Next-Generation Lighting Software Coming to the PS4

[Admin]

I’m praying for the main focus of next-generation consoles to be centered on gaming. Things such as social media, applications and other connectivity features should be side objectives. Recent reveals have been justifying my hopes.



The leading lighting technology company for the gaming industry, Geomerics, has announced their collaboration with Sony. Their “award-winning” lighting software, Enlighten, will bring PS4 games one giant closer to the portrayal of realism. “Enlighten is now available to developers working on PlayStation®4 titles, bringing real-time global illumination to the next generation of games,” read the press release from Geomerics. “Enlighten is award-winning lighting software and the world's first fully real-time global illumination technology.” This software has been a game changer in the current generation as well, powering beloved and beautiful games such as Battlefield 3 and Need for Speed: The Run.

The implementation of such software is a heavily beneficial tool, which makes the jobs of developers a tad bit simpler. “PlayStation®4 promises a dramatic increase in memory and compute resource, which will free developers to unleash the full creative power of dynamic lighting and to finally extend cinematographic film practices to dynamic immersive worlds.” This is something I’m excited for. We all know that the PS4 is a powerful machine with extraordinary capabilities. With this new support of the Enlighten software, a cinematic feel to the game is something I’m extremely excited to experience.

The Enlighten software and the PS4 compliment each other like a warm piece of soft toast and a nice slab of fluffy butter. “We are delighted to be working on PlayStation®4,” marked the founder of Geomerics, Dr. Chris Doran. “The hardware is everything we were hoping for in a next generation console, and a huge step forward from the current generation. Real-time global illumination was a big deal for games running on the current generation of hardware, but it required developers to make some compromises. With PlayStation®4, those days are behind us. We can finally unleash the full power of Enlighten, and allow game developers working on PlayStation®4 games to bring far deeper levels of dynamism and quality to game lighting. We cannot wait to see what developers produce with Enlighten.”

Below is a video showing the lighting effects in action for the next generation. Be sure to watch it in HD and pay close to the lighting.




Now the developers don’t have to pick and choose certain aspects of games or sacrifice one element to add another. The PS4 lifts such restrictions. I sincerely hope that the PS4’s games are second to none. With constant additions and collaboration announcements, Sony continues to strengthen their already powerful console. The future, for Sony, looks very bright and promising.