Back in March, AMD announced the V-EZ Vulkan wrapper, with an aim to make Vulkan development easier. Now it seems they have open sourced it.
V-EZ is an open source, cross-platform (Windows and Linux) wrapper intended to alleviate the inherent complexity and application responsibility of using the Vulkan API. V-EZ attempts to bridge the gap between traditional graphics APIs and Vulkan by providing similar semantics to Vulkan while lowering the barrier to entry and providing an easier to use API.
When they initially announced V-EZ, they said it would be closed source and they would be working with "professional ISVs who would benefit from acquiring the source code".
I've seen a lot of developers mention how Vulkan really is a much more complex beast, which makes sense since it's supposed to be closer to the hardware than OpenGL with a smaller, leaner driver giving developers more power and control. That's not great for everyone though, so projects like this are still going to be useful. Previously, their GitHub page said "V-EZ is not aimed at game developers.", however they seem to have removed that now too.
AMD did say that the overhead from using the wrapper should be "negligible and measured in the range of microseconds for tens of thousands of API calls".
Find it on GitHub, license can be seen here which looks like the MIT license.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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The comments on this article are closed.
Interesting, may it be that Valve convinced AMD to open source the product and to change the "target" of it?
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Quoting: Fenix2412Interesting, may it be that Valve convinced AMD to open source the product and to change the "target" of it?Possibly yeah. This was a thought that crossed my mind too.
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Arehandoro Aug 24, 2018
Yet another reason to continue liking AMD :)
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buenaventura Aug 24, 2018
Quoting: liamdaweQuoting: Fenix2412Interesting, may it be that Valve convinced AMD to open source the product and to change the "target" of it?Possibly yeah. This was a thought that crossed my mind too.
The recent revelations from Valve has made me rethink stuff and falling into tin foil hat thinking, like, what if they made SteamOS slightly uninspiring and their general linux strategy slightly unimpressive, just to make all competitors think "oh look, linux gaming is a dead end, just look at valve, they are getting nothing for their trouble" and then POUNCE on the linux market like this, so that they have a competetive edge by being first and best? Because in retrospect, becoming a patron and master of wine and linux gaming seems like a good long term plan really.
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qptain Nemo Aug 24, 2018
Quoting: buenaventuraIt's unlikely when there is a much more mundane reason — i.e. accomplishing anything of substance takes effort and time — but I'd be okay with that scenario. I respect smart tactical plays with positive outcomes.Quoting: liamdaweQuoting: Fenix2412Interesting, may it be that Valve convinced AMD to open source the product and to change the "target" of it?Possibly yeah. This was a thought that crossed my mind too.
The recent revelations from Valve has made me rethink stuff and falling into tin foil hat thinking, like, what if they made SteamOS slightly uninspiring and their general linux strategy slightly unimpressive, just to make all competitors think "oh look, linux gaming is a dead end, just look at valve, they are getting nothing for their trouble" and then POUNCE on the linux market like this, so that they have a competetive edge by being first and best? Because in retrospect, becoming a patron and master of wine and linux gaming seems like a good long term plan really.
4 Likes, Who?
Arehandoro Aug 24, 2018
Quoting: buenaventuraQuoting: liamdaweQuoting: Fenix2412Interesting, may it be that Valve convinced AMD to open source the product and to change the "target" of it?Possibly yeah. This was a thought that crossed my mind too.
The recent revelations from Valve has made me rethink stuff and falling into tin foil hat thinking, like, what if they made SteamOS slightly uninspiring and their general linux strategy slightly unimpressive, just to make all competitors think "oh look, linux gaming is a dead end, just look at valve, they are getting nothing for their trouble" and then POUNCE on the linux market like this, so that they have a competetive edge by being first and best? Because in retrospect, becoming a patron and master of wine and linux gaming seems like a good long term plan really.
It could also be that Valve have promissed AMD to be the only manufacturer of the future/upcoming re-release of Steam Machines... That would assure enough dough for AMD and an argument of enough weight to continue being open source.
But that's just my Friday afternoon rant, perhaps I'm completely mistaken haha.
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I don't think that Valve and AMD have some secret business arrangement. As for Valve becoming lord and master of Linux gaming, they aren't just using all open tools to accomplish it, they are sending their code back into the projects they are using, meaning GoG can do this too. Humble can do this, too. EA can do this, too. ActiBlizzard can do this, too. YOU CAN DO THIS, TOO. Valve got there first, so yep, they are going to be top dog.
Right now there IS NO LINUX MARKET worth noting. Half of a percent is nothing. Have you noticed that Valve has already said that they have no plans to incorporate any of this into their Apple storefront? Why? Answer = everyone that wants an Apple computer already has one. Their marketshare if anything is DWINDLING as their people tire of paying more for hardware they can't upgrade to run software that's also available on Windows. So if you are Valve you know the only hope you have of keeping Microsoft from forcing everybody onto some new Windows Live and off of Steam is to directly fund a competitor that can actually GROW it's marketshare. Apple doesn't want the help. Apple doesn't care, or worse, Apple has it's own plans and might work against you(Metal anyone?). So what do you do if you're Valve?
Valve is using Linux as a weapon against Microsoft. Valve wants to make and sell games, not operating systems and office productivity software. If FreeDOS, BSD, or ReactOS could do this then Valve would have gone with one of those for SteamOS. But none of them are mature enough. They CAN'T fill this role. But Linux can. In fact Linux is the ONLY OS that can do this, precisely because it's a mature OS that no one can truly control. Okay. Now they have an OS, all they needed was an API to rival DirectX because OpenGL already lost that fight repeatedly.... and thank you there's Vulkan(pray that Sony chooses it for the PS5).
You give a Windows user a computer with Mint Cinnamon on it and they are right at home. And now they have all their Windows games on Steam that install and play identically to their Windows experience(more or less). Even with the reality that maybe half the games work with Steam Play across all distros right now, it doesn't matter. As long as the situation continues to steadily improve people will start to switch knowing that there will be a future where Valve has their back, and that future means not having to deal with Microsoft or Apple.
As for the open sourcing of V-EZ and redirected target, from the description it looks like it would help out indie devs that know nothing about Vulkan, and if we know anything about AMD's software side of things, they need all the help they can get. I also cannot stress this enough, Linux's future is tied to Vulkan. We really need to realize this. Right now "Linux support" means Vulkan and no extra DR beyond Steam for WINE compatibility. All the help they can get is good.
Last edited by jarhead_h on 24 August 2018 at 6:08 pm UTC
Right now there IS NO LINUX MARKET worth noting. Half of a percent is nothing. Have you noticed that Valve has already said that they have no plans to incorporate any of this into their Apple storefront? Why? Answer = everyone that wants an Apple computer already has one. Their marketshare if anything is DWINDLING as their people tire of paying more for hardware they can't upgrade to run software that's also available on Windows. So if you are Valve you know the only hope you have of keeping Microsoft from forcing everybody onto some new Windows Live and off of Steam is to directly fund a competitor that can actually GROW it's marketshare. Apple doesn't want the help. Apple doesn't care, or worse, Apple has it's own plans and might work against you(Metal anyone?). So what do you do if you're Valve?
Valve is using Linux as a weapon against Microsoft. Valve wants to make and sell games, not operating systems and office productivity software. If FreeDOS, BSD, or ReactOS could do this then Valve would have gone with one of those for SteamOS. But none of them are mature enough. They CAN'T fill this role. But Linux can. In fact Linux is the ONLY OS that can do this, precisely because it's a mature OS that no one can truly control. Okay. Now they have an OS, all they needed was an API to rival DirectX because OpenGL already lost that fight repeatedly.... and thank you there's Vulkan(pray that Sony chooses it for the PS5).
You give a Windows user a computer with Mint Cinnamon on it and they are right at home. And now they have all their Windows games on Steam that install and play identically to their Windows experience(more or less). Even with the reality that maybe half the games work with Steam Play across all distros right now, it doesn't matter. As long as the situation continues to steadily improve people will start to switch knowing that there will be a future where Valve has their back, and that future means not having to deal with Microsoft or Apple.
As for the open sourcing of V-EZ and redirected target, from the description it looks like it would help out indie devs that know nothing about Vulkan, and if we know anything about AMD's software side of things, they need all the help they can get. I also cannot stress this enough, Linux's future is tied to Vulkan. We really need to realize this. Right now "Linux support" means Vulkan and no extra DR beyond Steam for WINE compatibility. All the help they can get is good.
Last edited by jarhead_h on 24 August 2018 at 6:08 pm UTC
5 Likes, Who?
buenaventura Aug 24, 2018
Quoting: jarhead_hI don't think that Valve and AMD have some secret business arrangement. As for Valve becoming lord and master of Linux gaming, they aren't just using all open tools to accomplish it, they are sending their code back into the projects they are using, meaning GoG can do this too. Humble can do this, too. EA can do this, too. ActiBlizzard can do this, too. YOU CAN DO THIS, TOO. Valve got there first, so yep, they are going to be top dog.
Right now there IS NO LINUX MARKET worth noting. Half of a percent is nothing. Have you noticed that Valve has already said that they have no plans to incorporate any of this into their Apple storefront? Why? Answer = everyone that wants an Apple computer already has one. Their marketshare if anything is DWINDLING as their people tire of paying more for hardware they can't upgrade to run software that's also available on Windows. So if you are Valve you know the only hope you have of keeping Microsoft from forcing everybody onto some new Windows Live and off of Steam is to directly fund a competitor that can actually GROW it's marketshare. Apple doesn't want the help. Apple doesn't care, or worse, Apple has it's own plans and might work against you(Metal anyone?). So what do you do if you're Valve?
Valve is using Linux as a weapon against Microsoft. Valve wants to make and sell games, not operating systems and office productivity software. If FreeDOS, BSD, or ReactOS could do this then Valve would have gone with one of those for SteamOS. But none of them are mature enough. They CAN'T fill this role. But Linux can. In fact Linux is the ONLY OS that can do this, precisely because it's a mature OS that no one can truly control. Okay. Now they have an OS, all they needed was an API to rival DirectX because OpenGL already lost that fight repeatedly.... and thank you there's Vulkan(pray that Sony chooses it for the PS5).
You give a Windows user a computer with Mint Cinnamon on it and they are right at home. And now they have all their Windows games on Steam that install and play identically to their Windows experience(more or less). Even with the reality that maybe half the games work with Steam Play across all distros right now, it doesn't matter. As long as the situation continues to steadily improve people will start to switch knowing that there will be a future where Valve has their back, and that future means not having to deal with Microsoft or Apple.
As for the open sourcing of V-EZ and redirected target, from the description it looks like it would help out indie devs that know nothing about Vulkan, and if we know anything about AMD's software side of things, they need all the help they can get. I also cannot stress this enough, Linux's future is tied to Vulkan. We really need to realize this. Right now "Linux support" means Vulkan and no extra DR beyond Steam for WINE compatibility. All the help they can get is good.
Well spoken, I agree, it is very clever of Valve and a good strategy.
1 Likes, Who?
My next GPU will be AMD.
<Torvalds with finger to the other manufacturer>
<Torvalds with finger to the other manufacturer>
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Quoting: ThormackMy next GPU will be AMD.
<Torvalds with finger to the other manufacturer>
Currently still running a Phenom II, I am planning a Ryzen 2 2700x build in two phases. Phase 1 will include CPU, mobo, DD4, PSU, 1TB NVME drive. I will be cannibalizing my existing second-choice 1060GTX (I wanted an RX580, thanks crypto-miners) out of the machine I'm using to type this post and drive the Sceptre 32in 1080p 60hz tv it's plugged into. Next Summer begins Phase 2, which will see hopefully an updated version of the LG 43in 4K 43UD79-B(crossing fingers on 120hz, HDR, and Freesync) and hopefully whatever Navi turns out to be. Vega is an under-performer, and I doubt switching it to 7nm is really going to help that enough to justify purchasing it.
NVIDIA's new ray tracing hardware is implemented as a PhysX-like gimmick that pretties up the game without directly affecting gameplay at the cost of killing framerate. It's the first thing every gamer is going to turn off, and it's upping the cost of the cards by $2-300. Plus it's DX12 only right now, and will be coming to Vulkan in the future. Unfortunately, as hostile as NVIDIA is to open source, their cards still work pretty well for Linux.
Last edited by jarhead_h on 24 August 2018 at 10:48 pm UTC
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