Beast (software)
Encyclopedia
Beast is a content pipeline tool used for advanced global illumination
and dynamic character relighting. Beast is developed and sold by Swedish games lighting technology company Illuminate labs
(acquired by Autodesk
in 2010). Beast is used to bake light maps, shadow maps and point clouds with advanced global illumination.
Illuminate Labs have ready integrations for Beast with Emergent Game Technologies game engine Gamebryo
Lightspeed and Epic's Unreal engine
, Evolution and several other in-house game engines. In March 2010, Unity Technologies announced that the next version of Unity
would feature built-in Beast lightmapping and global illumination off the shelf. There is an API available for projects working with Beast but not ready for integration. The Beast API is a programming interface designed to make it as easy as possible to create a Beast integration with any game engine.
Beast has been used in games such as: Mirror´s Edge, CrimeCraft
, Army of Two: The 40th Day
, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
and Alpha Protocol
.
As an artist what Beast gives is advanced global illumination that enhances the look of the game with very little effort. One can use Beast to precalculate lighting for light maps, shadow maps and point clouds, to bake occlusion or normal maps or to generate light fields for dynamic relighting of characters and objects.
The new Beast was presented at GDC 2010 in San Francisco. The new version of Beast features two entirely new modules called DistriBeast and eRnsT. DistriBeast is an extremely fast and easy to use distribution engine for managing render farms. eRnsT is a real-time visualizer that allows artists to explore and control the lighting set-up without having to run a complete bake.
Global illumination
Global illumination is a general name for a group of algorithms used in 3D computer graphics that are meant to add more realistic lighting to 3D scenes...
and dynamic character relighting. Beast is developed and sold by Swedish games lighting technology company Illuminate labs
Illuminate labs
Illuminate Labs is a Swedish software company based in Gothenburg, founded in 2002 and specializing in video games lighting. The company produces two middleware products called Beast and , based on their proprietary LiquidLight technology. Autodesk, Inc...
(acquired by Autodesk
Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational corporation that focuses on 3D design software for use in the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries. The company was founded in 1982 by John Walker, a coauthor of the first versions of the company's...
in 2010). Beast is used to bake light maps, shadow maps and point clouds with advanced global illumination.
Illuminate Labs have ready integrations for Beast with Emergent Game Technologies game engine Gamebryo
Gamebryo
Gamebryo is a game engine, originally from Numerical Design Limited , and the successor to NDL's NetImmerse engine.Since the creation of Gamebryo, NDL merged into Emergent Game Technologies...
Lightspeed and Epic's Unreal engine
Unreal Engine
The Unreal Engine is a game engine developed by Epic Games, first illustrated in the 1998 first-person shooter game Unreal. Although primarily developed for first-person shooters, it has been successfully used in a variety of other genres, including stealth, MMORPGs and RPGs...
, Evolution and several other in-house game engines. In March 2010, Unity Technologies announced that the next version of Unity
Unity (game engine)
Unity is an integrated authoring tool for creating 3D video games or other interactive content such as architectural visualizations or real-time 3D animations. Unity's development environment runs on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, and the games it produces can be run on Windows, Mac, Xbox 360,...
would feature built-in Beast lightmapping and global illumination off the shelf. There is an API available for projects working with Beast but not ready for integration. The Beast API is a programming interface designed to make it as easy as possible to create a Beast integration with any game engine.
Beast has been used in games such as: Mirror´s Edge, CrimeCraft
CrimeCraft
CrimeCraft is a free-to-play online Persistent World Next-generation Shooter dubbed "PWNS" by developer Vogster Entertainment and published at retail by THQ...
, Army of Two: The 40th Day
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Army of Two: The 40th Day is a third-person shooter video game that is developed by EA Montreal and published by Electronic Arts for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Portable. It is the sequel to Army of Two...
, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe is a crossover fighting game from Midway Games and Warner Bros. Games. The eighth game in the Mortal Kombat series, MK vs. DC was released on November 16, . MK vs. DC contains characters from both the Mortal Kombat franchise and the DC Universe...
and Alpha Protocol
Alpha Protocol
Alpha Protocol is a third-person espionage role-playing video game, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, their first title for an original IP, and published by Sega. The game revolves around the adventures of field agent Michael Thorton...
.
As an artist what Beast gives is advanced global illumination that enhances the look of the game with very little effort. One can use Beast to precalculate lighting for light maps, shadow maps and point clouds, to bake occlusion or normal maps or to generate light fields for dynamic relighting of characters and objects.
The new Beast was presented at GDC 2010 in San Francisco. The new version of Beast features two entirely new modules called DistriBeast and eRnsT. DistriBeast is an extremely fast and easy to use distribution engine for managing render farms. eRnsT is a real-time visualizer that allows artists to explore and control the lighting set-up without having to run a complete bake.