What is a distance fee?

If you are interested in game development, you must have come across an expression called distance drawing. In free translation, it would be something like “draw distance” or “viewing distance”.

But after all, what does that mean distance drawing Doing excercise? a Canaltech Then explain.

What does distance drawing mean?

distance drawing It is the maximum distance a game can expose to graphics, scenarios, and objects, that is, how far you will see game elements. After this maximum distance, the game simply stops loading new items, unless you get close to them.

This happens because the console or computer does not have enough power to load all the game details at once. If this happens, the file frames per second likely to decline. Therefore, developers need to create mechanisms for rendering somewhat.

a distance drawing More visible in open world games – like Grand Theft Auto (GTA)And the The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildAnd the The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt And many more – where the horizon can be seen. In general, these games usually have the option to customize the maximum distance in the settings, especially on PC.

Below, check out a comparison between distance drawing in GTA San Andreas In two versions: the original, from 2004, and redesigned by definitive edition2021. In the last game, you can view the entire city from above, almost without restrictions.

Another interesting example is Forbidden horizon westreleased in February 2022. The game contains a file distance drawing Very high, the movement of Pescoções can be observed even at long distances.

How to hide games distance drawing?

Developers need to create mechanisms and hacks to hide a file distance drawing of games. Among the most common are creating smaller areas connected to doors or walkways, decreasing the quality of textures or even fogging.

Here it is almost impossible not to mention it the silent Hill, Konami’s famous horror franchise: A thick fog dominated the scenarios precisely because PlayStation couldn’t deliver so many elements at the same time. At least fog has become one of the main features of the game.

See below for an example Silent Hill 3from 2003, Running Without Fog: It is possible to see an entire void a few meters from the heather.

Even with the increased processing power of consoles and computers, it is still necessary to hide a file distance drawing. Just take a closer look at the farthest places in the game and you will see a light haze, or some objects at a lower resolution, for example.

When this effort fails, what we call sudden appearance: When an object suddenly appears on the screen, in full view of the operator. It is also possible for an item to appear in lower quality and gradually improve its accuracy.

See some examples below: