Talking animation, AI, performance and gameplay with the developers of 2024’s biggest gaming surprise.
I want to start on the tech side, as this is Digital Foundry.
So one aspect is the rendering.
Especially if you want the kind of fidelity you get from a third-person or first-person shooter.
We actually use vertex animation that is computed on the GPU.
And there’s another texture, that’s all the normal values for all of the different parts.
It’s a really complex shader with a bunch of custom HLSL code.
We have a pool of 20 guys that we swap [the animation] in and out.
I’m curious then, how many of these guys can you get on screen at once?
And how much of the render budget is this eating up per frame?
Ian Fisch: Certainly a lot [of the render budget].
We profile constantly to verify [performance is good], but it’s costly.
Ian Fisch: It saves on draw calls.
The main reason for using the vertex shader is not having to do the CPU computations.
How does the crowd work in terms of AI?
Is it like a swarm-based system?
How does this actually function in terms of reacting to the player?
We want pathfinding through three-dimensional spaces; no compromises, we want the real thing.
I have a statistics background, so I really enjoy this sort of stuff.
The cavalry have to run around autonomously and intelligently to charge the right enemies.
So given these intricate environments at scale, how does this function in terms of gameplay?
How do the enemy and the player work together within these structures?
Are there going to be missions that take you through buildings and interior spaces?
Ian Fisch: Yeah, absolutely.
That involves building up castles and then invading other people’s castles in this sandbox kind of way.
There are RTS elements here, but there’s a clear premium placed on individual actions.
I’d love to be on that level, where every single body part reacts differently.
We really wanted to check that you’re having fun when you’re shooting.
Daniel Balazs: So there’s a balance of player power versus army power.
How are you handling such granular reactions?
The material instance then says that say, piece one of six is broken.
What are you looking at in terms of performance for next-gen consoles?
Who’s concerned about a vertex shader?
It’s like we’re back in the PS2 times where the vertex count actually matters.
Paul Fisch: So all our models are pretty much handmade and very optimised for vertex count specifically.
Daniel Balazs: And it’s not a console, but it does run on the Steam Deck too!
Are you aiming for 60fps on the consoles?
Paul Fisch: Yeah!
If there’s an option to play at 60, that’s where people should play.
I know it’s a controversial opinion!
What about the map layout?
Paul Fisch: Even Road Redemption itself was a mix of both.
It’s procedural but elements are hand-crafted, that’s the best way to do it.
Daniel Balazs: We want to ensure we have a good play-space for the third-person action.
Having cover points and interesting points in the level to go into and fight around is important.
What about the single-player campaign, because it feels like there’s a story here.
Paul Fisch: Single-player and co-op are the same campaign; people can join you.
In the midst of all this, you land from the future and shake everything up.
Paul Fisch: The idea is that you’re going back in time and changing history.
Thanks to the development team for their time, and you canlearn more at the Kingmakers Steam page.
