Hey there,
First of all: A big “Thank You” to all of you that have joined the CRYENGINE developers community in the 48 hours since we launched the CRYENGINE-as-a Service subscription on Steam.
We realize that there were some hitches and that the launch did not go as smooth as we would have hoped. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you - whilst some bugs and issues are inevitable when undertaking such a unique release for the first time, we definitely feel that you all deserve better! We are listening carefully to your feedback and will be addressing the problems you have identified as quickly as we can.
In fact, even while you have started developing your own games with CRYENGINE – or are learning the new features of version 3.6.2 – we have been very busy reading the many comments, questions and reviews you posted all over the web and working on improvements. Based on all of this feedback we’re already planning a very quick, but major update as early as next week.
Here’s some of the things we will update in CRYENGINE, in direct response to your wishes and worries.
Upcoming Source Code release of CryAction and CryInput
Many of you have asked us about gaining more access to our Source Code. We had intended to prepare this for launch, but a small last minute delay meant we will shortly distribute the source code for both CryAction and CryInput within a new update for subscribers next week. These will give you access to many more systems within CRYENGINE, and allow for further flexibility in achieving your vision for your games. We’ll add more source code access in future updates as we continue to give access to more source code of CRYENGINE than ever before!
The CryAction Module includes game systems such as Flowgraph for Scripting, the Mannequin Character and Animation tools as well as our Vehicles System.
The CryInput module includes the controller device implementation for gamepads, mouse and keyboard. Having access to this module makes it easier to add support for different input devices- such as a steering wheel or joystick.
Documentation
We have some major updates to the Documentation and its structure, making it easier than ever for both newcomers and veterans to find their way around the different sections. We have also today added several new sections, dealing with topics such as Physically-Based Shading, the Mannequin High Level Animation System and several tutorials on Asset Creation.
Further Hot-fixes and Updates
We plan to release the next major feature and tools update in the second half of June (more info on that in the future). In the mean time, there will be smaller updates before then to fix some of the issues you have been reporting to us, including issues with the new Sound System and the Steam Integration. Please keep telling us about any errors that you encounter, so we can tackle them as soon as possible.
FAQ
We are still busy looking through all of your questions, including those about the EULA, the licensing rules (and why we have them) and will address them very soon with some clarifying FAQ. If you have any specific points you feel we should address, please let us know in the comments!
This week has been incredible for us - with the launch of the CRYENGINE-as-a-Service subscription on Steam we have taken the first important step on our journey with you all towards making CRYENGINE a great solution for Indie developers. We want to thank you for all your passion and enthusiasm and the feedback (both negative and positive) that you have sent us. Please keep it coming – we are listening and we will use this feedback to work with you to improve CRYENGINE.
Until next time, and thank you all!
The CRYENGINE Team