Forza Horizon 3 Developer Discusses Photogrammetry, The New Technique They Used To Make The Game Look Realistic

Plus, a summer spent obsessively trying to record Australian skies.

Posted By | On 09th, Aug. 2016

Forza horizon 3

Forza Horizon 3 looks incredible- it is actually surprising just how good Playground Games have managed to make the game look on an Xbox One. But it turns out that all of this owes itself to the dedication and hard work by the team, as well as some new techniques and technologies that they adapted during the development of the game.

“[Playground Games’ studio members] drove the roads, filming in HD everywhere they went, and they stopped to photograph everything we’d need to build the game: road surfaces, buildings, fences, trees, rocks, everything. We use a cutting-edge technique called ‘photogrammetry’, which allows us to turn hi-def photos of objects into game-ready 3D models, and that’s how the rocks and tree trunks, among other things, look so realistic in our game,” Ralph Fulton of Playground Games told Redbull.

Fulton also discussed the one thing about the game that has received a lot of appreciation- which is just how great and beautiful the skies in the game look. This, again, owes itself to the sheer extents and obsessiveness exhibited by Playground in trying to recreate Australian skies in the game.

“We also created an entirely new technique for capturing authentic Australian skies, using a custom-built 12K HDR camera rig, and we camped for the entire summer in a field capturing everything the sky did during that time. These images were brought back to the studio and fed through a custom process that streams the data into our system, producing the most dynamic, evolving skyscapes ever seen in a game.

“We have video screens in our studio which, throughout development, constantly played the videos we recorded driving all over Australia. That way, even the members of the team who weren’t able to visit Australia felt completely immersed in the world we were building,” Fulton said.

Forza Horizon 3 is going to launch on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs later this year.


Amazing Articles You Might Want To Check Out!

Share Your Thoughts Below  (Always follow our comments policy!)



Keep On Reading!

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Has Sold Just 1 Million Units – Rumour

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown Has Sold Just 1 Million Units – Rumour

It's claimed that Ubisoft expected the title to sell as well as the bestselling Metroidvanias out there, thoug...

A Rayman Remake is in Development – Rumour

A Rayman Remake is in Development – Rumour

Some of Prince of Persia: The Lost crown's recently disbanded dev team has moved to the project, which is in t...

Monster Hunter Wilds Trailer Showcases Oilwell Basin, Azuz, and New Monsters

Monster Hunter Wilds Trailer Showcases Oilwell Basin, Azuz, and New Monsters

Rompopolo and Ajakaran are two new threats, but there's also the Black Flame, a mysterious threat that awaits ...

PS5 Pro – 10 More Things You Need to Know Before You Purchase

PS5 Pro – 10 More Things You Need to Know Before You Purchase

Learn all the crucial details about Sony's upcoming mid-gen hardware refresh ahead of its imminent release.

15 Essential Nintendo Switch Games You Need to Play

15 Essential Nintendo Switch Games You Need to Play

The Nintendo Switch is chock full of great games, but some obviously outshine others in terms of quality. Here...

15 Recent Games with Phenomenal Facial Animations

15 Recent Games with Phenomenal Facial Animations

As incredible as their environments, effects, and performances can be, these games occupy a different tier wit...