Okay, so, I’ve been messing around with this game, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Specifically, I wanted to see how far I could push my character in terms of distance traveled in the game world. It’s called “yardage,” like in football, but for a Viking. Sounds kinda dumb, but it’s actually pretty fun.
I started by booting up the game. I loaded my saved game, picked up my controller, and pressed the start button.
My character, Eivor, was already in a pretty good spot, right near the edge of the map in Norway. I think it’s called Niflheim in the game, the Forgotten Saga.
I started by just running. I held down the sprint button and made Eivor run straight ahead. I wanted to see how far I could go before hitting an invisible wall or something. I kept going, and going, and going.
While running, I kept an eye on the map. I wanted to get a rough idea of how far I’d gone. I also made sure to check for any enemies or obstacles that might get in the way.
- First attempt: I just ran straight for about 20 minutes. Didn’t really get a good feel for the distance, but it felt like a lot.
- Second attempt: I used the in-game map to mark a starting point and an endpoint. Then I ran from one to the other, trying to keep a straight line. This was a little better.
- Third attempt: I decided to try a different route. Instead of running along the edge of the map, I picked a path that went through some towns and villages. This was interesting because I encountered some non-player characters along the way, who had their own unique reactions to my running.
After a few tries, I realized that just running wasn’t going to cut it. So, I started experimenting with other ways to travel. I tried riding my horse, which was definitely faster. But there were limited roads and paths so I couldn’t maintain my desired speed all the time.
Then I remembered the boat! I found a longship and started rowing. This was actually pretty cool because I could travel along the coast and see all the different landscapes.
I kept track of my progress by marking waypoints on the map. I also took some screenshots along the way, just for fun. Some of the scenery in this game is really amazing.
I continued to traverse by running, riding, and rowing until I had reached the other side of the map, exhausted.
Finally, after a few hours of playing, I think I got a pretty good handle on this whole “yardage” thing. It’s not an exact science, but it’s a fun way to explore the game world and see how far you can go.
It’s not about speed. I could have fast-traveled to different points on the map, but that would defeat the purpose. I wanted to physically move my character across the game world.
Anyway, that’s my little experiment with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. It was a fun way to spend an afternoon, and I might try it again sometime. Maybe I’ll even try to set a new personal record. I’ve got some ideas for different routes I could take. Also I’ve found the Interactive Map so that I can use the progress tracker to reach 100%.
