Software:DXVK

From HandWiki
DXVK
Developer(s)DXVK Project
Initial release14 January 2018; 6 years ago (2018-01-14)
Stable release
2.3.1 / 20 March 2024; 3 months ago (2024-03-20)
Repositoryon GitHub
Written inC++
Operating systemOS Independent
Platformx86, x64
Licensezlib License
Websitegithub.com/doitsujin/dxvk

DXVK is an open source translation layer which converts Direct3D 9/10/11 calls to Vulkan.[1][2][3][4] It is used by Proton/Steam[5] for Linux, by Intel Windows drivers,[6][7][8] VirtualBox 7.0,[9] and it can be used to run Direct3D-based games under Windows using Vulkan. DXVK has been confirmed to support over 80% of Direct3D Windows games "near flawlessly".[10][11][12]

History

DXVK was first developed by Joshua Ashton to support Direct3D 11 games only[13] as a result of poor compatibility and low performance of Wine's Direct3D 11 to OpenGL translation layer.

In 2018, the developer was sponsored by Valve to work on the project full-time in order to advance compatibility of the Linux version of Steam with Windows games.[13][14]

In 2019, DXVK received Direct3D 9 support by merging with d9vk.[15][16]

In November 2022, DXVK 2.0 was released, introducing improvements to Direct3D 9 memory management, shader compilation, state cache, as well as, support for Direct3D 11 feature level 12_1, and general improvements to performance and stability across numerous games.[17][18]

Released on January 24, 2023, DXVK 2.1 implemented HDR support and improved quality for certain old games.[4][19]

Released on May 12, 2023, DXVK 2.2 added D3D11On12 support.[20][21][22]

Controversies

The use of Wine/DXVK has been associated with users getting banned[23][24][25][26] from online gaming platforms because game publishers have no way of verifying game integrity for people using Linux.

References

  1. Staff, Ars (2018-08-21). "Valve's "Steam Play" uses Vulkan to bring more Windows games to Linux" (in en-us). https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/08/valves-steam-play-uses-vulkan-to-bring-more-windows-games-to-linux/. 
  2. Conway, Adam (2022-12-23). "How Proton on the Steam Deck works" (in en-US). https://www.xda-developers.com/how-proton-on-the-steam-deck-works/. 
  3. "Chapter 13. WINE" (in en). https://docs.freebsd.org/en/books/handbook/wine/. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Proven, Liam. "WINE 8.0 and DXVK 2.1 released" (in en). https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/03/wine_80_dxvk_21/. 
  5. Compatibility tool for Steam Play based on Wine and additional components: ValveSoftware/Proton, Valve, 2019-04-03, https://github.com/ValveSoftware/Proton, retrieved 2019-04-03 
  6. "Intel using DXVK (part of Steam Proton) for their Windows Arc GPU DX 9 drivers" (in en). 7 December 2022. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/12/intel-using-dxvk-part-of-steam-proton-for-their-windows-arc-gpu-dx-9-drivers/. 
  7. Wilson, Jason R.; Wilson, Jason R. (2022-11-01). "Intel Arc A750 Shows Boosted Performance In Older Gaming Titles Using Vulkan "DXVK"" (in en-US). https://wccftech.com/intel-arc-a750-shows-boosted-performance-in-older-gaming-titles-using-vulkan-dxvk/. 
  8. "Intel Arc Driver Optimizations Leverage Valve's DXVK Translator" (in en). 2022-12-08. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-gpu-driver-optimizations-leverage-valves-dxvk-translator. 
  9. "VirtualBox 7.0 is out with their DirectX 11 support using DXVK" (in en). 11 October 2022. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2022/10/virtualbox-70-is-out-with-their-directx-11-support-using-dxvk/. 
  10. "80 Percent of Steam's Top 100 Games Run 'Nearly Flawlessly' on Linux" (in en). 2021-12-21. https://www.tomshardware.com/news/80-percent-of-steam-games-run-on-linux. 
  11. "It's Now Even Easier To Check How A Game Runs On Steam Deck" (in en). 2023-08-16. https://kotaku.com/steam-deck-verified-status-remnant-2-proton-1850743584. 
  12. Conway, Adam (2022-12-06). "Need more games to play on your Steam Deck? Check out ProtonDB." (in en). https://www.xda-developers.com/steam-deck-protondb/. 
  13. 13.0 13.1 "An interview with the developer of DXVK, part of what makes Valve's Steam Play tick" (in en). 11 September 2018. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2018/09/an-interview-with-the-developer-of-dxvk-part-of-what-makes-valves-steam-play-tick/. 
  14. Proven, Liam (2023-02-03). "WINE 8.0 and DXVK 2.1 released" (in en). https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/03/wine_80_dxvk_21/. 
  15. "D9VK Merged Into Upstream DXVK" (in en). https://www.phoronix.com/news/D9VK-Merges-Into-DXVK. 
  16. "D9VK is no more as it merges with DXVK, making DXVK a D3D 9/10/11 to Vulkan layer" (in en). 16 December 2019. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2019/12/d9vk-is-no-more-as-it-merges-with-dxvk-making-dxvk-a-d3d-9-10-11-to-vulkan-layer/. 
  17. Meo, Francesco De (2023-03-06). "Hogwarts Legacy Vulkan DXVK 2.1 ASYNC Mod Reduces Texture Loading Stutter" (in en-US). https://wccftech.com/hogwarts-legacy-vulkan-dxvk-2-1-async-mod-reduces-texture-loading-stutter/. 
  18. Larabel, Michael (2022-11-10). "DXVK 2.0 Released With Many Improvements For Direct3D Over Vulkan" (in en). https://www.phoronix.com/news/DXVK-2.0-Released. 
  19. "Release Version 2.1 · doitsujin/dxvk" (in en). https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases/tag/v2.1. 
  20. "DXVK 2.2 Released With D3D11On12 Support, Many Game Fixes" (in en). https://www.phoronix.com/news/DXVK-2.2-Released. 
  21. Wilson, Jason R. (2023-05-13). "DXVK 2.2 Launches With D3D11On12 Support For Unity Engine, Game Fixes & More" (in en-US). https://wccftech.com/dxvk-2-2-launches-with-d3d11on12-support-for-unity-engine-game-fixes-more/. 
  22. "Release Version 2.2 · doitsujin/dxvk" (in en). https://github.com/doitsujin/dxvk/releases/tag/v2.2. 
  23. "Linux Gamers Banned in Battlefield V if Using Wine and DXVK" (in en-us). https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/gaming/linux-gamers-banned-in-battlefield-v-if-using-wine-and-dxvk/. 
  24. "Some Linux Gamers Using Wine/DXVK To Play Blizzard's Overwatch Banned - Updated" (in en). https://www.phoronix.com/news/Blizzard-Banning-DXVK-Wine. 
  25. "Caution: Playing 'Overwatch' On Linux May Get You Banned" (in en). https://na.alienwarearena.com/ucf/show/1919020/boards/gaming-news/News/caution-playing-overwatch-on-linux-may-get-you-banned. 
  26. "Some Linux Gamers Using Wine/DXVK To Play Blizzard's Overwatch Banned - Slashdot" (in en). 2018-09-14. https://tech.slashdot.org/story/18/09/14/2055209/some-linux-gamers-using-winedxvk-to-play-blizzards-overwatch-banned. 

External links

  • ProtonDB - a Proton/Wine/DXVK compatibility database
  • DXVK - Github repository
  • Wine - a Win32 compatibility layer for POSIX operating systems