Software:Divinity Engine
Divinity Engine is a game engine developed by Larian Studios.[1] It has undergone several iterations, with the latest version being Divinity Engine 4.0 developed for Baldur's Gate 3.[2]
History
Larian began development of Divinity Engine 1 for its game Software:Divinity: Original Sin on a budget of only a few million dollars.[1] Larian included a copy of the Divinity 1.0 Engine with Divinity: Original Sin for some Kickstarter backers, allowing them to make custom mods.[1] To showcase the abilities of the engine, Larian included a "cow simulator" game made with the Divinity Engine Toolkit in its early access release.[3][4]
Divinity Engine 2 was developed for Software:Divinity: Original Sin II.[5] Divinity Engine 2, along with all the in-house tools Larian developed such as for making levels, was included in the game files as "DivinityEngine2.exe".[5][6] It had a focus of improving existing tools from Divinity Engine 1 as well as creating new tools and improving documentation.[5] The engine has also been referred to as "Divinity Engine 3.0."[7]
Divinity Engine 4.0 was developed for Baldur's Gate 3.[2][8] A major focus for the new iteration was better support for cinematics.[9] It included a Vulkan backend which was used as an option in Baldur's Gate 3 alongside the DirectX 11 backend.[10][2] The modding tools initially included with Baldur's Gate 3 were not as extensive as those included in previous Larian games.[11] In September 2024, an update for Baldur's Gate 3 was shipped that included essentially a modified version a Divinity Engine 4.0 but with many of the features disabled by default, including the level editor, although there are mods that can enable it.[12] Larian developers attributed part of the game's success with their continued use of Divinity Engine as opposed to using a commercial engine such as Unreal Engine, having used and worked on the engine since 2010 while with commercial engines "the engine's roadmap is not necessarily your roadmap".[13]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mozuch, Mo (30 June 2024). "10 Years Ago, an Ambitious RPG Paved the Way for 2023's Game of the Year" (in en). https://www.inverse.com/gaming/divinity-original-sin-anniversary-10-years-baldurs-gate-3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lewis, James (5 August 2023). "Baldur's Gate 3 | What Engine Does it Run on?" (in en). https://hardcoregamer.com/db/bg3/baldurs-gate-3-what-engine-does-it-run-on/459778/.
- ↑ Purchese, Robert (27 June 2014). "Cow Simulator 2014 built for Divinity: Original Sin" (in en). https://www.eurogamer.net/cow-simulator-2014-built-for-divinity-original-sin.
- ↑ O'Connor, Alice (23 June 2014). "Nude Skins Ahoy! Divinity Original Sin Editor Due This Week" (in en). https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/nude-skins-ahoy-divinity-original-sin-editor-due-this-week.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Cox, Matt (6 October 2017). "Divinity: Original Sin 2 dev on mod tools, accessibility and favourite mods" (in en). https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/divinity-original-sin-2-dev-on-modding-tutorials-accessibility-and-his-favourite-mods.
- ↑ Wilde, Tyler (4 October 2017). "How to set up Divinity: Original Sin 2's mod tools" (in en). https://www.pcgamer.com/how-to-set-up-divinity-original-sin-2s-mod-tools/.
- ↑ Palumbo, Alessio (22 August 2016). "Divinity: Original Sin 2 Available on Steam Early Access from September 15th". https://wccftech.com/divinity-original-sin-2-available-on-steam-early-access-from-september-15th/.
- ↑ "Support - Larian Studios | General Information". https://larian.com/support/faqs/general-information_46.
- ↑ Dealessandri, Marie (27 February 2020). "Larian plays dungeon master for a new era of Baldur's Gate" (in en). https://www.gamesindustry.biz/larian-plays-dungeon-master-for-a-new-era-of-baldurs-gate.
- ↑ "Support - Larian Studios | What is Vulkan? What is the difference between Vulkan and DX11". https://larian.com/support/faqs/what-is-vulkan-what-is-the-difference-between-vulkan-and-dx11_48.
- ↑ Wilde, Tyler; Litchfield, Ted (22 March 2024). "Baldur's Gate 3 mod tools won't be as extensive as Divinity's: 'We're not a tools company,' says Swen Vincke" (in en). https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/baldurs-gate-3-mod-support-GDC-update/.
- ↑ Litchfield, Ted (8 September 2024). "It only took two days for someone to unlock a developer mode in Baldur's Gate 3's modding tools, opening up the possibility of custom levels and campaigns" (in en). https://www.pcgamer.com/games/baldurs-gate/it-only-took-two-days-for-someone-to-unlock-a-developer-mode-in-baldur-s-gate-3-s-mod-toolset-opening-up-the-possibility-of-custom-levels-and-campaigns/.
- ↑ Tapsell, Chris (28 March 2024). "The big Larian interview: Swen Vincke on industry woes, optimism, and life after Baldur's Gate 3" (in en). https://www.eurogamer.net/the-big-larian-interview-swen-vincke-on-industry-woes-optimism-and-life-after-baldurs-gate-3.
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