Post: #1

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 is coming, but Treyarch has defended their decision to remain on an enhanced Call of Duty engine that has been used for years.

You probably could have guessed that Black Ops 2 was running on that same engine, but did you know it has been constantly built on since Call of Duty 2 in 2005. That engine is a very heavily modified version of id's Tech 3 engine. Ever since Battlefield 3 (and some even before DICE's newest shooter) had been questioning the refusal from both Infinity Ward and Treyarch to move onto a more advanced engine. In an conversation with One of Swords the touchy issue was covered by Treyarch's Mark Lamia.

"People always ask me, 'Is this a new engine?' I liken it to people who live in an older house that has been remodelled. Just because you're remodelling the house and it will look new or it will have a new kitchen, you don't tear out the foundation, or break out some of the framing. You might even go as hardcore as replacing the plumbing, and we will do that sort of thing, as an analogy. It's a gross simplification, but it's one way to say that. There's a lot of good still in that foundation that you wouldn't get rid of, and we don't. We look to advance in the areas that support our game design.

"Engines, each time they get touched, they change. The creators alter them; they don't modify what they don't need to, and then they alter what they need to. You can't make a competitive product if you're not upgrading that engine along the way."

Lamia calls the very idea of a new engine into question, stating that he believes it can be difficult to correctly define what defines a new engine. Some code can be traced pretty far back no matter how new the engine is. The press were shown a demo of the Xbox 360 build that was set on an unpopulated level and showcased HDR lighting, bounce lighting, self-shadowing, and a new texture technique known as 'reveal mapping'. The entire thing was running comfortably at 60 frames per second.

"The trick is, we're not willing to do that if we can't keep it running at 60 frames per second - but we did that this time. So this is the Black Ops 2 engine."

You can check out more of what Mark Lamia has to say over at One of Swords, he has some interesting things to say.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

Post: #2

I sort of agree. I mean, why change the engine if the gameplay would remain fundamentally unaltered? Why spend money developing new tech, when you can use the same and STILL make a crapload of money? They're out to make money and they're succeeding. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Post: #3

Yeah, as much as I despise the Call of Duty franchise I do agree with what he is saying. I mean, the expenses that DICE must have created just putting together the Frostbite 2 engine must have been steep (bloody worth it though) and why EA is trying to get it in all these other games.

I guess deep down I know that they won't use a new engine until next generation rolls around, where they'll probably be forced to. By this point they'd know this one inside and out, making it easy to work with.

Post: #4

I actually think that the Call of Duty games still look pretty impressive, regardless of your opinion of the gameplay. Especially considering they run at 60fps.