BD: Have you done much to include calls for Physics?

Chris: Windows Vista will support Physics solutions of all forms. Physics engines can execute on CPU, GPU or a custom hardware. With the support for HLSL and DirectX 10, Windows Vista has an awesome platform to enable Physics on the GPU. Multiple GPU support (LDA - Linked Display Adapters e.g. SLI and Crossfire) enable game engines to distribute their graphics and physics loads across multiple GPUs.

BD: What sort of backwards compatibility will non DX10 users have for the games next year?

Chris: DirectX 10 and Windows Vista will be fully backward compatible with games that use older versions of DirectX. Those who do not have DirectX 10 hardware will still be able to play all DirectX games on Windows Vista. DirectX 9 will be built into Windows Vista in order to maintain backward compatibility. Gamers playing DirectX 9 (or earlier) games on their DirectX 10 cards will definitely see a performance improvement. Most game publishers will continue to develop DirectX 9 versions of their games as well.