C4 Engine
Developer(s) | Terathon Software LLC |
---|---|
Stable release | Version 7.0
/ March 22, 2023 |
Platform | PlayStation 5 PlayStation 4 Xbox One Microsoft Windows |
Type | Game engine |
License | Multiple types |
Website | c4engine |
The C4 Engine is a proprietary computer
.Development history
Development of the C4 Engine is led by computer graphics author Eric Lengyel, who is also the founder of Terathon Software. Although in development sporadically for several years beforehand, the engine was first made available under a commercial license in May, 2005. Due to changing market conditions, the C4 Engine was retired in 2015, but an announcement has been made that it is returning in 2021.[3] C4 Engine version 7.0 is released on 22 March 2023.
Capabilities and features
The architecture of the C4 Engine is that of a layered collection of software components,
Graphics
The C4 Engine is based on the OpenGL library[6] on Windows, Mac, Linux, and iOS platforms, and it uses a one-pass-per-light forward rendering model. The engine is capable of rendering with several different types of light sources and shadowing methods.[7] The primary method for rendering dynamic shadows is shadow mapping, and a variant of cascaded shadow mapping is used for very large outdoor scenes.
C4 also includes a graphical Shader Editor that allows complex custom materials to be created using a large set of predefined operations.[9] This method of designing materials enables greater creative freedom and functionality for expert users, but requires somewhat more work by the user. Materials created using the standard material attributes can be converted to custom shaders to serve as a starting point in the Shader Editor.
The terrain capabilities of the C4 Engine are based on a voxel technology,[10] allowing full 3D sculpting to produce features such as overhangs, arches, and truly vertical cliffs that would not be possible under a conventional height-based terrain system. Triangle meshes are generated from voxel data using the Marching cubes algorithm, and seamless multiresolution level of detail is made possible by using the Transvoxel algorithm to stitch together regions of differing resolutions.
The engine is capable of rendering a large variety of special effects, including particle systems, procedural fire, electrical effects, volumetric fog, and weather phenomena.[11] During a post-processing stage, the engine can also apply full-scene cinematic motion blur to the final image using a technique based on a velocity buffer,[12] as well as glow and distortion effects. The engine does not provide the capability to design custom post-processing effects.
Audio
The C4 Engine can play sounds stored in the WAV format using 16-bit mono or stereo sampling, and audio data can be played from memory or streamed from disk. The engine plays sounds using a custom mixer that provides capabilities such as frequency shifting, Doppler effect, reverberation, and atmospheric absorption.
Networking
Multiplayer gameplay in C4 is supported by a two-layer messaging system that uses the User Datagram Protocol to communicate among different computers connected to a game.
Physics
The C4 Engine has a native physics engine which can be used or allows the option for implementing a 3rd party solution instead.
Tools
The C4 Engine ships with basic game development tools required to make a modern game. Each tool is packaged as a plugin module that exists separately from the engine itself. Many tools make use of the comprehensive graphical user interface system provided by the engine so that a consistent interface is presented to the user across multiple platforms.
World Editor
The
The World Editor can import scene information through the
Script editor
The World Editor tool includes a graphical script editor designed to be accessible to artists and
The engine ships with several standard script methods that perform simple actions such as enabling or disabling a scene node (for example, to turn a light on or off) and more complex actions such as evaluating an arbitrary mathematical expression. New script methods can be defined by the game code, and they appear in the script editor as custom actions that can be used by a level designer.
Panel editor
The World Editor tool includes a sub-editor called the "panel editor" providing for the creation of 2D interface panels that can be placed inside a 3D world. The panel editor lets the user place various types of
Interface panels are both dynamic and interactive. The engine provides an extensible set of "mutators" that can be applied to individual panel items to induce various forms of animation such as scrolling, rotation, or color change. A character in a game can interact with a panel by approaching it and clicking the mouse inside interactive items. Script can be attached to such items, causing a sequence of actions to occur when the player activates them.
Licensing
The C4 Engine is licensed for $100 per person, and this includes all future updates at no additional cost.
Academics
The C4 Engine has been licensed by many universities in connection with games-oriented software engineering curricula or for special research projects. These universities include
One particular university research project involved the TactaVest technology developed at WPI,[21] and their use of the C4 Engine was featured in the Discovery Channel Canada television show Daily Planet airing on May 26, 2006.[22]
Games using C4
Games that use the C4 Engine include:
- Fat Princess Adventures for PlayStation 4[23]
- World of Subways[24][25]
- City Bus Simulator 2010[25][26]
- Lego Wolf3D[27][28][29]
- Quest of Persia: Lotfali Khan Zand[30]
- The 31st[25][31]
- Utility Vehicle Simulator 2012[25][32]
- Bridge! The Construction Game[25][32]
- Rolling[32]
- Wingball[25][33]
- Ludicrous[25][34]
- Gremlin Invasion[25][35]
- Gremlin Invasion: Survivor[25][36]
- 1 Carnaval De Distorções[25][37]
- Tauchfahrt zur Titanic[25][37]
- Bounce![38]
- The Visible Dark[25]
- World Hunter[25][39]
- Rabbit[25][40]
- GreySoul[25][41]
References
- ^ "PlayStation4 Tools & Middleware Developers". Archived from the original on 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
- ISBN 978-0-7637-8451-5.
- ^ "Eric Lengyel on Twitter".
- ^ "C4 Engine Architecture" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-23. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
- ISBN 978-1-56881-413-1.
- ^ "OpenGL API-based Product Listings". OpenGL.org. Archived from the original on 2009-08-29. Retrieved 2009-12-22.
- ^ "Lights and Shadows". C4 Engine wiki. Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2007-11-28.
- ISBN 978-0-9858117-1-6.
- ^ "Shader Editor". C4 Engine wiki.
- ISBN 978-0-13-149498-5.
- ^ "C4 Engine Features". Archived from the original on 2013-05-09.
- ISBN 978-0-7637-7888-0.
- ISBN 978-1-4357-5642-7.
- ^ "World Editor". C4 Engine wiki.
- ^ "Open Game Engine Exchange".
- ^ "Technology-enabled COLLADA products". Khronos.org. Archived from the original on 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2009-12-22.
- ^ "Script Editor". C4 Engine wiki.
- ^ "Panel Editor". C4 Engine wiki.
- ^ "List of schools using the C4 Engine". Archived from the original on 2013-09-05. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ "CS IMGD IGF Submissions".
- ^ "TactaVest at WPI". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
- ^ "Daily Planet video about TactaVest and C4 Engine". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-14.
- ^ Fat Princess Adventures announced for PS4
- ^ "World of Subways: Home". Archived from the original on 2008-08-28. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "C4 Engine Screenshots". Archived from the original on 2012-07-29. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ City Bus Simulator: HOME
- ^ "Lego Wolf3D on Mod DB". 6 September 2012.
- ^ "Wolf 3D Dome news".
- ^ "Free PC Gamers".
- ^ "Quest of Persia website".
- ^ The 31st - A Game by Terathon Software
- ^ a b c "MK-Lab". Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ "Wingball - Home - Freeware game for Windows, Linux (soon) and Mac (eventually)". Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ Ludicrous Windows, Mac game - Indie DB
- ^ "CS Squared Games". Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^ CS Squared Games
- ^ a b "1 Carnaval de Distorções » Saiba mais sobre o projeto em desenvolvimento". Archived from the original on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
- ^ "- Home". Archived from the original on 2011-08-10. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- ^ PSR Outdoors. The most realistic hunting games for your PC
- ^ "Home". archangelstudio.net.
- ^ "GreySoul". Archived from the original on 2011-10-27. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
External links
- Official website
- C4 Engine on Mod DB
- C4 Engine on DevMaster