ForgeLight is aproprietaryMMOgame engine developed and used byDaybreak Game Company (formerly Sony Online Entertainment).[1] The engine has been used forFree Realms,Clone Wars Adventures,PlanetSide 2,Landmark,EverQuest Next,H1Z1: Just Survive,H1Z1: King of the Kill.[2][3][4] The engine was nominated for the 2013Game Developers Choice Awards Best Technology award.[5]
The ForgeLight engine was initially developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) to support the studio'smassively multiplayer online games, but can be modified to support nearly any type of multiplayer online game. As such, the engine supports high player counts of up to 2,000 on a singlegame server. The engine allows gameclients to render over 200 players at once without sacrificing high quality graphics or decreasing framerates.[4] Much unlike other game engines, ForgeLight does not use traditionalzones for virtual environments, but rather allows players to traverse through one seamless game world without loading screens between distinct areas.[1] Games using ForgeLight can support high level ofcomputer facial animation and allow players to change character expressions based on input or from a webcam. The engine builds upon theNvidiaPhysX API, which allows it to support realistic vehicle simulation, particle effects, and other physics-based features in games.[1][6] Dynamic weather effects, such as rainstorms that move from region to region and affect gameplay and environments, are supported by the engine.[2] It also allows forvolumetric lighting, volumetric fog, cloud shadows,dynamic reflection, and real-timeradiosity,[1] as well as a day/night cycle.[7][8]
The ForgeLight engine is primarily single-threaded, but has been modified to better support multithreading prior to the release of games using the ForgeLight engine on thePlayStation 4 andXbox One.[9][10][11] The engine's renderer, originally supporting onlyDirectX 9, has also been upgraded to supportDirectX 11 inPlanetSide 2.[12] Water-based visuals and mechanics, including buoyancy physics and projectile drag, are supported by the ForgeLight engine and were added in aPlanetSide 2 update.[13]