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Anvil (known as Scimitar until 2009) is an engine developed by Ubisoft Montreal for use with two of its most successful franchises, Assassin's Creed and Prince of Persia. One of its most innovative features is its use of Autodesk's HumanIK middle-ware package.[1]

Development[]

According to the technical director Claude Langlais, modeling is done in Autodesk 3ds Max for environment, and in ZBrush for characters. Autodesk's HumanIK aids in calculating the positions of the playable character's hands and feet in the world, such that they convey a convincing animation sequence.

The engine was improved in Assassin's Creed II in order to include day and night cycles, enhanced lighting, reflections, AI, and NPC navigation systems.[2]

AnvilNext[]

AnvilnextLogo

The AnvilNext logo

As the successor to the Anvil, the AnvilNext engine boasts several new technological tools for developers to work with, including deferred lighting, ambient occlusion, support for a dynamic weather cycling system, a new camera mode, improved crowd AI, as well as advancements in animation and improved visuals. The technology pioneered in the game Assassin's Creed III.[3]

It was rumored that no previous in-game animations from the Assassin's Creed series were carried over to the AnvilNext engine, with the intent of bringing an entirely fresh feeling to Ratonhnhaké:ton. This was proven false, as several various animations are still present in Assassin's Creed III and subsequent games in the series, built on the AnvilNext engine.[4]

AnvilNext reportedly to possesses the ability to render crowds in thousands, while the previous engine was limited to the hundreds. The engine also allows for the implementation of a dynamic game world, enabling the world to change itself over the course of time. This means that enemy settlements may appear or disappear, relating to the events in the game.[3]

AnvilNext has been used for four Assassin's Creed games. In addition to Assassin's Creed III, it has been used to develop the HD remake of Assassin's Creed III: Liberation, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, and Assassin's Creed: Rogue.

AnvilNext 2.0[]

AnvilNext 2.0 is capable of generating structures in a flexible and automatic manner while following specific design rules and templates, which reduces the amount of time and manual effort required for artists and designers to create an intricate urban environment. Specific landmarks, such as the Notre Dame de Paris, are still designed by hand but now could be rendered at an almost 1:1 ratio to its real-life counterpart.

AnvilNext 2.0 has been used for five Assassin's Creed games. It has been used to develop Assassin's Creed: Unity, Assassin's Creed: Syndicate,  Assassin's Creed: Origins, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey and Assassin's Creed: Valhalla.

References[]

  1. Feature Staff (25-10-2007). Exclusive: Assassin's Creed Q&A - The Scimitar Engine. GamingExcellence. Archived from the original on 10 September 2019. Retrieved on 12 May 2012.
  2. Bayer, Thilo (19-05-2009). Assassins Creed 2: Engine detailed. PC Games Hardware. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved on 12 May 2012.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Bertz, Matt (28-03-2012). Assassin's Creed III: The Redesigned Anvil Engine. GameInformer. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved on 12 May 2012.
  4. Totilo, Stephen (26-03-2012). 50 Things About Assassin's Creed III That You Should Know. Kotaku. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved on 21 May 2013.
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