Beginning 19 August 2015, game developers worldwide will have access to Autodesk’s new Stingray game engine. Also announced at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Europe 2015, Autodesk will offer Autodesk Maya LT Desktop Subscription customers access to Autodesk Stingray as part of their subscription.

Stingray is a comprehensive new platform for making 3D games. It is built on the data-driven architecture of the Bitsquid engine, which Autodesk acquired in 2014. The engine supports a host of industry-standard game development workflows and includes powerful connectivity to Autodesk 3D animation software that simplifies game development across a wide range of platforms.

“Between Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and the proliferation of mobile platforms, the games industry is undergoing a major transition, which poses new complexities for both AAA and indie game developers. Autodesk developed Stingray with these challenges in mind, and we’re excited to share its debut with the game developer community,” said Autodesk Senior Vice President, Media & Entertainment, Chris Bradshaw. “Stingray makes it easy and intuitive for artists with varying skill sets and programming expertise to create the next generation of 3D blockbuster games, entertainment and even architecture.”

Multiplatform deployment and testing

A key highlight of the new game engine is its support of multiplatform deployment and testing. Users are able to quickly make and apply changes to gameplay and visuals across supported platforms: Apple iOS, Google Android, Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 8, Oculus Rift DevKit 2, Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft XboxOne.

Other highlights include:

1. Seamless art-to-engine workflow:Import, create, iterate, test and review 3D assets and gameplay faster with a one-click workflow and live link between Stingray and Autodesk 3D animation software.

2. Modern data-driven architecture: A lightweight code base gives game developers the freedom to make significant changes to the engine and renderer without requiring source code access.

3. Advanced visuals and rendering: Produce visually stunning games with a powerful rendering pipeline, physically-based shading, advanced particle effects, post processed visual effects, lightmap baking and a high-performance reflection system.

4. Proven creative toolset: Stingray includes proven solutions like Beast, HumanIK, Navigation, Scaleform Studio (UI technology built on Scaleform), FBX, Audiokinetic Wwise and NVIDIA PhysX.

5. Versatile game logic creation: Stingray includes a wide range of development tools making game creation more accessible for game makers with varying levels of experience – including visual node-based-scripting and Lua scripting. C++ source code will also be available as an additional purchase upon request.

Feedback: ‘Boosted our productivity significantly’

Earlier this year, Autodesk previewed Stingray and let game developers around the world sign up for the beta program.

“Stingray’s data-driven architecture and flexibility have helped us build a broad portfolio of games, and quick iteration times for both code and content creators has boosted our productivity significantly. The engine has been a key success factor for us because we’re able to produce high quality games in a shortened timeframe. We’re excited to see how Autodesk will continue to evolve the engine,” shared Martin Wahlund, CEO of Fatshark.

Autodesk Stingray runs on Windows and will be available via Autodesk Subscription for US$30 per month.