FiringSquad: We saw the DirectX10 version at CES. How does the DirectX10 version compare to the DirectX9 version in terms of features and improvements?

Cevat Yerli: DX10 simply allows us to increase the visual quality of the shaders and particle effects, to the degree that some features are DX10 only. The hardware performance is a generation above DX9 so that there is a major gain in frames per second. Both versions of the game play are exactly the same though, while in Multiplayer we are evaluating technologies that may benefit gameplay in DX10 to finally enrich that PvP experience to a new level. Given the host of improvements Windows Vista offers for gamers though, we would recommend upgrading as soon as possible.

FiringSquad: The motion blur was used to great effect in the CES demo. How hard was it to get that effect to work and not be a distraction to the player?

Cevat Yerli: The motion blur comes in several flavors depending on the system specs and player preference. We have a global blur effect that is applied when the player moves his camera very quickly, for example sprinting or getting hit by a large explosion. Also we have object-based motion blur that applies only to objects that are moving. The combination of these create an extremely cinematic feel to the visuals. Depth of Field (DOF) is another feature that makes the in game camera feel like human eyes, objects further away get blurrier. It's a simple concept but hasn't been seen in many games. A new feature we have added for a true cinema feel is a slight DOF applied to the player weapon so when your eyes are focused on the action in front of you, anything close goes out of focus. If you’re reading this using a monitor take note of how the keyboard looks when you are reading off the screen, it lacks all the detail you would see when focused on it. It is not a feature everyone would want to use since our weapon models are so beautiful but it's there for those players who want to believe they are taking part in a movie!

How is multiplayer progressing? What problems have you ironed out?

Yerli: Multiplayer is progressing great. We have some surprises here and there for our beloved fans. We will soon also announce our Beta Program plans to experience [it for] yourself.

Is it a concern that there are PC gamers out there who won't be able to experience Crysis in its full glory because they can't afford to upgrade their machines to the top spec?

Yerli: We are finalizing our min-spec requirements. The current guideline is to have 2.5-3y old configurations to be our min requirement. That means these PCs will run Crysis on a visually competitive level when compared to older games, but will feature the core-gameplay aspects (e.g. nanosuit, AI-combat...).