14 DAY TRIAL // Infamous: Second Son developer Sucker Punch Productions has confirmed that it hasn't downgraded the visuals of the PS4 exclusive game since its initial reveal last year, although thanks to the dynamic Time of Day system, some scenes may look different in-game from how they were portrayed in promotional videos.
Infamous: Second Son is set to debut next week and millions of PS4 owners worldwide are looking forward to trying it out and seeing if Sucker Punch did deliver a true next-gen experience.
Up until now, plenty of different screenshots, videos, and details have appeared, emphasizing just how gorgeous the whole game looks and how Sucker Punch went to great efforts in order to implement the best visual technologies.
Even so, fans with early copies of the game have started sharing more and more details about the game, including a few screenshots that showed a distinct difference in terms of graphics than the sequences shown in official videos or screenshots. This whole thing led some fans to speculate that Sucker Punch downgraded the graphics of Second Son ahead of its upcoming release.
According to the studio's Tech Art Lead, Jason Connell, who talked with fans on Facebook, such a thing is false, as the only differences may be in terms of the time of day, which can drastically alter the way a scene looks.
"Definitely no visual downgrade of graphics since [the initial reveal]! We put that particular area in sunset instead of sunny time of day so that it matches the mood of narrative better," he said.
Connell has also emphasized that there are very few pre-rendered cut scenes, as most happen in-game and use the same different FX and visual systems as the gameplay sequences.
"Very few are pre-rendered cut scenes. Everything is live and in the engine real time in MOST of the cut scenes you'll see. [Gameplay sequences are] controlled by the player (by pressing the right buttons…) and [cut scenes are] controlled by how we script the FX into the cinematic. Same FX system and same lighting though. Virtually no difference."
Last but not least, Connell has also mentioned that in total there are 8 different time of day settings but, unfortunately, in most cut scenes, they are pre-determined, so you won't see dynamic changes during important moments.
Infamous: Second Son launches on March 21 worldwide exclusively for the PlayStation 4 platform and you can expect to hear a bit more about it as we get closer to its release in just a week.