Stalker: Clear Sky - Is Your System Ready?

Light Test

The following pictures compare the illumination quality at the maximum setting; the order is: static illumination, dynamic illumination of objects, dynamic illumination, extended dynamic illumination, and extended dynamic illumination of objects.

In the test scene, Stalker stands in a small room. The visual difference between static illumination (image 1) and dynamic illumination (image 2 and 3) is pretty easy to see — the light source is weak, shadows are missing, and wall and ceiling textures have no depth.

The difference between dynamic illumination of objects (image 2) and dynamic illumination (image 3) is the computation of light and shadow. There isn’t much to see, but with dynamic illumination the scene is a little darker and the shadows are a little stronger. The cost, however, is a cool 20 fps.

In DirectX10 mode, extended dynamic illumination (image 4), the shadow of the bed gets stronger. In addition, the surface textures of the walls and ceiling are finer and have more detail. The change costs 31 fps. If you switch to the maximum setting — extended dynamic illumination of objects — the overall light becomes weaker (image 5). But at this level, independent light sources like lamps on the wall glow brighter, which can be seen in a more well-defined light radius and slightly changed shadow positions in the background.

Even indoors, the DirectX 10 illumination pushes the frame rate down to unplayable levels — the difference between dynamic illumination and extended dynamic illumination is just too large. You should at least take the step from static illumination to dynamic illumination, otherwise you will have to have to run around in illuminated rooms with your flashlight in order to see everything.