A tech video of Frostbite 2, the game engine that will be powering the upcoming DICE shooter Battlefield 3, has been released. It showcases some of the capabilities of the engine, and it does look pretty impressive. It’s also important to note that Battlefield 3 wouldn’t have been a possibility without this current incarnation of the Frostbite engine.
The four minute trailer that has been made available shows off the “real time radiosity” of the engine and it’s rendering capabilities. Players of Mirror’s Edge, another DICE game, will recognize the color schemes used. That doesn’t mean that single colors will be prevalent all over the world of Battlefield 3, but used in the video, the colors reflect how well the environment will react to dynamic lighting and shadow effects, both of which players are bound to experience in Battlefield 3.
Gamers could see the power of the Frostbite 1 engine in Battlefield: Bad Company 2. That engine allowed players to destroy the environment in all kinds of ways, much to the delight of DICE, who apparently love blowing things up in videogames. Bad Company 2 is still going strong with the recently released Vietnam maps, as well the Operation Hastings map. Gamers, however, are still going to be anticipating the return to the original Battlefield series.
The new lighting effects do look impressive, but seeing as there is no gunfire, explosions, or smoke on display, we’ll have to wait to see if the final product truly impresses. Battlefield 3 will be the first of DICE’s games to use the Frostbite 2 engine, and more information regarding the title will be revealed at GDC 2011.
Frostbite 1 was a very powerful engine that featured a good balance between graphical capability and environmental destruction, something the Bad Company series continues to be known for. We can’t wait to see what kind of destructive capabilities Frostbite 2 bring to the table.
Ranters, what do you think of the Frostbite 2 tech video? How do you think Frostbite 2 will compare to CryENGINE 3 or id Tech 5?
Battlefield 3 will be releasing some time in 2011 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Source: VG 24/7
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Pretty solid – liked the ‘sandbox’ bit the best. I don’t think it can keep up with CryEngine 3 visually, but the dynamic environments are sick!
I think we are in for a big treat with bf3
I’m really impressed with the lighting effects. I think with a modern shooter, one with an urban setting but minus the military genre, Frostbite 2 would deliver amazing results.
if you’ve revamped an engine which allows for destruction why not put a demo up with destruction ? in most cases people dont notice the lighting etc during gameplay b/c they’re busy PLAYING THE GAME. the problem with frostbite1 was that the destruction was staged – it didn’t look natural (holes is wallas all looked the same if you pay attention). cryengine 3 makes frostbite look like trash and this video proves it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmLtDM7liWY
dice has to step their game up if they want to win over the mass market. i say dont make total destruction for some MP game types, re-do your MP from ground up, starting by getting rid of the stupid upgrade system (make full class customisation, like every other modern FPS) and fix some core mechanics to make the game play more smoothly.
This is a pretty cool demo, but I agree with the comments on needing to see some action/destruction.
I remember when a tech demo video was released for the force unleashed engine and it was very impressive. Then the games came out and sucked.