- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Right, Dx10.
Currently graphics cards are released saying "yup, Dx9 graphics card" - however the guidelines as to what makes a graphics card compliant at the moment is very loose, not every Dx9 graphics card actually supports every feature and function of Dx9 (or any other previous version for that matter), this is because a lot of the features are currently considered optional. This means you end up with hundreds of different cards out there all with their own different features and methods of doing things. To developers this is a massive kick in the face.
Dx10 puts a stop to this, the standards have been considerably tightened, so when a developer writes a game for DX10 they can take advantage of EVERY feature without having to worry about incompatibility/issues.
Also, while Dx10 does cut backwards compatibility Vista DOES have a software layer to emulate previous versions, this potentially means that games will run slower than if they were on compatible hardware, however due to increasing computer specifications and such chances are people won't even notice the hit. In other words, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY DX 9,8,7,ETC GAMES ON VISTA.
In short - DirectX 10 is more stable, considerably faster and more accessible to developers.
Why does Halo 2 need DirectX 10? maybe just for the added stability, or maybe they're doing a graphical overhaul of the game - who knows, until Bungie themselves release more information about it I think everyone should stop speculating, -blam!-ing and moaning, there are so many possible reasons for Bungie choosing Dx10 and as a result Vista that to make assumptions without any information would make you look silly.