Krakow-based studio Reality Pump has made available for free the latest version of the engine, whose previous editions power such titles as Two Worlds and Two Worlds II. Independent developers or those just starting out in game development can download it from the developer’s official website.
The GRACE2 SDK, a set of libraries included in the latest version of the Reality Pump studio’s engine, is now available for free download on a site set up by the developer. On it, you can also find a lot of useful information related to its use. It is worth recalling that previous versions of the engine have powered such titles as Two Worlds and Two Worlds II.
The offer of the company headed by Miroslaw Dymek, a legend of the Polish game market, is aimed at indie developers and those just beginning their adventure in development. Reality Pump provides them with full support in the process of creating games using GRACE2, offering favorable licensing terms – the use of the engine is free for non-commercial and educational purposes. In contrast, a commercial license can be paid for only after the game is released.
What capabilities does GRACE2 offer? It is based on the C++ language and was developed over the past two years by 10 experienced programmers. Its biggest advantages are its multiplatform capabilities, which allow the development of games for Windows, Android, iOS, and Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles.
It also offers a wide range of features that enable the creation of casual titles for mobile platforms and, in the future, high-budget games with advanced options, such as renderers using DirectX 9-11 and OpenGL 3.0+, a high-quality physics system (based on PhysX, Bullet or Box2D) and scripting (AngelScript and Tetragrammaton).
So far, the engine is in the beta testing phase, which will last until September 1. A whole series of editors will be added to the GRACE2 SDK over time, allowing to create and change many elements in terms of graphics, object mechanics, and sound. A full list of the engine’s capabilities is available on its official website. You can also read tutorials and find much other useful information there.
Reality Pump has made the GRACE2 engine available for free – illustration #2Providing independent developers with kits containing the graphics engine and accompanying tools is by no means a novelty in the world of electronic entertainment. The most well-known studios have been using this option for some time. Suffice it to mention the UDK, or Unreal Development Kit by Epic studio, based on the Unreal Engine 3 engine, the Source SDK by Valve, or the CryENGINE 3 SDK by German studio Crytek. Their distribution is usually based on very favorable licensing terms, allows promotion of the engine, and provides an additional source of profit in case of the success of the title.
Reality Pump’s initiative is certainly commendable. It is a valuable contribution to the development of the Polish game market. It fosters a solution to many of the problems plaguing it, such as the issue of financing small projects and supporting independent game developers by much more experienced developers.
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