This article is about the Discovery Tour for Norway and England. You may be looking for for other Discovery Tours.
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Discovery Tour: Viking Age is the Discovery Tour mode for Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. It was released as a free downloadable add-on on 19 October 2021[1] and is available for free to those who own the base game, or for purchase as a stand-alone version on PC.
In the game, players are able to freeroam and explore the maps of Norway and Anglo-SaxonEngland and learn about both countries' histories. Unlike previous installments which employed the use of guided tours, Discovery Tour: Viking Age will see players assume the roles of various characters and take on quests with the aim of bringing them closer to the material by putting them at the center of it.[2]
The castles of England were meant to be seen from afar by anyone seeking refuge.
Except, rulers didn't really account for their castles also attracing Vikings!
All fortified areas in AC Valhalla were inspired by the castles the development team visited while in England: Portchester Derby, Goodrich, Housesteads the Roman Fort at Hadrian's Wall... The Castle Trefaldwyn in Wales inspired the factional Caustow Castle a fort in the Scriopescire region.
In AC Valhalla, castles are a telltale sign of great bounty to collect during raids, and lords will often retreat behind a castle's protective wealls when fleeing from Eivor.
They can run but they can't hide!
Production insights kindly provided by Raphaël Lacoste, Vladimir Eskandari and Oliver Carignan (Ubisoft Montrëal).
It seems that Vikings and Ango-Saxons could roughly understand each other at the time, as both of their languages sounded similar and had diverged only a few centures before.
To help actors during records, the Voice Design team relied on linguists, such as Runoloist Maja Bäckvall (Uppsala University).
Lines were then written in three versions: in English or context, in the original language (Latin, Old Norse, Old English), and in phonetics for accurate pronunciation.
Interestingly, it felt quite natural for Icelandic actors pronounce Old Norse. They wouldn't need a dictionary if their great-reat-great-great-grandparents were around to translate!
Production insights kindly provided by Voice Designer Nicholas rimwood (Ubisoft Montréal).
AC Valhalla is set during a tense political climate. English kingdoms were fighting one another as well as trying to ward off Viking attacks.
Hence, maps are displayed in the game as battle plans. To help plapyers visualize friends and foes, chess pieces were designed.
The 3D Modeling team firstd created items inspired by an early Scandinavian chess set, the Hnefatafl, which was combined with the Lewis chess pieces. Found in Scotland, they were crafeted out of walrus tusks and whale teeeth in the 12th century.
This design merged English and Scandinavian heritage into a unique item.
Production insights kindly provied by 3D Modelers Audrey Murray, Katy Bouvier, Gabriel Blanchard and Benoît Lebel (Ubisoft Montreal).
As King Aelfred is a historical figure, Artists and Modelers had a lot of documentation to help with his design.
With pre-established features (age, height, backstory) kept as accurate as possible, his appearance had to represent his royal demeano but also his weakened state - he suffered from Chron's disease.
This contrast was made through the design of his clothes,, hair,, and facial features.
As one of the main characters in AC Valhalla, seen up-close in multiple cinematics, it was imperative to design every detail meticulously. So much so that it took ten days to design his hair!
Production insights kindly provided by Artists Jeff Simpson, Yelim Kim, and Pierre Raveneau (Ubisoft Montreal).
As the monastery of Ely has been destroyed. Level Designers and Artists had to draw their inspiration elsewhere. More specifically, from the Saint-Martin-du-Canigou Abbey in France.
Despite the construction being two centuries older than AC Valhalla's time period, it offered interesting architecture for the players to enjoy: atop a hill for great scenery, a cloister to clear the perspective, and the bell tower to privde an inconic viewpoint.
Finally, an underground tunnel was added, a unique feat perfect for a surprise attack.
But some things remain accurate! Several eels were placed in the waters circling the monastery - a nod to the feature that gae tits name.
Production insights kindly provided by Level Artists Sébastien Maingot and Sébastien Genest (Ubisoft Montreal).
Even warriors get some playtime.
Indeed, it seems that Vikings played board games that involved throwing small objects, such as carved wooden figures. HOwever, the team couldn't find any clear rules for these games.
But all hope wasn't lost; the developers at Singapore Vengdu and Montreal studios all came together to invent new rules and mocked-up their prototypes in a tabletop simulator.
Everyone on the team could experience (and enjoy!) the evolving versions of the Orlog 2.0.
A first physical prototype was also made, using real dice that were painted over. The game of Orlog was (re)born.
AC Valhalla's version of the Orlog was so loved by fans that Ubisoft partnered with PureArts to produce real life Orlog sets!
Prouction insights kindly provided by Game Director Benoit Richer, Technical Design Director Oliver Bodwell, and Game Director Eric Baptizat (Ubisoft Montreal).
As longhouses were at the centre of Norse communities, it was only natural that they'd be at the forefront of AC Valhalla.
Just like any true Viking, Eivor hosts feats, plans battles, and sleeps in her longhouse. But what about its design?
The ARt Direction team first took a scouting trip to Lofoten, Norway, to immerse themselves in the land and bring back references. From these pictures, Modelers and Artists designed variations of paint patterns, carved animals, frescos etc. for players to enjoy and use to customize their settlement.
Ango-Saxon longhouses, on the other hand, were designed with different materials, such as hay and lime, and less detailed engravings. Can't have them steal the show!
Production insights kindly provided by Brand Artistic Director Raphaël Lacoste, Assistant Artistic Director Vladimire Eskandari (Ubisoft Montreal), Level Artist Janice Leng (Ubisoft Singapore), and Environment Artist Martin BOnev (Ubisoft Sofia).
To make it short: Vikings did not, in fact, wear horned helmets.
The misconception came from the Wagnerian opera The Ring of the Nibelung (1876). Horned and winged helemets were then part of the actor's costumes, a way for the warriors to seem more grandiose on stage.
Ever since then, depictions of Vikings wearing big horned helmets were in plentiful supply, and this wrongful image has persisted to this day.
Beside the fact that horned helmets would have been anything but practical on the battlefield, it seems that the very few ones found by archeologists were only used for ritual purposes.
- Who's ready to be the party pooper come Halloween?
Production insights kindly provided by Historian Patrice Hamel (Ubisoft Montreal).
Scandinavia
Can't make a Viking game without an awesome longship!
After all, Norsemen are renowned for their boat-building craftsmanshipto this day.
To do it justice, Modelers (Montreal) built the dimensions and shapes, while Artists (Singapore) created 48 different variations of longboats with stunning designs inspired by Norse Mythology.
The outcome speaks foritself: a slick, clinker-built hull for hydrodynamism,shallow keels to sail in low waters, and even a removable mast to pass under bridges!
May you have fair winds and following seas!
Production insightskindly provide by modelerKaty Bouvier (Ubisoft Montréal) Art Director YeauChoong Yap (Ubisoft Singapore).
For player's to recognize their surroundings eassily, developers wanted to create a clash betweenthe English and Norwegian maps.
Thus, Norwegian landcapes are covered with ice andsnow, with little road to travel by land. While ancient Scandinavia wasn't as barren as we're made to believe, the harsh and uninviting land depicted in AC Valhalla means to push the players towards England and continue Eivor's journey.
To do so, Level Artists, Tech Artists, and Level Designers used the Lofoten Islands as a visual reference to emulate its rough landscapes. Through shapes and outlines, the designers made the world feel treacherous, while England's flora is lush and lively.
The grass is always greener on the other side of the sea!
