Gamers Hell reports that Microsoft and Valve today issued a press release in which they both see Half-Life 2 as a new benchmark for Windows games and DirectX 9.0 as "the catalyst for the development of these state-of-the-art games."
Among the singular advantages that the DirectX 9.0 API brings to Half-Life 2 are increased speed and improved graphics - from more-detailed bump-mapped characters to more-nuanced lighting and delicate soft shadows that lend further realism to games on Windows. The central feature of DirectX 9.0, High-Level Shader Language (HLSL), allows for full-spectrum color graphics, video, 3-D animation and enhanced audio capabilities.
Among the singular advantages that the DirectX 9.0 API brings to Half-Life 2 are increased speed and improved graphics - from more-detailed bump-mapped characters to more-nuanced lighting and delicate soft shadows that lend further realism to games on Windows. The central feature of DirectX 9.0, High-Level Shader Language (HLSL), allows for full-spectrum color graphics, video, 3-D animation and enhanced audio capabilities.
