totally new engine?

May 1, 2001, 17:50

quote from PCGamer

quote:

Civ2 programmer Brian Reynolds' code was essentially replaced by that of six new programmers after Reynolds to found Big Huge Games.

Lawrence of Arabia · May 1, 2001, 18:50

I thought it was the SMAC engine.

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Its okay to smile; you're in America now

Cyclotron · May 1, 2001, 18:55

Yes, every sign seems to point to the SMAC engine, I doubt this is true

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- Cyclotron7, "that supplementary resource fanatic"

Buck Birdseed · May 1, 2001, 18:57

It doesn't look like the SMAC engine... the fact that it uses Voxels means practically nothing.

Zanzin · May 1, 2001, 20:25

Well, it would be nice to see a new engine. The SMAC logic was left over from Civ2, so if they're basing Civ3 on the SMAC engine, then it's safe to say some of the code will be very similar to that of Civ2, which isn't a good thing.

Sometimes it helps to start over fresh, and I hope that's what Firaxis are doing in this case.

aCa · May 2, 2001, 04:07

It has never been planned to run CIV3 on SMAC engine. They just put it in a SMAC engine to try and play test it from the beginning, before they had the time to build the new engine.

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aCa (a Civilization addict)

Zanzin · May 2, 2001, 06:55

Well, lets hope so

The Viceroy · May 2, 2001, 08:09

It looks nothing like the SMAC engine .. In fact, everything I see, looks like the CIV2 engine. For a start, it doesn't have the Hight levels that SMAC does .. it draws its roads like TOT & not SMAC(which joins everything in the middle of each square) .. The coast lines look very CIV2 ...

All in all, if they re-wrote the main display engine, the map display section was either just made more efficient, or used an identical algorithm to that of TOT ..

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"Wherever wood floats, you will find the British" . Napoleon

Adm.Naismith · May 2, 2001, 08:23

quote:

Originally posted by The Viceroy on 05-02-2001 08:09 AM
It looks nothing like the SMAC engine .. In fact, everything I see, looks like the CIV2 engine. For a start, it doesn't have the Hight levels that SMAC does .. it draws its roads like TOT & not SMAC(which joins everything in the middle of each square) .. The coast lines look very CIV2 ...

All in all, if they re-wrote the main display engine, the map display section was either just made more efficient, or used an identical algorithm to that of TOT ..

Yes, they announced a year ago that the SMAC (graphic) engine has been replaced with something different, because they where left unhappy by poor performance (and bugs ?). But it seem to me it was before the Great Team Escape

so everything can be happened.

Surely it seem very Civ II map, to me: let's hope all that flat, flat looking is only a prototype while they complete the new engine development. But if money become relevant, who know, may be they'll pack what they have now and polish it just a bit the tiles before to go gold...

SerapisIV · May 2, 2001, 10:22

Sid's Gamespot UK interview a few months ago said that the first thing they did was use Civ placeholder art in SMAC when starting game production. Being that the engine and game is an iterative process in Sid's development scheme, its easy to see the engine be similar to SMAC, just because no individual prototype/engine would stray very far from earlier designs, but over time would take on a life of its own. Even with Brian Reynolds departure, I doubt that this method was changed.

Imran Siddiqui · May 2, 2001, 15:38

Well, with the whole new resource model, it'd be hard to use the SMAC engine for Civ3. It just wouldn't work right.

Adm.Naismith · May 2, 2001, 17:32

quote:

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui on 05-02-2001 03:38 PM
Well, with the whole new resource model, it'd be hard to use the SMAC engine for Civ3.

Ehm, why not?

Special resources aren't so different from Unity Pod scattering (if we lowered sea level in SMAC some pod appeared: not very different from hidden resources revealed at proper event, IMHO).
The fungus explosion and forest growth, also, are examples of terrain -not player worked- modify.
Not to mention that graphic appearence and undermap resource model are two things quite separated, as far as I know programming job...

Oh well, if they are really so far from the final product (half done, it seem) we can hope they have something to do about a graphic engine total revolution

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Admiral Naismith AKA mcostant

Imran Siddiqui · May 2, 2001, 21:18

Actually, reading about the resource model they seem MUCH different than just Unity Pod Scattering. I'm not just talking about how they look (though technologies uncovering new resources that you couldn't see before are new), but also how they work with the game itself, making them the underpinnings of the Civ3 game.

Adm.Naismith · May 3, 2001, 18:45

Ok, I better understand your point now. Thanks

I was speaking about graphic engine, you about the game engine (rules engine) as a whole.

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Admiral Naismith AKA mcostant

jglidewell · May 4, 2001, 08:10

quote:

Originally posted by Snapcase on 05-01-2001 06:57 PM
It doesn't look like the SMAC engine... the fact that it uses Voxels means practically nothing.

Where did you get that the graphics engine utilizes Voxels?

This would make me start salivating even more.

Admiral PJ · May 4, 2001, 17:17

Voxels graphics? that would be great..
I'm programming with voxel type 3d graphics and they're very powerful (if you have a good computer at least)
They'd fit better on a 3d polygon map too.. which i assume they're using in Firaxis' new game engine.

I'm sure there'll be a lot of new information soon, at least from more games magazine articles.

Admiral Pete

Emperor of BabelFish Oceanus
(CEO of VIRE Tech games )