I've got a Samsung and a Plextor drive. Neither of which have ever failed to read anything, although I do think the Plextor drive might be dying as its refusing to burn anything.


In any case, I've played it for a bit, opening level only. Here's some first thoughts :

- It's definitely optimized. I'm running it at 1680x1050 with everything set to Enthusiast (highest level) and it runs smoothly. Though I do have a pretty hefty machine, Quad core @ 3Ghz, 4 Gig and an 8800GT. It feels like it's running better than Crysis, although the original Crysis runs fine on my machine as well, especially with the CUDAATS mod.

- That optimization is easily traced, however. There is some HEAVY Automatic Quality Control going on. I constantly see textures blurring before they are swapped out for the sharper textures. Also, the textures simply are not comparable to the Crysis ones. The ones in Crysis looked FAR better, imo, especially on the ramshackle huts. So while the game is faster, it's also less pretty.

- Enemy AI so far seems a bit better. If you kill a dude with a silenced gun, the other guys around him now run for cover, they don't just stand around blindly staring off into space. I also haven't come across an AI that's just walking into a mountain yet, or one that's completely oblivious to your presence. Though again, I've only played the first level.
I haven't noticed much teamwork yet or anything of the kind. If I shoot one guy out of three and hide behind a big rock, both remaining enemies will come around the rock single file, from the same side, rather than splitting up, for example.
They do seem a lot better at figuring out where you're shooting from. I kill a guy now, and the others run straight at me, rather than turn around and show me their backs to shoot.

- Weapons do a lot more damage, especially your SCAR. A single burst now drops an enemy.

- Cars seem to drive more smoothly, but that might just be me.

- The new rapid fire pistol is a good weapon.

- Auto Ammo pickup is a stupid option, though fortunately it doesn't exist in Delta.

- A LOT more scripted stuff going on. I'm fairly ambivalent about that. It's not on the level of a Call of Duty, which is a shame, and it seems to interfere with the whole open sandbox map idea. This might change in later levels.

So far, it seems pretty good.

Creston

I'm not sure why but LG and LITEON DVD drives I've had always failed to install a disc or two. Now I've got the latest Samsung and Sony and the Sony has never failed to read anything. The Samsung is good, too, but that failed to read RTCW.

played for about an hour so far. The game seems tighter and less frustrating than the first. The AI goes down without having to pump a whole clip into them. Still have yet to check out the multi.

That was fixed in Crysis by a patch. I just replayed it last month and noticed that right off.

They did up the damage for the korean assault rifle, it was way too low. Note that putting a silencer on your rifle dramatically lowers its damage output, especially at range. So if you want to take people out at range, either use an unsilenced rifle, or get in closer. The Korean AR just sucks with a silencer at range.

Creston

Tried off two different DVD drives, game won't install. Just hangs at about 1% or so.

Well done EA. That'll teach those damn pirates!

edit : Well, I managed to copy it straight to my harddrive and install off the HD without any problems, so it must be SecuROM that's choking on the disc or something. Apart from a slight smudge, there is no damage on it and it had no problems just copying straight over.

I'll post some thoughts on it later tonight.

Creston

This comment was edited on Sep 17, 23:32.

Played a few rounds.. The game is, imo, better than Crysis. Performance feels better and that makes all the difference in a twitch shooter.

I still feel that Crysis is at its best with tanks & vehicle warfare and that the original maps didn't for some reason utilize that strength well. Well, the one new tank/vehicle map in CW feels and plays great and works in team deathmatch.

Two bugs found so far.. Pings don't yet show in the server browser, just ??? marks in the ping column and also connecting to servers can be slow. Give it a minute and it will connect.

If you sort of liked Crysis multiplayer but felt that it came up short, CW might float your boat. If you didn't care for Crysis mutliplayer, then join us in Quake1 CTF at ctf.clanhdz.com in the evenings! Either way, you win!

played for about an hour so far. The game seems tighter and less frustrating than the first. The AI goes down without having to pump a whole clip into them. Still have yet to check out the multi.

That was fixed in Crysis by a patch. I just replayed it last month and noticed that right off. I actually finished it this time, since I now have a better video card, and the enemies aren't super invincible anymore.

This comment was edited on Sep 17, 21:26.

played for about an hour so far. The game seems tighter and less frustrating than the first. The AI goes down without having to pump a whole clip into them. Still have yet to check out the multi.

Thank you for contacting Steam Support.

The Crysis series uses Securom.

For more information, please contact EA Support:
http://support.ea.com/cgi-bin/ea.cfg/php/enduser/home.php

Crytek probably just didn't want to go through the trouble of using Steams version of copy protection and went with SecuROM, also if they had released the game through Steam without protection it would have made it easier to crack.

Bought this at Gamestop today, so no suprise that Steam has it out as well. Gamestop had WAR today as well.

As well, as well, as well. Apparently I am stuck on that phrase today.

This comment was edited on Sep 17, 18:38.

Two separate downloads/executables on Steam. Two separate DVDs/install processes for the retail release. So the Punkbuster/Gamespy stuff is only installed when you actually want to play online.

I'm in the middle of downloading it from Steam, but according to (knowledgeable) users I've seen post on other message boards, they downloaded and played without a hitch. No install, no activation, just downloaded and played. Outside of installing Punkbuster/Gamespy stuff for Crysis Wars, that is.

Is crysis wars and Crysis Warhead broken up into seperate downloads? Or is it all under one item called Crysis Warhead?

I'm in the middle of downloading it from Steam, but according to (knowledgeable) users I've seen post on other message boards, they downloaded and played without a hitch. No install, no activation, just downloaded and played. Outside of installing Punkbuster/Gamespy stuff for Crysis Wars, that is.


On another note - wow, EA must have done something incredibly different this time around with their distribution. I preordered the game on Steam and am downloading it now, but I was still curious on the piracy situation. The results were incredible:

Unlike the first game, which was ripped, cracked, and torrented weeks before release, even last night, the night before the game's release, there wasn't a single real torrent of the game anywhere to be found. Google searches returned torrents that people were complaining about being fake, or nothing at all.

Now, I just checked again for the hell of it, the only thing available is an un-cracked version. Congrats, EA - you somehow eliminated zero-day piracy of Crysis Warhead. They must have threatened the duplication factories with massive lawsuits, or something like what Ubisoft did after their games were leaked from a duplication plant.

Can someone confirm that buying warhead on steam still requires online activation through EA?

Well, Bioshock has SecuROM (now relaxed) and Clear Sky has Tages (requires activation of the serial) so I think it's likely that Warhead will have it. Unfortunately it's not released here until tomorrow so I can't tell you.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Founder of the "I Hate Smiley Fitz" society

Remember: Riley has autism. He has trouble communicating, and in an overstimulating
environment, he can get frightened and run away, leaving his parents frantic. - Auburn

Withholding the DRM info is bullshit but I guess that's the sad state of affairs we're in these days. SecuROM is on the retail copies according to users on CryMod. No confirmation one way or the other about the Steam version yet but I'm not holding out much hope.

This comment was edited on Sep 17, 17:14.

DRM info is forthcoming, they haven't said one way or the other. They don’t want the issue to affect sales.

This will get addressed and explained either today or tomorrow. ~Cry- Alex

http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?postid=350291#post350291

Sandbox2 editor release is delayed as is 64bit version of the game.

This comment was edited on Sep 17, 16:43.

Can someone confirm that buying warhead on steam still requires online activation through EA?

This a deal breaker for me. I'm ready to buy the game on steam assuming it means I can load it via steam anytime I like and it will be ready to play without any further authentication needed from EA.

I'm guessing this isn't the case, but if someone can verify this it would be much appreciated...

Course I already have 2 games to play atm so I shouldn't be buying this game right now...

Viranth they are two separate games. You don't need to the original Crysis to play Crysis Warhead. Also the multiplayer is separate from Crysis.

Makes sense to me but some reviews hark on making WH multiplayer separate. Don't know how they would combine them since WH has new maps, weapons, game mode, etc.. Hopefully picking up WH today! With no new BF game this fall, WH will have to do for now.

Do you need Crysis to play Crysis warhead?

I have the Crysis DVD, but I would rather have warhead on steam...

And I know for sure that physical copies does not match with steam.

$70 for both? HA!


------------------------------------------------
http://theslip.nin.com/
"The Bellic boys! Taking over your town, assholes!"