We only managed a tiny glimpse of Rugby Challenge late last year during a Stuff.co.nz article on Sidhe's current generation Rugby Union game, and while the article photo revealed some impressive game character headshots, the New Zealand games developers were promising a whole lot more in terms of graphic fidelity and features since their last venture in Rugby with Rugby League 3 for the Nintendo Wii.
This week, Sidhe have shown a bit more of the game they've been working on since late 2009 by showcasing eight new ingame screenshots of Rugby Challenge. The game looks to be an incredible leap forward from the Rugby games that Sidhe have done in the past, the new shots showcasing the results of the new technology they've had to build to make the most out of current gen consoles.
Sidhe also recently revealed how that same tech will be specifically tackling in-game stadiums:
- Every crowd member rendered in realtime from a full 3D animated model
- Crowd members dressed in home, away, or neutral apparel and colours
- Home, away, and neutral fans animated independently depending on game events
- Team flags and banners, camera flashes, and stadium pyrotechnics supported
- Lighting model includes stadium structure shadows and ambient occlusion for natural results
- Variable crowd density that flood fills the stadium in a natural way
- Crowd sounds linked to game events and cutscenes to reinforce the action emotionally
- Game officials, team support staff, media and cameramen, and stadium security also shown
Rugby Challenge is coming out later this year for PS3, 360, and PC.
Check out all the new screenshots over at the Rugby Challenge website!