Linux video gaming’s march toward being a genuine, actual thing has taken serious strides recently, due in big part to Valve’s Proton-powered Steam Play efforts. Being Linux, there are still some quirks to determine. One of them includes video games trying to make use of Intel’s upscaling tools.
Intel’s ARC series GPUs are interesting, in many senses of the word. They provide the best execution of Intel’s image restoration system, XeSS, similar to Nvidia’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR. XeSS, like its counterparts, utilizes device finding out to fill out the pixel spaces on anti-aliased things and scenes. The results are often clear, often a bit fuzzy if you pay close attention. In our review of Intel’s A770 and A750 GPUs in late 2022, we noted that cross-compatibility in between all 3 systems could be in the works.
That type of easy-swap function is not the case when a game is running on a customized version of the WINE Windows-on-Linux, translating Direct3D graphics contacts us to Vulkan and prodding to see whether it, too, can use Intel’s graphics increase. As noted by Phoronix, Intel designers contributing to the open source Mesa graphics project added the capability to conceal an Intel GPU from the Vulkan Linux motorist.
The “force_vk_vendor” system was needed to prevent video games like Cyberpunk 2077 from discovering an Intel GPU and seeking to utilize its specific version of XeSS, which led to crashes. A devote earlier this week includes Hogwart’s Legacy to the list of video games that require to imitate they don’t know about an ARC GPU, joining Cyberpunk 2077 and Spider-Man Remastered.
Upscaling systems are likely to be an important part of PC video gaming moving forward, possibly making their compatibility a concern for Steam Play, Mesa, and Linux video gaming as a whole. The designers of recently released third-person-shooter Remnant II just recently mentioned in a Reddit posting (via WCCF Tech) that the video game was designed “with upscaling in mind (DLSS/FSR/XeSS).”
Relying on upscaling to strengthen efficiency, specifically at lower resolutions, might be ill-advised. But nearly every significant game release brings with it news of which vendor’s upscaling system is consisted of or preferred. It’s still impressive how many games just run at all on an OS for which they were never built, but it may never stop being a challenging challenge.