DirectX 12 is going to improve lot of technical processes when it launches late next year. Gaming PCs that have a multiple GPU set up will see benefits as the new iteration of the API will make sure there are no bottlenecks due to the CPU. However this does not mean that simply using DX 12 will resolve all the problems in one go. The developers will still need to code accordingly.
In our interview with Bryan Tarlowski, Marketing Director at Gamebase and Yoonjae Hwang who is one of the lead engineers on Gamebryo, it was revealed that DX12 will require applications do a lot of validation and book keeping. Book keeping means that developers need to use the same section of the code at different places, with little to no changes.
“Although it’s true that DirectX12 offers opportunities for better performance by allowing developers a lot of low-level control of graphics device, it also means that application needs to do explicitly a lot of book keeping and validation that video drivers used to do for us,” the duo said to GamingBolt.
However they will be using the next iteration of Gamebryo to resolve this issue. “Using Gamebryo can eliminate this kind of tedious work from developers while still obtaining all the benefits of DX12. Also Gamebryo abstracts away architectural differences between DX11 and DX12 like the removal of immediate context, so Gamebryo can help developers move to DX12 in the least intrusive way.”
In the end, nothing happens magically. DirectX 12 will no doubt change the game development scene for PC gaming and Xbox One. But developers will still need to find ways to properly optimize and program according to the new API.
We will have more coverage on Gamebase and Gamebryo. Stay tuned.