Vulkan API Specification released

[kirbypuff]

A lot of Dolphin users are still waiting for that shiny new Vulkan backend.

The GPU drivers from the biggest GPU manufacturers are ready (working without issues and compliant with the Vulkan 1.0 spec).
The latest beta drivers support all currently used operating systems (Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Linux) with the only exception being Mac OSX. Mobile OS support is also there.

The latest Linux benchmarks show a huge improvement over OpenGL (especially on AMD hardware, since their OpenGL drivers have always been a steaming pile of crap). And that's just by using a simple OpenGL->Vulkan wrapper.

Windows benchmarks also show some promising results. A simple D3D11->Vulkan wrapper outperforms Direct3D 11 as well.

This is only the beginning - without using any API-specific features to boost performance and with highly *unoptimized* drivers. If the early benchmarks show such improvement, imagine what could be done with a decent driver set and full use of the API and hardware capabilities.
Vulkan looks like a decent replacement for OpenGL / Direct3D 11 (and maybe even Direct3D 12).

The "competition" (a certain emu with an ugly smartphone-style UI) has already implemented a working Vulkan backend (HINT: it took them only a week or so) and it's a huge win for every device (desktop, laptop or any mobile gadget).

[Helios]

Cool beans.

[JosJuice]

It'll happen when it happens. All we can know for sure is that it won't be released before 5.0.

(03-24-2016, 10:31 PM)kirbypuff Wrote: The "competition" (another emu with an ugly smartphone-style UI) has already implemented a working Vulkan backend (HINT: it took them only a few days) and it's a huge win for every device (desktop, laptop or any mobile gadget).

If you mean PPSSPP, I'm pretty sure it took longer than that. The PR was open for a month, and there must also have been a substantial amount of work done before that PR could've been created.

[Invader]

(03-24-2016, 10:57 PM)JosJuice Wrote: It'll happen when it happens. All we can know for sure is that it won't be released before 5.0.


If you mean PPSSPP, I'm pretty sure it took longer than that. The PR was open for a month, and there must also have been a substantial amount of work done before that PR could've been created.

He might have been talking about retroarch: http://www.libretro.com/index.php/day-1-vulkan-support/

I thought it was just implemented for the ui though... I didn't really read into it...