Vulkan

[WhiteFang]

As some of you might know,there is a fairly new graphics API called Vulkan which has a lot of people talking since it's said to be very effective(so much that some says that it rivals DX12) and it's cross-platform,unlike DX12 which only works on Windows(Windows 10 only even).What's more is that AMD and Nvdia both are backing it.

I just wanted to know,what is your thoughts on this API?Will it be a success?Is there any chance of it outmatching DX12?Will you get it?Feel free to discuss

quote from Game-debate.com

After what has felt like ages waiting in the wings, the Vulkan 1.0 graphics API has at long last arrived from Khronos Group. The successor to OpenGL, Vulkan 1.0 is a next-generation, open standard graphics API designed to extract as much graphical and compute performance possible out of graphics cards. To you and I that means getting more performance and greater power efficiency, for less.

Unlike DirectX 12, which Microsoft maintains a fairly vicelike grip over, Vulkan is a totally open standard and can be used for games as far reaching as Windows PC, Linux, Android, consoles and Mac OS, to name but a few. It’s been built from the ground up to work across a variety of platforms, which in theory should mean porting games has never been easier.

Now a lot of people would point towards OpenGL and the tepid reaction to it from developers, but Vulkan has some significant backing this time around, with AMD, Nvidia, Valve and Oculus all throwing their weight behind it. Much like DX12 it revolves around a low abstraction API, allowing developers deeper access and greater control over both GPUs and CPUs.

Vulkan Backers

In theory this means a removal of potential bottlenecks, which should in turn allow for better visuals. Vulkan's memory management tools should also help eliminate instances of stuttering, which could prove invaluable for VR users. The twist on top of DirectX 12 of course is Vulkan’s open-source nature and royalty free - these benefits are available on all platforms.

You may remember AMD attempted a very similar feat with its ill-fated Mantle graphics API. This bit the dust when Vulkan was announced, as it was essentially everything AMD was trying to achieve and more.

"The promotion of open and scalable technologies continues to be the focus at AMD, as a pioneer in the low-overhead API space," said the AMD’s Radeon Technologies Group boss Raja Koduri. "As a member of the Khronos Group, AMD is proud to collaborate with hardware and software industry leaders to develop the Vulkan API to ignite the next evolution in PC game development".

Both AMD and Nvidia have pushed out beta drivers with fully integrated Vulkan API support so things are off to a swift start. The Talos Principle devs are even planning to push out a Vulkan-enabled update for its first-person puzzler today, so you can opt into that version if you want to give it a try.

This is just the start of course, and after DirectX 12's ponderous beginnings it's good to see Vulkan up their game. It's certainly interesting from a Nintendo perspective to see them back Vulkan, they're in dire need of third-party support for the Nintendo NX and this move can't do any harm.

 

[PurgeandFire]

It is pretty exciting. I don't think it'll outmatch DX12 or Metal, but it'll definitely compete well (especially on the mobile front, where OpenGL was supposedly lacking).

Either way, I think it'll integrate just fine, especially considering all its backers. I'm only upset that Apple isn't backing it and probably won't support it for OS X/iOS. It is rather weird, especially since Apple had been one of Khronos' biggest supporters for so long (probably out of necessity, before Metal came about), but I get that Apple wants to do everything in-house (not that anyone really chooses Apple products specifically for gaming, but I just expected better from them). I hope it won't negatively impact Vulkan, though. If anything, I wish that Vulkan becomes successful enough that Apple feels inclined to support it.

 

[WhiteFang]

I don't think it'll outmatch DX12 or Metal

Why not?

 

[Dr Super Good]

I just wanted to know,what is your thoughts on this API?Will it be a success?Is there any chance of it outmatching DX12?Will you get it?Feel free to discuss

It is basically the OpenGL upgrade we have all been waiting for. It will quite likely dominate games market in a few years (outside of MS platforms). It seems unlikely it will out perform D3D12 in some cases, however its performance will be very close and possibly better in other cases.

Apple will likely support Vulcan once it is finalized and released to mainstream. After all Vulcan is basically OpenGL that has been updated to be more modern and efficient. They could not really upgrade the OpenGL specification further due to the required backwards compatibility support (the API is bloated as hell now, still supporting calls for individual polygons). As such ever since Direct3D10 they have been slowly working towards a new graphics API which has eventually turned into Vulcan.

 

[PurgeandFire]

Why not?

When you build for a specific platform, you can make a lot of assumptions. Those assumptions can go a long way as far as performance is concerned, especially if you are working in tandem with your operating system.

But Vulkan will still be really attractive. People love the idea of coding once and building everywhere. Most game engines have already abstracted "build targets" away a bit (e.g. Unity, Unreal Engine), but it'll still be great for those who want to enter the market and for those who want to optimize for the platforms that Vulkan supports.

@DSG: I hope so.

 

[edo494]

https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/462kc8/khronos_just_released_vulkan/d01x7tj so no, apple probably wont support vulkan anytime soon.

I wonder how much backwards compatibility to older cards does vulkan have, can I make a game that uses vulkan and make it run on like, opengl 2.1-like hardware? or do I have to make my players buy like 980tis

 

[Dr Super Good]

I wonder how much backwards compatibility to older cards does vulkan have, can I make a game that uses vulkan and make it run on like, opengl 2.1-like hardware? or do I have to make my players buy like 980tis

Probably Direct3D 12 like. Knowing graphics APIs there will be feature levels and only the latest hardware will support all the lattest features. Like with Direct3D 12, it is designed to be an entirely new API for programmers to use. If you want legacy support you will still need to use OpenGL, just like how you need to use Direct3D 11 or Direct3D 9 depending on how backwards compatible you are aiming.

https://www.reddit.com/r/programming...vulkan/d01x7tj so no, apple probably wont support vulkan anytime soon.

Actually it is not really apples responsibility to provide it since it is a graphics API. It is the responsibility of the GPU driver manufacturer (NVidia and AMD) to implement the API on Mac. These drivers will then eventually be bundled with one of the future Mac releases and be used for future Mac hardware. One can be very sure that once the specification is finalized and the GPU manufactures have implementations main-streamed into their drivers then apple will get it pretty quickly.

One must remember that OpenGL on Windows is not supported by Microsoft, rather the GPU drivers you install also install OpenGL dll files for programs to use. Vulkan will work the same way, with a simple GPU driver update delivering it to Windows once the manufacturers have it implemented (specification finalized, implementation tested). It is almost certainly the same on mac where the GPU manufacturer codes up the API and drivers for it. The difference is Apple controls the distribution of drivers (part of the DRM systems to stop generic components).