C4 Game development engine is developed in C/C++ based on OpenGL. It was first developed in 2005 by Terathon Software and made commercially available for developers worldwide. It supports multiple gaming platforms such as Windows, OS X, PS4, PS3, and Linux.
It is used for the creation of high graphics 3D games for both consoles and PC. The gaming engine is also capable to build interactive virtual simulations allowing the developers to dive into the new dimensions to create amazing stuff.
The C4 engine architecture comprises of the layered structure of software components. Lower layering dealing with hardware and operating system while the higher layer is reserved for the platform-independent services to the project. While the majority of the portion of the engine is dedicated to the 3D graphics and rendering system. Some components also provide support for audio, networking, physics, input devices, and scripting.
Documentation of the engine is public to the users via a set of API web pages and wiki. In 2014 licensing terms of the engine were re-defined and made the license subscription-based aiming to boost the revenue.
Game Engine Features
- C4 engine comprises of OpenGL library for windows, mac, and Linux. It used a one-pass-per-light forward rendering model for the graphics rendering. The engine is also capable of rendering with different types of light sources and shadowing methods using a technique called shadow mapping making it resourceful for large outdoor scenes.
- The engine supports the WAV audio format using 16-bit mono or stereo sampling. The engine can play sound from memory or disk. The sounds are played through custom mixer allowing frequency shifting, Doppler effect, reverberation, and atmospheric absorption.
- Multiplayer gaming is supported by a two-layer messaging system that used UDP protocol to communicate among different computers.
- It also has a native physics engine that helps make games.
- World editor is 3D asset creating application provided by the engine to create geometric objects, light, sound and different effects
- Scripting editor is used by the developer to determine the order of execution of in-game assets
Game Developed using C4 Engine
Some of the famous C4 engine developed applications are Fat Princess Adventure, World of subways and Citybus Simulator. Fat Princess Adventure is a role-playing video game that was built for PS4. World of subways is a simulation created by TML-Studios. Another famous simulation is City bus Simulator in which has two games in series i.e. New York and Munich.
Here's our list of top five game programming books you should read.
Game Engine Black Book: DOOM: v1.1
The book Game Engine Black Book: DOOM: v1.1 is just a masterpiece from Fabien Sanglard as it describes not only the details of how the code works, but also some interesting history and trivia. The description of hardware capabilities, audio/video interfaces, and design decisions behind them is quite interesting.
If you're not a programmer the book is still interesting - it explains lots of neat tricks, plenty of photos, quotes, and backstory about how the game was developed.
Game Programming Patterns
With over 85% 5-start reviews on Amazon, readers agree that Robert Nystrom's Game Programming Patterns is a must have for any software developer. It has a crystal clear look at how to be the benevolent architect of a very complicated software/game without getting lost.
The author presents the architecture of a game in an easy to understand matter not from an academic perspective but from experience. The book contains code examples written in C++, well organised and written so cleanly that it feels like pseudo-code.
Beginning C++ Through Game Programming
With Beginning C++ Through Game Programming, Michael Dawson builds your knowledge from the ground up. This book not only is easy to understand and teaches well, but it is focused on the very subject to learn C++ for game programming.
When it comes to game programming, C++ is the name of the game.
Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made
This is highly recommend book for anyone who likes history of videos games, or just likes good stories. Blood, Sweat, and Pixels: The Triumphant, Turbulent Stories Behind How Video Games Are Made captures the complexity of game development that anyone can pick up and enjoy.
If you have even a passing interest in gaming be sure to pick this one up. (reader's comment)
Foundations of Game Engine Development - Volumes 1, 2
The volume 1 of the book discusses the mathematics needed by engineers who work on games or other virtual simulations. The volume 2 explores the vast subject of real-time rendering in modern game engines.
The book is packed with great C++ code snippets and examples. You have tried-and-true methods that can be incorporated into any game engine and source code is not specific to any API or framework.
