Vast Woodlands in Gameplay of Next-Gen The Witcher 3

[Keithlewis]

SpeedTree to Build Vast Woodlands in Gameplay of Next-Gen The Witcher 3


In the highly anticipated RPG, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, monster slayer Geralt of Rivia will journey through an open world of unparalleled scale, diversity and realistic ancient woodlands created with the help of SpeedTree for Games.

Concluding the riveting story of the widely-acclaimed Witcher game franchise from CD Projekt RED, The Witcher 3 is due out in 2014 on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. This will be the third title in the series to integrate SpeedTree middleware into the story-driven experience and natural environments that have become a trademark of the franchise.

“We’ve created really stunning ecosystems in The Witcher 3. Vegetation and trees in the game are a really important part of the overall experience,” said Michał Stec, Art Producer at CD Projekt RED. “Without the SpeedTree library, tools and SDK, it wouldn’t have been possible to include this level of detail and interaction with such intricate, woodland environments,” Stec added.

SpeedTree’s advanced SDK and real-time support of next-gen platforms played an important role in developing the expansive and open world of The Witcher 3, where creatures and characters interact with vast natural surroundings seemingly at will. “SpeedTree provided precise modeling and randomization tools to build the unique look we wanted for our massive forests,” noted Stec. “With The Witcher 3 set in an open world that will be about 35 times larger than Witcher 2, SpeedTree middleware greatly facilitated development and made the environments look really complete.”

SpeedTree developer IDV shared the company’s delight with CD Projekt RED’s implementation in The Witcher 3. “Our early involvement with next-gen platforms allowed us to provide the CD Projekt RED development team with the right tools at the right time,” said IDV President Michael Sechrest, “We’re looking forward to the release of the The Witcher 3 to showcase SpeedTree’s expanded capabilities, particularly on the new consoles.”

CD Projekt RED Studio was established in 2002 and based in Warsaw and Cracow, Poland. Creators of The Witcher and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. Both RPGs were praised by critics and fans, gathering over 200 awards and selling over 5 million copies to date. Originally a PC developer, CD Projekt RED has released The Witcher on Mac and The Witcher 2 both on the Xbox 360® games and entertainment system from Microsoft and Mac. The studio is now working on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the grand finale of the Geralt of Rivia saga. The game will be released in 2014 on Xbox One, Playstation®4 and PC. The developer is also working on Cyberpunk 2077 in collaboration with Mike Pondsmith, the original designer of the pen-and-paper Cyberpunk® futuristic RPG system in which the upcoming game is set. CD Projekt RED developers’ mission is to take the passion they have for games and harness it to make the best RPGs in the world. Along with GOG.COM, the prime destination for the retro gaming enthusiast, CD Projekt RED is part of the Warsaw Stock Exchange listed (ISIN: PLOPTTC00011) CD Projekt Group. For more information, visit cdpred.com.

The Witcher marked the arrival of a new brand on the video game market, a brand that has since gained a vast fan base and broad recognition in the industry and led to the release of The Witcher 2 in 2011. The series owes its success to its distinct art and styling, its unique fantasy setting, and its innovative approach to the RPG concept, all backed by engrossing and singular stories that stand above the relatively uninspired tales spun in other games.

Drawing on the prose of bestselling Polish author A. Sapkowski has allowed the creation of a highly original fantasy world that blends the modern with the archaic, explores complex problems and themes comprehensible to the contemporary mindset, and enjoys a significant chance of standing out from other offerings in the genre.

SpeedTree for Games, winner of a Front Line Award for middleware, delivers amazingly natural real-time trees and plants with seamless LOD transitions, an array of lighting, physics and wind effects, as well as an SDK that can be programmed to support any level of engine integration. SpeedTree includes SpeedTree Modeler, which offers a unique hybrid of hand and procedural modeling options and has been used in countless games and a growing list of movies, including Avatar. SpeedTree was created by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV), founded in 1999 to develop graphic and visualization tools for a wide variety of industries. For more information, visit www.speedtree.com.