Fable Anniversary Achievements and Remastering Feature

In addition to spotlighting all of the achievements they’ll be adding with Fable Anniversary, the team at Lionhead Studios has also blogged about the “remastering” process they’ve used to give the game a fresh coat of paint for a legion of Xbox 360 gamers in the year 2014.

– The first really obvious difference is the screen size. The original fable was created in 4:3 format (which is why the black bars are visible at either side of the screenshot) whereas Anniversary is in glorious widescreen!

– We upped the polygon count quite significantly for all the in-game models, which means the model edges and silhouettes look much smoother. You can see this clearly in both the boy and the chair models.

– We were able to use much larger textures for all the assets in Anniversary, meaning the definition in the textures is far greater. Look closely at the detail in the boys clothing and the wood grain in the chair model to see the difference.

– The way materials work and look in games has been significantly improved since 2004. By including Specular Maps (for determining how shiny a material appears), and setting specific values within a material we can now visually distinguish much better between material types. It’s clear in the image that the glass in the windows and the boys belt buckles have a strong specular value set which give them a much shinier appearance, making them look and feel much lore like the materials they are supposed to be.

– We also use Normal Maps in games today. These are special textures used as part of a models material to add extra bump detail. These can be seen working clearly in the weave of the rug and the creases in the bed at the back of the room.

– We added extra light sources where required to interior levels to create a better lit and more visually appealing environment. Notice the candle creating a pool of light at the back of the room above the bed.

– We added dynamic shadow casting to several key light sources, including the interior fireplaces. You can see the long shadows of the Boy and the chair being cast across the floor.