Sony’s PlayStation 4 will be supported by a variety of middleware firms, bringing the likes of xaitControl, Morpheme 4 and SpeedTree to the next-generation games console.
Companies including Naturalmotion, Geomerics and xaitment have all signed up to PS4, reports Develop.
First up, Morpheme 4 by Natrualmotion is an animation tool that affords developers advanced prediction modelling capabilities to help construct complicated integrations between animation and AI systems.
Next is lightning tech Enlighten, which has been used already in blockbuster titles including Battlefield 3. Geomerics has said that PS4’s extra memory muscle and computer resource will allow for improved and more realistic lightning effects in next-gen projects.
Xaitcontrol from xaitment offers AI tech to aid in game logic and character behavioural modelling, and is now part of the PS4 package. Furthermore, graphics giant Nvidia has also confirmed that its PhysX and Apex software kits will be compatible with Sony’s new telly box. These tools aid developers with collision detection, simulation of rigid bodies, clothing, fluids and particle systems.
Finally, SpeedTree has also signed up for PS4, which helps designers in creating real-time trees and plants with ‘seamless’ LOD transitions. In addition, it’s also a dab hand in lighting, physics, and wind effects.
PS4 was announced at the PlayStation Meeting in New York City two weeks ago, where Sony confirmed a holiday 2013 release window for the new platform. Killzone: Shadow Fall will be among the launch titles.
Stay tuned.