Players who have Vertex and Pixel Shader 2.0, Direct X 9.0 compatible graphics cards will enjoy an additional feature - an enhanced texture tinting (armor dyeing) system. With Catacombs, dyed armors are no longer simply darkened to the selected color. A special masking technique is used to retain the highlights and shadows of the base texture resulting in a more realistic effect. For example, leather will dye a deeper color than metal, since the metal now keeps its characteristic shiny highlights.
In addition to the model and texture rendering improvements, Catacombs will incorporate the EMotion FX 2 real-time character animation system, an engine upgrade that allows artists to enhance the character models with more realistic motions. The efficiency of EMotion FX 2 provides a performance boost while also decreasing the memory footprint of the animation system.
