https://www.crytek.com/news/crytek-releases-first-ever-documentary-series-to-celebrate-25-years

"From convincing their father to purchase a gaming PC, to creating their first game which lead to the infamous Far Cry and Crysis titles! Watch how it all started for Crytek in this first episode of a new documentary series.

In their first ever documentary series, Crytek are excited to tell the stories behind their own games and how this small family operation grew to span over 25 years of game development. Watch never before seen footage, early concept art, learn about the rollercoaster of game development, and get to know the people behind your favorite Crytek titles.

In the first episode of this brand-new series, the team shares captivating stories about the origins of Crytek. They recount how a family member gifted the brothers a gaming PC, and how that crucial moment paved the way to founding one of the world’s leading gaming companies.

In the episode, we also look at behind the scenes footage of their first project, X-isle: Dinosaur Island and how this led to the development of the iconic Far Cry, which marked their ascent to success. Crysis also makes an appearance as the team go through how they made the title a technological breakthrough that would change the world of video games forever.

Watch the full episode here:

Our Story - Episode 1 – X-Isle: Dinosaur Island to Crysis
"

Soo... they're actually looking to the future?
Well that's good to know. Something positive.

For those not in the know - in the beginning of this year Crytek shelved 15% of their employees (about 60 people), and development of Crysis 4.

---

If the episodes are numbered there should be more to follow. :o
What I want is an episode about the CryEngine. The Unreal engine is bloated by now. Unity had an entire subscription fiasco and is, to some extent, unoptimized (an issue of devs, but still...). The CryEngine though?! Crysis still beats many games in the Graphics and no loading times department 20 years after release!!

And yet... virtually nobody uses it...

Would love to hear the thoughts from the makers themselves about this, why they never capitalised on their engine. :/

Here is to hoping Crytek actually releases Crysis 4 and then may be experiments with other types of new video games. I want to see Crytek try to develop RPG video games.

They may not be as iconic as the first one, which fortunately has been available on GOG for years already (together with the Warhead expansion) but how about finally completing the trilogy and release the second and third one on GOG?

The 25th anniversary seems like a good opportunity to reach out to Crytek and ask again. Unless EA is actually the one which would need to be courted for that.

https://www.gog.com/dreamlist/game/crysis-2
https://www.gog.com/dreamlist/game/crysis-3

Star Citizen / Squadron 42 runs on a derivative of the Lumberyard Engine which itself is a derivative of the CryEngine.
Also Kingdom Come Deliverance I & II.

Prey (2017) too.

I feel like Crysis is basically the Avatar of computer games. Impressive technology, commercially successful, and yet tremendously bland and boring to the point of leaving almost no cultural footprint.

https://www.gamesthatwerent.com/2024/10/engalus/

"Our next entry into the Games That Weren’t archives was a significant project from the start of an engine that would lead to the eventual Far Cry series. Engalus was a first person shooter/RPG title that was in development at Crytek Studios between 1999 and 2000 – one of their first developments along with X-Isle."

Engalus - Very rare footage from Crytek's first cancelled game from 2000 (PC)

On Crytek’s old archived webpage about the game, they revealed that the main concept consisted of:

“High-tech assassin travels to the edge of the galaxy in order to stop the plans of a madman, who wishes to remake the universe in his own image using an ancient artefact known as the Engalus. As the main character Jordain you will find yourself in a dark sci-fi adventure story where nothing is as it seems and the worst enemies can come from within.”

Gameplay was then described as follows:

"The main goal of Engalus’ gameplay will be to immerse the player in both of the game worlds and in the story. Missions and other actions will flow seamlessly with the story and game environment creating a sort of cinematic realism where, though fantastical, actions and occurrences make sense by the model presented in the game. Engalus’ gameplay can be broken into 3 distinct modes; action, adventure, and story.

A. Action: Fast paced FPS gaming. Focus on the traditional aspects of this mode being the shooting of enemies at the player’s discretion will be maintained.

B. Adventure: More exploration than adventure. During adventure sequences the player will be free to explore the environment searching for clues or information or just talking to NPCs and learning about the universe we have created.

C. Story: Story sections usually take place as a reward for completion of an action section and involve cinematic camerawork and storytelling to advance the plot and reveal new objectives. A very high level of professionalism will be presented here in order to surround with player with a familiar cinematic experience."

Utilizing the CryEngine, there would be various technologies utilized such as: TnL Support, Bump, Enviroment and Phong-Mapping, Reflection Mapping, Shader-Support for Texture-Effects, Curved Surfaces, Scaleability (Engine adopts optimal output for given System-Capacity), Hierarchical Skeletal Animation, Realistic Lightning-Engine, Volumetric Fogs, Vertex Morphing and Multi-Resolution Technology (Dynamic Level of Detail). Some very impressive features which would go on to wow those who saw the developments from the company.

...

A Deus Ex mod based on the game

Interestingly, a few years later – Brian revisited Engalus to create new work for his portfolio. He developed a small mod using the Deus Ex engine, that borrowed from the second act of the original Engalus story. It is quite an impressive feat and helps to showcase more of how the game could have been (as well as act as a great portfolio tool for Brian).

We have added a video instead for now that showcases the first 46 minutes of game play. The mod created is very impressive indeed We have instead added a few docs that were on Brian’s old portfolio that were still public.

Engalus Deus Ex mod - based on the cancelled Crytek game (PC)

..."

Yeah. I loved the first Farcry, but was very bored playing Crysis.

2 Weeks since Episode 1 was released and still no episode 2. :( A derivative of a derivative. :D
Ok, still counts. :D

All awesome games. Also vastly different. One is a medieval sword fighting game, another is a shooter on a space station, and yet another is a 6DOF space-sim.

But that's what - 4 games ?
This engine has proven what it can do. It has good documentation, not worse than other engines, and certainly better than some open source ones. I really wish there would be more big-level, seamless loading, good looking (graphics-wise) games made in this engine. =/

I well remember the excitement and hype when Far Cry first got released ... the graphics were unbelievable back then.

No matter how good the graphics are though, the game itself has to be great to have lasting impact and draw more customers continually.

As long, as being used by competent developers. I think, most of proficient studios would rather create an engine of their own. ;)

If CryEngine would be simplified, so anyone, who "want to create games, not an engine" can start working;
And generalized, making it possible to run any project in any genre, out of the box;
Then it might become as flawed as Unreal or Unity.
There is Open 3D Engine fork of CryEngine. Yet no one is really interested.

https://www.crytek.com/news/crytek-releases-second-episode-of-new-documentary-series

"Crytek releases second episode of new documentary series, featuring never-before-seen insights into the development of the Crysis sequels and Ryse: Son of Rome.

Crytek is excited to release the second episode of their 25-year documentary series, exploring the history of the company and its projects over the last quarter century.

In this episode, the team discusses the evolution of Crysis into Crysis 2 and 3, how a local connection landed an incredible collaboration with legendary composer Hans Zimmer, and the New York trip that inspired much of Crysis 2. From the challenges of creating an open world game within an urban setting to the integration of jungle and city designs in Crysis 3, the team opens up, revealing a real look behind the scenes.

Also featured is the making of Ryse: Son of Rome (Legacy votes), the Xbox One launch title praised for its quality, narrative, and emotional depth. This episode sees the team deep-dive into the developmental journey with exclusive never-before-seen footage of their mocap facial and performance capturing, as well as explores the acute attention to detail that went into building the historic environment.

Watch the second episode in the series here:

Our Story - Episode 2 - Crysis 2 to Ryse: Son of Rome
"

Our Story - Episode 3 - Tech Demos to Robinson: The Journey

"...we talk about the challenges of taking on new heights in The Climb, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at Robinson: The Journey."