Technology

Settings

Nocturne's scenery and backgrounds are probably the most intricate we've ever seen in a 3D game. Bar scenes are complete with movable chairs, tables, and breakable mirrors and bottles. Buildings have tons of doors and little rooms to walk into. Trees in the forest and their branches cast shadows in the ground from the faint moonlight. All the textures look exquisitely intricate and lifelike. The kicker is seeing the movie theater - you'll walk around and fight it out in there while a movie plays on the screen. Yes, all objects and every part of the screen is a 3D object, which is astounding given the amount of detail there is in the game. To help keep computers from choking on all the polys, the camera in each scene remains static as the Stranger moves about the area. The fixed point of view further enhances that movie feel to Nocturne.

He looks big

Burn baby burn

Lighting and Shadow

One of the most impressive things about Nocturne is its real time lighting and shadowing system. While many games boast shadows, close inspection of them reveals them to be decidedly fake looking. Real shadows do not have sharp edges to them and do not have the same intensity throughout all their area. You might already know that 3dfx's new T-buffer technology boasts support for soft shadows that more closely reflect reality. Nocturne's developers worked hard to include similarly realistic shadow and lighting effects by using volumetric lighting. This helps them create shadows with softer edges and varying intensity. Also look for multiple light sources in each scene. Everything is rendered smoothly and on the fly. The short of it is that Nocturne's lighting and shadow system ranks as the best we've seen to date, and adds immeasurably to the mood and atmosphere of the game.

Two guns are better than one

Flashlight in this game is awesome

Cloth

If you think all that isn't enough, Terminal Reality's designers bring things to the next level with their cloth modeling system. Nocturne is so detailed that not even the flapping of curtains or the Stranger's trenchcoat is canned. This too is rendered on the fly, depending on what kind of movement and force the cloth is subjected to. Different cloths can be given different weights as well. You'll see Svetlana's light silk cape billow around her much differently than the Stranger's heavier wool trench coat. This might seem like a little thing, but the fact is that looking at the same animation over and over again completely breaks your suspension of disbelief while you play a game. The more unique everything looks, the more immersed you are into the game and the storyline. With a horror/adventure game like Nocturne, immersion is the name of the game.

Blast it!

Two fisted action