The new CryEngine video shows the next-gen
As far as we have been able to see, the "Next Gen" elements of the trailer would concern the scalability of the new engine, and probably derive from the same technology applied to a monstrously powerful PC.
The forest sequence, for example, it undergoes massive oversampling but the lighting quality is phenomenal. The following scenes maintain the same level of quality, showing high resolution shadow mapping and the total absence of any "pop-up" phenomenon.
After the presentation of the CryEngine 3 focused on console performance, what is shown in this trailer it looks like a real CryTek love letter to PC users, who have long been wondering what new graphics the new engine could bring to their hardware in the near future.
The parts of the video regarding the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 are composed of unreleased material based on what was shown at the CryTek presentation of the GDC. Although no image-by-image comparisons are shown between the two versions, it is clear that there are differences between what is shown on the two consoles, especially on the front of the lighting models.
Judging by the images taken in the same scenes, the overall performance looks extremely close to what is shown in the GDC video. During the Xbox 360 section dedicated to physics and procedural destruction, for example, the frame-rate fluctuates around 20FPS, exactly as it did in the previous CryTek material. Both versions of the engine would appear to run at native 720p without anti-aliasing.
What looks different is the implementation of v-sync. In the GDC trailer it appeared that the PlayStation 3 version ran with triple-buffer and v-sync, while on the Xbox 360 the engine exhibited some tearing phenomena. In this video, v-sync is clearly disabled in the PS3 “Rich Interiors” movie. This is all extremely important, as, by CryTek's own admission, the engine is now finished. This is the technology that Crisis 2 will be based on in 2010, on both PC and console.
Whether you are a developer or a gamer, there is a lot to be excited about about CryEngine 3 in any case. Unreal Engine 3 technology has dominated the current generation of games, especially in the case of first and third person shooters, while now we are faced with something new and compelling, which will introduce a large number of innovative graphic possibilities.
For game developers, the Live Create editor shown in the trailer (aka "what you see is what you play") should make the cross-platform development process a lot smoother. Changes involving the engine are duplicated in real time, and this is compounded by the scalability of CryEngine 3, which makes it easier for developers to work for current consoles while keeping an easy path open to support next generation hardware.
“With CryEngine 3 we are releasing the best development platform today and for the future,” said CryTek CEO / President Cevat Yerli. “With scalable graphics and computing capabilities it is ready for the Next Gen, and thanks to new features like CryEngine Live Create, it's the best choice for game developers. It is the only engine capable of allowing real-time development ".
