Mass Effect 4, Dragon Age III to use Frostbite 3 engine

We already knew that Dragon Age 3 will be using DICE’s Frostbite engine, but BioWare’s Aaryn Flynn has confirmed that the next game in the company’s sci-fi series Mass Effect will also have the same engine powering it. Both games will be running on the Frostbite 3 engine, which is the same version that will be used for the upcoming modern military shooter Battlefield 4.

“For everyone who’s been asking after the #BF4 reveal, #DA3 and the next Mass Effect are also using Frostbite 3. It’s awesome,” Flynn tweeted. Earlier, BioWare Montreal studio director Yanick Roy had tweeted: “This BF4 gameplay video is spectacular, and a great way to see what the engine of the next Mass Effect is capable of!” Check out what the engine is capable of in the Battlefield 4 trailer.

Both Dragon Age III and Mass Effect 4 will use the Frostbite engine

BioWare had revealed that Dragon Age III: Inquisition would be using the Frostbite engine back in November. “Obviously Frostbite is the Battlefield engine built by DICE. It’s a beautiful, beautiful engine. And what we’ve found is an improvement with DA3, is the artists who were really battling with the Eclipse engine have just embraced Frostbite. The work they’re doing now is stunning," said Director of Art and Animation Neil Thompson.

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He continued: “It makes my job easier because then it’s all about discussing the aesthetic and what you want to achieve. When you’re a character artist or an environment artist you’re focusing on a small aspect of the greater whole of the game. As an art director you’re concerned about the whole, the frame and everything it contains and how everything sits and the consistency. An engine like Frostbite allows you to focus more on that rather than the technological challenges of just getting the damn thing to run.”

Dragon Age is set in a dark fantasy universe that is more or less a deconstruction of typical high fantasy, like Lord of the Rings. The world is under threat by an evil subterranean race known as the Darkspawn. Sometimes, the Darkspawn tend to form armies and attack the surface world en-masse. This event is known as the Blight and is one of the worse things that the surface races have to face. In response to the Blight, the Grey Wardens were formed. The Grey Wardens is a group of the best fighters and spell casters in the world and their specific job is to combat the Blight.

Dragon Age: Origins was a unique game in that it had a tactical approach to fighting, rather than the hack and slash style that is favoured in games today, including the sequel to the game. The combat system of Dragon Age: Origins allowed you to zoom out the camera to get a better view of the battle and allowed you to pause and queue up commands for your characters, such as casting spells and attacking.

Dragon Age III: Inquisition is set for a 2013 release. The game is also said to have a level that is bigger than all of the levels from Dragon Age II combined.