The Talos Principle - Update 257458 - public beta

[Robert]

Build 257458 for The Talos Principle is now available in beta "publicbeta", which does not require a password.

To install the beta, do this:
- locate the game in the Steam's "Library" panel
- right click and invoke "Properties"
- select the "Betas" tab
- choose "publicbeta"

NOTE: If you want to later change back from publicbeta to default, savegames may be lost! We test for forward upgrades, but not in the other direction.

Here are the changes:

New features:
- Added support for Vulkan graphics API. To use it, you must start The Talos Principle in 64-bit mode (when prompted by Steam's popup launcher). Then, in the game's menu, select Options / Graphics Options / Graphics API, and choose Vulkan from the drop-down menu. Of course, make sure you have the latest drivers installed prior to starting the game.

Bug fixes:
- Fixed a crash on game startup on OSX.

[mphuZ]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!

[daniel.mantione]

What drivers under what operating system would you like have tested? With my Radeon HD6670 I won't be able to test Vulkan, but perhaps I can do something on my laptop, GF630M, no idea what chips Nvidia is going to support.

[mphuZ]

What you need to do ?
I downloaded the publicbeta. Run the game. But in the settings there is no new API..

Maybe it's the graphics card ? HD 7850, driver 16.1.1

[blackout24]

I'd be interested if CroTeam has any benchmark numbers for the NVIDIA Shield. I'd imagine that it benefits more from Vulkan than a gaming PC with an overclocked Intel Core i7.

[AlenL]

The option will appear only if you have a new driver that supports Vulkan - and if the driver supports it on your GPU (as this is a very new release, not all GPUs are supported yet). Which cards are supported depends on each vendor. Here are some lists:
https://developer.nvidia.com/vulkan-driver
http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/radeon-vulkan-beta.aspx

[AlenL]

@Blackout, both Linux and Android versions are still being prepared. They should become available later (Linux very soon, Android after it).

[mphuZ]

Originally posted by AlenL:

The option will appear only if you have a new driver that supports Vulkan - and if the driver supports it on your GPU (as this is a very new release, not all GPUs are supported yet). Which cards are supported depends on each vendor. Here are some lists:
https://developer.nvidia.com/vulkan-driver
http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/radeon-vulkan-beta.aspx

And what is it ?

Judging by the list, the HD 7850 supports the new API.

The drivers are installed last. Or something need to install separately ?

[AlenL]

mphuZ, the first AMD driver supporting Vulkan is 16.15.1009, it seems. Install link is on that page.

[YT GamingTux]

wait. the linux version of the beta has no vulkan support? (please write this in the changelog next time)
damn now I have bought the game espaceally to test it.
vulkan driver is already installed

[mphuZ]

Thanks!

I didn't know I had to install a separate driver.. Very strange.

[AlenL]

Linux.PlayX, the Linux build is coming in like a day or two. We had issues setting it up in that we never before released an x64 Linux build. As soon as we prepare it for upload it will be available to you.

[YT GamingTux]

Originally posted by AlenL:

Linux.PlayX, the Linux build is coming in like a day or two. We had issues setting it up in that we never before released an x64 Linux build. As soon as we prepare it for upload it will be available to you.

thx for the quick answer.
But sad that this wasn't write down in the changelog.

[Nexor]

Sadly vulkan driver (nvidia) crashes after some seconds

[Edwin]

As a Linux user, I'm naturally excited. Although, as DX12 has proved, things probably won't be that much better in terms of performance for a long while yet.

I do have a question for the devs. As I understand it, Vulkan can bring substantial gains by replacing driver overhead with engine specific code and using multiple cores by design. Although I'm not a 3D engine specialist, I understand that this requires a different approach to 3d engines. So, far off is the current state (and maybe planned) of the Vulkan support in the engine from the ideal one?

Also, generally, OpenGL performance is not quite up to the level of the original DX game. I'm guessing that this is because the actual engines fit better with DX and require a little more overhead to run on OpenGL. Does Vulkan support close any of that gap?

Anyway, thanks for beta! Even if the gains are not the biggest now, it's still good to know that it's being worked on.

[Mivey]

Does not crash for me, but the program simply does nothing. Once I select "Vulkan (Beta)" from the options and click "apply" it simply shows me the desktop, while continuing to run. As if it is stuck in loading, basically.
To be more useful:
I am using an AMD R7 M265 and the driver version 16.15, which install the VulkanRT. On a Windows 10 laptop with 8 GB of RAM on a i7-4500U with two cores.