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| CryEngine | |
|---|---|
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| Developer | Crytek |
| Initial release | May 2, 2002; 23 years ago (2002-05-02)[1] |
| Stable release | |
| Written in | C++ (Qt),Lua,C# |
| Platform | |
| License | Source-availablecommercial software withroyalty model for commercial use |
| Website | www |
CryEngine (stylized asCRYENGINE) is agame engine designed by the German game developerCrytek. It has been used in all of their titles with the initial version being used inFar Cry, and continues to be updated to support new consoles and hardware for their games. It has also been used for many third-party games under Crytek's licensing scheme, includingSniper: Ghost Warrior 2 andSNOW.Warhorse Studios uses a modified version of the engine for their medieval RPGKingdom Come: Deliverance.Ubisoft maintains an in-house, heavily modified version of CryEngine from the originalFar Cry calledDunia, which is used in their later iterations of theFar Cry series. The Dunia engine would in turn be further modified and used in games such asThe Crew 2.[7]
According to various anonymous reports in April 2015, CryEngine was licensed to Amazon for $50–70 million.[8] Consequently, in February 2016, Amazon released its own reworked and extended version of CryEngine under the name ofAmazon Lumberyard.[9][10] In June 2021, through Amazon Lumberyard, the open-sourceOpen 3D Engine is based on CryEngine.
CryEngine 1 was first made and used for thefirst-person shootervideo gameFar Cry. It was originally developed by Crytek as atechnology demo forNvidia and, when the company saw its potential, it was turned into a game. Whenvideo cards with support for 3.0pixel 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 forHDR lighting. The engine has been licensed toNCsoft for theirMMORPG,Aion: The Tower of Eternity.[22] On March 30, 2006,Ubisoft acquired all intellectual property rights to theFar Cry franchise and a perpetual license to use theFar Cry edition of CryEngine, known as theDunia Engine.[23]
CryEngine 2 is used in Crytek's gameCrysis, and an updated version inCrysis Warhead, a side story ofCrysis. It 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 construction was started. As of March 7, 2011, Simpson Studios has licensed CryEngine 2 out to use on a Massively Multiplayer Virtual World (MMVW) that takes place on a terraformed Mars.[24] On May 11, 2007, Crytek announced that they would be using the engine to create a game based on their newintellectual property. It is also confirmed that it would not be a part ofCrysis 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.
Crytek introduced CryEngine 3 at the 2009Game Developers Conference, held from March 25 to March 27 and demonstrated it on theXbox 360 andPlayStation 3 consoles. The new engine was being developed for use onMicrosoft Windows,PlayStation 3,Xbox 360, andWii U. As for the PC platform, the engine is said to support development in DirectX 9, 10, and 11.[25][26] As of June 1, 2009, it was announced thatCrysis 2 would be developed by Crytek on their brand-new engine.[27] CryEngine 3 was released on October 14, 2009.[28]
On March 1, 2010, a new tech demo of the engine was released for the i3D 2010 symposium, which demonstrates 'Cascaded Light Propagation Volumes for Real Time Indirect Illumination'.[29] On June 11, 2011, theAustralian Defence Force revealed thatNavy personnel would train on a virtuallanding helicopter dock ship made using the CryEngine 3 software.[30] As of July 1, 2011, the Mod SDK version of CryEngine 3 specifically to create custom maps, mods and content for Crysis 2 is available on Crytek's website. Crytek also released a free-to-use version of the CryEngine for non-commercial game development. It was released as of August 17, 2011 under the name CRYENGINE® Free SDK.[31][32]
Crytek announced on September 9, 2011, that they would be using CryEngine 3 to bring the originalCrysis to consoles.[33] It was released for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network on October 4, 2011.[34]
On August 21, 2013, Crytek rebranded CryEngine (starting from version 3.6.0) to simply "CryEngine", and announced that their next CryEngine would not be advertised with a version number. The reason for this decision was the claim that this new engine bears almost no similarity to previous CryEngine versions. However, the development kits available to licensees still use version numbers.[35] The new CryEngine version adds support forLinux[36][37] and consoles such as the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U.[38] Subsequent appearances at events have also featured the use of CryEngine on virtual reality systems, at GDC 2015 Crytek brought a demonstration 'Back To Dinosaur Island' to the event to showcase such.[39]
On March 22, 2016, Crytek announced a new version of CryEngine, called CryEngine V. Additionally, a new licensing model was introduced with a "pay what you want" model for usage and access to thesource code.[40][41]
On September 21, 2017, CryEngine 5.4 was released,[42] adding the Vulkan API renderer as a beta, substance integration,[43] and other features including new C# templates, asset system updates, and new anti-aliasing techniques.
On March 20, 2018, Crytek changed the licensing from "pay what you want" to a 5% revenue-sharing model.[44]
In April 2022, version 5.7 was released with few new features as the multiple features originally intended to be in 5.7 were scrapped and moved to the next iteration of CryEngine. Version 5.7 included Scaleform 4 support. The developers have stated that this will be the last version of CryEngine V and confirmed they are working on a new iteration of CryEngine.[45] The previous versions prior to 5.7 were deprecated and can not be downloaded.[46][47]
The CryEnginesoftware development kit (SDK), originally called Sandbox Editor, is the current version of thelevel editor used to create levels for CryEngine byCrytek. Tools are also provided within the software to facilitatescripting, animation, and object creation. It has been included with various Crytek games (including, but not limited to,Crysis andFar Cry), and is used extensively formodding purposes. The editing style is that of thesandbox concept, with the emphasis on large terrains and a free style of mission programming. The editor can also construct indoor settings.
As opposed to editors likeUnrealEd, which use a "subtractive" editing style that takes away areas from a filled world space, the Sandbox has an "additive" style (likeQuake 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 RendererBlender, 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, characterinverse 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.[48]
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