Source engine

The Source engine is a 3D game engine developed largely internally by Valve Software for their first-person shooter computer game Half-Life 2 and for licensing to other developers. It provides rendering, sound, animation, lip syncing, UI (specifically VGUI), networking, artificial intelligence, and physics.

Related Topics:
3D game engine - Valve Software - First-person shooter - Computer game - Half-Life 2 - Lip syncing - UI - VGUI - Networking - Artificial intelligence

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As usual, to utilize the new graphics and visual effects, players require fairly recent video cards, giving GPU manufacturer ATI Technologies an opportunity to partner with Valve on a joint product release, a partnership marred by the delay of flagship product Half-Life 2. Source requires modern hardware to run with all visual and audio effects enabled, but is extremely scalable and can run on very old systems that would choke at other modern technologies. The Source engine's interactivity and responsiveness ties emergent gameplay with the scripted sequences that Half-Life is known for, but the features were not implemented in any notable way in Half-Life 2.

Related Topics:
Video card - GPU - ATI Technologies - Hardware

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The engine's debut was Half-Life 2. Valve have also ported the original Half-Life and mods such as Counter-Strike to the Source engine (appropriately titled ' and '). Other games include ', ', ' and '.

Related Topics:
Half-Life 2 - Ported - Half-Life - Counter-Strike

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Troika Games' ' was the first publicly announced licensee of the Source engine. In fact, Bloodlines 'went gold' before Half-Life 2, though its commercial release was contractually delayed so that Half-Life 2 would hit stores before Bloodlines. Valve later announced licensees including Arkane Studios (for the first-person RPG Dark Messiah of Might & Magic) and Smiling Gator Productions (for ', a MMORPG).

Related Topics:
Troika Games - Went gold - Arkane Studios - Dark Messiah of Might & Magic - MMORPG

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Ritual Entertainment announced on July 4, 2005 that they have licensed both Source and Steam for their new episodic sequel to Sin, SiN Episodes.

Related Topics:
Ritual Entertainment - 2005 - Episodic - Sin - SiN Episodes

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