X-bit labs

The Second Encounter: DirectX 10 Games vs. Contemporary Graphics Accelerators (page 3)

Category: Video

by Alexey Stepin , Yaroslav Lyssenko, Anton Shilov

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

Call of Juarez DX10 Demo

As we told you in our previous report, the Call of Juarez DX10 demo features a number of visual improvements implemented by means of DirectX 10.

• Improved HDR lighting model;
• Adaptive software antialiasing;
• Improved vegetation;
• Improved physical model;
• Improved behavior of particle systems.

The difference in the level of detail and image quality between the DX9 and DX10 modes is easily perceptible with a naked eye, but we’ll only see if the latter mode is indeed useful when we test the final version of the game. So far we can only give you preliminary data on performance of modern graphics cards in Call of Juarez DX10 . You shouldn’t base your shopping choice on these data since we tested only a demo version of the game.

Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts

We used Company of Heroes in our previous test of DirectX 10 compatible graphics cards. We have noticed some improvements in the game visuals from the introduction of DirectX 10 in the latest patches, but they are accompanied with a considerable performance hit.

Today, we’ll check out the Opposing Fronts add-on that was officially announced on September, 24. This add-on features new graphics effects and capabilities such as weather conditions and the change of day and night but the developer says these are available in both rendering modes. In other words, the improvements achieved by means of DirectX 10 shaders are similar to those we could see in the original Company of Heroes .

• More advanced lighting and shadow model;
• Soft shadows;
• More realistic vegetation;
• Grass detail.

Again, the improvements are in fact just a nice trifle rather than a serious revision of the gameplay. They were accompanied with a considerable performance hit in the original game, and now we can check out if it’s the same with Opposing Fronts .

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition

This time we have a full version of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition . Although it is a multi-platform project like the mentioned BioShock , it looks almost the same in its DirectX 9 and 10 modes. In the latter case there is only a better-looking motion blur effect and sharper shadows.

The other differences are so insignificant that you even cannot see them unless you are looking for them on purpose. The gameplay is highly dynamic in Lost Planet , constantly driving the player forward with the ticking T-ENG counter, so you will hardly have time to look for the negligible difference between DX10 and DX9 effects.

However, the game does offer rather good visuals and can serve as a benchmarking tool. Unfortunately, the full version doesn’t have integrated benchmarking options, so we had to test the cards manually with the Fraps utility. Besides that, the full version, as opposed to the demo, allows playing at a frame rate below 25fps, although it can hardly be called a normal play.