HDR is this time maxed out at 1500nits, however it is not labeled as such, just set it as per usual (remember to let the screen stew for a little while, some displays take a little while to hit max peak output) - more on this 1500nit limit later.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider is certainly no slouch, we have 2 sliders, one to control the peak HDR brightness and another to adjust the brightness. There are screenshots from the first hour of the game, I don't think I've posted anything intentionally spoiler, however if you want to go in totally cold, then you may not want to look further down.
Nixxes handled the late addition HDR upgrade of Rise of the Tomb Raider and still to this day, one of the best functional examples, offering a capped 4000 nit output and good visible control of max luminance, No wonky contrast adjustments and the option to tweak overall brightness and influence black levels, all using a series of sensible calibration charts. Preorder now at Raider heads to a new team working on it and this time we get to see another developer's look at HDR.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider will be available on September 14th, 2018 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows PC/Steam. Honestly though, the instrument sounded so good, we decided to go even further and use it as a source for sound effects, so in many areas of the game the impacts and sound textures are made using the instrument.” We decided to use this in the Jungle, not as music that placed you in that location, but instead placed you inside Lara’s head.
“We wanted to bring certain elements full circle – the instrument represents something very deep about Lara’s fear, it is a deep, visceral reminder of how she first felt on Yamatai. Ambient Music Designer, Martin Stig AndersenĬreated by Matt McConnell for Tomb Raider 2013, the team also looked to classic sounds, like “The Instrument,” to help embellish the iconic character of Lara Croft® even further. As Ambient Music Designer, his role focuses more on specific underwater scenes, where the intensity and tone shift into an unknown, almost alien feeling. Shadow of the Tomb Raider shifts rapidly in terms of setting, action and emotion, and for a couple of sequences in the game, the team really needed a distinct sound to help drive the narrative.Įnter the composer and sound designer Martin Stig Andersen (best known for his work on Limbo and Inside). “…There are many different emotions that Lara goes through in this final part of the trilogy - we needed the music to convey all those feelings, from melancholy, joy, sadness, rage to pure animal aggression, and all in a way that feels natural and flows well.” Instruments & Live Room at LaHacienda Creative (Brian D’Oliveira’s Montreal studio)Īs well as a vast library of instruments, the other signature Brian is known for is producing video game music that possesses emotion at its core. It all brings a completely unique colour and authenticity to the score that I don’t think anyone will have heard anywhere else!”
He has also spent a lot of time working with musicians from specific regions in South America to understand how and why the music would be performed on those instruments. “Brian has a mind-blowing collection of pre-Colombian and South-American instruments, which form the basis of our authentic sound signature for the game. Together, Rob and Brian have invested countless hours collaborating on the unmistakeable sound and textures of these cultures. Brian is a respected expert, researcher and performer of South American music. This leads us to the choice of the composer for the project, Brian D’Oliveira. The South American jungle and the Maya civilization both play a central role in the instrumentation of the score, and we are also reaching deeper into Lara’s emotional point-of-view.” As Lara is in a much darker place emotionally, and a more dangerous place physically, the music needs to represent both of these things. “While we are staying loyal to many of the musical recipes and devices that have made the series so successful over the last 5 years, things have evolved a lot in terms of aesthetics. The latest game in the series, Shadow of the Tomb Raider™, is certainly no exception, and Eidos-Montréal™ has brought together a unique music team to make this one of the most exciting and compelling games in the series.Īudio and Music director, Rob Bridgett, talks us through some of the choices behind the music in the game. The Tomb Raider® franchise is widely known for its genre-defining music and sound design.