Empire of the Ants Interview – Environments, Visuals, Difficulty, and More

Empire of the Ants Interview – Environments, Visuals, Difficulty, and More

As a seasoned gaming enthusiast who has spent countless hours exploring the vast landscapes of digital worlds, I can confidently say that the new generation consoles, specifically the PS5 and Xbox Series X, are truly revolutionary. The leap in performance they offer is nothing short of astounding, with the addition of massive amounts of RAM being a game-changer, literally!


As an enthusiastic fan, I’ve been eagerly awaiting the return of “Empire of the Ants” since its strategy game adaptation emerged over two decades ago. Now, Microids and Tower Five are preparing to breathe new life into this iconic license with a fresh installment. Billed as a real-time strategy game that emphasizes tactics, ecosystems, exploration, and more, the upcoming “Empire of the Ants” has certainly piqued my interest with its stunning visuals. Recently, I was fortunate enough to put forth some questions about the game to the developers at Tower Five, and in doing so, I’ve uncovered even more intriguing details about what’s to come. Below, you can read my interview with game director Renaud Charpentier.

Empire of the Ants Interview – Environments, Visuals, Difficulty, and More

The game commences on the opening page of the initial novel, featuring Bel-o-kan awakening from hibernation during winter, and concludes several weeks following the original tale’s conclusion, as Autumn transitions back into winter. From the outset, we collaborated closely with the author to ensure a highly accurate portrayal of the storyline.

How did you manage to design the intriguing aspect of the game, which lies in the portrayal of microscopic landscapes transformed into vast battlefields? Could you share some insights on your process for creating these environments and maintaining the striking contrast between the small scale and large-scale settings?

In our game, we present the settings as vast battlefields or intricate jungles to traverse and get immersed within. The objects are photorealistic, some even scanned from the Forest de Fontainebleau, near Paris. However, the key aspect is the scale – you’re a one-centimeter ant throughout the game, navigating a war machine made of chitin and pheromones. To create this immersive experience, we adjust the camera, sound design, and controls accordingly. This allows you to perceive even the smallest twig as a colossal arch bridge over a raging river; from the microscopic world, you can evoke the grandiose, and the contrast is quite striking.

What is the total number of distinct animal species that gamers might come across during gameplay?

In the course of your adventures, you’ll uncover numerous creatures, some scuttling, others sprinting, and still more taking flight… However, the key ones are those that make up your military forces, and they encompass a vast array extending beyond ants. From swarms of miniature aphids to colossal ‘elephants’ which are actually snails, there’s a multitude of insects ready to fight on your side or against you. This includes some unusual (and potentially harmful) species like the Asian hornets.

In “Empire of the Ants,” the narrative is planned to mirror the progression of the four seasons, influencing the game mechanics accordingly. To clarify, this seasonal flow means that each stage or event in the game might be affected by the time of year, offering a unique and dynamic gaming experience.

Insects like ants are greatly affected by the environmental conditions they inhabit, and temperature plays a significant role in their activity levels. Too cold, and they become dormant; colder still, they enter hibernation. In our game design, we took this into account at multiple levels, focusing on three distinct climatic factors: brightness (or luminosity), temperature, and humidity. Each of these elements has a direct impact on the simulation, with brightness affecting the economy, temperature influencing the legions, and humidity determining the pheromones, or powers used on the battlefield to control your legions.

Empire of the Ants Interview – Environments, Visuals, Difficulty, and More

We viewed all our surroundings as vast arenas for grand battles or complex forests to navigate and wander through.

What does the adaptive challenge system in Empire of the Ants entail, and will there be preset difficulty levels for players who prefer them instead?

a flexible journey within the game. At each junction, or ‘ant colonies’, you’re given multiple missions to advance the plot, and these missions vary greatly in type and level of difficulty. This way, you can choose the missions that suit your preferences or skill level best, skipping the ones that seem too challenging. Thus, it’s the player who customizes their journey through the story based on their abilities and interests, rather than having a general difficulty setting at the game’s beginning.

In what degree did Unreal Engine 5 contribute to Empire of the Ants delivering its visually stunning graphics as advertised?

We relied heavily on Unreal Engine 5 to achieve the visual style we aimed for from the outset. In fact, we tested an early version of Unreal Engine 5 to create the documentary-style aesthetic we were pursuing. The new technologies the engine provided, such as Lumen and Nanite, significantly influenced our graphic production process and enabled us to reach our goals with a relatively small art team. Collaborating with our publisher, we decided to concentrate on the PS5 generation of hardware rather than supporting the previous one. This decision allowed us to make technical choices that were not backward-compatible but helped us achieve the look and feel we desired effectively.

Roughly how long will an average playthrough of the story campaign be?

Your advancement largely depends on your proficiency and the missions you choose to undertake. You always have the freedom to decide your path, and the duration can vary significantly. If you move swiftly without delving too deeply into the game’s intricacies, it might take around 20 hours. However, if you prefer a leisurely pace, taking time to uncover the numerous secrets this world holds for those who don’t rush, expect the journey to exceed 30 hours.

What can you tell us about Empire of the Ants’ multiplayer offerings? 

We wanted to offer a focused and competitive multiplayer experience; so we went for 3 game modes, 2 of them through competitive ladders and one as a private games you can set exactly as you want. The competitive modes are 1 versus 1 and 3 FFA, so indeed, 1 vs 1 vs 1. There you enter a global, cross platform matchmaking which will match you against an opponent close to your ranking. The private game mode allows you to create your own server and invite friends to play in it by sharing a code across any platforms. In this mode you can choose the map, the climatic conditions and even to play against an AI, choosing its personality and level of intelligence. At the end of every multiplayer game you have the possibility to watch a complete replay of what happened: legion movements, power used, evolution of each player’s economy over time.

Empire of the Ants Interview – Environments, Visuals, Difficulty, and More

We’re eagerly anticipating the full details of the upcoming Switch successor, and we’d be thrilled if we could offer our game ‘Empire’ for it.

Considering the game’s advanced technical requirements, it seems unlikely that it will be available on the Nintendo Switch. However, there’s a possibility that we might witness its launch on the Nintendo Switch’s successor in the future.

We eagerly anticipate the full details of the Switch successor and are excited at the prospect of offering “Empire” on this new platform. It’s nearly certain that the Switch format and controls will complement “Empire” superbly, as demonstrated by its performance on a Steam Deck; primarily, we’re left wondering about its graphical capabilities.

Since you’re familiar with all the latest gaming consoles, I was curious if we could discuss some of their differences, particularly focusing on their GPUs. For example, the PS5 has a GPU capable of 10.28 teraflops, while the Xbox Series X boasts a higher figure at 12 teraflops. In practical terms, though, how significant is this difference when it comes to game development?

Frankly speaking, the PS5 and Series X versions share identical graphical settings, and both run consistently at 30 frames per second. However, achieving visual parity on the less powerful Series S was quite a task due to its weaker GPU capabilities. Fortunately, Unreal Engine technology came in handy, and we’re quite pleased with the outcome. Mainly, we prioritized native rendering resolution, and the upscaler performs admirably under the hood.

What opportunities do game developers have to leverage the lightning-fast SSD on the PS5, which boasts a 5.5GB/s raw bandwidth? How does this performance stack up against the Xbox Series X’s SSD with a 2.4GB/s raw bandwidth?

In essence, both consoles exhibit swift loading times within a few seconds, and their virtual texturing functions smoothly. The significant leap forward came from equipping these consoles with fast MVMe disks, essentially transforming the mass storage disk into a sizable, speedy chunk of extra RAM. This allows for rapid data reading with minimal seek time. In comparison to the hard drives in the previous generation, it’s like day and night, and this upgrade likely enhances the gaming experience the most.

In terms of CPU, both the PS5 and Xbox Series X utilize Zen 2 processors, but there’s a minor distinction between their specific configurations. The Xbox Series X sports 8 Zen 2 cores running at 3.8 GHz, while the PS5 has 8 Zen 2 cores operating at 3.5 GHz. What are your thoughts on this slight difference?

In both cases, the difference isn’t significant enough to alter your capabilities on each platform significantly. Moreover, most games these days are more dependent on graphics processing units (GPUs) rather than central processing units (CPUs). This means that while many CPUs remain idle or underutilized in these games, they often exceed GPU capabilities.

Empire of the Ants Interview – Environments, Visuals, Difficulty, and More

As a dedicated gaming enthusiast, I primarily optimize my games for the PS5 and Xbox Series X. We aim to deliver an experience that ranges between 1400p and 1600p in native resolution, which we then upscale to a stunning 4K. And the best part? This is all maintained at a consistent 30 frames per second.

As a gamer, I’m curious about the Xbox Series S. While it has less powerful hardware than the Xbox Series, Microsoft is marketing it as a console capable of delivering 1440p/60 FPS gaming experiences. The question that arises in my mind is: Will this console be able to handle more graphically demanding games as we move further into this generation?

The System (S) shares many similarities with the X, except in terms of raw GPU power and memory capacity (RAM). Although insufficient RAM might affect texture quality, it doesn’t necessarily impact the frame rate or smoothness (FPS), making it more about native resolution. In the case of the S, they opt to reduce the base render resolution and then ask the upscaler to fill in more details instead. Achieving 1440p at 60 FPS is achievable, but the quality of individual pixels will depend on the trade-offs you’re willing to make. For this generation, a maximum of 30 FPS was required to maintain our desired render quality, but other games may prioritize differently.

As a gaming enthusiast, I’m often asked which console delivers the smoother experience with Unreal Engine 5 between the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. Based on my research and understanding, both consoles have impressive capabilities, but it seems that the PS5 might outperform the Xbox Series X in terms of performance and optimization with Unreal Engine 5. However, it’s important to note that this is subject to change as developers continue to optimize games for these powerful platforms.

It appears that, due to the remarkable job done on the engine, there’s barely any noticeable difference between the builds. This is because contemporary multiplatform games are globally optimized at their core, resulting in enhancements across all hardware, including computers. In our case, the task was formidable – rendering up to 15,000 animated agents simultaneously at 30 FPS. The methods we employed for this feat aren’t platform-specific; they revolve around simulation, multithreading, pre-processing, and these principles function identically everywhere.

What frame rate and resolution will the game target on the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S?

On the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, our primary focus is on rendering visuals between 1400p and 1600p natively, which are then enhanced to 4K resolution, all maintained at a consistent 30 frames per second.

On Xbox Series S, the native render is in 972p upscaled to 1080p, still in 30 FPS.

On the PS5 Pro, we run at 60 FPS with a native target of 1440p upscaled to 4K.

These are the stats for standard scenes, light scenes can render natively above 2K, while very heavy battle scenes will temporarily lower native resolution down to 1080p to maintain framerate.

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2024-11-04 14:11