Autodesk Launches Stingray Game Engine, with Oculus Rift Support
Virtual reality has also shown its potential in a variety of useful applications – not just for media consumption and entertainment, but also for productivity. Computer-aided design (CAD) is an emerging field of focus for VR, as the numerous VR headsets today such as the Oculus Rift have shown great promise in the future of computer-generated imagery and game programming. In response to this momentum in VR, Autodesk has released a new game graphics engine that goes along the company’s array of design applications.
Called Stingray, this new game engine will stack up against the likes of Unreal Engine 4 as well as Unity 5. Built around the Bitsquid game engine, which was acquired by Autodesk last year, Stingray was made with the core of the Bitsquid engine and paired with a new interface. According to an interview by Engadget, Autodesk intends to make Stingray a fully customizable game engine for relatively smaller production studios without the need for any additional re-programming or further coding. Along with this flexible customization, Autodesk also sees Stingray as a direct competitor to other popular game engines such as Unreal Engine 4, equipped with all high-performance effects such as physical shading and post-processing effects.
Stingray offers game developers flexibility when testing for various gaming platforms without wasting too much time. This feature, called Live Link, allows game devs to test their applications simultaneously on different platforms without waiting for a single-platform test to finish. The Oculus Rift is a testing platform for Stingray, along with other popular gaming platforms such as iOS, Android, and Windows, as well as gaming consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
Autodesk aims Stingray to be the technology norm for enabling design visualizations rendered using the Oculus Rift. Using a compatible VR headset on any of Autodesk’s design applications, 3D models can be rendered in a virtual fashion – complete with all real-time fly-throughs and animations.
Interested game developers can get the Stingray game engine for a subscription, worth $30 a month starting on August 19th. There is also a special offer for every purchase of Autodesk’s Maya LT, a 3D modeling and animation tool, where Stingray comes free with every Maya LT purchase this coming summer.
For more information on Stingray, please visit the following websites:
http://stingrayengine.com
http://www.autodesk.com/products/stingray/overview
http://www.engadget.com/2015/08/03/autodesk-stingray/
