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Far Cry AMD64 Edition - A First Look at 64-bit Gaming

 by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 10, 2005 4:51 AM EST
59 Comments | Add A Comment
59 Comments

64-bit Far Cry Image Quality

Performance is only one aspect of the new Far Cry patches - the biggest impact will be visual. The visual improvements in the new patches are definitely noticeable, but not across the board.


Hold mouse over image to see the same scene with the new 64-bit patches applied.

For example, the improvements range from very subtle in some levels (see above) to major in others. The improvements in the Pier level are quite bold as you can see by the screenshot comparison below:


Hold mouse over image to see the same scene with the new 64-bit patches applied.

The differences in the Pier level are numerous. First, the improvement to draw distance is very noticeable:


Hold mouse over image to see the same scene with the new 64-bit patches applied.

You can see additional detail in the rock textures:


Hold mouse over image to see the same scene with the new 64-bit patches applied.

And finally, the water looks a lot better in the 64-bit version:


Hold mouse over image to see the same scene with the new 64-bit patches applied.

And of course, there are the new levels that are only available to those running the 64-bit version:


Final Words

Although AMD and Ubisoft are definitely trying to provide 64-bit gamers with added value, it's honestly going to take games that depend on the benefits of a 64-bit OS to really sell the gaming population on 64-bit. For fans of Far Cry, there's no reason not to try the new patches, but we wouldn't expect a mass exodus to x64 Edition because of the content that's been enabled here.

AMD's goals are quite admirable, but the fact of the matter is that none of the visual improvements enabled by the Far Cry patches had anything to do with AMD64 or EM64T. They are artificially limited to run on those platforms alone, but could work just as well on a 32-bit platform.

64-bit Far Cry Performance
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  • ViRGE - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    #16: Taken from the article "As we just implied, the 64-bit add-ons to Far Cry come in two separate packages. First, there's the actual 64-bit patch that installs and enables a native 64-bit binary to run under x64 edition. The second package is the AMD64 Exclusive Content Update that improves the actual content in the game."

    So AT only installed the 64-bit patch, which was the executable only, the test was not done with the content patch, and as a result the test was apples-to-apples.

  • dougSF30 - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    There may not be "extra content", but is the draw-distance increased?

    Other problems with this article, if one is looking to measure code speed improvement 32b vs. 64b:

    1) Should be run in low-detail, 640 x 480. Just like in CPU shoot-outs.

    2) Single-core CPUs should have been used.

    But again, the biggest *potential* issue is with any changes between 32b and 64b versions that do not fall into the "exclusive content" patch. Draw-distance is not content. What about other "all-level" changes? Are they affected by the first patch, or the second?

  • Icehawk - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    It would be interesting to see if the added content did make a change to the FPS #s though.

  • smn198 - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    #14 Glad it was clear for you. Where does it say in the article which changes are in the 64-bit patch and which are in the Exclusive Content Update?

    Reading this I was lead to believe that running the 64-bit patch changed textures, view distances, etc for everything in the 64-bit version.

    "AMD listed the changes to the 64-bit version of Far Cry as follows:

    All Levels

    * Improved terrain textures
    * Increased view distance
    * Offset bump mapping added for rock and stone objects
    * More insects and birds"

  • jediknight - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    I wonder if the video card drivers for XP64 are at par with their 32 bit counterparts.. I wonder if the performance advantage you get by going 64bit is negated by performance disadvantages in 64bit video drivers.

  • mlittl3 - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    #6, #10

    I wish you people would read the article. This is an apples to apples comparison. Please read the f*cking article.

    The article clearly states,

    "We used our standard Far Cry demo that we've used in all other reviews, and in order to isolate the performance differences from the extra content, we only looked at performance changes with the first 64-bit patch installed - not the Exclusive Content Update."

    The benchmarks are not including the extra content. Damn, and I thought PC enthusiasts could read. Read the article next time.

  • saechaka - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    did anyone see the difference between intel and amd? thats why i bought a amd64, and whatever benefits i get elsewhere is a perk

  • Lord Zado - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    #11, you don't need to justify your 64 bit processor because it likely allows all 32 bit games to run faster than on a 32 bit *cough* Intel *cough* processor. Now if you made the switch to 64 bit Windows already...

  • L3p3rM355i4h - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    #10, exactly! It made a good looking game that much better, IMHO, better than Doom3. And it still runs better. Granted, the engine has been matured, but its possible they could have tweaked the AI also to take advantage of the 64 bit power.

    But maybe i'm just trying to justify my 64 proc after all ;)

  • smn198 - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 - link

    #3,5,8
    I am impressed. If I understood correctly this is not comparing apples to apples. There are performance gains whilst having higher detail. That is great!
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