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Cyberpunk 2077’s latest expansion, Phantom Liberty, is a recently released project we at Magic Media had the pleasure of working on. In collaboration with CD Projekt Red, we delivered numerous services to help the team create the best possible experience for Cyberpunk fans.
Our work primarily consisted of intricate 3D artwork, which helped optimize the smoothness of the overall experience. Considering how numerous critical reviews and fans have pointed to the game’s technical performance in the released version, we couldn’t be happier with the impact of our work!
A significant portion of Cyberpunk 2077 work was working on the LOD (level of detail) of the game’s environmental objects. This was done primarily for the in-game location, Pacifica. LOD refers to an in-game 3D object’s level of complexity relative to the camera and the playable character’s position. When the camera is closer to an object, it’ll present with more detail than it would if the camera was at a further distance. This is a common technique in modern game development that assists with rendering large worlds without impacting frame rate and overall technical performance. This can be commonly seen in games where foliage would pop up as players get closer to grassy terrain.
Our LOD work covered a diverse range of in-game objects, including but not limited to buildings, statues, tents, terrain, rock formations, and much more. The process of our LOD work began by extracting the asset we needed to work on from the game engine, CD Projekt Red’s proprietary REDengine.
Using a 3D packet, we optimized the texture as much as possible using trims and overlaps. We then baked the textures in-engine and set the LOD distances required, along with numerous other parameters which varied wildly depending on the object we were working on.
Our team for our collaboration with CD Projekt Red on Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty consisted of 12 3D artists, two QA team members, one head of production, one producer, and one CEO, a total of 17 team members actively working on the Cyberpunk 2077 project.
From the very beginning of the project, we cultivated a communication pipeline with CD Projekt Red to ensure any issues on either side could be communicated and effectively addressed. While getting to grips with REDengine, we communicated with CDPR frequently to understand their proprietary engine as quickly as possible. They were exceptionally quick to provide all the technical support we needed to get to grips with the game engine.
We were also in frequent contact with CD Projekt Red’s environment and production leads. Most of our communication happened over Slack, which every team member had, and it proved to be highly effective for resolving any queries or issues promptly. CD Projekt Red provided most of their feedback using Slack and also using Jira tickets. Our involvement in Cyberpunk 2077 lasted roughly a year, and it was a fantastic creative experience to work with CD Projekt Red on this incredible world it has built.
Magic Media is an experienced service provider for not only game development projects of all kinds but for the entertainment and tech industries as well. Among our dozens of expert services are full-cycle game development, real-time VFX, and full game art services, like those that CD Projekt Red availed of for Phantom Liberty. Get in contact today to leverage our experience for your projects, and let’s create magic!
