Ubisoft Continues to Neglect Far Cry 5's Arcade mode for XBOX Users Unable to Edit Maps
Redhorn still plagues XBOX users
Sometime in early August XBOX One and XBOX Series S/X players found themselves unable to edit existing maps.
Anyone who makes maps on Far Cry 5’s Far Cry Arcade (the indefinitely last multiplayer mode of the franchise) can tell you that not being able to edit and “republish” a map is a huge problem. Imagine if you were painting a portrait for big bucks and you only had one session to sit with the model. We would have a lot of stick figures hanging around old castles and government buildings.
When you make a map in Far Cry Arcade it’s like anything else. If you write an essay in school, a blog post, or anything at all it’s difficult not to notice all the mistakes that must be fixed after that first print out onto paper or post on the screen. The validation process to seal the deal before publishing a map only ensures functionality and not a lack of cosmetic mishaps or playability.
No one is so good that they could make a perfect map in one publish. A map must be played hundreds of times by large groups before a truly impressive product can be developed. Not only are there going to be cosmetic things to fix, but level design also should change after play testing if balancing issues from spawn positioning, topography, or some structural issue comes up i.e. one team has a high spot to snipe from and the other does not.
So when Ubisoft brings a game on XBOX Game Pass just to boost the sales of the non-multiplayer having sequel, Far Cry 6, and neglects that first game with a map maker it really upsets fans. The general consensus through the XBOX Far Cry 5 player base is that Ubisoft doesn’t care about fixing it because there’s no money in it for them. I’m here to say there is. Because taking away something I’ve not only invested hundreds of hours in, but also created a digitally tangible product in to be enjoyed by others, tarnishes my personal view of Ubisoft further than it already was. I didn’t think this was possible.
If your game is being promoted as part of XBOX Game Pass it needs to be maintained. If you can’t do that you degrade the value of XBOX Game Pass as well as your own.
I would like to mention that there are several maps on Far Cry 5’s Far Cry Arcade that are quiet offensive. There is/was a map where the thumbnail or “snapshot” for the map when choosing it is just the N-word spelled out on a wall. There’s even a secret underground Nazi layer map with swastikas. Just wait until you see the Jan 6th map where you play as rioters. Afghanistan Airport, Ukraine/Russia. There’s a super sensitive map for every event in the past few years. People actually pick them. The January 6th map was quiet popular for a long time. I don’t know how many of these maps have been removed, but I know I was surprised to see how long some of these hang around.
So when I read things like this and see maps like I just mentioned go unremoved I can’t help but scratch my head. How hard is it to have someone at Ubisoft sit down a couple of times a week and read the reported map list for a previous title?
So if being unable to edit and republish a map in Far Cry Arcade isn’t enough to make Ubisoft pay attention then perhaps those player made maps I mentioned will. I have personally reported these maps and spoken to others who have. Nothing ever seem to get done over at Ubisoft if it falls short of the hype of their next big title.
I’ve got maps to fix. Some new people who don’t even know that this is broken are wasting hours making their first draft just to find out that thing they just spent six hours making is frozen in time as it was on the first publish.
Fix your game. Moderate your community. With the rise of XBOX Game Pass people are actually paying attention to older titles. You can’t continue to neglect them.
