For Dragon Age 4, BioWare wanted to mark the occasion with a technical engine that is more advanced than ever, especially thanks to the impressive hair management.
With Dragon Age 4 The Veilguard, BioWare and Frostbite have pushed the boundaries of hair representation by incorporating advanced technology called Strand Hair. This innovation allows for the simulation of up to 50,000 individual strands per character and offers more than 100 different hairstyleswhich gives the characters of Thedas an unparalleled realism. A technology full of future.
Dragon Age 4 is a major technical slap in the face
Adapting Strand Hair to a universe as dense as Dragon Age 4 was obviously a major technical challenge. The characters in The Veilguard often have complex, long hairstyles or are decorated with horns and various accessories. To reproduce this, The Frostbite team had to increase the maximum length of simulated hair for each strand from 63 to 255 points
This innovation did not come at the expense of performance. BioWare and Frostbite have worked to make Strand Hair compatible with the needs of each platform. On PS5, Xbox Series X and PC, the game runs at 60 FPS while offering detailed playback. On smaller configurations like the Xbox Series S or certain PCs, the system automatically adjusts memory and hair resolution to ensure optimal fluidity even in action-packed scenes.
A realistic integration
Strand Hair’s integration goes beyond the characters as it blends seamlessly into Thedas’ environments. The hair reacts realistically to effects such as magic, mist and even water. BioWare has implemented a multi-layer transparency system that allows hair to naturally overlap with surrounding elements. to achieve a consistent result. As a bonus, A special light pattern has been developed so that the hair shines and casts shadows depending on the light sourcewhether torches or magical lightning.
The development of Strand Hair required close collaboration between the Frostbite and BioWare teams. They worked together to optimize the lighting and transparency effects in the cutscenes. To maintain high image quality, they introduced a “Hero Shadows” system. This system casts precise shadows on each strand based on the main light sources in the scenes.
Source: BioWare
