14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Annecy working on the multiplayer side of the coming Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag says that they have created an experience which is able to link the upcoming Xbox One from Microsoft and PlayStation 4 from Sony with the current generation of hardware.
Tim Browne, the leading designer, tells VG247 during a presentation for Black Flag that, “It’s been a challenge, but it’s a challenge we relish. But one of the advantages we have going into next-gen is a proven formula with Assassin’s Creed multiplayer. We want to do new things, but it also has to work on current gen.”
Gamers who play Assassin’s Creed IV on next-gen consoles will be able to experience some features that explore the unique hardware that’s being introduced by Sony and Microsoft.
Damien Kieken, the game director, adds, “We’ve had the same engine since Brotherhood, and for this year we integrated a new engine that works on current gen and next-gen consoles. Then we did upscaled, specific development for next-gen, so the character models are four times higher textures and polygons than the normal ones.”
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag will run at 60 FPS on the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, compared to 30 FPS on current-gen consoles, and the resolution will also be better.
The actual playable content of the game is the same regardless of platform.
The new Assassin’s Creed title takes gamers to the Caribbean where they will be able to engage in complex naval battles, explore the cities of the islands and also control a present-day character that has not yet been revealed by the development team.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag is set to arrive on the PC, the PS3, the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One, the 360 and the Wii U from Nintendo in late October.