Assassin's Creed Shadows' gameplay will be affected by Ubisoft's fancy new weather tech, and the studio says its future games will incorporate it "in much more depth"
Sep. 17, 2024The Anvil engine’s new Atmos tool will allow for more “efficiency, realism, and coherence”
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The weather inAssassin’s Creed Shadowsis a pretty big deal forUbisoft, mostly due to a fancy new tool called Atmos that allows for fully simulated weather that affects gameplay.
Talking toVG247, Assassin’s Creed Shadows art director Thierry Dansereau said there’s a big focus on the game’s skies because they “represent a major visual element that greatly contributes to the perceived visual quality and level of immersion.” Dansereau added that the simulation of realistic clouds will help Ubisoft bring to life a “dynamic world that is in constant transformation.”
So, what exactly is different about the way Ubisoft is designing Assassin’s Creed Shadows' skies compared to earlier games in the series? Well, apparently it all comes down to that Atmos tech I mentioned at the start of this article.
“In AC Shadows, the entire weather is simulated, which means that the clouds are dynamic, and they evolve over time,” explained Assassin’s Creed Shadows tech lead Maxime Beaudoin. “[…] Atmos not only drives the clouds that you see in the sky, but the entire weather as well (precipitations, wind, wetness accumulation on the ground, thunder strikes, etc).”
Beaudoin said these weather effects aren’t just for lookin' at - they also will have a real impact on gameplay. It’s unclear to what extent, exactly, but Beaudoin said NPCs will have a tougher time detecting the player during thunderstorms because of all the noise and reduced visibility.
“This means that they don’t control the exact shape of the clouds like in previous games; instead, they focus on the composition, determine the overall look they want to achieve and let the simulation fill in the gaps. This makes it possible to create a very realistic looking cloudscape in a matter of minutes.”
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Assassin’s Creed Shadows will be the first Ubisoft game to use the new weather tech, but Ubisoft assures it won’t be the last. “We barely scratched the surface of what’s possible to do with it,” Beaudoin said. “It’s such a different way to do things that we’re still learning how to use it at its best, so you can expect future titles to take advantage of it in much more depth.”
Assassin’s Creed Shadows launches on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on November 12.
How Assassin’s Creed Shadows is using changing seasons and dynamic weather to the series' “most advanced” game yet.
After scoring a degree in English from ASU, I worked as a copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. Now, as GamesRadar’s west coast Staff Writer, I’m responsible for managing the site’s western regional executive branch, AKA my apartment, and writing about whatever horror game I’m too afraid to finish.
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