Why using Advance Graphics Options or forcing all settings to "Extreme" wont help make Crysis2 visually stunning ( aside of having half the res of the original textures ) .

CryteEngine3 has multiple files defined for multiple purposes. Example:

ObjectDetails, Shading, VolumetricEffects etc...

And each of this config file definition has multiple definition for each type of settings:

Low = 1, High = 2, VeryHigh = 3, Extreme = 4 etc... ( obviously you will not see "Low" in the options Crytek purposefully made this option unavailable )

However when I looked at the config files, most of these definition were defaulted to "3" which is very high. Which means even if you set the graphics options to "4" some configuration like "ObjectDetails" is defaulted to "3" and no configuration for "4".


I also found one more thing that is pretty silly:

sys_spec_Quality.cfg has difinition for both Low[1],High[2],VeryHigh[3] and Extreme[4].

The only questionable part of about this file is that the definition for both Low, and High isset to value of "1". And the difinition for VeryHigh are all set to a value of "2"". and wait there's more, Extreme config definition is set to "3".

So to some it all up:

if CryEngine encounters a command "sys_spec_Full = 2" then "Make all config to low"
if CryEngine encounters a command "sys_spec_Full = 3" then "Make some config high and some low"
if CryEngine encounters a command "sys_spec_Full = 4" then "Make all config high and if no definition is avaiable set the value to default which is equals to sys_spec_Full = 3"

So there you go "Extreme" settings is nothing more than telling the engine to default everything to "VeryHigh" if no definition is found which if you just just take a peek to the config files, all were defaults to "[3]VeryHigh".

Maybe that is why version 1.7 of the advanced graphics app by wasdie removed extreme.

it seem like the value 1 is the console one ? (sorry for my svck... english , i'm just a poor french with the same alpha version than everyone here ...

So, technically speaking, there is no actual "Extreme" setting and it's just there for looks?

Why the **** am I not surprised?

I took a week long break from this to play Call of Pripyat and come back and things are only worse. The more Crytek keeps silent, the more the community uncovers what's hidden in the engine and pieces together information about what's happened (for example, the presence of DX11 files in the leaked beta and on the disc, but not in the "full" game's install).

This is another fine example of the community learning a bit more than Crytek wants us to know. Stuff like this is bound to damage Crytek's reputation, and rightly so. With the way they've treated the community thus far, Crytek is probably going to be known for all this for a long time, if not for the rest of their existence.

I say we just let them dig their own grave. It's not like we can stop them.