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Full CryEngine now available through Steam
Did you know that Crytek has launched a CryEngine subscription service on Steam? Yup, it's true. So if you're a budding game developer, a modder, or someone who is curious about game dev tools, you can now play around with the tech behind MMOs like Aion, ArcheAge, and Star Citizen as well as a boatload of popular single-player games. Steam customers get full use of the engine for a $9.90 monthly fee. The "announcement means we are adding the first complete game development engine to Steam, with access to enough source code to allow the creation of any kind of PC game," Crytek director of business development Carl Jones explained. "We're also giving indie developers state-of-the-art tools that live within the same eco-system that they can choose to publish their games."
CryEngine license subscriptions now available on Steam
Developers and hobbyists alike can now purchase a license to use Crytek's CryEngine PC software via Steam to create their own video games. The software is available on a subscription basis, which Crytek revealed back in March as its "Engine as a service" plan, which doesn't affect the free, non-commercial software development kit it also offers. The engine added next-gen console support in August, and powers games like Crysis 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, and more recently, Crytek's upcoming free-to-play MOBA Arena of Fate. CryEngine comes in three tiers: one month at a rate of $9.90 per month, three months at nine percent off ($9.00) and six months at 16 percent off ($8.33). Crytek announced the plans one day after Epic revealed its own subscription model for Unreal Engine 4. Prospective developers can alternatively turn to software like GameMaker for casual and social games, which is also available on Steam. Sony announced partnerships in March to offer PS4 exporting tools for GameMaker: Studio in addition to MonoGame for free to licensed SCE developers. [Image: Crytek]
Warface exits beta, enters warzone on Xbox 360
As was previously announced, Crytek Kiev-developed FPS Warface officially launched on Xbox 360 today following its near one-month open beta phase. The game is free for all Xbox Live Gold subscribers to play, and features four soldier classes, playable in cooperative multiplayer raids as well as versus modes. Warface launched on PC in North America in October, later receiving an update with added multiplayer modes in February. The game first debuted in Russia in 2012, and will later come to China, Taiwan and Japan. Crytek revealed late last month that the game reached 25 million registrants. Warface is based on the developer's own CryEngine 3 tech, the same engine used to create games like Crysis 3 and Ryse: Son of Rome. [Image: Crytek]
Crytek unveils $10 per month CryEngine developer subscription plan
Crytek may be known for its Crysis and Far Cry series, but the developer also makes a pretty penny by licensing out its proprietary tech for game development, CryEngine. Crytek will now offer a subscription-based model for the latest version of its engine, charging $9.90 USD/euros per month for each CryEngine licensee. The "Engine as a Service" plan starts in May and won't affect the free, non-commercial software development kit offered by Crytek. Epic Games announced its own subscription model for Unreal Engine 4 yesterday, a plan that amounts to $19 per month plus 5 percent of gross revenue from any commercial product developed with the engine. While Crytek will unveil more details about its subscription plan in the future, its announcement noted that the Engine as a Service version of CryEngine will be "royalty-free." The latest version of CryEngine features Linux support as well as "Physically Based Shading," a Geometry Cache feature to calculate cache-based animations for elements like cloth and fluid dynamics and an image-based lighting system. An alternative to these subscriptions for some independent developers are middleware development tools like GameMaker: Studio and MonoGame. Sony announced PS4 exporting solutions for those pieces of development software yesterday in addition to PS3, Vita and upcoming PS4 solutions for Unity users. [Image: Crytek]
CryEngine support coming to Linux, showcased at GDC
Crytek's unveiling full CryEngine support for Linux at next week's Game Developers' Conference in San Francisco, paving the way for a host of major games to come to the Steam Machine operating service. It's a move that's been in the works for a while, after Crytek called for new recruits to help it bring CryEngine 3 to Linux back in July 2013. Crytek of course uses CryEngine to power the games it develops, including Crysis 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, and Warface, but it also licenses it out to other studios. Sonic Boom and State of Decay run on CryEngine 3, while the latest iteration features in Evolve, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and Star Citizen. [Image: Crytek]
Stick and Rudder: How to be an informed Star Citizen
Massively's podcast fielded a listener question about Star Citizen and various other Kickstarters a couple weeks back, and while I answered it on our weekly show, I'd like to expand on it in more detail here. Call it a public service for people who are mildly interested in Cloud Imperium's space sim but not interested enough to scarf up the considerable amount of news flowing out of the studio these days. The question, in a nutshell, was how can a 30-person dev team make a triple-A title. There was more to it, including the usual concerns about crowdfunding, trust, and bits about investing vs. donating, but the dev team portion is the portion that I want to highlight.
Civilization Online not currently planned for North America
You might be tremendously excited about Civilization Online right now, especially if you read our interview with Jake Song yesterday. But if you live in North America, it's time to crank that excitement down to a dull interest because XLGAMES and 2K Games are not currently looking at a release in the region. 2K Games PR Manager Brian Roundy delivered the bad news: "Civilization Online is developed by South Korea-based XL Games in partnership with 2K, and will be available first in Korea. No release date has been set. There are no plans for a North American release at this time." This doesn't mean all hope is lost, of course. It might be that the studios are holding their cards close to their chest or that they don't want to commit until they see how it performs in Korea. But if you were camping in front of a retail store (why?) for this release in America, you should probably go home for now.
Massively Exclusive: Jake Song introduces Civilization Online
You might have heard about a little project called Civilization Online, a new MMO in development based on the popular Civilization series of turn-based strategy games. You also might have heard that XL Games CEO Jake Song, of ArcheAge and Lineage fame, is overseeing the project as Executive Producer. But chances are, that's really all you have heard. Until now, that is. We had the opportunity to sit down with Song, XL Games Senior VP Jung Hwan Kim, and Producer Garrett Bittner from 2K Games to get the scoop on the project. Follow along for all the juicy details about building up civilizations in a new open world environment, including crafting, PvP, and more!%Gallery-195539%
'Possible' loss of user information in Crytek security breach
Crytek took down four of its websites due to "suspicious activity" over the weekend. According to a statement from Crytek, the security breach "may have resulted in some users' login data being compromised." "Although it is uncertain whether the incident led to the copying and decryption of email addresses and passwords, it is possible that users with accounts at these websites have had personal data copied," Crytek said. "On Friday afternoon we started to contact all affected users via email and informed them of the potential security breach." The four sites in question, crytek.com, mycryengine.com, crydev.net and mycrysis.com are still offline. Crytek said that "final details of when our sites will be back online will be communicated as soon as possible." Additionally, "no payment information from users was stored at all" on the sites in question.
Crytek calls for programmer to port CryEngine 3 to Linux
A Crytek job listing outs the company's intent to bring its CryEngine 3 development suite to the Linux platform. The potential new recruit will be responsible for maintaining Linux support in the engine, providing training to internal and external developers and helping out with game prototypes. CryEngine 3 is Crytek's latest iteration of its proprietary game development solution, an engine the company both licenses out to other game developers and supplies to universities. Some notable upcoming games being built in CryEngine 3 include Shadow of the Eternals and Star Citizen.
Crytek hunting for developer who can bring CryEngine to Linux
The penguin has been getting awfully cozy with game developers lately. This time it's with the company known to make GPUs melt at the faintest whisper of its name: Crytek. According to a recent job listing, the German shooter shop is looking for a programmer to work on a Linux version of CryEngine. Of course, you need to relocate to Deutschland and have a few years experience in software development under your belt. Seeing another major PC studio devoting resources to the open-source OS only increases the growing momentum for Valve's Steambox ecosystem of choice. To answer the eternal question, it appears that yes, even the Tux can run Crysis.
The Chinese Room job listings call out next-gen game for 2015
British development studio thechineseroom, the outfit you may remember for its work on Dear Esther and the upcoming Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, is working on an open-world, first-person game for next-generation consoles. "We have just signed a development deal with a major publisher and are expanding our team for a next-generation console project, scheduled for release in summer 2015," a job listing for a visual FX artist points out. A second job listing for an audio designer mentions the unannounced game runs on CryEngine 3, suggesting this next-gen console game is Everybody's Gone to Rapture, the spiritual successor to Dear Esther. The official site for thechineseroom says to expect more info on this mystery game "in late summer." In February, thechineseroom pushed back A Machine for Pigs' launch to the second quarter of this year, between April and June.
CryEngine 3 formally confirmed for PS4
For how advanced CryEngine 3 looks, we had just assumed it would jive with PS4, but today Crytek has confirmed it. Developers anxious to create a PS4 game can get rolling with CryEngine 3 starting today with the latest SDK, featured in the video above. The PS4 announcement indicates all consoles will support CryEngine 3 going forward. Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli confirmed CryEngine 3 runs on Wii U in addition to Xbox One.
CryEngine 3 already runs on Xbox One
Crysis has thrown its card into the hat of today's Xbox One announcements, to say that CryEngine 3 does indeed run on Microsoft's new console. The company is already licensed to provide middleware and tools for Xbox One, which means that any developers looking to use CryEngine 3 to make their games will have no problem running the code on the new box. There are a number of titles already announced for the Xbox One, but nothing using CryEngine 3 just yet. Don't weep, though; We're sure to hear about something soon.
Trailer shows off China's upcoming Monster Hunters Online
If you've had the urge to slay dinosaurs, dragons, and even giant beavers, you'll have the chance -- if you live in China. The Monster Hunter franchise is expanding into the Chinese market with a free-to-play version called Monster Hunter Online. Along with the aforementioned giant bosses (and plenty of others), the MMO will add more weapons, monsters, and locales to the series. Developed by Tencent Games and Capcom, Monster Hunter Online will be powered by CryEngine 3 instead of Capcom's own engine. How big of a difference does that make? Check out the trailer after the cut and see for yourself.
This GDC 2013 CryEngine 3 video is eclectic
Crytek is showcasing the latest version of its CryEngine 3 technology at GDC and has produced this video highlighting various games built using the engine. Games run the gamut from the expected shooters to racing and even some hack-and-slash action stuff. Also, a golf game.
Crytek-approved TimeSplitters fan project gets title, preliminary details
A dedicated group of TimeSplitters fans have taken it upon themselves to create a new, free game for like-minded folks: TimeSplitters Rewind. Developed with permission from CryTek and using assets from actual TimeSplitters games as reference material, Rewind is being constructed in CryEngine 3 and will focus primarily on multiplayer.While there is no further visual evidence of the game beyond the above logo and this rendered duck person, project manager Michael Hubicka has stated that a demo for Rewind should be available by Christmas. "The demo will be more or less a beta," Hubicka told Cooking with Grenades. "We plan to release patches to fix glitches/bugs/exploits/performance issues and Content Updates to add maps and characters."Eventually, Hubicka hopes that Rewind will also include remade versions of the single-player story content from TimeSplitters' history, but the initial goal of the project is to faithfully recreate the most well-known multiplayer components within CryEngine 3. New multilpayer modes are in the works, however, though their eventual inclusion will depend on if the end result "feels right."
Modder adds Oculus Rift support to Crysis and CryEngine 3
Modder Nathan Andrews, last seen working on an Oculus Rift mod for Half-Life 2, has set his sights on making the head-tracking 3D rig compatible with another popular shooter: Crysis. Andrews has released a video showing off Crytek's initial suit-powered shooter being controlled with the head-tracking system and a Mag II gun controller, and says that Crysis Wars and CryEngine 3 compatibility aren't far behind.There's still a bit of work to be done, as Andrews notes the head-tracking isn't quite right yet with the crosshairs on the screen. Still, it look impressive, and considering how far the Rift itself has come, both software and hardware are getting polished up. The Rift headset went out to developers starting last year, with a consumer version supposed to arrive sometime in the future.
MMObility: Project Theralon puts players deep in the browser sandbox
If you're a sandbox fan who's not familiar with the browser-based sandbox called Project: Theralon, become familiar with it. For sandboxers as well as browser-based MMO fans, this game will nudge the genre up in quality and help undermine the notion that browser-based gaming is limited, linear, and boring. In Project: Theralon, players will be able to make characters how they want and can eventually become dragon-riders, powerful characters who can fly through the environment causing havoc as they go. During my interview with the game's Associate Creative Director Sven Ehrentraut and Public Relations Director Piotr Pilich, I watched live as the game was loaded in a browser and a character mounted a dragon, flew through the landscape, and hopped off into a fight. The game has been in development for only six months, but there's already plenty to get excited about. Click past the cut and I'll give you all the details!
Get your green thumb going with this new CryEngine 3 tech demo
You know it and I know it, the folks are Crytek are wizards wielding staves that fire picture-perfect environments. A new, gorgeous video showing enhancements made to CryEngine 3 – the power behind the upcoming shooter Crysis 3 – only serves to further prove that point.
