What is most interesting to note is that, according to the details page, Lumberyard uses visual technology based on the CryEngine. As such, Lumberyard will be capable of rendering much higher quality graphics than most development kits, and since the visual engine is native to the program, there won’t be much hassle on the developer’s side to add in complex lighting. It looks to be a promising service, so far.
- Quote via Lumberyard info page
Lumberyard has all the features a game developer could ask for, including (but not limited to): full-featured editing, native code performance, high-quality visuals, and in-house physics engines.
GameLift, on the other hand, is a service that offers to help developers set up, operate, and scale session-based multiplayer games. It promises to reduce the time required to build the backend portions of a multiplayer platform from “thousands of hours to just minutes.” According to the info page, GameLift requires no backend experience to work with.
