A new version of DirectX has been introduced with the new Windows 8.1 Preview. DirectX 11.2 includes the following new features:
- HLSL shader linking: Windows 8.1 Preview adds separate compilation and linking of HLSL shaders.
- GPU overlay support: GPU multi-plane overlay support keeps your gorgeous 2D art and interfaces looking their best in native resolution, while you draw your 3D scenes to a smaller, scaled frame buffer.
This feature allows the scaling and composition of two swap chains to happen automatically on the fixed-function overlays hardware, without using any GPU resources at all. - Tiled resources: Windows 8.1 Preview includes a new Direct3D feature called tiled resources, which exposes a limited virtual graphics memory model to apps and thereby permits loose mapping between logical resource data and physical memory. This allows the creation of large logical resources that utilize small amounts of physical memory.
- Direct3D low-latency presentation API: Windows 8.1 Preview includes a new set of APIs for DirectX apps to present frames with lower latency, allowing for faster UI response.
- Frame buffer scaling: New GPU scaling lets you dynamically resize your frame buffer to keep your 3D graphics smooth.
- DXGI Trim API and map default buffer: Windows 8.1 Preview adds the new DXGI IDXGIDevice3::Trim method, which allows DirectX apps to release device memory allocated by the graphics driver thereby reducing the app’s memory profile while it is suspended. Additionally, Windows 8.1 Preview includes a new map default buffer operation for Direct3D apps that lets your app access a GPU’s default buffers directly (if supported by the device), without the need for a more expensive intermediate copy operation to a temporary buffer.
All details and more about these new features can be found HERE.
DirectX 11.2 will be available for PC and Xbox One. All current DX11 cards should be ok with DX11.2 according to this list of consumer GPUs that are supported by NVIDIA drivers for Windows 8.
Both AMD and NVIDIA have released graphics drivers for Windows 8.1 preview:
I wonder if there really is a difference of such `GPU plane overlays` that both next-gen consoles git and current `render to GUI to texture` + render textured fullscreen quad.
Reintroducing FFP for something such fundamental … duno if want (instead the texture/shader based way should be optimized)
Never the less, it modularize the plane concept and so makes it possible to multithread them etc.
The GPU overlap support is something that Wayland should also be capable off.
The tiled resources idea is cool.
Basically implementing the idTech 5 stuff from Rage in the driver.
AMD have something similar for OpenGL: AMD_sparse_texture
So whats new compared to OGL?
Frame buffer scaling? (is it hw feature at all?)
All GPUs will still work on Win 8.1, but you will need a GPU that supports DX11.2 for all of the features to work properly.
Do like the concept of an tiled texture.
Maybe OpenGL should do something with this:
EXT_tiled_texture
and an
EXT_buffered_tiled_texture something.
GPU overlay support.
What if we would introduce a compositing stage as a seperate stage, split off form framebuffer operations.
I mean have the compositing stage more as a seperate stage from the rasterization.