View source for RenderWare

{{short description|Video game engine}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox video game engine
| name                   = RenderWare
| logo                   = RenderwareLogo.JPG
| screenshot             = 
| collapsible            = 
| released               = 1993
| author                 = 
| developer              = [[Criterion Software]]
| replaces               = 
| replaced_by            = 
| latest release version = 
| latest release date    = 
| repo                   =
| tools                  = 
| programming language   = [[C++]]
| operating system = {{ubl|[[MS-DOS]]|[[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]|[[Dreamcast]]|[[PlayStation 2]]|[[Mac OS X]]|[[GameCube]]|[[Xbox (console)|Xbox]]|[[PlayStation Portable]]|[[Xbox 360]]|[[PlayStation 3]]|[[Wii]]|[[iOS]]|[[Android (operating system)|Android]]|[[PlayStation 4]]|[[Xbox One]]}}
| license                = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]
| website                = [https://web.archive.org/web/20070214132346/http://www.renderware.com/ renderware.com] (archived)
}}
'''RenderWare''' is a [[video game engine]] developed by British game developer [[Criterion Software]].

==Overview==
Released in 1993,<ref>{{cite magazine|date=October 1996|title=NG Alphas: Criterion Studios|url=https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-022/page/n131/mode/2up|format=[[PDF]]|magazine=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]|publisher=[[Imagine Media]]|issue=22|pages=130–4|access-date=February 4, 2020}}</ref> RenderWare was a [[3D computer graphics|3D]] [[Application programming interface|API]] and graphics rendering [[Game engine|engine]] used in [[video game]]s, [[Active Worlds]], and some [[VRML]] browsers. RenderWare was developed by [[Criterion Games|Criterion Software Limited]], then a subsidiary of [[Canon (company)|Canon]]. It originated in the era of software rendering on [[Central processing unit|CPU]]s prior to the appearance of [[GPU]]s, competing with other libraries such as [[Argonaut Games]]'s [[BRender]] and [[RenderMorphics]]' [[Reality Lab]] (the latter was acquired by Microsoft and became [[Direct3D]]). Renderware 4 was revealed at GDC 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fahey |first=Rob |date=23 March 2004 |title=GDC: Criterion reveals next-generation Renderware products |url=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/gdc-criterion-reveals-next-generation-renderware-products |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=GamesIndustry.biz |language=en |archive-date=2022-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326212639/https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/gdc-criterion-reveals-next-generation-renderware-products |url-status=live}}</ref>

RenderWare was licensed over 200 times. The scope went towards an integrated [[middleware]] with [[low-level]] APIs for rendering, physics, audio, and AI, all of which are extensible through plug-ins which also serve the official high-level API. The aim was to reduce the learning curve by also including service and support for licensees. With '''RenderWare Studio,''' an [[integrated development environment]] including a debugger was included.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Guilbert |first=Oskar |date=2004 |title=RenderWare: Speed up the 3D Application Production Pipeline |url=https://diglib.eg.org/handle/10.2312/egt20041033 |journal=Eurographics 2004 - Tutorials |doi=10.2312/EGT.20041033 |issn=1017-4656 |publisher=[[Eurographics]]}}</ref> RenderWare themselves claimed a 70% marketshare across studios that choose an external engine in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Callaham |first=John |date=23 October 2002 |title=RenderWare Interview |url=http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=9856 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031208124348/http://www.homelanfed.com/index.php?id=9856 |archive-date=8 December 2003 |website=HomeLan Fed}}</ref>

In May 2002, Criterion Games announced that they would acquire [[MathEngine PLC]], a UK-based studio based in London.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 30, 2002 |title=Criterion to acquire MathEngine |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/article-46067}}</ref> Criterion Games eventually integrated the [[Karma (software)|Karma]] physics engine from MathEngine into RenderWare (also utilized in [[Unreal Engine 2]]) for real-time physics interactions, collisions, and ragdoll physics in their games.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Criterion Software Announces RenderWare Physics |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/criterion-software-announces-renderware-physics}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Outsourcing Reality Integrating a Commercial Physics Engine |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/programming/outsourcing-reality-integrating-a-commercial-physics-engine}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Criterion Completes Acquisition Of MathEngine Technology |url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/criterion-completes-acquisition-of-mathengine-technology}}</ref>

RenderWare's principal commercial importance was in providing an off-the-shelf solution to the difficulties of PS2 graphics programming. As such, the engine was often described as "Sony's DirectX" during this era, in reference to its surrounding framework and toolchain middleware.{{clarify|date=October 2018}} RenderWare 2 implemented its own internal scripting language, RWX (RenderWare script); previous versions of RenderWare had required use of an external scripting language. RWX support was removed in RenderWare 3. This next iteration focused on a binary model file format. As with the previous version increment, Criterion removed support for RenderWare 3's formats in RenderWare 4.

RenderWare is [[cross-platform]]: it allows for the creation of games that work with [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] [[Mac OS X]], and many video game consoles of the time, such as the [[GameCube]], [[Wii]], [[Xbox (console)|Xbox]], [[Xbox 360]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]], and [[PlayStation Portable]]. RenderWare is no longer available for purchase, although [[Electronic Arts]] still honors old contracts, meaning that external developers who licensed the technology before the Criterion acquisition may still use the software. What was RenderWare 4 has dissolved into the rest of EA internal tech. During a 2007 Gamasutra interview, [[Bing Gordon]], EA [[Chief creative officer|CCO]], stated that RenderWare did not graphically perform well enough for next-gen hardware, and that it no longer stood up to its competition, namely [[Epic Games]]' [[Unreal Engine]]. He also said at the time that the RenderWare team was "mostly a dev house".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sheffield |first=Brandon |date=23 May 2007 |title=Bing There, Done That: EA's CCO Talks... Everything |url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/129855/bing_there_done_that_eas_cco_.php |access-date=2022-03-26 |website=[[Gamasutra]] |language=en |archive-date=2021-08-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824141733/https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/129855/bing_there_done_that_eas_cco_.php |url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
{{incomplete-list|date=January 2025}}
* {{Cl|RenderWare games}}

==References==
<references />

== Further reading ==
* {{cite web |title=RenderWare Grosses $2 Billion |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/01/10/renderware-grosses-2-billion |website=IGN |language=en |date=10 January 2003}}

==External links==
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210053822/http://www.renderware.com/|date=February 10, 2007 |title=RenderWare}}
* [https://github.com/electronicarts/RenderWare3Docs RenderWare3 Docs] at [[GitHub]]
* [http://www.tnlc.com/rw/api/rwdoc.htm RenderWare V2.1 API Reference]
* [https://sigmaco.org/p/renderware/ Historical and technical insight of RenderWare at SIGMA'Co]

{{Criterion Games}}
{{Electronic Arts}}
{{Video game engines}}

[[Category:3D scenegraph APIs]]
[[Category:Video game engines]]
[[Category:Virtual reality]]