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  • Originally posted by DDF420 View Post
    On the subject of Mantel

    1. Is Mantel windows only ? I thought it was meant to be portable to anything using AMD?s Graphics Core Next architecture? Kind of like write once use on ps4/xbox-one/pc with new AMD GPU is that correct?

    2. How much of a role did DICE play in this API ?

    3.Mantel shows great performance increases but so did Glide/3dfx and that was considered a good thing when it died since not being so great for other card owners. Will the same be said about Mantel?

    4. Is Nvidia's NVAPI the same as Mantel ? If so does that make OpenGL and eventually Direct3D dead in the water? Wouldn't it be easier to write for say NVAPI and Mantel and for a few more years Direct3D simply to cover those with older GPU's? Wouldn't this kill off or reduce further OpenGl and eventually Direct3D use?
    1) Right now Mantle is only working on Windows. DICE said they want it to be cross-platform, but they didn't specify which other platforms they're going to target, and with what time frame. It's hard to say if it will be directly portable to the consoles because there was a severe lack of details at the initial announcement. So all we have is speculation at this point.

    2) A lot apparently. If I understand correctly, they were contracted by AMD to develop it.

    4) NVAPI is something different. It's not really a rendering API like Mantle. It's more for getting certain video card information for developing third-party utilities or to help game developers get some setup information that could help them tweak performance a little bit. But it's not a low-level graphics library.

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    • Originally posted by johnc View Post
      1) Right now Mantle is only working on Windows. DICE said they want it to be cross-platform, but they didn't specify which other platforms they're going to target, and with what time frame. It's hard to say if it will be directly portable to the consoles because there was a severe lack of details at the initial announcement. So all we have is speculation at this point.

      2) A lot apparently. If I understand correctly, they were contracted by AMD to develop it.

      4) NVAPI is something different. It's not really a rendering API like Mantle. It's more for getting certain video card information for developing third-party utilities or to help game developers get some setup information that could help them tweak performance a little bit. But it's not a low-level graphics library.
      Point 2 worries me for several reasons:

      1) Even for Window$, AMD needs to resort to external company to develop software for their own hardware...lack of talent at home.

      2) Who holds the patents for all parts of Mantle ?

      3) Was it specified under contract to what platforms would be Mantle ported ?

      4) Can AMD specify NOW to what platform should Mantle be (also) ported and in witch time frame ?

      5) What happens if DICE finds a excuse to not manage port it to, let's say, Linux ?
      This point is specially important taking in account the divorce between Valve/Steam and EA/DICE/Origin.

      6) Taking in account DICE buggy software in several games and game engines and lack of true support for them, how was that covered under contract with AMD about eventual Mantle bugs ? Who is responsible for the maintenance and evolution of Mantle and for how much time in case it's DICE ?
      Last edited by AJSB; 07 October 2013, 04:06 AM.

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      • Originally posted by AJSB View Post
        Point 2 worries me for several reasons:

        1) Even for Window$, AMD needs to resort to external company to develop software for their own hardware...lack of talent at home.

        2) Who holds the patents for all parts of Mantle ?

        3) Was it specified under contract to what platforms would be Mantle ported ?

        4) Can AMD specify NOW to what platform should Mantle be (also) ported and in witch time frame ?

        5) What happens if DICE finds a excuse to not manage port it to, let's say, Linux ?
        This point is specially important taking in account the divorce between Valve/Steam and EA/DICE/Origin.

        6) Taking in account DICE buggy software in several games and game engines and lack of true support for them, how was that covered under contract with AMD about eventual Mantle bugs ? Who is responsible for the maintenance and evolution of Mantle and for how much time in case it's DICE ?
        1) No. The driver and the rest of the hardware related part has been developed by AMD. DICE has developed the part associated to the game engine and probably has played a role in providing feedback: "I as a game developer want this and this in MANTLE" or something like that.

        5) It is AMD who has to port MANTLE beyond Windows.

        Comment


        • Originally posted by juanrga View Post
          1) No. The driver and the rest of the hardware related part has been developed by AMD. DICE has developed the part associated to the game engine and probably has played a role in providing feedback: "I as a game developer want this and this in MANTLE" or something like that.

          5) It is AMD who has to port MANTLE beyond Windows.
          Ah OK, i feel better now about Mantle and its future.

          ...but the way it was wrote the message here, i got the wrong idea that who wrote Mantle was DICE...a very scary idea

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          • AMD Steam Machines

            Valve Software and AMD confirm that Steam Machine game consoles using AMD processors will arrive next year.


            ?Although the graphics hardware that we?ve selected for the first wave of
            Steam Machine prototypes is a variety of Nvidia cards, that is not an indication that
            Steam Machines are Nvidia-only,? a Valve spokesman said in a statement this week.
            ?In 2014, there will be Steam Machines commercially available with graphics hardware
            made by AMD, Nvidia, and Intel. Valve has worked closely with all three of these
            companies on optimizing their hardware for SteamOS, and will continue to do so
            into the foreseeable future.?
            They should've named the spokesman.
            However, I have no doubt this is legit.

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            • Originally posted by entropy View Post
              They should've named the spokesman.
              However, I have no doubt this is legit.
              Unless they suddenly stopped doing this, I know this to be true.

              Not just for the steeam os, but for steam to linux.

              I can't imagine they are gonna work on separate drivers for steam os, after all the effort the put into steam for Linux, and the vid drivers.
              To have the performance as good or better compared to windows.

              Comment


              • Anyone who thinks SteamOS will not support AMD is out of his mind. It's not Valve that decides whether AMD will be supported because Valve has already decided that SteamOS is open. So it's up to AMD whether to support it or not, and why would AMD ignore such a potential market?

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