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In certain respects, Star Wars: Battlefront is the best looking game the Frostbite 3 engine has yet produced. The toolset is suitably expanded to make sure each map and weapon holds true to the source material - a product of its new physically-based rendering. That said, having experienced the PC beta code first-hand at a recent press event, it's also fair to say that certain aspects of its technology are pared back compared to DICE's Battlefield line. It's a different beast of course, but just what does this mean for the game, and its performance on PC?Due for public beta testing on PS4, Xbox One and PC later this week, the three maps on show are no doubt impressive during panning shots; sharp, beautifully lit, if somewhat limited in terms of physical destruction. The newest map, Sullust, is set around a tightly knit wasteland and really hammers these two realities home. Its strengths in lighting are clear to see across the volcanic rocks and downed ships at every turn - impressively boasting the process of 'photogrammetry' DICE uses to collect data for each material in the game.
Real-world reference points help, with the original trilogy's filming locations and props like lightsabers or X-Wing models scanned into the system as a digital record. This is where the engine's physically-based rendering comes in; material properties are applied for each weapon, character and terrain. From there, in-game assets react realistically, based on their colour, roughness, opacity or reflectance - something borne out whether you're staring at the thigh-deep footprints on the snowy Hoth stage, or the opaque flags lining Tatooine's red canyons.
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