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Titan (game engine)
Encyclopedia
Titan
Titan is a game engine developed by Stainless Steel StudiosStainless Steel Studios
Stainless Steel Studios was a computer game development company, started in 1997 by Rick Goodman and Dara-Lynn Pelechatz. The company was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and focused on the development of real-time strategy software titles.-History:...
used in the real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
genre. It was mainly used as a PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
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...
in the early 2000s
2000s in video gaming
The 2000s in video gaming was a decade that had been primarily dominated by Sony, Nintendo, the newcomer Microsoft, and their respective systems. Sega, being Nintendo's main rival in the 1980s and 1990s, left the console market in 2002 in favor of returning to the third party company they once were...
. The engine was used in Stainless Steel Studio's first couple games, such as Empire Earth
Empire Earth
Empire Earth, also known as EE, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and released on November 23, 2001. It is the first game in the Empire Earth series...
and Empires: Dawn of the Modern World
Empires: Dawn of the Modern World
Empires: Dawn of the Modern World is a history-based real-time strategy computer game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and released on October 21, 2003...
.
Titan 2.0
Titan 2.0, an update of the original Titan Engine, was to be a comprehensive real-time strategyReal-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
engine, and was sold before Stainless Steel Studios was dissolved in 2005.
Description
SSSI described their engine on their websiteWebsite
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
(before it shut down) at the day of its release. They said it would handle all objects in the gaming world, has an integrated scenario editor
Level editor
A level editor is a software tool used to design levels, maps, campaigns, etc and virtual worlds for a video game. In some cases the creator of a video game releases an official level editor for a game, but other times the community of fans step in to fill the void...
, a powerful mulitplayer mode and communicator, built-in artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence
Game artificial intelligence refers to techniques used in computer and video games to produce the illusion of intelligence in the behavior of non-player characters . The techniques used typically draw upon existing methods from the field of artificial intelligence...
and 3D graphics
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
. The engine was announced in May 2004 , and was designed by SSSI, whose head designer is Rick Goodman
Rick Goodman
Rick Goodman is a video game developer and the founder and owner of the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios. He is best known for the RTS games he created, such as Age of Empires and Empire Earth.-Career:...
, the designer of Empire Earth
Empire Earth
Empire Earth, also known as EE, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and released on November 23, 2001. It is the first game in the Empire Earth series...
and Age of Empires. SSSI's last game made using this engine was Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War
Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War
Rise and Fall: Civilizations at War is a real-time strategy game developed by both Stainless Steel Studios and Midway Games; it was released on June 12, 2006. The game incorporates segments of both third-person and first-person shooter gameplay, by allowing the player to temporarily control a "hero"...
. Since SSSI has closed its doors, its website, the original Titan website, and any information about Titan 2.0 has for the most part has disappeared. Little more is known about the original game processor, other than that it was used in some of the Empire series, such as Empire Earth
Empire Earth
Empire Earth, also known as EE, is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Stainless Steel Studios and released on November 23, 2001. It is the first game in the Empire Earth series...
.
Price and purchasing
After its press release, the engine was promptly purchased by Tilted Mill EntertainmentTilted Mill Entertainment
Tilted Mill Entertainment is a video game developer located in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was founded in 2001 by former Impressions Games lead designer and general manager Chris Beatrice, business manager Peter Haffenreffer, and designer Jeff Fiske....
, a small production company out of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. The engine was also available out for purchase to anyone for US
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
$250,000 at its release.
Games Using Titan 2.0
- Immortal Cities: Children of the NileImmortal Cities: Children of the NileImmortal Cities: Children of the Nile is a city-building game set in ancient Egypt, developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment. The game was released November 2004 in the United States and February 2005 in Europe.-Enhanced Edition:...
(November 2004) Tilted Mill EntertainmentTilted Mill EntertainmentTilted Mill Entertainment is a video game developer located in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was founded in 2001 by former Impressions Games lead designer and general manager Chris Beatrice, business manager Peter Haffenreffer, and designer Jeff Fiske....
. - Rise and Fall: Civilizations at WarRise and Fall: Civilizations at WarRise and Fall: Civilizations at War is a real-time strategy game developed by both Stainless Steel Studios and Midway Games; it was released on June 12, 2006. The game incorporates segments of both third-person and first-person shooter gameplay, by allowing the player to temporarily control a "hero"...
(June 2006) MidwayMidway GamesMidway Games, Inc. is an American company that was formerly a major video game publisher. Following a bankruptcy filing in 2009, it is no longer active and is in the process of liquidating all of its assets. Midway's titles included Mortal Kombat, Ms.Pac-Man, Spy Hunter, Tron, Rampage, the...
. - Caesar IVCaesar IVCaesar IV is a city-building game set in ancient Rome, developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment. The game was released on September 26, 2006 in North America. The game features a three-dimensional game engine and individual modeling of game character behaviors.Like its original release Caesar in...
(September 2006) Tilted Mill Entertainment.
See also
- Stainless Steel StudiosStainless Steel StudiosStainless Steel Studios was a computer game development company, started in 1997 by Rick Goodman and Dara-Lynn Pelechatz. The company was based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and focused on the development of real-time strategy software titles.-History:...
– Original developers of the Titan engine - Rick GoodmanRick GoodmanRick Goodman is a video game developer and the founder and owner of the now-defunct Stainless Steel Studios. He is best known for the RTS games he created, such as Age of Empires and Empire Earth.-Career:...
– The lead designer of SSSI. - Tilted Mill EntertainmentTilted Mill EntertainmentTilted Mill Entertainment is a video game developer located in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was founded in 2001 by former Impressions Games lead designer and general manager Chris Beatrice, business manager Peter Haffenreffer, and designer Jeff Fiske....
– The company that purchased Titan 2.0.