14 DAY TRIAL // AMD's graphics division, ATI, announced a few days ago expanded support for DirectX 10.1 from a number of developers, demonstrating growing momentum for the most advanced Microsoft graphics API Layer to date. At the same time, GSC Game World released a DirectX 10.1 patch for their newest game title, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, which is said to bring up to 10 percent frame rate improvements while also being able to enhance the visual experience in the game.
Game engine developer Unigine Corp. also announced the availability of Tropics, its product showing how the power of DirectX 10.1 can be used to deliver photorealistic virtual environments. Moreover, Microsoft stated that the DirectX 10.1 API would be used in the Windows 7 Windows Desktop Manager.
In S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, the improvements brought by DirecX 10.1 compared to DirectX 10 in terms of performance raise to up to 10 percent. “With S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl, we set a very high standard for visual realism, and our efforts were rewarded with over two million copies sold,” said GSC Game World CEO Sergiy Grygorovych. “By using DirectX 10.1, we once again raise the bar with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Clear Sky, delivering to fans of the first person shooter genre an exhilarating exploration of a post-apocalyptic world.”
Unigine's Tropics is able to deliver a stunning virtual island paradise through the use of the Unigine 3D engine and DirectX 10.1. “The new Tropics Demo 1.1, based on the latest Unigine technologies, pushes visual realism to new heights,” said Denis Shergin, Unigine Corp. CEO. “Our recent collaboration with the AMD team means that we’ve been able to quickly and easily add some of the killer features of DirectX 10.1 to enhance performance and raise image quality. That’s given us our first-ever chance to get perfect anti-aliasing on foliage, something that has been on our wish list for a long time. It has been a huge pleasure to see AMDs ATI Radeon HD 4000 series arrive this year, as the entire line showcases the benefits of our new DirectX 10.1 technology.”
“Game developers are realizing that supporting DirectX 10.1 is an investment in their future,” said Rick Bergman, senior vice president and general manager, Graphics Products Group, AMD. “Microsoft has announced that the forthcoming DirectX 11 API in Windows 7 will be a superset of DirectX 10.1, making it a stepping stone in preparing for Windows 7.”