DirectX 12 to be announced at GDC (March 20)

[zalbard]

Source: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/directx/p/directx12.aspx

No information yet, but I guess we can expect new low-level features to reduce CPU overhead.

[To(V)bo Co(V)bo]

YAY for competition.

[vario]

YAY for competition.

With mantle on the horizon, they just might bring DX12 to windows 7!If not then i will be using mantle under 7

[Olivon]

Mantle concerns few games (Frostbite, Oxide) and only one graphic card brand.
I'm happy to see M$ joigning the party and I hope OpenGL will bring lots of improvments too

[Hornet331]

check the NV presentation regarding opengl improvments from the valve developer days, they already have means to minimizes cpu overhead and should be vendor independent since its going to be in the offical opengl specs.


For me it seems mantle was some sort of "quickshot" because you just can't make api changes/improvments in a few months. So everything in the works for dx/opengl regarding overhead reductiobn was already underway for some time and amd just stole the thunder of this with releasing there own api.

[Sparky]

I'm pretty sure AMD even stated that if Mantle only served to give the existing players a kick in the nads and improve their game, then their job is done. I got the impression that they were just sick of the status quo and wanted to give the industry a good shake up.

But, even if that wasn't their intent, well, the rest of us still win regardless

[N19h7m4r3]

check the NV presentation regarding opengl improvments from the valve developer days, they already have means to minimizes cpu overhead and should be vendor independent since its going to be in the offical opengl specs.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plays out. Personally I'd say OpenGL will be the 'standard' within the next few years.

The Source Engine 2 is being made with OpenGL and Valve have been vocal about it. Unreal Engine 4 is being ported to OpenGL in order to facilitate the current diverse landscape of platforms. Unity3D already supports OpenGL on multiple platforms.

Any game engine/middleware developers that are serious about competing in the industry are going to make an effort to support as many platforms as possible. The next generation Source, Unreal, CryEngine( Which is already getting OSX, and Linux support), Unity, etc. will be in a fierce competition to attract game developers, both "AAA" and "indie". In order to succeed, all of these engine/middleware developers will need to provide tools that are not just powerful and flexible, but also highly portable.

It's not just about Windows anymore; mobile has become a huge market, OSX and Linux are both gaining in popularity as Windows goes through a polarizing identity crisis, the Xbox One isn't quite the dominating force that the Xbox 360 once was, and tons of little specialized embedded devices have started popping up all over the place. OpenGL is supported by them all (except Xbox, of course), while DirectX is supported only by Microsoft products.

The biggest mistake that Microsoft can make right now is to repeat what they did with DX10 on Vista. But, I'm willing to bet that they will do that with DX12 and Windows8/9, and it will end up doing irreparable damage to DirectX. Even if developers decide to continue to ship DirectX renderers along side their OpenGL one for the sake of targeting the Xbox One, it will likely become second fiddle.

There's also the massive Chinese market, and the valve Steamwork Development presentation shows that Windows XP is still dominant there as well. Which means using OpenGL will help capture that huge market.

[Stukov]

I'm looking forward to seeing how this all plays out. Personally I'd say OpenGL will be the 'standard' within the next few years.

The Source Engine 2 is being made with OpenGL and Valve have been vocal about it. Unreal Engine 4 is being ported to OpenGL in order to facilitate the current diverse landscape of platforms. Unity3D already supports OpenGL on multiple platforms.

Any game engine/middleware developers that are serious about competing in the industry are going to make an effort to support as many platforms as possible. The next generation Source, Unreal, CryEngine( Which is already getting OSX, and Linux support), Unity, etc. will be in a fierce competition to attract game developers, both "AAA" and "indie". In order to succeed, all of these engine/middleware developers will need to provide tools that are not just powerful and flexible, but also highly portable.

It's not just about Windows anymore; mobile has become a huge market, OSX and Linux are both gaining in popularity as Windows goes through a polarizing identity crisis, the Xbox One isn't quite the dominating force that the Xbox 360 once was, and tons of little specialized embedded devices have started popping up all over the place. OpenGL is supported by them all (except Xbox, of course), while DirectX is supported only by Microsoft products.

The biggest mistake that Microsoft can make right now is to repeat what they did with DX10 on Vista. But, I'm willing to bet that they will do that with DX12 and Windows8/9, and it will end up doing irreparable damage to DirectX. Even if developers decide to continue to ship DirectX renderers along side their OpenGL one for the sake of targeting the Xbox One, it will likely become second fiddle.

There's also the massive Chinese market, and the valve Steamwork Development presentation shows that Windows XP is still dominant there as well. Which means using OpenGL will help capture that huge market.

Not to sound like a jerk, but I think I've heard that OpenGL will be the "standard" for the past 10 years.

[N19h7m4r3]

Not to sound like a jerk, but I think I've heard that OpenGL will be the "standard" for the past 10 years.

Outside of just games, it is the standard. Especially for professional 3D work.

Now some core companies are moving towards it. Especially Epic and Crytek, never mind Valve.

[fellix_bg]

OGL already had its prime status during the heydays of the Quake franchise in the late 90s. Sadly, id software was pretty much the lone player firmly embracing the multi-platform API.

[kromosto]

Mantle is the last hope for linux... That's why MS reacts...

[Darakian]

Mantle is the last hope for linux... That's why MS reacts...

He's not the last hope. There is another... his sister openGL. :p
I was really hoping DX would die

[STEvil]

OGL already had its prime status during the heydays of the Quake franchise in the late 90s. Sadly, id software was pretty much the lone player firmly embracing the multi-platform API.

erm, did you forget Valve and Epic? Tons of games back then could choose OpenGL, among other renderers..

[kromosto]

He's not the last hope. There is another... his sister openGL. :p
I was really hoping DX would die

IMO if OGL haven't beaten DX till now then it never will. I lost hope on it long time ago.

[vario]

Mantle concerns few games (Frostbite, Oxide) and only one graphic card brand.
I'm happy to see M$ joigning the party and I hope OpenGL will bring lots of improvments too

Theyre not games ,but game engines which changes the picture dramatically, and their not alone , so its far from what you appear it to be.Granted It still has some way to go in order to really launch.But its here, DX 12 and new OGL variations are just announced, which means games utilizing their new functions can be very distant to fruition, not to mention ms is probably gonna try and push DX12 as win 8.x only in order to try and squeeze more people to buy win 8.
Best for us would be DX`es demise ,with ogl as a standard linux and other oses pickup would be a lot faster.

[ajaidev]

AMD will most likely launch DX12 GPU in 2015 with Pirate Island.

[Darakian]

IMO if OGL haven't beaten DX till now then it never will. I lost hope on it long time ago.

The gaming landscape has changed quite a bit since DX dominated the market. Microsoft doesn't have the same stranglehold on the computer market that they used to and feature parity has been had by openGL. It's really android and iOS games that are pushing openGL. The sales figures are huge for those games and you only have one API choice, openGL. Engines are increasingly cross platform to allow maximizing on development costs and as a result they must support openGL.
Personally I'd really like to see AMD give mantle to the Khronos group and for them to make openGL 5 with it.
If microsoft goes the vista route and says DX12 is win8+ only (maybe 8.1+ or 8.2+) then they'll shoot themselves in the foot by keeping half the market out of DX12
http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

[Evantaur]

If microsoft goes the vista route and says DX12 is win8+ only (maybe 8.1+ or 8.2+) then they'll shoot themselves in the foot by keeping half the market out of DX12

most likely; they will
http://kotaku.com/5959885/newest-dir...dows-8-systems

[kromosto]

The gaming landscape has changed quite a bit since DX dominated the market. Microsoft doesn't have the same stranglehold on the computer market that they used to and feature parity has been had by openGL. It's really android and iOS games that are pushing openGL. The sales figures are huge for those games and you only have one API choice, openGL. Engines are increasingly cross platform to allow maximizing on development costs and as a result they must support openGL.
Personally I'd really like to see AMD give mantle to the Khronos group and for them to make openGL 5 with it.
If microsoft goes the vista route and says DX12 is win8+ only (maybe 8.1+ or 8.2+) then they'll shoot themselves in the foot by keeping half the market out of DX12
http://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey

MS is started to learn it's lesson. They started to develop their c++ libraries cross platform and open source, they have started a project of a cross platform (wp,ios,android) game development environment.

[zalbard]

most likely; they will
http://kotaku.com/5959885/newest-dir...dows-8-systems

If Win9 is a successor of Win7 rather than Win8, this may not hurt it too much.

[kromosto]

If Win9 is a successor of Win7 rather than Win8, this may not hurt it too much.

and if they launch it while we still have our bizspark membership then this will not hurt definitely.

[madcho]

Microsoft dictature will end anyway.

[rekleif]

What about making win9 as nice to use as osx without all the drawback of apple and osx? That would certainly make a whole lot of us osx converts retiring back to windows as a main os. If they keep on forcing a tablet UI they will secure a constant falling in marketshare for sure. Win will mainly be used as a gaming os with users changing to osx or linux?s free os versions. My 0.02$

[madcho]

easy O.S. is not all.

NSA free OS will rule ...

[IanB]

easy o.s. Is not all.

Nsa free os will rule ...

This! ++++++++++++++++