A new dev diary video for Company of Heroes 3 has been released, diving into the art direction of the upcoming RTS sequel and how it aims to be authentic, both to WW2 (of course) but adding in more realistic details. Company of Heroes 3 is coming to PC sometime in 2022.
Obvious the roots of Company of Heroes 3’s art direction come from real world historical research. Scouring the internet to find reference material, watching WW2 documentaries, consulting with experts and even talking to the community have all taken place as they look to stay true to the Mediterranean theatre of war. There’s sure to be common ground with the research done for the first two games, but with the possibilities of a modern game, they’re recovering a lot of that ground.
One particular new innovation here is in the “Paper Doll” system that they’ve created. Items within the game are now created in a more modular fashion, so unit outfits and tanks can be more easily customised to add subtle variation between them with attachments and accessories.
Beyond that, they’ve also shifted from baking in wear and tear to the models and textures, and now have it dynamically build up over time. The type of dirt that accumulates on tanks will depend on the surfaces that they’re trundling across, while damage will apply in specific regions of the vehicle depending on where they’re hit.
The diary also dips into new advanced animations and unit behaviours that have been added in. units will now react to events like planes flying overhead, their stance becoming more tense, and so on.
These are all small details, but will certainly add to the immersion of the game is subtle ways when you take a moment to stop and take in the visuals, instead of the intense RTS action.
Previous dev diaries have dug into the overarching single player campaign, and the new and dynamic campaign missions that it’s built upon. Company of Heroes 3 is set in the Mediterranean theatre of war, as the Allied forces battle through North Africa and then invade Europe through Italy. The game will feature some of the key battles from history, but with the sandbox style campaign map, so it will certainly play out differently to the history books.
Source: press release
