Funcom lead designer on Age of Conan's development process |
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Judging from the previous screenshots we've seen from the upcoming Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (PC, Xbox 360) title, we all know that it's going to be one visual monster of a game. While the game may be quite easy on the eyes, the developers at Funcom are working very hard to deliver to gamers an accurate depiction of the world of Hyboria.
In a recent devblog entry on 1UP.com, lead Designer Ole Herbjornsen explains some of the polish and optimization processes he and his team are going through to make sure everything in the game runs smoothly. The list runs long, but to give you guys a heads up, it involves much about problem solving, framerate issues, and graphical balancing.
The first step involves gathering data which can be used to identify problems. Based on the data, they can then use the different dev tools at their disposal to simulate and fix any possible trouble spots that may occur during testing.
One of the most typical issues they've always come across was balancing the game's framerate across the different zones and maps. Using in-game tools like creating placeholder "occluder monsters" and the camerapaths, they can playtest the framerate and watch for any unexpected drops when moving from area to area.
In the end, what's important is being able to find a solid medium between framerate and adjusting any graphical issues to help balance out the game. Herbjornsen also mentions that they employ other third-party tools like debug shaders to help make their job a little easier.
It certainly doesn't sound like an easy job at the end of the day. We're just glad that we, as gamers, get to enjoy the fruits of their labor and don't have to bother with all the technical hullabaloo. Either way, everyone wins since we all get to see what a great game Age of Conan is turning out to be.
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