Assassin's Creed Unity Uses "Every Ounce Of Power" From Xbox One And PS4

Assassin's Creed Unity pushes the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 to their technical limits, according to creative director Alex Amancio. Speaking during the latest episode of Major Nelson Radio, Amancio boasted about the game: "We really harnessed every ounce of power from both these consoles as much as we could."

One way Unity pushes things beyond what was possible in previous entries in the series comes down the number of simultaneous on-screen non-player characters it can support. Amancio said past Assassin's Creed games had 200 on-screen NPCs, but Unity pushes this up to 5,000 or more.

One scene in particular boosts this even further to an incredible 10,000 on-screen NPCs, Amancio said. And these characters aren't windowdressing. "These are real AI NPCs," Amancio said, adding that you'll be able to interact with each and every one.

Unity also features advancements to lighting and shading, which together will allow for a "completely new layer of realism," Amancio said. In-game textures and materials also benefited from the beefed up horsepower of the Xbox One and PS4, which will now react to light sources as they would in real life.

Another step forward is the fact that Unity features no loading within the game's virtual depiction of Paris. This means you'll be able to seamlessly walk into buildings, travel to the Parisian underground system, and launch into missions.

On top of this, Amancio says that one in every four buildings in Unity's version of Paris features a fully fleshed out interior with characters to meet and objectives to take on. These buildings have so much detail that tables are even set with forks and knives, Amancio explained.

What's more, Unity's version of Paris will feature most of landmarks you'd expect to see, including their interiors, Amancio said. Overall, Amancio explained that "the list goes on and on" regarding the technical prowess of Unity for new consoles.

"We could not have made this game [for] previous-generation consoles," he concluded.

The game will run at 30fps, but the final resolution has not yet been confirmed. In October, Unity senior producer Vincent Pontbriand said the game would run in 900p across Xbox One and PS4 as a means to avoid "debates." Ubisoft has since released a statement that clarified that the final specs for the game have not been confirmed.

Unity launches November 11 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. Another game, Assassin's Creed Rogue, will also be released on that day, but it's coming to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.