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Software Crysis Demo Delayed Until Oct. 26
Marcus Yam (Blog) - September 22, 2007 12:17 PM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 49 comment(s) - last by Master Kenobi.. on Sep 25 at 9:26 AM

Indoor environment showing off depth of field effects  (Source: Crytek)

Back outdoors with intense foliage  (Source: Crytek)

It's a tank!  (Source: Crytek)
Demo of Crysis sacrifices self to preserve retail release

All Microsoft Xbox 360 owners have September 25 marked on calendars as being the launch day of the highly anticipated first-person shooter, Halo 3. For PC-only gamers, however, that very same day was supposed to be host to the playable demo of another much awaited game, Crysis. Unfortunately, September 25 will now only play host to one of those games, as the Crysis demo will not be released.
 
Cevat Yerli, CEO of Crysis developer Crytek, sent a message to the media apologizing for the delay, explaining that the demo had to be delayed in order to assure the retail release target.
 
“We are taking some extra time to make sure you that you have an amazing experience but also we did not want to risk the release date of Crysis at this stage,” said Yerli. “To get the game into your hands by November the 16th, we had to make this call.”
 
As a result, the demo will be delayed a month to October 26, but will come with a couple extras for gamers. 

“The SP demo will be released with our CryEngine 2 - Sandbox 2 game editor, giving the community the opportunity to get familiar with the vast amount of tools they will have at their disposal four weeks before we ship, something we have always wanted to do," Yerli explained.
 
Although gamers are surely disappointed by the delay, Crytek looks to keep its promise for the shipment of the final product.

“This is an exciting time for us at the studio as the development of Crysis comes to an end and we are only a few weeks from Gold Master,” added Yerli. “We appreciate your patience and are looking forward to getting Crysis into your hands on November 16.”

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Smart Marketing
By Mitch101 on 9/22/2007 1:20:12 PM , Rating: 4
This is smart marketing. You don't release blockbuster movies the same weekend the same really applies to blockbuster games. With the Halo 3 hype going on Crysis wont get the attention it deserves even if its only the demo.

Let the Halo 3 wave settle and then they come in with the Crysis demo to get people excited. I don't think the demo delay will delay the game release date so its just them trying to maximize press.




RE: Smart Marketing
By Griswold on 9/22/2007 3:18:23 PM , Rating: 1
I fail to see how Halo3 (which will crumble like an old cookie compared to crysis - and you know it ;)) - as a console only game - will have an impact on the demo of Crysis, which itself is limited to the PC, especially when theres like one and a half month between their respective launch dates (Crysis retail version).

See, its not the first time a company pulls its resources from the demo to polish the real product before launch. Look at how horrible the quality of RTM builds is these days - it often takes 1-2 patches before its playable for many people.


RE: Smart Marketing
By RMSe17 on 9/22/2007 4:49:31 PM , Rating: 4
I don't know about the whole cookie crumbling.. with millions of pre-orders and all


RE: Smart Marketing
By Locutus465 on 9/22/07, Rating: -1
RE: Smart Marketing
By afkrotch on 9/22/2007 7:20:27 PM , Rating: 2
Best and most developed story you have ever seen. Ya, maybe you should look at older games. Halo has a mediocre storyline, much like all the FPS games out there nowadays.


RE: Smart Marketing
By Locutus465 on 9/23/2007 12:42:06 AM , Rating: 2
I take it you've never read the books? If you have not, then I would say you're not getting the whole experience.


RE: Smart Marketing
By VashHT on 9/24/2007 11:01:44 AM , Rating: 2
Well its not like any other series don't have books for them either, its not a Halo exclusive you know. Also, I don't think you can say it has the best story ever unless you have beaten every game ever made plus gotten into all the extra material for all of those games(books and such).


RE: Smart Marketing
By murphyslabrat on 9/24/2007 2:40:12 PM , Rating: 2
I don't think you should count the books as a pluss to the game. A good game plot would be one in which all the facts are communucated through the gameplay itself. Series like Max Payne or Deus Ex did an excellent job of this, and played more like an interactive novel. I ended up staying up for nearly 18 hours, continuous and without more than ?two? bathroom breaks, to get all the way through Max Payne 2; watching all of the dialogue and savoring the whole thing (well, on top of my usual anal-retentive, gotta-get-the-headshots, play style...).

I have not played through the Halo Games, so I cannot directly refute that statement. However, the fact that you include the books in the "awesome Halo plot" is indicative of lacking in-game communication of those details that require the inclusion of books. Mind you, also, that you don't need to script or build literary events and worlds, and you have a much freer form of communication. So, while books are a better method of sharing a plot, the Halo games should not be compared to other games that managed the same without literary help.

a final illustration: I am (or was, I've kinda lost interest nowadays) an avid fan of the Star-Wars literary continuum. However, I care little for the three "prequils," as the're (in my humble and fair opinion ;)) absolute crap. While the origional Star-Wars trilogy are of a quite different calibre, the same is true: they do not pertain to the books aside from the occasional reference that is picked up and expounded upon in the novels, graphic or not.


RE: Smart Marketing
By afkrotch on 9/22/2007 7:18:04 PM , Rating: 2
Halo 3 is big amongst those playing Xbox 360s. I can guarantee that every FPS PC gamer knows about Crysis and if the demo were coming out on that date, that every FPS PC gamer would have downloaded it (at least those with a decent enough system to run it).


Exciting, but...
By archcommus on 9/22/2007 4:39:45 PM , Rating: 2
Crysis and its graphics are definitely exciting, but with the incredibly painful, long, and expensive development process these days, quality FPS releases are really starting to slow down, especially for PC. In my situation, I don't need to upgrade for HL2 Episode 2, but I would need to upgrade to play Crysis. However, I can hardly justify the expenses of doing so because I know of very few (maybe none) other shooters on the horizon that I'm looking forward to. Because of that I probably won't upgrade, and just end up skipping Crysis.

If someone can mention some other good releases for 2008, that would help.




RE: Exciting, but...
By Cheapshot on 9/22/2007 6:27:26 PM , Rating: 2
Slow down?!?!? After 3 years of crap we are finally getting some good ones coming out again, and you feel FPS's are slowing down?

First, I realize we all have differing opinions of the choice of shooters out there, but 2007 will be able to meet all levels.

For PCs there is no single game more FanBase anticipated than UT III. Going back to the original UT99 - fans have been playing it even up to today... it is The Game for FPS, and UT III promises to return to the same kind of gameplay that made it a smash hit.

Crysis... will no doubt be a site to see, and video cards are getting cheaper. Just give it some time.

Blacksite: Area 51 is also another game that looks amazing, and blends standard combat with a little scifi (or a lot).

Team Fortress 2 is a new take on the shooter genre that from what I hear out of the Beta testers I know, the game is immensely fun to play.

BioShock is already out, and everyone knows or should know how good the game looks and plays - as well as the many different aspects of it.

These are all 2007 releases to come... you won't even need to wait for 08.

Personally... IMO... UT III will be all the shooter you need.


RE: Exciting, but...
By JonnyDough on 9/23/2007 2:15:52 PM , Rating: 2
I'll be waiting to 2008 for StarCraft 2. Anyone else? :-)


RE: Exciting, but...
By murphyslabrat on 9/24/2007 2:47:21 PM , Rating: 2
There is a tittle that i am anticipating. And, from the way they describe it (An engine optimized for a few big guys and a lot of little guys), it is sounding like it's going to be as demanding as Supreme Commander. Then again, it would be cool if they made a "good ol' RTS" that everyone's mother's PC could run, and would still stick around for a decade.

p.s. When is StarCraft's 10th anniversary? I think that would be demanding of a commemerative LAN party.


RE: Exciting, but...
By 1078feba on 9/24/2007 10:27:58 AM , Rating: 2
Don't forget CoD 4, supposed to be chock full of graphical goodness as well.


RE: Exciting, but...
By afkrotch on 9/22/2007 9:10:29 PM , Rating: 2
Slow down. Please, tell me when it was fast. It's the same now as it was before. You get about 1 - 3 quality releases each year and I haven't seen that change for years.

Also, what are you running your games at, if you think you can play HL² Ep 2 and not Crysis?

HL² Ep 2 alone has a revamped Source engine. It dumps DX8 support, throws in multi-core support, and adds in many other bells and whistles. Because of this, it's allowed Valve to increase graphics quality of the game. You'll need a better PC to run it with all options on, versus a PC that could do it for HL² Ep 1. If you can run HL² Ep 2, you can run Crysis.

I personally will be upgrading off my E6600 and 7900GTX to a Q6600 and 8800GTX, as I like to set my games up at 1680x1050 with all options (not including AA/AF options) on and my 7900GTX isn't meeting that requirement of mine anymore.


RE: Exciting, but...
By archcommus on 9/22/2007 10:09:42 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah there are some good shooters in 2007. Maybe it hasn't slowed much, but I just recall the days when I was younger and games like Quake 3 and MOH were king. I remember having 3-4 great shooters installed at a time. Now I struggle to find a few I'm interested in. Although, I try less now as well.

UT3 is interesting for sure, but I'm not a real big muliplayer fan. It's multiplayer only (hence "Tournament"), correct?

Also I wasn't aware that HL2 Ep2 was coming with a revamped Source engine. I can run Ep1 with all settings maxed at 1280x1024. So I imagine I would be able to run Ep2 fine at slightly reduced settings, but I still feel for Crysis I would need a whole upgrade to run it even decently.

You say you're going from an E6600 to a Q6600, are you sure that's worth it? If I was upgrading now a Q6600 is probably what I would buy as well, but I wasn't sure if enough applications (if any) would make use of four cores right now, and I wasn't sure if it'd be as fast in double-threaded and single-threaded apps as a comparably priced Exxx would be. Is it only worth it if you're going to overclock it?


RE: Exciting, but...
By dubldwn on 9/22/2007 10:25:21 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
I wasn't sure if enough applications (if any) would make use of four cores right now

Apparently, Crysis takes advantage of four cores. What I really want to see is a Vista 64-bit comparo, because I guess then you get the Full Monty. First time I thought about 64-bit, really.


RE: Exciting, but...
By murphyslabrat on 9/24/2007 2:58:09 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
UT3 is interesting for sure, but I'm not a real big muliplayer fan. It's multiplayer only (hence "Tournament"), correct?


Nope, it has a single-player mode. Unfortunately, judging from UT2k4, the plot is essentially: some variation of, "okay, you're a criminal, so we're gonna toss you in a ring with a gun, and laugh our heads off while you blow the other guys away." Kinda simplistic in terms of plot, but in the level advancement works like SuperCollapse, or Bejewelled, or other cheapo puzzle games.

However, you would have to either be a rotten agoraphobe, or have no gaming friends in order to possibly not care about the multiplayer! Its multiplayer is what makes even the origional UT playable at LAN parties nowadays.


Awesome graphics!
By Locutus465 on 9/22/2007 12:32:00 PM , Rating: 3
Assuming they take as much time with story and Quality (in so far as the game not being buggy/twitchy) I'm guessing this will be a killer release. I just wish DT didn't make the assumption in this artical that there is no cross over between PC gamers and Console gamers. I'm waiting for Halo 3 for my 360 with bated breath, but I'm also waiting for great new PC game to play as well.

Though sadly for me, Crysis is probably the beginning of the end for my current PC.... I've only got a A64 X2 (3800+ no less) with 2GB ram (on vista 64) with a Geforce 7800GT. Great for most everything in the market right now, but Crysis and ID's new game will probably put the system on its knees.




RE: Awesome graphics!
By MonkeyPaw on 9/22/2007 4:22:47 PM , Rating: 2
What's the deal with all the jaggies in those screenshots? Is the game so demanding that nothing can run it with AA or something?


RE: Awesome graphics!
By HotdogIT on 9/22/2007 6:02:58 PM , Rating: 2
You're right: Those screenshots look like total ass. Either whoever took them didn't know to turn AA on, AA simply doesn't work yet with release drivers, or there's some other oddity. It looks hideous without AA, a shame those screen shots even made it out.


RE: Awesome graphics!
By Omega215D on 9/22/2007 6:18:11 PM , Rating: 2
Read the October issue of MaximumPC. They interviewed the developer of Crysis in which he states that the game is designed to run well on a system that is a couple of years old but the visuals can improve over time as the hardware becomes available. I won't state it word for word for obvious reasons.


Take your time ... get it right.
By JumpingJack on 9/22/2007 12:26:35 PM , Rating: 3
Take your time guys, get it right... we waited this long so a few more weeks can't hurt...

Just don't turn it into a DNF situation....




RE: Take your time ... get it right.
By Alexstarfire on 9/22/2007 1:28:37 PM , Rating: 1
True, but I don't want this to turn into another Vista. I don't wanna see multiple delays on this when they keep nearly the launch date, demo launch date in this case.


RE: Take your time ... get it right.
By Griswold on 9/22/2007 3:11:10 PM , Rating: 2
Tossing crysis into the same bucket as vaporware like DNF or mysteriously comparing it to vista - get a reality check...


By afkrotch on 9/22/2007 6:58:45 PM , Rating: 2
I like to watch the WRC (World Rally Championship) and I was thinking something completely different, when I saw DNF. Course I guess it all amounts to the same thing.

DNF - Did not finish (WRC term)
DNF - Duke Nukem Forever (PC gamer term)

Either way, I guess it's both the same, for the most part.


Patience is deserved
By VERTIGGO on 9/22/2007 2:15:01 PM , Rating: 2
Whatever it takes, Crytek!!

I hope no one seriously thinks that Crytek's actions can be compared to Microsofts'. If they need more time, the finished game is worth the wait.

BTW, I just noticed, is Crytek implying that the US will adopt European tanks in the future? That one is much more like a German tank than an Abrams! lol




RE: Patience is deserved
By Griswold on 9/22/2007 3:09:10 PM , Rating: 2
Well, the game is set in the year 2019, crytek is a german company and (in the real world) the US army is actually looking into the possibility of buying german (KMW) armored vehicles to replace the horrible humvee-deathtrap. So, yea, why not? :)


RE: Patience is deserved
By afkrotch on 9/22/2007 8:51:07 PM , Rating: 3
The US Army is not looking to purchase KMW's armored vehicles. Course, if you haven't noticed though, many of these weapons developer's either share ideas or steal ideas from each other.

The US military buys mainly from US companies, as they have more control over any information pertaining to these weapons and weapons systems.

Either way, all light armored vehicles have issues. That's why the US military has the MRAP program. American companies are producing designs for it, cept one British company. Doesn't matter to much, as only two steel mills in the US are qualified to produce armor for the military.

US Army has already ordered 44 MK5 vehicles and 369 ASVs from the MRAP program. One of the vehicles from the MRAP program can be seen in Transformers, as Bonecrusher.


However
By FITCamaro on 9/22/2007 3:10:20 PM , Rating: 2
The beta is available exclusively to fileplanet members. ;)




Gameplay vids?
By Fnoob on 9/22/2007 4:15:06 PM , Rating: 2
Anyone have a link to any video demos for this one? The screenshots do look damn impressive, would love to see it in action.

I might be the only one not disappointed by the release delay... gives us some time to soak up Halo3 for awhile, get bored of it, and then justify another $600 video card for the PC. Hopefully by then there will be some sweet new products to run this monster.

Cheers and TIA for any links.




Halo 3 for kiddies!
By Soldier38 on 9/22/2007 11:50:17 PM , Rating: 2
Come on any 12 year old can swindle mama to go get him a 360 and play halo 3 crapola. Not everyone has or has access to a High end Pc to play games like Crysis. Thats what makes it worth having and talking about alone. We are few and far apart us crazy people that upgrade every year or 3 (lol) for games like this. I just spent 3 grand cause I could for this game and a few others like COD 4 and Far Cry 2 coming. I could go on and on about the jaggies in 360 games Ive got one. It doesnt compare to my Pc running all max settings at 1920 x 1200 res. Crysis beta runs great by the way on my setup. If everyone had a High End Pc Crysis wouldnt be what it is or will be. So let the kiddies have their little fun with master chief crap for a little while, I grin at the hype over console games every time this happens and shrug it off. Cause I know the beheamoth I have at home that blows anything away the consoles have to offer. Side note,I did enjoy Gears of War though, the one standout game I give props to on 360!




Typical FPS
By AnnihilatorX on 9/23/2007 10:03:15 AM , Rating: 2
I will probably get flamed but
Don't take the following too seriously

Firstly I applaud Crytek for bringing the graphic department in PC to next new level.

I am wary of FPS nowadays focusing on SP being a 1-man-hero conquering the world style gameplay. Am I the only one?

Most big hits like Halo, F.E.A.R, FarCry, Crysis, even half breed FPS like Oblivion; and RPGs are off topic; all similar the fact that you basically are the only hero in the scene.

Call of Duty, Medal of Honor had done a great job adding AIs alongside you so it's more believable; The progress still revolves around you killing 50 enemies, taking 100 gunshots before you die. And when you die, that's it. If you stand doing nothing in Call of Duty, the AI would not win the war. Tides of the war doesn't change. Your dead allies keep re-spawning, so does the enemy. Gunfires from your allies never hit, or, it's scripted so it always hit.

This is simply overdone. Out of 99.9% FPS have in common is the player always have god-like characteristics. Max Payne, Halo, Crysis. Can we have a game that involves more around teamwork and realism? With the advancement in graphics, can we have advancement in gameplay of the same level?

AI had been improving but at a snails pace.Not only that, it's also always the enemy AI that gets the attention, not NPCs/Allies. Is it currently technically feasible to improve AI to a point that we no longer see FPS gameplay resolving around a player himself? Perhaps new technology like Genetic Programming may help?




I am waiting :)
By Nik00117 on 9/23/2007 1:30:02 PM , Rating: 2
Cyrsis is already on pre-order.

I understand why they pushed back the beta. The beat means they have to host and maintain servers for the game this takes man power and resources. This could create delays in finishing a few bug fixes and so forth. That 2 week window could give them time to also produce more games so they don't run or anything. Cyrsis is going rock :)

Also poeple don't need to worry about sys reqs if you got a game that can run CS:S at maxium settings then I would expect crysis to run at medium settings.

Also game developers do not develop games for the 1% of poeple who upgrade their PCs like mad. I'm sure they aim for as much as the demographic as possible.




Halo 3 is Halo 2
By UsernameX on 9/23/2007 3:41:31 PM , Rating: 2
I've played Halo 3 due to a UPS shipment error in favor to my friend. He has a nice HD TV and while Halo 3 looks better (not pushing XBOX360 limits IMO) there is NOTHING that Halo 3 offers, that couldn't have been done on the XBOX Original. This is what Halo 2 should have been. Sorry guys, but the hype is just hype.

I have high hopes for Crysis. I'm not going to say Crysis is better at this point (because I don't know), but I'm definitely glad I decided to purchase a new video card instead of an XBOX360.




Delay
By BlueNC79 on 9/22/07, Rating: -1
RE: Delay
By rdeegvainl on 9/22/2007 12:55:16 PM , Rating: 3
What is fail about not releasing a DEMO on time?


Damn!
By gigahertz20 on 9/22/07, Rating: -1
RE: Damn!
By sxr7171 on 9/22/2007 12:40:56 PM , Rating: 1
Why in the hell did they not anti-alias those screenshots? They look like shit.


RE: Damn!
By omnicronx on 9/22/2007 1:00:05 PM , Rating: 2
The game isnt out yet? And there is obviously some AA going on here, look at the first screen. You have no idea when those screens were taken, those could be really old shots with AA lowered because of system performance issues.


RE: Damn!
By sxr7171 on 9/22/2007 1:06:30 PM , Rating: 2
Go to Gamespot and notice that all other screenshots were anti-aliased. These shots are the latest dated September 12, 2007. The depth of field one is so bad that it is obvious that there is no AA applied at all. There is no excuse for this.

Also, even if the game runs slow with AA, a screenshot needs 1FPS to be taken.


RE: Damn!
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 9/22/2007 3:02:21 PM , Rating: 2
Gonna go out on a limb here even though im under an NDA.... The game does not slow down with 16xAA on a 8800GTX card on a C2D system. *cough* The demo and game will be worth the wait, yes indeed. This will likely end up competing with Quake Wars, and I see Quake Wars losing.


RE: Damn!
By sxr7171 on 9/22/2007 3:25:21 PM , Rating: 1
Awesome! I can't wait. Finally something that shows the superiority of my computer over the Xbox 360. Sadly Bioshock couldn't do that.


RE: Damn!
By FITCamaro on 9/22/2007 4:30:41 PM , Rating: 2
I tried the Quake Wars demo. It sucked. Felt like a 10 year old game with prettier graphics.

I'm running a E6600 @ 3GHz, 2GB of RAM, an X1950XTX, and dual raptors in RAID0 so I'm hoping for 1680x1050 with high details. Still downloading. Won't get a chance to play it till tomorrow though.


RE: Damn!
By archcommus on 9/22/2007 4:35:47 PM , Rating: 2
What resolution? Think AA will hurt an 8800 GTS much at say 1680x1050?


RE: Damn!
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 9/25/2007 9:26:28 AM , Rating: 2
1280x1024. I have not had a reason to go higher than that yet.


RE: Damn!
By Locutus465 on 9/22/2007 12:43:12 PM , Rating: 1
Honestly the 360 is a great console... If you're in a position to spend the money at all on one I would consider making a real purchase rather than "renting" it.


RE: Damn!
By FITCamaro on 9/22/2007 3:12:30 PM , Rating: 1
You could return the 360 but you can't return open games for a refund. Only for exchange.


RE: Damn!
By Fnoob on 9/22/2007 4:25:52 PM , Rating: 2
Very true. But methinks that he'll be hooked on that Halo3 crackpipe too long to return it in time ;)

Crysis will surely spank Halo3 in the graphic detail department without a doubt. In the gameplay/feel dept? We can't wait to see.


"I f***ing cannot play Halo 2 multiplayer. I cannot do it." -- Bungie Technical Lead Chris Butcher











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