At the heart of Painkiller lies a proprietary 3D engine, created by People can Fly. Even a quick look at the game will leave you satisfied that the engine is up to the task.
PAIN, that is what PcF have named their engine, gives out an extremely high polygon count and textures of very high quality, while using all the latest lighting and shadowing techniques, including effects like soft shadows, DOT3 bump mapping, water reflections, glass simulation and volumetric light and fog. What all this jargon basically means is that Painkiller has some sweet visuals and that PAIN can dish out eyecandy as fast as your graphics board can handle it.
What is also impressive is the amount of detail and work that has gone into the creation of the environments. The game features 24 single-player levels and each is entirely unique with almost no texture reuse between levels. The average level is 350,000 polygons, monsters are 3,000 - 4,000 polygons while boss monsters will have 8,000+ polygons. The textures are also very high-resolution with an average of 1024x1024 with bosses being 2x2048x2048. Enemies will also have advanced bump mapping and lighting models including specular lighting.
Having a good 3D Engine is a necessary step when attempting to create a good game but what really adds that extra blockbuster feel to the game is the use of the Havok 2.0 physics engine. Havok 2.0 has quickly become an industry standard with games like Half-Life 2 and Max Payne 2 licensing it but Painkiller offers by far the best use of the engine so far. As soon as you load-up the game, you can't help but notice the prolific use of the physics engine. Within a minute of gameplay you will have been struck by flailing limbs (sometimes not even attached to a body) or by exploding barrels which you also have to watch out for when they land. Hanged men will shake if hit by projectiles while some bosses will hurl dead monsters at you making full use of Havok's, well known by now, ragdoll effects. Some will be tempted to scream overkill for the use of Havok in Painkiller but like everything else in this game the physics also seem to be just right.
Combine impressive and highly detailed environments, with the physics and the powerful 3D engine and you get a completely immersing and addictive experience.
Read on to find out how Painkiller will utilize its technology in order to enhance the gaming experience.
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