The Build Engine Features
The stock-standard features of Build up to its last incarnation include:
- "2.5D" world (ie. a 2D map with height information)
- High-resolution VESA modes with framerate not limited at 35 FPS
- Multi-coloured lighting (implemented using palette remapping)
- Fog (implemented by changing the fade colour used for depth shading)
- Bi-level translucency (33% and 66%) for sprites and masked walls
- "Wall" and "floor"-aligned sprites
- Voxel objects for three-dimensional "sprites" (these appeared in Shadow Warrior and Blood)
- Sloped floors and ceilings
- Overlapping sectors
- Moving sectors
- Looking up and down (faked - done by stretching the screen vertically to produce the illusion)
- Fully three-dimensional "What You See Is What You Get" map editor
- Textured 2D overhead map view
- Ability to change the field of view on the fly
Other capabilities of the Build engine that were never really considered an official part of it include:
- Ability to use Mode-X (chained) video modes; a feature which was phased out in 1996 because of a lack of usefulness due to new VESA drivers
- Ability to support stereoscopic modes for red-blue glasses and other headsets like Crystal Eyes and Nuvision
Some game production houses enhanced the engine by adding extra capabilities like:
- Mirrors
- Stacked sector/"true" room-over-room effects (seen in Blood and Shadow Warrior)
- Reflective floors (eg. Lameduke and Ken's test game)
- The ability to dramatically change the map, for example, replacing a bunch of sectors with another bunch (Shadow Warrior)
