With the introduction of Microsoft Windows 7, DirectX 11 will be made available both as part of the operating system and as a downloadable update to Windows Vista. Codemasters intends to immediately take advantage of DirectX 11 features that add to the realism of the racing environment. Hardware tessellation will further improve the appearance of water and other surfaces as well as crowd animations.
The shader performance of Shader Model 5.0 (SM 5.0) will aid in creating an even richer 3D experience, enhancing key image quality parameters such as depth of field, ambient occlusion and shadows. These DirectX 11 features, and many others, will add the horsepower needed to improve performance.
In this particular case you should have no fears though.I do though because some of my peripherals such as a force-feedback joystick, two scanners, and one of my printers have no Vista drivers either. Yes, I could spend money to replace these peripherals but it seems unnecessary given their good physical condition and the replacements would be more cheaply constructed than what I have and not be as large or full-featured unless I am willing to spend a lot more money for premium models.
My own biggest complaint with any Windows OS upgrade is that some or most of my otherwise perfectly good devices and peripherals have to be replaced because there are no drivers available for them.
in console development, those are considered archaic irrelevancies.Do you have any idea how old the PS2 is (which still has games developed for it), or how long Sony and Microsoft have pledged to support the PS3 and 360 respectively? The original XBOX may have had a relatively short shelf-life of four years, but the current generation of consoles may be around for even longer than the PS2 given current game development costs.
My long-standing theory is that it's from people don't want to ever pay to upgrade their OS ever, most of whom are probably running a dodgy copy of XP in the first place.That makes no sense. Why would people who didn't pay for XP worry in the least about upgrading to Windows 7? Do you honestly believe that Windows 7 won't be cracked and available on the Internet for people using pirated XP to download for free?
shoot that was DX8 and 9 -- mea culpa. episode 2 supports DX10 but the updated effects used are negligibleEpisode 2 certainly doesn't support DX10.
the benefits arent truly compelling -- at least not yet.By that logic we should still be on DX5. DX revisions have offered improved visual fidelity and performance. DX10 has already seen some worthwhile implementations and DX11 looks to be more significant - just look up hardware tessellation. If you want to stick to DX9 and XP then knock yourself out but don't try to hold back progress for the rest of us.
We saw this in real-world practice with HL2 in DX 9 versus 10 modes. Slightly prettier water and HDR effects that over-saturated the colors
When did HL2 get DX10 support?
We saw this in real-world practice with HL2 in DX 9 versus 10 modes. Slightly prettier water and HDR effects that over-saturated the colors -- meh.
WTF is up with the people who want developers to ignore all that in support of a non-modularized, outdated API like DX9?
My 8800GTX isn't even a full 2 years old and yet Microsoft are forcing everyone to upgrade again.
I don't know how many DX10 games you've played, but I can REALLY tell the difference.
I don't know how many DX10 games you've played, but I can REALLY tell the difference. You only play LotRO to see the difference between DX9 and DX10 to know you could never go back.
i do not need DX10! Why should i need DX11, if i'am not able to distinguish DX9-, DX10- or DX11-screenshots or trailers without some explanation for which little details i have to look?I don't know how many DX10 games you've played, but I can REALLY tell the difference. You only play LotRO to see the difference between DX9 and DX10 to know you could never go back.
Obviously you're not a developer so everything you said is not true at all. I've written many apps in DX9, DX10 and some in DX11 now. DX11, as well as 10, are not minor updates to 9. The API is VERY different. While 11 does refine on top of 10, the new features are not minor at all. But I don't expect a non-dev to really understand that.That's actually all very informative, thanks for clarifying.
About the question of why bother since consoles only do DX9...well it's pretty obvious really. Perhaps so the PC version can be unique in some way instead of being a simple port? If you can do something to make the game better why not do it? So what if it only benefits the PC. Each version of one game being exactly the same across all platforms is just pointless to begin with. It's better to take advantage of each platform to make it the best you can on there.
Plus, what good is all this new hardware if games are stuck in the past of 5 years ago (or more)?
It's nonsensical and just wrong to ask "why bother" if consoles can't do X or Y. Gaming is not just about consoles. That's just one part of it. Consoles are fine, I have every one of them, but I still greatly prefer the PC and I want my games to take full advantage of it like I would for any platform/hardware.