Microsoft has announced a new feature that will reduce initial load times called advanced shader delivery. According to the DirectX Developer Blog, this will move shader compilation from the device to the cloud, allowing you to download the necessary files directly to your device for caching. Aside from allowing you to get into your game much faster, with the company reporting an observed 85% reduction in loading times for Avowed, it also claims to save your battery and processing power, as Microsoft handles the heavy lifting on its end.
Shader compilation is traditionally done on-device, as it must be compiled specifically for your game, GPU, and driver version. This means that shader compilation performance will vary based on your software and hardware — and with the nearly infinite number of variations out there, it was next to impossible for developers to pre-compile shaders for every device. However, Microsoft changed this by creating a new standard format called State Object Database (SODB).
The company collects the shader data from the game and packages it into an SODB. The DirectX developers then worked with GPU manufacturers to separate the shader compiler from the graphics driver, allowing the team to merge it with the SODB and create a Precompiled Shader Database (PSDB). When you download a game through the Xbox PC App, it will detect your system configuration and include the proper PSDB for your system. So, when you launch a game for the first time, it will detect the pre-loaded shaders and skip the lengthy compilation process.
It allegedly also works even if you update your driver or even upgrade your GPU, as the Xbox PC app should be able to notice any changes to your device and download the necessary PSDB for your game. But, in case your system is unique, and Microsoft doesn’t have a PSDB for it yet (say, you’re running beta drivers), your computer is still capable of compiling shaders on its own.
This feature will be first available on the Asus ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X, set to launch on October 16, but Microsoft hints that it will have wider availability in the future. It also doesn’t require additional work from game developers at the moment, meaning all the compilation work is done on Xbox’s servers. Still, the company says that it plans to collaborate with the wider gaming industry to integrate advanced shader delivery directly into game engines, saving gamers from long loading times, but also making us more dependent on Xbox’s online services.
Follow Tom’s Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
