Getting Crysis to run on Very High settings under DX9

[SUBMAN1]

The guys at Crytek pushing DX10. Sadly to say, Crysis does not need DX10 to run the Very High settings like I previously thought. They artificially limit you to High (marketing ploy for DX10? MS kickback? You decide). Nice.

Anyway, my x1900 XTX is not strong enough to run Very High without a major perf hit, but if you are willing to try, here is how it can be 're-enabled' under DX9:

First, go into the game and set everything to 'High', then exit.

Look under the following directory:

C:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis\Game\Config\CVarGroups

You need to modify every config there except sys_spec_full.cfg. Leave that one file alone. I suggest you also copy off every config file in this directory if you plan to modify - It will save you from reloading the game if you screw up.

Anyway, you will find in each a heading under [4]. Copy everything you find under this heading down below to the section [3]

An example:

[default]
; default of this CVarGroup
= 4

i_lighteffects = 1
g_ragdollMinTime = 15.0
g_ragdollUnseenTime = 2
g_ragdollDistance = 40.0
g_battleDust_enable = 1

[1]
i_lighteffects = 0
g_ragdollMinTime = 5.0
g_ragdollDistance = 10.0
g_battleDust_enable = 0

[2]
i_lighteffects = 0
g_ragdollMinTime = 8.0
g_ragdollDistance = 20.0
g_battleDust_enable = 0

[3]
g_ragdollMinTime = 13.0
g_ragdollDistance = 30.0
g_battleDust_enable = 0

You want to copy everything on the top, so that it looks like this before you resave the file:

[default]
; default of this CVarGroup
= 4

i_lighteffects = 1
g_ragdollMinTime = 15.0
g_ragdollUnseenTime = 2
g_ragdollDistance = 40.0
g_battleDust_enable = 1

[1]
i_lighteffects = 0
g_ragdollMinTime = 5.0
g_ragdollDistance = 10.0
g_battleDust_enable = 0

[2]
i_lighteffects = 0
g_ragdollMinTime = 8.0
g_ragdollDistance = 20.0
g_battleDust_enable = 0

[3]
i_lighteffects = 1
g_ragdollMinTime = 15.0
g_ragdollUnseenTime = 2
g_ragdollDistance = 40.0
g_battleDust_enable = 1

Do this for each and every file in this directory except the one I mention above.

If you are like me and just want to cheat a bit without the full perf hit Very High brings, just create a file in your D:\Program Files\Electronic Arts\Crytek\Crysis Directory and name it System.cfg. In this file, add the following lines to enable most of the Very High settings without a huge perf hit:

r_colorgrading=1
r_UseEdgeAA=0
r_UsePOM=1
r_sunshafts=1
e_water_ocean_fft=1
q_Renderer=3

This will make yours look exactly like the Very High setting, except things in the distance won't be visible like you get on Very High. It will be identical to the High settings, just looks better. Expect about 10% FPS hit for doing this however - this may be too much for an already taxing game.

Hope this helps someone.

-S