This week marks a significant new chapter in our engine, our services, and our commitment to the CRYENGINE community.

At GDC in San Francisco this week, we announced major updates which address some of the concerns and wishes our users have expressed over the past year.

CRYENGINE V, the newest iteration of the engine, is now available for a Pay What You Want model. This means developers everywhere can now name their own price for CRYENGINE and benefit from full engine source code with no royalties or obligations to use any additional services. Up to 70% of any contributions made to Crytek under this new model can be allocated to our newly created Indie Development Fund – a program that awards grants to indie creators developing their projects with CRYENGINE. We’re investing $1 million to start, and additional contributions will help fund indie games far into the future. We couldn’t think of a better way to align our interests with yours.

We’ve also put CRYENGINE on its own launcher, which means the current Engine-as-a-Service subscription model available on Steam will be retired. Having a dedicated CRYENGINE launcher is beneficial not only for version and project management, but also for access to another new service we launched this week – the CRYENGINE Marketplace. The Marketplace will enable developers to access individual assets from Crytek’s own library, as well as thousands of materials, sounds, and 3D objects created by the CRYENGINE community and other trusted vendors.

Beyond these changes, CRYENGINE V has new features and enhancements that developers have been requesting for some time. Being C# enabled allows people without C++ knowledge the ability to program in the engine. An optimized and customizable UI will make CRYENGINE easier to use, and our new CRYENGINE Answers on our website provides an additional resource for sharing and accumulating knowledge. There are a number of other exciting features, and in the coming weeks we will provide you with more info about them.

If you’d like a more detailed overview of all the changes we’ve introduced, a video of CRYENGINE Creative Director, Frank Vitz’s full announcement speech from GDC will be posted shortly.

This week marks a significant new chapter in our engine, our services, and our commitment to the CRYENGINE community.

At GDC in San Francisco this week, we announced major updates which address some of the concerns and wishes our users have expressed over the past year.

CRYENGINE V, the newest iteration of the engine, is now available for a Pay What You Want model. This means developers everywhere can now name their own price for CRYENGINE and benefit from full engine source code with no royalties or obligations to use any additional services. Up to 70% of any contributions made to Crytek under this new model can be allocated to our newly created Indie Development Fund – a program that awards grants to indie creators developing their projects with CRYENGINE. We’re investing $1 million to start, and additional contributions will help fund indie games far into the future. We couldn’t think of a better way to align our interests with yours.

We’ve also put CRYENGINE on its own launcher, which means the current Engine-as-a-Service subscription model available on Steam will be retired. Having a dedicated CRYENGINE launcher is beneficial not only for version and project management, but also for access to another new service we launched this week – the CRYENGINE Marketplace. The Marketplace will enable developers to access individual assets from Crytek’s own library, as well as thousands of materials, sounds, and 3D objects created by the CRYENGINE community and other trusted vendors.

Beyond these changes, CRYENGINE V has new features and enhancements that developers have been requesting for some time. Being C# enabled allows people without C++ knowledge the ability to program in the engine. An optimized and customizable UI will make CRYENGINE easier to use, and our new CRYENGINE Answers on our website provides an additional resource for sharing and accumulating knowledge. There are a number of other exciting features, and in the coming weeks we will provide you with more info about them.

If you’d like a more detailed overview of all the changes we’ve introduced, a video of CRYENGINE Creative Director, Frank Vitz’s full announcement speech from GDC will be posted shortly.

Just before heading off to GDC, we have another treat for Oculus Rift DK2 owners: Back to Dinosaur Island Part 2, our second Oculus Rift-exclusive VR demo, is now available as a free download on Steam!

Now, gamers everywhere can sample the acclaimed VR demo firsthand – scaling a deadly cliff face as huge flying dinosaurs react to their presence and debris rains down from above. Mysterious landmarks on the horizon and stunning vistas on every side combine to immerse gamers in an entirely new reality.

Be aware that Back to Dinosaur Island Part 2 requires an Oculus Rift DK2 (SDK 0.8) as well as a Xbox 360 Controller for Windows or Xbox One Controller for Windows to be played

Just before heading off to GDC, we have another treat for Oculus Rift DK2 owners: Back to Dinosaur Island Part 2, our second Oculus Rift-exclusive VR demo, is now available as a free download on Steam!

Now, gamers everywhere can sample the acclaimed VR demo firsthand – scaling a deadly cliff face as huge flying dinosaurs react to their presence and debris rains down from above. Mysterious landmarks on the horizon and stunning vistas on every side combine to immerse gamers in an entirely new reality.

Be aware that Back to Dinosaur Island Part 2 requires an Oculus Rift DK2 (SDK 0.8) as well as a Xbox 360 Controller for Windows or Xbox One Controller for Windows to be played

Hey all,

Today we have an important update for you regarding the release schedule and cadence for CRYENGINE in 2016.

Let’s cut right to the chase: For this year, we aim to have one feature packed major release roughly every 3 months, with minor releases focused on bug fixes and smaller improvements in-between as needed. You can expect this new release cycle to start with our next major release, tentatively scheduled for March 2016. What new features will it bring, you ask? Well, we have a long list of features under development, and look forward to sharing more about those with you in the future.

With the “what” out of the way, let’s talk about the “why”. When we first launched the Engine-as-a-Service Subscription in May 2014, we asked ourselves how to best provide values to users paying a monthly subscription. Unsurprisingly, especially to those who are accustomed to paying a monthly fee to play MMO games, we arrived at the conclusion that having a new release roughly once per month would strike a good balance between providing value for licensees while still giving our engineers time for internal development. While there have been some deviations from this plan over the past 19 months (a brief period of bi-weekly releases, or the several month wait for a feature packed 3.7), we have generally stuck to the “once a month” release cadence.

However, after reading a lot of feedback on the forums, talking to our licensees and discussing internally, we now feel that less frequent but more impactful releases is the way to go. This will allow us to include more meaningful new features and improvements because the team will have more time for development, as well as additional time to make sure the new features are as stable and polished as possible. And from the users’ perspective, especially those who are deep into full-scale production, integrating a new build every three months is much preferable to having to do it every four weeks. In the end, this decision was shaped by the feedback coming from you, our community of Cryengineers.

We look forward to sharing more about our future plans in the coming months.

The CRYENGINE team.

Hey all,

Today we have an important update for you regarding the release schedule and cadence for CRYENGINE in 2016.

Let’s cut right to the chase: For this year, we aim to have one feature packed major release roughly every 3 months, with minor releases focused on bug fixes and smaller improvements in-between as needed. You can expect this new release cycle to start with our next major release, tentatively scheduled for March 2016. What new features will it bring, you ask? Well, we have a long list of features under development, and look forward to sharing more about those with you in the future.

With the “what” out of the way, let’s talk about the “why”. When we first launched the Engine-as-a-Service Subscription in May 2014, we asked ourselves how to best provide values to users paying a monthly subscription. Unsurprisingly, especially to those who are accustomed to paying a monthly fee to play MMO games, we arrived at the conclusion that having a new release roughly once per month would strike a good balance between providing value for licensees while still giving our engineers time for internal development. While there have been some deviations from this plan over the past 19 months (a brief period of bi-weekly releases, or the several month wait for a feature packed 3.7), we have generally stuck to the “once a month” release cadence.

However, after reading a lot of feedback on the forums, talking to our licensees and discussing internally, we now feel that less frequent but more impactful releases is the way to go. This will allow us to include more meaningful new features and improvements because the team will have more time for development, as well as additional time to make sure the new features are as stable and polished as possible. And from the users’ perspective, especially those who are deep into full-scale production, integrating a new build every three months is much preferable to having to do it every four weeks. In the end, this decision was shaped by the feedback coming from you, our community of Cryengineers.

We look forward to sharing more about our future plans in the coming months.

The CRYENGINE team.

Yes, Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 is compatible with our WAF build. Also yes, we fixed the AMD latest Crimson driver crash.

Our first update of 2016 is a nice hotfix for 3.8.6 that addresses some really important issues that kept our users up at night. The main reason for the hotfix is actually an incompatibility of our WAF build system with the latest Visual Studio 2015 Update 1. So guess what? We fixed it!
Here’s the full list of changes that went in:

• Fixed compile problems with VS2015 Update1.
• Fixed AMD new Crimson driver crash.
• Fixed a bug where an area proxy was not properly updated if a shape was modified.
• WAF: Handle new Windows SDK versions more gracefully by 1) trying to pick a Windows SDK version that roughly matches the preferred versions by the active compiler, or 2) as a fall back picking the highest installed Windows SDK version.
• Fixed parent particles never de-allocated - which exhausted the particle pool.
• Character Tool: Fixed where an empty AnimEventPlayer class returned true in its Play method even though it didn't play anything. This caused the CharacterTool to stop playing audio events.
• Character Tool: Fixed where audio triggers did not follow the bone that they were assigned to.
• Workaround for vegetation "blend with terrain color" flickering.
• Fix for flickering GI on glass shade.
Hope you enjoy the fixes!

All the best,

The CRYENGINE team.

Yes, Visual Studio 2015 Update 1 is compatible with our WAF build. Also yes, we fixed the AMD latest Crimson driver crash.

Our first update of 2016 is a nice hotfix for 3.8.6 that addresses some really important issues that kept our users up at night. The main reason for the hotfix is actually an incompatibility of our WAF build system with the latest Visual Studio 2015 Update 1. So guess what? We fixed it!
Here’s the full list of changes that went in:

• Fixed compile problems with VS2015 Update1.
• Fixed AMD new Crimson driver crash.
• Fixed a bug where an area proxy was not properly updated if a shape was modified.
• WAF: Handle new Windows SDK versions more gracefully by 1) trying to pick a Windows SDK version that roughly matches the preferred versions by the active compiler, or 2) as a fall back picking the highest installed Windows SDK version.
• Fixed parent particles never de-allocated - which exhausted the particle pool.
• Character Tool: Fixed where an empty AnimEventPlayer class returned true in its Play method even though it didn't play anything. This caused the CharacterTool to stop playing audio events.
• Character Tool: Fixed where audio triggers did not follow the bone that they were assigned to.
• Workaround for vegetation "blend with terrain color" flickering.
• Fix for flickering GI on glass shade.
Hope you enjoy the fixes!

All the best,

The CRYENGINE team.

2015 was a very exciting year for all of us in the CRYENGINE team, to say the least! From the showcase of our first VR demo back in GDC, to the success of our wonderful indie teams integrating SVOGI to their games (and making them look even more realistic), you can be sure that we’ve been working day in and day out to improve CRYENGINE and give you the best visuals and performance.

To celebrate this year’s hits, we prepared this GIF that sums up some of the biggest CRYENGINE games and technology improvements of 2015:



Evolve by Turtle Rock Studios

"In a savage world of man vs. nature, are you the hunter or the hunted? Evolve is a true next generation multiplayer shooter featuring addictive, adrenaline-pumping 4v1 action. One player-controlled monster must evade and outsmart a team of four uniquely skilled playable hunters. Evolve and overpower as the monster or team up and outnumber as the hunters. With endless combinations of hunters, monsters, maps and game modes to choose from, no two hunts will ever be the same. It’s survival of the fittest and any side can win."


Back to Dinosaur Island by Crytek

Back to Dinosaur Island takes advantage of 15 years of CRYENGINE development to show users the sheer endless possibilities that upcoming Virtual Reality devices like the Oculus Rift offer, bringing them face to face with the most terrifying predator that has ever walked the Earth.

New Woodlands level

We replaced our venerable Forest level with the all-new Woodland. Built up from the ground with full support for Physics-Based Rendering, we hope that this new environment will inspire our users in the creation of their own worlds.

OpenGL Support

Starting with 3.8.1, we shipped a fully-featured OpenGL rendering implementation with CRYENGINE, which goes hand in hand with Linux support for your games (see below).

Linux Support

As previously announced, we added Linux support for your Game.exe. While you will still need Windows to use the Sandbox Editor, you can now release your commercial games on Linux as well as on PC- and of course, there are still no royalties whatsoever!

Oculus Rift Support

You asked about it, and we listened: Just in time for the announcement of Crytek’s new VR title “Robinson: The Journey” at this year's E3, we included support for the Oculus Rift HMD (Head-mounted display) into EaaS users’ hands. We've included a small demonstration level, aptly titled the "VR_Demo" level. This showcases some information on how you can approach setting up your levels for VR, some of the implications and the immersive benefits of using VR.

Back to Dinosaur Island 2

A follow-up to 'Back to Dinosaur Island', only this time you don't face a ferocious T-Rex. A crashed spaceship on the horizon indicates you could be the only survivor in a strange planet. As you zip-line your way up a cliff, you discover you are not alone in this beautiful but hostile world.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

"Immerse yourself in a rich, deep adventure from award-winning developer The Chinese Room and investigate the last days of Yaughton Valley. Uncover the traces of the vanished community; discover fragments of events and memories to piece together the mystery of the apocalypse.
Featuring a beautiful, detailed open-world and a haunting soundtrack, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is non-linear storytelling at its best."

SVOGI

Sparse Voxel Octree Global Illumination is a system that makes in-game light behave extremely closely to how it does in the real world, adding lifelike immersion. We achieved this by making indirect light bounce off of most objects in the scene. This GI solution is based on voxel ray tracing and provides following effects:

- Dynamic indirect light bounce from static and most of dynamic objects. - Large scale AO and indirect shadows from static geometry (vegetation, brushes and terrain). - Works without pre-baking and does not require manual setup of many bounce lights or light volumes.

Robinson: The Journey by Crytek

Go beyond boundaries in Robinson: The Journey, a brand new virtual reality game from Crytek. Harnessing the power of CRYENGINE, Robinson: The Journey will offer players an unparalleled sense of presence in a game world as they assume the role of a young boy who has crash-landed on a mysterious planet. With freedom to explore their surroundings in 360 degrees of detail, players will become pioneers by interacting with the rich ecosystem around them and unearthing incredible secrets at every turn.

The Climb by Crytek

The Climb brings alive the excitement and thrill of rock climbing in incredible virtual reality. Players will scale new heights and explore stunning environments in a new gaming experience developed exclusively for VR, using the power of CRYENGINE.

We’d also like to take this time to thank our users for their continuous support. Your feedback on every release helps us make decisions better tailored for your collective needs. We hope you enjoyed this slightly nostalgic look back at the year that was 2015 for CRYENGINE, and we look forward to an exciting 2016 with all of you.

All the best,

The CRYENGINE team.

2015 was a very exciting year for all of us in the CRYENGINE team, to say the least! From the showcase of our first VR demo back in GDC, to the success of our wonderful indie teams integrating SVOGI to their games (and making them look even more realistic), you can be sure that we’ve been working day in and day out to improve CRYENGINE and give you the best visuals and performance.

To celebrate this year’s hits, we prepared this GIF that sums up some of the biggest CRYENGINE games and technology improvements of 2015:



Evolve by Turtle Rock Studios

"In a savage world of man vs. nature, are you the hunter or the hunted? Evolve is a true next generation multiplayer shooter featuring addictive, adrenaline-pumping 4v1 action. One player-controlled monster must evade and outsmart a team of four uniquely skilled playable hunters. Evolve and overpower as the monster or team up and outnumber as the hunters. With endless combinations of hunters, monsters, maps and game modes to choose from, no two hunts will ever be the same. It’s survival of the fittest and any side can win."


Back to Dinosaur Island by Crytek

Back to Dinosaur Island takes advantage of 15 years of CRYENGINE development to show users the sheer endless possibilities that upcoming Virtual Reality devices like the Oculus Rift offer, bringing them face to face with the most terrifying predator that has ever walked the Earth.

New Woodlands level

We replaced our venerable Forest level with the all-new Woodland. Built up from the ground with full support for Physics-Based Rendering, we hope that this new environment will inspire our users in the creation of their own worlds.

OpenGL Support

Starting with 3.8.1, we shipped a fully-featured OpenGL rendering implementation with CRYENGINE, which goes hand in hand with Linux support for your games (see below).

Linux Support

As previously announced, we added Linux support for your Game.exe. While you will still need Windows to use the Sandbox Editor, you can now release your commercial games on Linux as well as on PC- and of course, there are still no royalties whatsoever!

Oculus Rift Support

You asked about it, and we listened: Just in time for the announcement of Crytek’s new VR title “Robinson: The Journey” at this year's E3, we included support for the Oculus Rift HMD (Head-mounted display) into EaaS users’ hands. We've included a small demonstration level, aptly titled the "VR_Demo" level. This showcases some information on how you can approach setting up your levels for VR, some of the implications and the immersive benefits of using VR.

Back to Dinosaur Island 2

A follow-up to 'Back to Dinosaur Island', only this time you don't face a ferocious T-Rex. A crashed spaceship on the horizon indicates you could be the only survivor in a strange planet. As you zip-line your way up a cliff, you discover you are not alone in this beautiful but hostile world.

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture

"Immerse yourself in a rich, deep adventure from award-winning developer The Chinese Room and investigate the last days of Yaughton Valley. Uncover the traces of the vanished community; discover fragments of events and memories to piece together the mystery of the apocalypse.
Featuring a beautiful, detailed open-world and a haunting soundtrack, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture is non-linear storytelling at its best."

SVOGI

Sparse Voxel Octree Global Illumination is a system that makes in-game light behave extremely closely to how it does in the real world, adding lifelike immersion. We achieved this by making indirect light bounce off of most objects in the scene. This GI solution is based on voxel ray tracing and provides following effects:

- Dynamic indirect light bounce from static and most of dynamic objects. - Large scale AO and indirect shadows from static geometry (vegetation, brushes and terrain). - Works without pre-baking and does not require manual setup of many bounce lights or light volumes.

Robinson: The Journey by Crytek

Go beyond boundaries in Robinson: The Journey, a brand new virtual reality game from Crytek. Harnessing the power of CRYENGINE, Robinson: The Journey will offer players an unparalleled sense of presence in a game world as they assume the role of a young boy who has crash-landed on a mysterious planet. With freedom to explore their surroundings in 360 degrees of detail, players will become pioneers by interacting with the rich ecosystem around them and unearthing incredible secrets at every turn.

The Climb by Crytek

The Climb brings alive the excitement and thrill of rock climbing in incredible virtual reality. Players will scale new heights and explore stunning environments in a new gaming experience developed exclusively for VR, using the power of CRYENGINE.

We’d also like to take this time to thank our users for their continuous support. Your feedback on every release helps us make decisions better tailored for your collective needs. We hope you enjoyed this slightly nostalgic look back at the year that was 2015 for CRYENGINE, and we look forward to an exciting 2016 with all of you.

All the best,

The CRYENGINE team.