Crysis: new screenshots and preview

Jungle Fever

These two screenshots are similar to the ones we have seen previously of the jungle combat from the teaser video. The first thing that hits you is the sheer density of the vegetation, putting every other game to shame: grass; plants; bushes; trees; vines; it's all there. Then consider that they all have accurate soft shadows and blinding HDR lighting breaking through the canopy.

Then steady yourself when we reveal that this jungle is interactive - you can brush past a frond and it will bend and sway realistically. Not only is there some hefty physics and collision detection involved, but this could have real gameplay implications for jungle warfare. Run around with no consideration for your surroundings and your position will be evident to your enemies merely by the movement (and presumably sound) of the foliage around you.


These two shots show an assault on a shack. The shadowing is supreme, with pixel accurate shadowing varied according to sunlight diffusion. There's also some effects here from the real-time ambient maps that have been implemented. Ambient maps approximate ambient light intensity, allowing for ultra-realistic indirect lighting - notice how we can see the underside of the roof even though it is shade, thanks to the light reflecting from the lower surface. Contrast this with inside the doorway, where the darker shadow masks the detail.

Look closely at the second screenshot and you will see that the soldier on the left is self-shadowing: his right arm and weapon are casting a realtime soft-shadow across his torso. The shadowing on the pile of wood is also very cool. Such a pity then that there is no anti-aliasing, possibly a trade-off for the HDR lighting or perhaps the tricky combination of HDR + AA is just not enabled at this stage. Here's hoping they fix that before release.

At night, the level of detail and lighting effects are equally impressive. The moon casts a muted glow over the outer surfaces of the shack, while the lamp illuminates the interior. Inside is familiar Far Cry fodder: shelving, barrels and the like. The HDR bloom is almost so subtle that you don't even notice it, yet it's adding that extra level of realism to make the scene more believable.