BabelFlux Announces New Version, Licensees For NavPower Pathfinding Middleware

Middleware developer BabelFlux announced today a new version of its NavPower AI pathfinding software, which will be used in upcoming games including EA's Dead Space 2 and DarkSpore and Square Enix's Dungeon Siege III. Pathfinding algorithms in the new version allow for AI-controlled characters to navigate on moving platforms, fly over buildings or through windows, and navigate crowded MMO environemnts, according to BabelFlux. The update also optimizes the middleware's performance on the PlayStation 3, using the system's multiple cores more efficiently to reduce memory consumption and improve response time, the company says. BabelFlux used the announcement of the new NavPower version to reveal that Visceral Games, Maxis and Obsidian Entertainment have licensed their technology for use in Dead Space 2,DarkSpore and Dungeon Siege III, respectively. Since its creation in 2005, BabelFlux reports that NavPower has been used in dozens of released and upcoming projects on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, including Eidos Interactive's Tomb Raider: Underworld, Namco Bandai's Afro Samurai, and Square Enix's upcoming Deus Ex 3.