Real-time reflections? : Crysis

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:37 am

Ok, this is my first post on this forum but I have owned the game since released. Getting to that - I was annoyed by the lack of DX11 from release and the lack of real-time reflections. When I read that the DX11 patch would be released (which I have now installed), I was pretty chuffed, along with the fact that it said that real-time reflections will be added. I do have some things to note though:

1. Tesselation and high resolution texture pack works for me fine
2. It was expected, but my performance has obviously decreased in DX11 (HD 6970 2GB)
3. Why were real-time reflections only added to the DX9 game?
4. I have tried running the game in both DX9 and DX11 and in neither of those have I found the real-time reflections to work! I tried in both DirectX versions by walking in-front of a glass skyscraqer in the second level but the fake static world was "reflecting" in both DX9 and DX11 (Yes, I did restart the game). The only changes I noticed in changing between DX9 and DX11 was the tesselation (which I might add is pretty good: performance hitting as expected, but good).
5. I can't find the benchmark mode - is it an optional download?

My game settings and relevant PC specs are the following:

Game settings

Crysis 2 Media format: installed from DVD-ROM and updated through to version 1.9
Resolution: 1920x1080
Full Screen: Yes
V-Sync: no
DirectX 11: enabled
Advanced Settings: all settings on "Ultra"
Motion Blur: Medium
High Res Textures: Yes

Relevant PC specs:

Operating System: Windows 7 Home-Premium 64-bit
CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz stock
RAM: 4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1333
GFX: Single AMD Radeon HD 6970 Refrence version (2GB)
HDD with game installed: WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA II 7,200rpm, 16MB Cache
PSU: Corsair TX750W

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:53 pm

Yeah, real time reflections don't seem to be working at all.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:58 am

how do you see the real-time reflections ?!...

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 1:58 am

After having watched the video below again, I have concluded that there are some local real-time reflections... but they are VERY local. I still want to see proper real-world reflections i.e. the glass from buildings, glass and puddles to reflect the actual environment around them!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gcPL1tgyjs

Now as I've mentioned, what has annoyed me from the beginning is still annoying me as it was not included in the update and an example of what has annoyed me and how it is still annoying me is here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kgY1-KjckU

For the above video - I don't know if it is PC gameplay or Console gameplay, but on all platforms the problem remains the same. By the way, that was not my video.

Now you can of course argue that Crytek have a lot on their plate to try and add DirectX11 into a game designed for all platforms (disappointingly in my opinion as I have always believed Crysis to be a PC exclusive franchise but that is not my decision) but to tell us there will be what they call "local real-time reflections" and to come out with real-time reflections that really are worse than "local" then I'm pretty annoyed - I don't care if my PC would struggle with true real-time reflections - maybe I'll save up and make AMD or Nvidia happier.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:58 am

I haven't noticed any real time reflections which is very dissapointing. Also I'm experiencing this weird glitch where white lines flicker all over my screen. Besides that though, the game looks incredibly beautiful now.

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 9:19 am

Check out this pic; The reflection changed perspective when i moved left to right etc. It is actually very good.

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File comment: West Coast Gaming DLC Server, Apartments.

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File comment: West Coast Gaming DLC Server, Apartments.

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Philip Rua: Posts: 3348; Joined: Sun May 06, 2007 11:53 am

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 10:02 am

Check out this pic; The reflection changed perspective when i moved left to right etc. It is actually very good.

Attachment:

Crysis2_2011_06_27_12_59_27_094.jpg

Attachment:

Crysis2_2011_06_27_13_01_11_224.jpg
That particular glass roof was one I observed when I got the game - again - it isn't real-time reflection but this false static reflection. Think of it as a glass mirror inside a sphere with textures to simulate an environment, but the textures don't match what the real 3D models in the area are. If you turn left, you will look at a different angle. If you look right you will see a different angle, but if you strafe left or right the reflection is static. It's a performance thing.

I don't get why they don't put real-time reflections in - many racing games have them. One good example or real-time reflection which in my opinion should be used in Crysis 2 is the reflections used in Need For Speed Carbon and earlier. If any of you have Need for SPeed Carbon, you can see what I mean, by making sure all settings are maxed out, but driving along noticing the reflections on the hood camera. You will notice that the reflection in NFSC is real-time BUT the reflection is at the game's low settings, whereas the real-world is at high. If you have 4xAA on in NFSC, you will have 0xAA on in the reflection. This is what I think Crysis 2 should do.

JERMAINE VIDAURRI: Posts: 3382; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 9:06 am

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 1:04 am

Dude, calm down, check your resources and maybe you should play the game a lil bit more indepth before you complain about the fact that not all assets/shaders are reflect enabled. Kinda funny how you rant about tesselated water, without real time reflection shader. Just do the math on your own to figure how much horsepower this actually might need.

Oh and btw (props to Konigg for the upload)

http://h5.abload.de/img/003i8oj.jpg

Keep on trolling, but try harder the next time, k?

leni: Posts: 3461; Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2007 3:58 pm

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:32 pm

Still can't see myself in the puddles and such. That's all I've noticed.

Sian Ennis: Posts: 3362; Joined: Wed Nov 08, 2006 11:46 am

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 8:34 pm

r_WaterUpdateDistance = 0.001
r_WaterReflectionsMinVisiblePixelsUpdate = 0.001

They removed the ones that cast reflecting light.. so cant help u with that enjoy:p

Amy Smith: Posts: 3339; Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:04 pm

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 2:51 am

Dude, calm down, check your resources and maybe you should play the game a lil bit more indepth before you complain about the fact that not all assets/shaders are reflect enabled. Kinda funny how you rant about tesselated water, without real time reflection shader. Just do the math on your own to figure how much horsepower this actually might need.

Oh and btw (props to Konigg for the upload)

http://h5.abload.de/img/003i8oj.jpg

Keep on trolling, but try harder the next time, k?

If I appear to be trolling, let me try to assure you that I am not. I was expecting every reflective surface to deliver real-time reflection when I read the patch notes. Why am I so annoyed? Perhaps I have a much higher expectation for Crysis than any other game when it comes to graphics.

Also note that I did acknowledge that Crytek did have to work quite hard to develop a DX11 patch.

That image you shared shows me what I'd like to see, but what I'd like to see on every reflective surface.

Francesca: Posts: 3485; Joined: Thu Jun 22, 2006 5:26 pm

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 12:56 am

The screenshots above are not realtime, thats just regular cubemap reflections.

Real time reflections ONLY work when you are at an extreme angle of the reflective surface:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/540646147649844472/8C11D45EDBBCEB272AF3CEFA2D9F16DA684B5B1B/

Here on the floor, you can see the sign, the purse, the soldiers visor (and barely his white armor).

On the wall you can see the reflection of the sign as well. Real time reflections only work when you are real close the the reflective surface AND you must be looking further down so the angle is more extreme.

This means we can never see a reflection of ourselves unfortunately

Amy Smith: Posts: 3339; Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 10:04 pm

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 4:20 am

The screenshots above are not realtime, thats just regular cubemap reflections.

Real time reflections ONLY work when you are at an extreme angle of the reflective surface:

http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/540646147649844472/8C11D45EDBBCEB272AF3CEFA2D9F16DA684B5B1B/

Here on the floor, you can see the sign, the purse, the soldiers visor (and barely his white armor).

On the wall you can see the reflection of the sign as well. Real time reflections only work when you are real close the the reflective surface AND you must be looking further down so the angle is more extreme.

This means we can never see a reflection of ourselves unfortunately

Damn. that svcks. I would like to find a mirror or something.

Charlotte Lloyd-Jones: Posts: 3345; Joined: Fri Jun 30, 2006 4:53 pm

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:51 am

Still can't see myself in the puddles and such. That's all I've noticed.

I'm baffled too about the fact that they didn't think about that...
Would make it so much more immersive...
But you see enemies in the reflection of the scope, right?

James Smart: Posts: 3362; Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2007 7:49 pm

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 9:35 pm

Still can't see myself in the puddles and such. That's all I've noticed.

I'm baffled too about the fact that they didn't think about that...
Would make it so much more immersive...
But you see enemies in the reflection of the scope, right?
Actually, I started a new game and haven't gotten a scope yet.

Austin Suggs: Posts: 3358; Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2007 5:35 pm

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 7:51 am

Actually, I started a new game and haven't gotten a scope yet.

Me too

But I thought of something:
Your character/suit isn't actually in the world, it's just rendered upon your view (as it always was in shooters, but this time they render legs too). That's why water doesn't react with you, and that's also why you have no reflection!

Stacyia: Posts: 3361; Joined: Mon Jul 24, 2006 12:48 am

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 6:47 am

No, your character really is in the world, the reflections are how I explained above. There are still the "fake" reflections in the game, the real time ones only work in the way I showed.

You character HAS to be in the world in order to create the shadow, don't forget that.

Ysabelle: Posts: 3413; Joined: Sat Jul 08, 2006 5:58 pm

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 2:34 am

No, your character really is there. I played a bit of the leaked beta. Where since it was dev mode, you could press F1 to play in the third person. And the ultra trailer even shows you in 3rd person.

Emily Jones: Posts: 3425; Joined: Mon Jul 17, 2006 3:33 pm

» Mon Dec 12, 2011 8:13 am

If I appear to be trolling, let me try to assure you that I am not. I was expecting every reflective surface to deliver real-time reflection when I read the patch notes. Why am I so annoyed? Perhaps I have a much higher expectation for Crysis than any other game when it comes to graphics.

Also note that I did acknowledge that Crytek did have to work quite hard to develop a DX11 patch.

And you got the real-time reflection. It might not meet your expectations but then you should question your expectations. Did you expect to find yourself in a mirror glass room, the entire game? Won't happen, cause this isn't about a tech demo, but about a game that is meant to be played at first. So they add resource consuming shaders like this to where they think it does support the overall feeling of the game. Play one of the city levels at night and you will see that real time reflections and how they add to the game, next to all the other DX11 stuff they added, which brought the game to the next level.

Tiago and his team did a hell of a job with achieving that stuff. I just believe the most of those that do complain about "how the DX11 stuff didn't meet their expectations" don't even realize the changes that are made, cause they look at the wrong places, neither seem to know whats possible nowadays or whats not.

Anyway, i do give you credit for one idea, that _maybe_ the game would have had a totally different look and feel, if Crytek would have developed it for DX11 in first place, so the visual artists could have build their assets and levels around keyfeatures of DX11. But it wasn't but optimized to support alot of systems and consoles. People seem to forget that CryEngine3 is about crossplatform support in first place and not highend PC specs exclusive, like the initial CryEngine. Nothing wrong with that since it was Cryteks business decision to go down that road. And even then they did put alot of work into a patch like this afterwards to give people what they were asking for the DX11 support in a way they could achieve it.

Robert DeLarosa: Posts: 3415; Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2007 3:43 pm

» Sun Dec 11, 2011 11:35 pm

Check out this pic; The reflection changed perspective when i moved left to right etc. It is actually very good.

Attachment:

Crysis2_2011_06_27_12_59_27_094.jpg

Attachment:

Crysis2_2011_06_27_13_01_11_224.jpg

You have to stop showing examples through multi player. The single player has more eyecandy.

Luna Lovegood: Posts: 3325; Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2006 6:45 pm

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