Since 2018, Nvidia has been offering RTX cards that have cool features such as ray tracing and mesh shaders. However, Microsoft has since been looking for a standard that can handle the new possibilities, even if you don't have Nvidia hardware in your PC. The answer to that problem is DirectX 12 Ultimate.
DirectX 12 Ultimate has been available to everyone since the May update for Windows 10. The technology, as it were, packs all kinds of standards and possibilities together, and packs them into one standardized package suitable for PC and Xbox. That's good news for gamers, as it gives them access to things like ray tracing. That's video game technology that makes light behave drastically differently in a digital world; almost just like in real life.
Since future RDNA 2 GPUs from ARM, as well as the Xbox Series X, will support DirectX 12 Ultimate, it's time to take a look at what the technology is all about.
DirectX 12 Ultimate: games look nicer
As mentioned, there is ray tracing. Light behaves just like in real life. This produces realistic light rays, but also lifelike reflections in objects. Shadows also take on a visual depth we haven't seen before.
In addition, there is something called Variable Rate Shading. Normally, it is determined per pixel which color, how much contrast and which brightness is applied. But thanks to the variable nature of this technique, the focus is now mainly on the most important places of what the player will see. This relieves the burden on the (game) computer, because the complete resolution does not always have to be treated.
A racing game is a good example of this. The car should look razor sharp, but those flying trees and fences don't need the same attention.
Then we have Mesh Shaders. Here too, the system can work much more efficiently. Developers can therefore lose a lot of detail in their digital worlds, without overloading the system. Primary objects get more detail (meaning they are assigned more triangles – that's the basis of a 3d design), while other objects require less detail.
The latest addition is Sampler Feedback. Again technology that allows computers to work much more efficiently. The technology improves the way textures are loaded. Textures are the details on the surface that you see as a player. The idea behind this part is that a (game) computer determines much smarter which textures need more detail, while using less working memory. This should ultimately benefit the frame rate.
How do you recognize DirectX 12 Ultimate games?
First you have to make sure you get the right hardware before you can start thinking about games. Then you have to make sure that you have Windows 10 so up-to-date that the technology of the graphics card can actually be used. Next, you will look for games that bear the DX12 symbol. Xbox Series X gamers are in luck: as soon as you see that game console's logo on the box, you know for sure that you get access to all of the above.
If you do have a game that supports the technology, but you don't have the right graphics card yet, then there is no man overboard. The system may not support the new technology, but you can still play the game.
