DirectX 12 offers support to unlock performance in modern GPUs. - Ultimate Guide

Microsoft has updated its DirectX 12 Graphics API, adding features that could improve the viewing of games, which makes the effort on the part of videogame developers to be minimal.

"Variable Rate Shading" is the name of this new graphics API in DirectX 12 and according to what Microsoft is the first API that offers extensive hardware support to unlock performance in modern GPUs.

The hardware-accelerated variable rate shader seeks to make videogame developers more in control of the shading rate of a video game, this includes visual fidelity and frame rates.

VRS manages to make videogame developers increase or decrease the shading rate in selected areas.

Microsoft has defined VRS as: "a scalpel in a world of covers".

It also allows developers to selectively reduce the shading rate in areas of the frame where visual quality will not be affected, to achieve greater and better performance in games, so we can expect better games.

It also allows developers to selectively increase the shading rate.

VRS was worked in a detailed way to get a really simple product so that developers could integrate them much more easily and greatly increase the performance of their games without much complexity.

Microsoft has partnered with Firaxis Games, in charge of the turn-based video game series to test VRS on a PC with a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060.

The results were perfetos, 14% more speed when it is processed in the same hardware with VRS enabled.

DirectX 12 seeks to make VRS accessible and easy to integrate for developers without having to change so many codes to integrate them.

At times VRS is only available on some NVIDIA cards and soon with Intel CPUs.

Unity and Unity Engine from Epic Games are expected to include VRS support in their games.

Microsoft is also expected to talk about its new VRS API this week at the Game Developer Conference.