Microsoft Introduces Advanced Shader Delivery to Remedy Shader Stutter
Microsoft's DirectX team announced a new feature named Advanced Shader Delivery aimed at fixing the ubiquitous problem of shader stutter in PC games. The feature will debut on the forthcoming ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds before gradually rolling out on PC. A dedicated AgilitySDK will be made available to developers after next month.
Aims a Fix for In-Game Stuttering
This feature was developed with the collaboration of Xbox and AMD to curb their impact on performance from real-time shader compilation. Rather than compiling on the user's system, shaders are precompiled and packaged in with the game download.
As stated by the DirectX team:
"We have partnered with teams across Xbox and at AMD to precompile this data and distribute it at download time for key titles via the Xbox PC app. This approach not only gets you into your games faster but also prevents most instances of stutter that cause performance issues". An example would be the Avowed game from Obsidian Entertainment, in which our engineering teams observed launch times could be reduced by as much as 85%. Thus, you are not just entering your games faster-you are saving battery for running the game and not loading shaders."
How Advanced Shader Delivery Works
The system relies on a new standardized formatting for packaging shader data called State Object Database (SODB). The technical procedure follows:
- The shader compiler is separated from the local graphics driver.
- The game's SODB is combined with this compiler in the cloud to create a Precompiled Shader Database (PSDB).
- This PSDB is then distributed to the user alongside the game download via the Xbox Store.
- When the game runs, it finds the necessary shaders already available in a Windows cache, skipping the compilation step on the device.
- The system will auto-update the cache in case of installation of newer graphics driver.
Launch Platforms and Availability
Advanced Shader Delivery will first launch on ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X handhelds. These devices are officially set for release on October 16, Leak say its priced at $549.99 and $899.99, respectively.
A major caveat is that the feature will be exclusive to the Xbox PC app at first. Other storefronts such as Steam or the Epic Games Store may adopt the feature later with AgilitySDK, but that is yet to be confirmed for the time of initial launch.
The unveiling of Advanced Shader Delivery gives hope for some truly technical solutions to one of the PC gaming industry's longest-standing issues.
