Farcry patch v. 1.3 out!

HDR does work on the X800. I can clearly see it when I run the game.

Will take screenshots tonight. btw. this is with Patch 1.2(that was pulled). Haven't d/l Patch 1.3 yet.

Whoop!! Is that the problem that I have been getting with my X800?
http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17150

US

 

here is a video of no hdr versus OpenEXR on the Nvidia 6800 series in action. The video is a 1024x768 3mbps WMV9 so the color range is nowhere near as good as ingame, but it will give you an idea of what to expect of it in motion, when you use it as a reference along with the below screenshots. The video first shows no hdr for a few seconds, then openexr hdr for a few seconds:
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fchdr.wmv

"Training" level

1280x1024 0xAA/8xAF

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc1.jpg

SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc1hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc2.jpg

SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc2hd.jpg

**********

Some more from "Carrier" & "Fort"

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc3.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc3hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc4.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc4hd.jpg

************

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc5.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc5hd.jpg

damn awesome. the game just looks washed out now without HDR, which makes it look sooo much richer. and incredible in motion especially with the light dynamically reacting to your every movement. was worth the wait for the 1.3 patch

note: you can change the value of "r_hdrrendering 7" to any value between 1 and 11 to alter the intensity of the HDR. The above shots were taken with "7" but "2" seems to give similar intensity at higher performance, however "2" lacks the light rays of "7". If your system cannot handle "7", you might want to try "2".

Edit: Modie Blokie - links please, when using large images repeatedly in a thread.

 

new shots I noticed some overexposed areas in the implementation, archive is too bright in places, though all around a great implementation.

1280x1024 0xAA/8xAF

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc6.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc6hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc7.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc7hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc8.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc8hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc9.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc9hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc10.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc10hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc11.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc11hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc12.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc12hd.jpg

**********

NO HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc13.jpg


SAME IMAGE W/ OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc13hd.jpg

**********

OPENEXR HDR
http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fc14hd.jpg

****

edit: New video:
Here is one of coming out of the carrier, some excellent openexr hdr lighting effects throughout. This video is a bit choppy but that is simply a result of the railing of my hard drive by the vidcap software, game runs smooth when it is not capturing. Pay special attention to the lighting effects when you actually come out of the darker carrier into the bright sunlight.

http://www.reflectonreality.com/images/nv40/fchdr/fchdr2.wmv

 

Nice comparison pics you got there but why you must mention "OpenEXR" in every single place where possible? It's not some special technique to achieve HDR, it's an open HDR image format created by Alias

 

Just to be a pedantic bastard it was actually created by ILM not Alias.

 

Just an fyi, it appears that you don't have to enable compression on every new level you start. It carries over from one level to the other on my X800 Pro running the latest betas. How do I know? When I've tried to re-enable it at the beginning of levels there is no pause, yet when I enter the command to disable it does pause for a second and then pauses again when I re-enable it.

 

the wonders of copy and paste

btw here are some settings that can be adjusted, might be able to get the hdr tweaked even better with (default values shown)
r_HDRBrightOffset = "6.000000" (lower value = brighter HDR lighting)
r_HDRBrightThreshold = "3.000000" (lower value = brighter HDR “eye blindingâ€￾ effect)
r_HDRLevel = "0.600000" (higher value = more light blooming)

its still a beta implementation but damn it looks awesome, definitely playin with it on. some levels will prob have to be tweaked by the devs for optimal effect in next patch like archive for instance... i will prob bind a key to enable/disable it incase it gets too intense

 

After reading some of the hints and comments on this thread, I gave Far Cry another try last night and again today. It is starting to grow on me. Evasion is without question a skill to be used in this game. Still a few too many quick unexpected deaths (especially from long range rocket launchers) for my liking, but I will play it through. Binoculars and holding your breath while sniping made a huge difference in the game play. Visually, it is awesome with everyhting set to very high with v1.3. Thanks for your comments and hints.

 

That's strange. I'm playing on one difficulty level up from default and I've gotten one shot killed a couple times but that was always from someone I had already sighted who got the drop on me before I could finish them off. If you play Far Cry like it's Serious Sam you're sure to die a lot.

 

So: install or don't?

I'm close to the end, obviously I wanto be sure I can load my current saves...

 

DON'T!!!

Old saves don't work with the patched game, finish it first.

 

Is this hdr enabled by default or did you use a command?

 

Anyone feel like pointing me to a paper/article/thread that explains exactly what FP Blending does? I've read Dave's NV40 preview and quite a few threads (even though they often devolved into mudslinging I thrust onward in the tireless pursuit of knowledge ), and understand that it involves calculating two images and blending them together, and that this is a good thing, but I'd like to know the how and what of the blending.

 

They specifically said 1.2 saves don't work. Since they didnt say 'all previous versions' won't work I'm guessing that if you had stuck to the tried and true 1.1 you should be fine. What's the big deal anyway - just back up the game dir and install it - if it mucks up just copy over the old stuff.

 

If you upgrade from 1.1 everything should be ok. No issues here.

 

I'm no expert on such things but I think I can handle this one. Besides, there are plenty of people around here who can correct me if I am wrong.

The final image as seen on the screen both with and without HDR is done on a framebuffer with 24bits for color and and 8bits for the transparencies to be blended with whatever color is behind them. HDR, by nature, requires a rendering at a higher range of color, and to carry that higher range of color though alpha channels you must be able to hold the information in a framebuffer before you can blend it though the alphachanels. Obviously you can't hold such range in a standard framebuffer which only has 24bits for color, which is why a foating point framebuffer is required.

 

And ugly, too...

 

I think you can tweak the settings to get a more subtle and realistic results. Even these incredible overexposed screenshots shows a great potential IQ improvement from HDR.

 

Urhm, about 3Dc. If 3Dc is used why does it say in this screen on HardOCP that the X800XT uses V8U8 for normalmap compression? :?

http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTA5ODgwOTkwNERKN2E2QlpNZmRfMl8yX2wuanBn

I was under the impression that V8U8 (or was it U8V8?) was only used on GF FX & GF6800 series while the X700 and X800 series would use 3Dc? It's not the same is it? I'm a bit confused now.

 

Some of those outdoor HDR shots from [H] look sweet.