Platform requirements - DirectX 12 & Shader Model 6.6

[DanGovier]

We seem to have a number of players reporting that they are unable to launch the game, due to an error popping up stating that their system doesn't support DirectX 12.

That error message is generated by Unreal Engine itself, and sadly it's a bit misleading. What it's actually saying is that the system lacks support for certain DirectX 12 features, namely feature level 12_1 and/or Shader Model 6.6.

We are using UE5's next-gen Nanite and Virtual Shadows features, and as per Epic's documentation they do have a minimum system requirement:

• All versions of Windows 10 build 1909.1350 and newer, and Windows 11 with support for DirectX 12 Agility SDK are supported.
• Windows 10 version 1909 — The revision number should exceed or be equal to .1350.
• Windows 10 version 2004 and 20H2 — The revision number should exceed or be equal to .789.
• DirectX 12 (with Shader Model 6.6 atomics), or Vulkan (VK_KHR_shader_atomic_int64)
• Latest Graphics Drivers

Every GPU has different levels of support, but as a rough estimate any GPU released prior to 2015 very likely won't be able to run the game.

You can try searching for your GPU here to see what support it's supposed to have on paper (look in the "Graphics Features" box):
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs

If your GPU does not support Shader Model 6.6 Atomics (or the Vulkan equivalent), then you will need to upgrade for this game. To be honest, with more games dropping support for older cards, this might be a good time to do that anyway, and you can pick up something like an RTX 3050 for less than £200 if you shop around.

[CeeCeeLemons]

I've been having this issue myself. I just downloaded DirectX Caps Viewer, my Feature Level is listed as D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL_12_1 and my Shader Model is listed as 6.6

[DanGovier]

Originally posted by CeeCeeLemons:

I've been having this issue myself. I just downloaded DirectX Caps Viewer, my Feature Level is listed as D3D_FEATURE_LEVEL_12_1 and my Shader Model is listed as 6.6

Which GPU is that, and which O/S are you using? if you're on Windows 11 it might be something to do with DX Agility drivers.

I don't entirely trust the DirectX Caps Viewer, because it says my 2080ti only supports 12_1 and Shader Model 6.5, which is quite wrong.

[CeeCeeLemons]

Yeah, I'm on Windows 11. It's the Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics that came in my laptop.

[DanGovier]

Originally posted by CeeCeeLemons:

Yeah, I'm on Windows 11. It's the Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics that came in my laptop.

Ah, we've had quite a few people reporting issues with that same card. I've been looking into it, and it seems that the Intel Iris Xe does not fully support all of the required features in Shader Model 6.6.

There's a forum post about it on the Intel website. They're talking about Fortnite, but it's the same engine:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/DirectX-12-on-Fortnite-no-longer-supported-on-Intel-graphics/m-p/1435524#M111677

[MAX黑鷹]

Originally posted by DanGovier:

Originally posted by CeeCeeLemons:

Yeah, I'm on Windows 11. It's the Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics that came in my laptop.

Ah, we've had quite a few people reporting issues with that same card. I've been looking into it, and it seems that the Intel Iris Xe does not fully support all of the required features in Shader Model 6.6.

There's a forum post about it on the Intel website. They're talking about Fortnite, but it's the same engine:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/DirectX-12-on-Fortnite-no-longer-supported-on-Intel-graphics/m-p/1435524#M111677

It's possible to include a simple benchmark in the demo for players before they make their purchase. Most players are not familiar with their hardware knowledge.

[amgarrety]

Originally posted by DanGovier:

Originally posted by CeeCeeLemons:

Yeah, I'm on Windows 11. It's the Intel(R) Iris(R) Xe Graphics that came in my laptop.

Ah, we've had quite a few people reporting issues with that same card. I've been looking into it, and it seems that the Intel Iris Xe does not fully support all of the required features in Shader Model 6.6.

There's a forum post about it on the Intel website. They're talking about Fortnite, but it's the same engine:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/DirectX-12-on-Fortnite-no-longer-supported-on-Intel-graphics/m-p/1435524#M111677

Does this mean we are out of luck if this is our situation? My laptop is rather new so it's sort of frustrating.

Any chance could be a branch that would be compatible with Iris Xe graphics? Perhaps a setting in the game itself to enable the features of Shader Model 6.6 if your computer is compatible?

I've had luck playing the final directx 11 version but I can't dive into the cold start sequence in that version.

[usalabs14]

My advice from what I've seen is that games like this need a $3,000 dedicated, purpose built gamer's machine, with a GFX card that has every perceivable support for every feature that's available with every game produced, that way, you won't need to buy 100s of GFX cards and keeps switching out until you find the one that works with that game, or buy multiple computers where each one has a different GFX card.

It seems when someone brings out a game, or a simulator, it is guaranteed, that someone, somewhere is going to say "It doesn't run on my GFX card", then the game devs are going to say "Then upgrade the card", and the only way to do that is to buy the most expensive that supports every known feature of every game in existence, and that card would cost near to or over $1,000.

Also, I found that 90% of all games are designed specifically to run an an Intel CPU, in which the Intel CPU's are designed to run at super hot temperature, and thus super cooling is required pushing up the price of the PC.

So in my opinion, to be able to play a lot of the games here on Steam or other games, and also use the PC as a standard workstation, it will cost around $3,000. Don't tell me that you can get a decent gaming computer for around $400, only tell me that if you can guarantee that the GFX card it has is able to run every game in existence, if not, then it will cost around $3,000.

I have the minimum requirements to play Starship Simulator, but it won't work, because I don't have an Intel CPU.

Isn't it tragic, that one has to go out and buy a whole new computer with the exact specifications just to run Starship Simulator, when other games like STO, ETS, ATS, NMS, Fortnight, ALL run perfectly on the system I'm using right now to write this post.

[claire]

Originally posted by usalabs14:

My advice from what I've seen is that games like this need a $3,000 dedicated, purpose built gamer's machine, with a GFX card that has every perceivable support for every feature that's available with every game produced, that way, you won't need to buy 100s of GFX cards and keeps switching out until you find the one that works with that game, or buy multiple computers where each one has a different GFX card.

It seems when someone brings out a game, or a simulator, it is guaranteed, that someone, somewhere is going to say "It doesn't run on my GFX card", then the game devs are going to say "Then upgrade the card", and the only way to do that is to buy the most expensive that supports every known feature of every game in existence, and that card would cost near to or over $1,000.

Also, I found that 90% of all games are designed specifically to run an an Intel CPU, in which the Intel CPU's are designed to run at super hot temperature, and thus super cooling is required pushing up the price of the PC.

So in my opinion, to be able to play a lot of the games here on Steam or other games, and also use the PC as a standard workstation, it will cost around $3,000. Don't tell me that you can get a decent gaming computer for around $400, only tell me that if you can guarantee that the GFX card it has is able to run every game in existence, if not, then it will cost around $3,000.

I have the minimum requirements to play Starship Simulator, but it won't work, because I don't have an Intel CPU.

Isn't it tragic, that one has to go out and buy a whole new computer with the exact specifications just to run Starship Simulator, when other games like STO, ETS, ATS, NMS, Fortnight, ALL run perfectly on the system I'm using right now to write this post.

I'm afraid it's the way that Unreal Engine 5 works, we have a huge amount of people able to play the game ( it works okay on my 1050ti ) but there are so many differing factors that cause some to not be able to play, and we can only do what we can to help( They are having the same issue across Fornite). We optimise heavily for the game, and we've spent weeks ( since we needed to stop supporting DirectX 11) trying to find ways to help everyone. It's a really horrible situation to be in as devs, when we truly want everyone to play this game.

[pendergast4]

This crashes on every instance of opening with both Directx12 and Vulcan

[DanGovier]

Originally posted by MAX黑鷹:

Originally posted by DanGovier:

Ah, we've had quite a few people reporting issues with that same card. I've been looking into it, and it seems that the Intel Iris Xe does not fully support all of the required features in Shader Model 6.6.

There's a forum post about it on the Intel website. They're talking about Fortnite, but it's the same engine:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/DirectX-12-on-Fortnite-no-longer-supported-on-Intel-graphics/m-p/1435524#M111677

It's possible to include a simple benchmark in the demo for players before they make their purchase. Most players are not familiar with their hardware knowledge.

The game is being released for free, so no purchase is required to play.

DirectX 12_1 came out with Windows 10, so as long as your hardware doesn't predate Windows 10, it will likely work.

[DanGovier]

Originally posted by amgarrety:

Originally posted by DanGovier:

Ah, we've had quite a few people reporting issues with that same card. I've been looking into it, and it seems that the Intel Iris Xe does not fully support all of the required features in Shader Model 6.6.

There's a forum post about it on the Intel website. They're talking about Fortnite, but it's the same engine:

https://community.intel.com/t5/Graphics/DirectX-12-on-Fortnite-no-longer-supported-on-Intel-graphics/m-p/1435524#M111677

Does this mean we are out of luck if this is our situation? My laptop is rather new so it's sort of frustrating.

Any chance could be a branch that would be compatible with Iris Xe graphics? Perhaps a setting in the game itself to enable the features of Shader Model 6.6 if your computer is compatible?

I've had luck playing the final directx 11 version but I can't dive into the cold start sequence in that version.

I definitely understand the frustration there, but the fault lies very much with Intel for releasing hardware with incomplete support Shader Model 6.6. Now it's possible that they might release a driver update that resolves the issue, but there's nothing we can do directly to rectify the problem. I'd definitely recommend posting on that Intel forum thread to ensure the issue is not forgotten on their side.

Sadly we can't turn off Nanite or Virtual Shadows, because they're required for the mesh complexity in the game. DX11 support was withdrawn last year for this reason.

Sorry, I really wish we could do something to help.

[DanGovier]

Originally posted by pendergast4:

This crashes on every instance of opening with both Directx12 and Vulcan

What GPU are you using?

[DanGovier]

Originally posted by usalabs14:

I have the minimum requirements to play Starship Simulator, but it won't work, because I don't have an Intel CPU.

Isn't it tragic, that one has to go out and buy a whole new computer with the exact specifications just to run Starship Simulator, when other games like STO, ETS, ATS, NMS, Fortnight, ALL run perfectly on the system I'm using right now to write this post.

At no point have we ever stated that you need an Intel CPU to play the game. We support AMD quite happily.

What is your computer's hardware spec? Obviously without knowing your GPU make/model it's hard to make a clear determination on why the game won't work for you.

[Kastagir]

Originally posted by DanGovier:

We seem to have a number of players reporting that they are unable to launch the game, due to an error popping up stating that their system doesn't support DirectX 12.

That error message is generated by Unreal Engine itself, and sadly it's a bit misleading. What it's actually saying is that the system lacks support for certain DirectX 12 features, namely feature level 12_1 and/or Shader Model 6.6.

We are using UE5's next-gen Nanite and Virtual Shadows features, and as per Epic's documentation they do have a minimum system requirement:

• All versions of Windows 10 build 1909.1350 and newer, and Windows 11 with support for DirectX 12 Agility SDK are supported.
• Windows 10 version 1909 — The revision number should exceed or be equal to .1350.
• Windows 10 version 2004 and 20H2 — The revision number should exceed or be equal to .789.
• DirectX 12 (with Shader Model 6.6 atomics), or Vulkan (VK_KHR_shader_atomic_int64)
• Latest Graphics Drivers

Every GPU has different levels of support, but as a rough estimate any GPU released prior to 2015 very likely won't be able to run the game.

You can try searching for your GPU here to see what support it's supposed to have on paper (look in the "Graphics Features" box):
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs

If your GPU does not support Shader Model 6.6 Atomics (or the Vulkan equivalent), then you will need to upgrade for this game. To be honest, with more games dropping support for older cards, this might be a good time to do that anyway, and you can pick up something like an RTX 3050 for less than £200 if you shop around.

Tbh., more games "dropping support for older Cards" will just make me dip into my extensive Backlog of Games on various Platforms . No Game ever made me upgrade any piece of HW just to be able to play it . And to be frank, I think your attitude regarding this is rather unfortunate .

Still, wishing your project all the best . Uninstalling now .

[claire]

Originally posted by Kastagir:

Originally posted by DanGovier:

We seem to have a number of players reporting that they are unable to launch the game, due to an error popping up stating that their system doesn't support DirectX 12.

That error message is generated by Unreal Engine itself, and sadly it's a bit misleading. What it's actually saying is that the system lacks support for certain DirectX 12 features, namely feature level 12_1 and/or Shader Model 6.6.

We are using UE5's next-gen Nanite and Virtual Shadows features, and as per Epic's documentation they do have a minimum system requirement:

• All versions of Windows 10 build 1909.1350 and newer, and Windows 11 with support for DirectX 12 Agility SDK are supported.
• Windows 10 version 1909 — The revision number should exceed or be equal to .1350.
• Windows 10 version 2004 and 20H2 — The revision number should exceed or be equal to .789.
• DirectX 12 (with Shader Model 6.6 atomics), or Vulkan (VK_KHR_shader_atomic_int64)
• Latest Graphics Drivers

Every GPU has different levels of support, but as a rough estimate any GPU released prior to 2015 very likely won't be able to run the game.

You can try searching for your GPU here to see what support it's supposed to have on paper (look in the "Graphics Features" box):
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs

If your GPU does not support Shader Model 6.6 Atomics (or the Vulkan equivalent), then you will need to upgrade for this game. To be honest, with more games dropping support for older cards, this might be a good time to do that anyway, and you can pick up something like an RTX 3050 for less than £200 if you shop around.

Tbh., more games "dropping support for older Cards" will just make me dip into my extensive Backlog of Games on various Platforms . No Game ever made me upgrade any piece of HW just to be able to play it . And to be frank, I think your attitude regarding this is rather unfortunate .

Still, wishing your project all the best . Uninstalling now .

We have spent a lot of time trying to help people with this issue :) As Dan has stated it's a hardware issue, not a game one. You'll actually find that a lot of in development games are also getting this. Even the Fortnite forums are full of it.

I removed a game that I paid £20 for just a week ago because my computer just couldn't handle it. We're not just devs, we're also gamers, so we completely understand the frustrations.