Lithtech
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Lithtech is a game engine initially developed by Monolith Productions and is currently developed by Touchdown Entertainment. The engine is used a by a number of video game developers including Monolith as an alternative to other game engines. The Lithtech engine is continually being developed, and as of 2005 the latest version is called "Fear".
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Development history
The Lithtech engine was originally developed by Monolith for Microsoft, to be included as a 3D engine for use with Microsoft's DirectX, but that deal fell through. Monolith continued development on their own and were able to license the engine to other companies. After a corporate reorganization, the Lithtech team was split off into a separate company called Touchdown Entertainment.
Lithtech 1.0 did not compare favorably to the more powerful Quake and Unreal engines, lacking advanced graphical features found in its competitor's engines. It was however, lauded for its ease of programming. This was a direct result of its development history, being originally planned as part of DirectX and a programming system originally conceived as a way to simplify game development.
The Lithtech engine was completely overhauled with the release of 2.0 or Jupiter. With this version, Lithtech was better able to compete with its main competitors, the Unreal and Quake engine in areas such as graphical features, as well as graphical appeal.
The latest incarnation of the Lithtech engine will be featured in the as-yet-unreleased game F.E.A.R., although video game developers are currently able to license the technology. The latest version does not appear to have a respective codename and is been referred to as FEAR Technology by Touchdown Entertainment.
Lithtech implementations
The following is a partial list of computer games built with the Lithtech engine.
Lithtech 1.0
- Alien versus Predator (1999)
- Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
- Blood II: The Chosen
- Sanity: Aiken's Artifact
- KISS Psycho Circus
- No One Lives Forever (2000)
Lithtech 2.0: Jupiter
- Aliens vs. Predator 2 (2001)
- Global Operations (2002)
- No One Lives Forever 2 (2002)
- Contract J.A.C.K.
- Tron 2.0 (2004)
- The Matrix Online (2005)
FEAR Technology
- F.E.A.R. (planned for 2005)
External links
- lithtech.com (http://www.lithtech.com/) - Official website for the Lithtech Jupiter engine licensing