Check out our Monthly Survey Page to see what our users are running.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Khronos gives an official update on Vulkan

By - | Views: 28,233
tagline-image
Khronos has given an official update on Vulkan, there's good news, and there's bad news. The year-end target release date for Vulkan will not be met. However, they are in the home stretch and the release of Vulkan 1.0 is imminent!

QuoteVulkan Working Group Update - December 18th 2015

We have some good news and some bad news. The year-end target release date for Vulkan will not be met. However, we are in the home stretch and the release of Vulkan 1.0 is imminent!

Here is a more detailed update...

The Vulkan specification is complete and undergoing legal review and final polishing. The Vulkan conformance tests are being finalized and multiple member companies are preparing drivers for release. Implementation feedback is the vital final stage of making any Khronos specification ready for primetime, and the Vulkan 1.0 specification will be published when the first conformant implementations are confirmed.

Work is also progressing to complete Vulkan SDKs for Windows, Android and Linux. Google has upgraded to Promoter membership and is now on the Khronos Board to help steer Vulkan strategy for Android and the wider industry.

There is considerable energy driving the work to bring you Vulkan. We are planning Vulkan sessions and demos at key industry events throughout the year. We are excited about the emerging Vulkan ecosystem that will create new business opportunities for the graphics and compute industry.

Vulkan will set the foundation for graphics and compute APIs for years to come and so Khronos is taking the time needed to do this right – and the Vulkan 1.0 release is near!

The Khronos Vulkan Working Group


I am really excited about Vulkan, I just hope all the work put into it will truly be worth it for us. We need Vulkan, as OpenGL just isn't competing for various reasons.

I am glad they are taking their time and not rushing it, as it's my honest belief that our future for gaming is in their hands as much as it is with Valve for SteamOS. Without SteamOS and Vulkan together, I wouldn't see Linux gaming going much further than it has now.

I still think Dota 2 will be the first game on Linux to use Vulkan, considering Valve already had a demo of it months ago too. We know Nvidia was working on Vulkan in their driver already, so we could see driver releases in January along side it. AMD could certainly do this too, since Vulkan is heavily based on their own Mantle and they should be ready. If they somehow aren't, I will be laughing, a lot.

I wish AMD, Intel and Nvidia all the best on this though. It's a fresh chance for them all (mainly AMD vs Nvidia) to compete on a much more level playing field, and might make me think again on my next upgrade.

Sounds like Vulkan is genuinely close now, so I expect to see it in January. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Toolkit, Vulkan
0 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
29 comments
Page: «3/3
  Go to:

pete910 Dec 19, 2015
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Guys, there's a reason why it's late. It's been stalled! Same as dx12 take up. Remember all the hype for dx12. Now next to nothing.

All of a sudden Nvidia are throwing cash at no end of AAA devs to sponsor them. Seen any tout dx12 as the main thing? Anyone think that odd?

Well see both Vulkan and DX12 games on mass on or around NV's next releases . ;)
lvlark Dec 19, 2015
I'm quite satisfied with my 7850HD's performance under RadeonSI - and I feel a bit insulted by some people here that appear to think AMD is only for mad people atm. I enjoy my Victor Vran, my BioShock Infinite, my Europa Universalis IV, my Witcher 2, and a few more - albeit all on fairly low settings. I understand that people want better performance that that - but imo, it all comes down to priorities. Just as AMD's performance is acceptable to me, others will accept the closed-source nature of NVidia. Ofcourse I'd rather see more people on my side, but to each his own.

As to Vulkan, I still hope to see it in January, even though the first I'd use it will be later - when I have the money to upgrade my system - I suppose. But the sooner it's out the gates, the faster it'll be accepted, the wider its reach will be.
Xzyl Dec 19, 2015
Quoting: lvlarkI'm quite satisfied with my 7850HD's performance under RadeonSI - and I feel a bit insulted by some people here that appear to think AMD is only for mad people atm. I enjoy my Victor Vran, my BioShock Infinite, my Europa Universalis IV, my Witcher 2, and a few more - albeit all on fairly low settings. I understand that people want better performance that that - but imo, it all comes down to priorities. Just as AMD's performance is acceptable to me, others will accept the closed-source nature of NVidia. Ofcourse I'd rather see more people on my side, but to each his own.

As to Vulkan, I still hope to see it in January, even though the first I'd use it will be later - when I have the money to upgrade my system - I suppose. But the sooner it's out the gates, the faster it'll be accepted, the wider its reach will be.

Exactly this. I'm insulted this site never tests nvidia with the open drivers they're getting really good. Linux is about choice and openness and these Windows refugee clowns love to thump their e-peens about >60 fps or a 10~20 fps difference above it... I get 60+fps on high settings on most things with radeonsi and I couldn't be happier as my desktop and my driver always work well together. Hell I play some games on my HD4000 intel laptop.
tuubi Dec 19, 2015
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: XzylI'm insulted this site never tests nvidia with the open drivers they're getting really good. Linux is about choice and openness and these Windows refugee clowns love to thump their e-peens about >60 fps or a 10~20 fps difference above it...
Yes. Choice is good. Yet you feel personally insulted when people choose to use Linux in ways you don't support. Go figure...

Go refugees!
STiAT Dec 19, 2015
Quoting: tuubi
Quoting: XzylI'm insulted this site never tests nvidia with the open drivers they're getting really good. Linux is about choice and openness and these Windows refugee clowns love to thump their e-peens about >60 fps or a 10~20 fps difference above it...
Yes. Choice is good. Yet you feel personally insulted when people choose to use Linux in ways you don't support. Go figure...

Go refugees!

Not long ago, on this very site, there has been a test.

I have regular freezes on the desktop/kwin with the open drivers, thats why I dont give them a chance yet.
STiAT Dec 19, 2015
Quoting: pete910Guys, there's a reason why it's late. It's been stalled! Same as dx12 take up. Remember all the hype for dx12. Now next to nothing.

All of a sudden Nvidia are throwing cash at no end of AAA devs to sponsor them. Seen any tout dx12 as the main thing? Anyone think that odd?

Well see both Vulkan and DX12 games on mass on or around NV's next releases . ;)

I know of several games to come to work with DX12 who did not take a look at Vulkan yet.

I dont see NVidia throwing cash at AAA devs, there is no source for that. What they do, they are in a major quality circle for their vulkan support with the major engine devs. There sometimes developers leak infos on the forums. But it is well known that unity and UE4 and Valve/Source2 are major players there. Though, Unity only for Android, but how hard can it possibly be?
etonbears Dec 19, 2015
I also use AMD, not because I have any particular problem with NVIDIA, but because AMD generally provide better hardware for a given price point. NVIDIA have a better overall software package,; they employ lots of engineers to ensure drivers recognise games individually and ensure the driver response is optimal for that game.

Vulkan does away with the complexity of OpenGL, so NVIDIA will lose this software advantage. This will either result in pressure on NVIDIA to reduce their prices, or will allow AMD to raise theirs. I know which I would prefer.

My current card is a stock R9 290, so decent, but not tthe latest. It runs every new Linux game I try at high settings, including Shadow of Mordor and Total War Attila which don't supposedly support AMD. I haven't tried my old 5850, because I am sure it would fail miserably on new games. But I am sure it would fare no worse than NVIDIA cards from that generation. This is just how it goes, you can't expect your hardware to keep up beyond about 3 to 4 years, because new games always wan't and expect more power.
lvlark Dec 19, 2015
Quoting: tuubiYes. Choice is good. Yet you feel personally insulted when people choose to use Linux in ways you don't support. Go figure...

Go refugees!

Can only speak for myself, but I'm not insulted when people choose to use Linux in other ways. I'm insulted when they indicate using AMD is a stupid option.
tuubi Dec 20, 2015
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: lvlarkCan only speak for myself, but I'm not insulted when people choose to use Linux in other ways. I'm insulted when they indicate using AMD is a stupid option.
Please do. Someone calling you stupid is an actual insult. Someone choosing not to test and write about a particular piece of software is not.
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.