Not exactly "new" engine for the future of this franchise.

[Matuzz]

So as we know the current engine Call of Duty franchise has been hauling is based on idTech 3 game engine that first saw action in 1999 (14 years ago) on Quake 3. We are now entering a new generation of console hardware and PC hardware is even a lot more powerful than the consoles. The engine is limited and is a bottleneck to what can be done graphically and physically within the engine on the future Call of Duty games.

 

Now Call of Duty has also entered a three year development cycle from the hectic two year cycle it was before. Giving the developers more time to make their games. Treyarch is by far the largest studio out of the Call of Duty developers and it would only be logical for them to take the task of creating their own brand new engine for Call of Duty. And it seems to be that it is not exactly happening. They are in a progress of hopefully rewriting almost entirely the engine to bring Call of Duty truly into the next generation.

 

What I base my suspicion is this job application of Treyarch:

 

 

Senior Graphics Engineer - Treyarch

Santa Monica, California

Programming

Job Description We are looking for a wicked smart Senior Graphics Engineer to work on our next amazing project.  The ideal candidate will have worked in the videogames industry for more than 5 years and shipped at least two commercial AAA game titles.

 

Treyarch is home to some of the industry's best and brightest talent, and has garnered a reputation for being one of the industry's premier art, design and technology powerhouses. The studio’s successful track record of releasing AAA blockbuster hits, extensive infrastructure and strong management provides a solid foundation from which it can successfully pioneer major franchises and build on our successes to date.

 

What you’ll be doing:

· Analyze, refactor and improve existing graphics/engine technology and tools.

· Research and implement new graphics technology and tools.

· Work with peers and other departments in order to improve workflows and end product quality.

· Work with other Graphics Engineers for the purpose of mentoring and time management.

 

The skills/experience you’ll need:

· Fluent in modern C (experience with templates/STL is a plus)

· Experience with Direct3D/OpenGL and console graphics APIs

· Strong 3D math skills

· Strong understanding of low level CPUs/GPUs operations

· Excellent written and spoken communication skills

· Work well in a team environment

· Capable of working to deadlines

 

· Bachelor's degree in computer science or related field

 

And you’ll really get our attention if you have:

· Experience with X86/SSE, PPC/VMX or other assembly languages

· Experience with C# or other .NET languages

· Experience with PERL/Python or other scripting languages

 

As you can see one of the main requirments is to improve existing graphics/engine technology and tools. But also implement new tools and tehcnologies to it. It seems the engine will get the biggest update on its history but is it enough if they do not almost completely rewrite the source of the engine? We have seen the new image from Sledge Hammer games from their first Call of Duty game and it at least confirms that this years Call of Duty is not going to run on a new engine.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Matuzz

[DeathBringerZen]

I have been told that the engine being used for the Sledgehammer and Treyarch Call of Duty titles is just another updated version of Radiant.

 

Obviously I can only take that at face value, but even with this new found time the developers have, I doubt they would have enough time to create a whole new engine, so I am expecting the same adundance of buggy issues to be present again, and that disappoints me.

[Lenne]

I hope you are wrong.

 

CoD needs a new engine just as much as I need chicken sandwiches. 

 

[Matuzz]

I have been told that the engine being used for the Sledgehammer and Treyarch Call of Duty titles is just another updated version of Radiant.

 

Obviously I can only take that at face value, but even with this new found time the developers have, I doubt they would have enough time to create a whole new engine, so I am expecting the same adundance of buggy issues to be present again, and that disappoints me.

 

I know that High Moond studios is looking for people who know how to develop on Radiant and they are presumably making the last gen version of the Call of Duty 2014:

 

High Moon Studios, part of Activision Blizzard, is developing a high-profile, First Person Shooter for the Xbox 360™ and PlayStation®3. Based in Carlsbad, we offer a creative and challenging environment that fosters collaboration,mentorship and camaraderie. We’re dedicated to making successful high qualitygames, and we are looking for outstanding candidates to join our talented team.

 

 

This is the image that Slege Hammer revealed:

 

The textures and lightning is same old same old. I will personally be skipping the next Call of Duty game.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Matuzz

[DeathBringerZen]

The textures and lightning is same old same old. I will personally be skipping the next Call of Duty game.

 

I too will be skipping it. I only bought Ghosts in the hope that Extinction would be the game-mode to tide me through the off season, but it was not. Even the new Chaos Mode has very limited appeal.

 

I have completely tired of this same old modern combat setting in the CoD titles. WWII or Vietnam would have been nice to see on next-gen technology, but nah... Modern Warfare 4 (or at least based on the MW series) is what we will be getting. Yawn...

 

 

Still, I don't want to sound too negative, and who knows... it might be amazing and revolutionary, but the tired formula of fighting fake wars against people from Iraqistani or Afganadad is boring now. It has been done to death, over what... 6 titles!? This is obviously not included EA's several titles all set in similar territories.

 

The franchise needs a new setting or direction badly.

[Stop Mocking Me0]

New engine or not, the next zombies title will need to include what the fans want: 

 

-Customizable characters for survival,grief,turned,ect.-not the main story maps-  (so far no one has objected to that idea) 

-More zombies on the map at a time

-less glitches and irks.

-better lobby system (including lobby leader boards and Private matches) 

-Wonder weapons return to being 1 hit kill no matter the round. 

-More perks (really hope they bring back the wonder fizz) 

-Better story

-More interactives. 

[Stop Mocking Me0]

 

I have been told that the engine being used for the Sledgehammer and Treyarch Call of Duty titles is just another updated version of Radiant.

 

Obviously I can only take that at face value, but even with this new found time the developers have, I doubt they would have enough time to create a whole new engine, so I am expecting the same adundance of buggy issues to be present again, and that disappoints me.

 

I know that High Moond studios is looking for people who know how to develop on Radiant and they are presumably making the last gen version of the Call of Duty 2014:

 

High Moon Studios, part of Activision Blizzard, is developing a high-profile, First Person Shooter for the Xbox 360™ and PlayStation®3. Based in Carlsbad, we offer a creative and challenging environment that fosters collaboration,mentorship and camaraderie. We’re dedicated to making successful high qualitygames, and we are looking for outstanding candidates to join our talented team.

 

 

This is the image that Slege Hammer revealed:

 

The textures and lightning is same old same old. I will personally be skipping the next Call of Duty game.

 

That's going to be a whole lot of people unless sledge-y can pull a fantastic looking bonus mode out of their ______…..

 

 

Zombies 

Aliens

Warewolves?-Done before, many male gamers hate them.

Vampires?-Same

Cyborgs

Gnomes- Somebody fire this guy...

terrorist?-Because that worked out SO well in MW3

time paradox type missions?- MORE damn it! (LOL trayarch was here) 

clones?- Maybe… liking this but moving on...

multiple dimensions- This idea has been penetrated by bioshock, possibly Infinity ward, even paper mario. 

play AS a terrorist?- May be illegal. 

robots-trayarch again. 

[Slade]

Pretty sure CoD will probably never change or get a new engine that's written from scratch. None of the other current popular franchises have ever done this, so why should CoD? (Assassin's Creed, Battlefield, Gears of War. Every sequel basically runs on upgraded or modified versions of the engine that was used in the previous installment)

The main reason people like to bring this up is because graphically every CoD title looks like a joke.

 

However there's actually little wrong with the IW engine itself. 

The whole engine doesn't need fixing, the rendering part of the engine does. 

The dreadful textures are the result of the games needing to stay locked at 60 frames on consoles with very limited hardware power (360, ps3).

Any other AAA game (Battlefield, Mass Effect, Gears of War, basically every other MP game out there) has their framerate locked at 30, meaning they can put much more detail in the graphics department.

CoD can't because "60 fps at all times"

That's why the graphics are so bad.

 

We'll probably only see real signifcant changes to the graphical fidelity when they completely ditch the last gen versions.

[DeathBringerZen]

The whole engine doesn't need fixing, the rendering part of the engine does. 

 

Going to have to completely disagree with you on that one. The engine is a joke in all departments. The dynamics are pretty poor, with often cluncky, unrealistic movements from the models. It feels rough because the original ID Tech engine was made over 12 years ago. If you actually had the chance to mess around with Radiant, you would see for yourself how poor it was. Even going back and playing WaW zombies shows you how poor the collision and dynamics were.

 

There is also the abbundance of graphical glitches, like lighting bugs, and then there is the host of sound issues. The obvious issues though that show up the dated engine include floating turbines and trample streams, invisible excavators on Moon, glitched out lander sounds on Ascension, Afterlife symbols on MotD, glitched out bosses on... well, every map probably.

 

There is literally hundreds of known issues that all steam from the engine being extremely dated, so instead of creating a new one, the just continue to update the same one. Visually it improves, but the dynamics behind it always stay the same. Tranzit apparently pushed the Xbox to the limits, yet it only pushed the version of Radiant it was running on. GTA V (hell... GTA 4) proves that a good engine can get more from the hardware.

 

Point being, there is plenty of indisputable evidence to confirm the engine is dated and needs changed.

[Slade]

 

Going to have to completely disagree with you on that one. The engine is a joke in all departments. The dynamics are pretty poor, with often cluncky, unrealistic movements from the models. It feels rough because the original ID Tech engine was made over 12 years ago. If you actually had the chance to mess around with Radiant, you would see for yourself how poor it was. Even going back and playing WaW zombies shows you how poor the collision and dynamics were.

 

There is also the abbundance of graphical glitches, like lighting bugs, and then there is the host of sound issues. The obvious issues though that show up the dated engine include floating turbines and trample streams, invisible excavators on Moon, glitched out lander sounds on Ascension, Afterlife symbols on MotD, glitched out bosses on... well, every map probably.

 

There is literally hundreds of known issues that all steam from the engine being extremely dated, so instead of creating a new one, the just continue to update the same one. Visually it improves, but the dynamics behind it always stay the same. Tranzit apparently pushed the Xbox to the limits, yet it only pushed the version of Radiant it was running on. GTA V (hell... GTA 4) proves that a good engine can get more from the hardware.

 

Point being, there is plenty of indisputable evidence to confirm the engine is dated and needs changed.

 

 

 

Models, dynamics, and all graphical glitches can be filed under the rendering capabilities of an engine.

Collision and the floating objects you mentioned, invisible excavators and glitched out sounds are scripting errors, the engine's not to blame for that. Treyarch  is. (hence why the collision on BO1 is a LOT better than waws)

I've looked at almost all the gscs (script files) of every map, and there are dozens if not hundreds of errors in each.

 

The COD engine we know today was first introduced in CoD4. Yes it's based on older engine's but honestly, which engine isn't?

It's not like Unreal Engine 3 is written from scratch. Nor is the Frostbite 3 engine.

The only difference is that those engines focus on great visuals, whereas the IW engines (focused on the time and still is) on getting 60 fps on the last-gen.

 

In the end, I'm not defending Treyarch or this engine. (Blops 2 PC on ultra still looks like a 2003 game)

But people are so quick to call the whole engine shit, and say they must switch or write a new one. While the problem lies within certain parts of the engine.

Writing a new engine from scratch takes time. Time which these studios simply don't have considering the annual nature of CoD.

And Activision won't allow them to switch to another one like Unreal  simply because getting the license costs a lot of money. Same reason Mass Effect 4 is running on Frostbite 3. Because the engine is owned by EA (Mass Effect's publisher).

[DeathBringerZen]

I am not 100% on this one, but I believe the Unreal 3 engine WAS a completely rewritten engine, as opposed to Unreal 1 to 2.5 being based off the same engine.

 

The way I look at it, is that the ID Tech engine was originally made for Quake 3, before it was upgraded to create Doom 3 and Quake 4. That is pretty damn old, and I know the reason they don't create a new one is the time scale, but the basics of Radiant are obvious. I know they continue to upgrade it each year to allow a higher FX limit, and larger limitations, but the engine still runs the program, and I don't think poor scripting can be blamed for all of it.

 

Still, I am not sure exactly the issue, so can only speculate, but having used Radiant a few times, I can see that it is pretty poor. Hell, even companies like EA, Bethesda and Valve have made statements on how trashy the CoD engine is, and they pretty much all stated that the series should take a hiatus while a new engine is put in place.

 

My knowledge of the engine is novice to amateur, but if these companies are slagging it off, and you would assume they know what they are talking about, then you would think that they are right.

[Matuzz]

Infinity Ward's next game will come out in 2016. They will be using the old engine:

 

Senior Systems Designer

Requisition ID GAM0000C1

Description

Infinity Ward is seeking an experienced Designer that is looking to lead the effort in creating gameplay systems, game modes and scripted events for an exciting new project.
Candidates must have experience with C-style scripting languages and have the ability to think like a programmer to solve problems and accomplish a vision.  Furthermore you should be comfortable writing script to handle gameplay systems such as basic AI behavior, cooperative mechanics, weapons, and scripted sequences.Applicants should have the ability to show actual playable levels or gameplay systems that you have personally scripted for an existing title or personal project.

Requirements:

• Minimum of two (2) to three (3) years of game industry experience.
• Knowledge and experience with a C style programming or scripting language.
• Strong game design skills:  must be able to intelligently discuss the strengths and weaknesses of recent games and be able to list techniques used to make fun FPS combat.
• Create and refine gameplay mechanics.
• Passion for First Person Shooters, Console or PC.
• Ability to collaborate well with your team.
• Prioritize and meet deadlines.
• Communicate progress with the lead designer well and frequently.

Pluses:

• Prior experience with ID Tech / Radiant.
• Knowledge and prior experience with multiple scripting languages.
• MP debugging experience.

Job:Game/Level Design
Primary Location: Woodland Hills

[Slade]

gameinformer confirmed that Advanced Warfare will be running on an (unspecified) all-new engine.

[Lenne]

gameinformer confirmed that Advanced Warfare will be running on an (unspecified) all-new engine.

 

I believe it when I play it.

[Slade]

Hahahaha, very good.

[Matuzz]

gameinformer confirmed that Advanced Warfare will be running on an (unspecified) all-new engine.

Calling BS on that. High Moon Studios are looking for people with experience with Radiant and they are making the last gen ports. Also check the Ghosts website: http://www.callofduty.com/ghosts/features/mp/immersion

 

Some how it says in cat sized letters NEW ENGINE. Hah, we all know the truth....