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TOMB RAIDER UNDERWORLD
REVELATIONS
Copyright 2007 www.tombraiderchronicles.com
[ December 29th 2007 ]
Eric
Lindstrom continues to provide further information
on the technical boundaries Crystal
Dynamics are attempting to surpass in Tomb
Raider Underworld. Speaking about a newly
rendered Lara
Croft model, Lindstrom expands further on
his hybrid lighting model and how Underworld will
be the best looking Tomb
Raider game to date.
"The
model for Lara Croft is a showcase of art and
technology that we are very proud of." Lindstrom
tells PLAY
magazine. "She has more than a dozen layers
that determine her skin tone and texture, how
light reflects or scatters, how shadows form etc.
"We use
these layers to not only make Lara look more amazing
than ever, but we manipulate them in various ways
to make her appear wet, sweaty, dirty, muddy and
more. Lara will get wet and gradually dry off;
she will get dirty or muddy depending on her environment,
but she can also wash herself clean by jumping
into water or standing in the rain."
Lara
Croft's main adversary in Tomb Raider Underworld
is her immersive and massive environment, and
we see an unprecedented level of interactivity
stapled to realistic weather effects which Crystal
Dynamics hopes will place the player right there
next to Lara Croft. Hybrid lightening is responsible
for this.
"Relying
heavily on real dynamic lights as many games are
currently doing makes environments look stark
and flat, with a lot of unrealistic hard edges.
We developed a hybrid lighting model that combines
dynamic lights with carefully created light maps
to make our world look stunning in ways that none
of the available methods could achieve alone."
Another
new feature to appear in Tomb Raider Underworld
is multi usage for pickups and items scored from
deceased adversaries. Lara can acquire a staff
from a fallen enemy and then either use the item
as part of a melee routine, or for aid when scaling
a rock or swinging from an outcropping. This makes
the contents of Lara's inventory more durable
and assists Crystal Dynamics in crafting smarter
puzzles.
As in
previous games, puzzles are once again the building
blocks of Tomb Raider Underworld, and Crystal
Dynamics have spared no expense in crafting monstrous,
sometimes level-sized set pieces set to challenge
the player. Difficulty can also be tailored, with
players being given an option to disable hints,
or just receive friendly pointers for those head-scratching
moments.
The fun
stuff starts next week when Eidos
returns from Christmas break to officially unveil
the next incarnation of Lara Croft and her globe-trotting
adventures. Stay tuned for a veritable bouquet
of media and info as we embark on a brand new
Lara Croft adventure.
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