DirectX feature level 12_2 is coming, and according to Microsoft the jump from feature level 12_1 will be huge.
A new blog post details what kind of features will be included in DirectX feature level 12_2. The goal is to streamline what Microsoft is calling 'big-ticket items', such as the ones that constitute the basis of DirectX 12 Ultimate (DirectX raytracing, Mesh shaders, Variable rate shading, Sampler feedback) for the benefit of developers.
Capabilities
All the things which comprise feature level 12_2 also exist in terms of capabilities and feature tiers queryable through CheckFeatureSupport. No hidden capabilities or anything like that.
If a device is feature level 12_2, it has:
Feature 12_2 minimum Public spec Required driver model WDDM 2.0 Shader Model 6.5 Link Raytracing tier Tier 1.1 Link Variable shading rate Tier 2 Link Mesh shader tier Tier 1 Link Sampler feedback Tier 0.9 Link Resource Binding Tier Tier 3 Link Tiled Resources Tier 3 Conservative Rasterization Tier 3 Link Root Signature Tier 1.1 Link DepthBoundsTestSupported TRUE Link WriteBufferImmediateSupportFlags Direct, Compute, Bundle MaxGPUVirtualAddressBitsPerResource 40 MaxGPUVirtualAddressBitsPerProcess 40 Additionally, it has the following flags set:
Feature 12_2 value WaveOps TRUE OutputMergerLogicOp TRUE VPAndRTArrayIndexFromAnyShaderFeedingRasterizerSupportWithoutGSEmulation TRUE CopyQueueTimestampQueriesSupported TRUE CastingFullyTypedFormatSupported TRUE Int64ShaderOps TRUE
An interesting change is that with DirectX feature level 12_2, only Direct3D 12 will be compatible, whereas with previous feature levels developers had the chance to use Direct3D as well. Perhaps this will encourage them to abandon the aging Direct3D 11.
Lastly, in terms of compatibility, Microsoft revealed that this new feature level is supported on all NVIDIA GeForce RTX and NVIDIA Quadro RTX GPUs, on AMD's upcoming RDNA 2 based GPUs, on Intel's discrete GPUs that are on the roadmap, and lastly even on Snapdragon platforms thanks to a collaboration with Qualcomm.
D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL_12_2 is already available through the Windows Insider program (SDK and build version 20170 and later). You'll need both the preview OS and SDK to get started as a developer.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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