The next generation of consoles will bring a host of very advanced features that will undoubtedly take our experience to another level… but they won't have exclusivity over them. In fact, a very close relationship between consoles and computers is anticipated, and one of the most compelling proofs is DirectX 12 Ultimate, an update to Microsoft's classic API that responds to new technologies like ray tracing, and to the demands of developers for deeper hardware access. The question is… will it be enough?
Microsoft already shared the technical specifications of its Xbox Series X (formerly Project Scarlett). Sony did exactly the same with its PlayStation 5, and we can't wait to see both consoles in action. Of course… every platform is as good as its content, and if developers have difficulties creating games for them, they won't get far. From a certain point of view, something similar happened on PC with DirectX 12. The number of games that support that API is lower than we expected, while Vulkan keeps gaining ground with pure performance.
Now, that doesn't mean DirectX 12 is useless. If developers have difficulties working with that API, all Microsoft has to do is eliminate them, or alternatively, reduce their impact. That's where DirectX 12 Ultimate points, an update that essentially unifies Windows systems with the Xbox Series X, transferring the console's main advantages to computers with compatible graphics cards.
The Four Pillars of DirectX 12 Ultimate
The first is ray tracing, promoted ad nauseam by Nvidia. Ray tracing has been something of a fiasco with the current generation of hardware, but DirectX 12 Ultimate promises lower-level access, and let's not forget that the Xbox Series X will support ray tracing with its Radeon GPU from the start.
The second is variable rate shading, which allows developers to select the shading rate in certain portions of each frame independently, and concentrate detail (that is, the workload) where it's really needed, leaving other elements in the background.
The third is what's known as mesh shaders, which parallelize mesh processing by dividing it into individual meshlets, thus enabling immediate processing instead of sequential. The idea is to reduce rendering latency and provide greater control over overall geometry.
Finally, we have sampler feedback, which assists developers in determining what level of detail the textures rendered "on the fly" require. In other words, a shader can "find out" which part of a texture would be needed to accomplish a task without executing the operation itself. Its benefit combines rendering larger textures while reducing VRAM consumption.
https://old.neoteo.com/que-es-la-tasa-de-refresco-y-por-que-es-importante/The Fine Print
On one hand, the current generation of hardware won't support all the features of DirectX 12 Ultimate, but backward compatibility is guaranteed. And on the other… we have to wait. DirectX 12 Ultimate will only be available in Windows 10 build 2004, which Redmond will release at some point in May (or maybe later, courtesy of certain biological malware going around).
Source: Ars Technica
