Jump to content

Creation Engine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Creation Engine
Developer(s)Bethesda Game Studios
Initial releaseNovember 2011;12 years ago(2011-11)
Written inC++
MiddlewareScaleform,Havok Behavior,Radiant AI,Radiant Story
Platform
LicenseProprietary

Creation Engineis a3D video game enginecreated byBethesda Game Studiosbased on theGamebryoengine. The Creation Engine has been used to createrole-playing video gamessuch asThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,Fallout 4,andFallout 76.A new iteration of the engine, Creation Engine 2, was used to createStarfield.The Creation Engine has been tailor-made for large-scale open-world RPGs.[1]

Development

[edit]

After using theGamebryoengine to createThe Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind,The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,andFallout 3,Bethesda decided that Gamebryo's capabilities were becoming too outdated and began work on the Creation Engine for their next game,The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,byforkingthe codebase used forFallout 3.

Following the completion ofSkyrim,Bethesda set out to enhance the graphical core of the Creation Engine by first adding aphysically baseddeferredrenderer to allow for more dynamic lighting and to paint materials object surfaces with realistic materials. Bethesda worked with technology companyNvidiato implementvolumetric lightingthrough a technique that makes use ofhardware tesselation.[2][3]Additionally the updated version of the Creation Engine powering Bethesda'sFallout 4offers more advanced character generation.[4][5][6]

Bethesda Game Studios Austin(at the time BattleCry Studios) was tasked with modifying the Creation Engine to support multiplayer content in preparation for the development ofFallout 76shortly before the release ofFallout 4,while Bethesda Game Studios began development ofStarfieldand downloadable content forFallout 4.In conjunction withid Software(a fellowZeniMaxsubsidiary), BattleCry attempted to integrate id'sQuakenetcodeintoFallout 4's engine. This was considered a challenge by experts in the online game industry. A primary issue facing the developers was that components of the core engine (dating back to Gamebryo used inThe Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind) such as quests or world loading were designed centering on a single player (dubbed "Atlas"by the developers for its role in holding up the fabric of the loaded game world), a paradigm that would need to fundamentally change to allow multiple players spanning multiple worlds.[7]

In addition to the network changes to the engine used inFallout 4,theFallout 76implementation of the engine was described at the game's E3 reveal as having "all new rendering, lighting, and landscape technology". Bethesda Game Studios claims the improvements also allow for a 16× increase in detail and the ability to view unique weather systems occurring at a distance.[8]

Creation Engine 2

[edit]

Bethesda revealed in June 2021 that they were working on a new iteration of the engine called Creation Engine 2, and that it would power their upcoming gamesStarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls VI.[9][10][11][12]Creation Engine 2 features real-time global illumination and advanced volumetric lighting.[13]Creation Engine 2 also features improved texture resolution and post-processing effects.[14]

Features

[edit]
  • Havok Behavioris a flexible animation tool that allows the developers to blend animations together in a few clicks. This means that animations such as walking and running can be blended together seamlessly to make the animations look much more realistic. This important addition enabled Bethesda to improve character animations in their games.[15]
  • An upgraded version ofRadiant AIallowsnon-player characters(NPCs) to dynamically react and interact with the world around them. The player can observe an NPC eat breakfast, go to work, go to the pub, and then go to sleep. The improved AI allows NPCs to react to the player's actions and they can become friendly or hostile to the player because of their actions.[15]
  • Radiant Storyallows for NPCs to dynamically create new quests for the player in unexplored places.[15]
  • In previous games, Bethesda licensedSpeedTreefor trees and foliage, but when makingSkyrimwith Creation Engine, the Bethesda team made their own foliage rendering system. The new system is capable of rendering larger amounts of foliage at one time and allows for more freedom with animations.[15]

Creation Kit

[edit]
Creation Kit logo

The Creation Kit is amoddingtool for Creation Engine games. The Creation Kit takes advantage of the Creation Engine's modular nature. It was created by Bethesda Game Studios for the modding community ofThe Elder Scrollsseries.[16]The tool can be used to create worlds, races, NPCs, weapons, update textures, and fix bugs. Mods created using this tool are hosted on theSteam Workshop,Nexus Mods,Bethesda.net and various other sites.

AFallout 4–compatible Creation Kit was released in April 2016.[17]

The Creation Kit is a new version of Bethesda's editor developed for Gamebryo, known as The Elder Scrolls Construction Set forThe Elder Scrolls III: MorrowindandThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,and as the Garden of Eden Creation Kit forFallout 3(referencing an in-game item of the same name).

A new Creation Kit with the support for Starfield's Creation Engine 2 was released on June 9 2024.[18]

Games using Creation Engine

[edit]

Creation Engine

[edit]

Creation Engine 2

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Game developers shed light on why Starfield didn't use Unreal Engine".Rock Paper Shotgun.September 5, 2023.Archivedfrom the original on January 15, 2024.RetrievedFebruary 10,2024.
  2. ^"The Graphics Technology of Fallout 4".Bethesda Softworks.November 4, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on August 28, 2017.RetrievedAugust 27,2017.
  3. ^"An inside look at the technology powering 'Fallout 4,' one of the biggest games of the year".Insider.November 18, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on November 20, 2015.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.
  4. ^abChapple, Craig (June 15, 2015)."E3 2015: Fallout 4 running on next-gen version of Creation Engine".Develop.NewBay Media.Archivedfrom the original on July 4, 2015.RetrievedOctober 17,2015.
  5. ^"Fallout 4: how Creation Engine enhancements make the game shine".VG247.November 4, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on November 5, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.
  6. ^"Bethesda explains how the Creation Engine made Fallout 4 so pretty".Destructoid.November 4, 2015.Archivedfrom the original on November 5, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.
  7. ^abNoclip(June 12, 2018)."The Making of Fallout 76 - Noclip Documentary".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on June 13, 2018.RetrievedJune 17,2018.
  8. ^Bethesda Softworks (June 12, 2018)."Bethesda Game Studios E3 2018 Showcase".YouTube.Archivedfrom the original on June 20, 2018.RetrievedJune 17,2018.
  9. ^"Starfield Will Run on New Game Engine, Confirms Bethesda".Gaming Intel.June 14, 2021. Archived fromthe originalon June 14, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.
  10. ^"The Elder Scrolls 6 Will Use Creation Engine 2, Like Starfield, But It's Still A Long Ways Off".Game Informer.June 29, 2021. Archived fromthe originalon June 29, 2021.
  11. ^"The Elder Scrolls 6 is Using Same Engine as Starfield, Still in 'Design Phase'".Game Rant.June 29, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on July 2, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.
  12. ^"New Starfield video introduces the Settled Systems and its factions".Video Games Chronicle.October 20, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on October 20, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.
  13. ^"Starfield's new Creation Engine took 'so long to do,' Bethesda's Todd Howard happy with results".TweakTown.June 30, 2023.Archivedfrom the original on July 10, 2023.RetrievedJuly 2,2023.
  14. ^"Starfield: the Creation Engine evolves to deliver massive ambition, scale and scope".Eurogamer.September 2, 2023.
  15. ^abcdeBertz, Matt (January 17, 2011)."The Technology Behind The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim".Game Informer.GameStop.Archived fromthe originalon January 20, 2011.RetrievedOctober 17,2015.
  16. ^"The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Creation Kit Preview".February 1, 2012.Archivedfrom the original on June 1, 2013.RetrievedDecember 22,2017.
  17. ^"Fallout 4 Creation Kit and mod support are now available".PC Gamer.April 26, 2016.Archivedfrom the original on December 23, 2017.RetrievedDecember 22,2017.
  18. ^"Todd Howard confirms Starfield Creation Kit mod support will launch in 2024".Destructoid.September 10, 2023.RetrievedNovember 23,2023.
  19. ^"Starfield Coming November 11, 2022".Bethesda.June 13, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on June 13, 2021.RetrievedJune 14,2021.
  20. ^"Todd Howard explains how The Elder Scrolls 6 will build on Starfield's engine".GamesRadar+.June 30, 2021.Archivedfrom the original on June 29, 2021.RetrievedNovember 5,2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Creation_Engine&oldid=1244365827"