Time for Asheron’s Call 2

GameSpy broke loose today with an impressive slew of Asheron’s Call 2 information. I might suggest beginning with this appetizing informative interview while downloading the 11 meg movie of the game in action (extremely impressive and who’d have thought they were this far along!), and following up (if you’re not too full) with their technology showcase of the AC2 engine. Here’s a bit from the interview:

Q: I had the privilege of checking out the game engine at last year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. What impressed me the most was the high-polygon characters and the detailed terrain: Grass waving in the wind, etc. You’ve no doubt done a lot of work on the engine since then. What are the highlights?

Jeff Anderson: You’re absolutely right. Most of our characters are pushing near 5,000 polygons and we are motion-blending all of their animations. It’s just phenomenal. And, as you suggest, Turbine’s G2 engine is a quantum leap ahead of where it was even last year. Our latest builds include some amazing effects. The water is now fully reflective and ripples — it is just stunning. We’ve also finished a ton of work on our subterranean landscaping that we use for the dungeons and Vaults. The lighting and ambience effects are nothing short of spectacular. Creative Director Jason Booth’s vision for the sound engine will change the way that people think about music in a game world.