Crysis 2 DX11 Patch Released

[jryan388]

Check it out:
http://www.geforce.com/#/News/articles/crysis-2-directx-11-ultra-upgrade
Several new DX11 features, as well as a new texture pack. Looks like it will rival Metro. I bet it takes a 580 to run well.

Features:
Tesselation & Displacement Mapping
Parallax Occlusion Mapping
Water Volume & Ocean Improvements
Realistic Shadows with Variable Penumbra
Full HDR Motion Blur
Particle Motion Blur & Shadowing
Sprite-Based Bokeh Depth of Field
Screen Space Direct Occlusion & Contact Shadows
Realtime Local Reflections
High Resolution Textures (4x original resolution)

 

[FlintIronStagg]

shouldnt be much if you arent running DX11 features

 

[celpas]

shouldnt be much if you arent running DX11 features

Thanks.does the high resolution texture addon require dx 11
Also if I don't have dx 11 do I still get the new ultra preset?

 

[clonazepam]

Cool finally but also damn, Im nearly done with the single player campaign on highest difficulty. I guess I'll have to play thru again for the collectables

 

[bystander]

The DX11 looks pretty awesome. Outside of Heaven benchmark, this is the first time I've seen stone, brick and other surfaces take shape. A crack in the ground is not just a texture.

The shadows are pretty awesome too and most the surfaces are reflective, with less shiny surfaces having less reflections. However, your body isn't reflected.

Besides lacking AA, which can be distracting from time to time, there are a few little bugs that show up occasionally. There was a crack in the wall going into the subway that was flicking into view and away. While it was there, it did look to be a true crack with depth, but the flickering killed the effect.

One thing that I question is there seems to be too many almost glowing objects in Ultra settings. Things look a little more real in Extreme I believe. It's probably just a single setting, I need to figure out what is going overboard on the shininess.

Anyways, the game looks a lot better in DX11, but there is still a bit of work to be done.

 

[clonazepam]

Check out this site http://segmentnext.com/2011/03/24/crysis-2-tweak-guide-graphics-and-performance/

Tells you all the tweaks to do from the shortcut or config file. You can specify triple buffering / AA / AF as well as every other feature. This guide isn't updated to the just now released patch and new features but could help resolve any minor issues that pop up, or jus more liberally turn things on / off as you please. I like skipping the danged intros for example.

 

[clonazepam]

Crysis 2 Tweak Guide
sys_spec_gameeffects
Changes Game Effects such as body-related stuff like when they disappear.

sys_spec_objectdetail
Changes the quality of the detail of the objects.

sys_spec_particles
Changes the quality of the particles.

sys_spec_physics
Changes how you interact with the world, higher setting will consume more of your CPU’s power.

sys_spec_postprocessing
Changes the quality and amount of post processing used.

sys_spec_shading
Changes the quality of the Shaders.

sys_spec_shadows
Changes the quality of the shadows.

sys_spec_sound
Changes the quality of the sound.

sys_spec_texture
Changes the quality of textures.

sys_spec_water
Changes the quality of the water.

Note. Command Line Tweaks with + before them are meant to be applied using target box method by adding these tweaks into shortcut properties so to launch the game with these options. If you were to add these tweaks in Crysis 2 System CFG or via console, you won’t need to add + sign before them.

+cl_crouchToggle
Disables/Enables crouch toggle.

+cl_zoomToggle
Disables/Enables Zoom toggle.

+i_mouse_accel
Disables/Enables mouse acceleration.

+g_skipIntro
Disables/Enables Intro Skipping.

+cl_fov=80
Enter your desired value for the Field of View.

+r_DrawNearFoV=X (Whatever Unit you are comfortable with)
Enter your desired value for the Field of View of nearby objects.

+pl_movement.power_sprint_targetFov=X
Enter your desired value for the Field of View while sprinting.

+r_motionblur=0/1
Disables/Enables Motion Blur.

+g_radialBlur=0/1
Disables/Enables the Radial Blur, which gives you the effect of speed.

+r_Flares=0/1
Disables/Enables Flare effects around certain dynamic lights.

+r_Glow=0/1
Disables/Enables Bloom effects.

+r_HDRRendering=0/1
Disables/Enables HDR Rendering.

+r_SSAO=0/1
Disables/Enables Screen Space Ambient Occlusion.

+q_ShaderHDR=0/1
Disables/Enables Shader HDR effects.

+r_ColorGrading=0/1
Disables/Enables Color Grading.

+r_MultiGPU=0/1
Disables/Enables SLI/CrossFireX.

+r_MultiThreaded=0/1
Disables/Enables Multi-thread support.

+g_useHitSoundFeedback=0/1
Disables/Enables Sound feedback of a hit.

+e_shadows=0/1
Disables/Enables shadows.

+r_FSAA=0/1
Disables/Enables Full-scene Anti-Aliasing.

+r_UseEdgeAA=0/1
Disables/Enables Edge Anti-Aliasing.

+r_TexMaxAnisotropy=1-to-16
Select the desired value for Anisotropic Filtering (from 1x to 16x).

+d3d9_TextureFilter=bilinear/trilinear
Chooses between bilinear and trilinear texture filtering.

+cl_sensitivity=X
Enter your desired value for mouse sensitivity.

Crysis 2 General Settings Tweaks
You can edit these general settings in your System.CFG file.

sys_float_exceptions = 0
Disables performance expensive float exceptions.

g_language = “english”
Sets the game language.

g_gamespy_loginUI = 0
Disables the Gamespy login screen.

g_enableInitialLoginScreen = 0
Disables the login screen.

con_restricted = 0
Unrestricted access to the console.

Crysis 2 Graphics Tweaks
r_Fullscreen = 1
r_width = 1680
r_height = 1050

sys_spec = 3
Tells the system cfg spec.

sys_spec_full = 4
Console variable group to apply settings to multiple variables.

sys_spec_quality = 4
Console variable group to apply settings to multiple variables.

q_quality = 4
If called with a parameter it sets the quality of all q_.. variables.

r_VSync = 0
Toggles vertical sync.

sys_MaxFPS = 60
Limits the maximum frame rate to specified number.

e_TerrainDeformations = 1
Allows in-game terrain surface deformations.

Crysis 2 Audio Setting Tweaks
General audio settings tweaks you can do in Crysis 2.

s_SpeakerConfig = 0
AutoDetect speaker configuration.

s_FormatType = 3
Sets the format data type to PCM 24bit.

s_FormatSampleRate = 48000
Sets the output sample rate.

s_MusicEnable = 1
Enable/disable music.

 

[clonazepam]

Crysis 2 Multiplayer Setting Tweaks
General multiplayer setting tweaks you can do in Crysis 2.

net_inactivitytimeout = 32
No. of sec until server trows inactive connection away.

net_inactivitytimeoutDevmode = 32
Same as above, but for Devmode.

net_lanbrowser = 1
Find LAN (local) matches instead of internet matches in multiplayer serverbrowser.


net_initLobbyServiceToLan = 1
Make LAN (local) lobbies instead of internet lobbies in multiplayer.

sv_lanonly = 1
launch LAN only server.

sv_servername = “LAN”
Server name (should show up in LAN serverbrowser).

cl_nickname = “<>ikon”
Nickname for multiplayer.

sv_gs_trackstats = 0
Disable Gamespy stats tracking.

sv_gs_report = 0
Disable Gamespy server reporting.

g_useOnlineServiceForDedicated = 0
Dedicated server in LAN mode (don’t know for sure, this config crashes dedicated server).

net_pb_cl_enable = 0
Enable/disable PunkBuster client.

net_pb_sv_enable = 0
Enable/disable PunkBuster server.

net_setOnlineMode = LAN
Sets the net mode where available. Options are online or LAN.


Crysis 2 Miscellaneous Settings Tweaks
Miscellaneous setting tweaks in Crysis 2 that you may or may not need but can come handy anyway.

e_DisplayMemoryUsageIcon = 0
Enables/disables the memory usage icon rendering.

i_forcefeedback = 0
Enable/Disable force feedback output

i_mouse_smooth = 30
Sets the mouse smoothing value

g_skipIntro = 1
Skip all the intro videos

 

[mactronix]

I hate this drip feeding of tech and software. they released it as they did and i passed. I will buy it but not yet i have other fish to fry at the moment and will probably pick up the game of the year edition with all the DX 11 included and extra maps etc when it hits the Play.com (Available from other reputable retailers ) sales later in the year.

Mactronix

 

[celpas]

I doubt that crysis 2 looks as good as crysis 1 even in dx 11 .For one they made Parallax occlusion mapping a dx 11 only feature when it could be implemented in dx 9 like crysis.Secondly I can't see ANY difference between ultra and extreme preset.The ultra preset supposedly adds real time reflections and contact shadows but TBH it looks exactly like extreme but with a frame rate drop which doesn't make it worth it.The image quality must be significantly improved to make the fps drop worth it.I will update to a dx 11 card JUST for crysis 2 only IF it looks as good as this
BTW although it states high specs its actually maxed out using custom commands

 

[bystander]

I doubt that crysis 2 looks as good as crysis 1 even in dx 11 .For one they made Parallax occlusion mapping a dx 11 only feature when it could be implemented in dx 9 like crysis.Secondly I can't see ANY difference between ultra and extreme preset.The ultra preset supposedly adds real time reflections and contact shadows but TBH it looks exactly like extreme but with a frame rate drop which doesn't make it worth it.The image quality must be significantly improved to make the fps drop worth it.I will update to a dx 11 card JUST for crysis 2 only IF it looks as good as this
BTW although it states high specs its actually maxed out using custom commands



http://img651.imageshack.us/img651/8684/screenshot0010t.jpg
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/511/screenshot0011m.jpg
http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/7393/screenshot0012q.jpg
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/9143/screenshot0013cy.jpg
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/1088/screenshot0014s.jpg
http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5285/screenshot0015f.jpg
http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/3646/screenshot0016d.jpg
http://img844.imageshack.us/img844/9633/screenshot0017y.jpg
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/8803/screenshot0018i.jpg

http://img830.imageshack.us/img830/8974/screenshot0019.jpg

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/4821/screenshot0020yg.jpg

It's hard to compare. One game is in a city, one is in a jungle. The jungle setting automatically feels better due to being in the outdoors. However, DX11 does some new and impressive stuff with tessellation that no other game has (like Heaven's cobblestone roads and walls).

 

[clonazepam]

^ agree. There are no straight lines in nature whereas in a city, straight lines are the law of the land.

Also, I cannot comment on what all the new upgrades look like because the game now crashes in 1-10 seconds....lol...

It's my own system so Im not going to troubleshoot in any logical pattern, if at all. I haven't felt like diving into the issue yet.


Edit: Well damn again, troubleshooting was much easier than I anticipated. Running Extreme or Ultra, with motion blur on High, and DX11 on, is fine. The crash is coming from the High Resolution Texture pack. At 1080p, Ultra and Motion Blur to High, w/o the new texture pack puts grfx mem usage (according to Afterburner) at over 1200MB. With these settings and the 570 clocked at 800mhz core, 1600mhz shaders, and 2100mhz memory, Im averaging 35-40 fps. I've only experimented using the Extreme and Ultra settings. I don't know if the high resolution texture pack becomes viable for me if I use the two lower presets.

 

[clonazepam]

ok well I jumped the gun... dx11 on, lowest setting of high, high res textures off, motion blur disabled still results in a crash, though the game runs fine for 10-15 minutes longer before poof. Looks like I'll be going back to dx9 so the game's playable for hours on end. double-damn.

 

[bystander]

Try disabling Aero, and see if it's more stable.

 

[clonazepam]

Tried it, and so far the only thing stable (for me) is going back to dx9. We're probably looking at a new patch and maybe even a new driver from nvidia before it's viable for me. I've tried the latest release driver and the new beta driver so far with same results. Right now Im just running dx9, high, no texture, no motion blur for 100+ fps and the grfx card seems to be running a full 10c hotter than under the previous 1.8 (dx9, extreme setting) patch. Ambient's pretty stable here in central coast, cali.

 

[clonazepam]

Well here's my final setup until the dx 11 setting works for me.

1080p
ultra setting
motion blur on high
high resolution textures on
dx 11 OFF

Nets a solid 55-65 fps in heated single player battles with multiple foes.
Turned my custom fan profile back on to stay cool. 65 degrees, fan has to run at 3570 rpm or 70% to maintain that temp. It'd run at 80-85 degrees with it at auto which is well within limits but I wanted to see how my custom profile faired. I may switch back to auto.

 

[bystander]

Have you found anything that works with DX11 on? There is quite a bit you are missing without tessellation.

 

[clonazepam]

Even set to all the lowest settings with dx 11 on it crashes. dx9 with all the highest settings works wonderful. Other dx 11 games work perfectly.... crazy huh...

Just finished the campaign. If it bugs me, i'll open a new thread about it somewhere, here or crysis 2 forums, or just re-visit the issue after another patch or driver release. For now, I'll move on to Witcher 2.

 

[FlintIronStagg]

ummm.... the ultra settings are what enables the DX11 effects, if you run DX11 in extreme, you arent getting all the features as you would in ultra. thats why it will either run better in ultra without DX11 or in extreme with DX11. If you want the new set of features to work, then the game needs to be set in ultra with dx11 on, otherwise youa rent getting the full effect of the update

 

[FlintIronStagg]

And yes - the new features such as tesselation and the new DoF changes are more taxing - my 570 will run it about 30-45 fps as opposed to 60 before the update.

 

[clonazepam]

ummm.... the ultra settings are what enables the DX11 effects, if you run DX11 in extreme, you arent getting all the features as you would in ultra. thats why it will either run better in ultra without DX11 or in extreme with DX11. If you want the new set of features to work, then the game needs to be set in ultra with dx11 on, otherwise youa rent getting the full effect of the update

Right. The point is regardless whether the settings are high or ultra, high res textures on or off, or motion blur disabled or on, if dx 11 is enabled the game crashes within 10 seconds to 10 minutes. Switch off that dx 11 and max everything out and the game runs beautifully and stable, minus the dx 11. I think its a fair trade at the moment...hehehe

 

[cburke82]

Right. The point is regardless whether the settings are high or ultra, high res textures on or off, or motion blur disabled or on, if dx 11 is enabled the game crashes within 10 seconds to 10 minutes. Switch off that dx 11 and max everything out and the game runs beautifully and stable, minus the dx 11. I think its a fair trade at the moment...hehehe

Are there alot of reports of crashing or do you think this is something wrong with your PC?

 

[clonazepam]

I think its my pc. Im going to go stock settings for the gpu/cpu when I get some time. I haven't looked into whether its widespread or not. Im sure it works fine for the majority.


Edit: Unrelated but my H50 cooler is making noise that suggests there is air in the system or the pump's failing, or just getting noisy... temps are still solid and no other symptoms anywhere... I wonder what's next, lol

 

[wh3resmycar]

i was expecting some of the "genius" posters would've said something like "crysis 2 was badly optimized".

i haven't got my hands yet i'm still holding back on playing although i already have a copy of the game, stuck at rank 8 (was it level?) at multiplayer. haven't played it for over a month and i will hold till i get a gtx570 at least, my gtx460 768mb won't do this game justice.

pushing hardware to the limits, that's what i LOVE about crytek.

if you guys managd to get to an article exploring the dx11 patch, please post it here.

thanks

 

[bystander]

I've come to think of "optimization" as meaning, to water down until it plays well. I don't want those kind of "optimizations".

 

[clonazepam]

It's funny when Crysis 2 hit, my gtx 260 could pull out 1080p on extreme at 30-35 fps, now my 570 is at 25-30 fps with ultra + dx 11 for the few seconds it does run hehe... I'll edit this post after i reboot and go stock clocks all around.

It was me and my aggressive cpu overclock.

Q6600 back at 2.4ghz, ultra settings, dx 11, hi-res textures on, motion blur on high, gtx 570 at reference clocks, 1080p and it runs mostly playable at 25-30 fps, with the fire fights dipping to 25 fps area. Not preferred of course. I guess I will creep my cpu's overclock to 3.0-3.2ghz and see how she fairs. The cpu's overclock I suspect will add very little in terms of fps.

BTW, the game's beautiful. Looking directly at the sun and you actually feel like its blinding. Looking through the leaves of a tree at the sun also is so nice and warm and the glowing sunlight bleeding through the tree. Very nice. The most notable feature is the varying levels of focus on the close and faraway objects. Walking out the door to the sunny outside world has a very nice effect of your eyes adjusting to the brightness, etc. I loaded up an ocean-side level to check out the water effects there and it was 'meh'. I started a fresh campaign with the new higher difficulty, post human warrior or something they call it. I'm liking it so far. I was worried about replay value but the new difficulty is a good step up so it may work.

Edit: Now that it runs stable with 2.4ghz, Im about to do a run at 3.31ghz (1659mhz fsb with 8x multiplier at 1.4000 volts)