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> The argument that Vulkan would have solved this but it in fact did! You can play 90% of games on linux precisely because of Vulkan. Just boot Steam Deck or w

> The argument that Vulkan would have solved this but it in fact did! You can play 90% of games on linux precisely because of Vulkan. Just boot Steam Deck or whatever and play. There is no way it would work out without Vulkan

dagmx 2y ago
And I address Proton specifically in my comment and also address why it’s not an indicator of increased gaming support on Mac. I truly feel half of the replies here are glossing over the things I’ve already covered and perhaps are people who haven’t actually tried the equivalent Mac solutions and seen where the resultant deficiencies lie or the delta between platforms that proton would also have to bridge further. Vulkan isn’t the magical silver bullet people think it is.
- talldayo 2y ago
  Conversely, I'm convinced that you haven't tried Proton and are trying to defend Cider and Whiskey as analogs when in-fact they are pale imitations. Gaming on Mac is derelict; you can get a few games working, but it's still absolutely pathetic stood-up next to Windows or even modern Linux. The number of playable desktop games is just a blowout for MacOS. We've all used tinker-tool applications to get a random app running through WINE, but DXVK is more than that. It is the solution to a problem Apple refuses to address, and even Apple is willing to admit that they need DirectX translation in order to make games run on Apple Silicon. How is the future of gaming on Mac going to look any different if we continue to follow in the footsteps of Cider? How long do you think that shanty-utopia will be supported on the latest OS update?
MindSpunk 2y ago
Vulkan has nothing to do with the Steam Deck being able to run PC games other than being the API that DXVK and VKD3D-proton translate DirectX calls into. Vulkan isn’t the magic bullet, it’s just another API in the stack. The “magic” is the phenomenal amount of effort that has gone into those DirectX translation libraries. Vulkan makes the work easier, but it is not what makes those games portable.
- gpderetta 2y ago
  Yes and no. DXVK didn't happen on top of opengl as the impendence mismatch between OpenGL and DX is too large. Wine had working but slow DX9 to OGL; incomplete, buggy and slow DX11 to OGL; and no hope for DX12 to OGL. DX9, DX11 and DX12 are all much easier (but not easy, mind) to map to Vulkan. As Steam Deck is running AMD, a conversion layer on top of Mesa Gallium would have been possible, but again DX12 support never materialized.
- exDM69 2y ago
  Vulkan has a lot of features made specifically so that implementing portability layers like DXVK and Zink would be possible and performant. This has been a key project in the past few years and lots of work went into it. For more info, look up Vulkan portability initiative.

dagmx 2y ago

And I address Proton specifically in my comment and also address why it’s not an indicator of increased gaming support on Mac. I truly feel half of the replies here are glossing over the things I’ve already covered and perhaps are people who haven’t actually tried the equivalent Mac solutions and seen where the resultant deficiencies lie or the delta between platforms that proton would also have to bridge further. Vulkan isn’t the magical silver bullet people think it is.

talldayo 2y ago
Conversely, I'm convinced that you haven't tried Proton and are trying to defend Cider and Whiskey as analogs when in-fact they are pale imitations. Gaming on Mac is derelict; you can get a few games working, but it's still absolutely pathetic stood-up next to Windows or even modern Linux. The number of playable desktop games is just a blowout for MacOS. We've all used tinker-tool applications to get a random app running through WINE, but DXVK is more than that. It is the solution to a problem Apple refuses to address, and even Apple is willing to admit that they need DirectX translation in order to make games run on Apple Silicon. How is the future of gaming on Mac going to look any different if we continue to follow in the footsteps of Cider? How long do you think that shanty-utopia will be supported on the latest OS update?

MindSpunk 2y ago

Vulkan has nothing to do with the Steam Deck being able to run PC games other than being the API that DXVK and VKD3D-proton translate DirectX calls into. Vulkan isn’t the magic bullet, it’s just another API in the stack. The “magic” is the phenomenal amount of effort that has gone into those DirectX translation libraries. Vulkan makes the work easier, but it is not what makes those games portable.

gpderetta 2y ago
Yes and no. DXVK didn't happen on top of opengl as the impendence mismatch between OpenGL and DX is too large. Wine had working but slow DX9 to OGL; incomplete, buggy and slow DX11 to OGL; and no hope for DX12 to OGL. DX9, DX11 and DX12 are all much easier (but not easy, mind) to map to Vulkan. As Steam Deck is running AMD, a conversion layer on top of Mesa Gallium would have been possible, but again DX12 support never materialized.
exDM69 2y ago
Vulkan has a lot of features made specifically so that implementing portability layers like DXVK and Zink would be possible and performant. This has been a key project in the past few years and lots of work went into it. For more info, look up Vulkan portability initiative.