Crytek has released version 3.1 of their CryENGINE 3 SDK, which adds new tools and features to CryENGINE 3 and its award-winning CryENGINE Sandbox editor. It is the first major update to the CryENGINE 3 SDK and brings with it many impressive new additions to the platform. Included in the update are additional tools for Sandbox, as well as new features and functionality to the engine.
For the Sandbox editor, a new blend shader has been added to remove the need for tiling of identical materials throughout games, which will optimize performance. This removes the need for large texture sets. Also added is a visual budget system, which will serve as a meter for asset management in projects which will help developers build efficient environments. The asset browser has also been updated to streamline usage and speed up development time.
Animation tools in Sandbox have been updated to ensure greater usability. AnimGraph 1.5 allows access to control parameters and blending values, as well as tools that integrate animations with audio, particles, game events and effects. TrackView, the cut scene and cinematic tool, has also received extensive updates.
The features added to CryENGINE 3 with this update have already received plenty of attention. Perhaps biggest on the list of improvements is the addition of Light Propagation Volumes, which is a technique that simulates global illumination. With this technology implemented in a game, light will realistically bounce off of environment assets and transfer color. Such a technique will contribute significantly to the overall realism of lighting in CryENGINE 3 games.
The CryENGINE 3 physics system has also been upgraded with this release. The updates ensure greater real-time environment destruction by allowing secondary damage effects from procedural destruction, which means real time asset deformation. Think of the procedurally-destructible palm trees in Crysis taken to the next level. Other improvements to the physics engine include physics-driven hit reactions to animated characters. This technique is very similar to how the Euphoria engine simulates impacts and character balance in real-time, and will certainly create even more interesting chaos in the midst of battle.
Other adjustments to the engine include optimizations to lighting and HDR, as well as improvements to CryENGINE LiveCreate, which allows for simultaneous development across PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 platforms at once.
Developers can get their hands on CryENGINE 3 SDK at Crytek’s developer portal, mycryengine.com. Support teams are already in place to assist dev teams. They can begin evaluating CryENGINE 3 today and harness the tools to make incredible next-gen games.
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