Opinions might be divided on Far Cry 5, but there's little argument that its recreation of the lush Montana landscape is very pretty indeed. And the game's latest update on Xbox One, PS4, and PC takes full advantage of that fact, offering up a brand-new Photo Mode.
Photo Mode arrives as part of Far Cry 5's unambitiously monikered Title Update 8 and can be accessed while the game is paused during Solo gameplay modes - that's the main campaign, all DLC story campaigns, and on any Far Cry Arcade solo map.
It's a decently featured addition too, enabling budding photographers to adjust the time of day and field of view, and apply filters, frames, and logos directly onto images. It's even possible to adjust your character's facial expression - a feature that's already proved its amusement value in the likes of Nintendo's Wind Waker remaster, and, more recently, God of War.
Far Cry 5's latest patch brings with it its much-anticipated Photo Mode. Title Update 8 will roll out following routine maintenance later today.
Available via the main menu in all Solo gameplay modes—including DLC packs and solo Far Cry Arcade maps—Photo Mode lets players tinker with the time of day, field of view, frames, filters and even their character's facial expressions. PS4-exclusive God of War has shown what's possible on the latter front, and I'm now most interested to see what humorist snappers do in Hope County from hereon.
Specific to PC, Far Cry 5's latest patch adjusts keyboard and mouse remaps. "It's now possible to see action mapped to each button by moving the mouse cursor over keyboard images," says Ubisoft in this update post. Likewise, a number of gameplay and UI fixes have been applied across the board.
Besides that, Title Update 8 mostly targets bug fixes across audio, co-op and stability—and also adds a range of DLC weapons, animals, assets and vehicles to the Arcade Editor.
Last month, Phil explored the the weird world of Far Cry 5 custom maps. Let us know how you'll re/discover Hope County with its new Photo Mode in the comments below.
Lay down your guns and pick up a lens. Stop shooting faces and start shooting landscapes. Look away from that sniper scope to peer down a telephoto zoom. Stop murdering, you chuffing rotters, I’m saying, or at least take better screenshots. A free update for Far Cry 5 today adds a ‘Photo Mode’, letting would-be war photographers pause the game and be whisked away to a movable camera view with options for staging details like the time of day and character expressions. Slip out that bandolier and into one of those vests with all the pockets like they wear on telly etc. (more…)
The power fantasy of exploring new worlds or meeting strange alien races (and then shooting at both of those things) is the kind of thing that big-budget games tend to focus on. As far as humour is concerned, they re at best plus comedy experiences that deliver on their key points but also have some funny quips along the way. You re never asked to participate in the humour, and if the jokes don t land then there s little you as the player can do about it. So why not equip the player with the systems to write their own jokes and tell their own stories? And how do you foster humour creation in games that don t already have a pun-based name for every item? I spoke to the developers of four such games to find out how they utilise this approach in order to enable players to create their own fun.
One thing that became evident through the interviews was that each and every system available to the player has to be airtight if they are to get the most out of the experience. A poorly-implemented system can cause you to lose investment in the same way that a poorly delivered punchline might. Each developer wanted to encourage experimentation through their game s systems in their own way. But which comes first; the design of the systems or the desire to create humour? (more…)