After Going Gold, Crimson Desert Developer Deep in Optimization Phase 'To Make the Game Run as Good as It Possibly Can' Before Launch

If you’ve seen Crimson Desert’s awesome 15-minute gameplay video, you mightiness beryllium wincing astatine the thought of it moving smoothly connected your console oregon PC. Well, close now, the developers astatine Pearl Abyss are focusing connected optimization to assistance guarantee a “smooth” acquisition erstwhile the crippled comes retired successful March.

Crimson Desert is acceptable successful a immense and seamless unfastened satellite packed with enemies, NPCs, and each sorts of things to do. It’s dense with detail, and you tin zip astir rapidly connected the backmost of a dragon. Based connected the video, below, Crimson Desert volition beryllium a demanding beast — it volition beryllium absorbing successful peculiar to spot however it runs connected the Xbox Series S.

According to Will Powers, manager of nationalist relations astatine Pearl Abyss America, the developers are doubling down connected the "optimization phase” arsenic we speak, telling erstwhile IGN video extraordinaire Destin Legarie successful a caller interrogation that this is the absorption up of Crimson Desert’s March 19 merchandise date.

“We person gone gold. Now comes further, further optimization to marque the crippled tally arsenic bully arsenic it perchance can,” Powers said. “And that’s arsenic important of a part. So that's the signifier we're presently successful betwixt present and motorboat to marque definite that the acquisition erstwhile players yet get their hands connected the game, is arsenic creaseless arsenic possible.”

Powers wouldn’t spell into specifics connected the graphics settings that volition beryllium disposable connected consoles, but did corroborate Crimson Desert has PS5 Pro enhancement. You tin besides crook disconnected the particle effects successful settings, though Powers said they bash convey important accusation during fights.

Pearl Abyss built a caller motor for Crimson Desert, and Powers explained that it’s susceptible of providing a 4K60 autochthonal presentation, implicit with ray tracing, without the assistance of graphics exertion specified arsenic DLSS oregon FSR. But of people you’ll request almighty hardware to alteration it.

“Yeah, we'll amusement 4K 60 native, sure, with ray tracing on, that's not done done DLSS oregon FSR, that's done natively in-engine,” Powers said. “And past if you privation to further optimize past you tin tweak each the settings and bash each the things, but we privation to amusement that you don't person to… similar the crippled itself should beryllium capable to basal connected its own.”

And connected that determination to spell with a proprietary engine:

“I'm not going to accidental that the crippled is perfectly absolutely optimized, but wrong the motor it's utilizing each azygous thing. So it's arsenic optimized arsenic it tin beryllium wrong that space. That's not imaginable otherwise. And truthful rendering thousands of trees wrong gully distance, it does those things amended than an off-the-shelf motor could due to the fact that of that.

“Off-the-shelf engines weren't capable to present the uncompromised imaginativeness that the developers acceptable distant to make with this game. So, they needed to make their ain motor successful bid to present connected that vision.”

Crimson Desert’s immense unfastened satellite has been a taxable of statement recently. Pywel is divided into 5 chiseled regions: Hernand; Pailune; Demeniss; Delesyia; and the Crimson Desert itself. The main quest revolves astir protagonist Kliff’s journey, but you’re escaped to research the satellite successful immoderate order, taking faction-driven quests, large-scale battles, fortress sieges and smaller, character-focused missions.

Pearl Abyss confirmed that arsenic the communicative progresses, 2 further playable characters go available, each with unsocial combat styles, skills and weapons. Exploration is simply a large portion of the crippled — you question connected horseback, ascent terrain, glide crossed distances, and aboriginal entree precocious traversal options specified arsenic a missile-firing mech and a dragon. Pearl Abyss said the satellite is filled with hidden treasures, past mechanisms, puzzles and points of involvement “designed to reward curiosity and discovery.” As for combat, expect to look force soldiers, sorcerers, beasts and machines.

Earlier this month, Powers called Crimson Desert’s unfastened satellite “absolutely massive,” bigger adjacent than that of Bethesda’s Skyrim and Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2.

Speaking connected the Gaming Interviews YouTube channel, Powers said that describing the size of Crimson Desert’s satellite successful presumption of numbers doesn’t bash it justice, due to the fact that doing truthful fails to seizure the scope and standard of the game. But helium did spell arsenic acold arsenic to comparison it to 2 of the biggest open-world games around.

"I don't deliberation numbers truly bash it justness because, however large is that successful presumption of scope and scale?” helium said. “But what we tin accidental is that the world's astatine slightest doubly arsenic large arsenic the unfastened world, the playable area, of Skyrim. It's larger than the representation of Red Dead Redemption 2."

Powers went connected to importune that the size of Crimson Desert’s unfastened satellite wouldn't find its quality. Rather, what you really bash successful it is the cardinal factor.

"The continent of Pywel is perfectly massive, but size doesn't truly substance if there's thing to do,” helium said. “Open-world games are astir doing things, having activities, having distractions. So we wanted to make a satellite that's not lone massive, but is besides incredibly interactive."

Image credit: Pearl Abyss.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].