## Ubisoft’s 3D Environments in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows: Creating a Dynamic and Immersive World
Ubisoft, the renowned French video game publisher, is set to release its highly anticipated game, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, on November 15 for PC and consoles. One of the key aspects of this game is its 3D world set in ancient Japan, which offers a dynamic and immersive experience for players. In a recent interview with Pierre Fortin, the technical architect at Ubisoft, we gained insights into the development process and the Anvil game engine used to bring this world to life.
### Pierre Fortin: A 20-Year Veteran at Ubisoft
Pierre Fortin has been working at Ubisoft for close to 20 years, starting as a programmer at the Quebec studio. Throughout his career, he has worked on various games, including Assassin’s Creed: Origin, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, and Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. Since 2020, he has held the position of technical architect, overseeing the development of the Anvil game engine and contributing to the technical aspects of game production.
### The Evolution of the Anvil Game Engine
The Anvil engine, the backbone of the Assassin’s Creed series, has been continuously evolving since its inception with the first Assassin’s Creed game. Over the years, it has undergone significant advancements and improvements, aligning with each new console generation. Fortin compares the evolution of the Anvil engine to the ship of Theseus, where only fragments of the original engine remain. With each iteration, new systems and technologies are introduced to enhance the game’s performance and visuals.
### Tailoring the Engine to Ubisoft’s Production Pipeline
One of the reasons Ubisoft continues to use its own technology, the Anvil engine, for Assassin’s Creed instead of industry-standard engines like Unity or Unreal Engine 5, is the efficiency it provides in game production. With close to 17 studios working on a game like Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Ubisoft needs to tailor its production pipeline and engine to meet the demands of a 24-hour, five-day-a-week cycle. By optimizing the engine and production tools, Ubisoft ensures smooth collaboration and efficient production across its studios.
Furthermore, using their own engine allows Ubisoft to push the technological boundaries of their games and give their production teams the artistic freedom they desire. By controlling their technology, Ubisoft can implement innovative features and achieve a higher level of visual fidelity. For example, in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Ubisoft focused on dynamism, implementing systems like dynamic seasons and realistic environmental interactions. These features would be harder to achieve without their own engine.
### Computing Budgets and Optimization
In game development, there is a predetermined computing budget that needs to be optimized to deliver the desired game experience. Fortin explains that the budget allocation depends on the game’s priorities. In the case of Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft prioritizes creating credible environments, allocating a significant portion of the GPU budget to visual fidelity. The CPU budget is dedicated to tasks such as rendering crowds, which are essential in Assassin’s Creed games. Ubisoft continually refines its budget allocation and optimization techniques, ensuring the game can run smoothly across a wide range of hardware configurations.
### Dynamic Resolution and Scalability
To maximize performance and image quality, Ubisoft employs dynamic resolution techniques. Dynamic resolution allows the game to automatically scale its resolution based on the complexity of the scene. This optimization technique helps balance computational costs and visual fidelity. However, Ubisoft aims to minimize reliance on dynamic resolution and focuses on achieving optimal performance through various performance levers. While dynamic resolution primarily benefits GPU performance, Ubisoft employs other techniques to ensure scalability across different hardware configurations, including CPU-intensive tasks.
### Crowd Size and Gameplay Considerations
The size of a crowd in a game like Assassin’s Creed depends on various factors, including the game’s design and gameplay goals. Ubisoft considers not only the technical limitations of rendering thousands of NPCs but also the gameplay possibilities and the appropriate reactions of the crowd. The primary constraint when dealing with massive crowds is the CPU cost required for animation, rendering, and physics calculations. However, Ubisoft prioritizes the crowd as an essential aspect of the Assassin’s Creed series, allocating a significant portion of the CPU budget to ensure its quality and interactivity.
### Advancements in Visual Fidelity and Realism
Ubisoft’s focus on visual fidelity and realism is a key aspect of the Assassin’s Creed series. With Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Ubisoft aimed to create a world that feels more immersive and realistic than any previous installment. The introduction of dynamic seasons, enhanced environmental destruction, and improved level of detail are some of the advancements that contribute to the game’s dynamism and visual appeal. The goal is to create a seamless blend between the characters and their surroundings, minimizing any visual gaps and enhancing the player’s immersion.
### Building the Full 3D World
In open-world games like Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft models and builds the entire environment from all angles. Unlike corridor-based games that can use tricks like half-built buildings, Assassin’s Creed’s expansive world requires a complete and fully simulated environment. This approach enables players to explore the world from any perspective, creating a more immersive experience.
### Ubisoft’s Expertise in Open World Environments
Developing open-world games is a significant undertaking that requires a larger team and substantial investment. Ubisoft has honed its production pipelines and mastered the craft of creating open-world environments over the years. Their expertise allows them to optimize production processes, build efficient engines, and deliver visually stunning and immersive worlds.
In conclusion, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Shadows promises to offer players a dynamic and immersive 3D world set in ancient Japan. Through the continuous evolution of the Anvil engine, Ubisoft has achieved advancements in visual fidelity, dynamism, and realism. By tailoring their technology to their production pipeline and prioritizing areas such as visual fidelity and crowd interactivity, Ubisoft ensures the delivery of high-quality open-world experiences. As players embark on their journey in Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, they can expect a world that feels alive, vibrant, and authentic.
