Confused on Steam Play and Proton? Be sure to check out our guide.
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.
A developer of Star Citizen [Official Site] has commented on their forum to state that the game will go with Vulkan and eventually drop DirectX.

Here's what the developer said (source):
QuoteYears ago we stated our intention to support DX12, but since the introduction of Vulkan which has the same feature set and performance advantages this seemed a much more logical rendering API to use as it doesn't force our users to upgrade to Windows 10 and opens the door for a single graphics API that could be used on all Windows 7, 8, 10 & Linux. As a result our current intention is to only support Vulkan and eventually drop support for DX11 as this shouldn't effect any of our backers. DX12 would only be considered if we found it gave us a specific and substantial advantage over Vulkan. The API's really aren't that different though, 95% of the work for these APIs is to change the paradigm of the rendering pipeline, which is the same for both APIs.

This is pretty great for both Vulkan adoption and future Linux support of the MMO. Considering right now it relies heavily on DX11, if they actually do drop that for Vulkan it really does mean they will only be using Vulkan.

Star Citizen itself has been the topic of a lot of controversy, since a great many people think it will never actually end up as a game. I have no real thoughts on that, since big games do take a long time and a lot of money to make, and these guys are doing it in the public eye. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: MMO, Vulkan
48 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.
65 comments
Page: «4/7»
  Go to:

Corben Mar 19, 2017
Quoting: EhvisThey also support Mac (at list with Elite dangerous), which would be a bit of a problem.
I'm not sure, as on Windows they're not using OpenGL as on macOS, but DX11.
But even though their Cobra engine can render in OpenGL, they're not support Linux.

Probably it's just a matter of time, when Elite: Dangerous will be playable in Linux through wine. Either they switch on Windows to Vulkan, or wine supports DX11 good enough to play. Probably the later will happen ;)
Leopard Mar 19, 2017
Quoting: Corben
Quoting: EhvisThey also support Mac (at list with Elite dangerous), which would be a bit of a problem.
I'm not sure, as on Windows they're not using OpenGL as on macOS, but DX11.
But even though their Cobra engine can render in OpenGL, they're not support Linux.

Probably it's just a matter of time, when Elite: Dangerous will be playable in Linux through wine. Either they switch on Windows to Vulkan, or wine supports DX11 good enough to play. Probably the later will happen ;)

Let's hope it will be native on Linux someday,because at this rate Wine through solutions will hurt.Especially on Vulkan supported games.
KuJo Mar 19, 2017
*PARTY-TIME* :)

I backed Star Citizen at my Windows times and thought my investment was already lost when I decided to change to Linux at the beginning of the year.

But if this becomes true, then I have been wrongly mistaken! :)
Zelox Mar 20, 2017
Quoting: CorbenI'm not sure, as on Windows they're not using OpenGL as on macOS, but DX11.
But even though their Cobra engine can render in OpenGL, they're not support Linux.

Probably it's just a matter of time, when Elite: Dangerous will be playable in Linux through wine. Either they switch on Windows to Vulkan, or wine supports DX11 good enough to play. Probably the later will happen ;)

Mac uses an older opengl version, this is the reason they dont have the horizon expansion.
They also dont support vulkan like Linux do. And there PC's arent really built for gaming, just hade to add that last thing ;).

If we are going to see a Linux port, it will be the next plattform frontier will aim for.

PS4 port is out very soon, and I dont think Andriod, iOS or Nintendo is something frontier are aiming for.

So hoppfully Linux is something they want to do. Plz!! :'(
My life will be complete then frontier!!!
Im not begging Im demanding a port!!! :D
zilot Mar 20, 2017
Quoting: LeopardBut that movement must be fast because day by day people are migrating to Windows 10 from previous versions.
What do we have now;Windows 7,8,Linux,Android and Nintendo Switch.But assuming that Windows 10 market share will grow because of lacking security,feature updates at 7 and 8;the real game changer will be the next PlayStation if they decide to use Vulkan.

Windows 7 is gonna be the next windows xp. A lot of people will stay on it because microsoft is doing shit with their new versions of windows. With the ads poping a little bit everywhere, the privacy issues and the fact people like the windows 7 UI are things that will make people stay on 7.


That we talk about unity, cry engine or unreal, they all support vulkan (or plan too). I think that's a bigger game changer than the state of the market share.
PublicNuisance Mar 20, 2017
Fantastic news. I had backed Star Citizen when their crowdfunding campaign first started. I am not even a huge flight sim fan but Chris Robert's passion and vision sold me. The more Vulkan games the better.
elmapul Mar 20, 2017
Quoting: Kimyrielle
Quoting: hardpenguin
Quoting: kellerkindtRidiculous shot to the knee by M$ to support DX12 only on Win 10 - but I cannot complain about that :D
Well, that's exactly what they did with DX10 and DX11 (available only for Windows Vista and newer). And as most of you probably noticed, they really want everyone to use the latest version of their system ;)

Yes, the shot in the knee part is when they expected Win 10 to be successful, and people didn't even want it for free, making DX12 stuck with a market share that will force developers to offer DX11 legacy support for years to come... Or just use Vulkan and get rid of the problem entirely. :D

i hate to say that, but, steam hardware survey states otherwise:
http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey
edo Mar 20, 2017
We are not talking about a random game getting vulkan support, this is Star citizen, one of the most ambitious games ever
HollowSoldier Mar 20, 2017
Quoting: edoWe are not talking about a random game getting vulkan support, this is Star citizen, one of the most ambitious games ever
Thought No Man's Sky was the most ambitious game ever...
TheRiddick Mar 20, 2017
Windows 10 Malware/Spyware edition, that is what MS wants everyone on, they will likely just keep paying big money into developers to get them to support DX12 because I don't see a SANE developer choose DX12 over Vulkan unless there are considerable money issues in doing so.

Also Star Citizen is doing ok, its almost 5yrs in development now and has had several builds out (v0.262 atm I think) and once V3 is released next month? people will get a chance to test out much more of what it has to offer. So to all those people saying its a complete flop, why not actually TRY the alphas out (inc v3 next month) before forming an opinion?
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.