Destructible Terrain in Marvel Rivals: A Technical Deep Dive
Destructible Environments
One of Marvel Rivals' unique features is its destructible terrain. Pressing the "B" button reveals areas that can be destroyed, allowing players to create strategic pathways or expose enemy flanks.
Motion Patterns and Optimization
The developers meticulously crafted distinct motion patterns for different heroes' destructive abilities, ensuring each hero's identity shines through. However, this came with performance challenges.
To optimize performance, the team implemented a two-tiered fragmentation system and native unsupported LOD functionality, reducing polygon counts and hiding transitions to prevent GPU overloads.
Lighting and Global Illumination
Implementing environmental destruction also required selecting an appropriate global illumination solution. Traditional baking approaches proved inadequate due to dynamic objects and frequent lighting changes.
The team adopted a hybrid approach, attaching static meshes capable of distance field generation to each fragment. This allows UE5 to recognize destroyed buildings as consistent material properties, resulting in accurate lighting and shadows.
Despite the technical challenges, the destructible terrain adds strategic depth and enhances the game's visuals. It's a testament to the developers' dedication to delivering an immersive and dynamic experience.