Every time CD Projekt RED have shown off Cyberpunk 2077 in action, the game has looked like visual powerhouse, and CDPR themselves have certainly not shied away from talking about how the excellent the game is going to look. In fact, according to the Polish developer, building the upcoming RPG using the exact same engine that was used to make The Witcher 3 simply would not have been possible.
Speaking in an interview with MCV UK, Cyberpunk 2077 producer Richard Borzymowski talked about how CD Projekt RED had to evolve their engine for the game to be able to meet their particular vision for its world, its design, and how it would have to be presented within the game.
“First and foremost, we wouldn’t be able to develop Cyberpunk on the exact same engine as the Witcher,” he said. “The benefits of the new engine are that we are able to develop Cyberpunk 2077 in the first person perspective, with all the verticality of the various buildings and skyscrapers around the place.”
Borzymowski also brought up global illumination in particular, and how that can have an impact on the game’s look in various ways.
“Another thing is when it comes to doing global illumination,” he said. “When we are creating anything, in this example the city, you have to have two versions of it: you have daytime and the nighttime city. And at night, you have all those neon lights in the city, especially after you know, rainfall or something like that. You could just develop the geometry for the buildings, and add the neon lights on top of that. You have the shader of the water dripping off, but this wouldn’t give you as big an impression as having global illumination as well. So while developing, we always wanted to ensure we have this wow factor.”
Cyberpunk 2077 recently entered the final stages of its development, and is primed and ready to launch for the PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia on April 16, 2020. CDPR recently also spoke about the possibility of next-gen ports of the game, and how doable that is.