This video features
Digital Foundry's Alex Battaglia interviewing key tech team members from
IO Interactive to discuss the evolution of their
Glacier Engine for the upcoming game,
007 First Light. The team explores how they have modernized their existing engine technology to meet the demands of a new, high-fidelity
James Bond title while maintaining an ambitious
60fps performance target on current-gen consoles.
Key Technical Highlights:
- Performance Targets: The team is targeting 30fps quality and 60fps performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Pro will have only quality mode running at 60 fps, while the Xbox Series S will only run at 30fps (2:19-2:51).
- Lighting & Rendering: A major upgrade involves the implementation of fully real-time global illumination and a new volumetric system called "Smolder" for enhanced fog, smoke, and particle effects (4:30-5:45, 37:52-40:00). There is no hardware ray tracing. The system uses software ray tracing, similar to Lumen. Clustered Lighting system built (similar to megalights) to handle hundreds or even thousands of light sources.
- Animation & AI: The animation pipeline has been rewritten to prioritize fluid, full-body motion matching and high-fidelity facial animation. AI behaviors are now more systemic, moving beyond the "drama moments" seen in the Hitman trilogy to more complex, multi-layered decision-making (24:10-27:20, 29:16-32:45).
- Streaming & World Building: The engine utilizes a powerful "BRICKs" system—an entity-component-based architecture that allows for highly efficient streaming of massive, seamless environments, enabling levels to evolve dynamically (47:03-48:30, 50:18-53:22).
- Tools & Iteration: The development team emphasizes a node-based editing environment that empowers designers and artists to iterate quickly without needing constant programmer intervention. This is supported by an automated build system that allows for rapid testing (14:40-15:45, 16:24-17:35).
- Optimization: To hit their frame rate goals, the engine makes aggressive use of async compute, clustered lighting, and a frame graph system to manage GPU resources effectively (55:00-57:25).
The interview concludes with the team reflecting on their pride in the technological synergies achieved and the collaborative effort required to bring this cinematic experience to life.
