X-bit labs

The Second Encounter: DirectX 10 Games vs. Contemporary Graphics Accelerators (page 2)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Yaroslav Lyssenko, Anton Shilov

[ 10/26/2007 | 02:20 PM ]

BioShock

Released on August 21, 2007, the first-person 3D shooter BioShock is often viewed as following in the footsteps of System Shock . There is a reason for that, yet we think the combination of a linear plot and atmospheric gameplay you find in BioShock is more reminiscent of Painkiller .

Running on Unreal Engine 3, the game features superb visuals, but being a multi-platform project for both the PC and Xbox 360, it is not a DirectX 10 application in the full sense. The minimum system requirement is a graphics card that supports Shader Model 3.0, i.e. DirectX 9c, but the PC version of the game can also use some DirectX 10 capabilities to render more spectacular special effects such as realistic waves and shadows and effects that involve particle systems (smoke, fire).

The action goes on in the underwater city of Rapture, so it is no wonder that the quality of the water surface is so important in creating the gloomy, depressing atmosphere of the declining utopia. The game developers thought it such an essential part of gameplay that they hired an artist and a programmer who dedicated themselves to the water alone. Indeed, water in BioShock is splendid in every form and shape including such traditionally complex objects for 3D rendering as waterfalls, but all this beauty can only be seen in the DirectX 10 mode.

If you start the game on a graphics card that doesn’t support DirectX 10, you’ll see a muddy white texture instead of realistic waves and circles on the water. In the current version of BioShock the option that disables DirectX 10 capabilities doesn’t work correctly on the ATI Radeon HD 2000 and Nvidia GeForce 8x00 series: the water is still rendered using some DirectX 10 features. In order to disable DirectX 10 support completely, you should add the –dx9 option into the game’s launch icon.

Shadows are definitely more neat and detailed in the DirectX 10 mode. This must be achieved using shadow maps of a higher resolution. But the difference is not as obvious as with the water.

Besides that, one of the main advantages of using DirectX 10 is the more accurate blending of such effects as smoke, mist and fire with object models. In the DX10 mode there is no sharp borderline between an effect and an object that is often conspicuous in the DX9 mode. This doesn’t affect the immersion into the game much, yet can be visible at times.

So, it makes sense to use the DirectX 10 capabilities implemented in BioShock if your graphics card can ensure an acceptable speed in that mode. The image quality doesn’t degenerate much as concerns smoke and shadows, but the reduction in the quality of water in the DX9 mode makes the game less fun to play.