18 Mind-Blowing Facts You Never Knew About The Uncharted Series

7. The Cruise Ship In Uncharted 3 Runs On An Ocean Simulation

The cruise ship sequence in Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, which has Drake make his way through a cruise ship as it lurches amidst a storm, is one of the greatest technological accomplishments of the entire series. Not only is it visually spectacular, but the use of water based physics still remains as impressive today as it was almost five years ago.

Naughty Dog went out of their way to make it feel as real as possible by building an ocean simulation. Instead of remaining on an animation loop, the movement of the ship is dictated by its interaction with the surrounding water in real time, swaying back and forth as the waves push against the hull. This affects objects within the ship, including Drake, who intuitively adjusts his balance based on the ship's movement and position at a given time.

This constantly fluctuating environment forces you to adapt depending on the circumstances, and it all comes together to craft an amazing action sequence that stands out as one of the best of the series, which is saying a lot.