For Honor Graphical Remaster Launching with Marching Fire on October 16

This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: Xbox Wire.

For Honor Marching Fire is coming to Xbox One, bringing the four new heroes of the Wu Lin faction into the fray, the new PvE Arcade mode to test your mettle, and the new 4v4 Breach mode to challenge your team strategy as you siege or defend a castle. The October 16 launch also coincides with a massive free update that all For Honor players will benefit from: a graphical remaster that implements a revamped lighting system, improved textures, new sky gradients, and more to make the game look better than ever.

A “remaster” in the world of video games usually involves a game from a previous console generation, but according to Art Director Christian Diaz, live games like For Honor present a unique opportunity. “We wanted this game to be alive and to ensure players keep enjoying the game,” says Diaz, “so for me it was natural that we would do anything we can to improve the game on each level. So on my side, on the 3D programming team, this is what we came up with: ‘What can we do to improve the visual experience of the player?’”

Together with his team, Diaz began to investigate data- and tech-related improvements they could make. What started as a side project soon blossomed into a complex effort involving multiple branches of the development team, and once they were able to test the results, the team saw notable improvements.

“What we achieved with this remaster is that we can convey a better feeling of what you are seeing and experiencing,” says Diaz. He cites the example of the Valkenheim PvP map, the frosty northern home of the Viking faction. With the improved lighting and snow effects, you feel more strongly that you are doing battle in a frozen, forbidding place where the cold is severe.

And the graphical remaster doesn’t just affect the PvP maps like Valkenheim. The entire campaign is enhanced as well, including the real-time cinematic scenes that tell the story of the warring factions fighting for survival.

Diaz is excited to get the improvements into the players’ hands and see what they think. “The graphic updates we did help to create a more harmonious image,” says Diaz, “and a more convincing natural look and feel while improving overall image quality. They will bring better readability of what you see on screen, which can help gameplay as well, and overall immersion will be increased.”

You can see the details for yourself when the graphical remaster of For Honor goes live at the launch of the Marching Fire on October 16. The remaster will be free for all players, and Xbox Live Gold members will have free access to Marching Fire’s 4v4 Breach mode. You can be among the first to try out the new PvE Arcade mode and put the new Wu Lin heroes to the test by purchasing the Marching Fire expansion from the Microsoft Store.