EA joins The Khronos Group, will collaborate on Vulkan

[odditory]

but Vulkan currently doesn't have any readily available dev tools or environments

What are you talking about?

 

[Grimlaking]

Vulkan is an API. that's all it is. EA's input will be.. "we would like these things in the API to be called in a fashion like X." they won't be engaged in any large code updates to the API itself. They will influence the use of the API but doubtful as to the function.

We won't see an EA exclusive version of the Vulkan API. At least I hope we won't! Because that would be... HORRIBLE. Of course in the early days with DOOM that's exactly what ID did. they established their own API.

 

[Armenius]

Vulkan is an API. that's all it is. EA's input will be.. "we would like these things in the API to be called in a fashion like X." they won't be engaged in any large code updates to the API itself. They will influence the use of the API but doubtful as to the function.

We won't see an EA exclusive version of the Vulkan API. At least I hope we won't! Because that would be... HORRIBLE. Of course in the early days with DOOM that's exactly what ID did. they established their own API.

Wait... What API did id establish? They have always used OpenGL with standard extensions since going accelerated 3D. Before that, everything was done in software. id Software was a contributing member of ARB before being absorbed into Khronos, just like EA is becoming a contributing member to Khronos.

 

[Dr. Righteous]

Wait... What API did id establish? They have always used OpenGL with standard extensions since going accelerated 3D. Before that, everything was done in software. id Software was a contributing member of ARB before being absorbed into Khronos, just like EA is becoming a contributing member to Khronos.

I would say id is on board with Vulkan. 2016 DOOM soon had full Vulkan support and it was a pretty good boost to the FPS playing it on a AMD RX 480.

 

[Armenius]

I would say id is on board with Vulkan. 2016 DOOM soon had full Vulkan support and it was a pretty good boost to the FPS playing it on a AMD RX 480.

They most definitely are, as they were with OpenGL, but I don't see them as a member of Khronos.

 

[Grimlaking]

Wait... What API did id establish? They have always used OpenGL with standard extensions since going accelerated 3D. Before that, everything was done in software. id Software was a contributing member of ARB before being absorbed into Khronos, just like EA is becoming a contributing member to Khronos.

Your right it was a software renderer. dogs4gw if memory serves?

 

[Armenius]

Your right it was a software renderer. dogs4gw if memory serves?

The renderer in Doom was written from scratch by Carmack. It is telling the VGA driver how to present each pixel after models, textures and sprites were calculated in the engine using pure math. DOS/4GW was just a memory extender so DOS programs could access protected memory, or use more than 640 KB.

 

[Grimlaking]

The renderer in Doom was written from scratch by Carmack. It is telling the VGA driver how to present each pixel after models, textures and sprites were calculated in the engine using pure math. DOS/4GW was just a memory extender so DOS programs could access protected memory, or use more than 640 KB.

Cool thanks yea I got my wires crossed because it was a per pixel software renderer. More of an engine than say an API. I guess API's only really came around to exploit the capabilities of 3d renderers. It was an interesting time. Part of me thinks they were only really used in GUI based OS's and were not needed for the older DOS based games.

 

[Dr. Righteous]

The renderer in Doom was written from scratch by Carmack. It is telling the VGA driver how to present each pixel after models, textures and sprites were calculated in the engine using pure math. DOS/4GW was just a memory extender so DOS programs could access protected memory, or use more than 640 KB.

Good ole John Carmack. I miss hearing from him in the public space. I watched a video of a speech he gave at a symposium of some kind concerning game development and problems because of legacy APIs like OpenGL and DirectX and how it stifles innovation. Man did he call it. I think that was 8 or 10 years ago.

 

[IdiotInCharge]

Good ole John Carmack. I miss hearing from him in the public space. I watched a video of a speech he gave at a symposium of some kind concerning game development and problems because of legacy APIs like OpenGL and DirectX and how it stifles innovation. Man did he call it. I think that was 8 or 10 years ago.

The dude could talk, and I don't remember him ever being wrong despite him being consistently ahead of the industry, but after Doom and Quake he essentially ceased to actually influence game development outside of id. And I say that as someone who wishes the industry actually took his advice.