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Semblance (game engine)

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Semblance is a game engine developed by Morningwood Industries in 2013. It was first used on Call of Duty: Eclipse Warfare in 2014, and would become the mainstream engine used by Morningwood Arts' subsidiaries in the development of their video games.

The engine is maintained by Semblance Industries, an in-house team at Morningwood Industries. The Semblance SDK allows players to create mods for games using either Semblance 4 or 6. Semblance 5 was added to the list of supported versions in 2020, following the release of Call of Duty: Dawn of the Remnants.

The engine was later used as a "foundation" for Semblance OS, an operating system built for the Semblance console created by Semblance Industries.

Versions

Semblance 1

The engine was first used in RWBYverse Online: Grimm Rising to allow the game to have great graphics and smooth gameplay. Shaders written in the engine also allowed blooming effects as well as realistic lighting.

With the remastering of Call of Duty: Resistance, Morningwood Industries had developed a newer Semblance engine to be used on this remaster which was then accepted by Nakamura Interactive—lead developer of Resistance—for it to be used. However, Nakamura Interactive had made several changes to the engine under supervision of Morningwood Industries. The finished state of the engine was then used to remaster Resistance. This engine began Semblance 2.

Semblance 2

Semblance 2 was the new and improved version of Semblance 1. This version allowed for more destruction, physics, lighting and shaders. To allow the newer systems, the previous systems were rewritten in C++ and the framework was upgraded from 32-bit to 64-bit. Along with these improvements, games running on the engine were capable of 60FPS and 1080p, with support for 4K.

Call of Duty: Federation War was the first game to use Semblance 2, showcasing its improvements and new look.

Semblance 3

Semblance 3, a newer modified version of the engine, will be used on Call of Duty: Eclipse Warfare, the newest game in their line of Call of Duty set within the Eclipse Universe, and the first installment of the Eclipse Warfare series. Call of Duty: Awakening of the Hive also uses this version.

This version improved upon the previous version's lighting and shader systems, allowing for more crisp images and highly detailed environments to be used. It also allowed games to be capable of 120FPS, resolutions of up to 1440p and full support for 4K at 60FPS.

Semblance 4

Semblance 4, a newer modified version of the engine, is used on Call of Duty: Eclipse Warfare II: Opposition Rising, the sequel to Call of Duty: Eclipse Warfare and second installment of the Eclipse Warfare series. Another game, Clash of Universes: RWBYverse vs. Star Wars also uses this engine. Halo: Warzone, Halo 2: Covenant, Call of Duty: Eclipse Warfare III, and Star Wars Battlefront use this version of the engine as well. This version also improved upon the additions that Semblance 3 had.

Semblance 4 was used to animate Soul of the Machine: The Movie, directed and written by GreedySelfish.

Semblance 5

Semblance 5, a newer modified version of the engine, will be used on Call of Duty: Eclipse Warfare IV, the fourth and final installment in the Eclipse Warfare series. Eclipse Universe Online also uses this version, which was redeveloped to support MMOs as Semblance 1.0 was outdated.

This version fully supports MMO titles, allowing for games to host 64 players in multiplayer games, and also improved upon the image and environmental details as well as frames per second.

Semblance 6

Semblance 6 is a newer improved version of Semblance 5.0 and was used to develop Call of Duty: Age of Extinction and Call of Duty: Dawn of the Remnants.

This version further improved upon details, lighting and allowed for new shaders to further enhance images and lighting. Ray-tracing support was also added for both consoles and PC graphic cards.

Semblance X

Semblance X, dubbed an experimental engine, is the engine used for Call of Duty: Conquest to support the large AAA game, the first for Morningwood Arts. With this engine, subsidiaries under Morningwood Arts are able to support games with 120 players on a single server, similar to MMO games. As an experimental engine, it served as a testbed for the future of the Semblance engine, which came to fruition in 2022 after the reveal of Semblance 7.

Semblance 7

Semblance 7 is the newest version of the engine. Star Wars Battlefront: Across The Stars and Eclipse Universe: Rose Squad - Extinction were developed using this version. This version supports video game development and animated film productions, and is added to the list of supported Semblance versions in the Semblance SDK for PC modding. This version supports development of Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch games.

This version greatly improves and expands upon all previous versions, allowing for more richly detailed shaders, images, environments, shaders, lighting, optimizations and full ray-tracing support for consoles and PCs. PC games support 120FPS at a 4K resolution with ray-tracing, console game developers have the freedom to include these enhancements as default or upgrades. Multiplayer games can support up to 192 players while preserving all graphical fidelity.

Games

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