DiRT 2: DirectX 11 Game Performance Compared And Analyzed
Table of contents
The auto-racing genre is split into either one of two categories: simulation versus arcade. On one hand, there are wildly unrealistic and fun-centric titles, such as the Burnout series, and on the other hand there are ultra-realistic simulations, like the Gran Turismo series. Meanwhile, die-hard fans of one game will probably not appreciate the other as much as you might think.
Codemasters, in particular, has been toiling to find a middle ground between these extremes. While its older TOCA Race Driver series leaned further on the simulation side of things, GRiD developers worked hard to find a balance between mindless fun and a realistic simulation.
DiRT 2 continues the trend. While the fantastic driving model should satisfy the simulation purists, the playing experience can be tailored to arcade-like tastes by turning damage off, changing the difficulty, and using the flashback feature that lets you reverse time and undo your critical mistake. With these options, anyone can be a winner. And the simulation elite can truly be proud of their accomplishments under the most difficult and realistic settings.
It might sound like a perfect compromise between simulation and arcade, but walking the line like this will rarely yield a superlative experience that games such as Burnout Paradise or Gran Turismo offer in their distinct categories. Having said that, DiRT 2, like GRiD, remains a great game that can appeal to a much larger audience. And let's not forget, as a rally game, it's in a niche aside from the road-racing offerings out there.
But what about the practical aspects DiRT 2? Well, it's an X-sports take on off-road racing and is not your traditional rally car racing game, yet it is an in-your-face title on the cutting edge of the sport. The game is literally packed with options. Some of the options include five racing disciplines ranging from an old-school rally to a stunt-heavy land rush, seven vehicle classes ranging from cars to buggies, and customizations including liveries (sponsored paint-jobs for the vehicle) and dash ornaments. Online play is well-implemented, with up to eight-player support in a wide range of events including online tournaments.
What are our complaints? Hardcore simulation fans might miss the fact that vehicle damage is simply erased between events. There are no consumable resources to manage, such as tires, and performance-customization options are simplified. From our limited play time, the game doesn't seem to offer as much team-oriented management as GRiD does. In addition, the extreme-in-your-face flavor of the game and its transitions can grate on the senses after a while. But these are nitpicks really. The game is a blast and does a great job of making Rally Racing fun. And it is absolutely gorgeous.
Speaking of gorgeous, what about DirectX 11? As one of the first major titles to support the new application-programming interface, this is definitely a factor in our decision to choose DiRT 2 for this month's performance analysis. We're going to dig into what exactly DirectX 11 support brings to the table when it comes to DiRT 2 and see just how much--if at all--its inclusion enhances the game.
- dirt ,
- 2 ,
- performance ,
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quite difficult to find a difference on the vid.but i heard DX11 improves the effects on the water.using cpu resources
TBH it plays better in DX9 than in DX11. Full settings in DX9 look fantastic at a high resolution whilst DX11 stutters at times.
Soon be a patch out we hope
have tried the game in both modes - simulation with the hardest settings and the arcade style... using Logitech wheel and the keyboard and the xbox controller - the game is just crap... it's not a simulator and it's not an arcade... just something in between for people wanting to look at cars rather than drive them... NFS Shift is much more realistic than this... Grid is much more enjoyable than this. I do realize it's rally racing versus normal racing games I have mentioned... but if you really want a proper rally game and don't care about the graphics - Colin McRae Rally 2 is the way to go...
The blur IS in fact caused by the postprocessing. The same goes for GRID - if you alter the engine with:
postprocessing "false" instead of "true" the game becomes beautiful and clear. With postprocessing enabled, GRID looks like someone smeared lard all over your monitor.
Now give me GRID 2 Codemasters
Its a Codemasters game and therefore utter crap for some reason. Never been able to place why they are so bad; but every thing from them is so boil in the bad processed factory trip. They have no finesse. I think there must be one manager high up that likes to put his stamp on things and is just an awful guy the poisons other peoples hard work.
i love the gameeeee
I must assume that most of the people here have either not played Dirt 2 or simply hate off road titles so much they blindly won't even try getting into this beautiful and addictive game.
I'm personally not much of a fan of off road games and find the control of the cars in most of these games to much like sliding on ice than driving on gravel/mud/tarmac but I feel the handling in Dirt 2 is phenomenal for an off road title, well done Codemasters and the programmers and not forgetting the developers of such an awesome engine, Hurry up and bring out Grid 2!!!! :-)
I've played this in DX9 and DX11 modes and I love the water effects as well as the way the flags/banners flap around in the wind. I would not advise anyone to get a DX11 card just for this game though because it looks superb in DX9 too, just not quite as many bells and whistles.
Enjoy this game, I do! :-)
JKay6969
thats what i want,Grid 2.would be the best ever..
I have to agree with jkay69,this is a very addictive game and very nice to look at,iam more of a sim than arcade gamer,i love GTR Evolution,just waiting for Codemasters F1 title.Playing Dirt 2 with a G25 wheel brings the game to life,you feel more involved than playing with a pad or keyboard. There is a downside,but i think its more to do with drivers than the game,iam running two 4870`s in cross fire,now they are directx 10.1 cards,so i get to play the game in directx 9,i have also played it on a rig with a 5870 card,directx 11 and it runs really bad,it stutters and does not run smooth at all,so at the moment not alot to be said about directx 11 drivers.
Anyone looking a driving simulator... forget about your Gran Tourismos and GTRs... both are lawnmower simulators.
Get rFactor. Get a force feedback wheel. Get racing. :-)
Got rFactor,i did not think much of it tbh,its all about modding andyou have to put the mods in all the right folders,screw that for a game,ive played a little bit of f1 on there and i have to say the graphics where very good,but that game just does not float my boat sry.
the thing with driving games is that while im goimg 150 mph i dont stop to smell the rosses or check out the graphics cause its all a blur to me
at least till i crash
Does this mean that the ATI HD 5850 is the best? I don't understand the comparison...
Can you force it to use the DX code path if you have a DX11 card? (In my case a 5850?)
I am sure that if your card supports DX11 then the game will automatically run in it,my bro has a 5870 and when i played his he could adjust settings that i could not and iam running 2x 4870 which are DX10.1,so that means mine automatically runs in DX9.