AC Origins will literally take you on a history lesson in Origins, you can buy €50k headset, CGI trailer released
Come on, let’s be honest now, no matter how farfetched the truth has been stretched within the Assassin’s Creed series, we’ve all learned something one way or another from its characters, locations and time periods. Well now Ubisoft plan on expanding upon that by giving us a genuine history lesson via a free made that will be added to Assassin’s Creed: Origins early 2018.
The Discovery Tour will give players the opportunity to free-roam, with no combat or storyline or time restrictions all within a 3D recreation of Ancient Egypt. We will learn the history of iconic locations such as the great Pyramids, their purpose and what was within them, as well as the Nile, Alexandria, Memphis, the Great Sand Sea, Giza Plateau, Faiyum, Oasis and much more.
Assassin’s Creed’s: Origins creative director and residential history buff, Jean Guesdon expressed his excitement on the announcement of the Discovery Tour by saying “From the beginning the Assassin’s Creed franchise has always explored pivotal moments in history, from the Third Crusade to the Italian Renaissance, and this year Ancient Egypt.” said Jean Guesdon. “It’s a dream come true for us to offer Discovery Tour by Assassin’s Creed: Ancient Egypt, an educational mode built specifically for people to learn more about the incredible history of Ancient Egypt through the interactive experience made possible via a video game.”
Farfetched storylines aside, a huge part of ancient Egypt is Hieroglyphics, one of the oldest known languages of mankind. So to ensure that this very important aspect is represented as well and truthful as possible, Assassin’s Creed: Origins will also feature the Hieroglyphics Initiative. Powered by Google TensorFlow, it is said that this system is a “machine learning based research project” that will translate and simplify the decipherment of hieroglyphics.
Perrine Poiron, Egyptologist, Ph. D student (Sorbonne/UQAM) said on the Hieroglyphics Initiative “The Hieroglyphics Initiative not only has the potential to save us time as Egyptologists, it could unlock the magic of hieroglyphics for a new audience”. Hieroglyphics Initiative Project Coordinator at Ubisoft; Pierre Miazga added “By making the Hieroglyphics Initiative an open source project, we aim to create a new connection between two things that we love at Ubisoft – history and technology.”
You can read on further details of the Hieroglyphics Initiative via the official press release below:
Machine Learning is the technique used to develop artificial intelligence, which is the science of making things smart. Image recognition is a classic example of machine learning, where the application learns to identify an object by being told which images contain the object and which don’t. The Hieroglyphics Initiative will use this technique to identify the images of hand-carved hieroglyphs, all of which differ significantly from one source to another, in order to recognise individual hieroglyphs which we know the meaning of.
One of the main elements of this project is to gather source material (imagery of Middle Period hieroglyphics in its original form), and multiple samples of the thousand or so hieroglyphs which have been identified and translated by scholars in the past. Therefore, Ubisoft calls for Researchers and Historians to add their contribution, in order to collect as much data as possible and to create the ultimate hieroglyphics translator.
Contributors can register on the Hieroglyphics Initiative website at www.hieroglyphicsinitiative.com
Also, if you’re after an Assassin’s Creed: Origins themed gaming headset, the you’re in luck, because two have been announced, though both have a huge contrast in pricing, and may even require a remortgage to purchase.
In collaboration with Tournaire and Focal, there will be an incredibly limited run of 10 numbered Assassin’s Creed: Origin pieces which includes hand-crafted, 18-carat gold elements, with a gold design created by the renowned jeweller. The prestigious headset will also be available with a bronze display head of protagonist Bayek. You will be able to buy this treasured headset and stand piece exclusively at the Tournaire’s boutique in Paris (7 place Vendôme – Cour Vendôme, 75001 Paris). The headset will cost a mere €50,000 with the bronze stand at a measly €12,000.
If you have a spare €72,000 lying around, but need further convincing to part with your hard earned cash, perhaps the folks at Ubisoft, Focal and Tournaire might be able to convince you below.
Focal and Ubisoft share the same commitment to excellence, enhanced service and creating an emotional connection. The Assassin’s Creed Origins limited headphones represent a first step for a long term collaboration”, said François Tallec, Director of Licensing Out and Publishing at Ubisoft EMEA.
“Sound is a key element in gaming for a true immersive experience. Focal, leaders in the hi-fi acoustic world, is proud to collaborate with Ubisoft for the launch of Assassin’s Creed Origins. This is the first step of a French partnership dedicated to excellence in these two matching universes”, said Sébastien Dumas, FOCAL Brand and Communication Director.
“Making unique creations and masterpieces is part of the philosophy of Tournaire. This partnership showcases outstanding French expertise. It is always a pleasure to work in collaboration with innovating brands and pushing boundaries to make exceptional creations” said Mathieu Tournaire, Managing Director and Creative Director at Tournaire.
However, if you want a quality Assassin’s Creed: Origins themed headset at a more affordable price, the Focal and Ubisoft have another option available exclusively at the Ubisoft Store. Priced at £199 (or £159 with Ubisoft Club discount)/€249 (€199 with discount), this limited edition wireless headset of 2,222 units, will feature the AC Origins branding, up to 20 hours of battery life and “clear voice capture”, this will be a must for fans of the series.
Direct from the Ubisoft Store, details, specs and images on the headset can be found below.
Key points:
- Type: Circumaural closed-back ear-cup headphones
- Bluetooth® wireless technology: 4.1
- Range > 15m
- Battery: Up to 20h
- Impedance (passive mode): 32Ω
- Sensitivity (passive mode): 122dB SPL @ 1kHz – / 1Vrms
- THD @ 1kHz / 100dB SPL: < 0.4%
- Frequency response: 15Hz -22kHz
- Driver: Electrodynamic (137/64“) Mylar Titanium Microphones 2 Omnidirectional (Clear Voice Capture)
- Net weight: 300g
Included Accessories:
- Carrying case
- Detachable cable with mini jack input
- USB cable
As an added bonus, if you just want to chill out and watch a brand new trailer, then Ubisoft has released just that in cinematic CGI form, entitled “Sands”. You can find that brand new trailer below.
Assassin’s Creed: Origins will release for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 27th.