We've only just seen a new release of the Direct3D to Vulkan translation layer DXVK, and now it's powering Left 4 Dead 2 with a fresh free upgrade out now.
Much like we saw with DXVK being added to Portal 2, this new rendering mode is optional. It can be enabled by adding "-vulkan" as a command line option. To do so: right click the game and go to Properties, ensure you're on the General tab on the left, then enter "-vulkan" (without quotes) in the Launch Options box.
There's plenty else that's new including:
- Better support for ultrawide monitors in the UI and game (requires Vulkan if using Linux)
- Marked the game as DPI-aware for high DPI displays.
- Improved default settings for window size and type.
- Improved full-screen quad rendering performance.
- Made captions anti-aliased
- Marked fps_max and viewmodel_fov as FCVAR_RELEASE.
- Cvars 'survivor_incap_health' and 'survivor_incap_decay_rate' can now be changed after startup.
- New cvar 'charger_pz_claw_damage'; functions the same as equivalent melee cvars for other specials.
- New archived cvar "addons_hide_conflict_dialog" suppresses the warning dialog in the addons screen. Any conflicting addons will still be highlighted in red with conflicts printed to the console.
- Added an FOV slider to the Multiplayer settings.
- Added a +bench_demo [name] command line parameter which will run a demo, and quit after it is finished.
- Added a -bench_settings [name] command line parameter to load a cfg/video_bench_{name}.txt file containing settings to load. There are a set of defaults provided, very_high_4k, very_high, high, medium and low.
- Lobbies that connect via a forced server IP are not considered for "Official Only" Quick Match searches.
- Overhauled UI usability on controller
• Added controller button icons across the UI.
• Made confirmation prompts accessible on controller.
• Now able to select mutations on controller.
• Now able to fully manage lobbys on controller.
• Now able to manage addons on controller.
• Now able to browse achievement details on controller.
• The game instructor (in-game hints) now shows controller buttons and hints.
• Added a flashlight binding to the default controller config.
• Made the intro video skippable by any button on a Steam Controller.
Plus a bunch of bug fixes, some of which are Linux specific including a startup crash, possible text corruption fixes for UTF-8 conversion, addon info being truncated "much earlier on Linux", the Windowed (No Border) option should now work on Linux plus a bunch of new scripting hooks for modders.
What's the point in adding Vulkan like this? Well, the original ports from Valve used a layer called ToGL which translated the original Direct3D rendering to OpenGL. With the Vulkan launch option this would replace it. It should give better overall performance, and hopefully smoother framerates. Perhaps even helping with lower end hardware, like an upcoming SteamPal handheld which would make sense for all the controller fixes.
You can play Left 4 Dead 2 on Steam.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
I'm glad that Joshua wasn't playing with me after all
Unfortunately I'm without my Linux notebook and the game seems to be laggy on Windows if I use the
-vulkan parameterBut I think that this will improve with some updates, and hopefully the next game will use Vulkan natively
MisterPaytwick Jun 15, 2021
Edit: Also, not a Valve game per se, but I think Black Mesa would benefit greatly from a DXVK option.
Last edited by Brisse on 15 June 2021 at 7:27 pm UTC
Anyone else getting a strange dialog box just after the intro but before the menu, its unreadable but once click the only click box loads to menu fine?
Would add a picture but not sure how to do it here??
I thought I was the only one :) It almost looked like Hindi or Arabic writing; strange enough with this update it doesn't pop up anymore. Plus a lot of the studder I would get for the left 4 dead 1 parts of the game are gone after using -vulkan.
Makes you wonder if Valve is preparing their library for say, a portable device with lower specs.Absolutely. Seems like a good step.
Now they just need to add that option to CSGO
Yes.
Please Valve... Global Offensive next... I never asked for anything... I love you
Yes.
Is Half Life (2) actually on Vulkan?
No, Half-Life 2 is still using ToGL on Linux. It has less demanding artwork than L4D2 or Portal 2, so it's usually not much of a problem in practice.
Last edited by Calinou on 15 June 2021 at 10:22 pm UTC
furaxhornyx Jun 16, 2021
To do so: right click the game and go to Properties, ensure you're on the General tab on the left, then enter "-vulkan" (without quotes) in the Launch Options box.
Shouldn't this be
-vulkan %command%?
To do so: right click the game and go to Properties, ensure you're on the General tab on the left, then enter "-vulkan" (without quotes) in the Launch Options box.
Shouldn't this be
-vulkan %command%
?
No, launch options are appended to the %command%, unless it's there. So you only need it in case you want to prefix the command with other options, like an environment variable. Here, either `%command% -vulkan` or `-vulkan` works.
Last edited by Faalagorn on 16 June 2021 at 11:27 pm UTC
But I didn't enabled "-vulkan" option, maybe that's was a problem.
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