The last iteration of the Elder Scrolls series, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, was considered a technological marvel when it was released back in March 2006, running on the Gamebryo 3D engine. Now, almost five years later, the announcement that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will use a brand new engine to render visuals was received very positively.
It’s not that Oblivion’s visuals have aged badly, but there were certain things that just never looked right, and they haven’t improved with time. Most notable are the character animations which were described as static, lifeless, and often just creepy. Transitions between animations were practically non-existent. In fact, over the years, dodgy character animations have become synonymous with Bethesda and the affliction has made its way into Fallout 3, and more recently, Fallout: New Vegas, both games which used Gamebryo.
The good news is that Gamebryo and its trademark animation atrocity has been canned for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Enter the Creation Engine
Releasing information through GameInformer, Bethesda has shed some light on its new piece of tech – the Creation Engine. All of the underlying systems that combine to create a 3D engine have been recreated from scratch.
The level of detail and draw distance systems have been reworked so that a large number of objects can be drawn far into the distance, and their level of detail can be streamed in effectively as the camera draws closer.
Likewise, the lighting and shadow systems have been improved so that there are dynamic effects rendered across the entire game environment. Previously, Bethesda’s use of dynamic lights and shadows was limited to a few key 3D objects. Bethesda Studios creative director Todd Howard says that this makes “the whole thing a lot more believable.”
In Skyrim, players will be adventuring through a landscape ravaged by northern winter and Bethesda intends to convey this environment through as many elements of gameplay as possible. For example, Bethesda ditched the middleware foliage system used in Oblivion, and have created their own foliage system from scratch. This system allows fine control of elements such as the weight of branches and tree flexibility. This will supposedly allow the Skyrim artists to create an immersive sense of danger, for example, when traversing through treacherous mountain passes howling wind will violenty shakes trees about.
A precipitation system has also been developed to augment the environmental effects. The system will assess the lay of the nearby environment and calculate how snow would fall and accumulate in a realistic manner, such as tree boughs becoming weighted with snow and drifts forming across inclined terrain.
Radiant AI
Radiant AI was introduced to Oblivion and although it was quite basic, it did lend a level of superficial life to the game world and created a slightly more dynamic role playing experience.
For Skyrim, Bethesda promises to crank up the scope of Radiant AI. Previously, NPCs would head to their designated task location, and then stand around aimlessly until quitting time. Now, NPCs will head off to a number of specially designed jobs and actually perform animated tasks, such as mining, foresting, milling, farming, attending shop fronts, and transporting goods.
The new Radiant AI will be programmed to react to the player based on their relationship experience. Friendships and rivalries can be established based on player actions, and NPCs will react accordingly. A friend may offer food and accommodation to the player, whilst a rival might become hostile merely upon sight.
Radiant Story
Bethesda promises to deliver a new story management system – Radiant Story. This system will randomise side quests according to the type of character the player develops throughout the game.
Howard explains: “Traditionally in an assassination quest, we would pick someone of interest and have you assassinate them. Now there is a template for an assassination mission and the game can conditionalize all the roles – where it happens, under what conditions does it take place, who wants someone assassinated, and who they want assassinated. All this can be generated based on where the character is, who he’s met. They can conditionalize that someone who you’ve done a quest for before wants someone assassinated, and the target could be someone with whom you’ve spent a lot of time before.”
Radiant Storytelling will also help keep the player from breaking important quests or side-quests. Players will still be able to murder pretty much anyone they please – previously this may have had the consequence of breaking a string of quests. Now, Radiant AI will assign a new character to the quest-giver role. Bethesda has made the contingency of recording voice for all characters that may need to assume these roles. The newly assigned quest-giver will probably also bear a grudge against the player for their actions. Hopefully the clumsy voice-acting system from Oblivion doesn’t rear its head again – players were previosuly treated to the accented musings of the local bum who would suddenly and maniacally shift into the voice of a nobleman.
Radiant Storytelling will also adjust quest locations according to places already visited, and it will even chuck in a few random encounters for good measure.
Havok Physics
Havok’s ‘Behavior’ – a new animation middleware technology – will be implemented in Skyrim. “We looked at a bunch of [animation solutions], and this is about the tippy-top state-of-the-art stuff out there. I think we’re the first real big game to use it,” said Howard.
Bethesda hopes to correct the flawed animations present in their previous titles through adding nuance in character and creature animations. Havok’s Behavior will apply special animation effects to characters that get stuck in environmental hazards, such as spider webs. Transitions between actions such as walking, jogging, and running will now exist.
Bethesda also promises to have improved the combat system. Swinging weapons and blocking enemy strikes will now be adjusted according to the player’s perspective – first-person or third-person – hopefully fixing the clumsy third-person combat experience of Oblivion.
The oft-mocked conversation system employed in Gamebryo-based gmaes will be replaced by a more natural take on things. Players can engage with NPCs that will continue to go about their tasks, or perhaps they will fidget and change seats, occasionally glancing towards the player, in the manner that actual human beings interact with one another. No more zoomed head-shots and fixed stares.
One of the most enticing aspects of the new animation system is the way in which Bethesda promises to deliver dragons. They describe powerful and menacing beasts that will look natural when flying around, banking into turns, beating wings and soaring into the sky before making a deadly dive on a ravaged town or city. The actions performed by dragons are apparently not scripted, meaning that they may attack at any moment. It has previously been revealed that dragons might attack cities, towns and player characters on a whim.
So far, things are sounding pretty interesting for Skyrim. The new Creation Engine promises much, and the storyline is as intriguing as that of any other Elder Scrolls game.
Discuss The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the MyGaming forum.
Related Articles
Join the conversation