Ironclad Games is a Canadian
PC game
A personal computer game, also known as a PC game or computer game, is a type of video game played on a personal computer (PC) rather than a video game console or arcade machine. Its defining characteristics include: more diverse and user-deter ...
developer
Developer may refer to:
Computers
* Software developer, a person or organization who develop programs/applications
* Video game developer, a person or business involved in video game development, the process of designing and creating games
* Web d ...
. The company was founded in 2003 by former employees of
Rockstar Vancouver
Rockstar Vancouver Inc. (formerly Barking Dog Studios Ltd.) was a Canadian video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Vancouver. The studio is best known for developing ''Bully'' (2006).
Six former Radical Entertainment deve ...
. Ironclad is located in
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
.
Titles
Ironclad released their first game, ''
Sins of a Solar Empire
''Sins of a Solar Empire'' is a 2008 science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that incorporates ...
'' on February 4, 2008, a game that features a mix of components from
real-time strategy
Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...
and
4X strategy games. They released the ''Entrenchment'' expansion on February 11, 2009. The second expansion pack, ''Diplomacy'', was released on February 9, 2010: the ''Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity'' combination package, which included the ''Entrenchment'' and ''Diplomacy'' expansions, was also released on the same day. On February 21, 2012, they announced ''
Sins of a Dark Age'', a
multiplayer online battle arena
Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that im ...
game set in a pre-war fantasy environment. A standalone expansion pack called ''Rebellion'', was also released for ''Sins of a Solar Empire'' on June 12, 2012. In 2022 Ironclad announced Sins of a Solar Empire 2, Beta Starting October 27, 2022
Iron engine
Ironclad's Iron Engine supports a number of advanced features including per-pixel
specular lighting
A specular highlight is the bright spot of light that appears on shiny objects when illuminated (for example, see image on right). Specular highlights are important in 3D computer graphics, as they provide a strong visual cue for the shape of a ...
,
dynamic fractal generation
Dynamics (from Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power") or dynamic may refer to:
Physics and engineering
* Dynamics (mechanics)
** Aerodynamics, the study of the motion of air
** Analytical dyna ...
,
post-process bloom filtering,
environment mapping
In computer graphics
Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized a ...
, custom pixel and vertex shaders for all
meshes
A mesh is a barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible or ductile materials. A mesh is similar to a web or a net in that it has many attached or woven strands.
Types
* A plastic mesh may be extruded, oriented, ex ...
and effects and an advanced particle system.
v1.0 was used in ''
Sins of a Solar Empire
''Sins of a Solar Empire'' is a 2008 science fiction real-time strategy video game developed by Ironclad Games and published by Stardock Entertainment for Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is a real-time strategy (RTS) game that incorporates ...
'' (2008).
v2.0 was used in ''
Sins of a Dark Age'' (2012).
v3.0 is being used in
Sins of a Solar Empire 2
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
(2022)
References
External links
Ironclad website
{{Authority control
Video game companies of Canada
Companies based in Burnaby
Canadian companies established in 2003
Video game companies established in 2003
Video game development companies