DirectX Developer Blog

New in D3D12 – Motion Estimation

Randy TiddJuly 9, 2019Jul 9, 201907/9/19

In the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, codenamed 19H1, D3D12 has added a new Motion Estimation feature to D3D12. Motion estimation is the process of determining motion vectors that describe the transformation from one 2D image to another. Motion estimation is an essential part of video encoding and can be used in frame rate conversion algorithms.

Use VHD to Accelerate DirectX 12 Development

Jianye LuJuly 3, 2019Jul 3, 201907/3/19

In case game developers are limited on how frequently they can upgrade Windows 10 on their dev machines, they can use VHD files to quickly set up a new Windows 10 OS partition and to access new or preview features from DirectX 12.

Useful Links

Jacques van RhynJuly 1, 2019Jul 1, 201907/1/19

Below is a list of links that a DirectX 12 developer would find useful:

DirectX Discord
DirectX team on Twitter
DirectX Developer Blog
DirectX YouTube Channel
DirectX API documentation
PIX on Windows
DirectX Graphics Samples
DirectX Spec Repo
D3DDred debugger extension

We’re upgrading to discord!

Jacques van RhynJune 26, 2019Jun 26, 201906/26/19

We’re upgrading the directxtech.com forum to a Discord channel – go to https://discord.gg/kkk2xWc to join today!
We’re going to use our Discord channel in the same way as our directxtech.com forums, which means that game developers will still have a great resource to get their DirectX12 questions answered,

Debugger Extension for DRED

Bill KristiansenJune 26, 2019Jun 26, 201906/26/19

Microsoft recently announced the release of DRED (Device Removed Extended Data) for D3D12 in the Windows 10 May 2019 Update (previously referred to as the Windows 10 19H1 Preview).  Buried in that post is a mention that Microsoft is working on a debugger extension to help simplify post-mortem analysis of DRED. 

OS Variable Refresh Rate

DanielJune 3, 2019Jun 3, 201906/3/19

[Updated June 13th to clarify support for FreeSync]
With Windows Version 1903, we have added a new toggle in Graphics Settings for variable refresh rate. Variable refresh rate (VRR) is similar to NVIDIA’s G-SYNC, AMD’s FreeSync, and VESA DisplayPort Adaptive-Sync.
This new OS support is only to augment these experiences and does not replace them.

DirectX 12 boosts performance of HITMAN 2

Jacques van RhynMay 14, 2019May 14, 201905/14/19

Our partners at IO Interactive, the developers of the award-winning HITMAN franchise, recently added DirectX 12 support to HITMAN 2, with impressive results.  IO Interactive was so excited that they wanted to share a bit about how their innovative use of DirectX 12 benefits HITMAN gamers everywhere.

New in D3D12 – background shader optimizations

Shawn HargreavesApril 16, 2019Apr 16, 201904/16/19

tl;dr;
In the next update to Windows, codenamed 19H1, D3D12 will allow drivers to use idle priority background CPU threads to dynamically recompile shader programs. This can improve GPU performance by specializing shader code to better match details of the hardware it is running on and/or the context in which it is being used.

DirectX engineering specs published

Shawn HargreavesApril 9, 2019Apr 9, 201904/9/19

Engineering specs for a number of DirectX features, including DirectX Raytracing, Variable Rate Shading, and all of D3D11, are now available at https://microsoft.github.io/DirectX-Specs. This supplements the official API documentation with an extra level of detail that can be useful to expert developers.

New in D3D12 – GPU-Based Validation (GBV) is now available for Shader Model 6.x

D3D TeamApril 2, 2019Apr 2, 201904/2/19

In the next update to Windows, codenamed 19H1, the DirectX12 debug layer adds support for GPU-based validation (GBV) of shader model 6.x (DXIL) as well as the previously supported shader model 5.x (DXBC).
GBV is a GPU timeline validation that modifies and injects validation instructions directly into application shaders.