BRender
BRender
BRender is the Blazing Render engine created by Argonaut Software.
BRender Development
- BRender Technical Manual (HTML version)
- BRender Technical Manual v1.2 (PDF)
- BRender Tutorial Guide v1.2 (PDF)
- BRender x86 Install Guide v1.2 (PDF)
The PDF versions were created by converting FrameMaker/FrameReader versions from the BRender v1.2 SDK, and may have some text glitches due to missing fonts.
BRender research
I've been trying to contact people who worked on BRender, to see if they can provide an SDK. Current progress:
- Sam Littlewood (u/samelittlewood) (sam in the BRender strings). Contacted on reddit, he followed up a bit later to say he no longer had any documentation or SDKs.
- Dan Piponi (@sigfpe). Only has the manual, which we already have.
- Jez San: Contacted, doesn't have any SDKs but did give approval to open source the BRender SDK.
BRender SDKs
We know of at least THREE existing examples of the SDK, with possibly two more existing but not yet confirmed.
- IBM Developer Connection for OS/2 Volume 12, disc 3 under TOOLKITS\WARPTKV3\TOOLKIT\BETA\BRENDER: Contains an OS/2-only version of the BRender SDK, with docs in an OS/2-only format, and is limited to the floating-point only version. The internal file dates point to March 1995.
- Best Of Internet July 1996. This warez CD includes a copy of the SDK called "BRender x86 1.1.2". Mainly for DOS, but includes a sample file running BRender in a Win32s app. Dates point to September 1995.
- 3rd source: A leaked (and confidential at this point) game source library contained an original and a modified version of the BRender SDK, complete with source. This became the v1.3.2 and "1997" source releases.
- BRender SDK v1.2 (aka BRENDER25.ZIP): This version is from March 1996, and was found on January 15th, 2022.
- Unfound version: Another warez CD, this one "CD-147" (I'm not sure of the name) includes "The Brender Development Toolkit V1.4" (WPNBRDT1.ZIP, 1442825 bytes).
- BRender-3DMM: The version used by 3D Movie Maker. Dating to May 1995, this version is only 3 pre-compiled LIB files.
Open Sourced BRender
On May 3rd 2022, the BRender engine was open sourced by Jez San. Two versions of the source were released on this day, with a 3rd hopefully coming soon. These first two versions come from the leaked SDK mentioned above.
| Version | Date | Github | Archive | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| v1.3.2 | 1998-11-17 | BRender-v1.3.2 | brender-v-1.3.2 | Appears to be unmodified |
| v??? | 1997-08-?? | BRender-1997 | brender-1997 | Modified to be used in a game, which has been redacted out of the source |
| v1.1.2 | 1995/09/07 | BRender-v1.1.2 | brender-v-1.1.2 | Unmodified (or very lightly modified), originally used with the game Privateer 2 |
| N/A | N/A | CrocDE-BRender | The version used by Croc: Definitive Edition. A modernized version of the source with OpenGL rendering |
Games using the BRender Engine
| Name | Year | Developer | Publisher | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D Movie Maker | 1995 | Microsoft | Microsoft | Windows |
| Alien Odyssey | 1995 | Argonaut | Philips Interactive | DOS |
| Arena AD (cancelled) | N/A | Stainless Software | ? | Windows |
| Bondurant High Performance Racing (Unreleased/in-house?) | N/A | Fathom Pictures | ? | ? |
| Bundesliga Manager 97 / Total Football Management | 1996 | Software 2000 | Software 2000 | DOS |
| Bundesliga Manager 98 | 1998 | Software 2000 | Eidos | Windows |
| Carmageddon | 1997 | Stainless Software | Interplay, SCi Games | DOS, Windows, Macintosh |
| Carmageddon 2: Carpocalypse Now | 1998 | Stainless Software | SCi Games | Windows, Macintosh |
| Croc 1: Legend of the Gobbos | 1997 | Argonaut | Fox Interactive | Windows |
| Doctor Who: Destiny of the Doctors | 1997 | Studio Fish | BBC Multimedia | Windows |
| F1 Manager | 1996 | Software 2000 | Software 2000 | DOS |
| F1 Manager Professional | 1997 | Software 2000 | Software 2000 | DOS |
| Freelancer 2120 (cancelled) | N/A | Imagitec | ? | DOS |
| FX Fighter | 1995 | Argonaut | GTE Entertainment | DOS |
| FX Fighter Turbo | 1996 | Argonaut | GTE Entertainment | Windows |
| Hasbro Xscape/Rush/Toaster (cancelled) | N/A | Hasbro | ? | ? |
| Hotwheels project (cancelled) | N/A | Stainless Software | ? | ? |
| Independence War | 1998 | Particle Systems | Infogrames | Windows |
| I-War: Defiance | 1999 | Particle Systems | Infogrames | Windows |
| Motor Mash | 1998 | Eutechnyx Limited | Ocean Software | DOS, Windows |
| Nickelodeon 3D Movie Maker | 1996 | Microsoft | Microsoft | Windows |
| Pete Sampras Tennis '97 | 1996 | Codemasters | Codemasters | DOS, Windows |
| Play with the Teletubbies | 1998 | Asylum Entertainment | Knowledge Adventure | Windows |
| Privateer 2: The Darkening | 1996 | EA Manchester | Electronic Arts | DOS, Windows |
| Queen: The eYe | 1998 | Destination Design | Electronic Arts | DOS |
| Search and Rescue (SAR) | 1997 | Interactivision | Intense Entertainment Interactive | Windows |
| Sensible Soccer '98 | 1997 | Sensible Software | GT Interactive | Windows |
| Sensible Soccer '98: European Club Edition | 1998 | Sensible Software | GT Interactive | Windows |
| Surf and Destroy (demo) | N/A | Grolier Interactive | ? | Windows |
BRender Versions
See BRender versions used by games