ArsGeek

When it comes to collaborative game development, no engine is doing better for the gaming world than HeroEngine from Simutronics. The platform allows developers and artists to interact and work on a project no matter where they are located. This dissolves the need for a constant in-house solution and opens the doors to a telecommuting option for talented game designers to interact from anywhere globally.

All people working on the game collaborate in a live online system, exchanging ideas, and providing code and art for the current game. See this in action with the world building video. The first big plus here is that the developers can play the game after each build is complete and provide updates in less time. Just like SharePoint links developers on web projects, HeroEngine allows the game developers to meet and work in a centralized environment where development is faster and more efficient.

The engine has two functions called Live Update and World Push that dispense with the need for offline updating of the game design. No need to take a server down for tests. Many times on MMOs, a message is broadcast saying ‘Sorry, the servers will be down for maintenance between….’ That just disrupts playing time. With HeroEngine, developers can send updates to any number of worlds while the game is live.

Some very notable high points are:
· The amazing terrain sculptor
· Powerful environmental schemes for atmospheric effects like lightning
· Replication system for allowing any number of moving entities to possess spatial awareness
· Flexible bandwidth control.

Simutronics has been developing games for many years. Some of their development partners have included Universal Studios, Sony and Microprose. Some of their popular games still remain top titles such as Gemstone IV and Dragon Realms. They have reached a stage of recognition of being leading creators of technology for MMORPG game development. MMO developers can benefit from a complete toolset housed in one piece of software. Bioware (recently created ‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’) and Virgin games are two big players whom have snapped up the software.

Simutronics knowing collaboration to be the best tool for success, started to choose partners in business. By partnering with the best technology companies, Simutronics has been able to augment their HeroEngine platform with high-performance solutions.

By partnering with StreamBase Systems, they coupled with the leader in complex event processing; by joining with SL Corporation, they added real-time monitoring and visualization solutions.

In March this year, the HeroEngine suite progressed further with the ability to support over 100,000 concurrent users for one virtual world. Many games nowadays start off a web site and a community forum. These sites allow gamers to interact and work on a game such as a mod or a full game. HeroEngine brings this functionality into focus for the commercial gaming world.

Further updates to the engine include support for Linux servers. The Linux platform is becoming recognized as a stable system for all kinds of development work. HeroEngine has been built to be compatible with Linux in addition to the usual Windows platforms satisfying developers worldwide whom have moved over to the extremely versatile open source Linux platform.

For a full list of the features and benefits of this package, take a look at what’s new with HeroEngine. For MMO game enthusiasts wanting to become a game developer within top games companies or be brave and set up their own business, this package will serve every need sought by today’s standards.

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