Croteam are continuing to be one of my favourite developers, as The Talos Principle [Steam] has been patched with some goodies.
Here's what's changed:
- Bugs fixed and performance improvements for Vulkan graphics API.
- Fixed some rendering issues under OpenGL graphics API.
- Better detection of usable CPU cores.
- Fixed problems with Chinese Traditional translation in Road to Gehenna.
- Removed usage of D3DX library DLL.
- Enlarged FPS graph and added average line.
- Fixed problem with imprecise frame-rate limitation on Windows platforms.
Since I haven't tested it for a while, I ran some quick benchmarks this morning to see how much has changed. This is on my Ubuntu 17.10, i7-5960X 3GHZ, 16GB DDR4 RAM, GeForce GTX 980 Ti (384.111 driver).
Not too much between Vulkan, as a lot of the performance fixes might not even be seen during the short benchmark, but when you put them next to OpenGL the difference is clear:
Vulkan doesn't just have better FPS in The Talos Principle, it's also noticeably smoother too. On a cold start (first load) OpenGL has a fair amount of stutter, but Vulkan has a lot less.
It's actually on sale with 80% off, if you still haven't picked it up now is an awesome time to do so. Croteam have great Linux support and it is a fantastic puzzle game.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
morgancoxuk Jan 10, 2018
Thanks for notifying about the deal (been waiting for this to be on offer).
Just purchased, another Linux sale !
Just purchased, another Linux sale !
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Nice improvement! Every little helps.
Really wish Vulkan would be more widely used tbh. More chance of us Linux people getting a port too.
Really wish Vulkan would be more widely used tbh. More chance of us Linux people getting a port too.
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Amazing tech support for this game. 3 and a half year after release they continue to update the game. I agree pete910. But for vulkan it is not that easy to optimize it. For the moment appart from Talos Principle and Ashes of Singularity, and doom 4 not so many devs have managed to push the api that far. Good decision though, the perfs are better and it will run better with lower end hardware due the good cpu core management.
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QuoteCroteam are continuing to be one of my favourite developersThey are the favorite AAA-developer! IIRC, they were the first to announce and deliver the visually stunning AAA title, Serious Sam 3, on Linux. Valve don't quite count, of course they would have ported all their games if they started all this. But Croteam not only jumped on the Linux train first, they delivered a great game with astonishing performance and visuals right from the first release AND they continue to polish it and their other titles further with Vulkan and even VR. They're also very open and are not afraid of tech talk on Steam forums discussing graphics tricks and performance optimizations in general. That's rare nowadays and I appreciate it.
Of course, in terms of released titles Feral are way ahead but among the game developers, not porters, Croteam shine the most brightly (for me, of course).
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Quoting: JahimselfAmazing tech support for this game. 3 and a half year after release they continue to update the game. I agree pete910. But for vulkan it is not that easy to optimize it. For the moment appart from Talos Principle and Ashes of Singularity, and doom 4 not so many devs have managed to push the api that far. Good decision though, the perfs are better and it will run better with lower end hardware due the good cpu core management.
Also i want to add ; Wolfenstein 2 is a Vulkan exclusive title. It doesn't have OpenGL renderer unlike Doom 2016 has.
Dx12 and Vulkan are both more difficult api's to dealt with ; when you compare them to Dx11.
But because of the high Windows 7 usage ; devs cannot move forward to Dx12 with ditching other api's. But on Vulkan , they can.
It is not limited to Win10 , despite Dx12 is.
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Quoting: pete910Nice improvement! Every little helps.
Really wish Vulkan would be more widely used tbh. More chance of us Linux people getting a port too.
To be fair, there are more games with Vulkan support than DirectX 12 support. I'd say that's progress.
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Quoting: melkemindQuoting: pete910Nice improvement! Every little helps.
Really wish Vulkan would be more widely used tbh. More chance of us Linux people getting a port too.
To be fair, there are more games with Vulkan support than DirectX 12 support. I'd say that's progress.
However, Microsoft are doing what they're best at - Monopolizing the market - They don't allow developers to use Vulkan on XBOX One platform, only DX12. So if you want to develop for Windows and XBOX, then you have to include DX12 support to get your game on XBOX.
One of the things that has irritated me about Microsoft for years is their anti-competitive practices. Would be great if the EU could sue them about it.
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Quoting: g000hHowever, Microsoft are doing what they're best at - Monopolizing the market - They don't allow developers to use Vulkan on XBOX One platform, only DX12. So if you want to develop for Windows and XBOX, then you have to include DX12 support to get your game on XBOX.The European Commission has sued and fined Microsoft multiple times for abusing the de facto monopoly Windows holds on the desktop, but Sony is actually much larger in the European console market. And I don't see Vulkan support on the PS4 either. (Unofficial Linux hacks don't count.)
One of the things that has irritated me about Microsoft for years is their anti-competitive practices. Would be great if the EU could sue them about it.
There's also the fact that consoles aren't considered computers, but gaming appliances. There's no expectation of openness or freedom of use here, unlike with personal computers.
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When I finally get my new TV I'll be able to steamlink that one again and play on my relax chair. Still not through this game, but my TV is now broken for quite some time :D.
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Comandante Ñoñardo Jan 10, 2018
I want to see this benchmark comparison with a more modest hardware.
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Quoting: Comandante ÑoñardoI want to see this benchmark comparison with a more modest hardware.
OpenGL: 65.5
Vulkan: 86.4
Vulkan (previous version): 70.4
Each is the best average FPS of three 30 sec benches. Default graphical settings, 1080p.
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Mountain Man Jan 10, 2018
I didn't much care for the demo -- it struck me as a starkly humorless take on Portal -- but Croteam's Linux support is almost without peer, and I'm tempted to buy this game for that reason alone.
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Mountain Man Jan 10, 2018
Quoting: tuubiWith as much money as Microsoft has, most fines amount to little more than a slap on the wrist. I wouldn't be surprised if they have payouts for lawsuits figured into their annual budget. Microsoft is willing to do whatever it takes to stay on top.Quoting: g000hHowever, Microsoft are doing what they're best at - Monopolizing the market - They don't allow developers to use Vulkan on XBOX One platform, only DX12. So if you want to develop for Windows and XBOX, then you have to include DX12 support to get your game on XBOX.The European Commission has sued and fined Microsoft multiple times for abusing the de facto monopoly Windows holds on the desktop...
One of the things that has irritated me about Microsoft for years is their anti-competitive practices. Would be great if the EU could sue them about it.
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Quoting: Mountain ManI didn't much care for the demo -- it struck me as a starkly humorless take on Portal -- but Croteam's Linux support is almost without peer, and I'm tempted to buy this game for that reason alone.If you do buy it, do give it a chance. It might not be as ridiculously entertaining as the Portal games (YMMV), but the puzzles are well worth your time. Some of them are very well designed indeed. And solving some of the more convoluted hidden star puzzles can feel incredibly satisfying.
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Quoting: Mountain ManI didn't much care for the demo -- it struck me as a starkly humorless take on Portal -- but Croteam's Linux support is almost without peer, and I'm tempted to buy this game for that reason alone.
While Portal is more humorous than Talos Principle, in my humble opinion the latter is the better puzzle game.
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Quoting: KhudsaAnd this benchmark with radeon and radv?
Thx.
157 on ultra @1440p with a rx64
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Quoting: melkemindQuoting: pete910Nice improvement! Every little helps.
Really wish Vulkan would be more widely used tbh. More chance of us Linux people getting a port too.
To be fair, there are more games with Vulkan support than DirectX 12 support. I'd say that's progress.
Don't think there is. Don't forget Madmax and a few others dont have vulkan on windows.
I can think of 3 on windows with Vulkan.
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Quoting: KhudsaAnd this benchmark with radeon and radv?
Thx.
23:03:53 INF: - benchmark results -
23:03:53 INF:
23:03:53 INF: Gfx API: Vulkan
23:03:53 INF: Duration: 59.2 seconds (6689 frames)
23:03:53 INF: Average: 112.9 FPS (120.1 w/o extremes)
23:03:53 INF: Extremes: 272.8 max, 4.1 min
23:03:53 INF: Sections: AI=9%, physics=2%, sound=1%, scene=64%, shadows=16%, misc=8%
23:03:53 INF: Lows: 192 in 5.1 seconds (37.4 FPS)
23:03:53 INF: > 60 FPS: 99%23:51:15 INF: - benchmark results -
23:51:15 INF:
23:51:15 INF: Gfx API: OpenGL
23:51:15 INF: Duration: 60.0 seconds (4469 frames)
23:51:15 INF: Average: 74.5 FPS (94.7 w/o extremes)
23:51:15 INF: Extremes: 222.5 max, 6.4 min
23:51:15 INF: Sections: AI=5%, physics=1%, sound=1%, scene=75%, shadows=12%, misc=5%
23:51:15 INF: Lows: 537 in 18.4 seconds (29.2 FPS)
23:51:15 INF: < 20 FPS: 1%
23:51:15 INF: 20-30 FPS: 3%
23:51:15 INF: 30-60 FPS: 19%
23:51:15 INF: > 60 FPS: 77%Edit: Forgot to run an OpenGL benchmark.
Last edited by crt0mega on 10 January 2018 at 10:52 pm UTC
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Quoting: GuestCroteam is pretty much indie, still, nowhere near AAA (activision, EA, bungie, ubisoft, etc.) They are not just indie at size, but at heart (lovely press at E3 :D)Sure, technically they're not AAA but the line becomes blurry these days thanks to better engines, I think. Many indie games now have great visuals, proper voiceovers, original story and everything else we'd normally expect only from big studios. It would be easier to consider a title AAA if they have budget over X millions but I use The Jaw Metric. If my jaw drops after looking at the screenshots, it's AAA.
Last edited by rkfg on 11 January 2018 at 11:33 am UTC
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