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Good news for those of you using an AMD GPU, as Mesa with radeonsi now has support for compatibility profiles up to OpenGL 4.4.

Why is it important to have this? To put it simply, there's a few games out there that required it and wouldn't run without it. It's another tick in the box for getting the best experience possible for those with an AMD GPU using open source graphics drivers on Linux.

Going by what the developer said, this in particular helps with games like Doom and Wolfenstein run in Wine. It's also something that should hopefully help to fix Dying Light, Dead Island Definitive Edition, Grand Ages: Medieval, Black Mesa and probably quite a few more that required it.

It's currently only in Mesa-git, the development version, meaning it should hopefully make the Mesa 18.2 release. The first RC of Mesa 18.2 is expected around July 20th, with a release due in August going by their release calendar.

Thanks for the tip, mirv.

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23 comments
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soulsource Jul 2, 2018
Next up: Firefox gets support for MSIE 5 CSS box model implementation and MSIE 6 Quirks Mode.

Sorry, but imho software using compatibility profiles should be fixed to use non-deprecated API functions. Exposing that functionality in the graphics driver just encourages developers to write code that uses it, what most likely means bad code.
tuubi Jul 2, 2018
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Next up: Firefox gets support for MSIE 5 CSS box model implementation and MSIE 6 Quirks Mode.

Sorry, but imho software using compatibility profiles should be fixed to use non-deprecated API functions. Exposing that functionality in the graphics driver just encourages developers to write code that uses it, what most likely means bad code.
Sad as you might find it, I doubt many game devs choose their tools based on what radeonsi supports or doesn't support. Your joke/analogue would make more sense if it had anywhere near the market penetration of Firefox.
x_wing Jul 2, 2018
Next up: Firefox gets support for MSIE 5 CSS box model implementation and MSIE 6 Quirks Mode.

Sorry, but imho software using compatibility profiles should be fixed to use non-deprecated API functions. Exposing that functionality in the graphics driver just encourages developers to write code that uses it, what most likely means bad code.

I agree, but we also have to think on the end user, the one that just want to play/work, so having this in the driver will improve the user experience on Linux.

In the other hand, AFAIK, compability profiles are kinda an "standard" (or at least the khronos group makes an specification). Maybe the problem is that the ones that makes the API let the devs to use this feature, and should be them the ones to blame on.
Shmerl Jul 2, 2018
Yep, it shows up in the OpenGL string now:

OpenGL renderer string: Radeon RX Vega (VEGA10, DRM 3.25.0, 4.17.0-trunk-amd64, LLVM 6.0.0)
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.50
OpenGL version string: 4.4 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.40


Killing compat profile could have made sense if Khronos would have done it. But they didn't, and now it's proliferated in Nvidia blob, so some clueless developers use it despite many warnings not to, and you get results like Dying Light. There is no option for Mesa but to implement it.


Last edited by Shmerl on 2 July 2018 at 3:24 pm UTC
pete910 Jul 2, 2018
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Yep, it shows up in the OpenGL string now:

OpenGL renderer string: Radeon RX Vega (VEGA10, DRM 3.25.0, 4.17.0-trunk-amd64, LLVM 6.0.0)
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.50
OpenGL version string: 4.4 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.40


Killing compat profile could have made sense if Khronos would have done it. But they didn't, and now it's proliferated in Nvidia blob, so some clueless developers use it despite many warnings not to, and you get results like Dying Light. There is no option for Mesa but to implement it.

Does Dying Light work for you ?
Shmerl Jul 2, 2018
Does Dying Light work for you ?

I don't have the game, they never released Linux version on GOG.
pete910 Jul 2, 2018
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Does Dying Light work for you ?

I don't have the game, they never released Linux version on GOG.

Whats ya steam name? I'll gift you a copy!
Shmerl Jul 2, 2018
Whats ya steam name? I'll gift you a copy!

I'm not using Steam. No worries, it might end up on GOG eventually. Or not :) I wonder if such compat profile issues are the reason it's not there.
pete910 Jul 2, 2018
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Whats ya steam name? I'll gift you a copy!

I'm not using Steam. No worries, it might end up on GOG eventually. Or not :) I wonder if such compat profile issues are the reason it's not there.

No worries, Don't you use steam at all then ?
Shmerl Jul 2, 2018
No worries, Don't you use steam at all then ?

Yep, I'm only using DRM-free stores.
pete910 Jul 2, 2018
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No worries, Don't you use steam at all then ?

Yep, I'm only using DRM-free stores.

Kudo's to sticking to that.

I strongly stick to the principle of "No tux no Bux".
edmondo Jul 2, 2018
Does Dying Light work for you ?

I don't own the game, but Fireburn has tested it and reported it working on the mesa mailing list:
https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/mesa-dev/2018-June/198844.html
F.Ultra Jul 2, 2018
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Yep, it shows up in the OpenGL string now:

OpenGL renderer string: Radeon RX Vega (VEGA10, DRM 3.25.0, 4.17.0-trunk-amd64, LLVM 6.0.0)
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.50
OpenGL version string: 4.4 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.40


Killing compat profile could have made sense if Khronos would have done it. But they didn't, and now it's proliferated in Nvidia blob, so some clueless developers use it despite many warnings not to, and you get results like Dying Light. There is no option for Mesa but to implement it.

Does Dying Light work for you ?

You can already make Dying Light run on stable mesa if you set the Launch Options in Steam to "MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=4.5 MESA_GLSL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=450 %command%" the great thing with the new patches is that such workarounds will no longer be necessary.

edit: however reading the mesa-dev post it seams that this perhaps does fix some stability for Dying Light that the override did not. In that case this change is even better :)


Last edited by F.Ultra on 2 July 2018 at 10:45 pm UTC
pete910 Jul 2, 2018
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Yep, it shows up in the OpenGL string now:

OpenGL renderer string: Radeon RX Vega (VEGA10, DRM 3.25.0, 4.17.0-trunk-amd64, LLVM 6.0.0)
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.50
OpenGL version string: 4.4 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.40


Killing compat profile could have made sense if Khronos would have done it. But they didn't, and now it's proliferated in Nvidia blob, so some clueless developers use it despite many warnings not to, and you get results like Dying Light. There is no option for Mesa but to implement it.

Does Dying Light work for you ?

You can already make Dying Light run on stable mesa if you set the Launch Options in Steam to "MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=4.5 MESA_GLSL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=450 %command%" the great thing with the new patches is that such workarounds will no longer be necessary.

edit: however reading the mesa-dev post it seams that this perhaps does fix some stability for Dying Light that the override did not. In that case this change is even better :)

As mentioned numerous times, that fix does not work for arch users or even non *buntu based distros. :(
pete910 Jul 2, 2018
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Does Dying Light work for you ?

I don't own the game, but Fireburn has tested it and reported it working on the mesa mailing list:
https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/mesa-dev/2018-June/198844.html

There may be hope then :D
F.Ultra Jul 3, 2018
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Yep, it shows up in the OpenGL string now:

OpenGL renderer string: Radeon RX Vega (VEGA10, DRM 3.25.0, 4.17.0-trunk-amd64, LLVM 6.0.0)
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.50
OpenGL version string: 4.4 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.40


Killing compat profile could have made sense if Khronos would have done it. But they didn't, and now it's proliferated in Nvidia blob, so some clueless developers use it despite many warnings not to, and you get results like Dying Light. There is no option for Mesa but to implement it.

Does Dying Light work for you ?

You can already make Dying Light run on stable mesa if you set the Launch Options in Steam to "MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=4.5 MESA_GLSL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=450 %command%" the great thing with the new patches is that such workarounds will no longer be necessary.

edit: however reading the mesa-dev post it seams that this perhaps does fix some stability for Dying Light that the override did not. In that case this change is even better :)

As mentioned numerous times, that fix does not work for arch users or even non *buntu based distros. :(

Yeah I know but that should indicate that the problem on Arch is something else. I do hope that this is where I'm totally wrong so that things will start to work for you Arch-guys as well.
pete910 Jul 3, 2018
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Yep, it shows up in the OpenGL string now:

OpenGL renderer string: Radeon RX Vega (VEGA10, DRM 3.25.0, 4.17.0-trunk-amd64, LLVM 6.0.0)
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.5 (Core Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.50
OpenGL version string: 4.4 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 18.2.0-devel (git-2854c0f795)
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.40


Killing compat profile could have made sense if Khronos would have done it. But they didn't, and now it's proliferated in Nvidia blob, so some clueless developers use it despite many warnings not to, and you get results like Dying Light. There is no option for Mesa but to implement it.

Does Dying Light work for you ?

You can already make Dying Light run on stable mesa if you set the Launch Options in Steam to "MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=4.5 MESA_GLSL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=450 %command%" the great thing with the new patches is that such workarounds will no longer be necessary.

edit: however reading the mesa-dev post it seams that this perhaps does fix some stability for Dying Light that the override did not. In that case this change is even better :)

As mentioned numerous times, that fix does not work for arch users or even non *buntu based distros. :(

Yeah I know but that should indicate that the problem on Arch is something else. I do hope that this is where I'm totally wrong so that things will start to work for you Arch-guys as well.

It's not just arch seems to be anything other than *ubuntu/debian but I agree hope its fixed soon too, I have already played through it once so not a major issue but it's a good co-op game.
Yesman Jul 16, 2018
You can already make Dying Light run on stable mesa if you set the Launch Options in Steam to "MESA_GL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=4.5 MESA_GLSL_VERSION_OVERRIDE=450 %command%" the great thing with the new patches is that such workarounds will no longer be necessary.

edit: however reading the mesa-dev post it seams that this perhaps does fix some stability for Dying Light that the override did not. In that case this change is even better :)[/quote]
I'm on Ubuntu 18.04 and the launch option you posted doesn't appear to work for me either so maybe the issue isn't completely resolved on Debian based distributions.
tuubi Jul 17, 2018
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I'm on Ubuntu 18.04 and the launch option you posted doesn't appear to work for me either so maybe the issue isn't completely resolved on Debian based distributions.
I think the problems on 18.04 might be a different issue. People have had trouble launching the game on Nvidia as well. Check this forum thread. I'd reinstall and test on Nvidia but downloading >30 gigs for a quick test is just too much.
Enverex Aug 3, 2018
Anyone know anything about the roadmap for the 4.5 Compatibility profile?
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