Welcome to the “Crysis Monthly Update #13", the monthly report for our world-wide
community. This month we take a look back at a few articles posted throughout May. These include an explosive
update to one of the community's most talked about Mod teams - Casus Belli, the 1.5 Source Code release, a "Scenes
from a Movie" piece, an Inside Crytek article from Astrid Castle, the release of Crysis: Maximum Edition and the IA
FreeForAll Tournament run up with the results being posted after this Monthly Update goes live.
Content: Crysis Monthly Update – May 2009
Casus Belli
1.5 Source Code Release
IA FFA Tournament
Scenes from a movie
Inside Crytek - Astrid Castle
Crysis Maximum Edition
What’s to come?
Source Code Release
We start this month's Community update with a quick recap of the release of Crysis Wars 1.5, this small patch will
keep your SDK upto date.
quote:
Introduction
The source code for Crysis Wars version 1.5 has now been released. All download links can be found at the bottom
of this page as well as the Mod SDK FAQ, as always you should take the time to read through this as it will answer
the majority of your questions.
Remember to check out CryMod for providing feedback or requesting support with
any aspect of the Mod SDK.
Crysis Wars Mod SDK F.A.Q.
quote:
Why is the SDK only for Crysis Wars?
We did this in order to keep the modding community focused on one title, as well as to allow for both singleplayer
and multiplayer mods for this engine version. Adding singleplayer support to Wars is far more convenient than
adding multiplayer support for Warhead. This also means that the community won't constantly be developing levels
and mods for two titles, which is bound to cause confusion in many aspects of development.
Will maps or mods compiled in Crysis Wars be compatible with Crysis (and vice
versa)?
By default yes, however there are a few aspects of the project that you must change before it will be playable on
both titles. Any code in your mod must be recompiled for both titles using their respective SDK's and released
separately. Also, if you using any models in your mod that are specific to Crysis or Crysis Wars, make sure they
are included so that the users of the other game will be able to use them. Our suggestion would be to develop on
the platform you plan to release on to keep it as simple as possible. This support is strictly for current
projects/maps that would like to release on both Crysis Wars and Crysis.
Will the Crysis Wars SDK and Editor function with Crysis?
Theoretically yes. However we thoroughly recommend you use the game's respective editors for the levels as
unforeseen consequences may occur through the use of the wrong editor that could cause many different issues with
your mod or map. We will not be able to support projects that are using the updated version of the editor with
Crysis.
Will the Crysis Wars SDK and Editor function with Crysis Warhead?
No these are not compatible, as the Crysis Warhead code base is different to that of Wars and consequently neither
the editor nor SDK will function with this version.
Is it possible to have the editor and SDK installed for Crysis and the new SDK and editor for
Crysis Wars at the same time?
Yes it is; both SDKs and Editors were built for different games and run off separate installations, so both SDKs
and Editors will run as expected separately from one another.
Due to the re-enabled AI in Wars, is AI and co-op in multiplayer now possible?
AI in Wars doesn't mean that we've added AI to the multiplayer game; we have simply enabled it in the engine so
that when Wars is played in singleplayer the AI will function as normal. This means that although AI will be
available to use in Wars, multiplayer support for it is not included.
Is there an auto-downloader for mods included in Patch 4 for Crysis Wars?
No there isn't, however custom levels can still be downloaded with the auto-downloader.
Will we be able to download the Warhead .cry files?
Unfortunately we cannot provide these there is, however, we have a good reason for this. If users without Crysis
Warhead were to obtain the .cry files, they'd be able to play the Warhead levels inside Crysis and Sandbox2 (of
course with limited assets). This is to some extent piracy, so unfortunately we will not be providing editable
versions of the levels for Warhead.
Will Crysis Wars have the singleplayer menu options?
The singleplayer menu has not been added to Crysis Wars as we want to avoid the confusion of it being branded a
singleplayer title. As in Crysis, to play singleplayer maps on their own you must use the relevant map console
command to load them in-game.
Original Links:
Support and Feedback: CryMod
- MyCrysis Team
Casus Belli at The Gamers Assembly
As many of you will already know the Mod Team Casus Belli has been busy over the past couple of months and this
month was a little different, they went along to 'The Gamers Assembly' in France to show off their work. Here they
showed visitors their mod (on a 50" screen!), demoed the Sandbox 2 editor to the public and also helped to run a
1vs1 tournament offering prizes to the winners.
quote:
Introduction
We have some news that is a little different for you today, we'd like to highlight a recent event involving the
Crysis mod Casus Belli and some great 1v1 action. Casus Belli puts a realistic spin on Crysis and removes various
aspects from the game such as the nanosuit and Aliens. For more information be sure to check out all of the links
at the bottom of the post where you can find a host of detailed information from the mod page, the French Touch
Studio homepage and the official Casus Belli CryMod thread.
quote:
Welcome to the fifth update of Casus Belli.
The week-end of the 10th and 11th of April the French Touch Studio had the great opportunity of being welcomed on
the Intel-stand at the Gamers Assembly 2009 to present the concept of modding to visitors and players.
The Gamers Assembly is probably one of France's most prestigious assemblies of e-sport players, with more than 800
participants and several thousand visitors. Many different tournaments were organized during this LAN and for the
second time in this season, with Casus Belli!
In fact, the French Touch Studio was able to present its project to players on two different game modes that will
be included in the final release: the 16vs16 mode and a new competition mode: the duel (1vs1) mode.
A tournament in duel was organized on an "aim map" specially developed for this purpose, with special prizes to
win: 2x "Core i7 920"Intel-processor.
Download in High Definition - 15mo.
With about 50 participants, it was simply the biggest 1vs1 tournament of this event but more important for us an
excellent opportunity to show the latest evolutions of our mod and collecting critics or suggestions we can base
our further development on.
We would especially like to thank Intel for their logistical and material support, for dedicating space for our mod
at their stand as well as for the top notch PCs (X tower invasion), everything accompanied by a 50" LCD screen on
which we were able to show demonstrations of the Sandbox 2, Crysis Wars and our 16vs16 map especially developed for
this purpose.
If you wish to participate to our project, you can consult us through our forum and fill out the contact form on
our website: www.frenchtouchstudio.com. We are currently especially looking for an
experimented flowgraph specialist.
IA FFA Tournament
We announced the Instant Action Free for all tournament this month and due to unforseen technical difficulties were forced to move the start of the tournament to the 6th of June 2009, keep your eyes peeled to the news updates for the results next month. However, we can confirm that during the registration period we received over 200 entries, the winner of the tournament can expect a brand new graphics card in the form of a GeForce GTX 280!
quote:
Introduction
We have an extremely exciting announcement for all Crysis Wars players! We will be running an Instant Action ‘Free
For All’ tournament on the 23/24th May 2009, and sign ups are now open! The final cut off day will be on
Friday 22nd May. We will be offering some top prizes as well as some Crytek merchandise, so log in, sign up and get
your trigger fingers ready!
How to sign up
To sign up for this tournament and your chance to win MyCrysis fame and glory in addition to the prizes mentioned
below, you need to follow a few simple steps.
Visit the official sign up thread in the MyCrysis forum (link found below)
Post in the thread with your MyCrysis username, your Crysis Wars game name, and your current location.
That's it! Now you just need to wait for the groups to be announced.
Rules
There are a few rules that must be followed if you want to participate in the tournament, these are;
You can only post in the sign up thread once. Anyone posting more than once will be refused entry.
You can only use 1 account for this tournament. Anyone caught using multiple accounts will be removed.
Only post the information requested in the sign up thread. Any other posts will be deleted.
Check the dates of the tournament and ensure that you are able to play, there will not be a delay on games
starting for missing players.
Check back on MyCrysis for updates, if any changes are made you are expected to be aware of them and they will
be posted here.
Additional Information
More information can be found in our announcement post below, this includes dates of the sign up, and the
tournament. You will also find the schedule in our sign up post mentioned above.
When the sign up period is over an exact schedule will be posted on MyCrysis, registered players will also receive
this via PM on the forums.
quote:
Introduction
We have an extremely exciting announcement for all Crysis Wars players! We will be running an Instant Action ‘Free
For All’ tournament on the 23/24th May 2009, you will be able to sign up from the 15th of May until the final cut
off day on Friday 22nd May. We will be offering some top prizes as well as some Crytek merchandise, so log in, sign
up and get your trigger fingers ready!
Tournament Info / Details
Mode: Instant Action - Free For All
Slots: Knockout tournament Rules
Maps: Ruins
Prizes: GeForce GTX 280 and Crytek merchandise including, T-Shirts, Wrist
Bands, Mousepads and much more!
Sign-Up: 15th May - 22nd May 2009
1st Prize - GeForce GTX 280
Official Crytek Merchandise
Schedule
12th May – Announcement
15th May – Sign-ups Begin
22nd May – Sign-ups End
23rd/24th May – Tournament Runs
25th May – Results Posted
Additional Information
Players will be given further details of when they are due to play their matches via PM’s and/or forum posts. A
full schedule will be posted on www.mycrysis.com.
If you have any questions then you can post them in the comments section below. Good luck to all participants!
Community Update - Scene from a movie
The community section for this month consists of a look back at an external event called "Scene from a Movie". Here
game designers were asked to recreate any scene from a movie and fully render it in a program of their choice. An
amazing three out of five top entries used the CryEngine 2 with the first place going to the "Blade Runner"
submission. Read can read the full article below for more information.
quote:
Welcome to a MyCrysis presentation of some news on a "Scene From A Movie" competition took place on
Game-Artist.net, where three of the five entrants in the competition used
CryENGINE2 as their engine of choice. We at Crytek and Crymod were very impressed by the quality of the scenes
entered, and as such today we're featuring the scenes created in CryENGINE2. The results of the contest are shown
below.
1st Place - (CryENGINE2) - The Replicants with "Blade Runner"
2nd Place - (Unreal Engine 3) - Twinkle in a Child's Eye with "Hook"
3rd Place - (Unreal Engine 3) - Coridium with "X-Men 2"
4th Place - (CryENGINE2) - Team Awesome with "I Am Legend"
5th Place - (CryENGINE2) - Weyland Corp with "Aliens"
CryENGINE2 Entrant #1 - Blade Runner
Taking first place in the contest with this hugely impressive scene are a team of artists from
Game-Artist.net called "The Replicants", who took on the task of creating the
intense cityscape of Blade Runner. They've done so amazingly, with the futuristic brightly lit yet dank streets of
the film perfectly conveyed effectively in the images. Shown below are the two winning images, complete with the
moodboard used to create the scene.
CryENGINE2 Entrant #2 - I Am Legend
Coming in at an impressive fourth space is this scene from the recent "I Am Legend" film, where an overgrown city
environment needed to be portrayed. The feeling of the desolated abandoned New York cityscape was created well
here, and shown below again are the two winning shots as well as the moodboard for the scene.
CryENGINE2 Entrant #3 - Aliens
Last but not least, achieving a respectable fifth place, are the "Weyland Corp" team featuring Crymod's very own
[HP] in the team. They created the atmospheric Aliens environment fantastically, with
the atmospheric weather conditions combined with superb lighting creating an amazing scene. Three images of the
result are shown below.
If you'd like to see the rest of the winners or find out more about any aspect of the competition, you can find the
announcement on CGSociety here. Feel free
to discuss the competition in our forum thread
here.
Inside Crytek - Astrid Castle
Continuing our monthly tradition, we also featured another 'Inside Crytek' piece on a tallented and female
Storyboard and Concept Artist! Astrid gives her tips on getting into the industry and answers your questions from
the forum.
Today sees another addition to our
"Inside Crytek" series. This is a series of Q&A's with different members of the Crytek team, where they answer
questions on all sorts of topics. These are not just ordinary interviews though. Once their intro has been posted
you get the opportunity to ask them your questions!
This time around we are speaking with Astrid Castle.
What do you do
at Crytek?
I’m a storyboard and concept artist.
Why did you want to work in the games industry
and how did you get started? Do you have any tips for people wanting to get
started in the industry?
I have always wanted to be in the games industry, ever since I was a young kid and playing Space Invaders
on an old Atari! I owned each system in each generation, and thought it would be amazing to be able to combine a
hobby and a career. My other hobby was art, and I would often draw many of my favourite game characters (have lost
count of the amount of Sonics I used to draw..) and so I eventually studied Illustration at university, in the hope
that I could then manage to get an artistic role within a games company. After university, I was desperate to get
into the games industry, and so I applied as a QA tester, to get my foot in the door. After working for a large
publisher, I then applied to Crytek, both for art and QA positions. At first, I was offered the QA position, then
after a few months I moved into art..
Where have you worked
before?
At a games and video rental store (anything to be close to games ;) then at EA , and now at Crytek.
Why Crytek?
I was originally interested in Crytek as I loved the look of Crysis, but also because they are willing to
give many people starting out in the industry the opportunity to work here, and bring in new ideas.
Do you have any tips for people wanting to get started in the
industry?
Keep trying and don’t give up! Always apply, and try to keep your portfolio the best it can be, and also
focused on a theme that is similar to the games of the company you are applying to. Also, don’t ever let anyone
(teachers ;p) convince you that working in the games industry isn’t a ‘real job’ – it always has been, even more so
these days now that there are various university degrees and courses geared towards it, not mention it being a
multi million industry. Always be up to date with all the news within the industry, and your passion and enthusiasm
will help you keep going!
What are the best and worst parts of your
job?
Working in the games industry, getting to draw and design cool things, being surrounded by very talented
people – there are no worst parts ;) I think the challenge is great, and having to draw things outside your normal
‘comfort zone’ is always a good thing.
What are you working on at the minute?
An unannounced project…
What types of games do you like, and what's
your favorite game of all time?
Ooo hard question! Genre-wise, I prefer action, horror, RPG and FPS (and the occasional puzzle game) Favourites
include the Final Fantasy games, Metal Gear games, Silent Hill games, Resident Evils (lots of franchises ;p) Gears
of War, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus – some old ones include Sonic 2, Gunstar Heroes, Flashback and Fantastic Dizzy.
What do you enjoy doing when you're not at
work?
Drawing, playing games, watching films, exercising and eating lots of thai food or chilli con carni.
;).
It's up to you!
Now we've asked the questions, it's time for you to ask yours. Just go to
this thread and post the questions you'd like to ask. Take advantage of the
role the person does, and make sure to ask the right questions. Funny ones
are always good, but nothing obscene. We'll pick out the best questions from
the bunch and have the communities Q&A up once they're answered.
Introduction
Previously you have seen the interview with Astrid Castle - Storyboard and Concept Artist for Crytek. You got to
ask her your questions and now it's time for you to read the answers below.
When designing concept art, are you given an idea and you work from that, or do you come up
with your own idea's based on information about the game?
Always usually given a bit of an idea, so that we follow the particular style used for the project. Depends, some
times we can go more crazy just to come up with ideas, can depend on what stage the game is at. :)
What concept art did you do for crysiswars/warhead?
I didn't get the opportunity to work on these projects sadly.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
Everything! Anything I see...usually the shape or colour of something, I find myself thinking 'that'd be good for
what I'm working on' etc. And then of course movies, other games, and especially other artists, they can be very
inspirational.
Do you have fun at where you work lol
No I hate every second of it ;p Hehe yes of course!
what would you consider your favourite piece that you've drawn?
I never really have a favourite piece, to be honest, as after a few months or even weeks, I look at my older work
and don't like it as much anymore, as i just keep thinking what could be improved on it. But in general, favourite
pieces of mine tend to be monster or character Original.
Do you ever get bored or is it very fast/Hectic job?
No, never the chance to get bored, there's always something I could be drawing. :) Yeah sometimes it can be quite
busy, depends how quickly they need a scene/image. Other times it's more relaxed. I actually like it when things
are a little more hectic, otherwise you can spend too long on something and it loses the energy the earlier image
had.
What happens to old pictures?
They're still kept here - it's great looking back at some of the older work and unused work sometimes.
At the age of 17 how many hours do you spend at drawing pictures?
When I was 17? I was drawing any chance I had. :) I was studying other subjects than art too at this stage, but
outside of school I was taking classes in life drawing, animation and just doing my own stuff. :) Hard to say,
hour-wise, but yeah just anytime i wasn't doing anything else!
Who is your favorite artist?
Yoshi-taka Amano, his paintings are absolutely beautiful. I'm also a big fan of Mucha, William Blake, Albrecht
Durer.
Do you like cheese on toast?
Of course! Delicious. :) But chicken korma and chilli con carni are the best foods in existence. ;D
Does the game resemble your concept art (in feeling) and do you think the coders/modelers
created your vision precisely?
Yeah I think so, since we work closely with the art director as well as the modellers, so we get to see the
progress, and in terms of storyboards/cutscenes, angles that can be tweaked etc.
How do you actually draw everything? Do you do it on the computer or by hand?
A bit of both! Sometimes when I want to be super fast, i will doodle in a sketchpad just to get ideas down. In
general on the computer though, since we are lucky enough to use Cintiqs :) (which is a bit like drawing by hand
anyway!) Personally I have always prefered work by hand; I like the accidental mistakes that occur, but that can
actually improve a piece, that you can't necessarily get on a pc. And it's nice to actually 'touch' a piece of art
too, like a painting.
What does it require to get a job in game development do you have to go to a certain collage.
Depends on what you want to do! I think going to collage/university certainly helps, but talent, enthusiasm and
determination also go a long way. :) You just have to keep trying, and which ever area you wish to work in, just
keep practising at that and try to learn everything you can. It's all a learning process, I'm learning all the time
too. :)
In Closing
A special thanks to Astrid for taking the time to complete the Inside Crytek article and community answers, I’m
sure they will be of great use too all the guys here. The next Inside Crytek article will be up soon and we'll be
allowing you to ask even more questions to another member of the Crytek staff in a short while.
- MyCrysis Team
Crysis: Maximum Edition Release
We are happy to announce that the Crysis: Maximum Edition release went well, you can find out more about it below!
quote:
As recently announced, EA and Crytek are bringing you all of the Crysis world in one box with Crysis, Crysis
Warhead and Crysis Wars all available in one purchase. Today we're pleased to announce it's released, and provide
you with details on where you can find it!
EA Press Release
quote:
For gamers who have yet to experience Crysis, EA and Crytek will be releasing the Crysis Maximum
Edition, a compilation of all three Crysis games in one box (Crysis, Crysis Warhead and
Crysis Wars). Available beginning May 5th for the MSRP of $39.99, Crysis Maximum Edition is the
ultimate Crysis experience.
Crysis, Crysis Warhead and Crysis Wars are all rated ‘M’ for Mature by the ESRB and 18+ by
PEGI. For more information about everything Crysis, please visit www.mycrysis.com.
Maximum Edition
Finally, gamers can get their hands on the entire Crysis world in Crysis Maximum Edition. The 2007 PC Game of the
Year is packaged along with the critically acclaimed parallel story, Crysis Warhead, and the explosive multiplayer
combat of Crysis Wars. For newcomers to the Crysis world, Crysis Maximum Edition gives players chance to don the
Nanosuit in three different games for one low price. Whether they’re saving mankind from an alien apocalypse or
fighting alongside friends in online team instant action matches, there is something for everyone in Crysis Maximum
Edition.
Release Details
Maximum Edition has been released and is available now!. You can order your copy from various stores and
sites; a selection of the full list of purchase
options is shown below. The pack will vary in price according to purchase location.
CRYSIS MAXIMUM EDITION CONTENTS:
CRYSIS
Confront an ancient alien terror to save mankind from extinction
Adapt your approach- change combat tactics by customizing your Nanosuit in real time
CRYSIS WARHEAD
Fight as the volatile Sergeant Sykes on a secret mission to stop the enemy from
obtaining a weapon that threatens humanity
Discover what happened on the other side of the island in a campaign that takes place at the same time as the
events of Crysis
Never play the same way twice- experiment with going stealth or with guns blazing in over-the-top
action
CRYSIS WARS
Engage in many explosive multiplayer game modes on 21 total maps
Up to 32 players can battle it out on foot or by vehicle in Team Instant Action, Power Struggle, and other
online game modes
If you havent experienced any of the games included, then now is your chance to play through the explosive Crysis
universe!
To be honest, Crytek: please dont call it monthly Update, if it fails to be an update. Its a monthly review, so this would be a more proper term for it.
Crysis Weekly Update was really a update of what is going on, but since the monthly update it was almost always just a review, so please dont call it UPDATE if it just contains everything a active community member already knows and it just reviews the whole month.
01.06.2009
+99 What’s to come?
01.06.2009
What's to come: Mhh i think the next total buggy game, which will cost us 50 Euros
01.06.2009
lol the "what's to come" is what made me read the article, then they left it out
haha
hey thats my keyboard in the casius belli pictures dont be fooled it sucks (keyboard)
02.06.2009
Last time Peter and Now Astrid!! She's awesome, She's my hero, She knows why... Walking down a street late at night and need a cigg... yeah, bump into miss awesome, who doesn't smoke, but had a cigg for me while I continued my search for a open store past midnight
haha
