With the highly anticipated Fallout 4 releasing next week, Bethesda Game Studios decided to share with fans how its Creation Engine has evolved since the release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim nearly four years ago.

“The hardware we play games on continues to advance at a rapid pace with exciting new graphics features,” Bethesda said in a recent blog post. “Our Creation Engine has evolved to incorporate this new technology in order to empower the artists and designers at Bethesda Game Studios to create an immersive new world. The tech team here is closely aligned with the art team, and together we carefully selected each individual feature based on specific artistic and performance goals we wanted to achieve in creating this world.”

According to Bethesda, the first update it made to its game engine after Skyrim was to add a physically based deferred renderer, which allows for a wider range of dynamic lighting. This means that Bethesda could create more realistic environments by changing the way light interacts with different objects and surfaces.

“We want objects and characters in the world to feel tactile and grounded, and a big part of that is ensuring that these materials are distinct – that metal reflects light in a distinct manner from wood, for example,” Bethesda explained.

Because Bethesda’s games, including the upcoming Fallout 4, make use of a full night-day cycle and various different types of weather, the studio also worked to improve its volumetric lighting, which is used to create beams of light often referred to as “God rays.” To accomplish this, the studio worked closely with GPU maker Nvidia Corp to develop new techniques that not only make the effect look good, but to also make it function well on players’ hardware.

“It’s beautiful in motion, and it adds atmospheric depth to the irradiated air of the Wasteland,” Bethesda said. “Like all the other features here, we’ve made it work great regardless of your platform.”

Other updates to the Creation Engine include improved cloth and hair simulations, depth of field effects, filmic tone mapping, and more. Bethesda said that it also features “Dynamic Dismemberment using Hardware Tessellation,” which means that Fallout 4 will probably have quite a few body parts flying around.

“What’s important is how this technology comes together with the art and gameplay of Fallout 4 to create a dynamic, immersive experience – no matter your gaming system,” Bethesda concluded. “We pride ourselves in being a highly collaborative team, always balancing graphics, gameplay, art, and performance.”

Images courtesy of Bethesda Softworks LLC