Anvil (game engine)

AnvilNext Engine
Developer(s) Ubisoft Montreal
Platform Microsoft Windows
PlayStation 3
PlayStation 4
PlayStation Vita
Wii U
Xbox 360
Xbox One
Type Game engine
License Proprietary

Anvil (development project name Scimitar before 2006[1]) is a game engine created in 2007 by Ubisoft Montreal video game developers for use on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

Technology

Claude Langlais (Technical Director of Ubisoft Montreal) says that modeling is done in 3ds Max for environment and ZBrush for characters.[2] The engine uses Autodesk's HumanIK middleware to correctly position the character's hands and feet in climbing and pushing animations at run-time.[3] Anvil has been improved for Assassin's Creed II. Features added include a full night and day cycle, enhanced draw distance, the same vegetation technology used in Far Cry 2, improved lighting, reflection and special effects, new cloth system, and a new AI and NPC navigation system.[4] Assassin's Creed: Lineage short films made by Hybride Technologies (a post-production VFX studio acquired by Ubisoft) and Ubisoft Digital Arts used assets from Anvil to recreate the environment in which the live actors are filmed.[5] The latest iteration of the engine called AnvilNext which is used for Assassin's Creed III has support for weather cycling. AnvilNext is reported to have the ability to render massive crowds up to 2000 characters (while it was a few 100s in the previous versions of the engine). This version of the engine also features a dynamic game world, where the game world will change itself over the course of time. This means enemy settlements may appear/disappear relating to the events in the game. AnvilNext will also feature improved visuals and AI.

Games using the Anvil engine

Under Scimitar name

Under Anvil name

Under AnvilNext name

References

  1. ↑ VE3D, "Prince of Persia 2008 Information Ubidays 2008"
  2. ↑ gamingexcellence.com, Exclusive: Assassin's Creed Q&A - The Scimitar Engine, GamingExcellence, October 25, 2007]
  3. ↑ Autodesk.com, "Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed"
  4. ↑ PC Games Hardware: "Assassin's Creed 2: Engine detailed"
  5. ↑ http://evenements.fr.ubi.com/conference/ Ubisoft E3 Conference, "Convergence" video
  6. ↑ Crecente, Brian. "The Latest Prince of Persia Plays With Solid Water and Flexible Time". Kotaku.
  7. ↑ GAMING NEWS: ASSASSIN’S CREED 3 OFFICIALLY UNVEILED
  8. ↑ Assassin's Creed Unity