Lot's of people say eBay sucks, and they often don't even know how to tell if a seller is trustworthy. I buy pretty much all my games there and haven't been burned once, great prices too.
Back on topic though, I'm getting a bit more optimistic now that FC2 will run on single core. I just played through maybe 1/3 of Assassins Creed on my P4 3Ghz, X1950Pro 512MB AGP, 2GB RAM spec and got pretty good results. I run Graphics at 2/4, World Detail at 1/4, Shadows at 2/3, Crowd Density at 1/3 and res at 1024x768.
There's only minimal slowdowns during side objectives and the frame rates during assassination escapes is adequate to get lost. It's a bit overwhelming if I try to engage in swordplay during escapes but they seem to tell you your best bet is hauling tail anyway.
Originally posted by Six_Gun: Lot's of people say eBay sucks, and they often don't even know how to tell if a seller is trustworthy. I buy pretty much all my games there and haven't been burned once, great prices too.
Back on topic though, I'm getting a bit more optimistic now that FC2 will run on single core. I just played through maybe 1/3 of Assassins Creed on my P4 3Ghz, X1950Pro 512MB AGP, 2GB RAM spec and got pretty good results. I run Graphics at 2/4, World Detail at 1/4, Shadows at 2/3, Crowd Density at 1/3 and res at 1024x768.
There's only minimal slowdowns during side objectives and the frame rates during assassination escapes is adequate to get lost. It's a bit overwhelming if I try to engage in swordplay during escapes but they seem to tell you your best bet is hauling tail anyway.
Thats not bad at all considering. I think too much comparing to Crysis is the problem. FC2 will be better optimized than what most people think imo.
Btw, I have over 160 feedbacks on eBay at 100%...it doesn't suck.
There are over a million people whom are self employed on eBay and it really helps the economy too. Lots of people would be out of work or unable to buy what they want were it not for such options.
As for Far Cry 2, I have to admit my skepticism about it's requirements is waning now that I've seen what a rig like mine can do with a game like Assassin's Creed. There are other concerns like repetitious gameplay though, which is one of AC's weak points. This is just one of the reasons I am against them omitting predators.
I worry the game will lean so heavily toward firefights with factions that we will not really feel like it's the African wild. There would be more environmental immersion and more diverse and interesting side tasks possible with predators in the mix. Of course it's not just a matter of proper AI scripting though. Adding more animals, esp ones that hunt and interact with others would require more CPU power.
I think in AC though Ubi proved they can have a fair amount of AI active at the same time and still have smooth performance. It's just a matter of limiting how many AI can be seen at a given time by offering settings that adjust for it. Considering AC is a ported game with minimal settings, Far Cry 2 may have even more options for fine tuning.
It's likely to be a few months before we announce the system specs of Far Cry 2 as it's not until the final stages of development that optimisations are complete and the full system specs picture becomes clear. We'll let you guys know as soon as we hear though.
_________________ Ubi.Vigil Community Manager Ubisoft UK
Originally posted by Ubi.Vigil: It's likely to be a few months before we announce the system specs of Far Cry 2 as it's not until the final stages of development that optimisations are complete and the full system specs picture becomes clear. We'll let you guys know as soon as we hear though.
Makes perfect sense and they say patience is a virtue but its not always easy being virtuous,
CPU An Intel Core 2 Duo. Even one of the cheap ones like an E6300 should do nicely. You are taking your chances with an old, single core CPU. Make the jump to an Intel Core 2 Duo if you can. As for quad core CPUs? Don't trust them when they say they will support quad core CPUs. It will probably be tacit support at best. Don't expect a big performance jump over the dual core setups.
RAM 2GB. This game will have to run on XP (i.e. 32 bit systems) so they won't make 3GB or higher a requirement. 1GB will not be enough. Games pushed past the 1GB barrier years ago. Make sure you have 2GB.
Video card Nvidia 7800 (or equivalent ATI card). Do NOT go with a 6000 series card or even a 7600. Frankly I think the 7800 is going to struggle at medium settings and since you really want to play Far Cry 2 on high you should buy an 8800GT. Sorry but this is the harsh reality of PC gaming. The video card is the most important part but it's the part that gets outdated the quickest. Do not buy the card now. Wait for sales. I hate giving numbers in US dollars but you should be able to snag an 8800 for well under $200. If that's too much then go for a 9600GT. Wait for a sale and snag it when it gets close to $100.
The real question is will DirectX10 make the game look really, really cool (i.e. so cool that it honestly should be played in DirectX10 mode)?
If the answer is yes then you have to go to Vista and if you go to Vista you may as well go to 64bit Vista and if you go to 64bit Vista then you should have an Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM, and an 8800GT video card.
Does it really do much good to make blanket statements in speculating what the reqs will be? I think it's smart for them to not release any official reqs until they know for sure. Some people make upgrades based on early speculation and often regret it.
Does it really do much good to make blanket statements in speculating what the reqs will be?
CPU The Core 2 Duo line is the safe bet. A single core Athlon 3500 struggles with an old game like Rainbow Six Vegas 1 on high settings. Far Cry 2 is going to want a dual core and it's going to want a Core 2 Duo. You may be able to get by with an AMD X2 but the Core 2 has held the performance crown since it debuted in 2006.
RAM For well over a year, games have needed 2GB of RAM to run well.
Video card The 7800 series is struggling to keep up with the latest games when all the eye candy is turned on and mid range cards like the 7600 just can't hack it anymore. Dunia is going to push your rig even harder.
Yeah and Ubi said AC was for dual core only and I'm running it on a 3Ghz P4 and not even using lowest settings. I have graphics set at 2/4 and shadows at 2/3 and it looks pretty good. It actually runs about as good as Crysis does, which doesn't require dual core either. Best to wait and see for yourself what kind of performance you get rather than assuming you need to make an expensive upgrade. When those whom already have dual core start making assessments for others that don't, some needlessly buy into it.
Opinions/assessments should not be dismissed because of what hardware someone may or may not have. Everyone needs to decide for themselves with all available info and I did say "waiting to the last minute to upgrade is always prudent". Just so you know....I don't have dual core but quad core and not recommending anyone to get it!
DirectX 10, guys. DirectX 10. If you need it to really get the most out of Far Cry 2 then that one feature will pretty much determine what hardware you need. Remember, lower resolution but higher detail settings is the way to go if you can't max everything out.
And unure is right about waiting. Do not buy your hardware until the game has shipped and you have seen some benchmarks. I almost neglected to do this with Crysis but lucky for me I restrained myself and waited. I would have purchased the wrong parts. It turns out Crysis does not benefit from quad core which is what I almost bought.
Originally posted by Dr__Cube: If you need it to really get the most out of Far Cry 2 then that one feature will pretty much determine what hardware you need.
You see, this is exactly what I'm talking about. You are conrtradicting yourself without even realizing it. Getting the "most" out of a game defines recommended spec, while hardware that is "needed" defines minimum spec. Aside from that the hardware those on a budget choose depends on not only the above but what level of graphic detail and/otr effects they are comfortable with. Crysis for instance can choke many high end rigs IF you max settings on a high res display. However the game looks just fine even with Med shaders, shadows and Low post processing. By eliminating many of the unecessary and in some cases image degrading effects (blur detracts from sharpness), you can play it on rather mediocre spec with very acceptable frame rates with good image quality. In other words it's not just your speculation I'm talking about but biased opinon as well. Dualies aren't necessary in most games. In fact I only know of two that say it's necessary to have one (Stranglehold and Assassin's Creed), and one as I already mentioned is being played by many on single core.
First let me say I don't upgrade my hardware for the purpose of any application be it a game or photo editing etc or for some stupid bragging rights. I do do it cause I'm a admitted techie geek who gets enjoyment from learning new technology. Having said that...if a P4 provides someone with adequate performance then fine. In which case upgrading is a waste of monry and time but if (and I said IF) they are planning to updrade then multi-core of is the only way to go....its the future of CPUs.
So what if your Pentium 4 can run Crysis or Assassin's Creed on medium settings?
Crysis and Far Cry 2 are custom, brand new engines designed to push the technology. My question still stands. How "cool" will Far Cry 2 look and play on DX10?
If Far Cry 2 leverages some of the neat stuff you can do with DX10 then you know what hardware and software (i.e. Vista) you've got to buy. DX10 is not just about prettier graphics. It's starting to affect your ability to interact with the environment. Dynamic particle effects are a good example. More objects in the game world is another.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dr__Cube,
All I'm saying Cube is you're biasing your statements toward recommended or ideal spec vs an overall assessment which would include, rather than your excluding those A) not yet affording such an upgrade, B) waiting for hardware that is not available yet before upgrading, or C) waiting for affordable pricing on yet to be released hardware (C being the case for me).
I easily have enough now and then some to match anyone's system spec I've seen on the many forums I've chatted on, but I know after having bought my last GPU at near full price right after it's release that it's a recipe for frustration. Nor do I see spending anymore than you need to as being necessary or practical. I plan to time things right this next build and that involves being patient and practical, rather than getting excirted about biased req speculation.
I will likely go with a Nehalem and a 9900GTX (hopefully by end of '08), rather than jumping on the SLI/Crossfire bandwagon. The only reason I'm going quad core is because some devs are now starting to write for it and I like my systems to last at least a few years. My current one is 3.5 yrs old now and I've only spent about $180 upgrading the GPU (X800XT - X1950Pro) and adding RAM (price includes both). The original plan was to build an E6700, 8800GTX rig at the end of '07. I am very glad I waited and went with the affordable upgrade instead. This current build with the new GPU, RAM and same old P4 has exceeded my expectations.
But the issue with DirectX 10 is that it's starting to affect gameplay. You can't back off your settings, down to DX9, and play the same game. The Crysis multiplayer server is a good example. If you want a map with dynamic day and night cycles plus physics objects (breakable trees and huts) then you've got to jump to DX10. Since you seem to know your hardware and software you know what DX10 means in terms of the parts you'll need. Your min spec gets quite higher. Will Far Cry 2 make heavy use of DX10? Dunia is a brand new engine. I would not be surprised if the answer is yes.
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I will likely go with a Nehalem and a 9900GTX (hopefully by end of '08)
Jeez man, Nehalem? You're going all out to the bleeding edge, man. I would say you may want to consider waiting another year. You are gonna be paying a premium for the first rev of that chip and you're gonna have to buy lots of DDR3. I'd save some major cash and get a Penryn; save some more cash with DDR2 since it's so cheap right now (or do you already have enough DDR2?). GPU wise you can never have enough power but I too have decided to forego SLI (though I did it for heat and power reasons).
Well yeah I very well could end up getting something like a duo 8400 if the pricing is too high on the Nehalems by the time I want to put the rig together, though I'd rather not have to swap both MB and CPU and probably RAM too. No I don't have any DDR2 currently, still running old DDR 400, 2GBs worth. MP doesn't interest me anymore though. At 50 my reflexes aren't what they used to be and quite frankly mp matches and some of the stuff that goes on in them is something I've outgrown anyway. From what I've seen so far DX10 isn't all that huge a leap in graphics from DX9 anyway, except maybe in Call of Juarez. Even there though the patch they made to enable DX10 is buggy when used in mp. I should clarify though that I generally don't like many of the post effects used in games anymore, like blur, HDR, etc. These are things that DX10 enhances, so that doesn't impress me either.
