Animus Control & Feedback (Updated).txt

Animus Control & Feedback (Updated).txt was a file written by Lucy Stillman that pertained to the Animus 2.0's functionality as well as the Animus Project's subject and host. Originally drafted for the Animus 1.28, Lucy emailed it on 7 September 2012 to Warren Vidic, who added some written commentary to it in preparation for Desmond Miles' arrival at Abstergo Industries' laboratory in Rome as "Subject 17". When Lucy and Desmond escaped from Abstergo, she kept the original document and made additional notes to it that she included in an updated version she emailed to an associate.

Email

From:	Lucy Stillman
To:	Undisclosed [ENCRYPTED]
Date/Time:	17 September 2012
Subject:	The Plan
Attachments:	map.png; Animus Control & Feedback (Updated).txt
This is the day we've been preparing for. Earlier this week, Vidic recovered the genetic memory of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad from Subject 17, Desmond Miles. As you already know, Altaïr was a 12th-century Syrian Assassin; he lived through the betrayal of Al Mualim, along with the assassinations of several prominent Templar crusaders. Vidic discovered that Al Mualim used one of the five known Apple artifacts to enslave the Assassin order, and forced his way through Desmond's memories until he recovered the map (included in attachment). He knows the locations of the Pieces of Eden and now the Templars intend to kill Desmond. I've been trying to stall them, but I've run out of options. We must act now. I assume you set up the planned facilities and should have received the final batch of Animus schematics I sent through the courier in December. It's time to try our machine on Desmond. If this works, he'll be one of the most powerful men alive by the time we're done. I've attached Desmond's profile (ignore his attitude, you'll like him once you get to know him—I promise), his Italian ancestor Ezio Auditore's bio, and the latest list of Animus controls and feedbacks. Desmond has already acclimated to them, so please try to use these as the basis for your control scheme. I've also included potential modifications/upgrades from Abstergo's research that we can steal for our Animus. You should be able to have this all up and working by the time we get there, right? If all goes well, by the time Vidic decrypts this email, Desmond and I will be on our way to you. If you don't hear from me within 12 hours, pack up everything and run. See you soon (I hope), Lucy Stillman

Animus Control & Feedback (Updated).txt

Characters

Desmond Miles

Age: 25
Weight: 170 lbs.
Height: 6'
Blood Type: A+
Nationality: U.S.
Psychological Traits: Independent, introverted, and defensive. Desmond has trouble trusting others. His parents were incredibly overprotective, essentially imprisoning him within their community, swearing it was for his own good. He has spent the past nine years avoiding large cities, hiding from civilization. He guards his thoughts and emotions behind a wall of cynicism.

Ezio Auditore

Age: 17
Weight: 165 lbs.
Height: 6'
Nationality: Florentine
Year: 1476
Personal History: Although there's a lot of information about Ezio's father, Giovanni, who was a high profile Florentine banker and a political advisor to Lorenzo de' Medici, the only info I can find on Ezio is that he was once apprenticed to Giovanni Tornabuoni, the great Florentine banker.
Psychological Traits: Charismatic, competitive, a womanizer, and an adventurer.

Lucy – I've replaced all mentions of the name Altair with Ezio and updated the device name to Animus 2.0, to make things a little easier on your end.

Animus User Manual

Controls

Move Forward	W
Move Backward	S
Move Left	A
Move Right	D
High Profile	Right Mouse Button
Armed Hand Left	Mouse Button
Open Hand	Left Shift
Head	E
Legs	Space Bar
Throwing Knives	1
Hidden Blade	2
Sword	3
Fists	4
Weapon Selector	Q
Pan Camera Up	Arrow up
Pan Camera Down	Arrow down
Pan Camera Left	Arrow left
Pan Camera Right	Arrow right
Target Lock	F
Contextual Camera	T
Center Camera	C
Map	Tab
Pause	Esc
First Person Camera	9

Animus Controls

The Animus 2.0 allows you to control Ezio through a combination of standard and contextual buttons. Standard buttons always perform the same action. For example, pressing the Q key always selects the Weapon Selector. Conversely, the action resulting from a contextual button press will change depending on the context the ancestor is currently in. For example, the Space Bar can make Ezio sprint, jump, dodge, or run up wall, depending on the context.

General

Move

Move Ezio by using the movement keys [W, A, S, and D]. Pressing W or S moves Ezio forward or backward. Pressing A or D makes Ezio turn to the left or to the right.

Look

Using the mouse, you can look around Ezio's environment. Pressing the C key re-centers the camera on his back.

Target and Lock On

The Animus 2.0 displays specific visual effects on certain citizens with whom you can interact. By pressing the F key, Ezio's attention focuses on the selected citizen, and he is then locked onto that citizen. When locked, Ezio can speak, kill, and accomplish other actions. Use the F key to enter Fight mode. Once you are in Fight mode, targeting will switch automatically to the nearest enemy. When you want to exit Fight mode, press the F key again to unlock and run away.

Lucy – Make sure the player can also exit fight mode by running away (right mouse button + Space Bar); unlocking takes way too much work.

Weapon Selector and Quick Inventory

Weapon Selector: Holding the Q key brings up the Weapon Selector. You can select the weapon you want to equip by moving the mouse.
Quick Inventory: Using the Using quick inventory keys [1,2,3,4] selects the weapon. Pressing a second time unsheathes the weapon.

Contextual Camera

In some specific situations, a contextual camera is available to give you another view of the situation. Pressing the T key when visible changes the camera angle.

Map

Press the Tab key to display a map of the area. The Animus 2.0 is able to fill in a basic outline of the area from historical data, but details about the area will have to be filled in by you. You should climb to the top of landmarks and scan the view to become synchronized with Ezio's memory of the area. This will allow the Animus 2.0 to fill the map with specific memory objectives and other details stored in your genetic memory.

Lucy – An improvement over the Animus 1.0 map, but synchronization is still required.

Contextual

Puppeteer Concept

The Animus 2.0 allows you to control Ezio like a puppet. Each body part is linked to a key or button: the E key is the Head key, the left mouse button is the Weapon Hand button, the Left Shift key is the Empty Hand key, and the Space Bar is the Legs key. In the top right corner, the heads-up display (HUD) shows each key's functionality. You will notice that the functionality changes depending on the context.

High and Low Profile Concept

Like in the Animus 1.0, it is possible to change the intensity with which Ezio performs each action. By default, your ancestor will be in Low Profile, but his state can be changed to High Profile by pressing and holding the right mouse button. This is like stepping on the gas! In Low Profile, Ezio's actions are inconspicuous and more socially acceptable. Fast and powerful assassin moves are available in High Profile.

Actions

On Ground

Low Profile

Space Bar: Steal: Allows Ezio to steal from NPCs for money.
Left Shift Key: Gentle Push: Press and hold the Empty Hand key to perform a gentle push. A gentle push is a socially acceptable way to move people out of Ezio's way.
Left Mouse Button: Attack: Pressing the Weapon Hand button makes Ezio attack with his currently equipped weapon.
E Key: Vision and Talking: Pressing the Head key in front of a specific citizen or shopkeeper nearby makes Ezio interact with him. Holding the Head key activates Eagle Vision. Eagle Vision has color-coded intuitive powers, as follows: red = soldiers, blue = allies, white = mission givers, gold = targets.

High Profile

Space Bar: Free-Run/Sprint: Hold the Legs key to make the ancestor sprint and perform free-running. Holding this key down makes Ezio automatically adapt to any object in the path. Just push the movement key associated with the direction you want him to go.

Example: You are on the ground, close to a wall. Holding the Space Bar and pressing the appropriate movement key makes Ezio climb that wall. If no Free-Run objects are in the path of the assassin, holding the Legs key while moving around in High Profile makes him sprint.

Left Shift Key: Grab and Throw / Tackle: Pressing the Empty Hand key while standing still makes your ancestor grab an NPC. While holding the NPC, Left Shift Key throws in the direction of the movement key that is pressed. If unarmed, the E key, left mouse button, and Space Bar all perform attacks. If armed, the left mouse button instantly kills the NPC.

Lucy – This feature was a huge hit with the lab technicians. Make sure to add it.

While Running, tapping the Left Shift key makes Ezio tackle an NPC.
Left Mouse Button: Attack: Pressing the Weapon Hand button makes Ezio attack with his currently equipped weapon.
E Key: Vision: Holding the Head key activates Eagle Vision.

Horse

Low Profile

Space Bar: Walk: The Legs key makes the horse move at his slowest pace.
Left Shift Key: Dismount: Pressing the Empty Hand key makes Ezio get off the horse.
Left Mouse Button: Rear/Attack: With Ezio's sword sheathed, pressing the Weapon Hand button makes the horse perform a rearing animation. When your ancestor holds his sword, the Weapon Hand button makes him attack.
E Key: Vision: Holding the Head key activates the Eagle Vision.

Lucy – Eagle Vision on horseback, what will they think of next? Make sure we have it too!

High Profile

Space Bar: Gallop: Hold the Legs key while moving the horse in High Profile.
Left Shift Key: Dismount: Press the Empty Hand key.
Left Mouse Button: Attack: Pressing the Weapon Hand button makes your ancestor perform an attack motion from the horse.
E Key: Vision: Holding the Head key activates Eagle Vision.

Swimming

Lucy – Make sure to fix that annoying bug in the Animus 1.0 software which prevents ancestors from swimming!

Low Profile

Space Bar: Dive: Your ancestor dives underwater. Being underwater breaks the line of sight, but Ezio can only do so for a limited time.
Left Mouse Button: Attack: Pressing the Weapon Hand button makes Ezio throw knives (if selected). E Key: Vision: Holding the Head key activates Eagle Vision.

High Profile

Space Bar: Get Out of Water/Fast Crawl: When in the water, facing a wall or a boat, Ezio can climb out of the water. When in open water, he will do a fast crawl.
Left Mouse Button: Attack: Pressing the Weapon Hand button makes Ezio throw knives (if selected). E Key: Vision: Holding the Head key activates Eagle Vision.

Boat

Space Bar: Causes Ezio to step out of rowing stance.
Left Shift Key: Rowing: When Ezio is near the boat's oar, it makes him take control of the gondola. Pushing the Empty Hand key in a rhythmic fashion will make the gondola move faster.

Flying Machine

Use the movement keys to steer the flying machine. Press the W key to make it dive and the S to gain some altitude. Lock on enemies with the F key to kick them.

Caravan

Steer the carriage using the movement keys [W,A,S,D]. Free yourself from enemies holding you on the carriage by tapping the Empty Hand key repeatedly.

Fight

Lucy – Make sure to finish your tweaks to the new fight system; it's going to be a very important part of Desmond's time in the Animus 2.0.

Lock System: To fight, you must be locked on a target who is in Open Conflict with you.

Low Profile: Offensive Moves

Lucy – Consider changing the title of this section for obvious reasons.

Space Bar: Quickstep: Pressing the Legs key makes Ezio perform a stepping motion, based on the direction that you're moving using the movement keys.
Left Shift Key: Grab: Tapping the Empty Hand key makes Ezio attempt a Grab on an enemy NPC. If unarmed, the E key, left mouse button, and Space Bar all perform attacks. If armed, the left mouse button instantly kills the NPC.

Lucy – Didn't you mention this already?

Left Mouse Button: Attack: Tapping the Weapon Hand button makes Ezio attack an NPC with his currently equipped weapon. Tap a second time as soon as your weapon makes contact to start a combo attack. Tapping once per swing will perform a more efficient combo.

Lucy – It's all about timing!

Hold Left Mouse Button: Hold in order to do a special attack for your weapon, if applicable. E Key: Taunt: Pressing the Head key will taunt your enemy, angering him and maybe causing him to attack.

High Profile: Defensive Moves

In Fight mode, High Profile enables defensive actions like counters and dodging moves. By default, holding the High Profile button makes you deflect enemy attacks.
Space Bar: Dodge: When pressing the Legs key with the right timing, Ezio performs a counter-dodge move that exposes the enemy for a strike. If the timing isn't right, he will become open to the enemy's strike.
Left Shift Key: Grab/Pick Up Weapon: If Ezio is near a weapon, he will attempt to pick it up.
Left Mouse Button: Counter-Attack/Disarm: With a weapon equipped, pressing the Weapon Hand button with the right timing, Ezio counterattacks an NPC. If the timing isn't right, he is open to the enemy's strike. When unarmed, you disarm your enemies' weapons.

Lucy – Make sure Desmond is able to steal weapons; it will give him much more freedom.

E Key: Taunt: Pressing this key will taunt your enemy, angering him and maybe causing him to attack.

Interactive Cinematic

During some scenes, the Animus 2.0 allows you to participate by pressing the appropriate keys at the right moment.

Lucy – Please remove all those visual glitches, if possible. We should be able to do something about them!

HUD

HUD Elements

The HUD provides important information while in the Animus 2.0. Various elements of the display will allow you to remain aware of your current status.
Note: HUD can be customized to suit your needs in the Options Folder.

Health Meter

Lucy – Consider changing the name to Health Index to spice it up!

The Health Meter gives you information on

• Active Health Squares
• Injured Health Squares (can be healed by doctors)
• Broken Health Squares (armor pieces must be repaired at the blacksmith shop)

Notoriety Meter

Indicates your Notoriety Status (see section 3.3 for more details on Notorieity).

Weapon Icon

Shows your currently equipped weapon or gadget.

Money Indicator

Shows the amount of money currently carried by Ezio.

Controls HUD

The top right corner displays the available actions at all times.

Mini-Map

The Mini-Map displays the location of various important memory objectives. In order to un-fog the environment and reveal more information on the mini-map, you need to synchronize the view point. To do so, you must reach the top of the landmarks and scan the view.

Social Status Indicator (SSI)

NPC Arrows

Guards' SSIs tell you if they are at risk of detecting you or not.
When Anonymous:
Yellow: When a guard's SSI turns yellow, it means that he starts investigating you.
Red: When a guard's SSI turns red, it means that he's about to go into Open Conflict with you.

Mini-Map's Frame

The mini-map's frame is a Risk Indicator that is synchronized with your enemies' state:
White: You are Anonymous.
Green: You are Hidden.
Red: You are in Open Conflict with Guards; you have to escape or fight.
Yellow: You are in Open Conflict, but have broken the line of sight from Guards you can hide from.
Blue: You are Vanishing.

NPC Health Meter

Lucy – See my note on 2.1.1 above.

When in a fight, the Enemies' Health Meter is displayed so you can adjust your strategy during the fight. When under your command, the Faction Members' Health Meter is displayed.

Animus Feed back System (AFS)

The AFS helps you with all reliable and useful information like tutorials and database updates.

Lucy – Please make sure to cut down on unnecessary AFS messages.

Gameplay Loop

Enemies

• 
  Regular Guards: Divided into three ranks (Militia, Elite, Leaders), they are the bulk of the armies, using many different weapons.
• 
  Seekers: With their halberd, they seek to find the Assassin wherever he's hiding.

Lucy – Can we get better names for the guards? Plus, what’s a "halberd"? Replace with a "spear" or something.

• 
  Agiles: Lightly armed, but they run faster than you. Watch your back.
• 
  Brutes: They are slow, but don't mess with them without any fight skills.
• 
  Archers: The archers protect specific areas. They will shoot you if you don't leave the vicinity after they issue a warning.

Notoriety Loop

You can be either Notorious or Incognito.

• When you are Incognito, guards are unaware of your presence and will only react to illegal actions.
• When you are Notorious, guards are informed that the Assassin is in town and will recognize you on sight.

The more you perform spectacular actions (like performing a double assassination or making the guards flee in fight), the more your Notoriety fills in.
To lower your Notoriety meter, do any of these actions:

• Remove Posters
• Bribe Heralds so they stop talking about you
• Kill Officials

Once your Notoriety is maxed, guards become informed of your presence and start detecting you on sight. You then have to completely empty your Notoriety meter to return to being Incognito.

Detection

When Incognito, guards will only react to illegal actions (killing, pushing them, looting...). If you don't do any of these actions you'll remain anonymous.
When Notorious, guards are actively searching for you. If they see you (yellow arrow filling) they start an investigation (red arrow filling). They will attack you as soon as they have recognized you (red arrow filled). Try to stay low profile and blended into the crowd to avoid attracting the attention.
Note: Because being on rooftops is forbidden, archers will always detect anyone on sight.

Escape

In order to escape from your enemies, break their line of sight and hide. The immediate area around your Last Known Position (LKP) remains a risky zone – guards will look at any hiding spot next to it. The LKP is displayed in the Mini-Map as a yellow circle. To make sure guards do not find you, try to get out of the zone before hiding.

Lucy – Cut down on the silly acronyms, S.V.P.

Vanish (Hide and/or Blend)

When you are Unseen, you must find a hiding spot (bales of hay, wells, and benches) or blend into any crowd or group. Once hidden or blended, you'll begin to vanish (flashing blue).
You can also vanish by losing your pursuers by using your Free Running skills.

Memories Synchronization

Core Memories

The Animus 2.0 allows you to relive Ezio's Memories. Memories are important life moments and are grouped in DNA sequences.

Secondary Memories

Secondary Memories are Memories that we know Ezio had, but that are difficult to locate exactly on a timeline. They are stored at the right extremity of the DNA Menu.

• View Points: Climb them all in order to get the full 100% Synchronization with Ezio.
• Feathers: Generally found on top of buildings.
• Assassin Tombs: Explore them all to find the Seals of the legendary assassins.
• Assassination Contracts: Kill important political targets for Lorenzo de' Medici and receive money in return.
• Races: Show you're the fastest free-runner in Italy.
• Beat-Up Events: Knock out cheating husbands.

Lucy – You know you want to!

• Courier Assignments: Make a quick delivery to earn money.

Codex

Philosophical Codex

Philosophical Codex Pages help you to better walk the path of the Assassin. Bring any that you find to Leonardo for decoding. Decoding four philosophical Codex Pages permanently increases your maximum health.

Economic System

Earning Money

• Treasures: You can find various treasure chests in the environment. Loot them to get good sums of money.
• Steal: In Low Profile, Hold the Space Bar and bump into people to steal from them. Move away from the person you pickpocket so as not to get caught when they realize that they've been robbed.
• Loot: Hold the Left Shift key while standing over a dead body to loot it. Looting is one of several ways to get money and other items. Guards don't take kindly to people who loot, so be careful when you perform this action.
• Villa Income: Renovating the ancestral hometown of the Auditore family, Monteriggioni, enables you to receive a percentage of the revenues made at the stores there. The more you improve Monteriggioni, the more money you will receive in return. Renovating shops also gives you a rebate on merchandise available in them. You can also generate income by adding to your Villa, which increases the Auditore family's prestige. You can add to your villa by collecting paintings, feathers, and weapons.

Shops

• Blacksmiths: Blacksmiths sell weapons, armor, and ammunition for smoke bombs, throwing knives, and bullets. They can also repair your armor for a fee. Visit the blacksmiths often to see when new weapons and armor pieces become available.
• Tailors: Tailors sell pouch upgrades, enabling you to carry more ammunition. They can also dye your clothes with various colors.
• Doctors: Doctors can heal you, refilling your life completely. They also sell medicine and poison vials you can carry on you.
• Art merchants: Art merchants sell paintings and treasure maps. Paintings serve to upgrade the value of your villa, making them good long term investments. Art merchants also sell treasure maps that point the location of treasure chests in the world.
• Fast Travel Booths: Travel swiftly to any visited area for a fee by going to the fast travel booth.

Menus

Main Menu

Story Mode: Start a new game or load a saved game.
Extras: Access exclusive content.

In the Animus

Animus Desktop (Pause Menu)

Pressing the Esc key will bring back the Animus Desktop, where you can:

• Review current objectives as a reminder
• Access all other Animus Folders

DNA Folder

Browse Ezio's genetic memories through the DNA strand timeline. Every single slice represents a memory.

Map Folder

Access the map of the region in which Ezio is located.

Inventory Folder

Consult your inventory to see what Ezio is currently carrying on him.

Conspirators Folder

The Conspirators folder progressively displays all of Ezio's targets, illustrating their relationships.

Animus Database

The Animus Database not only provides a lot of information on the Italian Renaissance, but also stores all documents found by Ezio (Codex pages, Templar letters) and some other special surprises as well. Consult the User Manual section of the database to see advanced Gameplay information.

Options Folder

Adjust Animus options such as audio and visual settings, control, and HUD display. You can also consult statistics based on your actions in the Animus.

Behind the scenes

The emails and "attached file" transcribed on this page are only from the PC game manual for Assassin's Creed II (2009) and are framed as in-universe explanations for Animus functionality; neither the Xbox nor PlayStation manuals utilize this metaphor. While Lucy Stillman's sole email implies that it was sent before she and Desmond Miles arrived at the Assassins' hideout in Rome, its internal chronology conflicts with the currently-accepted timeline from the 2012 website Assassin's Creed: Initiates.

In a part of Initiates called "The Desmond Files", a collection of media that tracked Desmond's daily life ever since his abduction, it established a retroactive continuity in which Desmond was held at Abstergo Industries from 1–7 September, escaped on 8 September, and stayed with the Assassins Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings in their Rome hideout until Abstergo's doctor Warren Vidic attacked it on 15 September. This new timeline puts the game manual email and notes in a different light, as Lucy's updated notes—which are likely directed at Rebecca—are now sent two days after Warren's attack and requesting that an unnamed associate "remove all of those visual glitches" and the like, a nonsensical demand when Lucy would have just spent a week with an Assassin cell during which they could have ironed out any technical problems