Dragon Age: Inquisition next-gen build to offer "huge" visual leap over current-gen editions

Dragon Age: Inquisition on PC, PS4 and Xbox One will offer a "huge" leap in visual quality and immersion over its current-gen counterparts, according to BioWare Edmonton producer Cameron Lee.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Lee - like the rest of EA - referred to the next generation as 'Gen 4', and added, "On gen four you'll see far better graphics and, more importantly, a much more immersive world. It's a lot richer, and there's more depth to it. We can put more things on screen. There are more NPCs. There is more life to the world. That, while a subtle thing, really does over time build up into quite a strong connection to the game compared to the other gen three platforms."

When asked to discuss the visual difference between current and next-gen builds of the RPG, Lee continued, "The visual fidelity differences are huge. For example, the shaders you can put on the characters through different weather systems. The build up system we have, like when you walk through mud, the mud builds up on the leg, then if you're in a fight, blood goes on top of the mud.

"One of our graphics programmers took a nug and overlayed all these different things on it. Eventually it looked like a nug that had been dipped in chocolate because there was so much stuff that was put on top of it. That's all the power you can get from the gen four stuff. You'll see that sort of a difference.

"The spell visual effects are incredible on the gen four and high-end PC. On gen three they will be much lower fidelity. Seeing Vivienne bringing up that big fire storm is brilliant on gen four and high-end PC. That's the kind of stuff that will make this a gen four experience."

If you missed Stace's eyes-on impressions of Dragon Age: Inquisition you can check them out here. He reckons it learns from the mistakes of the series history. What do you think?

The game's out on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One in Autumn 2014.