Techland’s Dying Light 2 doesn’t have a release date – aside from the ambiguous “2021” stated in the recent developer update – but it’s still very much alive. Speaking to WCCF Tech in a new interview, senior technology programmer Łukasz Burdka provided some insight into development, especially when it came to C-Engine. Previous reports indicated that engine’s complexity was one of the reasons for the game’s delay.
Burdka stated that, “The transition to C-Engine overlapped with the pre-production stage of Dying Light 2” and that such changes were “unavoidable” to create the game’s detailed world. “Our developers needed time to adapt to the technology, and our Engine department needed time to improve the user experience of the new editor. The early stage of C-Engine’s deployment was a difficult period for our production, but it was necessary to fulfill the ambitions of Dying Light 2.”
At one point, Techland stated the sequel’s map to be four times larger than that of the previous game. When asked if this still held true or if there had been any downsizing due to technical issues, Burdka responded, “C-Engine does a great job supporting large-scale open worlds. Thanks to the World Streaming technology, it’s not the technology that limits the map’s size. Tools such as CityBuilder allow us to quickly cover huge areas with a realistic urban environment that can be rendered efficiently in the game.
“What actually limits the map’s size is the time needed to fill the city with unique gameplay challenges, memorable stories, and interesting exploration possibilities. There was no downsizing due to technical reasons. The estimate that the map in Dying Light 2 is four times bigger than that of the original game is the most precise estimate that we can provide. The map of Dying Light 2 is much more vertical and gives many more exploration opportunities, so the city feels even bigger than it is.”
Dying Light 2 is currently in development for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. It will also include options for 4K, ray tracing and 60 FPS on Xbox Series X and PS5. Stay tuned for more details and hopefully new gameplay footage in the coming months.