Remember how Crysis 1 had an artificially limited Dx9 mode where Very High couldn't be selected in Dx9/WinXP?
And it turned out most of the Dx10 features were still usable in Dx9 and there was practically no difference in image quality?

Is there a similar hack for Crysis 2? I know Tessellation is Dx11 only... but for example - Parallax Occlusion Mapping - take a look:


With POM enabled it definitely looks better... except POM is actually possible in DirectX9. But Dx9 mode in Crysis 2 doesn't let you use POM.

So is there a fix for this? Or better still, any way to enable DirectX 10 at least?

POM is definitely possible in dx9. I am betting real time reflections and ssdo are possible as well. Infact everything dx10 or dx11 can do (except tessellation) is possible in dx9 with a dx10 card. It is fully programmeable API.

Btw metro2033 in max settings dx9 looks and runs better than crysis 2 in dx11 with its ugly overdone ssao, bloom, blurry low res textures.

Well maybe if the spec config files were available like they were in Crysis :

VeryHighSpec.cfg
HighSpec.cfg
MedSpec.cfg
LowSpec.cfg

Yes, but without them...no.

I wonder if they could be added...

POM is definitely possible in dx9. I am betting real time reflections and ssdo are possible as well. Infact everything dx10 or dx11 can do (except tessellation) is possible in dx9 with a dx10 card. It is fully programmeable API.

Btw metro2033 in max settings dx9 looks and runs better than crysis 2 in dx11 with its ugly overdone ssao, bloom, blurry low res textures.
Pre dx11 and HD(ish) texture pack I would have been inclined to agree. The textures still aren't amazing in crysis 2, but your memory is flawed it you think metro's were all perfect. Also C2 has heaps more tessellation. Most I've ever seen in an actual game. Also the lighting and shaders in Crysis 2 have gotten a lot better in dx11 including the post aa. I really like it now.

Also, no not everything other than tess can be done. A lot of the shading and dof used in Dx11 as of yet can't be implemented in Dx9. Reflections? I dunno. Also shadow rendering is very different in dx11. Look at stalker: CoP, bfbc2 and Crysis 2 itself. I reckon it would be much more inefficient to renders varying penumbra shadows in Dx10/9. Keep in mind, dx9 can tessellate, as far as I know, but it is so inefficient at it that it is a negligible asset. Also also, deferred rendering and msaa can be implemented in dx10/11 but not dx9.

Most of the effects would not work in DX9 period, exept for POM. Just a heads up, if you ever managed to somehow activate some dx11 effects in dx9, it would run like an absolute dog (even worse than dx11 does now) because dx11 is so incredibly efficient compared to dx9.