Different Far Cry for nV40 owners?

[nRollo]

"Patch 1.2 is in its final stage of production: a nasty scoreboard bug and a CDkey security issue remain to be fixed, but otherwise a huge list of improvement/fixes have been implemented and tested successfully.
We?re now localizing all the readme files, and the final candidate will be tested extensively later this week to make sure it is really solid - we don?t want to rush in the last few days after such a long development time.

Thanks for your patience,
Matthieu Boulard ? Far Cry UbiSoft Producer

For more information on the Far Cry 1.2 patch, including the current changelog, check out this post on the Far Cry forums.

In addition to the improvements mentioned in the updated changelog, the 1.2 patch will enable much-anticipated Shader Model 3.0 support for NVIDIA's new GeForce 6-series cards. Leveraging Microsoft's DirectX 9.0c, SM 3.0 support will enable gamers with supported hardware to achieve unprecedented levels of realism in their Far Cry experience."

Hmmm. Looks like we may not have long to wait for SM3, unlike the months and months we waited for WalletRaider: Angel of Sloppy Code.

 

[blazerazor]

lol .. WalletRaider: Angel of Sloppy Code.

 

[LTC8K6]

When is DX9.0C expected?

 

[reever]

Yup, 2 weeks.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: LTC8K6
When is DX9.0C expected?

Forget 2 weeks!

Here ya go.

It will come standard in Windows XP Service Pack 2, but it is available to work on Service Pack 1 systems with this file.

Enjoy.

 

[LTC8K6]

Well, I already knew about that.

We don't need any more confusing benches with unofficial drivers and software do we?

 

[Keysplayr]

Why not? People try out beta video drivers all the time even though they arent WHQL.
Anyway, you asked, I gave, your welcome.

Oh yeah, forgot emoticon.

 

[Keysplayr]

Rollo, you have a 6800 correct? If/when you try the DX9.0c/FarCry 1.2 patch, if you would can you do extensive before and after benches?

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Rollo, you have a 6800 correct? If/when you try the DX9.0c/FarCry 1.2 patch, if you would can you do extensive before and after benches?

I would love to see the SM3.0 difference, especially lighting and water (although they moved to HDR lighting so itll be different even if its SM2.0 code)

 

[oldfart]

Originally posted by: Rollo

"Patch 1.2 is in its final stage of production: a nasty scoreboard bug and a CDkey security issue remain to be fixed, but otherwise a huge list of improvement/fixes have been implemented and tested successfully.
We?re now localizing all the readme files, and the final candidate will be tested extensively later this week to make sure it is really solid - we don?t want to rush in the last few days after such a long development time.

Thanks for your patience,
Matthieu Boulard ? Far Cry UbiSoft Producer

For more information on the Far Cry 1.2 patch, including the current changelog, check out this post on the Far Cry forums.

In addition to the improvements mentioned in the updated changelog, the 1.2 patch will enable much-anticipated Shader Model 3.0 support for NVIDIA's new GeForce 6-series cards. Leveraging Microsoft's DirectX 9.0c, SM 3.0 support will enable gamers with supported hardware to achieve unprecedented levels of realism in their Far Cry experience."

Hmmm. Looks like we may not have long to wait for SM3, unlike the months and months we waited for WalletRaider: Angel of Sloppy Code.

Any reason you seem to forget to mention the other PS 2.0 enabled titles? What is with your singling out TR?

Again, why the new found love of SM 3.0? You were thoroughly unimpressed with the visual improvements PS2.0 brought to the table compared to 1.4. Are you now a fan of "shiny pipes" in Farcry?? Interesting change of heart.

 

[EngenZerO]

I am excited.

I plan on installing the game later tonight so that I can finally play it on my BFG 6800 Ultra.

 

[Keysplayr]

To Oldfart:


Well, for me, its was the battle cry of ATI owners for a long time. There are those among us who do not like ATI products and I am included there. ATI's 9700 came out what, 2 years ago? And it supported SM2.0 with zero games around to use it. It took almost 18 months after that that any "partial" SM2.0 games were available. The 6800 "paper launched" in march and is just now becoming more availble. And already a game is being patched to use SM3.0.

SM2.0 games trickled. Harder to code for.
SM3.0 I have heard is far easier to code for and developers can get games to market quicker supporting SM3.0. Is there anything wrong with what I said here?

So, if your looking for someone to admit that they don't like ATI products, here I am. I like Nvidia products and am excited that the products that I favor offer more than the products I don't.

There you have it. You should just come out and ask the question instead of beating around the bush.

Does ATI make good products? Yes.
Does ATI make great products? No.

My opinion.

 

[oldfart]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
To Oldfart:


Well, for me, its was the battle cry of ATI owners for a long time. There are those among us who do not like ATI products and I am included there. ATI's 9700 came out what, 2 years ago? And it supported SM2.0 with zero games around to use it. It took almost 18 months after that that any "partial" SM2.0 games were available. The 6800 "paper launched" in march and is just now becoming more availble. And already a game is being patched to use SM3.0.

SM2.0 games trickled. Harder to code for.
SM3.0 I have heard is far easier to code for and developers can get games to market quicker supporting SM3.0. Is there anything wrong with what I said here?

So, if your looking for someone to admit that they don't like ATI products, here I am. I like Nvidia products and am excited that the products that I favor offer more than the products I don't.

There you have it. You should just come out and ask the question instead of beating around the bush.

Does ATI make good products? Yes.
Does ATI make great products? No.

My opinion.

At least you are honest instead of claiming to be unbiased when your posts prove otherwise. BTW, I'm not really discussing PS 2.0 Vs SM3.0. I'm in agreement with you on the technology. I just find the hypocrisy here rather amusing. Rollo will spin any nV vs ATi thing no matter how small to nVidias favor, even if it means a 180 reversal on his previous stance.

Me? I dont really care one Vs the other. I pick the best each round.

I had nVidia in the GF2, GF3, GF4 days since they had the better products. I went to ATi last round since they had the better product (R300 Vs nV30). If nVidia had the nV35 instead at that time, I might have gone that way.

This round? nV ha an edge in feature set. The performance at the high end is very close between the two. Mid range it gets a little cloudy depending on where the prices actually settle in at. SM3.0 is also something to watch.

 

[Evdawg]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
To Oldfart:


Well, for me, its was the battle cry of ATI owners for a long time. There are those among us who do not like ATI products and I am included there. ATI's 9700 came out what, 2 years ago? And it supported SM2.0 with zero games around to use it. It took almost 18 months after that that any "partial" SM2.0 games were available. The 6800 "paper launched" in march and is just now becoming more availble. And already a game is being patched to use SM3.0.

SM2.0 games trickled. Harder to code for.
SM3.0 I have heard is far easier to code for and developers can get games to market quicker supporting SM3.0. Is there anything wrong with what I said here?

So, if your looking for someone to admit that they don't like ATI products, here I am. I like Nvidia products and am excited that the products that I favor offer more than the products I don't.

There you have it. You should just come out and ask the question instead of beating around the bush.

Does ATI make good products? Yes.
Does ATI make great products? No.

My opinion.

I'm not flaming but im just not totally agreeing. You said that SM 2.0 was released with the 9700p, but was never used up until recently. Well nV tried to come out with sm2.0 but just did an ok job with the FX series right? All of these cards were dx9 compatible, but we never saw any of those games either, did we? Also, pci express.... there's not much performance increase that we can see so far going from 8x agp to pci-e. I personally think company's just try to come out with the new technology's first because they figured it out first, or they had the budget... or wanted the edge, which is understandable.

Your comment on ATI's products... i think their product itself is very good, but the drivers obviously need some serious help and hurt the performance and the sales of the company itself. I also think they need to work on the cooling... my 9700pro has ALWAYS run really hot, and overheated on many occations.

But anyways, thats just like .5 cents worth

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Rollo, you have a 6800 correct? If/when you try the DX9.0c/FarCry 1.2 patch, if you would can you do extensive before and after benches?

I have a 6800NU and Far Cry, I plan on benching before and after and posting at a variety of settings to see if the patch makes a speed difference. (at least on a 6800NU)

I'm most interested to see whether the enhanced IQ of this patch is provided through offset or displacement mapping as well. (not to mention just see the difference in IQ!)

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: oldfart

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
To Oldfart:


Well, for me, its was the battle cry of ATI owners for a long time. There are those among us who do not like ATI products and I am included there. ATI's 9700 came out what, 2 years ago? And it supported SM2.0 with zero games around to use it. It took almost 18 months after that that any "partial" SM2.0 games were available. The 6800 "paper launched" in march and is just now becoming more availble. And already a game is being patched to use SM3.0.

SM2.0 games trickled. Harder to code for.
SM3.0 I have heard is far easier to code for and developers can get games to market quicker supporting SM3.0. Is there anything wrong with what I said here?

So, if your looking for someone to admit that they don't like ATI products, here I am. I like Nvidia products and am excited that the products that I favor offer more than the products I don't.

There you have it. You should just come out and ask the question instead of beating around the bush.

Does ATI make good products? Yes.
Does ATI make great products? No.

My opinion.

At least you are honest instead of claiming to be unbiased when your posts prove otherwise. BTW, I'm not really discussing PS 2.0 Vs SM3.0. I'm in agreement with you on the technology. I just find the hypocrisy here rather amusing. Rollo will spin any nV vs ATi thing no matter how small to nVidias favor, even if it means a 180 reversal on his previous stance.

Me? I dont really care one Vs the other. I pick the best each round.

I had nVidia in the GF2, GF3, GF4 days since they had the better products. I went to ATi last round since they had the better product (R300 Vs nV30). If nVidia had the nV35 instead at that time, I might have gone that way.

This round? nV ha an edge in feature set. The performance at the high end is very close between the two. Mid range it gets a little cloudy depending on where the prices actually settle in at. SM3.0 is also something to watch.

The ironic thing is, the very reason I am "biased" or more in favor of nvidia is because I bought and tried 3 ATI cards. 9100, 9500pro,9700np. I had problems galore with the last 2. No problems with the 9100. Chances are that if I never owned ATI products, I wouldn't feel I had the "right" to voice my opinions as to why I think NV is better. X800pros are out there ready to be bought, but I won't even go near them. Nvidia has always, always worked well for me. I think those are very good reasons for the way I feel and favor one over the other.

If someone asked in a post, "Which one should I get, X800 or 6800", you know which way I would try to steer them and why based on my own experiences with the "companies" not individual products. For that he/she would have to rely on current X800/6800 owners.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Rollo, you have a 6800 correct? If/when you try the DX9.0c/FarCry 1.2 patch, if you would can you do extensive before and after benches?

I have a 6800NU and Far Cry, I plan on benching before and after and posting at a variety of settings to see if the patch makes a speed difference. (at least on a 6800NU)

I'm most interested to see whether the enhanced IQ of this patch is provided through offset or displacement mapping as well. (not to mention just see the difference in IQ!)

That would be very interesting indeed. Looking forward to your findings.

 

[nRollo]

Any reason you seem to forget to mention the other PS 2.0 enabled titles? What is with your singling out TR?

I single out Wallet Raider because even though the game was a universally reviled joke, it was the first game, AFAIK, to have any PS2 effects in it. So every reviewer on the web who wanted to show ATIs superiority at "future games" threw some Wallet Raider benches into the mix and said "See!". I also mention it as a stark contrast to the many good SM3 games that will be out within the useful life of a 6800, and dearth of PS2 games out within the life of a 9700/9800.

Again, why the new found love of SM 3.0? You were thoroughly unimpressed with the visual improvements PS2.0 brought to the table compared to 1.4. Are you now a fan of "shiny pipes" in Farcry?? Interesting change of heart.

I hadn't seen as good of screenshots of PS2 differences, and was not that impressed with the shinier pipes and water, as you say. The patched Far Cry screenshots I've seen lately look a lot better than the Far Cry I'm playing, so I'm more impressed.

As for my "love" of SM3, it's just part of the big picture for me:
1. Potential improvements of displacement mapping and geometric instancing, with huge developer support for this hardware/feature set.
2. Potential SLI power heretofore unimagined
3. Much wider variety of cards: watercooled, non standard speed/RAM/cooling configurations, 3 tiers price/performance. You may have noticed my love of tricked out vid cards (MAXX, SLI, 5800U) and ATI offers me nothing like that. (except point #5)
4. Not the same feature set I've been playing with the better part of the last two years
5. No stupid crocodile on the fan (JK)

What's "interesting" about that? What would be "interesting" is if I was in here posting,"Sweeeet dudes! ATI is coming out with the same core I bought off them last year and the year before, but more pipes this time! I am so there! Who the heck cares how that whole DX9c thing pans out, or about having the fastest setup in the world bar none?! It's the 2002 features that matter, dudes, and don't you forget it! ATI will give us SM3 features and SLI power when the time is right, for right now, just chill and send them $400.."

 

[SickBeast]

Maybe I should start up an "I just like nVidia better" thread. :roll:

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I single out Wallet Raider because even though the game was a universally reviled joke, it was the first game, AFAIK, to have any PS2 effects in it. So every reviewer on the web who wanted to show ATIs superiority at "future games" threw some Wallet Raider benches into the mix and said "See!". I also mention it as a stark contrast to the many good SM3 games that will be out within the useful life of a 6800, and dearth of PS2 games out within the life of a 9700/9800.

I have your back on that point. It requires some prognostication and inquiries demanding proof therefore cannot be accomodated, but I believe that it is the smart money bet just as you do.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Any reason you seem to forget to mention the other PS 2.0 enabled titles? What is with your singling out TR?

I single out Wallet Raider because even though the game was a universally reviled joke, it was the first game, AFAIK, to have any PS2 effects in it. So every reviewer on the web who wanted to show ATIs superiority at "future games" threw some Wallet Raider benches into the mix and said "See!". I also mention it as a stark contrast to the many good SM3 games that will be out within the useful life of a 6800, and dearth of PS2 games out within the life of a 9700/9800.

Again, why the new found love of SM 3.0? You were thoroughly unimpressed with the visual improvements PS2.0 brought to the table compared to 1.4. Are you now a fan of "shiny pipes" in Farcry?? Interesting change of heart.

I hadn't seen as good of screenshots of PS2 differences, and was not that impressed with the shinier pipes and water, as you say. The patched Far Cry screenshots I've seen lately look a lot better than the Far Cry I'm playing, so I'm more impressed.

Funny; I look at the SM3.0 screenshots, and it looks like the same game but shinier.

And have you tried turning FarCry down to DX8 mode? It's not pretty.

As for my "love" of SM3, it's just part of the big picture for me:
1. Potential improvements of displacement mapping and geometric instancing, with huge developer support for this hardware/feature set.

It's still unclear to me if 'real' displacement mapping is going to be fast enough to be usable on the 6800s, or if more games will use offset mapping (since it's doable in SM2.0). And I don't see geometry instancing as being widely applicable, but maybe I'll be proved wrong on both these counts.

2. Potential SLI power heretofore unimagined

Well, it's been 'imagined' before -- in fact, it's been *sold* before, by 3DFX. And, yes, it might give fantastic performance -- for $800+ and a full system upgrade. I'll pass.

3. Much wider variety of cards: watercooled, non standard speed/RAM/cooling configurations, 3 tiers price/performance. You may have noticed my love of tricked out vid cards (MAXX, SLI, 5800U) and ATI offers me nothing like that. (except point #5)

Most of the time I see people blasting ATI for having *too many* models, and now you're complaining that they have too few? Basically, you're saying you buy video cards because they're 'tricked out'? As opposed to the rest of the world, which buys them based on performance and/or price/performance?

4. Not the same feature set I've been playing with the better part of the last two years

If it ain't broke...

I happen to agree with ATI -- SM3.0 isn't going to add much with this generation of cards; they're just not powerful enough to use most of its new features. Could this be totally wrong? Yeah, maybe -- but I find this unlikely.

5. No stupid crocodile on the fan (JK)

Well, I can't argue with that logic.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
Maybe I should start up an "I just like nVidia better" thread. :roll:

He asked why, so I told him. I didn't start the thread to pimp nVidia, I would think the first SM3 patch and hints it may run differently on nVidia would be newsworthy in a video card forum?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

I single out Wallet Raider because even though the game was a universally reviled joke, it was the first game, AFAIK, to have any PS2 effects in it. So every reviewer on the web who wanted to show ATIs superiority at "future games" threw some Wallet Raider benches into the mix and said "See!". I also mention it as a stark contrast to the many good SM3 games that will be out within the useful life of a 6800, and dearth of PS2 games out within the life of a 9700/9800.

I have your back on that point. It requires some prognostication and inquiries demanding proof therefore cannot be accomodated, but I believe that it is the smart money bet just as you do.

Thanks DaPunisher. Still brings a tear to my eye to walk by your 5800U on top of the entertainment center behind me, fate undecided.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

I single out Wallet Raider because even though the game was a universally reviled joke, it was the first game, AFAIK, to have any PS2 effects in it. So every reviewer on the web who wanted to show ATIs superiority at "future games" threw some Wallet Raider benches into the mix and said "See!". I also mention it as a stark contrast to the many good SM3 games that will be out within the useful life of a 6800, and dearth of PS2 games out within the life of a 9700/9800.

I have your back on that point. It requires some prognostication and inquiries demanding proof therefore cannot be accomodated, but I believe that it is the smart money bet just as you do.

Thanks DaPunisher. Still brings a tear to my eye to walk by your 5800U on top of the entertainment center behind me, fate undecided.

What would it cost me to get it back?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: Rollo
2. Potential SLI power heretofore unimagined

Only you and every new owner of a 6800 are SOL because you have an AGP card and will have ot trade/sell them to get a PCIe version, two of them might I add, as well as a motherboard with two PCIe slots...