Vicious Engine (commercial)

[Tami]

The Vicious Engine® is a comprehensive middleware solution that gives developers the power to make exciting, dynamic games without the costly steps of creating an engine and tool set. It includes a competitive graphics engine, a built in collision and physics solution, powerful scripting, in-game debugging, integrated asset management, and cross-platform conversions to multiple simultaneous targets.

The Vicious Engine® empowers a team to generate a game prototype on hardware within two to six weeks, as opposed to the months that are usually required using traditional methods. By utilizing a middleware solution such as the Vicious Engine®, teams are able to focus on their core competency: making great games!

The Vicious Engine® is a general purpose solution to rapid content development. It allows a develoment team to focus on gameplay features and content, while taking advantage of the years of experience that the Vicious Engine® team has put into the console engine. The Vicious Engine® is equally suited for first or third person action titles as it is for isometric strategy games; the toolset provides a high level of customization and control for the genre of product that is being developed. Designed from the core to be a data-driven product, the Vicious Engine® does not make assumptions or place arbitrary limitations on the game features that are unique to every game.

Business benefits

* The Vicious Engine® is a one-stop, full feature solution to game developers who want to focus on their core business -- game development.
* Eliminates the lengthy and costly development of low-level console and PC engine implementation
* All features included with a license: graphics, AI scripting, physics, networking, UI interface, and full-source code to all components

Engineering benefits

* Syntax-free scripting system
* TCR/TRC certification-compliant engine for all supported platforms
* Event-driven interface for responding to system or game events
* All source code is clearly documented and hierachically organized C++

Art benefits

* Game assets are quickly available for preview via an integrated 3DSMax and Maya exporter.
* Robust and full-featured particle system editor
* Powerful and extensive material system

Features:

Point-and-Click Scripting

The Vicious scripting system is a robust solution that offers a unique point-and-click interface. Capitalizing on the data-driven model, all actions, functions, variables, and operators are selectable as individual elements, rather than entered manually as text. No coding is necessary and typing errors are virtually nonexistent. Right-clicking in the Script Editor accesses condition-sensitive script elements. These elements are combined into the events that drive the game, such as spawning characters, activating triggers, and checking controller states. To speed up the scripting process across games with similar dynamics, script events and other assets port easily between projects.

A full-featured debug system for scripts allows designers to set breakpoints and step line-by-line through the script during gameplay for easy debugging. The following features are available in the Script Debugger:

* Track function calls up to the current script instruction by viewing the callstack.
* Check an entity’s AI state or other object variables and parameters using the built-in Variable Watcher.
* Search for specific script elements and objects in the Script and Object Finder.
* Enter explanatory comments in script blocks, which can be converted to pop-up alerts and output log messages.

Easy Artificial Intelligence (AI) Development

Non-player game characters (NPCs) interact intelligently through the use of high- and low-level state machines. These state machines are created in the Vicious Editor and are reusable across several entity types. For example, a generic biped state machine can handle transitions between idle, moving, jumping, and landing for several different kinds of characters.

The state machines are also hierarchical. Child state machines inherit all the states and state functions of any ancestors. States can also be overridden in the child state machine and messages can be intercepted and/or trapped before a parent state machine can handle it. This enables creation of robust state machine systems for similar entity types with very little script redundancy. For example, a BaseWeapon state machine may implement states for idling, firing, and reloading of a weapon. The derived state machines for shotguns and pistols can altered for the specific firing states.

The Vicious Engine® utilizes NavMeshes, a fast and simple way to direct more natural AI movement. A NavMesh splits the map into groups of polygons that are merged into a field of possible movement. This allows for greater flexibility in moving around objects, because the NPCs direct their movement to an area, not to a specific point on the map. The Vicious Engine® also utilizes inheritance and lucid event messaging to create an intuitive development system for AI.

Straightforward Platform Conversion

A platform conversion utility simplifies the process of migrating the game to the following platforms:

* Nintendo Wii™
* Xbox 360™
* Sony PlayStation®2
* Sony PSP®
* Microsoft Xbox®
* Nintendo GameCube™
* PC
* Sony PlayStation®3

Powerful Rendering

Number Crunch

The Vicious Engine® performs at a frame rate of up to 30 fps. It can render 150,000 fully textured polygons per frame or 4,500,000 polygons per second on the Sony PlayStation®2 . Performance varies based on the desired materials and the amount of processing required during a game’s update loop. Polygon counts for Microsoft xBox range between 300,000 to 400,000 polygons per frame. For the PSP®, usage numbers are around 50,000 to 90,000 visible polygons per frame.

Animation

Animation data is generated in 3ds Max® and Maya®. The engine contains support for full-body animation blending as well as partial-body animation overrides (like running while showing upper-body pain or firing a weapon). Animation includes position, rotation, and scale support for a full range of effect possibilities. Compression algorithms are used to ensure the highest quality and playback speed while using minimal amounts of memory. Script-controlled look-at controllers provide support to aim weapons or have a character's head and eyes look at its target. Direct rotation control is also scriptable, (heading and pitch of a torso or turret).
Physics and Collision Detection

A physics system provides full-featured character movement and collision response, including jumping, crouching, sliding, and moving on and with platforms. Ray- and sphere-based collision is supported for accurate projectile movement, such as rifle and shotgun shots, guided missiles, and other special effects. Rigid-body simulation for physically correct movement of spheres, boxes, and joint-constrained compound objects is also included as a standard feature.


Networking Support

The Vicious Engine® provides full networking support for the PC, Microsoft Xbox®, Microsoft Xbox 360®, Sony PlayStation®2 and PSP® platforms. Online multiplayer support uses a client/server model. Lobby and connection tools are provided for Xbox Live® and GameSpy® integration is available for PlayStation®2. In addition, voice chat is available Microsoft Xbox® and Sony PlayStation®2.

Network synchronization is handled by replication of relevant object states. In order to reduce bandwidth usage, script-based, host-specific variables can be marked as non-replicating. To further minimize the amount of data transferred, code-based variables are grouped by how often they change (for example, an entity's position variable is in a separate group from its material skin variable, since the position changes more often). Once a variable in a group changes, the server replicates the changes to other clients. Using this system, clients can join in the middle of a game and synchronize with the server.

Lighting

The Vicious Engine® uses path-tracing to light static environments. After placing light primitives in the level, each light source traces to each affected vertex and calculates the light value. The ray reflects and light values are calculated for affected vertices from the bounce. Once the light value for a particular vertex is calculated, it is stored in the vertex’s light component. This radiosity technique creates an authentic feel to the environment.

Light grids are used to dynamically light moving objects. Generally, a directional scene light and few point lights are sufficient to dynamically light entities and most static models. For dynamic entity shadows, the shadow is rendered to a texture. The affected geometry is drawn a second time with the shadow-texture and a projective texture matrix. Static geometry shadows are baked into the terrain and static geometry vertex colors.
Efficiency

The Vicious Engine® employs several strategies to find a balance of a highly detailed game environment and maximum rendering performance.

* Static geometry uses distance-based levels of detail (LODs) for rendering, with an unlimited number of levels possible.
* Terrain heightfields are handled by distance-visibility instead of LODs and can be combined with static geometry.
* Particle systems stop rendering at an artist-defined distance and can utilize one LOD.
* Level data, music, and cinematics can stream from the hardware media in real time during normal gameplay. The streaming occurs in the background, allowing uninterrupted gameplay.

Cool Stuff

A complete effects editor allows complex effect creation with particle systems, animation, lighting, and more. These components provide games with an extra punch, polishing it into an exciting, visually engaging world. Effects features include:

* Advanced particle system with particle attributes that are fully configurable, including lifetime, size, fade, orientation, gravity influence and more.
* Animated texture support for fire, smoke, and explosions.
* Configurable weather effects including rain, snow, and dust storms.
* Support for post-processing full-screen, frame buffer effects, including night vision, thermal vision, blur, and tinting per color channel.
* Support for advanced rendering features such as reflection, refraction, glow, and heat blur.
* Dynamic fog that is modifiable through script.
* Cartoon render with silhouette support.
* Split screen support.
* Picture-in-Picture support.

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