Strategy Action Game Engine (SAGE)

SAGE (Strategy Action Game Engine) is a game engine used by Westwood Studios and Electronic Arts for real-time strategy games. The SAGE engine allows for dynamic lighting that casts realistic shadows and realistic reflections on most objects. High quality visual effects are now possible with the SAGE engine powering games. One example of a unique effect is the stop-motion camera. Blow up a gas station, for example, and the action will freeze in mid-explosion, and the camera will quickly pan around the environment, revealing pieces of debris and shrapnel suspended in the air, before the action promptly resumes. The SAGE engine also allows games to take place during different times of the day, with realistic lighting, shadow, unit mood changes, etc. After C&C3: Kane's Wrath, the engine got a heavy upgrade which allowed for even better graphics, though in a more cartoonic fashion. This new version of the engine is called RNA.