New Details About Uncharted 3 in 3D

Details have been slim regarding Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, we’ve seen glimpses of the combat mechanics in the game, as well as the awesome new fire elements that Naughty Dog has incorporated into the game.  Though a recent press release has outed some of the highlights of the 3D technology that Naughty Dog is implementing in Drake’s next adventure.

The developer claims that 3D support was planned from the outset of development, from the ground-up, and full integrated into the Naughty Dog 3.0 Engine.  The engine has been optimized for 3D, and these optimizations will show improvements even in the 2D version of the game.  Things that you will notice when playing Uncharted 3 in 3D are precise aiming, especially around corners, which is aided through the 3D support.   Depth judgement during traversal sequences is also aided by the 3D support. Probably the most exciting thing about the technology is the 3D elements included in the cinematic presentation.  Uncharted 3 had some intense interactive cutscenes.  The developer notes that the inclusion of the 3D tech in the cinematic presentations and set piece moments enhances the experience.  They site examples of increased sense of vertigo which will make the experience that much more realistic and tense.

Naughty Dog also released some finer points about the Fire Technology in the game. Starting with the particle system, which needed to be overhauled to increase the number of effects and overdraw that was required for the realism that we’ve seen in clips like the Burning Chateau.  And while it’s not completely new news, the fire effects directly affect the environment.  This will change paths or destroy cover in certain combat situations.  The fire effects will be coupled with new character animations for interacting in the fiery environments, new animations layers have been added to Drake and Sully, as well as the enemies to add to the realism and ground the characters in the fiery environments. Contextual animations were added for Drake’s character when stepping in, standing near, and taking cover by fire.

These details came from the Game Developers Conference, Uncharted 3 will release on Novemeber 11th, 2011 exclusively for the PlayStation 3.