Uncharted 4 engine: Naughty Dog created Crash Bandicoot in Uncharted 4’s engine for that one moment — Mitspielen — Vampire Live in München

Tech Analysis: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End

The months prior to the launch of PlayStation 4 were filled with both excitement and rampant speculation — the likes of the now-cancelled Star Wars 1313 and Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs hinted at what was to come, but the reality didn’t quite live up to the promise. However, with the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, we finally have a game that meets and exceeds our most optimistic pre-launch expectations. We’ve seen a number of current-gen consoles games delivering some remarkable visual achievements, but Naughty Dog has truly pushed on to the next level.

Simply put, Uncharted 4 is the technical powerhouse we’ve been waiting for. That fleeting sensation of being truly wowed by what’s on-screen doesn’t come quite as often as we like, but it’s a feeling that never left us with this title — even as the final credits rolled. The set-pieces are more impressive, the maps larger, the characters and environments more detailed and the gameplay mechanics are richer than ever before. This is the real deal.

It’s a game built on the most recent iteration of Naughty Dog’s in-house engine technology, offering an almost obscene wealth of new rendering features, all while making life easier for its creators. Front-facing features include physically-based rendering, pre-computed global illumination, comprehensive physics simulation, superior artificial intelligence and more. The lineage from The Last of Us is certainly evident, but the more powerful PlayStation 4 hardware enables the team to push the scale of its ambition much further than any of its previous titles.

With such a complete package, it’s difficult to fully appreciate everything being brought to the table by this game, but we’ve tried to break down the game into the key components that make it work so well, in addition to highlighting elements that don’t quite match the overall sheen of the whole package.

Our detailed look at the technology behind Uncharted 4 highlights the most impressive aspects of Naughty Dog’s latest game.

What works

Image quality: Uncharted 4 delivers the best image quality we’ve seen in a console game to date. Even in the face of rare titles like Tearaway Unfolded, with its high quality MSAA settings, Uncharted 4 stands tall. Naughty Dog has developed a temporal anti-aliasing technique that delivers results that sometimes manage to approach the quality of a super-sampled image. Thin edges are remarkably clean, shader aliasing is almost non-existent, and shimmering is all but eliminated. Large, complex fields of detailed foliage remain razor sharp even at a distance while finer details on Nate’s weapons remain clearly visible. We noted similarities to the hybrid-reconstruction anti-aliasing used in Far Cry 4 but we cannot say for sure how this was achieved. Perhaps Naughty Dog will share more information on this in the future, as the results are stunning and this technique could benefit console games as a whole.
Character rendering: This has become a very competitive field. Character rendering in many games including Halo 5, Quantum Break and Rise of the Tomb Raider has been remarkable, but Uncharted 4 pushes things even further. The quality of the characters is the result of excellent modelling, smart design and comprehensive engine features working in tandem. As a consequence of the physically-based approach used by the game, light properly reflects, refracts and penetrates the skin while micro-details help create that extra layer of realism. Skin and fat also bend and move realistically while details such as stubble, pupils and eyebrows are beautifully rendered in high fidelity. Beyond that, clothing is also taken into account as part of the simulation, such as the way Drake’s shirt reacts to the wind simulation or how his tools bounce around as he runs. Even his chest hair is impacted by the wind. Speaking of hair, the quality across the game is exceptional with a complex assortment of textured cards giving the impression of real strands of hair. It’s not simulated in as much detail as the impressive TressFX system featured in Rise of the Tomb Raider, but it’s more consistent across all characters.
Character performance: Another key element in bringing Uncharted to life lies in its animation and character performance. The animation techniques used in the game have evolved greatly, offering enhanced layering alongside a greater number of available animations in general. Drake has a real weight previously lacking in the series — which actually has a positive impact on the controls. Facial animation has improved with more than 850 possible expressions now available compared to Uncharted 3’s 120. Character faces use all of the muscles in the head and neck to great effect and Naughty Dog’s mix of captured and hand-created animation work is convincing. During cut-scenes, the smallest nuances are captured in the character’s performances, helping to deliver the story — which brings us to our next point.

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Real-time cut-scenes: One of the most profound shifts in the series over previous entries is the move to real-time cut-scenes. Previously, the complexity of the cinematics necessitated the use of pre-rendered video files. This helps conceal loading at points but also lightens the load on the hardware. Moving to real-time creates a more cohesive presentation, with the game now able to transition seamlessly between gameplay and cinematics. It also makes for a convincing tech demo as the visuals on display here are some of the most impressive we’ve seen to date. More impressively, the final game comes very close to matching the quality of the original E3 2014 teaser trailer — something we’ll be exploring this week.
Environments: Naughty Dog has poured a lot of effort into the game’s environments by making certain that they are more interactive and visually dense. A wind system is implemented, enabling the artists to set values for intensity and speed that directly impact the world. Grass and trees blow realistically: pools of water exhibit the expected response. The way in which the environment interacts with Nate is impressive as well. Stand below a source of running water and marvel as it seeps realistically into his shirt — wetness is no longer a simple on or off state. Dirt and mud decals also collect on characters and objects while water can wash it away. All of these elements come together to more firmly ground Nate and friends into the environment.
Materials and textures: This generation has been defined by the use of physically-based materials and Uncharted 4 is our first look at Naughty Dog’s implementation. Uncharted 4 retains the series’ stylised look, which isn’t quite photorealistic, but certainly comes close at times. The way lighting plays off of elements such as stone work and foliage feels very natural here. We were also impressed with the inclusion of parallax occlusion maps in various areas of the game. Bricks and roof tiles exhibit actual depth as a result. It’s also surprising to see just how quickly and efficiently these assets are loaded. Texture pop-in is uncommon as well, with only the occasional late normal map popping up. The engine seems very capable of working with a huge variety of assets at a high speed — something which no doubt factors into the game’s ability to display cut-scenes in real-time.

A look at the performance during the single player portion of the game. Can Uncharted 4 hold its target 30 frames per second?

Audio: Naughty Dog has been producing games in 7.1 surround for a decade now but the audio mix in Uncharted 4 is a real treat. There is a lot of processing happening with the audio to produce realistic results in a variety of environments. The sound of a character’s voice will change based on your proximity and location. If you stand in a cave next to Sully, for instance, his voice sounds different depending on whether he’s in the same area of the cave as Nate. The same applies to other sound effects. Overall audio mixing is also top notch while the game’s musical score is able to seamlessly weave in and out of the action dynamically.
Artificial Intelligence: One of the most profound improvements to the core gameplay experience stems from the enhanced AI systems. To start with, the companion AI is a refinement of what we saw with Elli in The Last of Us. This time around, Naughty Dog introduces multiple partners, aiding the player in dispatching foes at opportune moments without ever feeling scripted. Crucially, the enemy AI is also dramatically overhauled. In the past, once spotted, enemies would remain active and aware of your position until they were dispatched, leading to plenty of one-note battles and failed stealth attempts. Now, enemies are capable of patrolling large chunks of the map and forming groups all while exhibiting an appropriate grey area — the area which defines its awareness of the player. The general behaviour now shares more with games such as Metal Gear Solid or, of course, The Last of Us, to the point where it becomes enjoyable to simply toy with the AI. There are still moments in the game in which full-on gun battles break out, leaving the player with little choice but to engage. However, the general combat experience offers so many new tactical options that it manages to feel fresh right up until the end of the game.
Screen-space reflections: This type of reflection technique has become increasingly popular in modern games due to its efficiency and quality. But it has a limitation — as the name implies, it relies on information within screen-space to achieve the desired effect. When the objects reflected are occluded from view, the game no longer has information necessary for the reflections. Uncharted 4 uses a mix of approximate pre-calculated reflections, such as cube-maps, and screen-space reflections. As characters are occluded from view and the screen-space reflection is removed from the screen, we see another technique take over. What appears to be some sort of shadow lies beneath the screen-space reflection so as the high-quality reflection is removed from view, there is something else in its place.

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Light shafts: Naughty Dog has been focused on delivering convincing volumetric light shafts for years now and we’re seeing the latest iteration of those techniques here. Many games still resort to screen-space light shafts, but the approach here enables the light source to disappear from view while the volumetric shaft remains visible. This technique is used both for environment lighting and lighting attached to characters, such as a flashlight beam.
Asset variety: Asset creation is a huge bottleneck in game development today, often requiring cooperation of multiple supporting studios, but Uncharted 4 features a level of variety to the assets that we don’t often see. The push towards sandbox games typically means that assets are more homogenised but Uncharted 4 presents a huge number of locales at high levels of detail. There are a huge number of one-off areas and environments where you ultimately spend very little time, but the level of detail is consistent. A large budget certainly helps but it’s clear that the asset creation process was handled very efficiently here.
Water: Water has always played a significant role in the Uncharted series and the latest game presents a number of improvements. The simulation of turbulent water has evolved from Uncharted 3 with more complex wave patterns now possible, while even more tranquil bodies of water are influenced by the wind simulation. Along those lines, we were impressed by the way shadows fall on shallow, muddy waters. It appears that Naughty Dog uses motion vector data to give the impression of shadows intersecting with the water naturally. It’s just another example of the attention to detail on display here.

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What doesn’t work

Loading: While the game is a seamless experience during a normal playthrough, anyone attempting to replay the game or experiment with different sequences will quickly run into very lengthy loading screens. Selecting any encounter or chapter requires a solid minute of loading, which is frustrating enough, but manually resetting to a previous checkpoint requires just as much waiting. In attempting to capture footage for the game, this quickly became frustrating, but even for users looking to perfect their run, it could become a chore.
Photo mode: We certainly appreciate the inclusion of photo mode here but it doesn’t feel quite finished. The primary issue centres on the fact that the camera remains locked to the playable character, without the ability to freely move about the environment. The camera is also locked in place when pausing during cut-scenes. Now, we understand the reasoning behind this decision, but it would be interesting to have greater control over this feature. After all, the frame-rate takes a dive while in photo mode as it is, so other side effects from manipulating the camera surely wouldn’t be an issue. The Order 1886 allows users to fly the camera freely around every stage in the game — it would have been nice to see it here as well.
Shadow quality: Shadows are computationally expensive and, truthfully, Uncharted does a mostly good job of rendering them but there are a number of scenes where artefacts shine through, revealing rather pixelated results. We also noticed artefacts when objects pass in front of certain surfaces — a ghosting of sorts.
The E3 2014 60fps promise: Not so much something that doesn’t work, as opposed to an initial promise that didn’t work out. It’s pretty clear that the visuals on display in Uncharted 4 would be impossible at a full 60fps — likely due in part to the limited CPU used in the PlayStation 4 — but some fans remain affected and disappointed by the original promises of a 60fps experience. Releasing that original E3 2014 teaser trailer at a full 60fps means that as impressive as the game is, there are still those that will be disappointed. Unfortunately, this is the reality of game development. After all, both Uncharted 4 and Halo 5 were initially targeting 1080p60. Naughty Dog opted to drop the frame-rate for the campaign while sticking with 1080p while 343 Industries sacrificed resolution for a rock solid 60fps at all times. At least the game’s multiplayer mode delivers 60fps even if the resolution has been dropped to 900p. We’ll be testing that soon — the servers were offline during production of this article.

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Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End — the Digital Foundry verdict

Uncharted 4 delivers a genuine step advance in real-time rendering on console hardware. The Naughty Dog engine is an efficient, capable engine that produces results that tower above many other current generation titles. There is a clear dedication to excellence here and it has paid off and Uncharted 4 is the best-looking console game we’ve ever tested. There are some titles which come close in certain areas, such as the remarkably impressive Star Wars Battlefront, but nothing is as polished and consistent as Naughty Dog’s latest.

Even more impressively, the technology isn’t simply used for delivering pretty visuals. We’ve seen similarly beautiful results on consoles with games such as The Order 1886 and Ryse, which were fun but very narrow experiences. Uncharted 4 excels in presenting an unprecedented level of detail while actually expanding the core gameplay. Seeing both visuals and game design evolve and expand in one package is a rare treat indeed.

With all the recent talk about the PlayStation Neo, Uncharted 4 demonstrates just how much can still be achieved on less powerful hardware. It’s clear that many developers lack the budget and staff necessary to pull this off, but it’s always fascinating to see what can be achieved at the high-end. The question that remains is where we go from here. The original Uncharted represented Naughty Dog’s first foray into the world of programmable pixel shaders and the team was able to iterate beautifully between each game. It’s difficult to predict what kind of results we’ll see in its next game but we’re certainly excited about the future.

Still, in many ways, the future is now and there is no better showcase for what can be achieved on console than Uncharted 4. This is a must-play experience that delivers the rare mix of pitch perfect gameplay and high-end visuals. If you’ve been keeping up with Digital Foundry over the years and have an interest in graphics technology, you owe it to yourself to give Uncharted 4 a try. In fact, it’s such a remarkable achievement that even users that prefer to stick with other platforms should find a way to at least sample the game, just to appreciate the extreme artistry and expertise on display here.

For more on Naughty Dog’s latest, check out our Uncharted 4 guide and walkthrough.

Naughty Dog Put A Lot Of Work Into Uncharted 4’s Rocks

By
Jamie Latour

Published Jun 21, 2020

Naughty Dog has put an incredible amount of work into the immersion-related details of Uncharted 4, down to smallest parts of the environment.

Video game graphics have advanced so quickly, it’s getting harder and harder to determine what’s live-action and what’s been rendered by an insanely advanced engine. It’s gotten to the point where we can’t even tell if actual people are the real deal or CGI copies of themselves.

As technology continues to improve every year, developers are doing everything in their power to make their games seem as realistic as possible. It’s almost as if these companies have some kind of bet going to see who can add in the most minute, seemingly pointless detail. And if that bet does exist, then there’s a good chance that Naughty Dog is in the running to win it all considering the kind of details they put into their projects. For a prime example, take a look at Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End‘s rock physics.

As seen in this video, Naughty Dog put rather unnecessary yet very realistic rock behavior into Uncharted 4. Shooting the rocks that are sitting on cliffsides or hills causes them to slide downward gathering other stones and debris along with them. This can also be seen when one of the Drake brothers is sliding down these hillsides themselves.

Does this particular detail add much to the game? No, not really. Is it cool? Heck yeah.

RELATED: The Last Of Us 2: 15 Hours Into The Game, & I’m Not Yet Buying The Hype

It’s such a ridiculously superfluous feature to put into a triple-A title. Naughty Dog is practically flexing on other studios by showing off a rock physics engine that probably costs thousands of dollars to design despite not being essential to the gameplay in any way. They put so much detail and focus on little realistic touches in their games and it never ceases to be impressive. Even their newest release, The Last Of Us: Part II, is stuffed to the gills with details that players barely notice even though they help ground that game’s world in reality.

Of course, all this work is likely responsible for the company’s long-rumored and long-derided crunch culture. Naughty Dog employees have reportedly had to work unhealthy amounts of overtime hours just to make sure that little bits like the dirt under Ellie’s nails look as lifelike as they possibly can. It might be a bit too much to ask of a developer and their workers to create weather patterns that mimic what we see outside or animals that are indistinguishable from their real-life counterparts.

It’s a shame Naughty Dog apparently can’t give their workers a more humane project timeframe to add details like this, as things like Uncharted 4‘s rock physics do add a strong sense of place and a feeling of immersion.

NEXT: TLOU2’s Birthday Flashback Is The Major Turning Point That Convinced Me To Stick With It

«Perpetual motion machines» and their creators. Nikolai Kuznetsov

Aircraft engines are often named after their creators. So, the PS-90A, the best engine in Russia for long-haul aviation, is named after Pavel Solovyov, the technical bestseller of the 20th century AL-31 is named after the legendary Arkhip Lyulka, “Night Hunters” raise the VK-2500 engines with the initials of Vladimir Klimov into the sky, and The most powerful serial turboprop engine in the world NK-12 is named after Nikolai Kuznetsov.

June 23 marks the 108th anniversary of the birth of Nikolai Dmitrievich Kuznetsov, an outstanding engine designer, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, twice Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of the Lenin Prize, Doctor of Technical Sciences, honorary citizen of the city of Samara, creator of the Samara Scientific and Technical Complex (part of the UEC) .

Start of the journey

Under the leadership of Nikolai Kuznetsov since 1949 to 1994, at the Samara enterprise, which now bears his name, 57 modifications of NK brand engines were created. Almost all domestic strategic and cargo aviation flies on aircraft with Kuznetsov engines. More than a third of the country’s gas pumping units operate on NK engines. The developments of the team of Nikolai Kuznetsov in the field of rocket engines are still relevant and in demand.

Nikolai was born in 1911 in the city of Aktyubinsk in Kazakhstan, where his father, a member of the Communist Party and a participant in peasant uprisings, fled from the persecution of the authorities. From an early age, Nikolai showed an interest in blacksmithing, confirming the professional affiliation of the family. At school, I was engaged in exact sciences with pleasure. At the age of 15, together with friends, according to magazine drawings, having obtained an automobile engine and a propeller from an airplane, Nikolai assembled a snowmobile. From this moment, apparently, Kuznetsov’s passion for aviation begins.

In 1930, a 19-year-old boy entered the Moscow Aviation College. To get a place in a hostel, Kuznetsov has to combine his studies with work at the aircraft engine plant No. M.V. Frunze. By an amazing coincidence, in many years this plant will produce engines designed by Kuznetsov himself. In 1932, the future designer, as one of the best members of the Komsomol, was sent to study at the aircraft engine department of the Air Force Engineering Academy. NOT. Zhukovsky.

N.D. Kuznetsov during the Great Patriotic War

Nikolai dreams of becoming a test pilot, for this he takes flight courses, gaining experience in flying and parachuting. But this dream was not destined to come true — an excellent student of the Academy was recommended to the Department of Aircraft Engine Design, where in April 1941 he successfully defended his PhD thesis.

The war prevented further scientific activity. With its beginning, Kuznetsov submits a report on being sent to the front. Not the first time, but a valuable employee is released into the army due to the fact that Kuznetsov was not only an engineer, but also a pilot. He did not stay at the front for long — in October 1942 years old by decree of the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks G.M. Malenkov Kuznetsov is appointed party organizer in the OKB V.Ya. Klimov to the Ufa Aviation Plant No. 26. The main task of Kuznetsov in a new place is to ensure the speedy creation, refinement and launch into mass production of a new powerful piston engine VK-107A, which aviation really needed. Over time, V.Ya. Klimov appreciated Kuznetsov’s professional knowledge and experience and petitioned for his transfer from party work to the post of his first deputy. Klimov, who was more focused on in-depth individual work, and Kuznetsov, who actively discussed tasks with the team, successfully complemented each other.

… it is the team — hundreds of designers and thousands of workers of our plant — it is they, and not me, who decide the success of the business … The modern engine is very complex, and tomorrow it will be even more difficult. And no general designer will ever personally do anything if he does not rely on the team.

Nikolai Kuznetsov

Designer’s first successes

After the war, Klimov headed a new design bureau in Leningrad for the development of jet engines, and his deputy Kuznetsov became the chief designer of the design bureau in Ufa. The development of the German jet engine YuMO-004 falls on his shoulders. Already at 19In 1947, at the Aviation Day in Tushino, Yak-15 jet fighters with a serial RD-10 engine developed by the Kuznetsov team were shown. In the same year, the Ufa Design Bureau was transferred to the category of serial (SKB) to accompany the production of already developed engines. Kuznetsov wants to continue creating new devices.

The first Soviet jet fighter Yak-15 with RD-10 engine. 1947

In 1949, he was appointed chief designer of the Kuibyshev plant No. 2, the design bureau of which was formed from specialists from the BMW and Junkers factories and young Soviet scientists taken out of Germany. Kuznetsov brought along a team of experienced engineers from Ufa. After analyzing the situation and the engine models that are in operation, Nikolai Dmitrievich makes a key decision that determined the specifics of the plant’s work for many years to come — the enterprise will create powerful turboprop engines for bomber and transport aircraft.

Kuznetsov, thanks to his enthusiasm, brilliant knowledge of the matter and faith in the team, was able to captivate the employees of the Design Bureau entrusted to him and achieve revolutionary results in the design of turbines. In 1951, the TV-2 engine was tested and demonstrated ultra-low fuel consumption rates, which were previously considered unattainable.

NK-12: a breakthrough in turboprop engines

Already in 1950, Nikolai Dmitrievich, having shown his characteristic foresight, initiated the development of a project for a 10,000 hp turboprop engine. With. It was this engine that would allow a heavy bomber to carry a “payload” to the United States in the context of the growing Cold War and return back. A new engine was created for the long-range strategic bomber Tu-95, which was developed by A.N. Tupolev. The development of the TV-12 engine was not easy, and only in 1954 the first copy of the machine was tested. The serial engine began to be called NK-12 — by the name and surname of the head of the plant.

Tu-95 turboprop strategic bomber with NK-12 engines

NK-12 thanks to the power of 15,000 liters. With. became the world’s most powerful aircraft turboprop engine. Its modifications have been in operation for over 50 years. Tu-9 aircraft were equipped with the NK-12 engine in various variations5, Tu-126, Tu-142, Tu-114, Tu-95MS, An-22 «Antey» and ekranoplan «Eaglet». The method for calculating gas turbines developed by the team of Nikolai Kuznetsov made it possible to create a turboprop engine with low specific fuel consumption for flight without landing and refueling at a distance of up to 15,000 km.

The creation of NK-12 brought the team of the Kuznetsov Design Bureau to the number of advanced engine-building enterprises, and put Nikolai Dmitrievich himself on a par with other outstanding designers.

Kuznetsov engines: ground, nuclear, supersonic, space

Then there was work on the NK-4 turboprop engine for civil aviation and the NK-6 turbofan engine for the military, which never went into production. Despite this, the Kuznetsov Design Bureau team gained a lot of experience, which was useful in subsequent developments. In 1958, Nikolai Dmitrievich, on his own initiative, created a department for the ground use of aircraft engines, which the oil and gas industry was in dire need of, within the Design Bureau. However, the government did not support this idea, and the department was closed.

In 1955, in the strictest secrecy, the Design Bureau, together with other organizations, began work on the creation of an atomic engine. For the flying laboratory on the Tu-95 aircraft, an experimental water-cooled reactor with a capacity of 100 kW — LAL-VVR (flying nuclear laboratory — water-cooled reactor) was created. Despite the fact that the work was curtailed in 1961, the results of the research were unique and advanced the study of atomic energy far ahead.

In the 1960s, the Design Bureau developed the NK-8 turbofan aircraft engine, which was used to fly passenger aircraft Tu-154, Tu-154A, Tu-154B, Tu-154B-1 and Tu-154B-2, Il-62, Il -76. According to the Ministry of Civil Aviation, at the end of the 1980s, aircraft with NK-8-2U and NK-8-4 engines carried almost 50% of the entire cargo-passenger flow of the USSR.

Three-engine jet passenger airliner Tu-154 with NK-8 engines

In the early 1960s, the OKB team entered into an international rivalry to develop an engine for a supersonic passenger aircraft. On December 31, 1968, the first flight of the Tu-144 aircraft with NK-144 engines took place, which was almost two months ahead of the first flight of the Anglo-French Concorde. Kuznetsov’s engine made it possible for the first time in the world to exceed the speed of sound in civil aviation twice.

In parallel with work on aviation, nuclear and ground topics in 19In 59, the OKB under the leadership of Kuznetsov began to work on liquid-propellant rocket engines (LRE). The general designer decided to develop a liquid-propellant rocket engine in a closed circuit, he was supported by S.P. Korolev, for whose rockets these engines were created. There has never been such an experience in the country and in the world. Oxygen-kerosene engines NK-33, NK-39, NK-43, NK-31 still remain unsurpassed in terms of parameters and reliability, and the achievements of the Kuznetsov team in creating a closed circuit liquid-propellant rocket engine were later used by many designers of space technology.

Bench test of the NK-33 engine at the Vintai test complex in Samara

In the development of aircraft engines operating on cryogenic fuel, the Kuznetsov Design Bureau was several years ahead of Western designers. The NK-88 and NK-89 engines, powered by liquid hydrogen and liquefied natural gas, have been used on Tu-155 aircraft since the late 1980s. The development of alternative fuel engines has been very relevant due to global environmental concerns.

Born General Designer

In the last years of his life, Kuznetsov was the chairman of the Scientific Council for Reliability of the USSR Academy of Sciences, he was engaged in the creation and implementation of various models and design methods into design practice. We can say that Nikolai Dmitrievich created an entire design school with his own principles and methods. After his departure in 1995, there was a big reserve for new engines.

Your main task is to work out a principled line and maintain a general direction in every major technical issue, and in accordance with them solve daily difficulties.

From the principles of N.D. Kuznetsova

According to the memoirs of his contemporaries, the main personal quality of Nikolai Dmitrievich was the ability to establish business and friendly relations with subordinates, despite ranks and merits. Kuznetsov listened with extreme attention to the opinions of others, building and educating the team. By personal example, he showed with what dedication and immersion one can work even in difficult conditions. Nikolai Dmitrievich possessed unique mental abilities, high speed and variability of thinking. Deep knowledge in all branches of science and technology allowed him to see the whole picture, feel the relationships and predict changes. He was easily carried away by new ideas and captivated others, he took on everything new and unknown in design, choosing the most difficult questions. And the team trusted him, respectfully calling Kuznetsov «our general.»

Despite the huge load of the main work, Nikolai Dmitrievich was also a major statesman and public figure. For 30 years he was a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR and a member of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR. Today, the enterprise, which united the design bureau, pilot and serial production, bears his name — «Kuznetsov».

Outboard motor is the heart of your boat

A quality outboard motor is the heart of your boat. It, like the human heart, pumping fuel, makes your boat live, move, fly forward towards everything new and unknown. Agree, it is worth considering that the outboard motor must be reliable, otherwise everything unknown will remain unknown.

To do this, let’s understand:

— what is an outboard motor;

— what types of outboard motors exist and where they are used;

are the most famous manufacturers.

The essence of the device lies in the name — suspended. This type of motor is not stationary — it can be moved from place to place: used on different boats, serviced in a convenient place (workshop or garage), and also stored in a place inaccessible to intruders. It is attached to the transom or hard side of the boat.

Simply put, an outboard motor is a mechanism that makes the boat move, while choosing the direction of movement, that is, being at the same time the steering wheel.

The outboard motor consists of the following main units:

Engine (electric or internal combustion)
Propeller drive
Propeller or as it is also called — propeller

Key Outboard Benefits

Versatility. This quality allows you to choose a motor for any type of watercraft, whether it is a light inflatable boat or a multi-seater boat.
Compact. A convenient advantage that allows the motor to take up a minimum of space.
Light weight makes it possible to independently remove, install and move the motor without resorting to the services of special equipment.
Reliability. More than 150 years of history of development of this type of devices allows us to conclude a high degree of reliability. What matters is proper use and timely maintenance.
Economy. A well-oiled engine will save a lot of money, as economical fuel consumption is a very important factor.
Easy to operate. There is no need to go through many days of instruction to use the outboard motor — just read the instruction manual carefully and follow it literally.
Serviceability. Since outboard motors are no longer something outlandish, you can easily find any parts and workshops for their repair.

Main types of outboard motors

First of all, all outboard motors are divided into:

Electrical
Gasoline or diesel (internal combustion engine)

Electric outboard motors

Due to their low weight, they are used in small inflatable boats or light plastic boats. Their main advantages are smooth running and noiselessness. In addition, they are environmentally friendly, as they do not form exhaust gases, but are powered by a battery.

Gasoline or diesel outboard motors

Used on heavier types of boats. They are more powerful and can be used for high-speed movement, transportation of goods, and in conditions of current and strong wind.

Gasoline outboard motors are further divided into the following groups:

Two-stroke

This type of outboard motor has a simpler structure, small weight and size, but, accordingly, less power.

Four-stroke

These outboard motors are technically more complex, require more maintenance, but have a longer life, significantly more power, and are also more economical in terms of fuel consumption.

Water cannons

These outboard motors are designed for use in areas where a propeller outboard motor cannot be used, such as shallow water. They are the safest in operation, as they have no moving parts on the outside.

Swamp walkers

Practically the same as water cannons, with the only difference that they can be used in waters with dense underwater vegetation.

On 18 декабря, 2022 By alexxlab

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