CryEngine

CryENGINE

Developer(s)	Crytek
Stable release	v3.3.7 / October 2011, 21 (21-10-2011)
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii U
Type	Game engine
License	Proprietary
Website	www.mycryengine.com

CryENGINE is a game engine designed by Crytek primarily for use in first-person shooter video games.

Development

CryENGINE 1

CryENGINE is a game engine used for the first-person shooter computer game Far Cry. It was originally developed by Crytek as a technology demo for Nvidia and, when the company saw its potential, it was turned into a game.

When video cards with support for 3.0 pixel and vertex shaders were released, Crytek released version 1.2 of the engine which used some of the capabilities for better graphics.

Later the company developed CryENGINE version 1.3, which added support for HDR lighting.

The engine has been licensed to NCsoft for their MMORPG, Aion: Tower of Eternity.

On March 30, 2006, Ubisoft acquired all intellectual property rights to the Far Cry franchise and a perpetual license to use the Far Cry edition of CryENGINE.

CryENGINE 2

CryENGINE 2 is used in Crytek's game Crysis, and an updated version in Crysis Warhead, a side story of Crysis. Also, the MMORPG Entropia Universe recently upgraded its graphics to the CryENGINE 2. In March 2009 at the Game Developers Conference, CryENGINE 2's successor, CryEngine 3, was shown on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

This diagram illustrates the development history of “CryENGINE” game engines family.

CryENGINE 2 was first licensed out to French company IMAGTP who specializes in architectural and urban-planning communication. The purpose of licensing the engine was to create a program to allow clients to see exactly what a building or other structure would look like before any actual building was undertaken.

As of March 7, Simpson Studios, a new development studio, has licensed CryENGINE 2 out to use on a Massively Multiplayer Virtual World (MMVW) that takes place on a terraformed Mars.

On May 11, 2007 Crytek announced that they would be using the engine to create a game based on their new “intellectual property”. It is also confirmed that it will not be a part of Crysis and in fact may not even be a first person shooter.

On September 17, 2007, Ringling College of Art & Design became the first higher education institution in the world to license CryENGINE 2 for educational purposes.

Sandbox editor

CryENGINE Sandbox Editor 2

Developer(s)	Crytek, Crytek R&D Group.
Stable release	1.1.5767 / 2003
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Type	Level editor

CryENGINE Sandbox Editor 3

Developer(s)	Crytek
Stable release	3.3.7.2572 / 17th October, 2011
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Type	Level editor
Website	CryDev.net

Sandbox is the level editor used to create levels for the CryENGINE line of game engines by Crytek. Tools are also provided within the software to facilitate scripting, animation, and object creation. It has been included with various Crytek games (including, but not limited to, Crysis and Far Cry), and is used extensively for modding purposes. The editing style is that of the sandbox concept, with the emphasis on large terrains and a free style of mission programming. The editor can also construct indoor settings.

Opposed to editors like UnrealEd which use a "subtractive" editing style that takes away areas from a filled world space, the Sandbox has an "additive" style (like Quake II). Objects are added to an overall empty space.

The Sandbox's concentration on potentially huge (in theory, hundreds of square kilometers) terrain, means that it uses an algorithmic form of painting textures and objects onto the landscape. This uses various parameters to define the distribution of textures or types of vegetation. This is intended to save time and make the editing of such large terrains feasible while maintaining the overall "real world" sandbox free roaming style. This is different from some editing styles that often use "fake backdrops" to give the illusion of large terrains.

In a fashion somewhat comparable to the 3D Renderer Blender, which can be used for game design, the Sandbox editor has the ability, with a single key press, for the editor to jump straight into the current design (WYSIWYP, "What You See Is What You Play" Feature). This is facilitated without loading the game as the game engine is already running within the editor. The "player" view is shown within the 3D portion of the Editor.

The Editor also supports all the CryENGINE features such as vehicles and physics, scripting, advanced lighting (including real time, moving shadows), Polybump technology, shaders, 3D audio, character Inverse kinematics and animation blending, dynamic music, Real Time Soft Particle System and Integrated FX Editor, Deferred Lighting, Normal Maps & Parallax Occlusion Maps, and Advanced Modular AI System.

External links

• MyCryENGINE - Official Website