CryENGINE Game Development Beginner's Guide Discover how to use the CryENGINE free SDK, the next-generation, real-time game development tool Sean Tracy Paul Reindell BIRMINGHAM - MUMBAI CryENGINE Game Development Beginner's Guide Copyright © 2012 Packt Publishing All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied Neither the authors, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information First published: September 2012 Production Reference: 1140912 Published by Packt Publishing Ltd Livery Place 35 Livery Street Birmingham B3 2PB, UK ISBN 978-1-84969-200-7 www.packtpub.com Cover Image by Hazel Denise Karunungan (denise@crytek.com) Credits Authors Copy Editors Sean Tracy Insiya Morbiwala Paul Reindell Laxmi Subramanian Reviewers Marcieb Balisacan Project Coordinator Leena Purkait Michelle M Fernandez Christos Gatzidis Sascha Hoba Robertson Holt Lee Chiu Yi Joanna Proofreader Clyde Jenkins Indexer Monica Ajmera Mehta Adam Johnson Morgan Kita Graphics Valentina D'silva Acquisition Editor Aditi Gajjar Robin de Jongh Production Coordinators Lead Technical Editor Dayan Hyames Technical Editors Sharvari Baet Manmeet Singh Vasir Jalasha D'costa Nitesh Thakur Manu Joseph Cover Work Nitesh Thakur About the Authors Sean Tracy is Crytek's Senior Field Application Engineer for the award-winning CryENGINE He is responsible for adapting the engine and its features to individual licensees, as well as developing full technical and "vertical slice" demos for prospective and existing clients Describing himself as a "generalizing specialist", he also gives support directly to CryENGINE licensees while designing and maintaining their workflows, pipelines, and development techniques Sean was recruited by Crytek in 2008 after working as an electronics technician for the Canadian military He was recruited due to his role in founding and leading development on the award-winning total conversion project—MechWarrior: Living Legends Since then, he has been featured in numerous gaming magazines and has been invited to speak at many game-related trade shows, conferences, and seminars He is an avid gamer with extensive modding experience on titles, including Never Winter Nights, Battlefield, Doom, and Quake This is Sean's second book I would first like to thank my beautiful wife, Kristy, for her love and support throughout the process of writing this book and for her ongoing support allowing me to what I truly enjoy for a living I also want to thank her for giving us a gorgeous baby girl who is the light of my life I would also like to thank my colleagues for taking the time to review the book with me, as it's a pleasure to work with people with the same love for real-time technology as I have Finally, I'd like to thank Crytek and Packt for their support in allowing me to write this book and for making one of the best game engines on the market CryENGINE Cookbook ISBN: 978-1-84969-106-2 Paperback: 324 pages Over 90 recipes written by Crytek developers for creating third-generation real-time games Begin developing your AAA game or simulation by harnessing the power of the award winning CryENGINE3 Create entire game worlds using the powerful CryENGINE Sandbox Create your very own customized content for use within the CryENGINE3 with the multiple creation recipes in this book Google SketchUp for Game Design: Beginner's Guide ISBN: 978-1-84969-134-5 Paperback: 270 pages Create 3D game worlds complete with textures, levels, and props Learn how to create realistic game worlds with Google's easy 3D modeling tool Populate your games with realistic terrain, buildings, vehicles and objects Import to game engines such as Unity 3D and create a first person 3D game simulation Learn the skills you need to sell low polygon 3D objects in game asset stores Please check www.PacktPub.com for information on our titles Blender 3D Basics Beginner's Guide ISBN: 978-1-84951-690-7 Paperback: 468 pages The Complete novice's guide to 3D modeling and animation The best starter guide for complete newcomers to 3D modeling and animation Easier learning curve than any other book on Blender You will learn all the important foundation skills ready to apply to any 3D software Unity 3D Game Development by Example Beginner's Guide ISBN: 978-1-84969-054-6 Paperback: 384 pages A seat-of-your-pants manual for building fun, groovy little games quickly Build fun games using the free Unity 3D game engine even if you've never coded before Learn how to "skin" projects to make totally different games from the same file – more games, less effort! Deploy your games to the Internet so that your friends and family can play them Packed with ideas, inspiration, and advice for your own game design and development Please check www.PacktPub.com for information on our titles ... free Unity 3D game engine even if you''ve never coded before Learn how to "skin" projects to make totally different games from the same file – more games, less effort! Deploy your games to the... SketchUp for Game Design: Beginner''s Guide ISBN: 978-1-84969-134-5 Paperback: 270 pages Create 3D game worlds complete with textures, levels, and props Learn how to create realistic game worlds... modeling tool Populate your games with realistic terrain, buildings, vehicles and objects Import to game engines such as Unity 3D and create a first person 3D game simulation Learn the skills