What drove the decision to add an open-world element to the game?Baryshnikov: It’s simple; we needed to take the next step and show something new in the series. Small worlds are good, but as you mentioned before, a lot has changed in game development and genres in the 30 years since the release of the original King’s Bounty. Users want more freedom, and we try to give it to them.

At the same time, I would not say that our world is fully open, like in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim or other similar games. King’s Bounty II is closer to worlds seen in Fable, Dragon Age: Origins, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, and others. Big locations with a thousand wonders and secrets for players to discover, but focused a little more on the plot and battles.

How did Unreal Engine help you in delivering such an eclectic mix of vibrant environments?

Baryshnikov: From the very beginning, Unreal Engine has been highly accessible for all developers (amateurs and professionals), and in Russia, most developers use this engine to create their magnificent worlds. For us, there are a bunch of incredible features to call out. Sequencer really helped us bring a far more cinematic experience to King’s Bounty II. Blueprints have been critical for us and have allowed our design team to quickly prototype level designs, weapon and armor variations, and various gameplay systems. We’re really proud of what we’ve been able to do. It’s great for rapid prototyping, and I think all developers would describe Unreal Engine as the “easiest to learn.” The results are great, and the tools are excellent for workflow.

How did you go about creating 3D battlefields for the game, and what challenges did you have to overcome to achieve the look?

Baryshnikov: At the very beginning, we wanted to give more freedom to players while at the same time not forgetting the tactical depth. So, our team decided that all combat arenas should be in full 3D to have more tactical opportunities (line of sight, height damage bonuses, and such). It was necessary to make sure that all troops and other objects—for example, high walls that blocked the view of archers to defeat enemy soldiers—were normally displayed in the arena, and the camera moved in any direction.

There were challenges, but we successfully overcame them by spending a lot of time on tests. Still, nothing beats a live game for collecting information, and now that we’re released, we are poring over the incoming data to validate our tunings. This will be an ongoing process, which is the norm, and user wishes and data will now guide any tweaks we make. 

Source: Unreal Engine Blog