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The personal computer is returning to the pinnacle of video-game graphics -- thanks to some under-the-hood tweaks in the Vista operating system from Microsoft. Known as DirectX 10, the technology behind the improved visuals represents a collaboration among Microsoft, video-game developers and graphics-card makers.
The latest improvements, many observers think, far surpass even the best of what consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 offer.
Case in point: the upcoming PC shooter Crysis, in which the player takes the role of a battle-savvy soldier uncovering the secrets behind an asteroid that has smashed Earth.
Beams of light glimmer through a jungle overgrown with swaying palm trees, and the thick underbrush gets more detailed with a closer look.
Gaze into the distance to see aquamarine waves crashing on a white-sand beach. Zoom in on a soldier to see an emotive face with stubble, freckles and other subtle details.
DX10 requires a specialized graphics card, and only a few games today take advantage of its capabilities.
Although relatively few consumers have yet to upgrade to Vista, dozens of game makers who have been using DX10 think the benefits of the technology will quickly lure hardcore gamers willing to spend money on the best systems whatever the cost.
Game players who frequent the Warezabouts LAN Center in Forney, Texas, often ask owner J.J. Tarno about Vista and DX10, but most seem to be waiting for more compatible games to come out before they make the switch from Windows XP.
Tarno, 31, said he’s looking forward to games such as Crysis and has been impressed with the video clips he has seen.
"If you want to play next-gen games, you have to have a nextgen operating system," he said. "A game like Crysis comes out, and you just say, ‘How much is that game?’ — about $1,500, with new video card, RAM and processor."
Many game developers are excited by the technology.
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, due in October, will put players into a persistent online fantasy world of barbarians and mythical monsters.
"What we tried to achieve with the graphics is something that we called ‘magical realism,’ " said Jorgen Tharaldsen, product director for Funcom, which is developing the game in Oslo, Norway. "With DX10, we can just add a lot more bells and whistles. We can start pushing graphics to the stage where it almost looks realistic."
Bill Roper, whose Flagship Studios is developing the action-adventure game Hellgate: London, said he isn’t concerned that Vista and DX10-capable graphics cards aren’t yet widely used.
"As with every new technology, the hard-core lead the way, and the masses catch up," he said. "Not everyone who has an iPod or a DVD player went out and bought theirs on day one. As with previous operating system and hardware advances, the more products that support it and can show the tangible benefits of upgrading, the more widespread the adoption."
The DirectX standard dates from the mid-1990s when upgrading add-on video cards on home computers was still a hobbyist’s pursuit, something hard-core gamers did to extract the most performance from 3-D shooters such as Quake or Unreal.
As the demands from game makers (and players) have grown increasingly complex, so too have the capabilities of DirectX, which can now simulate a wisp of smoke or a mirror’s reflection.
DX10 not only makes games look better but also promises to improve performance by simplifying how the graphics cards process video information and display it on the screen.
"It means the realism will take a dramatic jump," said Roy Taylor, vice president of content for Nvidia, which makes 3-D video chips for computers. "It’s going to look dramatically more real."
Those effects have taken on a cinematic quality with DX10.
"We can create a world that looks and feels more real and is more responsive," Roper said. "We have volumetric fluid smoke that responds to objects that pass through it. We have soft shadows that get softer with distance from the caster."
Of the few DX10 games available, including Microsoft’s Flight Simulator X, differences between DX10 and its predecessor, DX9, are dramatic, with water and atmospheric effects that look more like an actual video recording than a computer approximation of reality.
Still, the slew of DX10-enabled games expected to be released by the Christmas season will be compatible with older versions of DirectX. They just won’t look as good on DX9 computers.



Source:The Columbus Dispatch : Brighter Vista on the horizon