Id Tech 6
Encyclopedia
id Tech 6 is an upcoming OpenGL
based game engine
under preliminary development by id Software
, which will tentatively follow id Tech 5
for id Software
games following Rage
, and Doom 4
.
Preliminary information given by John Carmack about this engine, which is still in early phases of development, tend to show that id Software
is looking toward a direction where ray tracing and classic raster graphics
would be mixed. However, he also explained during QuakeCon 08
, the hardware that is capable of id Tech 6 does not yet exist.
In July 2011, he explained that id Software is beginning research for the development of id Tech 6.
s (instead of triangles) stored in an octree
. John Carmack claims that this format will also be a more efficient way to store the 2D data as well as the 3D geometry data, because of not having packing and bordering issues. It will virtualize geometry like textures.
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
based game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
under preliminary development by id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
, which will tentatively follow id Tech 5
Id Tech 5
id Tech 5 is the latest proprietary game engine being developed by id Software, currently still being actively upgraded, and follows its predecessors, id Tech 1, 2, 3 and 4. It is a major advancement over id Tech 4. The engine was first demonstrated at the WWDC 2007 by John D...
for id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
games following Rage
Rage (video game)
Rage is a first-person shooter video game by id Software which was released on October 4, 2011 in North America. It uses the company's new OpenGL based id Tech 5 engine. The game was first shown as a tech demo on June 11, 2007, at Apple's WWDC, and was officially announced on August 2, 2007, at...
, and Doom 4
Doom 4
Doom 4 is the upcoming multi-platform installment of the Doom series by id Software. The game will use the company's new id Tech 5 engine and is slated for simultaneous release on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360...
.
Preliminary information given by John Carmack about this engine, which is still in early phases of development, tend to show that id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
is looking toward a direction where ray tracing and classic raster graphics
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
would be mixed. However, he also explained during QuakeCon 08
QuakeCon
QuakeCon is a bring-your-own-computer computer gaming event with a competitive tournament held every year in Dallas, Texas, USA. The event, which is named after id Software's game Quake, sees thousands of gamers from all over the world attend every year to celebrate the company's gaming dynasty...
, the hardware that is capable of id Tech 6 does not yet exist.
In July 2011, he explained that id Software is beginning research for the development of id Tech 6.
Technology
It would work by raycasting the geometry represented by voxelVoxel
A voxel is a volume element, representing a value on a regular grid in three dimensional space. This is analogous to a pixel, which represents 2D image data in a bitmap...
s (instead of triangles) stored in an octree
Octree
An octree is a tree data structure in which each internal node has exactly eight children. Octrees are most often used to partition a three dimensional space by recursively subdividing it into eight octants. Octrees are the three-dimensional analog of quadtrees. The name is formed from oct + tree,...
. John Carmack claims that this format will also be a more efficient way to store the 2D data as well as the 3D geometry data, because of not having packing and bordering issues. It will virtualize geometry like textures.