Havok 6.0 released

Havok has launched version 6.0 of its eponymous game middleware suite.

The update sees the much-discussed Cloth and Destruction products joining the line-up. Havok Cloth enables characters to be equipped with realistic loose-fitting clothing such as capes, skirts, trousers and coats, and simulates dynamic interactions with environmental objects like flags, curtains and vegetation.

Havok Destruction, meanwhile, offers art tools and run-time technology to allow deformation and destruction of environments and objects, offering the technology to perform such operations and a pipeline to make generation of such content a much easier endeavor.

The other Havok components have also seen enhancement. Havok Behavior has had significant UI enhancements to accelerate workflow, Havok Physics has ‘many new optimisations and usability improvements’, while Havok Animation enhances performance on multi-core platforms, features several memory-saving techniques and provides automatic detection of ‘foot-ground contact in character animations’.

“This significant expansion of our product portfolio underlines Havok’s commitment to focus on building modular software solutions that address the key challenges facing games developers, without pushing a hardware agenda or demanding adoption of a monolithic system,” said David O’Meara, managing director of Havok.

“Our philosophy is to empower the entire development team so every person involved in the process can work more effectively to create the most visually stunning entertainment possible.”