This morning developer BioWare announced that it has officially chosen Simutronics’ HeroEngine to power the upcoming MMOG, Star Wars: The Old Republic.
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The news comes as a surprise, as BioWare’s own Aurora Engine is just over two years old, and currently in use by CD Projekt’s hit PC RPG game, The Witcher. But according to Simutronics, its HeroEngine will allow BioWare to develop the highly-anticipated MMOG in real-time rather than forcing designers to wait for builds to compile; teams located in different locations can build and play the virtual world live on the server simultaneously. Any updates or changes take effect immediately without the need for those pesky "nightly builds and code crunching" as the official PR states. In effect, the HeroEngine should cut down development time, putting a few (much needed) Ben Franklins back into George Lucas’ pocket.
“Our goal was to partner with a platform developer that knows online gaming and virtual world development, and the team at Simutronics has an excellent track record in that respect, ” said Gordon Walton, Co-Studio Director at BioWare. “Their HeroEngine was specifically created for building MMOGs and it allows for a great amount of flexibility in the way our entire team collaborates. ”
While winning various awards for its innovation and ability to update in real-time, Simutronics currently has no final products utilizing this particular engine. Hero’s Journey, the company’s original MMORPG for which the engine was initially built for, currently does not have a projected release date. Four other developers - including Stray Bullet Games and Colony Studios - have licensed the engine but have yet to produce a final product either. Although the HeroEngine’s capabilities seem like a "dream come true" for MMOG developers, it’s interesting that a developer such as BioWare has chosen software that has not performed in the general public.
But Simutronics seems confident that its engine is theanswer for The Old Republic. “The team at BioWare is creating an incredible experience, and we’re honored that they’ve selected our tool to help them build this epic world, ” said David Whatley, Simutronics’ Chief Executive Office andHeroEngine Chief Designer. “We’ve invested years of experience and our passion for virtual world entertainment into developing HeroEngine, and we’re confident that fans and online gaming enthusiasts alike will be happy with the finished product. ”
Simutronics formed in 1987, founded by David Whatley, TomZelinski and Susan Zelinski. Its flagship title was the text-based multiplayer fantasy game GemStone IV, made popular by online services such as AOL, CompuServe and Prodigy; it has become the longest-running commercial MUD in the world. News of BioWare’s use of its 3D engine has been widely known for awhile, however both companies have now made the reports official. And, according to BioWare, Simutronics’ HeroEngine is "da shizzle."
"At BioWare we selected HeroEngine because it had the most sophisticated and complete development tools available for building an amazing online experience, " said Gordon Walton, co-studio Director of BioWare Austin. "Our team wanted a great rapid prototyping environment and to work with experienced MMO developers. HeroEngine from Simutronics is a perfect fit for BioWare Austin’s requirements."
Ik kan er niet aan doen maar het roept bij mij zo'n Tabula Rasa gevoel op.
