CryEngine's global business director Carl Jones thinks DirectX 11 is the key to a revolution in videogame visuals

Crysis 2 recently received the DirectX 11 ultra update which brings with it a number of new visual effects and along with the huge 1.7GB high res texture pack improves the look of the game.

"The beauty of DirectX 11 is it’s a door into a renaissance for graphics programming. We’ve put features in that make sense for Crysis 2 that we were able to do without extensive amounts of research, ideas that we’ve been bubbling away with for a couple of years that we knew eventually the hardware would be capable of," Jones said in an interview with NowGamer.

Crytek is hugely excited about future applications of the technology. "There is so much more we can do now – we’re really looking forward to the new research projects that we’re establishing that are only really possible under DirectX 11 and potentially next generation hardware."

Asked if DirectX 11 wasa game-changer, Jones answered: "Undoubtedly. It gives your graphics engineers, your rendering approaches so much more freedom. We’ve barely scratched the surface on what can be written directly to the GPU now with the new languages. In terms of visual fidelity and simulation - as you’ve probably seen, there are some amazing physics rendering demos that are being showcased."

Next-gen would seem to be inevitable if the evolution of PC technology is anything to go by. "We really see the next five years as being a major renaissance in graphics creativity, where we should be seeing stunning things that maybe we’ve only ever seen in films before," concluded Jones.

Look out for more from NowGamer's Crytek interview throughout the week.

http://pc-mmo.nowgamer.com/news/6412/crytek-directx-11-a-graphical-game-changer

The way the game should have looked from the beginning, unfortunately with it not on steam anymore I dont think I will be getting anytime soon

Hey Crytek...how about an computer AI update next? Look at FEAR 3 for example on how AI should be done...

F.E.A.R 3 has good AI? I finished it yesterday and it was far from having a good AI, especially when you play as Fettel. 

Not saying that Crysis 2 AI is any better (it's actually a lot worse), but there are better exponents for AI than F.E.A.R 3. Heck, even in the same series you can find better AI. The original F.E.A.R had one of the best AI's I've ever seen on a videogame.

FEAR 1 did have amazing AI, but it was a pure corridor shooter. FEAR 3 is a lot more open and I find the AI just as good. I didn't play with Fettel yet, but I found the AI to utilize the bigger area a lot better than any FPS game in recent memory(only Halo games do it better now that I think of it).

They don't just stick to a corner or other type of cover and pop to shoot (COD games) or charge blindly (Crysis 2).

In any case, I look forward to checking out what Crysis 2 looks like now...but no way in hell will I replay the campaign. If they changed the AI, added new enemies and areas, I probably would replay it. So I see this as kind of a waste of time by Crytek.

We dont need a graphics renaissance. We need a design renaissance.

Well, on the great majority of the suburbs and airport interval they did just that, cover and shoot. No flanking maneuvers, the always predictable shotgun rush and lots and lots of grenade spamming (which became a lot worse during the airport).

Plus the PA and EPA tactics are just to follow you blindly and shoot at you non-stop. They could have add PA rushes with the sprinting ability or the EPA using elements of the surrounding area to shield themselves, but their AI is pretty one track only. 

Actually, I found the AI of the freak-zombie like guys to be much better than the soldiers. Especially when you get the dinamite ones running all over you, forcing you to get out of cover and then the white knife throwing ones withering down your health continously. The Mall was probably one of the hardest stages (especially when you reach the area with the cradle).

I also won't be replaying Crysis 2. Even with the graphical goodness, the game is pretty much the same linear experience, so there isn't much you can do differently on another playthrough.

I'm always looking forward to games getting prettier

True. But that's not coming anytime soon by the looks of things, if ever.

It looks much better now still some textures are garbage. POM and tessellation are looking fantastic. Getting 50FPS overall, much less than before which is a great thing cause crysis has always been about one thing: upgrade your PC until it runs absolutely smooth.