Crysis: Good, or Bad?

puk · A Winner is me!

I noticed something about Crysis and I'm not sure if this is good programming or bad programming

So my system is not that great (laptop) and sometimes when I focus at some area of the screen for the first time, it takes a while before the textures properly load (for example on a Humvee or on a barrel)

If this is b/c of my slow computer, then that's great, b/c it's better than the frame rate dropping

But if this is an artifact of incredibly large levels, then I am not too happy about it.

Also does anyone else get the feeling that the levels here are somehow smaller than the ones in Far Cry?

Suislide · VGS Admin

Sounds like its because your comp sucks.

When you load a game the textures take a second or two to pop in but besides that, its very rare

puk · A Winner is me!

It's strange, b/c I have ALL the settings on high, and the game runs rather smoothly (with the exception of the last level, which turns into a slideshow). The downside is that I have to bring the resolution way down to 800x600, so the game actually looks really shitty.

I still think the game is really fun, especially if you tinker with the Delta_diff file, and get infinite amo and god mode, and you just start tossing grenades like there's no tomorrow.

Kasrkin · Troll

Crysis Warhead is a little more optimized than Crysis, 5 fps in equal settings in my computer (Windows XP).

puk · A Winner is me!

I have pushed the game up to 1600x1200 with 8x antialiasing just to see what it looks like, and it's not as WOW as I thought it would be (might have to do with the hype).

Is it much better with higher resolutions and the very high setting?

Suislide · VGS Admin

Sounds like your computer is retarded!

Its the absolute best looking game in existence

puk · A Winner is me!

I'm not trashing the game, in fact, I hope that it'll look better once I run it on a faster system.

It's just that I am, so far, not as shocked as I was when I first played Far Cry (1, not that abomination of a sequel)

Kasrkin · Troll

Crysis had MUCH MORE better graphics last year than Far Cry in 2004.

puk · A Winner is me!

In all honesty I can't dispute that without first playing it on a better system.

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

puk · A Winner is me!

So I'm starting to love this game. I'm building a new rig just b/c of how awesome it is.

I can't comment on the graphics cuz my PC is a POS. But the character models are perfect, and the AI is so fun to fuck with. Also the destructable environments help. Basically everytime you play the game is a new experience. You get to shoot people, punch them, throw them, throw shit at them, punch shit into them...And there are SOOOOO many bad guys, it's so much fun plowing down 40 people in one base.

The complaints I have are very specific, for example, the shotgun is useless due to the large distances. The night vision is nowhere near as cool as the cryvision goggles were and driving is a lot harder than it was in Far Cry 1. Also I love shooting down palm trees, but they don't have any weight to them, and it's very difficult to use them tactically to crush the enemy.

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

No question the game is "good", especially if you crank up the graphics, but IMO, the best part of the game was the first 2/3's.....cause the last part is odd although inline with the games theme.

If you like shooting Chinamen, then you'll prolly also like Warhead.....but IMO Crysis is simply better.

WRT to your new PC.....what parts are you planning to get?

My PC is

8400
4850 1 gig
4 gig ddr2 ram.

puk · A Winner is me!

Ya, you'd think after Far Cry and the Crygens they'd learn their lesson, but they insisted on including aliens. It wouldn't have been so bad if they still had some koreans in there. It's just that they are frustrating to kill

But ultimately they had to have it in there cuz the developer hinted early on that his inspiration for the game was that scene in predator where Jesse ventura gets killed in predator, and they plow down the forest with the minigun+MP5. So you know they had to have an alien in there.

puk · A Winner is me!

Specs will roughly be the following, feel free to give me some advice

-Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650 Processor (3.0GHz, 12MB Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
-Diamond Radeon HD 4870 X2 XOC Overclocked Video Card - 2GB GDDR5, PCI Express 2.0 x16
-Corsair Dual Channel 4096MB PC12800 DDR3 1600MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB)
-Asus Striker II NSE Motherboard

Sound card is not really all that important for me, onboard sound is fine.

My biggest problem right now is finding a decent LCD monitor. I'm a huge fan of CRTs, but I figure it's time to shift over. I just hate the piss poor contrast ratio. Also what's a good max res?

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

I'll be honest with you....I don't think it makes sense to spend that amount of money to play the latest games, and if you're going to spend that amount, aren't you better off with a 3-6gig Nelly system?

You couldn't have seen the http://www.guru3d.com/article/core-i7-multigpu-sli-crossfire-game-performance-review/19 article regarding the Nelly's vs C2D and C2D quads....put simply, the Nelly's kickass as long as they have heaps of GPU to push....with that in mind, you're better off with any of these cards for now...

4850 1 gig
4870 1 gig
260 216

Then you could get a next gen GPU with twice the grunt of the 260 and the Nelly will max it, but the Penryn's WON'T.

If you're going to go Penryn, just get a cheapy system like I did and then dump it in 12 months for the 2009 end of yr next gen games.

Buying a big dollar Penryn no longer makes any sense IMO......do yourself a favour and have a good look at the performance of the Nelly system's.

None of the latest games need or demand such an outlay....I have most of them including both Crysis and Warhead, both of which look awesome at 1920x1200 on high/gamer with 2-4aa.

Re-x2 GPU.....I'm neither a fan of x2/XF or SLI because they always have issues....I've installed 15 games, and only had to patch Mass Effect, everything else works fine and have never had a crash.

IMO, you'll feel silly in 12 months if you lash out on a Penryn system=CRAZY......what you want is either a strong Nelly now{which will have a legitimate upgrade path} or a budget Penryn box to tide you over till we know how demanding the 2009 round of games will be.

Now after having said all that, if you want the excitement/e-penis of a powerful over the top PC, that's cool, just make it a Nelly though.

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

puk · A Winner is me!

Pogma, you're reply was helpful, but man did I have to do my homework.

So basically the i7 965 is the Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme QX965
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3476415

And I googled any combination of "Nelly" and "chip", "processor", "computer","intel", and all I got back was Nelly Furtado. I'm guessing Nelly has to do with the I7 965, since you speak so highly of both.

What I don't understand is when you told me to get the following

4850 1 gig
4870 1 gig
260 216

presumably you mean

ATI Radeon 4850
ATI Radeon 4870
Gforce GTX 260

what's wrong with the video card I suggested? Is 2GB too much?

Also,what screen size would you recommend? You mentioned in passing 24-27 inch, when is big too big (stop laughing)? Is 30" too large (stop it) for a desktop?

Thanks

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

Yeah, Nelly=the new Intel i7 or Nelaham CPU and it's much more efficient than the current crop of CPU's, especially when you have a lot of graphics card power.

The problem with the 4870x2 is that you'll encounter various problems because it's a x2, whereas the single chip cards usually work fine in most cases+ you don't "really" need the power of a 4870x2 right now.

It's important to time the purchase of your PC to coincide with the software/games that you want, so buying a powerful PC well in advance of demanding games is risky and poor value.

The games of late 2009 are supposed to be next gen=better but also more demanding.

WRT the LCD, I think a 26-27in 1920x1200 is the best overall.
I don't like 30's because they cost too much and aren't good enough for the money, ie, 40in 1080p HDTV's have better specs and cost less.

I'm not trying to be rude to you puk....but it sounds like you're not too familiar with the hardware side of things but you're contemplating throwing a lot of money at the problem, but IMO, that's a bad move unless you know what you're getting yourself into.

Because I own many of the latest games{Far Cry2, Crysis, Warhead, DeadSpace} I can vouch that they neither require nor deserve a big dollar PC.....IMO, you should buy a strong budget box till this time next year at which point more powerful graphics cards will be released and you'll have a better idea of how demanding the new games are etc, etc.

IMO, it's just not worth spending up big right now for PC games, however, it's your money, you can do whatever you please, so if you do choose the expensive route, get a Nelaham 920, a X58 ASUS mobo and at least 3 gig of DDR3 ram......otherwise you could get a e8400/e8500+P45 mobo+4 gig of DDR2 ram and keep it for 12-18months.

Whatever you decide, you may as well get a 24-27in LCD cause you will enjoy that immediately, but I wouldn't be lashing out on sub-par 30in LCD at this point......you could also try a combo of 24in LCD+32-37in HDTV as well.

puk · A Winner is me!

No you're absolutely right, I'm not too informed when it comes to building a new rig.

The problem is that I'm only in England until Sep 2010, after which I'll return to civilization. So if I wait till next year to make a £3000 computer, then I'll only have it for a year and a half, then I'll have to sell it for £350. If I try to ship it back home it'll cost more than the computer will be worth by then.

The problem with computers is that you can't really upgrade them if the standards change, for example if they come out with PCI 3.0, or if the chips implement a new socket, then u need a new mobo.

Maybe I should just invest in a slutty g/f. They're not really cheaper, but I can always trade em in for an upgrade ;-)

Pogma9 · A Winner is me!

If you get a X58 mobo, you should be right for at least one GPU upgrade and I'd be surprised if not 2, but that's only theoretical as your CPU will be too slow by then.

All I'm saying is either buy a cheap P45/X48 system, or a hexy X58, but don't spend up big on P45/X48 as it's dead CPU and performance wise.

What if you g/f doesn't like your "hardware"?........you'll then be back to being "Mr handman"....