The developer behind the highly anticipated Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End has shed light on its decision to have the upcoming action-adventure sequel’s multiplayer run at 900p/60fps.
Speaking during a panel at PAX Australia (via PowerUpGaming), Naughty Dog’s Arne Meyer explained that it all comes down to the studio’s belief that 60fps offers a better multiplayer experience, and as such they were willing to compromise in regards to the resolution.
“There are a lot of multiplayer games right now that are doing sub-1080p right now. A lot of it is just sort of the trade-off: Everyone is realising that the framerate is really important for multiplayer games, and that’s where the priority should be, so that’s what our decision making process was, too.
“We want to make the game look really great, but we also want to make sure that it’s running consistently at, or as close as possible to, 60 frames per second, because that makes for a better multiplayer experience.
He added: “The decision was, let’s reduce the resolution size so we could do it. Even when reducing the resolution a tiny bit from 1080 to 900p, the difference is huge: you get a 20 percent increase in performance frame-to-frame on that. It lets us do a lot more things on top of making it run smoother.”
Naughty Dog has previously claimed that Uncharted 4 will be hero Nathan Drake’s final game, and while it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of continuing the series without him, it admitted such a prospect is difficult to imagine. Nolan North, the actor who has voiced Drake since Uncharted’s inception in 2007, has finished his motion-capture work for the sequel, bringing an end to nearly a decade’s association with the franchise. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is scheduled to ship for PS4 on March 18, 2016; the game was originally due out in winter this year, but was pushed back partly so Naughty Dog could get the ending just right.
The events of Uncharted 4 take place a few years after the conclusion of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, and sees the cocky fortune hunter hanging up his compass and boots for a quiet life with his wife, Elena. However, the appearance of his brother, Sam, who was long thought dead, results in Drake embarking on another globe-trotting adventure, this time in search of a legendary pirate’s treasure. Naughty Dog is expanding the gameplay once again for this latest entry, introducing larger environments to explore, improved combat, and the ability to drive vehicles. The most recent gameplay footage depicted a lengthy jeep chase with Drake and Victor ‘Sully’ Sullivan through a busy market area and surrounding countryside.