The video discusses the introduction of the Vulcan graphics API in Star Citizen version 3.23, showcasing promising performance improvements such as smoother frame times and higher 1% percentile FPS in some scenarios compared to DirectX 11, but cautioning against enabling Vulcan due to critical bugs like a memory leak and resolution settings issues in the current version. Despite the positive signs, it’s recommended to stick with DirectX 11 for now and wait for upcoming releases to address the bugs before considering switching to Vulcan for improved performance in the game.
The video discusses the introduction of Vulkan graphics API in Star Citizen version 3.23, comparing its performance with DirectX 11. Testing was conducted on various systems including a 7800X and a 480 GPU at different resolutions. Results showed promising signs with Vulcan, such as smoother frame times and higher 1% percentile FPS in some scenarios. However, it was noted that multi-threaded rendering is not enabled in this version of the game, which may impact performance. Despite the positive signs, the speaker emphasized that this is not a polished version of Vulcan and that it’s still a work in progress.
Testing at different resolutions revealed varying results. At 1080p and 1440p, Vulcan showed smoother frame times and higher 1% percentile FPS compared to DirectX 11. However, at 4K resolution, there were some anomalies where the 480 GPU became slightly GPU bound, leading to a higher average FPS with DirectX 11. Nonetheless, the 1% percentile FPS remained higher with Vulcan, indicating better frame pacing and reduced stuttering. The speaker also tested the minimum spec system and a gaming laptop, both showing improvements in smoothness with Vulcan.
Despite the promising performance improvements with Vulkan, the speaker highlighted some critical bugs in the current 3.23 version that may affect gameplay. One major issue was a potential memory leak with Vulkan, causing significant VRAM usage increase after each run. Another bug involved resolution settings, where the system defaulted back to 4K when attempting to lower the resolution for testing. These issues led the speaker to recommend against enabling Vulkan in the current version of the game due to these critical bugs affecting performance.
The speaker mentioned that a patch (3.23.1) was released in the PTU to address some of the issues with Vulkan, including the memory leak problem. While more fixes are being implemented, the speaker advised players to stick with DirectX 11 for now and allow the developers to iron out the problems with Vulkan in upcoming releases. Despite the bugs, the speaker acknowledged the significance of having Vulkan in Star Citizen and expressed excitement for the promising future it holds once the API is fully optimized and ready for use. Overall, while Vulkan shows potential for smoother performance, it’s recommended to wait for a more stable release before switching from DirectX 11.
