Ubisoft details 'critical' pre-release Far Cry 3 PC patch

In the course of developing a PC game, there are times at which it behooves a company to simply say that the game is good enough as is and should be released to retail, despite a handful of extant, niggling issues. Obviously no one likes the idea of releasing an unfinished game on an unsuspecting public, but given the scope of modern games and the relatively limited schedules developers face in creating new titles, it just makes sense that, from time to time, a developer may rush a game out the door lest the project fall hopelessly behind schedule and end up costing the company more money than it has yet had a chance to bring in.

While the above was completely hypothetical, we may be witnessing a similar situation unfold with the soon-to-be-released PC version of Far Cry 3. This morning Ubisoft issued an announcement in which the publisher explains the ins and outs of an imminent patch for the game, scheduled for release prior to the game’s retail debut. This too is a semi-common occurrence in the gaming industry, where a company realizes that it has a chance to squash a few final bugs before the general public gets a hold of the game, though this particular patch is intriguing due to how important Ubisoft has made it sound.

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The otherwise innocuous 1.01 patch has been dubbed “critical” by Ubisoft which claims that downloading and installing the patch is necessary for anyone who would like to “benefit from an optimal game experience.” So what, pray tell, does this patch contain that makes it such a must-have download? Take a look:

Multiplayer

Improved overall Multiplayer stability and performance.
Added SHOW TOP, SHOW YOU, PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN options in Leaderboards.
Fix the voice chat issue that would mute players by default.
Lobby chat can now be accessed when a controller is connected.

Co-op

Fixed graphical issues on loading screen hints.
Fixed the issue that would prevent maps from being displayed or randomized the first time a user enters Public Co-op.
Health regeneration option no longer has inverted functionality.
“Flare gun” kills are no longer considered as Assist kills.

PVP

Fixed ground texture resolution.
Grass surrounding fire spawns no longer remain red on Firestorm maps.

Map Editor

Improved white objects thumbnails legibility.
Users can now start a private match in 1 player on user created maps.

Single Player

Improved game stability and performance.
Fixed issues with flickering on specific water textures.
Fixed small UI glitches related to different display resolutions.
“Weapon cache” mission: Mission Zone and Mission Marker no longer stays on mini-map and on screen after mission completion.
Crafting items are now auto selected when entering a new crafting category.
Added sound when zooming in and out the camera with the mouse scroll button.

Huh. That all sounds important, but we’re scratching our heads as to why Ubisoft feels that this patch absolutely must be downloaded and installed prior to playing Far Cry 3. That “Improved game stability and performance” bullet point seems the most likely candidate for whatever crucial issue Ubisoft is hoping to fix, though its description is inarguably vague, and “stability and performance” could mean any number of things. For all we know, the problem could be a massive mis-rendering of the game’s abundant water textures which makes the entire gaming experience a slog through glitchy oceanscapes and hideously ugly rain puddles. Or maybe that issue with missing sound files on zooming the camera actually crashes Far Cry 3 entirely once experienced. We sent Ubisoft an email to see if the company might be more forthcoming, but were met with what amounts to a boilerplate “no comment.” The company did once again stress that the patch is very important, though the representative we spoke to was unable or unwilling to offer further, specific details.

We’ll let you know if Ubisoft opts to explain itself further, but we have a feeling that the company won’t be doing much of that any time soon. Thus, it’s probably in everyone’s best interest if you just download the patch and stop fretting over what exactly it might amend within the game. Barring a catastrophic failure to properly communicate on Ubisoft’s behalf, that will probably be the best course of action for everyone involved.