Ultra Mode

Overview

Ultra Mode is an optional graphics upgrade that will be available with the release of Issue 17: Dark Mirror. It was initially slated to be released with Going Rogue, but the developers stated early on that if they finished it early, they would release it early.

Details

Taken from the HeroCon information thread on the Official Forums

• Reflections
  • Real time, environmental reflections on all shiny surfaces including glass, metal, water.
  • This includes shiny elements on a character costume, such as a goggles and armor.
  • Reflections warp to the shape of the reflective surface. Glass windows will have imperfections which give realistic image distortions.
• Shadows
  • Real time dynamic shadows that change with the time of day.
  • Real time realistic shadows of everything in the environment, including all toons and critter that show a true projection of their shapes.
  • Ambient Occlusion: Shadows are not one shade value -- they dynamically get lighter and fuzzier near light sources and they get darker in deeper corners and holes. Objects in the shadows get darker and harder to see.
• Water
  • Angle-sensitive reflection and transparency: When viewed from on oblique angle, water surfaces are reflective; when viewed from above, the reflectivity diminishes and one can see into the water (at least at shallow depths).
  • Shadows: Distorted shadows are cast onto the surface of the water and onto the floor of a water basin (at least at shallow depths).

And some other info:

• Minimum specs will remain relatively the same
• Preatoria was built with Ultra Mode in mind, but it is not required to play in Praetoria
• Will be available throughout the rest of the CoH universe as well
• It will all work on ATI cards, infact, the demo at Hero Con was run on an ATI card
• Nvidia 3D vision is coming...soon™ (Apparently the Nvidia rep said March?)

Gallery

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External Links

• MMORPG.com announcement
• HeroCon thread on the Official Forums