Sooner than I thought they would, but exciting to see. There are details leaking out that Nvidia GPU driver 358.66 will add a bunch of Vulkan support in.
The leak is apparently thanks to Microsoft's Windows Update, so we don't know when it will be released, or if it will include Linux support right away. Nvidia's Linux and Windows driver tend to share a lot of code, so it's hopeful Linux won't miss out on early support, especially with the backing from Valve.
It's exciting, as personally I didn't think they would come out at all in driver form until next year. Vulkan is extremely important for Linux gaming, so the sooner it is available, the sooner it can be added into the likes of Unity, Unreal Engine and more. Vulkan should solve some long-standing issues Linux games have with OpenGL, but remember it's not some magic pill. It will take time for people to move to it.
It's still very likely that Dota 2 will be the first game to use it, but I will be more interested to see some graphically heavy games use it.
This doesn't necessarily mean Vulkan is done and waiting for a formal release announcement, it could be that Nvidia is just getting ready early, but we can hope it does mean Vulkan is about to be formally released.
Source Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
The leak is apparently thanks to Microsoft's Windows Update, so we don't know when it will be released, or if it will include Linux support right away. Nvidia's Linux and Windows driver tend to share a lot of code, so it's hopeful Linux won't miss out on early support, especially with the backing from Valve.
It's exciting, as personally I didn't think they would come out at all in driver form until next year. Vulkan is extremely important for Linux gaming, so the sooner it is available, the sooner it can be added into the likes of Unity, Unreal Engine and more. Vulkan should solve some long-standing issues Linux games have with OpenGL, but remember it's not some magic pill. It will take time for people to move to it.
It's still very likely that Dota 2 will be the first game to use it, but I will be more interested to see some graphically heavy games use it.
This doesn't necessarily mean Vulkan is done and waiting for a formal release announcement, it could be that Nvidia is just getting ready early, but we can hope it does mean Vulkan is about to be formally released.
Source Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
0 Likes
Some you may have missed, popular articles from the last month:
The comments on this article are closed.
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.
3 Likes, Who?
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.
The sooner people can begin development with Vulkan the better its position against DirectX12 will be.
1 Likes, Who?
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 November 2015 at 1:32 pm UTC
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 November 2015 at 1:32 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: dimkoIts 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 November 2015 at 1:57 pm UTC
0 Likes
@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.
1 Likes, Who?
Comandante Ñoñardo Nov 4, 2015
I would like to see Nvidia Physx on Linux... So I can use a big card for gaming and an small card for physics.
1 Likes, Who?
Quoting: Comandante oardoI 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.
0 Likes
Quoting: dimkoI 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...)
0 Likes
Kwaadpepper Nov 4, 2015
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 November 2015 at 12:31 pm UTC
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 November 2015 at 12:31 pm UTC
2 Likes, Who?
Quoting: KwaadpepperConsidering 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.
1 Likes, Who?
Patreon
PayPal
See more from me