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[ChiefDada]

http://www.jp.square-enix.com/tech/library/pdf/2023_FFXVIShadowTechPaper.pdf

Square Enix recently released a white paper detailing their shadow rendering techniques used in FF16. I don't have the technical knowledge needed to understand what's being communicated but maybe others here will find this insightful. In any event, they did a masterful job with the shadows.

 

[saintjules]

Someone may know here

 

[Wishmaster92]

Tiled deferred shadow render. I though DF said it looked like rt shadows?

 

[Neilg]

Tiled deferred shadow render. I though DF said it looked like rt shadows?

They do look like RT shadows - only because they're so good. There are only a small handful of spots in the entire game I could see artifacts.
They for sure hit a new standard for non raytraced shadows. My guess is most devs didn't realize this quality was possible.

I do wonder if a shift to raytracing in the next decade will hold back these clever rasterisation tricks being developed.

 

[Flabagast]

These are easily and without any contest the best shadows in any game that does not have RT shadows

Magnificent work.

 

[Hudo]

I though DF said it looked like rt shadows?

To be fair, while DF are good for tracking FPS differences across different platforms, they don't know what they're talking about when they try to go deeper and start explaining techniques/algorithms used. They have superficial knowledge, which is enough for the kind of pop-engineering vibe they're going for but I wouldn't take them seriously for anything deeper than that. But that's not a diss at all. I think it's good that they stir interest and conversation on that level.

 

[CamHostage]

To be fair, while DF are good for tracking FPS differences across different platforms, they don't know what they're talking about when they try to go deeper and start explaining techniques/algorithms used. They have superficial knowledge, which is enough for the kind of pop-engineering vibe they're going for... But that's not a diss at all. I think it's good that they stir interest and conversation on that level.

They also talk with developers wherever possible to get answers or on-air breakdowns (which they then usually have to try to translate down, in the same pop-engineering sense.) So they're helping to get info out there, even though their rep as an 'authority' can sometimes overwhelm the work.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Thanks for sharing, OP! I have a friend who's a big Final Fantasy fan and also a graphics rendering engineer, so I'm sure this will make his day since he mentioned to me in the past that he was very impressed with the quality of contact shadows in FFXVI.

 

[Go_Ly_Dow]

I wonder if we'll see another game using this engine. I can imagine it would really shine on PS5 Pro, PS6 and PC where they could push the resolution, framerate and improve the effects even further.

 

[ChiefDada]

Tiled deferred shadow render. I though DF said it looked like rt shadows?

That was their guess but they said they couldn't confirm. I don't blame them it looked really good and it was refreshing to see shadows done well throughout the game.

 

[Little Mac]

Anyone else read the title and thought Square was acknowledging the existence of secret shadow moves/combos in FFXVI? Nope?

 

[Myths]

Wasn’t much a fan of the shadows, and even some of the cascades or long draw shadows would pop promptly. Balancing near and far shadow draw are two things I’d love to see taken care of come next gen for open, distant expanses in levels. That said, I’m sure there were interesting techniques deployed to prioritize and optimize performance with reasonable quality.

In other cases, this wasn’t helped much as multiple levels seem to have neutral lighting with separate maps — characters seemed to have an “overcast weather” lighting that was incongruent with the level’s lighting.

 

[Kumomeme]

i hope they bring the technology or know-how toward FF14's engine upgrade.