TimeShift Reborn: Competing in the Post-Unreal Engine 3 World

We're gearing up for some serious TimeShift coverage over the next few weeks here at IGN AU. As you probably know already, the game has undergone a massive metamorphosis, but you may not be aware just how big the changes are. It's potentially the stuff of gaming legend. Picture the scene: the team at Saber Interactive are literally days away from getting the game out the door. Seven bugs in fact. At the eleventh hour, they were given the opportunity to spend a year completely retooling the title. They took it (despite having to "talk a few guys off the roof"), and the result is a game that's radically different from its earlier incarnation.

We're talking about a completely new script, jettisoning the first four levels entirely, incorporating a new setting and visual style, redesigning the main character and enemies, tweaking the time control mechanics and extensively upgrading the engine to support weather effects, shadow maps, HDR lighting, high-res textures, improved materials, soft particles, depth of field, far more detailed models and a new physics engine.

As you can imagine, it's pretty rare for a developer to be given an opportunity like this, and there are a huge number of challenges associated with such a quick-fire overhaul, not least of which is keeping a holistic vision for the game. Over the next few weeks we'll be taking extensive looks at the game's mechanics, story and multiplayer, but we're going to kick off the coverage with a chat about the game's impressively juiced up engine and new visual direction. Aiding us in our illustrated tour (using images from the Xbox 360 version of the game) is Lead Producer and TimeShift evangelist Kyle Peschel.

Kyle Peschel: Extremely hard, but it was the right thing to do. Saber Interactive has increased their team size over the last year to accommodate the increase in asset and programming needs. Ultimately you'd have to sit down and talk with the rendering programmers to get the full perspective on what they've accomplished in such a short time. As for the look, we found that "Steam Punk" simply wasn't resonating with people; endless feedback from users reinforced it. So when we had a crazy opportunity like another year, we seized it and started to generate an alternate reality that truly backs the new storyline.

IGN: What are the differences between your old physics system and the new one? What does shifting to Havok 4.5 bring to the game?

Kyle Peschel: Previously the game used Meqon which was an ideal solution at the time (they are the physics system that SAAB uses I'm told) but we needed to go beyond those options now that we have dialled up the realism. The biggest difference? Control. Previously when you shot a guy with a rocket launcher he would gib into little pieces. Now, not only does he gib, but you'll see his wrist still flopping around attached to his forearm, or his entrails dancing behind his torso as it flies through the air. We reworked the vehicles to use the new physics and the player collision as well. Why? Because we can.

IGN: The first TimeShift engine we saw was able to handle both detailed indoor sections and spacious outdoor areas with aplomb. This new engine seems to have more of an up close and personal feel - will we still see levels as large as those in the first version?

Kyle Peschel: Absolutely, in fact a few of them got larger! Saber is really pulling out all the stops and flexing their programmer muscles. All we've shown the public thus far is the close quarters combat; we still have large outdoor areas littered with trees and trenches just waiting for gunfire to erupt.

The art team has done a great job of still nailing home the scope and size of the outdoor areas, giving you landscapes where you can shoot as far as you can see. Combo that with some depth of field and a few other fancy post processing they came up with and suddenly you become cautious walking around because you know some time bending gameplay lies just beyond the next hill.