Two new passes have been added to spirv-opt to automatically convert SPIR-V shaders to utilize RelaxedPrecision semantics. These passes allow the developer to take advantage of lower precision computations without having to make changes to the shader source. The first pass can be used to automatically convert a whole SPIR-V shader to use RelaxedPrecision, which can be advantageous on both mobile and desktop GPUs. The second pass can be used to automatically convert a RelaxedPrecision-decorated shader to explicitly use 16-bit precision on devices that do not support RelaxedPrecision, but do support the VK_KHR_shader_float16_int8 extension, such as iOS/MoltenVK. Click here to read the entire white paper from LunarG.
Benefits of the Vulkan macOS SDK
Targeting macOS with your Vulkan application? Don’t forget that you can take advantage of several important benefits by using the Vulkan SDK for macOS instead of linking directly to MoltenVK. Read on for more information.
Performance Benefits with New LunarG Unified Validation Layer
LunarG released a new unified validation layer with Vulkan SDK 1.1.106.0 that provides new performance benefits. Read on for more information about the new layer and how to access a detailed white paper.
Vulkan SDK for Ubuntu Linux made easier!
LunarG now delivers native Ubuntu Linux packages for all the elements in the Vulkan SDK. LunarG also continues to provide the Linux SDK tarball. Read on for more information about the new packaging and links to the packaging and documentation.
Vulkan Mesa Graphics Driver Developers: check out LunarG’s expanded regression test suite for OpenGL and Vulkan
LunarG released the OpenGL Mesa Graphics driver regression test suite in November 2017. We have now added the ability to test Vulkan Mesa Graphics drivers to this tool. The LunarG test system is a service that provides regular regression testing on Mesa releases for Intel and AMD OpenGL graphics drivers, and now also supports Vulkan. Users can also test their own Vulkan Mesa builds and can compare results to LunarG baselines, LunarG test runs, or other user test runs. The test suite is a collection of trace files created from Linux Vulkan games from Steam. These trace files are used to automate testing of rendering correctness as well as game performance. The full suite of games typically runs overnight with results posted the next day. Click here for the regression test services manual and access to the new Vulkan Mesa Graphics Driver regression test suite. Please let us know how it works for you. For more information about LunarG, Inc., go here.
Tutorial available for new Vulkan Debug Utilities extension
LunarG improved the debugging functionality of the Vulkan API by creating a new extension: VK_EXT_debug_utils. We developed a comprehensive tutorial on the use of the new extension. Read on for more details.
LunarG improves user experience of vulkaninfo program
LunarG updated the vulkaninfo program to improve the user experience. This program is located in the Vulkan SDK available on the LunarXchange website. Two changes were made to vulkaninfo — the addition of the 1) –-html and 2) -j and –-json options.
LunarG’s VLF simplifies Vulkan validation layer creation
Vulkan Layer Factory simplifies Vulkan validation layer creation. LunarG creates tools to help simplify Vulkan development. The LunarG Vulkan Layer Factory (VLF), our latest offering, is a framework based on the canonical Vulkan layer model that facilitates the creation of Vulkan Layers.
