German PC Games interviewed Cevat Yerli and asked him several questions about Crytek's upcoming Crysis Warhead. Though Cevat's answers were in German, thanks to thebusdriver at Crymod forums we can read it in English.
"Have you reprogrammed or have you integrated additional technical features into your existing technology?
Overall technical optimization. Config params have been optimized and finetuned which results in a better overall performance. Optimization of particle stream (?), necessary because there would have been a general loss in performance if they hadn't done it.
There are more particle effects in Warhead, the gaming experience will be more explosive and more intense than in Crysis.
New feature: global ambient illumination/lighting: no performance loss but better overall image quality. Global ambient lighting makes the normal maps appear more intense, materials look more realistic. The overall image quality has been improved with this feature (both far and near objects). This also results in overall improved lighting/light effects. They are thinking about doing the same thing for Crysis, because it looks better and can be easily done.
Many players have complained that CryENGINE 2 is very demanding if you want to play Crysis with the highest detail possible (DirectX 10). Were you aware of this fact when programming Warhead, are you therefor constantly trying to optimize your base technology to lower the hardware requirements, especially for those who want the best visual quality?
They try to do everything they can to make Warhead playable on all computers. 600 euros is enough to be able to play Warhead on the highest possible settings. The goal was to make Warhead available to a larger group of customers (especially those with lower hardware configurations).
How do you think about the fact that fans have found ways to activate special features in the engine like very high resolution textures, ultra high mode or enabling DirectX 10 visuals on DirectX 9 cards? Do you appreciate that? Do you take this into consideration when developing Warhead? Does this even help you to constantly optimize your technology?
DX10 features haven't been disabled intentionally for DX9. If all DX10 features were included in DX9, there would have been performance issues, the features would be available but they might not work. Customers that bought DX10 graphics cards have a better CPU, and RAM too, so their PC automatically qualifies for these additional features.
We couldn't allow physics/improved visuals/destructible objects in DX9 multiplayer, because DX9 computers usually don't have the same performance as DX10 computers do. It was possible to activate DX10 features for DX9, and for some people that worked, but for others it didn't, due to them not having all the necessary hardware they made this decision because DX10 guaranteed that computers have enough performance to cope with these additional features.
The discussion about DX10 is still ongoing and Microsoft has already presented an expansion. Will Warhead support and utilize the API extensions, if yes, how can DirectX 10.1 improve or optimize the rendering process? If not, why was there no need to support DX10.1?
There's no support for DX10.1 because the improvements that have been made are minimal and wouldn't aid in increasing the performance while playing Crysis.
We can think about supporting DX10.1 for future games, but there's no need for that yet. It would confuse most customers to create a game for DX10 and the next one for DX10.1, which is unacceptable. That would introduce the same issues Crysis had (DX9 vs DX10). DirectX 10.1 just contains some minor fixes, which won't make any difference for Crysis/Crysis: Warhead.
ATI as well as NVIDIA recently presented a new generation of graphics cards featuring two GPUs on one card. Have you already tested this hardware with Warhead, will you optimize CryENGINE 2 for multi-GPU settings or does your technology already profit measurably from multi-GPU cards? Can players buying an AMD HD 3870 X2 or NVIDIA GeForce 9800GX2 expect a performance boost in Crysis: Warhead?
Warhead does support multi-GPU configurations, especially the recently released new hardware. We didn't focus on the new generation (GTX 200/ATI HD 4800) cards as our goal was to create a game that should run on PCs that cost around 400 euros. However, multi-GPU configurations will provide additional performance but it's not necessary.
Quad-core CPUs become more popular as well as affordable and the processor manufacturers have plans to increase the core number up to eight or even more. Will the build of the engine that is used in Warhead be able to scale perfectly with 8 or even more cores, do you have any plans to reorganize the thread structure of CryENGINE 2 to utilize such a high number of cores efficiently?
CryENGINE 2 does support multi-core CPUs, but the support is limited to 4-6 cores, maybe 8 (he wouldn't bet on it). MCPU will most probably provide a more stable framerate instead of an overall increase in fps.
CPUs do have multiple cores, but they can't be accessed fast enough yet. CryENGINE 2 won't have a new threading structure as it is too early to make a safe bet.
We're working on a technology that will allow middleware developers to easily create software for x-core systems. We do intend to sell that technology too. Also, the name for the next CryENGINE hasn't been chosen yet (2, 2.5, 3, 4, ...)"
Crysis PC Game: Crysis Warhead - Q&A with Cevat Yerli
Crysys PC Game: Crysis Warhead - Preview
This week, IGN brings us a lengthy Crysis Warhead Preview with first video footage of the game. Enjoy:
Consider the warhead, an object that is both explosive and incendiary. A warhead is about destruction, pure and simple. Recognizing that is one of the key things to understanding Crysis Warhead, a stand-alone follow-up to last year's acclaimed first-person shooter Crysis. Keep in mind that this isn't a direct continuation of Crysis; it's not one of the trilogy hinted at by Crytek's CEO Cevat Yerli. Instead, Warhead is an offshoot story that focuses on one of Crysis' supporting characters. And since that character's nickname happens to be Psycho, you could rightfully expect some crazy things to happen.
In many ways Warhead is a different game than Crysis. The easiest way to think of Warhead is that it is Crysis with the action ramped up to 11. This promises to be a much more muscular shooter, with no shortage of huge firefights and explosions. In fact, the original Crysis may come off as being a much more cerebral experience in comparison. That game was about cat-and-mouse in the jungle, whereas Warhead is going to be about blowing that jungle up.
Warhead is set during the timeline of its predecessor. You play as Sergeant Michael Sykes, aka Psycho, the British-accented commando who goes off on a mission midway through Crysis only to reappear at the end, standing atop the flight deck of the aircraft carrier with a captured alien war machine. What happened to Psycho and how he comes home with such an oversized trophy is going to be the story of Warhead in a campaign that the developers say will be about the length of Crysis'. And before you can ask, since this is a one-off from the core franchise, the designers say that Warhead will pack a fitting finale.
While Crysis has sold more than a million copies and garnered many awards and accolades, Yerli said that there's was also plenty of room for improvement, and that Warhead will address quite a number of issues. "Some people had some concerns about the ending of the game and the linearity of some sections, or could it be a bit more scripted with the environment? We tried to make with Warhead something that is a bit more accessible and mainstream in that regards."
The fact that Warhead is built around Sykes also helps with telling a better story. In Crysis you played the faceless protagonist, and everything that happened in the game occurred from a first-person perspective. In Warhead, the designers can shift to more standard third-person cutscenes that have Sykes in them. Plus, it also helps that Sykes is a very colorful character. "He's kind of a rough diamond, an unpolished diamond," noted senior game designer Bernd Diemer. "He's the guy who likes to blow up stuff, he's the guy who likes to the cut to the point very, very fast. He doesn't have time for chit-chat or doubts."
"You tell him to go over there and take out that pillbox, he goes at it with a butter knife or C4 or whatever he has. That's kind of his characteristic, and that's where the name Warhead comes from. That's him, basically. He's explosive, he's aggressive, and we wanted the game to portray that in interesting ways."
The designers gave us a view of one of early levels in the game, Ambush. Right off the bat it's intense. VTOL transports are coming in to drop off Marines, the radio is full of chatter, and jet fighters are dropping bombs left and right. Think of the opening of the Crysis level Assault, but with that amount of energy sustained throughout. It's all very loud and frantic, but this isn't an attempt to make a linear-game like Call of Duty. Warhead still embraces the series' philosophy of the nanosuit, the high-tech power suit that lets you alter your strategy and tactics on the fly. The battlefields are still large and open, and this gives you an incredible number of options when in a fight. You can stealth and hide to restore your health or ambush an opponent. Use strength to leap atop buildings and hit your enemy from above. Or you can use speed to zip from one location to another. "The core gameplay is still Veni, Vidi, Vici," Yerli said, referring to the Latin term "I came, I saw, I conquered."
Since Warhead takes place concurrent to Crysis, it's not too surprising that you'll see many of the same assets that you may have seen before, like tanks and helicopters. Still, Warhead will introduce some new vehicles and weapons. We noticed a new type of armored personnel carrier, as well as an advanced scout vehicle, which comes in several variants armed with different weapons. Then there's a new submachine gun that can be dual wielded, doubling your firepower. There's more, of course, but that's all we caught a glimpse of in this early level.
Yerli and the others see Warhead as sort of a relaunch for the Crysis franchise. For one, Crytek's programmers have spent the last year optimizing and tuning the engine to improve both performance and visuals. For example, Warhead will introduce a new particle system as well as a new global ambient lighting system that boosts the image quality "at almost no performance cost" according to Yerli. Some before-and-after shots show off the new level of detail now achievable, right down to being able to see the grain in a wood plank or pores in human skin. "This is being done in DirectX 9," Yerli noted, which is good news for those who haven't or are unwilling to upgrade to Windows Vista and DirectX 10. And that brings up Crytek's second point, which is that the rest of the PC ecosystem has matured quite a bit since Crysis shipped last year. Since then, Microsoft has released Service Pack 1 for Vista, which improved performance for 3D applications, and graphics hardware companies such as Nvidia have improved their driver support, which is critical for a game like Crysis.
There's also the fact that many gamers have upgraded their systems over the past year. The Crytek team wants to dispel the myth that Crysis or Warhead requires a high-end, expensive system to play. So they ran the Warhead demonstration on a $652 PC built with parts purchased online. Performance was astonishingly smooth and fluid even with a high level of graphical detail.
Then there's the other issue that Crytek wants to deal with: piracy. Yerli noted that for every copy of Crysis sold there were as many as 20 copies that were pirated. It's obviously a touchy issue with them, especially since quite a number of those pirating the game are willing to spend money to upgrade their machines. "I'm disappointed by the behavior of the gamers," Yerli said. "I'm not disappointed by the people who support us. I know there are a lot of people who support us, and I'm grateful and I thank [them] for that. But there are 15 to 20 times more people who don't care right now."
To combat this, Crytek plans to strengthen copy protection in Warhead, but how it will do so remains murky for now. Yerli admitted that it's a very difficult task. "If you want to have an anti-piracy mechanic, you have to spend a lot of time at the risk of incapability here and there. So you will annoy some people, but you will delay the amount of piracy. You will make 10 people angry for 1,000 more people who cannot copy… It's a dangerous walk to walk because the 10 people who are upset, they will get loud about it. And this is where we have to be good about it, and it's difficult."
While Yerli and other Crytek representatives have been quoted over the past few months that the company is flirting with no longer making games exclusive to the PC, Warhead will remain a PC exclusive. Warhead may be the litmus test that determines Crytek's future to developing PC-exclusive titles. "We'll look at how Crysis Warhead does," Yerli said.
Warhead is being developed by Crytek's new Budapest studio, and the developers there are bringing a fresh perspective to the series. Studio head Kristoffer Waardahl told us that many on the team are veterans of Hungary's real-time strategy development studios, which sounds like an odd skill to bring to making a first-person shooter, but it actually helps when developing the complex and scripted moments of the game. It also helps with improving the AI, and the developers promise better human AI and, more importantly, better alien AI.
Crytek has also learned a valuable lesson when it comes to developing games, as well. Yerli said that, due to delays, too much information came out for Crysis before it shipped. The long wait also built up huge expectations. Crytek is going to play Warhead closer to its chest, revealing a lot less than before. And there shouldn't be any long wait this time, as Crysis Warhead is on track for shipping this fall.
Source: IGN
Crysis PC Game - News: Monthly Update #1
Crytek Dev Team released The Crysis Monthly Update:
Welcome to “Crysis Monthly Update #1”, the first official status report from Crytek to the world-wide community since we turned the weekly issue into a monthly one. From now on every month you will receive an update from us in order to get you up-to-date on the progress of various Crysis related topics and also to tease you from time to time with an in-sight view on what is coming next.
Content: Crysis Monthly Update #1 – May 2008
- Statement: Cevat Yerli’s Interview with PC Play
- Statement: Crysis Multiplayer Disconnect Issues
- Status Report: Crysis Linux Dedicated Server
- Community: Upcoming Q&A – Ask The Devs Now!
- So, What About Patch 1.3?
Statement: Cevat Yerli’s Interview with PC Play
Last month Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli held an interview with the Hungarian magazine PC Play which was published on April 29th, 2008. In this interview Yerli stated that Crytek may not develop games exclusively for the PC anymore. In the interview, Cevat cited piracy of Crysis as one of the main reasons for Crytek’s current line of thinking.
Here is the excerpt for everyone who missed it or wants to re-read:
quote: Quote from: PC Play Interview with Cevat YerliPC Play:
How do you estimate the current state of the PC gaming industry? Some say that it's only a matter of time when it's going to finally die-off, the others say that "the big one" is only getting its comeback pace. Considering Crysis is a PC-exclusive title, what do you think of its market reception and its future? Skeptics would say that it's pretty risky going PC-exclusive with such a high-profile title.
Cevat Yerli:
It is certainly. We are suffering currently from the huge piracy that is encompassing Crysis. We seem to lead the charts in piracy by a large margin, a chart leading that is not desirable. I believe that’s the core problem of PC Gaming, piracy. To the degree PC Gamers that pirate games inherently destroy the platform. Similar games on consoles sell factors of 4-5 more. It was a big lesson for us and I believe we won’t have PC exclusives as we did with Crysis in future. We are going to support PC, but not exclusive anymore.
After this report was filed online, we know there were parts of the Crysis community that were upset to hear we were currently thinking about staying away from developing PC exclusive games. We definitely take note of your concerns and we appreciate each and everyone of you that did purchase Crysis and continue to be an active part of the Crytek and Crysis community.
In terms of development for the consoles, this is certainly a logical step for us with the CryEngine 2 supporting multiplatforms. This is not a decision that was driven by the piracy issues on the PC platform, and this definitely does not mean we will lower the quality of our upcoming PC titles. We are known for our next-gen technology and rest assured that we will continue developing high quality games, and getting the most out of each platform.
Statement: Crysis Multiplayer Disconnect Issues
Since beginning of May the online multiplayer part of Crysis suffered from connection issues with the Gamespy master servers. There have been two stages related to this problem which we would like to address now:
- Gamespy Maintenance
Within the first days of the connection problems, the complete master server was turned off. This was done due to necessary maintenance at this point. Unfortunately due to a miscommunication, this message arrived to Community Management too late, so we could not warn the community. Nonetheless the maintenance was completed after a few days and the system should have worked properly from then on.
- Random Disconnects
Unfortunately, after the maintenance was accomplished, new issues appeared which prevented many people from playing online for some time. Random client disconnects from the game servers and even complete client disconnects from the CryNET system occurred more frequently.With the technical support from Gamespy, our Multiplayer Dev Team has been focusing on resolving that issue as quickly as possible. After gaining more and more server and client log files from both the community and our QA departments we still were looking for the piece of code causing this issue. Yesterday an update has been applied to the master server which potentially fixes the random disconnects.
We want to apologize for the circumstances and the problems you encountered while playing Crysis online. According to our statistics, we have recognized a huge drop of disconnects and the user count seems to be smooth. Still we will continue to monitor the situation and reviewing the results of the configuration changes to be confident that experience is consistent.
In the case you still encounter this kind of disconnects when playing on a server or if you still find the 'User left the game' messages in your server log files please contact Cry-Alex and let him know about the situation.
Status Report: Crysis Linux Dedicated Server
We are sorry to say that the current development progress is not satisfying enough, as we have a hard time getting the code to a state where it is stable and playable.
Thus we made the decision to put the development on hold for now. We are definitely not happy with the current quality and stability of the server and we are far away from having a stable version which could be sent out to the community for alpha/beta testing.
We hope that you understand the current situation and that you can make adjustments to your plans if you wanted to host a Linux server for Crysis.
Community: Upcoming Q&A – Ask The Devs Now!
A long time has passed since our last community driven Question & Answer session. Now we want to kick off the whole new wave of upcoming community activities with a Q&A especially for you.
If you feel you have very important questions that definitely need to be answered by the development team you now have the chance to submit them. Whether it is related to this monthly update, to Crysis or to Crytek in general, the choice is totally up to you. To do so, simply visit your favorite fan site or one of the official web sites that are www.nanosuit.com or www.crymod.com and place your questions into the respective thread in the forums.
You have time to do your submission until the 16th of June, 2008. Afterwards our Community Team will collect all questions from the world-wide forums and pick quite a few of them which will get answered by Crytek.
Once this is done the Q&A will be published on all Crysis fan sites and also the official sites. We are looking forward to your questions!
So, What About Patch 1.3?
At this time, there almost certainly will not be a patch 1.3 delivered for Crysis. We are aware that this news will disappoint many of you, and we would like to apologize profusely. There is a good reason for this and we hope you understand when you hear more about the reasons why in the very, very near future. Please realize this was an extremely difficult decision, but please do know that we are listening to your comments and are making more consistent community support a high priority.
We are confident that the things we are working on will be appreciated by the community, and we hope for your continued support. If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact us.
So that’s it for the first Crysis Monthly Update from Crytek! Thanks for taking the time reading all this. Do not miss the next Crysis Monthly Update coming to you in June!
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-Crysis Dev Team
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