European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 29, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 scene stars and stripes sunday april 29 2007 u g co 1 t visual advantage game makers excited about capabilities of windows Vista from the movie like graphics in the action game gears of War to the nearly photorealistic racer motors Brm video games have come a Long Way since the bouncing blocks of Pong a new Breed of visually striking games promises to Light up computer screens with even sharper More lifelike graphics than Ever before but unlike the popular gears of War or motor storm the games wont be debuting on Sony corps playstation 3 or Microsoft Box 360 consoles instead the pc is returning to the Pinnacle of video game graphics thanks to some unferth Shodd tweaks in Microsoft Vista operating system the technology behind these improved visuals called direct 10 is the result of a collaboration among video game developers graphics card Mak ers and Microsoft for years they have been working to streamline and standardize the software used by win Dow based pcs to display graphics the latest improvements Many be Lieve far surpass even the very Best of what the consoles Are capable of Case in Point the upcoming pc shooter crisis where players take the role of a Battle savvy Soldier who has to uncover the secrets behind an asteroid that has smashed into Earth beams of Light Glimmer through a Jungle overgrown with swaying Palm Trees and the thick underbrush gets More detailed with a closer look gaze into the distance and you can see Aqua Marine Waves crashing on a White Sand Beach zoom in on a Soldier to see an emotive face with stubble freckles and other Subtle individual details dx10 requires a specialized graphics card and there Are Only a few games today that take advantage of its capabilities though relatively few Consumers have yet to upgrade to Vista dozens of game makers who have been using dx10 believe the benefits of the technology will quickly lure hardcore gamers willing to spend Money on the Best systems whatever the Cost game players who frequent the Warez bouts Lan Center in Forney Texas often ask owner Ujj Tarno about Vista and dx10 but most seem to be waiting for More compatible games to come out before they make the switch from windows up Tarno 31 said Hes looking Forward to games like crisis and has been impressed with the video clips Hes seen if you want to play next Gen games you have to have a next Gen operating he said a game like crisis comes out and Yot just say How much is that game about 1500 with new video card ram and processor Many game developers Are excited at the technology prospects age of Conan Hyb Orian Advent electronics arts a Soldier takes a hit in the upcoming firs person shooter crisis the pc title is one a new Breed of games to take advantage of a set of under Hegood visual tweaks called direct 10 that included with the Vista operating system from Microsoft corp Tures due in october will put players the direct Standard dates Back to into a persistent online fantasy world of the mid1990s when upgrading Dicion barbarians and mythical monsters video cards on Home computers was what we tried to achieve with the stiff a hobbyists Pursuit something graphics is something that we called hardcore gamers did to extract the most magical said Jorgen Tharald performance from 3d shooters like sen product director for fun com which quake or unreal is developing the game in Oslo Norway with dx10 we can just add a lot More Bells and whistles we can Start pushing graphics to the stage where it almost looks realistic Bill Roper whose flagship studios is Devi a game lib crisis comes out and you just say How much is a game Abu with new video card ram and subsequent versions have added fed Tures to Speed up graphics and give game program mers More tools to simulate the move ment and appear Ance of liquids and other Complex As the demands i Tarno of Loreza bouts Lan Center in Forney Texas from game makers and players have Oping the action adventure game hell grown increasingly Complex so too Gate London said he want con have the capabilities of direct the corned that not everyone has Vista or a software lets programmers Tell the 3d dx10capable graphics card yet computer chips in graphics cards Wyeth As with every new technology the or to simulate a Wisp of smoke or a hardcore Lead the Way and the masses reflection catch up he said not everyone that Paxio not Only makes games took has an ipod or a did player went out and bought theirs on Day one As with previous operating system and hard Ware advances the More products that support it and can show the tangible benefits of upgrading the More wide spread the adoption better it also promises to improve performance by simplifying How the graphics cards process  and display it on the screen it Means the realism will take a dramatic jump says Roy Taylor vice president of Content for Vidia corp which makes 3d video chips for computers its going to look dramatically More real those effects have taken on a Cine Matic Quality with dx10 we can create a world that looks and feels More real and is More responsive Roper said we have volumetric fluid smoke that responds to objects that pass through it we have soft shadows that get softer with distance from the Caster i of the few dx10 games currently available including Microsoft own flight simulator x differences be tween dx10 and its predecessor dx9 Are dramatic with water and atmospheric effects that look More like an actual video recording than a computer approximation of reality still the slew of dx10enabled expected to be released by the Christmas Holiday will be compatible with older versions of direct they just wont look As Good on dx9 pcs for now Only Vidia offers graphics i cards that support dx10 prices Range from for a High end Model As much As a new ps3 console to less than for a less powerful card rival Ati technologies inc which was acquired by advanced Micro devices inc for billion last year expects to launch its dx10apable cards sometime in the second Quarter