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DXVK when paired up with Wine (and integrated in Steam Play Proton) translates Direct3D 9/10/11 to Vulkan enabling better performance on Linux for a lot of Windows games. Today, a brand new release went up.

The majority of DXVK 1.6.1 is bug fixing although there is two new configuration changes. The first, is that configuration options now allow encapsulated strings like d3d9.customDeviceDesc = "ATi Rage 128" and they added a dxgi.tearFree option "to enforce the Mailbox present mode when Vsync is disabled, which should prevent tearing"—that might not work on all setups.

With the rest being bug fixing, it's all still vital stuff to ensure a good gaming experience. They fixed various issues causing incorrect rendering or crashes in D3D9, Vulkan validation errors on Nvidia systems, an issue with the setup script not working on Wine 5.6 due to a winepath regression and they also added in missing DXGI functionality for some SpecialK mods. The rest is game-specific:

  • Blue Reflection: Work around game bug causing rendering issues. (#1574)
  • Battlefield 2: Work around a game bug causing black terrain. (#1558)
  • Crysis: Fixed a crash when loading certain levels in D3D9 mode. (#1528)
  • Half-Life Alyx: Fixed incorrect integer division-by-zero handling resulting in distorted geometry.
  • Heavy Rain: Improved performance on Nvidia GPUs. (#1575)
  • L.A. Noire: Fixed crash on startup. (#1564)
  • Prince of Persia: Fixed incorrect rendering on RADV. (#1537)
  • Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair: Work around rendering issues on AMD drivers.

You can find DXVK on GitHub.


Wish to upgrade your existing Steam Play Proton install without waiting for Valve/CodeWeavers to update officially? You can just overwrite the existing DXVK files with the release download of DXVK 1.6.1. You can find your Proton install somewhere like this:

path-to-your/SteamLibrary/steamapps/common/Proton x.x/dist

Where x.x is whatever Proton version installed you wish to give a new DXVK.

Inside there you will see "lib" and "lib64", for 32bit and 64bit. Inside each of those, there's a "wine" folder and inside there is a "dxvk" folder and that's where you replace the files with new versions. Do so at your own risk but it's usually harmless. If you mess anything up, to refresh it you can usually just re-install Proton from the Tools menu in Steam.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Open Source, Update, Vulkan, Wine | Apps: DXVK
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7 comments

gojul Apr 20, 2020
Yooka-Laylee is Linux native, isn't it ?
Liam Dawe Apr 20, 2020
Quoting: gojulYooka-Laylee is Linux native, isn't it ?
Funny how often such a question comes up around anything Wine/Proton/DXVK related. Even for games that have a native build, fixing issues for them can help fix similar or the same issues across other games too. It's really that simple. That, and there are some Linux builds that just aren't very good and work better through the translation layers.

In this case, it's the second Yooka-Laylee title, which does not have a Linux build.


Last edited by Liam Dawe on 20 April 2020 at 9:48 am UTC
Corben Apr 20, 2020
Quoting: gojulYooka-Laylee is Linux native, isn't it ?
It is, but as Liam wrote, in this case the fix was related to the second game. But another reason why this is helpful even when there is a native Linux version, is, that sometimes the Windows version run via Proton works better on Linux than the native Linux port. Not only performance-wise. Of course this is a slap into the face of the porters, but sometimes it's just needed. E.g. Company of Heroes 2, if you wanna play multiplayer with people not using Linux... or Rocket League, when the publisher decides to cease Linux support.
TheRiddick Apr 20, 2020
Hmm, I wonder how well Alyx works under Linux with VR?
I've read its still a bit rough. Might need to give it a shot sometime, I tend to do virtual desktop with a Oculus Quest which somehow at this point in time looks better then the official link cable.
gardotd426 Apr 22, 2020
Quoting: TheRiddickHmm, I wonder how well Alyx works under Linux with VR?
I've read its still a bit rough. Might need to give it a shot sometime, I tend to do virtual desktop with a Oculus Quest which somehow at this point in time looks better then the official link cable.

How do you get a quest working in Linux?
TheRiddick Apr 22, 2020
Quoting: gardotd426How do you get a quest working in Linux?

Well you can't use Virtual Desktop since the developer said no plans for Linux release sadly.

There are however a couple other programs you can use to stream steamVR to Quest which might have Linux releases. I have not checked them out yet.

Not sure if there is a way to get link cable working. I'm sure someone else knows more.
massatt212 Apr 23, 2020
is there a way to compile all shaders before the game becomes playable
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