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Tech Analysis: Final Fantasy 15 Platinum demo

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  • Tech Analysis: Final Fantasy 15 Platinum demo

    After a decade of on-and-off development, the end is in sight for Final Fantasy 15. Across multiple setbacks, changes in production personnel, and one name change, Square Enix now lays down the gauntlet with a firm September 30th launch date, and a brand new 'Platinum' demo for public perusal. This surreal 20-minute taster is entirely separate to the main game, but handily guides us through the technology of the final product - with the Luminous Studio engine in its latest form - where change is afoot on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
    The intent of this demo is quite different to last year's Episode Duscae. Gone are the gargantuan environments to explore, and instead, this Platinum demo instead dots out a linear path to show off the lighting tricks under its engine's hood. By letting players jump on giant, interactive buttons strewn across each area, we can accelerate its day-night cycle or weather, meaning no two playthroughs look quite the same. From the lush opening forest area to a gleaming city concourse, the entire affair is gorgeously lit, and fully dynamic - and these switches make the most of a physically-based rendering technique to produce truer-to-life results on each material.
    By light of day, cloud simulation also radically alters the way shadows diffuse across the scene. As with Episode Duscae, it's a randomised variable that softens and sharpens floor shadows based on the position of rolling clouds. In piecing our comparison video together, this made matching up PS4 and Xbox One shots a very tricky process indeed. Even with time of day perfectly synced between each format, it causes some scenes to differ in hue - with the game's global illumination also factoring in to create varying results. Viewed at night, the two consoles can also look beautiful, and the way the city's lamp-lights bounce off its rain-soaked floors is a real visual high point of the demo.
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