REDengine

REDengine
Developer(s) CD Projekt RED
Tomek Wójcik
Bartek Wroński
Balázs Török
Development status Active
Platform Microsoft Windows, OS X, Linux, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 4
Type Game engine
Website cdpred.com

REDengine is a game engine developed independently by CD Projekt RED.[1] It was designed exclusively for use in CD Projekt RED's nonlinear, role-playing video games.

Features

REDengine is portable across 32- and 64-bit software platforms and currently runs under Microsoft Windows, although the most recent update — referred to as "REDengine 3" — was designed exclusively for a 64-bit software platform.[1] REDengine was first used in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings for Microsoft Windows.[2] REDengine 2, an updated version of REDengine used in The Witcher 2,[1] also runs under Xbox 360[3] and both OS X[4] and Linux, however these ports were made using a compatibility layer similar to Wine called eON. REDengine 3, the 64-bit updated version (see REDengine 3 discussed below), also runs under PlayStation 4[5] and Xbox One.

REDengine allows video game developers to create a complex, nonlinear story line that previous game engines could not create except by constraining the game world.[1] Prior to the creation of REDengine, RPG developers relied upon game engines which force trade-offs during development.[1] With older game engines, developers could have created, on one hand, a vast open world at the expense of telling a simplified linear story or, on the other hand, a complex nonlinear story at the expense of creating a limited virtual world.[1]

Versions

Screenshots comparing a "more lifelike"[1] REDengine 3 (The Witcher 3) production above with that of the Creation Engine (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim) below.

REDengine 2

For REDengine 2, middleware like Havok was used for physics, Scaleform GFx for UI or FMOD for audio.[6] The engine was used for the Xbox 360 port of The Witcher 2.[7]

REDengine 3

Recently CD Projekt RED improved upon the original version of REDengine, appropriately named "REDengine 3". Designed to run exclusively on a 64-bit software platform, CD Projekt RED created REDengine 3 for the purpose of developing open world[1] video game environments, such as those of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt[1] and Cyberpunk 2077.[1]

REDengine 3 utilizes the 64-bit precision of modern personal computing, allowing for better quality computer graphics via high dynamic range rendering.[1] Furthermore, it introduces improvements to facial as well as other animation.[1] Lighting effects no longer suffer from reduced contrast ratio.[1] REDengine 3 also supports volumetric effects enabling advanced rendering of clouds, mist, fog, smoke and other such particle effects. Also enabled are advanced ultra-high resolution textures and mapping, as well as dynamic physics and advanced dialogue mimic system.

REDengine 3 has a flexible renderer prepared for deferred or forward+ rendering pipelines.[1] The result is a wide array of cinematic effects, including bokeh depth-of-view, color grading and flares associated with multiple lighting.[1]

The terrain system in REDengine 3 uses tessellation and layers varying material, which can then be easily blended.[1]

Games using REDengine

Title Year Platform(s)
REDengine 1
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings 2011 Microsoft Windows, OS X
REDengine 2
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Enhanced Edition 2012 Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, OS X, Linux
REDengine 3
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 2015 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Cyberpunk 2077 TBA Microsoft Windows

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 14, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.