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Jedi (engine)
Encyclopedia
The Jedi Engine is a game engine developed primarily by Ray Gresko for LucasArts
. While not a true 3D engine, it is historically significant in moving forward the 2.5D first-person shooter genre with its ability to support a three-dimensional environment with no limitations in the 3rd dimension (Z). In Doom and earlier first-person shooter
s, environments or levels were limited to existing in the X-Y plane only—levels were laid out linearly, and while floor and ceiling heights could differ, earlier engines could not construct areas that overlapped vertically. The Jedi Engine introduced support for areas or rooms (called "sectors") on top of one another, and thus was the first engine in which an entire environment could exist in three dimensions. In the Dark Forces
revision of the engine, the renderer could not display two rooms situated on top of each other at the same time. This capability was added for Outlaws.
The Jedi Engine was hailed as significant for many other improvements over earlier engines as well, including the ability to jump and crouch, the ability to look up and down, and atmospheric effects (achieved by careful manipulation of 256-color palette files). The engine is still limited in its rendering capabilities, however, and used two-dimensional sprites (pre-rendered in different angles) for most of its object graphics.
The Jedi Engine's popularity was short lived, and only used in two titles, Star Wars: Dark Forces
and Outlaws. The sequel to Dark Forces, Jedi Knight
, used the Sith engine
.
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
. While not a true 3D engine, it is historically significant in moving forward the 2.5D first-person shooter genre with its ability to support a three-dimensional environment with no limitations in the 3rd dimension (Z). In Doom and earlier first-person shooter
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
s, environments or levels were limited to existing in the X-Y plane only—levels were laid out linearly, and while floor and ceiling heights could differ, earlier engines could not construct areas that overlapped vertically. The Jedi Engine introduced support for areas or rooms (called "sectors") on top of one another, and thus was the first engine in which an entire environment could exist in three dimensions. In the Dark Forces
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Star Wars: Dark Forces is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 1995 for DOS and Apple Macintosh, and in 1996 for the PlayStation. The storyline within the Dark Forces is set in the Star Wars fictional universe and follows the character Kyle...
revision of the engine, the renderer could not display two rooms situated on top of each other at the same time. This capability was added for Outlaws.
The Jedi Engine was hailed as significant for many other improvements over earlier engines as well, including the ability to jump and crouch, the ability to look up and down, and atmospheric effects (achieved by careful manipulation of 256-color palette files). The engine is still limited in its rendering capabilities, however, and used two-dimensional sprites (pre-rendered in different angles) for most of its object graphics.
The Jedi Engine's popularity was short lived, and only used in two titles, Star Wars: Dark Forces
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Star Wars: Dark Forces is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 1995 for DOS and Apple Macintosh, and in 1996 for the PlayStation. The storyline within the Dark Forces is set in the Star Wars fictional universe and follows the character Kyle...
and Outlaws. The sequel to Dark Forces, Jedi Knight
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is a first person shooter computer game. It was developed and published by LucasArts and released on October 9, 1997. It was made available on Steam on September 16, 2009. It is based on the Star Wars franchise and is a sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces...
, used the Sith engine
Sith (engine)
The Sith engine is a game engine developed by LucasArts.The game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is based on this engine, and its expansion, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, is based on a slightly updated version....
.