GDC talks about AC3 (found two so far)
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/193015/Video_Improving_AI_in_Assassin...
Starts at about the 30 minute mark, the seek bar tells you the name of each segment so it should be easy to find.
Topics covered:
Uneven surface traversal (+ scramble and slide animations)
Predictive foot placement (Mention that next gen systems would have been helpful in making this work better without sacrificing performance)
Front Strafing (This is exactly what I talked about when I said that movement felt more accurate. Moving the stick back and forth while moving forward results in a strafing motion rather than immediate rotation, which feels more natural and means you don't immediately alter your direction of movement. I'm sure some people will hate this, but I find it way better for gameplay)
Second talk: Three Years of Collaboration on Assassin's Creed 3: http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1018130/Three-Years-of-Collaboration-on
Thank you, Calvar!
I just updated the OP with a second talk, about the bigger picture of collaboration between studios on AC3. Looks to be a good one, it's 50 minutes and I just started listening.
They mentioned that they would be speaking about what they felt worked and didn't work, and their honest opinions about the dev process.
EDIT:
Studio Breakdown:
Montreal - Lead Team
Singapore - Naval battles
Quebec - Homestead
Annecy/Shanghai - Multiplayer
Bucharest - Testing
Kiev - PC port
Sofia - AC3 Liberation.
Woah, Ubisoft Quebec drops some major truth bombs!
EDIT2:
I'm at 39:14.
It sounds to me like the teams are really coming into their own and the systems for collaboration are becoming more defined and productive.
Watched the video in the 1st link just now.
Gotta say, interesting stuff. Good post.
Also, what's the deal with the guy who talked about the climbing and trees? He used the word 'so' about 3 times per sentence.
just kidding