History
The engine is coded mainly in C++. [6] Rodrigo Cortes, former brand art director at Massive Entertainment, said that development on the Snowdrop engine started in 2009. [7] Initially it was an engine built for PC and next-gen development to "do things better not bigger". [8] [9] 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. [10] [11] Massive created a lighting and destruction system inspired by film production techniques. [12] [13] [14] Features of Snowdrop include advanced physically based rendering (PBR), procedural destruction, and a dynamic global illumination system. [15] [16] [17]
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. [18] [19] An improved version of the engine was used for Tom Clancy's The Division 2 . [20]
In February 2016, Massive confirmed that the engine can be used for other Ubisoft games. [21] 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. [22] [23] These games include South Park: The Fractured but Whole , [24] Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle , [25] and Starlink: Battle for Atlas . [26]
In June 2021, Ubisoft confirmed that the engine will be upgraded for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora . [27] [28] According to senior technical artist Kunal Luthra, thousands of assets can be propagated inside of each frame to create more highly detailed environments. [29] [30] The engine would also support real-time ray tracing, unified volumetric rendering, as well as improved AI behavior for NPCs. [31] [32]
Snowdrop was used for Star Wars Outlaws , [33] [34] which features RTX Direct Illumination and DLSS Ray Reconstruction. [35] [36] Massive developed its own digital "camera lens" in Snowdrop, which was used to give the game a more cinematic presentation as an option. [37] [38]
The remake of Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell will also use Snowdrop. [39] [40] [41] Ubisoft announced they will continue to upscale and develop the engine. [42]
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