Earlier this year, Crytek launched a creative competition for students in association with the British Library and GameCity. The Off the Map challenge invites students from participating universities and colleges to draw inspiration from a selection of British Library maps and then turn that inspiration into interactive environments using our free CryENGINE 3 SDK.

Among the participants is De Montfort University (DMU). Based in Leicester, DMU was recently listed as one of the top 10 most creative universities in the UK, and have three separate teams from their 2^nd year Game Art course taking part in Off the Map.  

Senior Lecturer in 3D Visualization at DMU, Heather Williams, says the competition provides a great chance for students to broaden their horizons. “The Game Art course is very interested in using game technology for more formal visualization projects as well as generating in-game content, and the CryENGINE SDK is a wonderful tool for this because we can communicate the drama and atmosphere as well as the physical space.”

The latest update to Crytek’s free CryENGINE^® 3 SDK lets users explore a winter wonderland and play with a range of fun new frozen assets.

The CryENGINE^® 3.4.4 “Winter Edition” update features a modified version of the forest level that is included with the free SDK, helping users to learn more about adding a touch of sub-zero style to any environment. Major highlights of the update include the refactoring and development of a new entity for simulating weather called the snow entity. Similar to the rain entity this feature applies a frozen material layer to all objects within a set radius, and has been improved since early iterations to enhance performance.

A new blockbuster MMORPG completed using Crytek’s CryENGINE^® 3 technology is scheduled to launch in South Korea this December.

Cabal 2, developed and published by ESTsoft, is a vast free-to-play adventure set in a world of magic, warfare and breathtaking scenery – all of it brought to life by the talented team at ESTsoft and the power of Crytek’s state-of-the-art development tool. 

Initially set to launch in South Korea, the game is primed to build on the success of its predecessor, Cabal, which grew to attract millions of players around the world. Cabal 2 will lead the way as the first CryENGINE^® 3-developed MMORPG to go on general release, although several more are in development across Asia. At the recent G-Star games expo in South Korea, a further four MMORPG’s created using CryENGINE^® 3 were on show; highlighting the engine’s growing appeal to developers working in this competitive genre.

For more information about Cabal 2 follow this

Crytek GmbH were well represented at the recent G-Star gaming expo in South Korea, with seven games created using CryENGINE^® 3 on show to attendees.

Showcasing everything from early works in progress to finished products, developers including Wemade, XL Games and ESTSoft have all opted to rely on Crytek’s state-of-the-art technology as they create titles they hope will find success within Asia’s vibrant gaming community and beyond.

“More and more developers in Asia are discovering the benefits of working with CryENGINE^® 3,” said Carl Jones, Director of Global Business Development – CryENGINE. “With such a vast and passionate audience of gamers to cater for, developers need technology that allows them to work quickly whilst still ensuring the end product still stands out from the crowd. Increasingly, studios across Asia are realizing that makes CryENGINE^® 3 the natural choice.”

The full list of titles on show at G-Star being developed with CryENGINE^® 3 was; ArcheAge (XLGames), ASTA (Polygon Games), Baseball The Fan (Wisecat), Cabal2 (ESTSoft), Dragon’s Prophet (Runewaker), Icarus (Wemade) and Tour Golf Online (Onnet). Leading Chinese developer Giant are also utilizing CryENGINE^® 3 as they continue work on a major upcoming project.

Crytek GmbHthis week released the latest update to their free CryENGINE^® 3 SDK, adding multiple additions and improvements to the state-of-the-art development tool. 

In the week that saw the company’s groundbreaking FPS, Crysis, turn five, the CryENGINE^® 3.4.3 update carries on Crytek’s tradition of pushing technology forward and providing the development community with the best possible support. Some of the most notable features offered by the update include:

• Dedicated Server
• Revamped Launcher menu
• Sandbox Welcome screen, link to docs & smart open
• Terrain precision/smoothing improved
• Many tweaks/fixes/cleanups to the Sandbox UI
• SSAO improvements
• Improved SSR
• Terrain shadow casting support
• Box projected cubemaps
• Improved DX9 support for Environment Probes
• Performance Optimizations

Version 3.4.3 of the free CryENGINE^® 3 SDK can be downloaded here.