Editing Phoenix engine

{{Status|RealWorld}}
{{Disambig header|the game engine|other uses of the word "Phoenix" in ''Halo''|Phoenix}}
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{{Callsign}}
{{Infobox/Engine
|name="Phoenix engine"
|image=
|othernames=''Halo Wars'' engine
|developer=[[Ensemble Studios]]
|entereddev=[[2005]]
|derivedfrom=
|derivatives=
|firstuse=''[[Halo Wars]]'' (2009)
|latestuse=''[[Halo Wars 2]]'' (2017)
}}

The "'''Phoenix engine'''"{{Ref/Note|The name "Phoenix engine" is not an official term, and is instead inferred from the codename of the project it was originally developed for, Phoenix, and the fact that many internal ''Halo Wars'' files are prefixed <code>PHX</code>, for '''PH'''oeni'''X'''. Though unofficial, the name "Phoenix engine" is the most commonly used term in the community, and thus it is adopted here.}}{{Ref/Site|Id=Wrensi|URL=https://mattjordandesigner.com/hw2|Site=Matt Jordan - Game Designer|Page=Halo Wars 2|D=14|M=04|Y=2023}} is a [[Wikipedia:Game engine|game engine]] designed for the [[real-time strategy]] (RTS) genre, which was developed between [[2005]] and [[2009]]. The engine takes its name from the eponymous [[Phoenix (Ensemble pitch)|cancelled video game project]] by [[Ensemble Studios]], for which it was originally created. Circa [[2006]], when [[Microsoft]] directed Ensemble to retool the pitched project as a ''Halo'' game, the Phoenix engine was retained and would go on to power the final product, ''[[Halo Wars]]'', and its eventual sequel ''[[Halo Wars 2]]''.

==Development history==
===Motivation===
Circa 2005, around the same time [[Ensemble Studios]] was shipping ''[[Wikipedia:Age of Empires III|Age of Empire 3]]'', Ensemble employee Angelo Laudon was experimenting with a prototype of Ensemble's previous game, ''[[Wikipedia:Age of Mythology|Age of Mythology]]'', that allowed the previously [[Wikipedia:Personal computer|PC]]-only game to be played with a controller "without too much friction". This prototype would come to form the basis of Ensemble's next project after the release of ''Age of Empires III'', known as ''[[Phoenix (Ensemble pitch)|Phoenix]]'', which would be a real-time strategy game released on the [[Xbox 360]].{{Ref/Site|Id=RG|URL=https://sites.google.com/site/richgel99/|Site=Rich Geldreich|Page=Halo Wars|D=21|M=01|Y=2022}}

Before the Phoenix engine ever entered development, Ensemble initially attempted to port the ''Age of Empire 3''{{'}}s iteration of the [[ageofempires:Bang Engine|Bang! engine]], an older, PC-exclusive engine originally created for ''Age of Mythology''.{{Ref/Site|URL=http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/ageofmythology/news.html?sid=2680346|Site=GameSpot|Page=Ensemble Studios interview|D=06|M=03|Y=2009}} Engineers [[Rich Geldreich]] and [[Billy Khan]] spent around 3 months in 2005 porting the engine from PC to [[Xbox 360]], in what Geldreich described as "the most painful and mind numbing task [he] ever did [at Ensemble]". Ultimately, it was a waste of time, as while the game was made to run and the [[Wikipedia:Windows API|Win32]] networking backend was rewritten for the Xbox 360 to allow for multiplayer on the console, the game's performance was incredibly poor, averaging between only 3-8 [[Wikipedia:Frame rate|frames per second]], and load times were as long as 5 minutes due to a slow, custom [[Wikipedia:Interpreter (computing)|interpreter]] used by the script processor compoment of the map generator.{{Ref/Reuse|RG}}

Geldreich attributed the poor performance to the significant difference in target hardware between the original target platforms of the Bang! engine and the Xbox 360. While he praised the engine itself, particularly its resilience with respect to corrupted, modified or deleted data, which helped significantly with the 360 port, and its random map generation, it was fundamentally designed for single-threaded [[Wikipedia:x86|x86]] systems with a large amount of [[Wikipedia:Random-access memory|RAM]] and a [[Wikipedia:Virtual memory|virtual memory]] system. These specifications differed significantly from those offered by the Xbox 360, which had an [[Wikipedia:Out-of-order execution#In-order processors|in-order]] [[Wikipedia:PowerPC|PowerPC]] [[Wikipedia:Central processing unit|CPU]], limited RAM, no virtual memory and no built-in [[Wikipedia:Hard disk drive|hard drive]].{{Ref/Reuse|RG}}

Ultimately, this port of the Bang! engine was only used for some internal playtesting and prototyping, running multiplayer matches with new maps and custom game scripts created by [[Graeme Devine]] and [[Angelo Laudon]]. Attempting to play the ported version of the engine, though, highlighted indisputably to the team that a direct PC to Xbox 360 port would never properly work for the engine, due to not being fun to work on for the Ensemble staff, very few of whom truly understood the Bang! engine, and due to the fact that such a port would not be competitive with other Xbox 360 first-party releases. In addition, the Bang! engine was heavily [[Wikipedia:Thread (computing)#Single-threaded vs multithreaded programs|single-threaded]], and thus even with extensive optimisation of the engine, performance still wouldn't have been acceptable. Consequently, the port of Bang! engine was abandoned in favour of starting a new engine from scratch.{{Ref/Reuse|RG}}

===Development begins===
Initial development of the Phoenix engine started at some point in late 2005. As a base, the Ensemble team used a core engine and renderer developed by Geldreich for the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, between [[2003]] and [[2004]]. A number of [[Wikipedia:Middleware|middleware]] solutions were licensed to simplify development, including [[Wikipedia:Scaleform GFx|Scaleform]] for UI and HUD rendering, [[Wikipedia:Audiokinetic Wwise|Audiokinetic Wwise]] for audio creation and authoring, [[Wikipedia:Havok (software)|Havok]] for physics and Granny 3D for animation. In addition, a server-class [[Wikipedia:Heap (data structure)|heap]] system created by Microsoft Research, called Rockall, was repurposed for the engine by Geldreich. Finally, a small number of components from the Bang! engine were retained, including the [[Wikipedia:Pathfinding|pathfinding]] implementation.{{Ref/Reuse|RG}}

The engine and its toolset were worked upon between 2005 and 2007 by a group of at least 6 engineers, among a development team of roughly 25 for the project overall. Angelo and his team focussed on producing a new RTS simulation engine optimised for the 360. Meanwhile, for the engine tools, an entirely new editor was created for the engine in [[Wikipedia:C Sharp (programming language)|C#]] by [[Andrew Foster]] and [[Colt McAnlis]], while [[David Bettner]] created audio-related tools and engine code.{{Ref/Reuse|RG}}

Some time in 2006, after it had been in development for between 12 and 18 months, Ensemble formally pitched the Phoenix project to Microsoft, who agreed to produce it provided that it be reworked as a ''Halo'' title, due to concerns that an entirely new real-time strategy IP on a console would not be successful. This set the project down the path that led it to becoming ''[[Halo Wars]]''.{{Ref/Site|Id=Goodman|URL=https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-09-26-tony-goodman-the-publisher-as-we-know-it-may-become-extinct|Site=gamesindustry.biz|Page=Tony Goodman: "The publisher as we know it may become extinct"|D=21|M=9|Y=2021}}

===Development of ''Halo Wars''===
{{Expand-section}}
For approximately a year, the ~25 person ''Phoenix'' team continued to work on the project, retooling it as a ''Halo'' game. Eventually, in mid-to-late [[2007]], the first playable demo of ''Halo Wars'' was shown, after roughly two years of development on the Phoenix project and engine. The demo required significant [[Wikipedia:Crunch (video games)|crunch]] on behalf of the developers in order to have it ready in time, with some resorting to sleeping in their offices in order to meet the deadline.{{Ref/Reuse|RG}}

Around the same time, another ongoing ''Halo'' project at Ensemble, ''[[Titan (canceled game)|Titan]]'', was cancelled by Microsoft. This led to the entire studio being folded into the ''Halo Wars'' project,{{Ref/Site|Id=interview1|D=17|M=04|Y=2010|URL=http://www.incgamers.com/Interviews/264/windstorms-dusty-monk-interview---part-one/2|Site=IncGamers|Page=Windstorm's Dusty Monk Interview - Part One - Page 2|Quote=For two years, before we all moved onto Halo Wars, we were working on an MMO prototype, and it was codenamed Titan.}} which increased the number of people working on ''Halo Wars'' to over 100.{{Ref/Reuse|RG}}

''Halo Wars'' was ultimately released on [[2009|March 3, 2009]] in the USA, marking the first commercial release of a game on the Phoenix engine.

===Development of ''Halo Wars 2''===
{{Expand-section}}
A sequel to ''Halo Wars'', ''[[Halo Wars 2]]'', entered pre-production in [[2014]] but did not enter development until at least [[2015]], under a different studio from the original, [[Creative Assembly]]. Despite the different studio, ''Halo Wars 2'' was developed under the Phoenix engine, just like the original.{{Ref/Note|It is believed that ''Halo Wars 2'' uses an evolution of the same engine as ''Halo Wars'', due to similarities in the internal file structure and naming scheme.}}{{Ref/Reuse|Wrensi}}

''Halo Wars 2'' was released on [[2017|February 21, 2017]].

==Games using the Phoenix engine==
The following games were built upon the Phoenix engine:

*''[[Halo Wars]]'' (2009)
**''[[Halo Wars: Definitive Edition]]'' (2016)
*''[[Halo Wars 2]]'' (2017){{Ref/Reuse|Wrensi}}

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

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[[Category:Game engines]]
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