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[TxKnight7]

Crytek went so overboard on the Crysis tech it created a whole blushing system, implemented nose shadows, and sent devs to photograph leaves in Haiti to get the translucency right: 'We went over bonkers on this one'

"The shader work that came out of this was mind-blowing at times."

www.pcgamer.com

In an interview with PC Gamer for its monthly magazine, Cevat Yerli, Crytek's founder and former CEO, revealed that he had received an invitation to an actual nanotechnology conference because of the design of Crysis' nanosuit, a key tenant of the franchise.

2007 shooter and part-time meme Crysis is the subject of an in-depth retrospective in the latest issue of PC Gamer magazine, in which Rick Lane sits down with Crytek CEO Cevat Yerli to go over the game's development. Coming off the back of Far Cry, the studio's ambition for what its next game would deliver in terms of physics and visuals was huge—to the extent that one of the minor tasks Crytek set itself was to build a new engine that could achieve a level of visual complexity that CryEngine 1 was never built for.

"[The new engine] allowed us to drill into things like snow shaders, frozen shaders," says Yerli. "Some of this work was really cool. The shader work that came out of this was mind-blowing at times."

Yerli makes a distinction between photorealism and video realism, with the latter being Crytek's goal for how its jungle environment would look.

"Video realism was about [how] things in motion should look real, as opposed to [in] screenshots," explains Yerli. "Video realism allowed us to study motion blur, depth of field, animations, physical reactions. Breakable trees came out of this, right? Where we said we've got to have destruct[ible] vegetation."

"We were simulating the trees for physics. We were bending them in different wind directions, and then eventually the light and the shadows will be all in real time, all the way to subsurface scattering on the leaves." This led to the studio's half-joking assertion that "one tree has more technology built in than the entire algorithm for rendering Far Cry."

This dedication could sometimes tip over into something that looks a little like obsession, with the tech also being applied to character surfaces and how they moved. Yerli says that Crysis included a skin shader that's precise down to the eyes. "Even the eye had, like, shadow within the eyeballs. Shadow maps [are] calculated for the face itself. So when the light was shining from a certain angle, the nose would cast a shadow."

The game even had a dedicated skin shader that, if required, could make characters blush. "We went over bonkers on this one," laughs Yerli.

Which is probably why we're still talking about the game nearly two decades later, even if you never noticed your super soldier blushing. The full interview contains much more on the over-the-top ambition of Crysis's development, some of which had amusing and unexpected outcomes: The game's magical Nanosuit turned out so convincing that an actual nanotech conference asked Yerli to give a keynote speech. "I said, excuse me, but this is all fake."

 

[diffusionx]

We rarely get games with this much soul anymore.

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

To this date Crysis 1/2/3 still look very impressive at 4K.

 

[SimTourist]

Shame they didn't pay as much attention to making it fun to play

 

[Thief1987]

If only they spent the same amount of time to make the actual games good

 

[SF Kosmo]

Shame they didn't pay as much attention to making it fun to play

The first Crisis was great. The sequels were dumbed down maybe for consoles, but the first game is still a classic.

 

[chakadave]

It would be a small minority of people in game development these days that could even think of working with something like this. Let alone create anengine.

 

[Skifi28]

Shame they didn't pay as much attention to making it fun to play

I disagree. While I also did not appreciate the gameplay back then, watching some videos of what you can actually do with the provided abilities, weapons, AI and physics is absolutely insane and few games can match it even today. I can agree that there could have been better player direction at the begining as to how to "have fun", but I can't fault them for providing a rich sandbox and some really cool toys to use it with. I feel the issue was people not being used to it at the time and lacking imagination.

 

[SimTourist]

I disagree. While I also did not appreciate the gameplay back then, watching some videos of what you can actually do with the provided abilities, weapons, AI and physics is absolutely insane and few games can match it even today. I can agree that there could have been better player direction at the begining as to how to "have fun", but I can't fault them for providing a rich sandbox and some really cool toys to use it with. I feel the issue was people not being used to it at the time and lacking imagination.

The main problem is shit gunplay and enemy AI, plus the suit runs out of energy every 2 seconds

 

[Buggy Loop]

The main problem is shit gunplay and enemy AI, plus the suit runs out of energy every 2 seconds

Skill issue

 

[TxKnight7]

To this date Crysis 1/2/3 still look very impressive at 4K.

They do!

The original game with mods have better physics than most games today

 

[GinSama]

God damnit...ok fine I will replay the Crysis trilogy !!!

 

[Gubaldo]

I had Maximum slideshow on 7600GS back in 2007
Awesome memories

 

[Aces High]

Shame they didn't pay as much attention to making it fun to play

Crysis 1 was one of the best shooters of its time. Great experience in all regards.

 

[diffusionx]

The first Crisis was great. The sequels were dumbed down maybe for consoles, but the first game is still a classic.

2 and 3 are both great games. They're different from 1 but still great.

 

[RagnarokIV]

Fantastic game and so much fun to play. And yeah, the sequels were indeed dumbed down for console but they were still great.

 

[CompleteGlobalSaturation]

God damnit...ok fine I will replay the Crysis trilogy !!!

Crysis 2 is an amazing game. Underrated gem.

 

[SF Kosmo]

2 and 3 are both great games. They're different from 1 but still great.

I played them and enjoyed them but I don't think I would revist them the way I do with Crysis. They're much smaller and more linear.

Crysis Warhead is a little underrated.

 

[LordCBH]

How bad do you have to hate your devs to send them to Haiti lol

 

[rubik's dude]

Shame they didn't pay as much attention to making it fun to play

The very first area/mission in Crysis 1 (the beach) was, and is still, very fun to play. The map is massive and it's totally open-ended on how to get through it. I'll still go back every once in a while just to play that part.

After that though, you're right. Crysis 1 gets progressively worse after the first area, Crysis 2 sucked, and I never bothered playing 3.

 

[Buggy Loop]

We couldn't comprehend back then what we had and how much of the AAA industry would cut down on features after we had this in 2007

 

[Thief1987]

The first Crisis was great.

It was just slightly less garbage, still garbage. Graphics is the only thing why this game was ever in any conversation

 

[Laptop1991]

Crysis was and still is great, love the tech they used and the game was good too.

 

[SF Kosmo]

It was just slightly less garbage, still garbage. Graphics is the only thing why this game was ever in any conversation

Nah, you're wrong. Crysis didn't just stand out for visual fidelity, the im-sim lite wide-linear gameplay was also pretty fresh at the time, and the dense jungle environment with all that destructability was something that had never been pulled off convincingly before.

The sequels were more linear and urban so that got lost a bit, but that first Crysis was mind-blowing when it came out and still pretty fun today.

 

[Vick]

Still my favorite technical achievement in gaming.

Nah, you're wrong. Crysis didn't just stand out for visual fidelity, the im-sim lite wide-linear gameplay was also pretty fresh at the time, and the dense jungle environment with all that destructability was something that had never been pulled off convincingly before.

The sequels were more linear and urban so that got lost a bit, but that first Crysis was mind-blowing when it came out and still pretty fun today.

 

[SimTourist]

Nah, you're wrong. Crysis didn't just stand out for visual fidelity, the im-sim lite wide-linear gameplay was also pretty fresh at the time, and the dense jungle environment with all that destructability was something that had never been pulled off convincingly before.

The sequels were more linear and urban so that got lost a bit, but that first Crysis was mind-blowing when it came out and still pretty fun today.

Wow you can approach the korean base from the left or from the right, so much freedom.

 

[LordOcidax]

It was just slightly less garbage, still garbage. Graphics is the only thing why this game was ever in any conversation

Crysis 1 garbage?

 

[LordOcidax]

Nah, you're wrong. Crysis didn't just stand out for visual fidelity, the im-sim lite wide-linear gameplay was also pretty fresh at the time, and the dense jungle environment with all that destructability was something that had never been pulled off convincingly before.

The sequels were more linear and urban so that got lost a bit, but that first Crysis was mind-blowing when it came out and still pretty fun today.

These guys maybe wasn’t around by the time the game released or didn’t have access to the game or are too young… Thats the only logical explanation i can think of.

 

[TxKnight7]

Shame they didn't pay as much attention to making it fun to play

It was very fun to play for many, game got a 91 on MC, some love it and some hate it
, it's called opinion, me personally I had so much fun in it more than any game especially on pc with mods, same with crysis warhead

Also..

 

[Mister Wolf]

Their engine still alive a kicking. KCD2 will be a nice showcase for it vs UE5 Stalker 2. Open world showdown. I still think Crytech should make a single player game in the Hunt: Showdown universe.

 

[cinnamonandgravy]

The first Crisis was great. The sequels were dumbed down maybe for consoles, but the first game is still a classic.

actually feel the opposite.

original crysis is 1000x cooler than the sequels, but the gameplay just didnt pan out.
it had a bunch of amazing ingredients, but it wasnt cooked into a proper dish.

the sequels were so much smaller in scope and ambition, but had more polished gameplay.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Wow you can approach the korean base from the left or from the right, so much freedom.

There was more to it than that, you had a larger than normal set of tools and abilities for that kind of game and you could get pretty creative if you wanted. Great physics simulation could sometimes lead to emergent mayhem too.

I know we all kind of take a lot of this stuff for granted a bit now, but at the time it really set the bar.

 

[diffusionx]

There was more to it than that, you had a larger than normal set of tools and abilities for that kind of game and you could get pretty creative if you wanted. Great physics simulation could sometimes lead to emergent mayhem too.

I know we all kind of take a lot of this stuff for granted a bit now, but at the time it really set the bar.

we really ont get as much of this sort of thing as you would think these days.

Metal Gear Solid V is the game that probably expanded this to its full potential.

 

[Hudo]

The very first Crysis ended up being among my favorite FPS games of all time (If I play a game again from time to time, it has to be good, imho). I hope Crytek return to the design philosophy of the first Crysis with Crysis 4.

 

[kevboard]

the suit runs out of energy every 2 seconds

if you suck at resource management sure.

 

[Bry0]

It’s truly hard to convey the insanity of crysis 1 to people that weren’t there at the time. I played the original release recently and it STILL looks and feels amazing. The secret sauce is the “video realism” I think. It’s not just that it looks good but it’s highly interactive and nothing is static.

 

[Aces High]

Modern games don't allow stuff like this anymore.

 

[TxKnight7]

It was just slightly less garbage, still garbage. Graphics is the only thing why this game was ever in any conversation

Nah, you're wrong. Crysis didn't just stand out for visual fidelity, the im-sim lite wide-linear gameplay was also pretty fresh at the time, and the dense jungle environment with all that destructability was something that had never been pulled off convincingly before.

The sequels were more linear and urban so that got lost a bit, but that first Crysis was mind-blowing when it came out and still pretty fun today.

Wow you can approach the korean base from the left or from the right, so much freedom.

Naughty Dog designer James Cooper
said Crysis‘ core gameplay is “really strong” and that he’s surprised more shooters haven’t borrowed its formula"

“It’s actually a really underrated shooter,” he told a Twitter follower. “It’s remembered for its visuals but the core gameplay experience is really strong. I’m surprised that in over ten years there haven’t been more shooters that followed its formula, not even the sequels.”

 

[SimTourist]

There was more to it than that, you had a larger than normal set of tools and abilities for that kind of game and you could get pretty creative if you wanted. Great physics simulation could sometimes lead to emergent mayhem too.

I know we all kind of take a lot of this stuff for granted a bit now, but at the time it really set the bar.

I've tried it many times but every time I come away thinking this is kinda shit to play.

 

[ComputerBlue]

The first Crisis was great. The sequels were dumbed down maybe for consoles, but the first game is still a classic.

The second game is so much fun though!

 

[mckmas8808]

Naughty Dog designer James Cooper
said Crysis‘ core gameplay is “really strong” and that he’s surprised more shooters haven’t borrowed its formula"

“It’s actually a really underrated shooter,” he told a Twitter follower. “It’s remembered for its visuals but the core gameplay experience is really strong. I’m surprised that in over ten years there haven’t been more shooters that followed its formula, not even the sequels.”

This is very interesting.