Though Far Cry 3 already includes darn near everything—leopards, sharks, pirates, and at least one really crazy person—the mods we've gathered here can significantly change your island vacation for an altogether different experience. Want to turn off target tracking? Or slap attachments onto more of your guns? Perhaps removing the minimap entirely will finally give you that deep immersion you've wanted. It's all here.

A few cautionary notes: The majority of these mods and tweaks involve replacing and changing Far Cry 3's core files (located in the FarCry 3/data_win32 folder), so always make backups of the files you're asked to change if you're unsure of what to do. Also, some mods require a hex editor for changing values in certain DLL files (located in the FarCry 3/bin folder). The HxD editor is available as a free download if you need one.

Second, Far Cry 3's file configuration recognizes only one mod installation at a time (as opposed to, say, Skyrim's multi-mod support), so unless you're sticking with a single mod for, you'll need to install one of the various compilations assembled by the generous technical wizards on the Ubi forums.

Lastly, follow installation instructions carefully so everything works smoothly—we PC gamers know the pain of agonizing over uncooperative data files more than anyone else. As Ubisoft rolls out additional patches, these mods will surely break, so make sure supported versions of your mods matches that of the latest update. Obviously, downloading the most recent releases from the mods' authors should keep things purring like that tiger sneaking up behind you. Either way, we'll update this story as we discover new mods or as old ones are phased out.

All set? Read on for the mods.

Weapon mods

Screenshot from Far Cry 3 forum user "khenaz"

Better Sights

We expect this to be become a popular one. Far Cry 3's weapon scopes certainly give you an edge while hunting in the brush, but some of the crosshairs blast our eyeballs with an exaggerated brightness like a tiny supernova. This mod makes optics less bold, and it works for the reflex, tactical, red-dot, and other unlockable scopes. The author's forum thread has a few more comparison screenshots.

Screenshot from Far Cry 3 forum user "Leechmonger"

Attachments Mod

The starting 1911 pistol and AK47 rifle handles the job of delivering swift bulletdeath in a pinch, but they lack the bling of the utilitarian attachments you'll buy for later weapons. No longer: The Attachments Mod adds customizable slots for the 1911, AK47, SVD, and other early-game guns. You'll also find more of your repertoire supporting extended magazines and additional scopes.

Hereticus Weapons Mod

If you're leery of teetering atop rusted radio towers to unlock more guns at the store (the things we do to get some customer satisfaction), then Hereticus has the answer. All available weapons in the game—including the premium privateer guns from the second island—are unlocked for purchase from the start, eliminating the need to scale towers besides map uncovers. Choose from three flavors: radio tower-dependent, one tower only, or no towers at all.

Improved Weapon Ballistics

(Download the author's fixed version here.)

Oh, waiter? I think there's a little Arma in my Far Cry 3. Author Fnx's tweak compilation changes gun behavior for higher recoil, more realistic ranges, and slower reload times. Sniper rifles and shotguns receive appropriate damage boosts—check out that 25 percent increase to shotgun damage at close range. Be aware: these changes affect enemy weapons as well!

Screenshot from Far Cry 3 forum user "BreckR"

Scope Viewmodel Edit

Some of Far Cry 3's scopes allow you to peek at your peripherals while zoomed in, while others take up your entire view. This quick fix piles all zoomable scopes into the former category, keeping the edges of your vision clear while you draw a bead on your target.

UI mods

Screenshot from Far Cry 3 forum user "R.Sporkington"

Minimap Removal

When it's time for an au naturel jungle excursion/mushroom trip/killing spree, turn to this mod. It does exactly what its title proclaims, yanking the minimap entirely and fading out health bars and medkit counts for a more minimalist interface.

More UI mods should slowly appear further on, and we'll definitely update this section as we spot them. The current dearth is probably the result of the latest patch (1.04 as of this writing) adding toggles for objective reminders, crafting tips, and other interface elements.



Tweaks

A collection of tinier mods for changing your Far Cry 3 experience.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0HeIdDInHhs

Enhanced Weapon Holster

Though an impressive accomplishment, scaling a sheer cliff face while holding a 30-pound sniper rifle isn't exactly reflective of the real world. Luckily, the Enhanced Weapon Holster automatically shoulders your weapon after performing an action such as exiting a safehouse or vehicle, because if you're going to sprint clear across a tropical island without breaking a sweat, you'll need both hands free to high-five everyone along the way.

Screenshot from Far Cry 3 forum user "razorfinnish"

Ultra-Low Configuration Mod

Far Cry 3's heavily modified Dunia engine touts great visuals across a wide spectrum of hardware setups, but the pursuit of ever-higher framerates is a PC gaming mainstay. If you have no problems with trading quality for an overall boost to your FPS, the Ultra-Low Configuration Mod lowers shadows, viewing distances, and detail levels for a smoother performance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=P1WGv9gnols#!

Stop Object Blinking

The golden glow of ammo, fallen enemies, and plants can remove one from of the experience being a tattooed survivor, but a simple fix only involves a couple of snips using a hex editor. Objects will no longer Midas at you when you get close, a boon for realism junkies.

Difficulty mods

Hardcore Mode

Oddly absent from Far Cry 3's default difficulty levels, Hardcore Mode (the actual download link might be hard to spot, so grab it here) disables nearly every map icon, tracking symbol, and resource location mark. Couple it with the Minimap Removal mod, and you'll make exploration a serious task..



Mixmod

Not as severe as Hardcore Mode, Mixmod instead focuses on breaking your wallet. Lowered loot off bodies, a tripled resource cost on syringes, and changes to when weapons become available in the shop strains your cashflow and "makes you feel not so rich, boy." We're scared.



New Crafting and Economy

You'll really need to become a master botanist if you install the New Crafting and Economy mod. Practically every item needing plants climbs in crafting requirements, and plants are now needed in addition to animal skins to fashion bags, holsters, and ammo pouches.
Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 Vaas thumb


The 1.04 update for Far Cry 3 has the usual collection of bug fixes and tweaks. Removing the "reloading" shout after shooting the bow in multiplayer? Makes sense. Fixing a bug that made weapon models stick to the character's arm? Totally useful. Adding support for downloadable content? Inevitable.

But forget all that, because there's something far more useful hidden in those patch notes.



Did you spot it? Exactly!

A new selection of options allow you much greater control over the seemingly constant bombardment of HUD messages. You can turn off crafting tips, tutorial messages and those goddamn objective reminders, among others.



The patch is out now through Uplay or from the Far Cry 3 website. Here's the full list:

GENERAL FIXES FOR THE PATCH
Fixed several issues with customize controls

MULTIPLAYER

Improve stability on multiplayer maps.
Fixed the crash when the player was planting explosives.
Fixed several crashes.
Fixed bug where user was unable to jump on certain surfaces.
Fixed bug where players could become invisible.
Fixed bug with 3D weapon images in Decoding menu.
Fixed bug where weapons could disappear after completing objectives in Co-op.
Fixed bug where users could get stuck in Loadout screen in Co-op.
Removed “Reloading” shout after user shoots the bow.
Parties will no longer be allowed to numerically unbalance games.
Improved and fixed several issues with host migration.
Connection degradation will now properly trigger a host migration.
Fixed several bugs with Loadout menu.
Fixed bug that could display a profile restriction message when trying to join a lobby.
Fixed bug where users could get stuck in 3rd person in Custom games.
Fixed bug with Flamethrower not doing any damage in certain circumstances.
Fixed bug where “Player is on the way” tag could stick to downed players.
Fixed bug where clients could remain on black screen if host left the game.
Fixed bug where Fire Arrows did not do fire damage.
Fixed bug where Long Distance Kill was not awarded.
Fixed bug where Tag Assist was not awarded.
Fixed bug where Killcam wasn’t shown in certain circumstances.
Fixed bug where Survival Instinct was not cancelled properly.
Fixed bug where Psych gas could get dropped in the wrong place.
Fixed bug where Psych gas could affect players outside of the deployment area.
Fixed bug where users could get stuck when killed by Poison gas.
Fixed bug where other player’s footstep sounds sometimes did not play behind you.
Fixed bug where sound could get muffled when being revived.
Fixed bug where user could get de-synced if killed in mid-air


MAP EDITOR

Added information for Player Map playlists.
Improved available space for Player map names in lobby.
Fixed bug where User made maps wasn’t downloaded properly in lobby.
Fixed bug that made the user stuck when igniting Firestom nodes on certain maps.


SINGLE PLAYER

Fixed the accessing bug for the camera and the throwing rocks.
Users that have miss the Relic located in Dr. Earnhardt cave will have the relic recover.
Fixed the bug with the weapon models staying on screen / stuck on the charatcer arm.
The leaderboard is now updating correctly even after if the user is disconnecting/reconnecting the ethernet cable.
The objective is now properly updated after Jason burns the weed fields.
New options the hide the HUD are now available in the option menu.
Add support for downloadable content.
Fixed the issue when the user was becoming invincible after failing mission 'Black Gold' several times.
The Phonecall from Hurk (ULC missions) is no longer overlapping the brief of the 'Piece of the past' mission.
Fixed the issue when Sam was no longer in the jeep's turret after placing two bomb and being kill several time in 'Black Gold' mission.
Sam is no longer getting stuck when the user destroy an enemy car.
Far Cry 3 - PC Gamer
Martin Chris TomS


Chris, Tom Senior and Martin discover headphones and subsequently blow their own minds. Also featuring discussion of Company of Heroes 2, Warface, and Far Cry 3 co-op - plus your questions from Twitter.

This weeks episode was recorded while a record number of podcast-contradicting news stories occurred, such as THQ's bankruptcy and the Dota 2 Christmas switcheroo. Also, the world does not appear to have ended.

Oh well. Merry Christmas anyway, I suppose.

Show notes
The Penny Arcade Report's interview with Far Cry 3 writer Jeffrey Yohalem.
Craig Lager's preview of Company of Heroes 2.
Nasa's Mayan apocalypse video (via The Guardian).
Call of Duty®: Black Ops II
Far Cry 3


It might be a good idea to check that you're running the latest batch of Nvidia drivers. The full version of the GeForce 310.70 WHQL set are available now, and it sounds like they'll add a fair few extra frames per second to some of this year's biggest games. Nvidia say they'll boost Far Cry 3 by 37%, Black Ops 2 by 26% at max settings, add an extra 17% to Assassin's Creed 3 performance (compared to a pre-release version, mind) and deliver smaller increases to Battlefield 3 and Skyrim.

"In October's GeForce 310.33 beta driver we improved performance by up to 15% in nine games, and this time we’re improving performance by up to 37% in twenty-one games," they say.

If you're running a GTX6 series you can experiment with TXAA antialiasing, which promises to do a better job of de-jaggifying edges than traditional anti-aliasing techniques. Also, because there are some letters of the alphabet we haven't capitalised yet, there's a new SGSSAA tool that'll make it easier to implement this top-tier form of luxury line-smoothing on high-end systems more easily.

The new drivers are a nice follow up on the recent release of the GeForce Experience system, designed to recommend optimal game settings based on your system requirements. Does it work? Dave gave it a try, find out what he thinks here. For more on the latest driver release, read all about it at the Nvidia site.
Counter-Strike
Far Cry 3 Wake Island


Far Cry 3's included level editor provides all the tools and textures necessary for crafting unique multiplayer maps, but one tinkerer has instead taken to recreating some very familiar locales with uncanny accuracy. As reported by MP1st, user ShadowZack has shared a series of maps fashioned after popular arenas from Battlefield, Call of Duty, and Counter-Strike.

You can nab ShadowZack's works through Far Cry 3's in-game multiplayer map search simply by typing his name. You'll find Battlefield 3's Noshahr Canals and Wake Island, Counter-Strike's Dust and Aztec, and Call of Duty's Nuketown all carefully recreated right down to the placement of crates and convenient slabs of concrete cover. ShadowZack also released some flyby and progress videos for the maps as they were constructed, which you can watch below.

Far Cry 3 itself has two gigantic jungle island environments. We got lost. We shot animals. We drank weird potions. We wrote a review, so have a look.









Far Cry 3
Far Cry 3 Vaas thumb


Speaking to The PA Report, Far Cry 3's lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem has talked about his frustration at the critical and public reaction to the game's story. In fairness to his position, my own reaction was "oh yeah, there's a story." I've been distracted by all the outpost clearing and tiger bothering.

One of the key areas Yohalem highlighted as a misunderstood criticism was the game's apparent following of a white colonialism trope (careful: TV Tropes link). He said that not only was its inclusion intentional, but also meant to be a subversive comment on other games and pop culture.

"It’s a first-person game and Jason is a 25-year old white guy from Los Angeles. From Hollywood," Yohalem said. "So his view of what’s going on on this island is his own view, and you happen to be looking through his eyes, so you’re seeing his view."

"It’s set on an island in the South Pacific, so immediately the thing that comes to mind is the white colonial trope, the Avatar trope. I started with that, and it’s like, ‘Here’s what pop culture thinks about traveling to a new place,’ and the funny thing is, that’s an exaggeration of most games, they just don’t expose it."

He points to games like Grand Theft Auto and Assassin's Creed as colonisation games, and says that, "to take that to its extreme, exaggerating those tropes is how you reveal them. The exaggeration of that trope is what happens in Far Cry 3."

The full interview explores the ways Yohalem was commenting on these genre tropes, referencing events at the game's ending that, he says, reveal the game's true intention.

So, does the subversion work? Is it problematic that the majority of players won't ever see the wool-over-the-eyes reveal, especially if it's not made explicit until the end of a large game? Does one of pop-culture's most persistent and obvious tropes really need highlighting, and if most people miss the point is that not a sign that this particular approach has failed? I'll leave these questions for you to ponder. As I said earlier, I've been too busy mucking about with tigers.
Counter-Strike
Steam Time Analysis


Lambent Stew's free, web-based Steam Time Analysis tool laid bare my backlog of shame by breaking down time spent (or not spent) on each of my library's games like some sort of cold, ruthless PowerPoint presentation. The breadth of information provided is quite impressive. Over email, Stew told us the new build includes a few new features that further visualize users' habits.

You're now be able to compare your profile with those on your friends list for games owned, how many were played, and total hours played. (Our own Executive Editor Evan Lahti only played around 16 percent of his over 1300-game stable, the lazy bum.)

Similar to another homebrewed utility, a new worth calculator also provides combined figures for minimum, maximum, and current game prices in your library. Locating your own profile should be easier with improved search: just type in your Steam profile ID, and the tool should easily zero in on your data.

Check out the tool for yourself on Lambent Stew's website. How do you rank against your friends? What's your most-played game?
Dota 2
PC Gamer GOTY Nominees


At the end of each year we hand out awards to honor the experiences that live in our best memories of the preceding months—the games that moved us with their ambition, quality, and pioneering spirit. None of the decisions are ever easy, and there's no secret formula: we pit opinion against opinion with straightforward, old-fashioned arguing until one winner is left standing in the GOTY battle cage. Look below for the first landmark of that exciting week-long debate: a list of our eligible winners in 11 categories, including Game of the Year.

Beyond recognizing what games we loved most this year, though, it’s crucial to call attention to a truth that connects them all: PC gaming is exploding. Our hobby is many-tentacled and unbridled—practically every niche, genre, and business model mutated in a meaningful way this year. Two shooters built on new, PC-only technology released (PlanetSide 2 and Natural Selection 2). Dota 2 grew into its adolescence. League of Legends’ Season 2 Championship drew an audience of 8.2 million—the most ever for an eSports event. Modders resurrected content that was thought to be lost. So many remakes and spiritual successors to old school PC games got crowdfunded that we're sure we’d miss some if we tried to list them all.

That said, the following list marks the peaks of this mountainous year, and you'll find out which games won in the next issue of PC Gamer, and here on the web soon.



Dota 2
Dishonored
Mass Effect 3
PlanetSide 2
The Walking Dead
Tribes: Ascend
XCOM: Enemy Unknown



Crusader Kings II
FTL: Faster Than Light
Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion
XCOM: Enemy Unknown



Guild Wars 2
PlanetSide 2
Rift: Storm Legion
World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria



Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition
Diablo III
Mass Effect 3
Torchlight II



Borderlands 2
Dishonored
Far Cry 3
Max Payne 3
Spec Ops: The Line



Hawken
Natural Selection 2
PlanetSide 2
Tribes: Ascend



Dota 2
League of Legends
StarCraft II




Black Mesa: Source
Crusader Kings II: A Game of Thrones
DayZ
The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod



Lone Survivor
The Walking Dead
Thirty Flights of Loving
Resonance




FTL: Faster Than Light
Hotline Miami
Legend of Grimrock
Thirty Flights of Loving



Euro Truck Simulator 2
aeroflyFS
XPlane
Football Manager 2013
Assassin’s Creed® III
fc3 ac3 steam


Threequels Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed III have been mysteriously absent from the UK version of Steam for a few weeks now, possibly because of the impending apocalypse, possibly because Ubisoft hate Christmas, possibly because they were pushing their awful Uplay service. Whatever the reason, it's thankfully now moot, because both games have suddenly popped up on Steam. You won't find them under New Releases, but both Assassin's Creed III and Wallet-Crafting Simulator 2012 can now be bought with Steam money. And just in time for Christmas, too.

In related news, Ubisoft have revealed that there's a Far Cry 3 patch in the works that will allow us to customise that intrusive HUD until it's to our liking. In a statement to Kotaku, Ubi had this to say:

"Based on feedback from both press and fans, the Far Cry 3 production team is working on a patch that will allow you to toggle most HUD/UI elements based on player preference. The patch will also avoid issues encountered in the .dll hack that might create a mission walkthrough break (missing QTE prompts, critical information, etc)."

A double-dose of jolly good news, then. There's no word on a release date for that patch yet, but hopefully it will arrive before Christmas.
The Walking Dead



Lock, load, and roll out with T.J., Logan, Evan, and Tyler as we share our experiences on the war-torn battlefields of PlanetSide 2, and bring you news from every wavelength of the PC gaming spectrum. Far Cry 3? XCOM? Ron Gilbert? We've got it all. Plus, is talking about whether or not games are art, in itself, art? Were we too hard on Telltale's The Walking Dead? Why am I still typing when there's science to do? Just hurry up and listen to...

PC Gamer Podcast 339: Designated Marksman

Have a question, comment, complaint, or observation? Leave a voicemail: 1-877-404-1337 ext. 724 or email the MP3 to pcgamerpodcast@gmail.com.

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@logandecker (Logan Decker)
@ELahti (Evan Lahti)
@tyler_wilde (Tyler Wilde)
@AsaTJ (T.J. Hafer)
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