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Far Cry 1.3 - What's new?
Before we start playing with anything, let's just go over exactly what has been added to the graphics engine this time around, and who it is available for:
- Shader Model 3.0 support (GeForce 6x00 boards only)
- Pixel Shader 2.0b support (Radeon X800, GeForce 6x00 boards only)
- Geometry instancing (Radeon 9500 and above, Radeon X800, GeForce 6x00 boards only)
- Normal map compression (Radeon X800, GeForce FX, GeForce 6x00 boards only)
- HDR support (GeForce 6x00 boards only)
As we mentioned earlier, 2.0b and 3.0 shader support were available in beta format in the 1.2 patch - This support is now official, and enabled by default for the requisite boards as long as graphical settings are set to 'Very High'.
Geometry instancing is enabled by default in the Shader Model 3.0 path used by GeForce 6x00 boards, but needs to be turned on via the console or command line for supported ATI boards.
Normal map compression and HDR support are both currently in the beta stages, and thus need to be enabled from the console or command-line shortcuts.
How do I use these features?
As mentioned already, the 2.0b and 3.0 Shader paths are used by default on the cards that support it, as long as graphical detail is set to 'Very High' in game. You can force these paths using the following commands in the console (Provided you have a card that supports the path in question):
To force the 2.0b shader path: \r_sm20bpath 1
To force the 3.0 shader path: \r_sm30path 1
For GeForce 6x00 users, geometry instancing is enabled by default. ATI users however, need to use the following line to enable it:
To force enable geometry instancing: \r_GeomInstancing 1
To really get the best out of this feature however, you will want to change Far Cry's default behaviour of rendering in-game vegetation as sprites beyond a certain distance, and set it to use 3D models for all vegetation. This can be set as follows (The default setting is 1):
To use all 3D vegetation: \e_vegetation_sprites_distance_ratio 100
To enable normal map compression for supported boards, use the following command:
To enable normal map compression: \r_TexNormalMapCompressed 1
Bear in mind however that by default, Far Cry turns off this feature again every time a level is loaded or reloaded.
Finally, to enable HDR, use the following console command:
To enable HDR: \r_hdrrendering 1
The value shown here can be anything between 1 and 11, each selection will use slightly different settings for HDR rendering. The general consensus is that using a setting of '7' gives the best results, but everyone will no doubt have their own preference.
So, now we know how to make use of this plethora of new features, let's examine what they have to offer: