Home Gaming DirectX 11.2 will be Windows 8.1 and Xbox One exclusive

DirectX 11.2 will be Windows 8.1 and Xbox One exclusive

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build

Microsoft announced at their Build Conference that DirectX 11.2 will only be available for Windows 8.1 and The Xbox One. We are all shocked, no really, we are.

DirectX 11.2 updated in Windows 8.1 will introduce a host of new features, including:

  • HLSL shader linking
  • Inbox HLSL compiler
  • GPU overlay support
  • DirectX tiled resources
  • Direct3D low-latency presentation API
  • DXGI Trim API and map default buffer
  • Frame buffer scaling
  • Multithreading with SurfaceImageSource
  • Interactive Microsoft DirectX composition of XAML visual elements
  • Direct2D batching with SurfaceImageSource

DirectX tiled resources was demoed, showing off the capability of DX11 video cards to use system RAM to improve texture detail. The tiled resources technology will also be used on Xbox One consoles.

It is described as the following:

“Windows 8.1 Preview includes a new Direct3D feature called tiled resources, which exposes a limited virtual graphics memory model to apps and thereby permits loose mapping between logical resource data and physical memory. This allows the creation of large logical resources that utilize small amounts of physical memory. This is useful (for example) with terrain in games, and app UI.”

In short, it makes for better looking graphics. Check out the demo below, it’s not really that impressive in this video, but I’m sure somewhere in the future we’ll all be super impressed. It’s all very next-gen.

Charles Hollemeersch and Matt Sandy hosted a great session on massive virtual textures as well, which is actually well worth watching. It explains the concept in terms any one can understand, and really gives a good look into exactly how Direct3D Tiled Resources will work.

Last Updated: June 28, 2013

30 Comments

  1. ElimiNathan

    June 28, 2013 at 11:04

    HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

    Reply

  2. Captain Minion TallTwit

    June 28, 2013 at 11:08

    Not a fan of Windoos 8.

    Reply

    • Lk Kolz

      February 13, 2014 at 20:52

      No one asked, stfu.

      Reply

  3. Tbone187

    June 28, 2013 at 11:08

    I’m beginning to dislike MS as a whole…

    Reply

  4. John Van Rensburg

    June 28, 2013 at 11:09

    so far, I’m still not seeing any real reason to upgrade to windows 8 yet. nice try MS…try again.

    Reply

  5. 2thpick

    June 28, 2013 at 11:10

    My patience with Windows 8 may actually pay off.

    Reply

  6. Argentil

    June 28, 2013 at 11:10

    This is incorrect. If you’re implying that the PS4 won’t have similar features, I mean.

    “In the youtube clip, the guy doing the presentation said, “This is only possible on a Windows 8.1 machine or a next-gen console like the Xbox One”. He never said Xbox One only.”

    http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=605571

    This is more of a gamechanger for PC owners like myself who are not willing to ‘upgrade’ to Windows 8. I prefer the freedom Win7 affords.

    Reply

    • Umar Kiiroi Senk?

      June 28, 2013 at 11:14

      Well spotted detective!

      Reply

    • Lord Chaos

      June 28, 2013 at 11:15

      I have found no problem with 8. It does exactly what I want and it’s nice and speedy as well.

      Reply

      • Argentil

        June 28, 2013 at 11:18

        That neogaf thread I linked falls into the trap of being a Windows h8-fest. So much hostility. Personally, I prefer Win 7 because it’s more widely supported.

        Reply

        • Lord Chaos

          June 28, 2013 at 11:20

          I honestly can’t find anything wrong with it for my purposes.
          I’m used to using my keyboard over my mouse in most instances not related to gaming and for me it’s actually more friendly.

          Reply

    • HvR

      June 28, 2013 at 11:30

      Correct, a very basic explanation is that DirectX is a library that enables applications to access the hardware of your PC when running a MS OS. So new features on your GPU means a new DirectX is needed.

      It is completely up to Sony how they implement and provide access to the same hardware features on their OS.

      Reply

  7. FoxOneZA - X-Therminator

    June 28, 2013 at 11:30

    Interesting. I wonder how many PC games will actually use these features in the short term and if Sony will be able to support DX11.2 on their system.

    Reply

    • HvR

      June 28, 2013 at 11:34

      DirectX is MS only, the PS4 will use a custom version of the OpenGL library as with the PS3.

      Reply

      • FoxOneZA - X-Therminator

        June 28, 2013 at 11:38

        • HvR

          June 28, 2013 at 11:46

          Well they are not actually implementing DirectX on PS4 they provide an DirectX compatible API (library interface) to make it easier for developers to port Xbox and other MS designed games to the PS4.

          They still running their own library with the the normal OpenGL library API with a secondary DirectX API.

          Since the PS4 and the Xbox One is designed with the same Radeon GPU the graphics feature set between the two would be almost identical and thus be definition the library features as well.

          Reply

          • FoxOneZA - X-Therminator

            June 28, 2013 at 12:01

            Thanks for clearing that up 🙂

  8. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    June 28, 2013 at 11:37

    As I tweeted earlier: I’m getting DirectX10/vista vibes with the push to force folk to embrace Win8 through DirectX 11.2. I’m still not getting Win 8, MS! NEVER!

    Reply

    • LordCaptainAwesomeness

      June 28, 2013 at 12:18

      Been Using Windows 8 at work since launch, and upgraded this morning to 8.1 Preview. For Business it is a nice OS, but …. for Gaming, my home PC stays on Win 7

      Reply

  9. Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

    June 28, 2013 at 11:48

    Nice try Microsoft. Still not moving to windows 8

    Reply

  10. George

    June 28, 2013 at 11:58

    I am not a technical guru, so I am not sure what the implications are. I do have windows 8, but it is annoying to find and do things on there. I was actually considering just moving to Linux.

    Reply

    • LordCaptainAwesomeness

      June 28, 2013 at 12:44

      You are not a Technical Guru, yet you want to move to Linux?

      You are contradicting yourself a bit there. You can right click on something in windows 8, pin it to the start menu or task bar. and for searching, just hit the windows key and start typing what you are searching for.

      Reply

      • George

        June 28, 2013 at 12:53

        What I meant is, I am not a technical guru, so I am not sure what the implications will be with this dx11.2 being exclusive to 8.1. I know how to find things on W8, I just don’t like it and everything feels slower. I just prefer the old Windows 7. Things made sense, but I can’t go back because may copy wasn’t exactly legal… That is why I was considering using Linux because it is free and legal.

        Reply

  11. Mark Treloar

    June 28, 2013 at 13:52

    Yes, I finally have an operating system that’s .2 times better than anything else. Bucket list ticked.

    Reply

  12. OminousRain

    June 28, 2013 at 15:02

    I don’t think ppl need to worry to much about this. If it is exclusive, then I dont think you will need to change to windows 8, as ppl will still make games for PS4 and so forth, So I think many games will still work for windows 7.

    Developers will probably start using something other that Direct X in the future.

    Reply

  13. LongWangSilver

    June 28, 2013 at 16:55

    You would think at this point they had learned the lesson with dx10/vista shenanigans.
    Thank god the industry is shifting favorably towards OpenGL

    Reply

    • Mombasa69

      June 28, 2013 at 17:24

      The Industry will only bother to support the next gen consoles, and PC users will just get quickly knocked-out ported game. You’ll most likely need a new GPU that supports the latest Open GL and DX11.2. Currently GPUs only support up to DX11 and Open GL 4.2 as far as I can tell.

      Reply

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