A lot has been heard about the technology behind ET:QW, even though the game will be built, to a great extent, on the Doom 3 engine. When the news was first heard, gamers were apprehensive as the Doom 3 engine came under a lot of criticism for its inability to handle large outdoor areas. In order to address the issue, iD Technical Director and owner John Carmack, has developed a proprietary texture mapping technology he named MegaTexture.
The main aim of MegaTexture is to avoid texture bugs and glitches but its development has introduced some exciting, additional features which should make ET:QW maps extremely exciting places to inhabit. The main principle of MegaTexture is the painting of a single massive texture (approximately 32000x32000 pixels large, or 1024 Megapixel, or 1 Gigapixel), covering the entire polygon map. This will render maps without any fogging offering over 1 square mile of terrain with inch-level detail. The technology provides unique maps without any repeating textures. This MegaTexture will also be able to store information such as what type of sound should be played at certain areas of the map i.e. different sounds for walking on grass or on gravel etc. This technology will allow a detailed experience we have never encountered before while the real beauty of the system is that when compressed the MegaTexture will only need 8 Mb of video RAM (from an average size of 6 GB when uncompressed). According to Splash Damage Owner, Paul “Locki” Wedgewood, each one of ETQW's maps could be compared to four Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory maps in depth and complexity.
The great outdoors; the Strogg came for a picnic
As with the Doom 3 engine, lighting will also be very important to ET:QW. Each map will experience the lighting associated with a 24 hour cycle and the amount of light will have a definite impact on actual gameplay. Certain areas of the maps will offer better cover, or ambush potential during certain times of the day.
As is the case with any self-respecting next-generation game, ET:QW will feature a vastly improved physics engine. The important of physics will be most evident when using or observing vehicles. Strogg flying contraptions will use gravitational forces and will react differently to GDF planes and helicopter-like machines. Ground vehicles will have the surface react to their wheels so obstacles might be an issue for some forms of vehicle and not for others.
Technology is very important in most games but only if it serves gameplay in the best possible way, read on to see whether ET:QW achieves this balance…
The Strogg Are Coming