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Just Cause 2 is DX10 only
Friday, February 26, 2010 | Permalink
Recently the
min spec for Just Cause 2 was published and there has been quite a lot of attention to the fact that the game does not support Windows XP, which is simply due to the fact that it's a DX10 exclusive. The reaction has been everything from "awesome" to "stupid", depending on how you see it. Certainly it's a quite bold move given that not everyone has moved over to Vista/Win 7 yet. On the other hand, if you want something that's not just a simple console port, this is clearly the way to go. Going DX10 simply allowed us to a make a better game.
Anyway, I have seen some opinions of the sort "way to cut your potential customer base in half", often quoting the most recent Steam survey, which I wanted to address. If you look at the Steam survey more closely you'll see that it's not quite as bad. Currently 49% have DX10 systems. That doesn't mean a DX9 version would have brought the other 51% on-board. In the bottom end we have people on DX8 and earlier (5.66%). If there would be a DX9 version then for sure it would require at the very least shader model 3.0, so that cuts all 2.0 cards (3.84%). The Steam survey for some reason puts 2.0b and 3.0 in the same category, so some fraction of those would not be able to run the game either. So let's say that about 15% maybe in the bottom end would not be able to run the game anyway. So that makes it more like 49 percentage points vs. 36. So the cuts about 40% of the market. However, those numbers are still January numbers, and the trend with people migrating to Windows 7 is strong, so interpolate two months and another 4 percentage points will have moved up from Xp by the time the game is released. Another thing to consider is that people wanting to buy JC2 probably tend to be more likely to have made the switch to DX10 system anyway. Then there's of course all those people who will buy the game because it's a DX10 exclusive who might not have bought the game otherwise. Whether it all plays out favorable in the end will be interesting to see, but my gut feeling is that a great experience for a smaller audience is better than a medicore experience for the masses.
In related news, the
demo will be available on March 4 for all platforms.
Overlord
Friday, February 26, 2010
Windows 7 64 bit FTW.
Though i would rather get the ps3 varsion.
FMoreira
Friday, February 26, 2010
Hmmm, interesting move!
But, just for the record, didn't you guys also crammed a d3d9 render path to the rendering interface?
Z
Friday, February 26, 2010
More important though, which date is the release party?
Humus
Sunday, February 28, 2010
FMoreira, we have a DX9 render backend that's used by the editor for historical reasons. At some point we'll probably switch the editor over to DX10 also to get consistent results between the editor and the game. The DX9 path runs at like half the performance though, even with rendering less stuff.
fellix
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Future news: JC3 -- the first exclusive 64-bit DX11 title! XD
Jay
Monday, March 1, 2010
The PC version is probably 10-25% of your profit. The savings from not developing (design, code, test, art assets, ongoing support) for DX9/XP are substantial, and you can hit up Nvidia and ATI for some comarketing cash as they like games that actually take advantage of their HW.
The bottom line is that you're losing some money, but maintaining sanity, and you're better set up for the future. I call it a win, best of luck.
Stefan
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Could you elaborate on how you actually use CUDA? (as mentioned in press release - http://www.gamershell.com/companies/square_enix_co_ltd_/699102.html )
Zlatan
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The CUDA enabled features are enhanced Water and Bokeh filter.
Humus? Why are you use CUDA? There are several independent platforms like OpenCL or DirectCompute. I mean I know that Eidos is s*cking NVIDIA d*ck, but they have slower GPU-s in every price segment. I don't see the conception. Nobody wants (except NVIDIA) a new 3dfx era, where some features are dependent on the vendor. I think Eidos policy is wrong.
Just Cause 2 is looking a really great game, but i have an HD 5000 Radeon, and I don't buy a GeForce, for some extra features. But I doesn't like vendor specific things, so I don't buy the game either. Sorry. If your company will code these features vendor independently ... I wiil buy Just Cause 2, I promise.
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