so i just learned about the visual effects tech behind saros, this new sci-fi shooter for the ps5, and i'm totally mind blown. basically, the developers, housemarque, decided to rebuild their entire visual effects framework from scratch, creating something called graphite. this isn't just an update to their old tech, but a whole new system that combines gpu simulation, rendering, and tooling all in one place.



i think what's really cool about graphite is that it's specifically designed for playstation hardware, so it can take full advantage of the ps5's capabilities. and, as a result, the visual effects in saros are seriously impressive. the developers are talking about how they used graphite to create this amazing, reactive fog system that's a key part of the game's atmosphere. it's not just some generic, canned effect - it's actually interactive, responding to the player's movements and actions in real time.



one of the things that stood out to me was how the developers built on their old particle engine, ngp, to create graphite. ngp was first developed back in 2013 for resogun, and it's been evolving ever since. but, as housemarque joined playstation studios, they realized they needed something more powerful and flexible to deliver the kind of experiences players expect. so, they basically took ngp and merged it with other tech to create graphite, which is way more capable and efficient.



i love how the developers are talking about the specifics of how they created the fog system in saros. apparently, they took some inspiration from unreal engine's froxel fog, but then heavily modified it to fit their vision. they had to solve some pretty tricky problems, like getting the fog to be temporally stable and responsive to

Read more: Full article on blog.playstation.com

What do you think about this?