DirectX 11.2 said to be a Windows 8.1 / Xbox One exclusive

Shawn Knight

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directx windows xbox directx 11.2

Microsoft’s upcoming DirectX 11.2 update, first shown off at the company’s Build conference last month, promises to deliver a host of new features and performance improvements in games and apps. But according to reports, the update is reportedly being limited to Windows 8.1 and next generation consoles like the Xbox One.

This exclusivity isn’t something new, however, as Microsoft pulled a similar move when transitioning to DirectX 11.1 as that update requires the use of Windows 8. Before that, DirectX 10 was a Windows Vista exclusive which left Windows XP users high and dry.

Perhaps this is one of Microsoft’s ways to help nudge Windows XP, Vista and 7 users toward upgrading to Redmond’s latest but whether or not it’ll work remains to be seen. Such requirements really did little to lead to the commercial success of Vista or Windows 8 but this time around, the timing is a bit different. Xbox One is just around the corner and if a number of games use it, perhaps it could take root better.

DirectX 11.2 brings with it a new key feature known as Direct3D tiled resources. Microsoft’s Antoine Leblond demonstrated the feature during Build which essentially lets developers easily use GPU and system RAM to store textures. This can be used to pull high resolution assets into a scene without overburdening the graphics card. For consumers, it could ultimately lead to an unprecedented amount of detail that won’t appear fuzzy or blurred when viewed close up.

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Did anyone not see this coming? It only proves MS is determined not to support the large Windows 7 user base. What I really don't understand is the lack in Windows 7 support, before the Windows XP user base was drastically minimized. If the goal is to move people from XP, changing OS versions (and dropping support for said version) every 2 years is not the way forward.

After all if MS is not willing to put out Windows 7 SP2, why would they update DirectX for Windows 7 or Windows 8 (especially if 8.1 is a free upgrade to 8).
 
The same tech (or something similar) is in opengl too. big deal.
Games won't magically support a feature on PC's in the first year they release it. At the rate in which Windows 8.1 is going to be adopted it will take 3-4 years. You just have to hope that some games that eventually get ported from xbox one might get it, but it's very RAM size/speed depended.
 
Yep, Microsoft is nothing if not predictable... It's the Vista/DX10 exclusive all over again. Saves Microsoft massive amounts of retrofit and support overhead, and coincidentally can be used in marketing to try to head up the lukewarm Windows8 sales. Luckily, as JC713 pointed out, game developers aren't going to hop right into this and snub the majority of their potential consumer pool (just as they kept putting out DX9 titles LONG after Microsoft tried pushing their "DX10 is the future" mantra to bolster Vista sales).
 
"No game developers will put money into upgrading a game engine to support a minor DX update. Game developers wait for big releases, not small ones."
Are you a game developer?
 
Anyone notice how good ol' Microsoft continues to link directx iterations to OS ones? Want entertainment, pay up and give up some privacy while at it !

As our access to information is exponentially growing, are we getting so retarded in the eyes of Microsoft that we need them to screen our installed software to tell us which is safe and which not?


http://log.nadim.cc/?p=78
 
This is totally [Windows] Vista all over again, this just covered the "exclusive" missing part added to the exclusive Halo -Halo 2 for Vista, Halo Assault for Windows 8. So it seems they don't learn from their mistakes or they have a collective problem of amnesia.
 
I'm gonna stick with my windows 7 and just wait for someone to crack it. Also, it seems that every other year, Windows comes out with a real shitty OS. Xp was good, Vista sucked. 7 is good, but 8 sucks. Hopefully this trend will continue to windows 9, where they realize the mistakes they have made.
 
Personally I think one of the biggest reasons that game development have stalled the last 5 years is because DirectX 10 & 11 where never backported to Windows XP

The user base that has access to the DirectX version above 9.0c is so small that no developers wanted to put any money towards it.
It is only in the last year that games requiring DirectX 10+ have been released.
It's too bad that OpenGL has lacked so much in the same timeframe, here is to hoping that in the future game companies write their games for OpenGL so we can play them on any platform, and not whatever MS wants to shove down our throats!
 
They are a company trying to make money. What are you guys honestly expecting? It's not surprising that they are giving incentives to try and get people to buy their new products........
They aren't gonna make much money forcing users to buy software/hardware nobody wants. They didn't with Vista and they didn't with Windows 8 yet, and I don't think they will in the future. But they did get money from Windows 7 when they listened more to the consumers.

IDK if they are stupid or what? They failed with Vista, they succeeded with 7, But let's go the Vista way, that might be a good idea. It's like they want profit and are working against them to stop themselves from getting it.
 
What are you guys honestly expecting?
Honestly, I don't care about the DirectX 11.2 revision, Windows 8.1, or XBox One. But yet this seems to be how MS is trying to get everyone moving forward in time. Since I don't see much reason in moving forward with MS, I don't have any expectations with their current offerings.

I am however expecting a Windows 7 SP2 update. Only time will tell, if I ever get my expectation fulfilled. At this rate, I may not care what MS has to offer for the next 10 years. I can harbor rebellion for a very long time, and I'm sure there are others that feel the same way. It would be to MS's best interest, to simply release the damn service pack. Even if they fixed all the issues I have with Windows 8, I still wouldn't buy it because of how they have turned their back on Windows 7. Microsoft has disrespected each and everyone that bought into Windows 7. It will be a long time before I forget this.

What I honestly expect is a company that at least acts as if they care for their user base.
 
They are a company trying to make money. What are you guys honestly expecting? It's not surprising that they are giving incentives to try and get people to buy their new products........
They aren't gonna make much money forcing users to buy software/hardware nobody wants. They didn't with Vista and they didn't with Windows 8 yet, and I don't think they will in the future. But they did get money from Windows 7 when they listened more to the consumers.

IDK if they are stupid or what? They failed with Vista, they succeeded with 7, But let's go the Vista way, that might be a good idea. It's like they want profit and are working against them to stop themselves from getting it.

They invested too much in Windows 8 to not give incentive. What do you expect them to do, trash it and go back to the drawing board because Nobina said they won't make much money?
 
They invested too much in Windows 8 to not give incentive. What do you expect them to do, trash it and go back to the drawing board because Nobina said they won't make much money?

How is a new direct x a new incentive? its pretty much useless now its all down to engines and game devs clearly nothing to do with directx I mean come on ye its easier to develop for but seriously if you want amazing graphics you dont ask for a directx you either use a engine or make your own or just get good game devs.
 
Wastedkill said:

Exclusive until someone makes it work on other versions of windows... won't be all that hard...

YES YES YES
Windows 7 32 bit doesnt allowed using my 4 GB RAM just only 3,2 GB but BIG THANKS for somebody modded the kernel.vxd and handle up to 128 GB.
HA HA Microsoft sucks, Balmeristhan
 
Windows 7 32 bit doesnt allowed using my 4 GB RAM just only 3,2 GB but BIG THANKS for somebody modded the kernel.vxd and handle up to 128 GB.
I doubt that very much, for one reason. If you can address more than 4GB memory at the same time, you are no longer operating under 32-bits. I said address at the same time because paging doesn't count.

Just install the 64-bit version and get it over with. Then you wouldn't need to worry about possible glitches from hacking.
 
They invested too much in Windows 8 to not give incentive. What do you expect them to do, trash it and go back to the drawing board because Nobina said they won't make much money?

How is a new direct x a new incentive? its pretty much useless now its all down to engines and game devs clearly nothing to do with directx I mean come on ye its easier to develop for but seriously if you want amazing graphics you dont ask for a directx you either use a engine or make your own or just get good game devs.

LMAO... I needed that.
 
No game developers will put money into upgrading a game engine to support a minor DX update. Game developers wait for big releases, not small ones.
I'm not convinced big studios are going to pay their engine programmers to sit around twiddling their thumbs when they could be implementing new features that 2 out of 3 major gaming platforms support (Windows, Xbox, PS3).
 
They are a company trying to make money. What are you guys honestly expecting? It's not surprising that they are giving incentives to try and get people to buy their new products........
They aren't gonna make much money forcing users to buy software/hardware nobody wants. They didn't with Vista and they didn't with Windows 8 yet, and I don't think they will in the future. But they did get money from Windows 7 when they listened more to the consumers.

IDK if they are stupid or what? They failed with Vista, they succeeded with 7, But let's go the Vista way, that might be a good idea. It's like they want profit and are working against them to stop themselves from getting it.

They invested too much in Windows 8 to not give incentive. What do you expect them to do, trash it and go back to the drawing board because Nobina said they won't make much money?
Investing too much in a bad idea doesn't mean they can't work out it was just a bad idea.

To be honest, I don't think Vista was all that bad. Win7 proves it - Vista plus polish. UAC is actually a great thing if you know how to use it. The rest of the OS is largely the same. Vista was just missing some kernel features that XP had and Win7 now has. Didn't we lose horizontal and vertical spanning in Vista? Maybe some other stuff. Can't remember.

Win8 however is completely at odds with a desktop PC in terms of usability. Optimistically, maybe there is a way they can "polish" it too. There is a LOT to do. It is such a major step back in productivity. I don't care about live tiles. I don't live on the desktop looking at the summary info of each app. I live *in* applications, browsing the web while running my email and chat apps on the side. If Win8 can be kludged in such a way to make that a nice experience, then dunno about you but my perception would change a bit.
 
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