Was I one of the few who was absolutely stunned when I first watched the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain trailer in 2013? It opened with Big Boss in a hospital, set to the tune of Garbage’s “Not Your Kind of People”. There were fleeting glimpses of Skull Face, the XOF insignia, typical explosions, Ocelot on a horse, and the cryptic “V has arrived” at the end. Admittedly, it’s no longer new, but at that time, even if you weren’t a fan of MGS, the stunning visuals were hard to deny their impact.
How did MSG V manage to look so good in 2015
The game Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain was launched in September 2015, but its graphics continue to impress even compared to modern standards. This is largely due to the Fox Engine developed by Konami, which initially appeared in 2011.
Following the launch of Metal Gear Solid 4 in 2008, Konami aimed to streamline their game development process for future projects. To achieve this, they conceived a fresh game engine designed to provide greater control and productivity, thereby allowing them to realize Metal Gear Solid V: Phantom Pain as originally imagined.
At GDC 2013, Konami showcased the capabilities of the Fox Engine in a striking manner. By displaying photographs of their conference room on one side and images generated using the engine on the other, it was almost indistinguishable which were the real ones. What made this tool produce such remarkable graphics back then?
Fox Engine in a nutshell
In the Fox Engine, there was an innovative technique called deferred shading, which essentially split the process of rendering geometry and lighting. This allowed objects to adapt their lighting dynamically, so they didn’t have a permanent lighting setup. As a result, there was no need to reprocess everything from scratch each time objects or light sources were altered. This simplified tasks like implementing a day-night cycle significantly.
Furthermore, the engine employed a linear spatial lighting system that evened out the stark differences on screens, ensuring a more consistent depiction of light and shadow. By adopting this method, the engine managed to operate effectively on both gaming consoles and personal computers, all while maintaining lifelike visuals.
This engine allowed for real-time on-screen editing, which meant that it wasn’t confined to any particular game or console. As a result, changes could be made instantly, streamlining the development process by eliminating the need to wait for re-rendering before making further adjustments.
Following the release of MGSV, Hideo Kojima departed from Konami, and primarily, the Fox Engine was utilized for Pro Evolution Soccer between 2015 and 2020. However, with the arrival of Unreal Engine 5, the Fox Engine took a backseat. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to enjoy more games developed using such an innovative engine, given how forward-thinking it was at the time.
- Konami
- Hideo Kojima
- Fox Engine
- Metal Gear (franchise)
- PC
- X360
- PS3
- PS4
- XONE
- PS5
- XSX
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2025-01-29 02:02