One of the most amazing features of the new krass-engine is the visibility culling of static and dynamic objects. In an outdoor scenario using traditional culling techniques, such as bsp or portals, it is not possible to render more than what the player actually sees, such as objects behind hills and buildings. However, the AquaNox 2: Revelation’s culling system detects everything not visible to the player, meaning the players’ graphics card does not have to render it. This allows the game to play at approximately twice the frame rate speed thereby giving a far superior playing experience.
The krass engine also provides players with an unlimited range of sight, bringing AquaNox 2’s huge underwater world to life. Players can explore in amazing detail this new and exciting underwater world they now inhabit on their search for bonus targets or enemies. To accommodate this, the missions have also been specifically adapted to give the player time to investigate.
Massive has also implemented a large-scale particle rendering system, which gives explosions within the game unrivalled detail. Such is the graphical quality within AquaNox 2: Revelation that some explosions will feature even more polygons on screen than an average scene within the original AquaNox.
In addition, AquaNox 2: Revelation features full 3D sound spatialization, creating truly amazing audio effects to enhance the superb gameplay. Music tracks will change to reflect the mood of the situation the player finds themselves in. For example, ambient music will be played when the player is exploring, but when confronted by enemies a more intense soundtrack will play. More than 500 audio sources are controlled in real time and in full 3D sound, creating an incredible atmosphere that will totally immerse players.
Using NVIDIA GeForce FX technology, AquaNox 2: Revelation’s graphics are truly not to be missed. The game will even feature volumetric fog, which highly intelligent enemies will attempt to hide in waiting to attack the unaware player. To add realism, when players are surrounded by the claustrophobic fog it will appear far denser than if they were looking at it from above, thereby giving an exciting new stealth element to AquaNox 2’s gameplay.
Even with these amazing special effects, AquaNox 2: Revelation is capable of running smoothly on a vast range of systems, thanks to the incredible number of options that allow players to tweak the game to create a tailor-made visual experience for their own system.
AquaNox 2: Revelation for PC CD Rom has its UK and US launch in Q1 2003.
