The Source Engine is a 3D game engine developed by Valve Corporation. Its unique features include a large degree of modularity and flexibility, an artist-driven, shader-based renderer, accurate lip sync and facial expression technology, and a powerful, efficient and completely network-enabled physics system. 

Renderer

  • Version 2.0 (and below) shaders, bump mapping, LOD on models and world
  • Author shaders with HLSL
  • Cube and environment mapping
  • Dynamic lights, vertex lighting and light maps, many light types including flickering, pulsing etc.
  • High-Dynamic Range lighting
  • Water with refraction and fresnel effects
  • Advanced particle system that can emit sprites or models
  • Projected shadows allow for a large number of characters per scene
  • Occluder entities for visibility blocking
  • Indoor/Outdoor environments
  • Deformable terrain
  • 3D skyboxes extend the horizon and add parallax on distant objects
  • Dynamically rendered organics (grass, trees etc)
  • Subdivision surfaces, diffuse & specular bump maps
  • Real-time radiosity lighting
  • Effects include but are not limited to: particles, beams, volumetric smoke, sparks, blood, environmental effects like fog and rain
  • Scalability
  • Dx6-Dx9 hardware supported

Materials System

  • Instead of traditional textures, Source defines sets of materials that specify what the object is made from and the texture used for that object. A material specifies how an object will fracture when broken, what it will sound like when broken or dragged across another surface, and what that object’s mass and buoyancy are. This system is much more flexible than other texture only based systems.
  • Materials can interact with objects or NPCs such as mud or ice for vehicles to slide/lose traction on.

Multiplayer Network Code

  • Time and gamer tested by millions of gamers around the world
  • Support for both LAN based multiplayer and Internet based multiplayer games
  • Prediction analysis for interpolating collision/hit detection
  • Optimizations for high-latency, high-packet loss 56k connections

Advanced Characters

  • Detailed and believable characters
  • Realistic eyes
  • Focus on player/object, not simply parallel views
  • Proper eye “bulge” for realistic eye reflections
  • Simulated musculature provides outstanding emotions, speech and body language
  • Language independent speech, characters can naturally speak in many languages
  • Skeletal/bone system for animation
  • Layered animation system can synthesize complex animations out of several pieces
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Blog RSS Feed Report abuse Latest News: Lack of updates, and Ryoku costumes update!

About Blade Symphony with 6 comments by urinal-cake on May 6th, 2012

Hi everyone! Kickstarter pledger Joey Smith asked a very valid question, that I want to respond to in front of everyone. Recently, there have been a pretty significant lack of updates. For a while, we were doing weekly development journals of progress for Blade Symphony.

Do not fret, updates will return! There is a perfectly good reason for why we have not released updates. However, I'm not allowed to be specific about what that reasoning is; so I'll have to be a little bit vague. We've recently entered into a very small time period, as a business entity, where we are unable to talk about the game. Again, this is a very short period, and we hope to get back to weekly updates within the next 1-2 weeks.

So please don't worry, and try not to think about the reasoning too much. Just know that we're doing this to protect Blade Symphony, and we want to keep everyone updated very much. In the meantime, our last development journal posted on April 7th, didn't get much love here! So here it is! Development Journal #6 gives you a quick view of the new costumes that we've created for the Ryoku character. Believe you me, we intend on adding additional costumes as time goes on and tweaking our current ones. These costumes will have NO effect on gameplay.

Instead, we've received some very cool ideas about costumes getting their own taunts, gestures and particles. If you have any ideas about how to make costumes more unique, please do leave us a comment!


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Comments  (0 - 10 of 281)
tile
tile Apr 29 2012, 8:54am says:

@ennemyofficer

dude, really? sounds like you pirated the game your modding. i have a point_veiwcontroll parented to a func_tracktrain and it works FINE.

and yes, it has bugs, but that doesn't mean it's oudated.

(even the newest tech has bugs. the source engine has been updated for every new game that valve makes. your argument is invalid.)

+2 votes     reply to comment
Draiter
Draiter Apr 27 2012, 11:35am says:

I don't know about you guys, but this here is the BEST gaming engine EVER released... Yeah, I said it and I mean it, in my opinion at least... I take it over CryENGINE 3, Unreal Engine and even ****** up, full-of-**** Frost **** Bite 3...

+4 votes     reply to comment
EnnemyOfficer
EnnemyOfficer Apr 4 2012, 11:47am buried:

(buried)

The Source Engine is an outdated piece of **** that makes you spend 60% of your time trying to find alternative ways to make something because of the amazing number of bugs the SDK contains.

I want to make a laser that dissolves any NPCs ; I can't because the beam doesn't do any damages even if I set the properties/flags rightly. So I try to parent a trigger_hurt to the beam but even if I set "Damage Type" to "Beam", it is only turning a NPC to a ragdoll and doesn't dissolve it as I wanted. Great, now I have laser that just turn without blood a combine into a ragdoll, very realistic !

I want to make an introduction sequence with a point_viewcontrol that will fly over a path_corner/path_track, I can't because the viewcontrol doesn't stop and still continue to fly in a direction even when it's out of the map. Great, I have to use it in a static way.

There are so many stupid bugs that force you to change things you wanted in your mod.

And please don't tell me "wfgo I make css map and soucre 4 ever !!1!1 never had problems", since the Source Engine may seems nice only when you make what Valve is making now.

-6 votes     reply to comment
GuNsHiP_MK_II
GuNsHiP_MK_II Apr 15 2012, 6:33am replied:

Bugged, yes, i agree. But any engine have bugs. I tried many of them. Indie engines, commecraial, some very old ones. All of them have bad sides.

If you can't make something on it then it don't mean it "outdated piece of ****", get some skills.

+3 votes     reply to comment
Theuaredead`
Theuaredead` Apr 27 2012, 8:05pm replied:

Source and GoldSource are very modifiable and more easier to use, compared to other engines.

+3 votes     reply to comment
CrazyDarkDemonMonkey
CrazyDarkDemonMonkey Mar 8 2012, 5:30pm says:

Even though it was outdated, its still get the job done for awesome mods and etc. I have outdated source engines and they work so OutStandingly (mortal combat voice and silence, dripping blood in background with the fatality music...) but hey its what you think, so okay...But outdated source engines work is a fact. Well at least it worked for me.

+2 votes     reply to comment
CrazyDarkDemonMonkey
CrazyDarkDemonMonkey Mar 8 2012, 5:22pm says:

This is the best engine for all mods...if theres any other engines that are good for some other mods that source isnt, speak up and disagree with a comment supporting your disagreement about this comment.

+3 votes     reply to comment
Zombie_Expert
Zombie_Expert Feb 24 2012, 5:44pm says:

I ONLY map with the Source Engine because it's easy more fun and better to make things. Unlike Unreal Engine which SUCKS it's complex, boring, and unbelievably frustrating.

0 votes     reply to comment
epicbox
epicbox Feb 14 2012, 8:05pm says:

This keeps being the best engine for mods, in my opinion. Even if the source code for the 2009 version isn't available.

+4 votes     reply to comment
Zombie_Expert
Zombie_Expert Mar 3 2012, 10:22pm replied:

Buy a Source game. You can install Source SDK. There.
Half-Life 2, Portal, Team Fortress 2, Day of Defeat Source, Counter Strike Source.

+2 votes     reply to comment
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Platforms
Windows, PS3, X360, XBOX
Company
Valve
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Commercial
Release Date
Released Oct 31, 2004
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