Vulkan 1.2 is released as a major update

The Khronos Group has officially released the Vulkan 1.2 version of its API, adding 23 extensions to the API core, improving the support of HLSL shaders and other changes that will make using the API easier for developers and to be able to create more games. easily based on it.

Vulkan 1.2 is now available with developer enhancements

With the announcement of Vulkan 1.2 there is no mention of Ray Tracing, a feature that is currently required by Nvidia's VKRay extension. This limits Ray Tracing in the Vulkan API to Nvidia graphics cards, unlike DirectX 12 Raytracing (DXR), which can be used by any compatible graphics card. Official Ray Tracing support may reach the Vulkan API at a later date.

Improved Vulkan 1.2 support for HLSL (the DirectX shading language) will allow developers to more easily port DirectX code to the API, with Vulkan 1.2 support up to Shader Model 6.2. This makes using HLSL code much easier in Vulkan, reducing the number of potential bugs, while allowing developers to cross-compile their software for DirectX and non-DirectX platforms. This is a very important thing for game developers.

Vulkan 1.2 also makes it easier for developers to use FP16 and int8 compute within the Vulkan API, a technique that could be used to speed up low-precision code. This feature has been used by graphics cards in the past in the form of AMD's "Rapid Packed Math" technology.

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The new version of Vulkan is an iteration that will make it easier for developers to create software using Vulkan, especially for game developers who make use of HSLS shaders.

The Google team at Stadia will certainly be glad that Vulkan receives this update, as improvements to Vulkan 1.2 will make it easier for developers to create cross-platform games for Vulkan (the graphical API chosen by Stadia) and other platforms.