NEXT GENERATION RENDERWARE

Criterion unveils all-new graphics solution for next generation

22nd March, 2004, Game Developer Conference (GDC), San Jose: — Criterion Software®, the world's leading provider of game development solutions, chooses GDC 2004 to provide a first look at RenderWare® 4. Taking a ground-up approach, and designed specifically for the power and architecture of future consoles and PCs, RenderWare 4 will enable development teams world-wide to efficiently plan, generate, manage and execute next generation game development, effectively harnessing the power of new hardware, and transcending the hurdles that are set to grow exponentially for next generation content.

The first look at the all-new graphics component of RenderWare 4 showcases an ultra-lightweight core that delivers astounding performance through a completely redesigned architecture and an off-line, distributed, Asset Conditioning Pipeline (ACP) that transforms all game assets into their optimal representations on current and future devices. Underpinning the powerful new graphics, a new architecture has been designed specifically to support vastly more complex, rich and detailed game worlds.

Adam Billyard, CTO, Criterion Software explains, "RenderWare4 has been squarely targeted at what next generation games will bring: massive data sets, parallelism in architecture and huge calls on visual effects. When Criterion began planning for new hardware over two years ago, it was obvious that an iteration of current generation technology simply wouldn't deliver next time around, so we made the critical decision to design and build RenderWare4 completely from the ground up."

Billyard continued, "Capitalizing on the experience of supporting over 500 RenderWare titles to date on current hardware, we have a unique insight into what developers need as far as ease of use and implementation, as well as how to help them deliver stunning performance. What we will be showing at GDC is the first realization of that insight."

"This is only the beginning of the RenderWare 4 rollout for next generation," comments David Lau-Kee, CEO, Criterion Software. The key to harnessing the power of new hardware and delivering new and innovative gameplay is through integration of technologies such as Graphics, Physics, AI and Audio; and, as importantly, managing transition and increased complexity through process. We are working hard on both of these areas, with further early visibility at GDC of our new approach to Dynamics as well as the unveiling of RenderWare Studio 2."