Looks Like Nvidia Driver 358.66 Will Add Some Form Of Vulkan Support

Great news. Nvidia's blob is mostly the same across platforms, so if the Windows version has preliminary Vulkan support it's highly likely the Linux counterpart will too. Anyway, the sooner Vulkan officially comes out and is officially supported across all GPU manufacturers the better, as I don't expect a lot of existing games to backport Vulkan support, I mostly expect it to be used in games that are early into development or just starting development when Vulkan comes out.

This implies Vulkan is really quite close to release. I guess Valve would like to show Dota 2 on Vulkan at/about the official SteamOS launch.

The sooner people can begin development with Vulkan the better its position against DirectX12 will be.

Its not going to be silver bullet. Most likely it will have near zero impact.
Most devs simply wont bother porting their existing games to Vulkan. Those who develop games right now, will not support Vulkan either. Some will, but number will be small.

This half year for sure there wont be too much exciting.
Big AAA titles will come out, as expected, the ones announced. But that's about it. Next half year is going to be more interesting though.


Last edited by dimko on 4 Nov 2015 at 1:32 pm UTC

Its not going to be silver bullet. Most likely it will have near zero impact.
Most devs simply wont bother porting their existing games to Vulkan. Those who develop games right now, will not support Vulkan either. Some will, but number will be small.

This half year for sure there wont be too much exciting.
Big AAA titles will come out, as expected, the ones announced. But that's about it. Next half year is going to be more interesting though.

Makes a lot of sense. However, considering that:
1) Valve is a very big player in the gaming scene
2) They might get even bigger soon if Steam hardware releases successfully
3) Vulkan implementation is very interesting for them

things might run a bit faster than expected. Or at least that's what I hope for.

I also have a different opinion that liam on "I will be more interested to see some graphically heavy games use it."

With the great numbers of laptops running Linux, I think Vulkan can bring many titles that are or would be barely playable into a playable state for these mobile PCs which do not frequently have powerful hardware. Considering performance improvements over OpenGL are considerable, this market might be quite significant... (like 40% of the 1% :-)


Last edited by khalismur on 4 Nov 2015 at 1:57 pm UTC

@khalismur yes, that's a very valid point I've actually made before myself in our IRC. I meant what I said more in regards to Valve titles, which don't really use many advanced features. Seeing graphically heavy games on Windows and Linux with Linux using Vulkan will be very interesting. It will be great to see Vulkan on lower-end Intel too to see how well it works.

I would like to see Nvidia Physx on Linux... So I can use a big card for gaming and an small card for physics.

I would like to see Nvidia Physx on Linux... So I can use a big card for gaming and an small card for physics.

Thats the beauty of Vulkan, you will be able to use both. I have gtx 660 dusting on the shelf. Once any good game comes out with Vulkan support, it goes back in.

I have gtx 660 dusting on the shelf.

Don't you be rude to my main gaming GPU! :p
(Wonder if it's time to fetch a new one...)

Considering Osx is like 4%, GNU/Linux is lke 1%, and developers are like, we develop only for Windows and Mac because of the market share and stuff, also the recent move from ***** Apple - which i hate, but just my taught - to port and only use their Metal API so Vulkan just won't bring peace into that platform as well as everywhere else.
I seriously think the only argument is the mobile one from Vulkan advantages and performances (but harder to implement though).
I'm afraid this might not be enough and we won't see Linux overtake on Windows because of theses Apple idiots. What a shame, exactly as Canonical with their Mir instead of Wayland. Peoples work hard to bring good solutions and no some troublemakers decide we won't have some progress.
So i think devs might stick to DX12 and use Metal, thats what may going to happen and my greatest fear, am i wrong ?


Last edited by Kwaadpepper on 5 Nov 2015 at 12:31 pm UTC

Considering Osx is like 4%, GNU/Linux is lke 1%, and developers are like, we develop only for Windows and Mac because of the market share and stuff, also the recent move from ***** Apple - which i hate, but just my taught - to port and only use their Metal API so Vulkan just won't bring peace into that platform as well as everywhere else.
I seriously think the only argument is the mobile one from Vulkan advantages and performances (but harder to implement though).
I'm afraid this might not be enough and we won't see Linux overtake on Windows because of this Apple idiots. What a shame exactly as Canonical with their Mir instead of Wayland. Peoples work hard to bring good solutions and no some troublemakers decide we won't have some progress.
So i think devs might stick to DX12 and use Metal, thats what may going to happen and my greatest fear, am i wrong ?

I wonder, how much money Mac gamers spend and how much Linux user spend. While sheer number is high, it means not translation into money.

Also, I wouldn't worry about Mir, it will not do much harm. Ubuntu is loosing popularity. Either Ubuntu devs change graphical system or they become irrelevant. Same Ubuntu will have package for Wayland/Weston. Mir and Weston are probably mutually exclusive, at least at run time. And even if Mir doesn't die, as long as openGL and Vulkan games run under it - nothing to worry about.

And even if Mir doesn't die, as long as openGL and Vulkan games run under it - nothing to worry about.

Well what i meant is mostly that we could finally have an unified solution that would give all platform nearly equals chances to win ( even though GNU/Linux is the most promising objectively ). So Apple spitting in the soup is acting a bit like Canonical, or the opposite may be more relevant. Apple is just locking everything up as usual, this drives me crazy because it will affect our be-loving penguin !

@Kwaadpepper

I see your points.

Apple still a part of Kronos Group though.
Could it still be compatible?

Maybe Apple refused Vulkan as the main focus, since adopting another's companies solution would be too much for them it seems.


Last edited by amonobeax on 4 Nov 2015 at 5:31 pm UTC

The way I see it:

Main advantage of Vulkan towards Linux gaming will shift into gear when devs actually see it comparing to dx12. Even if they are equal in performance and features then the winner would be Vulkan, as the devs would use the same code for porting the game for windows/linux/mac, whichever their original OS of choice might be... and it would run at basically the same performance on all of them. No need to fuzz about optimizing or porting OpenGL.
This could really open up the PC market... by PC I mean Linux/Windows/MAC as they all are PCs (Personal Computer) in the end.

I see Vulkan as a game-changer as soon as it becomes available for the PS4 and only if the performance there is comparable or even better than the low-level api sony provides.

Also, stop comparing DX12 with Vulkan. Vulkan is only graphics, while DX is a lot more!


Last edited by Maelrane on 4 Nov 2015 at 5:44 pm UTC

I wonder, how much money Mac gamers spend and how much Linux user spend. While sheer number is high, it means not translation into money.

My guess would be that someone who is capable of paying $2000 for a laptop could also spend quite a few bucks into games.

I wonder, how much money Mac gamers spend and how much Linux user spend. While sheer number is high, it means not translation into money.

My guess would be that someone who is capable of paying $2000 for a laptop could also spend quite a few bucks into games.

There is also a lot people buying mac to do just work, facebook and stuff. I think majority of them don't buy it to play games in their mind, as Gaming on PC is more likely to be on Windows for [the majority doxa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxa) (i hope this sentence is correct :x )


Last edited by Kwaadpepper on 4 Nov 2015 at 6:54 pm UTC

Considering Osx is like 4%, GNU/Linux is lke 1%, and developers are like, we develop only for Windows and Mac because of the market share and stuff, [...]
So i think devs might stick to DX12 and use Metal, thats what may going to happen and my greatest fear, am i wrong ?

If I understand correctly, DX12 is Windows 10 exclusive. According to the latest Steam survey, Windows 10 is at 28%. Of course, a lot of people will upgrade once DX12 games are released, but the upgrade is only free during the first year, and if you update your hardware afterwards you'll have to buy a license (again, as far as I understand, I'm no Windows expert). So afterwards, people would have to either buy the Win10 license, or stick with the 7 or 8 license they have.
I'm kind of hoping that enough people sticking with Win 7 or 8 will make developers consider using Vulkan over DX12.

Windows vs Linux arguments? Just to put it out there Android will use Vulkan as well. And Android accounts for what like 60% or all people atm? I really don't know just pulled that number out of my arse. As far as Nvidia putting it out there, some posts are right at the moment there will be very little impact except as a DOTA2 backend.

I wonder, how much money Mac gamers spend and how much Linux user spend. While sheer number is high, it means not translation into money.

My guess would be that someone who is capable of paying $2000 for a laptop could also spend quite a few bucks into games.

A - A main reason people buy macs is so that they don't get viruses when they watch porn. Then if there's no virus there's no paper trail. Also, it's nice to own a status symbol of wealth. (Go ahead and flame me for this but on some level it's absolutely historically true.)

B - Don't be so sure that rich people are quick to let go of their precious money. It's the middle class and poor that will spend their money on all kinds of things, trinkets, humble bundles, cheap games, etc... The rich are much more close-fisted even if they do make large purchases.

C - Apple's Metal GL and Mir don't decrease Vulkan's future role as the gaming market's Dominiator. Anyone who is dumb enough to make a game locked to Apple OSX has fetal alcohol syndrome.

And Mir? My understanding is it would be theoretically possible for Mir Compositor to implement Wayland Protocol (Remember Wayland is not a compositor, it's just a protocol spec).

Canonical has left the Linux Desktop fight and are trying to emerge in the Tablet / Phone market scape, I have 0 interest in playing my AAA games on a phone or tablet when I have a 4k 43" TV connected to my Linux PC built out of more expensive parts than I ever imagined I would buy.

This is fantastic news about Vulkan beginning to emerge! :) Very exciting Times, my waifu and I agree that Valve is going to dramatically disrupt and efface the Console gaming scene as we know it.

Game Devs will no longer need to reserve shelf space in Brick & Mordar stores, Consoles will no longer need DVD drives, and you'll no longer need to store countless physical copies of discs that get scratched requiring you to buy the same game over and over.

Xbox Live & PSN Membership Fees @ $60/year? Forget it - Valve has set the bar for free Steam Online as it was birthed from Free Online. Your PS4 and XBONE controllers? Use them on Steam Machines - seems a bit like herasy or taboo but that'll be nice to gamers who already own 3-4 PS4 / Xbone controllers - saves $200.

Most important of all, no more Mario bull5h1t. No more Mario Subway Conductor, Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Super Smash Brothers 57 requiring you to spent $180 on characters just to play. I don't think PlayStation could offer any incentive either to land-lock Final Fantasy, Metal Gear Solid, etc... as we've seen PC releases for most titles that had a history of being PS exclusive.

Additionally, Imagine your games never go away - The same copy of Super Mario Bros you purchased in the 1990s works on the latest game console today! Valve's Library of 1500+ Linux Games and 100 new games per month blows XBONE and PS out of the water - and if you're going to see Indie Games emerge from Game Devs it's going to happen on Steam Machines.

Fear not, Lord Gaben will take care of the people of Steam (not to mention that Steam is not a public company, but privately owned so the potential for political investor bs goes away pretty fast.)

Valve don't support DX 12, they support Vulkan only.
The Ashes of Singularity Game will support Vulkan, i think ?!?

All the Game Dev's who supports Linux today, they will support Vulkan too.