Request: Please Consider Native Vulkan Support for FFXIV’s Future

[Greyhawk]

Haha yes s32ialx is "1337 4@X0R" for Serial Killer like from the 80's movie Hackers "Cereal Killer played by Matthew Lillard" but like with my own lil spin on it as a serial port killer not a mass murderer or the breakfast food killer. xDDDD

Ah good times! Hackers was a great one.

[Larirawiel]

Adding Vulkan is not so trivial because this API is conceptual completly different compared to DirectX 11. And they already struggle hard to hire developers.



Cheers

[Terhix]

Adding Vulkan is not so trivial because this API is conceptual completly different compared to DirectX 11. And they already struggle hard to hire developers.



Cheers

• They are struggling to find developers with MMO expertise, but something like a rendering pipeline requires no MMO expertise at all.
• The game already has more than one rendering pipeline since it runs on PS which does not run DirectX.
• Whether SE embraces Vulkan or goes for DX12, they can't just sit on DX11 forever. They do already have in-house expertise with DX12 at least (FFXVI).
• SE has done pretty big reworks in recent memory, like the graphical overhaul or PvP rework with CC. There just needs to be the will to do it.
• WoW was older than FFXIV is today when it added DX12.

[s32ialx]

• They are struggling to find developers with MMO expertise, but something like a rendering pipeline requires no MMO expertise at all.
• The game already has more than one rendering pipeline since it runs on PS which does not run DirectX.
• Whether SE embraces Vulkan or goes for DX12, they can't just sit on DX11 forever. They do already have in-house expertise with DX12 at least (FFXVI).
• SE has done pretty big reworks in recent memory, like the graphical overhaul or PvP rework with CC. There just needs to be the will to do it.
• WoW was older than FFXIV is today when it added DX12.

Not to mention the work it takes to go DX12 is practically the same amount of work involved to go vulkan and DX 12 actually borrows from vulkan.

The thing is, while SE does have DX12 experience from FFXVI, that doesn't actually make DX12 a fundamentally easier path for FFXIV. Once you leave DX11, you're already committing to a full low-level rewrite, explicit memory management, threading, command queues, and that's true whether you go Vulkan or DX12. The conceptual shift away from DX11's driver-managed model is the hard part. Translating the engine to DX12 involves almost the same kind of work as translating to Vulkan. The difference is mostly in API syntax and tooling, not in workload.

SE's DX12 experience helps with familiarity, sure, but it doesn't reduce the core effort needed to modernize FFXIV's renderer. Once you're doing the rewrite, Vulkan's not meaningfully harder, and in some cases, it's more portable and future-proof.

[Larirawiel]

• They are struggling to find developers with MMO expertise, but something like a rendering pipeline requires no MMO expertise at all.

They also lack of developers with rendering pipeline expertise. You can see tons of graphical glitches in many places.


Cheers

[DiaDeem]

When they keep talking about major improvements to the game, this is the kind of thing I want. If they're serious about keeping XIV as a prime service for another 9 years, this is the kind of thing they should have started with.

[s32ialx]

Adding Vulkan is not so trivial because this API is conceptual completly different compared to DirectX 11. And they already struggle hard to hire developers.

Hard or not to implement a new API that's what is called investing in your game to keep your company alive. If you are not willing to invest in making it better than you deserve to fail. Think about even 5 years from now, when people have cards that literally can't play XIV cause it just does not work with their cards at all.

When they keep talking about major improvements to the game, this is the kind of thing I want. If they're serious about keeping XIV as a prime service for another 9 years, this is the kind of thing they should have started with.

Yes exactly, sure it may be "hard" to do but if you don't do it, the game just wont' work for people who upgrade and then they will just find another game cause no ones going to downgrade just for a game.

[RedLolly]

It would be very nice to have native linux support esp with the steam machines coming out next year

As I said before, FFXIV already works almost flawlessly on SteamOS, which is a Linux based system.

[s32ialx]

As I said before, FFXIV already works almost flawlessly on SteamOS, which is a Linux based system.

right I guess that's just 'good enough than' but a native client could run better is all I was saying.

[Greyhawk]

right I guess that's just 'good enough than' but a native client could run better is all I was saying.

Yeah and there are a lot of us that don't use Steam to play this game, or others.