In a recent Xbox Wire post, Microsoft talked about Halo 5 and what it took to create “an epic campaign.” One of the biggest features highlighted was how 343 Industries created a variable resolution system to lock in the frame rate at 60fps. They believe consistent frame rate makes the best FPS experience possible.
“60fps gameplay is supported by a new progressive resolution system that allows us to dynamically scale the resolution at which we render the game (up to 1080p) based on the needs of the scene,” Microsoft said in the post, “This enables us to deploy resources where they have most impact across a diverse series of experiences throughout the game while delivering the most visually stunning Halo game ever.”
Campaign environment art lead Justin dinges explained, “In much of the campaign you may be playing at 1080p, but when we want to get really crazy with vehicles, visual effects and combat we can trade some of the resolution in order to maintain the crucial 60fps. Without this system, we would need to either reduce the scale of our most intense combat encounters or lower the quality of content across the game in order to stay at 60 fps at all times. With progressive resolution, we get the best of both worlds: epic scale experiences that look incredible while running at a consistent 60fps.”
Microsoft included a first look video that talked briefly about the main story and the four player co-op. The developers wanted to craft a story that wasn’t just good guys versus bad guys, but more of a complex world where both Spartans Master Chief and Locke were “two sides of the same coin.” Check out the video below.
Halo 5 launches October 27th on the Xbox One.