Proprietary game engine
Snowdrop is a proprietary game engine created by Massive Entertainment and Ubisoft for use on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, Stadia, and Luna. It was revealed at E3 2013 with Tom Clancy's The Division, the first game using the engine.[1][2] Snowdrop is one of the primary game engines used by Ubisoft along with Disrupt, Dunia, and Ubisoft Anvil.[3]
History
The engine is coded mainly in C++.[4] Rodrigo Cortes, former brand art director at Massive Entertainment, said that development on the Snowdrop engine started in 2009.[5] Initially it was an engine built for PC and next-gen development to "do things better not bigger".[6] The core of the game engine is powered by a "node-based system" and the engine is a dynamic, interconnected and flexible system where developers can create their assets quickly and interact with them in ways that have never been done before.[7][8] Massive created a lighting and destruction system inspired by film production techniques.[9][10] Features of Snowdrop include advanced physically based rendering (PBR) and a dynamic Global Illumination system.[11][12]
According to the developers, the engine was designed with three pillars: Empowerment, which allows animators, artists and designers to get their work done quicker, Real Time, which allows developers to implement and iterate quickly and Fun, a concept that applies not only to the final product, but to using the engine during development.[13][14] An improved version of the engine was used for Tom Clancy's The Division 2.[15][16]
In February 2016, Massive confirmed that the engine can be used for other Ubisoft games.[17][18][19] According to Martin Hultberg, head of IP at Ubisoft Massive, Snowdrop became available to all Ubisoft studios and not just those working on the Tom Clancy's IP.[20][21] These games include South Park: The Fractured but Whole,[22] Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle,[23] and Starlink: Battle for Atlas.[24] In June 2021, Ubisoft confirmed that the engine will be upgraded for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.[25][26] According to senior technical artist Kunal Luthra, thousands of assets can be propagated inside of each frame to create more highly detailed environments. The engine would also support real-time ray tracing as well as improved AI behavior for NPCs.[27][28] Snowdrop will also be used for Star Wars Outlaws,[29][30] and the remake of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell.[31][32]
Features
Features of Snowdrop include:[33]
- Node-Based Scripting System
- Realistic Day and Night Change
- Global Volumetric Lighting
- Procedural Destruction
- 'Advanced' Particle System and Visual Effects
- Dynamic Material Shader
- Live Stat Tracking
