The world of video games can be wonderful, but also very expensive if what you decide is to go from consoles and jump to the computer market. Being up to date with the latest hardware is quite complicated, with all the new cards, processors, and accessories that are released all the time.
Graphics API (application programming interface) power all your games and programs.
Without it, no one would ever play any video game! It determines how one set of software communicates with another set of software.
What is Vulkan?
Vulkan is a multiplatform API designed for the development of applications with 3D graphics. In other words, it is a low-level graphics library for the creation of 3D graphics and effects. It was first announced at the GDC 2015 by the Khronos Group.
Initially, it was presented as “the next-generation OpenGL initiative”, but then the name was discarded, leaving Vulkan as the final version.
Vulkan is based on Mantle, an API of the company AMD, whose code was assigned to Khronos with the intention of generating an open standard similar to OpenGL, but at low level.
Its main feature is that it can take advantage of the full number of cores of the main processor of PCs, dramatically increasing graphics performance. In that sense, it is very similar to DirectX 12, its direct competitor, which only works in Windows. Unlike the Microsoft API, Vulkan can work on a wide range of platforms, including Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10, Android and Linux.
| Game | Release | Genre | Developer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ashes Of The Singularity Escalation | 2016-11-10 | Indie | Oxide Games |
 | Ballistic Overkill | 2017-03-28 | Action & Shooter | Aquiris Game Studio |
 | Doom | 2016-05-12 | Action & Shooter | id Software |
 | Doom 3 Bfg Edition | 2012-10-18 | Horror | id Software |
 | F1 2017 | 2017-08-25 | Race | Codemasters Birmingham |
 | Mad Max | 2015-09-01 | Adventure | Avalanche Studios |
 | Quake | 2020-08-19 | Action & Shooter | id Software |
 | Quake III Arena Team Arena | 2000-12-19 | Action & Shooter | id Software |
 | Counter Strike Global Offensive Prime Status Upgrade | 2012-08-21 | Action & Shooter | Valve |
 | Rise Of The Tomb Raider | 2016-01-28 | Adventure | Crystal Dynamics |
 | Serious Sam Vr The Last Hope | 2016-10-17 | Action & Shooter | Croteam |
 | The Talos Principle | 2014-12-11 | Adventure | Croteam |
 | Total War Saga Thrones Of Britannia | 2018-05-03 | Strategy | The Creative Assembly |
 | Warhammer 40000 Dawn Of War Master Collection | 2006-01-01 | Strategy | Relic Entertainment |
 | Wolfenstein Ii The New Colossus | 2017-10-27 | Action & Shooter | MachineGames |
Vulkan was designed to perform better than other APIs, including its predecessor, OpenGL. Vulkan offers a less overhead and more direct control over the GPU and less CPU usage. The general concept and feature set of Vulkan is similar to Directx 12, Metal and Mantle.
The advantages of Vulkan over the previous generation APIs:
As a multiplatform library, Vulkan has extensive support in the video game industry.
Vulkan is ideal for high-end graphics cards, as well as for graphics hardware on mobile devices (OpenGL has a specific subset for mobile devices called OpenGL ES, it is still an alternative API on Vulkan compatible devices).
Unlike Directx 12, Vulkan is available in multiple modern operating systems; Like OpenGL, the Vulkan API is not blocked in a single operating system. As of the launch, Vulkan runs on Android, Linux, Tizen, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10 (third-party support for iOS and macOS is also available).
What else?
Vulkan will remain as the low-level multi-platform graphics library, while OpenGL will be the high-level graphics library. Among other advantages (at the expense of development effort), Vulkan allows to optimize the headers of API requests for the generation of graphics, elimination of non-essential layers in final developments (such as validation and debugging), better management of parallel processing on graphics cards, and reducing the CPU processing needs.
It also simplifies the development of shaders, in charge of creating special effects and transformations in games, they are the differentiating element and really the most complex in a video game. They manage elements such as smoke, fire or shadows, which is what gives today’s games a higher quality and graphics depth. In addition, SPIR-V is a binary format that partially simplifies developing shaders for Vulkan with other languages in a precompiled format.
The first game with Vulkan support was a philosophical puzzle game —The Talos Principle.
The game consists of solving puzzles and moving around in an extraordinary world filled to the brim with beautiful locations
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation
| Release date: | 2016 |
| Genre: | RTS |
A lavish real-time strategy video game and its new expansion: Escalation. Thousands of military units operate at the same time with more than twelve simultaneous players in a state of total war.
Two new campaigns allow you to delve into the history of Substrate from the points of view of Haalee and the PHC, fight on new even bigger than before maps of lava and crystal and discover new units of both factions. Vulkan support will be added in the next version.
Ballistic Overkill
| Release date: | 2017 |
| Genre: | RTS |
Ballistic Overkill is an action-shooter focused on multiplayer combat. The rules are simple: kill or die.
The title developed by Aquiris Game Studio features up to seven classes with different skills, more then 80 weapons,, a dozen maps (from shops and parks, to abandoned hospitals and factories), and four game modes.
Vulkan support was launched in May 2017.
Doom
| Release date: | 2016 |
| Genre: | FPS |
A legendary first-person-shooter. Terrifying and focused on action, this new incarnation of the first-person action game takes us to a futuristic world full of demons and other monsters.
The game presenting us all with an arsenal of weapons and several modes of a game for one player, as well as online.
Vulkan support was launched in July 2016.
Doom 3
| Release date: | 2004 |
| Genre: | FPS |
A dark game with thrilling action based on terror and suspense. A spectacular graphic engine was used to render abominable creatures, a lot of blood and generate a lot of fear.
The resurgence of a legend.
A Vulkan port of support Doom 3 BFG was launched in August 2017.
Mad Max
| Release date: | 2015 |
| Genre: | Action-Adventure |
A third-person action game with an open world in which players become Mad Max, a lonely warrior in a post-apocalyptic world in which cars are the key to survival.
The players need to balance completing crucial missions, fighting enemies, and exploring the region for resources needed to create the ultimate vehicle.
Quake
| Release date: | 1999 |
| Genre: | FPS |
A brutal, classic 3D FPS filled with deathmatches and fast-paced action.
Vulkan port was launched in July 2016.
QUAKE III Arena
| Release date: | 1999 |
| Genre: | FPS |
Quake III Arena is an action FPS game developed by id Software and distributed by Activision for PC.
The release date of this video game is December 15, 1999.
A modification of the Quake 3 engine added Vulkan support in May 2017.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
| Release date: | 2012 |
| Genre: | FPS |
The game will be transferred to Source 2 and will be compatible with Vulkan.
Counter Strike (or simply CS) is the first-person shooter action video game. Fourth installment of the Valve saga, CS GO maintains the familiar approach: two teams, terrorists and anti-terrorists, fighting each other to achieve goals such as planting / deactivating a bomb.
This is one of the most popular multiplayer FPS in eSports and has dedicated servers as well as customized games where you can enjoy up to six game modes.
Although it is possible to play Counter Strike with bots offline, the most popular aspect of the game is its online multiplayer. Throughout five game modes (competitive, casual, deathmatch, armst race and demolition) the avatars of the players can acquire realistic weapons and equipment with virtual money during a game, and lose them when they die.
The gameplay of Counter Strike: Global Offensive has made it a favorite of many players, particularly in the PC community. It is also available on Mac, Linux, and the Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles. CSGO is in a true top tier of eSports games.
Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
| Release date: | 2017 |
| Genre: | Action |
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus is the second installemnt of the rebooted Wolfenstein franchise, developed by Machine Games and published by Bethesda.
The game is set in the year 1961 of an alternative timeline in which Nazi Germany conquered the United States.
As BJ Blazkowicz, an icon offirst-person shooters, the player must equip themselves with an arsenal of brutal weapons and unleash new skills to break through legions of advanced Nazi soldiers, cyborgs and übers. The players will visit places like Roswell, New Mexico, New Orleans and more, all rendered using the idTech graphics engine.
Launched in November 2017 with Vulkan support.
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