Square Enix subsidiary Luminous Productions showed off the power of their new engine. The in-house Luminous Engine will be under use for the upcoming Project Athia.
So far, Luminous Productions have an impressive showing of the game engine. The footage shows unbelievable ease in terrain creation, together with the world’s lighting. The graphics are otherworldly, making Project Athia a must-see.
Luminous Engine is otherworldly
Square Enix teased Project Athia at a PS5 event earlier this year. Even then, the public doesn’t know much about the title other than it’s a nature-themed RPG. So far, the Luminous Engine World Editor shows off more of the potential world in-game.
The video demonstration of their world editor is part of their Computer Entertainment Developers Conference 2020 presentation. While it was only 1080p, the auto-generation feature was unbelievable.
The footage is impressive, showing beautiful, realistic lighting effects. Meanwhile, the terrain development seemed easy to do without too much fuss. Much of the footage felt like watching someone play Populous or Spore.
Flowers bloomed and grew as the cursor noted, allowing for a uniform at the terrain. The addition of a stream was easy enough, offering superb fluid physics through the design. The entire video showed terrain elevation mechanics and even real-time environmental growth.
The Luminous Engine looked perfect for whatever Project Athia will be. From what everyone knows so far, the new auto-generation will work great with the potential gameplay for Project Athia.
Project Athia will be a AAA tech demo for Luminous Engine
Luminous Productions and Project Athia will likely create a great title. From the last reveal, Project Athia seems to follow a girl transported to another world. At the same time, this new fantasy world gave her power over nature and control over the environment.
If this is true, Athia is likely a AAA tech demo for what the Luminous Engine can do. The auto-generation allows for seamless manipulation of the environment. Growing roots, vines, trees, and using it to the player’s advantage would need something robust.
In many situations, games that manipulate environments only use cue points. Many use predetermined points within the world to generate specific effects. With the Luminous Engine, the game can take advantage of its power.
Luminous can adjust and generate environmental effects without much effort. Furthermore, this effect gives players the freedom to manipulate everything around to their advantage.
Project Athia will come to the PC and the PS5 as a console exclusive. Before that, everyone will see what Luminous Productions has in store for everyone. The game will look great, and how the new engine plays into it.
Images courtesy of Luminous Productions/YouTube Screenshot