how long until DX12 becomes the norm ?

[Delicieuxz]

Both Vulkan and DX12 are both getting support by most large 3D game engine developers (Valve, Epic, Unity, DICE...), but while DX12 is only for Windows 10, Vulkan is for everything (Win XP - 10, Linux, Android, Steam OS). A Valve engine designer has even questioned why somebody would bother with DX12 implementation into their program when Vulkan does the same thing and is multi-platform: http://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/09/valve-with-the-rise-of-vulkan-why-bother-with-directx-12/

 

Vulkan's release is very near, but with no official date given. It was originally slated for a December 2015 release, but has been delayed, though only shortly. Khronos, who is the developer group for Vulkan, say its release is imminent.

 

It may well be that Vulkan is what becomes the norm. And in that case, games might start appearing with it implemented within 6 months' time. Any time-frame is conjecture, as who really knows for sure what game developers are deciding regarding DX12 and Vulkan (besides them), but I think it took 2 DICE programmers 6 weeks to implement AMD's Mantle (Vulkan's precursor) into Battlefield 4. So maybe it's possible for Vulkan to be showing up in games within a couple months of its release.

 

I don't know how long it takes to implement similar DX12 features into games, though I'd be interested to know.

[TheProfosist]

I'm thinking 2-3 years at least. He'll there are still DX9 games being released on a regular basis. The only ports aren't anymore its because the newer consoles can finally run on newer engines.

[TheProfosist]

I don't forsee companies going from DX to Vulcan unless they have some reason to. Most companies don't care about Linux compatability. He'll seems like they barely care about PC as a whole.

Also thre is a reason why a Valve dev would say that. I mean just think about what source uses.

[Delicieuxz]

I don't forsee companies going from DX to Vulcan unless they have some reason to. Most companies don't care about Linux compatability. He'll seems like they barely care about PC as a whole.

Also thre is a reason why a Valve dev would say that. I mean just think about what source uses.

With a new game, a company doesn't have to make a choice to go from DX 12 to Vulkan, because at this point they'll have to freshly implement either one, or maybe both. Vulkan isn't just about having Linux compatibility, but also offering the same performance boost on Windows XP, 7, and 8(.1), which DX12 doesn't do.

 

Yeah, Valve has a vested interest in Vulkan, and is a direct competitor to Microsoft, but their words still sound practical. Windows 7 still holds the largest share of gaming systems. So, a game developer might be enticed by supporting the API that delivers enhanced performance to all of their gamers, and not just a minority of them.

[TheProfosist]

With a new game, a company doesn't have to make a choice to go from DX 12 to Vulkan, because at this point they'll have to freshly implement either one, or maybe both. Vulkan isn't just about having Linux compatibility, but also offering the same performance boost on Windows XP, 7, and 8(.1), which DX12 doesn't do.

 

Yeah, Valve has a vested interest in Vulkan, and is a direct competitor to Microsoft, but their words still sound practical. Windows 7 still holds the largest share of gaming systems. So, a game developer might be enticed by supporting the API that delivers enhanced performance to all of their gamers, and not just a minority of them.

They wont have to freshly implement anything unless they code their own engine and if that is the case I wouldnt be surprised if it just stays on DX9 with maybe some DX12 features like a number of games have been for years withe DX10 and DX11. Publishers dont want to spend they money to revamp a games engine basically at all costs. Just look at COD, AC, and Fallout/Elderscrolls. Those titles are also some of your largest grossing and are the companies that actually would have the money to do a engine rewrite.

Not if someone is using a prebuilt engine like unity or unreal they will just use the best it supports for their market.

Also by the time stuff liek Vulkan and DX12 actually matter I wouldnt be surprised if Win7 is far less relevant. Mainly since anything since IvyBridge/SandyBridge-E (after a BIOS update) and newer can benefit from Win8.1 or 10 in a number of ways. Well idk what to say about the AMD side of things not sure on the newest APU's but definitely FX is fine on Win7. I guess that is the benefit of buying an old platform based on years old tech.

[Humbug]

This year 2016 there will be DX12/Vulkan games coming out. But it will be probably 2017 until the majority of AAA games use them.

For non-AAA slightly lower profile games it will take longer.

 

The fact that these APIs are supported by all the major new gen engines support them is a good sign. Unity5, Unreal4, Source2, Frostbite, Cryengine.

[BrightCandle]

DX11 took about 3 years before it became a majority of games, and that is because the development lifecycle of games is about 3 years long at least. Some studios will early adopt because it solves problems they have but most wont find it a compelling thing to change to as they aren't finding themselves being limited by the draw calls. Its quite a bit harder to use so its really something you swap to only when you really need it.