id Tech 5is aproprietarygame enginedeveloped byid Software.It followed its predecessors,id Tech 1,2,3and4,all of which had subsequently been published under theGNU General Public License.It was seen as a major advancement overid Tech 4.The engine was first demonstrated at theWWDC2007 byJohn D. Carmackon an eight-core computer; however, the demo used only a single core with single-threadedOpenGLimplementation running on a 512 MB 7000 classQuadrovideo card.[1]id Tech 5 was first used in the video gameRage,followed byWolfenstein: The New Order,The Evil WithinandWolfenstein: The Old Blood.It was followed up byid Tech 6.
 | |
| Original author(s) | John Carmack |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | id Software |
| Written in | C++,AMPL,Clipper,Python(AI) |
| Platform | Microsoft Windows,OS X,PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4,Xbox 360,Xbox One |
| Predecessor | id Tech 4 |
| Successor | id Tech 6 |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | idsoftware |
Features
editThe initial demonstration of the engine featured 20 GB of texture data (using a more advancedMegaTextureapproach calledVirtual Texturing,[2]which supports textures with resolutions up to 128,000 × 128,000 pixels), and a completely dynamic and changeable world. This technique allows the engine to automatically stream textures into memory as needed, meaning that developers need not concern themselves with memory restraints or texture limits. This has the advantage of simplifying the creation of content, by eliminating the need to adapt content for different platforms. The engine automatically optimizes resources for cross-platform development, making it possible to render the same models on different platforms, while creating them for only one platform, further simplifying cross-platform development.[3]
One of the visually evident features the renderer included is apenumbrain the shadowing (soft edges), by usingshadow maps.In contrast, id Tech 4, which featured volume-based shadows, had very sharply defined shadows. Numerous other advanced graphical effects such as various materials for lighting,high-dynamic-range rendering-centric effects, bloom,crepuscular rays(volumetric lighting),radiosity,[4]soft particles, pixel shader effects,Alpha to coverage,post processing, Screen Space Reflection, dynamic water surfaces, procedural animation,cloth simulation,depth of field,andmotion blur,are contained.Multi-threadedprocessing on the CPU is done for many of its tasks, including rendering, game logic, AI, physics, and sound processing.
The engine comes with a content-creation tools package called id Studio, which is supposed to be much more user-friendly and polished than in earlier versions. Previously, content creation required artists to run various command-line tools beyond the level editor's own tools, while id Tech 5 allows for all work to be done 'in-engine'.
While id Software will be using the engine solely for creating shooter games, the engine also has the capability to operate outside of this genre. Steve Nix from id Software stated that "Not only do we think people can make games outside the action-shooter space with our technology, we encourage it. We'd actually like to see those games made."[3]
Marketing and licensing
editThe engine was first publicly shown during the 2007 Apple Worldwide Developers Conference keynote address, then was later shown privately to an audience of potential licensees atE32007. The first public demonstration focusing exclusively on the engine took place atQuakeConin the same year[5]during the annual keynote held by John Carmack.
An interview with John Carmack, the lead graphics engine developer at id (at the time), indicated that like its predecessors, id Tech 5 would eventually be released asopen-source.The move to open source would likely come many years after id Tech 5's release as a proprietary engine. AtQuakeCon2007, Carmack toldLinuxGamesthat he would integrate as little proprietary software as possible into id Tech 5, as "eventually id Tech 5 is going to be open source also. This is still the law of the land at id, that the policy is that we’re not going to integrate stuff that’s going to make it impossible for us to do an eventual open source release."[6]Carmack resigned from id in 2013, and no source code release followed the launch ofid Tech 6in 2016.
AtQuakeCon2010, id CEOTodd Hollensheadannounced that while id Tech 5 could be shared with internalZeniMax Mediadevelopers, the engine will not be available for external licensing.[7]On November 10, 2010 it was announced that the first ZeniMax internal developer to work with the engine would beMachineGames.
Void and Stem engines
editDuring the development ofDishonored 2,Arkane Studiosrewrote majority of the id Tech 5 for purposes required for the development of the game.[8]The new version of the engine was named "Void" engine. Arkane removed unneeded elements from the engine like the mini open world and overhauled the graphics. The new engine is intended to improve in-game lighting and post-processing to help the game's visuals, and allows the game to visualizesubsurface scattering.[9]The same engine was used in a standalone expansion packDishonored: Death of the Outsider.Arkane later made their 2021 gameDeathloopalso using the upgraded Void engine.[10]
During the development ofThe Evil Within,Tango Gameworkshas also made heavy changes to the id Tech 5 engine for their own game.[11][12]During the development ofThe Evil Within 2further changes were made; the new version of the engine was named the "Stem" engine.[13][14]
Games using id Tech 5
edit| Year | Title | Developer |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Rage: Mutant Bash TV[15] | id Software |
| 2011 | Rage | id Software |
| 2014 | Wolfenstein: The New Order | MachineGames |
| The Evil Within | Tango Gameworks | |
| 2015 | Wolfenstein: The Old Blood | MachineGames |
| 2017 | The Evil Within 2 | Tango Gameworks |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"Cain's Carmack Quickie".Gaminggroove.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-09-27.
- ^"From Texture Virtualization to Massive Parallelization"(PDF).Id Software.August 2009. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2009-10-07.Retrieved2009-07-07.
- ^abYu, James."E3 Q&A: id's Nix on Tech 5 Engine licensing".GameSpot.Retrieved2007-07-15.
- ^"RAGE 60fps demo on iPhone 4 by John Carmack".YouTube.August 2010.Retrieved2011-05-18.[dead YouTube link]
- ^Adams, Dan."E3 2007: id Into the Future".IGN. Archived fromthe originalon August 18, 2007.Retrieved2007-07-14.
- ^"LinuxGames - Embrace your inner penguin".Archived fromthe originalon 2008-10-03.
- ^Graft, Kris."id Tech 5 Rage Engine No Longer Up For External Licensing".Gamasutra.RetrievedAugust 12,2018.
- ^"Void engine allows Arkane to push the boundaries in every corner".Gameplanet.Mighty Ape.Archived fromthe originalon 25 August 2016.Retrieved13 July2024.
It is based on the Id Tech 5 engine, but we kept like 20 percent of the engine and we did the AI stuff.
- ^"Harvey Smith wants Dishonored to become a pen and paper RPG".21 June 2016.
- ^Hayton, Phil (15 September 2021)."Arkane is investigating Deathloop's performance issues" as a priority "".PCGamesN.Retrieved23 September2021.
- ^"The Evil within | Polygon E3 2014".Polygon.
- ^Lucy O'Brien (23 April 2013)."The Evil Within -- First Look".IGN.
- ^"The Evil within 2 Powered by Modified idTech: STEM Engine".23 September 2017.
- ^"The Evil within 2 will be powered by the STEM Engine; custom-built engine based on idTech".24 September 2017.
- ^Schramm, Mike (16 November 2010)."Rage: Mutant Bash TV brings id Tech 5 to iOS".Engadget.Yahoo! Inc.Retrieved13 July2024.
External links
edit- Official id Tech 5 licensing pageat theWayback Machine(archived March 2, 2009)
- id Tech 5 press releaseat theWayback Machine(archived November 18, 2007)
- From Texture Virtualization to Massive Parallelization(SIGGRAPH2009)
- Timothee Besset's Blog post on possible porting to Linux
