The 3DS’s Graphical Fidelity Detailed By Capcom

In August, we learnt through an investor Q&A that Capcom’s Nintendo 3DS games will run on the same MT Framework technology used to develop the company’s major high-definition games.

MT, in this case, stands for “multi-thread,” “multi-target” and “meta-tools.” The Framework was originally developed to facilitate production of Dead Rising and Lost Planet after Capcom decided existing middleware wouldn’t be able to achieve the level of performance they required. Through continued iteration and customization for each game, the engine eventually reached the stage it has today, where it is being used across the majority of Capcom’s console games.

A tech report on Impress Watch details that Marvel vs. Capcom 3 runs on the latest build of the engine, MT Framework 2.1, and that the PC version of Lost Planet 2, which runs on MT Framework 2.0, will include support for DirectX 11 when it releases in October. Additionally, it reveals that Sengoku Basara 3 on the Wii runs on an “MT Framework Lite.”

The report then goes on to detail the MT Framework build running on 3DS, ironically not “Lite,” pointing out features such as HDR lighting, realtime colour correction, self-shadowing, normal mapping, depth of field and motion blur.

To highlight graphical differences in 3DS games with and without these features, the following screenshot comparisons of Resident Evil: Revelations (click to view full-sized) were provided:

Impressive, isn’t it? Capcom hope to come close to matching the graphical fidelity of Resident Evil 5 on the Xbox 360 with Revelations. Interestingly, the 3DS port of Super Street Fighter IV uses the MT Framework as well, unlike the console versions, which run on a different engine.