Serious Engine 2 is a version of the Serious Engine. This version was used in Serious Sam 2.
Overview
Serious Engine 2 is the next version of the Serious Engine. It is basically a completely new engine with a few elements from Serious Engine 1 in it. [1] This version contains several notable improvements, such as ragdoll support, more post-processing special effects, and a scripting language for creating complex events in levels and coordinating enemy spawns.
Like Serious Engine 1, it could be licensed, but it seems that no one ever licensed it for their games.
Serious Engine 2 uses Serious Editor 2 as its editing tool. Serious Editor 2 contains every program in one package, which lets one modify nearly anything in-game without having to open up different .exes to do so.
Development History
Work on Serious Engine 2 began almost as soon as Serious Sam: Xbox was complete. The design goals behind it were to make a modern engine that would have the latest special effects. [2]
Serious Engine 2 was unveiled during Game Developer Conference 2004 via a video that showed off the engine's abilities by rotating a camera around a Football Player in Kukulele Prison, then showing Serious Sam and some Orc Grunts running and driving around in a large field that looks like a very early version of Ursul Gardens.
Features
- Improved code that allows more polys per model, letting designers create more detailed models.
- Better physics.
- Support for ragdolls for events such as enemies dying.
- Working code for Vehicles.
- Native Xbox support.
- Working normal map support.
- Support for Bloom, amongst other “modern” lighting effects.
- A scripting language, Macro, that gives level designers more control over events like enemy spawning and allows for more complicated events without being overwhelmed by triggers.
- Model destruction (such as an enemy model being torn apart).
- Parallax mapping.
Trivia
- Serious Engine 2 supports HDR, but the levels in Serious Sam 2 weren't built around it.